Alone Tone

This site is easily one of the coolest things that I've discovered on the internetz. The guys who created it are dedicated to providing a platform for independent artists to showcase their music. Alonetone.com allows musicians, bands and record labels - or anyone else promoting music they own the rights to - free and unlimited uploading capabilities.

"most of the 'free' services you'll run into elsewhere are running ads, funded by investors, or actually owned by media conglomerates. In general, they are hoping making money off of your 'content'...erm...music. Most music communities are overly obsessed with genres and popularity, and we're just not turned on by that. Time for something new, don't you think? alonetone was started to provide a non-commercial alternative. Something useful,
something different, something that the musicians can feel like they own. Beyond that, we want to do it right. Clean, only the essentials. Not too dorked-out. Easy to get around."

[Taken from the about section]

Once uploaded to their servers, the music is then free to stream and download by listening public. That's right free, no strings attached.

Alonetone has built a community of scores of independent acts of every stripe and genre imaginable who want nothing more than to share their art with us; free of charge. "We believe in giving our music away" they say in the FAQ section.

If you're sick of all your music and/or are the adventurous type, go check this place out.
The design is sleek, easy to navigate and of course add-free. You probably won't recognize any of the artists, but try downloading single songs from ones with cool names or interesting profile pictures.

You might have to dig a bit, but it will be well worth it if you end up with something amazing you never would have found any other way.

Happy hunting.


http://alonetone.com

THE HOOD INTERNET

Do you like mash-ups?

Do you like free music?

Have you heard of The Hood Internet?

If you answered yes to the first two questions and no to the third, you definitely need these guys in your life. Their site is a monument to the digital age and pretty much the mother-load as far as the nascent quasi-genre of mash-ups is concerned.

Besides running a huge blog and giving all their stuff away for free, what sets ABX and STV SLV apart from the rest of the pack is source material. The stuff they use tends toward the independent as opposed to the blatantly obvious like some other who are actually asking for money. *cough* Girl Talk *cough*

They like to squish stuff like Juvenile & Passion Pit , Dead Prez & Grizzly Bear and MF Doom & Ladytron together into confusingly awesome dance music.

For these aural alloys, they create fun photoshopped images of the artists and clever names like Two Weeks of Hip-hop, My Favorite Ladytrons, and Back that Sleepyhead Up.

For the jockeys, all bastardizations can be obtained individually. And for everyone else, there are CD length mastications affectionately called "mixtapes" (they'r now up to vol. four) that can be downloaded as single Mp3's or tracked out .zip files.


http://www.thehoodinternet.com/


*Even if you don't really like mash-up at all, this is worth checking out just for the novelty aspect. I mean, it's free and you can delete it from your hard drive so why not?

[Thanks goes to Evander Hologram for turning me onto these guys]

Marina Faib

No doubt the Burial comparisons I heard piqued my interest. But it was learning that this "Faib" people were talking about was teenage girl that really compelled me to see what the fuss was about.

I'm here to report that the music of Russia's Marina Tovkach is quality though comparing it to Burial is a bit overboard and I feel, kind of a disservice to both parties. Sure, comparatively her sound lacks the atmospheric depth and shear rawness of the anomalous South London don, but damn, she's only 19 - give her a few years.

Those who like it deep and melodic should be well into this stuff as it threads a neat line through the intersection of dub ambiance, minimal techno, 2-Step Garage and Grime.

But don't just take my word, grab this promotional thing and judge for yourself.

(yeah she did produce the tracks perform the vocals and mix it all flawlessly)


WORN OUT PLACES
1. Faib - cold rain (Mindset dubplate)
2. Lostlojic and Faib - breath of spring
3. Faib - whisper of trees (ranking dubplate)
4. Faib - the silence
5. Faib - somewhere far away
6. Faib - one love
7. Okapi and Faib - nirvana
8. Faib - ticking clocks
9. Synkro and Faib - inhale
10.Faib - invisible light
11.Faib - my game
12.Faib - thrust in
13.Faib - broken mirror

DOWNLOAD

http://www.myspace.com/faibdnb

Joy Orbison

UK urban music is at an interesting junction right now. After 2-Step splintered around the turn of the millennium, we got Dubstep, Grime and Bassline House. Now we have Funky, the latest permutation in the dynamic continuum London's sonic culture

This nascent scene is essentially a Frankensteining of 2-Steps offshoots peppered with some dancehall flavor and, interestingly enough, some classic New York style house ala Masters At Work (it's been about 20 years after all- so it can be officially considered retro).

Joy Orbison, with the eminent release of summertime anthem Hyph Mngo on Hotflush, has positioned himself at the center of this swirling nexus of this trans-generational new sound.



Check out this smoking mix, he did for a preview of what is sure to be a huge sound in the coming year.

1. Pearson Sound – Indelible // Aus
2. Karizma – Drumz Nightmare // R2
3. Nu-Birth – Anytime // Locked On
4. Tonya Renee – About You (Karizma Boucha Remix) // Home Recordings
5. Altered Natives – Rass Out // Fresh Minute Music
6. Joy Orbison – Smother // DOLDRUMS
7. Efdemin – Acid Bells (Martyn Remix) // Curle
8. Shed – Selection One // Soloaction
9. Ultramarine – Hooter (Carl Craig Remix/JORb EdiT) // Real Soon
10. Joy Orbison – Tentative Bidding // DOLDRUMS
11. Martyn – Hear Me // 3024
12. Joy Orbison – J. Doe // DOLDRUMS
13. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo // Hotflush

DOWNLOAD

http://www.myspace.com/joyorbison

Rekordah

One of the UK's new crop of hybrid beat makers, Rekordah's sound is part hip-hop/R&B, part Garage/Dubstep and all dope. This mix, which was put together for GetDarker.com, is worth checking out if you like your beats crunchy, dubby and full of cockney attitude. Very reminiscent of the MRK1 and Plastician sound a few years back.

DOWNLOAD

http://www.myspace.com/rekorder87

Black Moth Super Rainbow

The name may evoke ridiculously dubbed B-grade Anime, but don’t let whatever preconceptions you may have bar you from experiencing the awesomeness that is this band. In the backwoods of rural, Western Pennsylvania Tobacco Power Pil Fist Father Humming Bird, Iffernaut and The Seven Fields of Aphelion, concoct a uniquely potent blend of disorienting, lo-fi psychedelic. The sound like cotton candy– seemingly substantial upon first sampling but ultimately dissolving into a sticky, wispy malaise of sweetly addictive goo that gets stuck all in your head.

The warped and grainy weirdness of their music is in the same vain of pre-Music has the Right to Children Boards of Canada. Like early BOC it's chock full o' 70’s public broadcasting sounds and it’s got this distinctly de-ja-vu quality- at once dream like in its striking familiarity yet utterly fresh, alien even. It’s timeless in that it sounds at once archaic and post-modern. In fact, BMSR is not unlike what Boards of Canada may have become in some alternate universe had the brothers Sandison not found their calling in elegant, austere minimalism.

To experience BSMR is to be treated to an exorbitance of tone and aural texture Most of the instrument parts are recorded to tape (presumably an old 4 track by the sound of things) taking full advantage of the analog realm for the sweet sound of maximum saturation. The drums are often tracked live then resampled, edited and looped into shuffling rhythms. Obvious gear fetishists, they rely heavily on vintage synthesizers- and what an astonishingly bad-ass assortment of them the guys have collected: Rhodes, Moogs, Mellotrons and others yet unrecognizable to this reviewer lend this music its unmistakability. It’s the synth leads, along with the heavily vocoded vocals- warped beyond intelligibility and employed much more like an instrument than a traditional front man- that make for such a surprisingly unique brand of hallucinatory mutant pop; a veritable playground of sugary day-glow psychedelia.

Their sound has evolved over the years beginning with where Tobacco’s former project, Satanstompingcatipillars, left off and finally crystallizing with the smoothed out almost Air-style pop of their latest record Eating Us.

Falling through a Field, originally released in 03 (reissued in 2007), is the first full length under the BSMR name. A compilation of early material, demos, orphaned pieces from Satanstompingcatipillar recordings - it touches everything from dreamy shoegaze to bleepy, Atari-esque minimalism. Though somewhat rough it’s easily recognizable as the blueprint for what was to come. Balmy, acoustic guitars; and soft breathy vocals mingle with synthesized bells, warbled Casio pads, fuzzy distortion and dusty drums fomenting into an intoxicating brew baked to perfection in the waning light of the late afternoon sun.

Subsequent releases expound on this basic equation, adding depth with more complex instrumentation and lots more vocoding.

Start a People This album bridges the earlier demo stuff with the more polished contemporary sound. A nice illustration being the remix of I Think it’s Beautiful That You Are 256 colors Too. This newer version adds a slick funky bass line and twinkling synths as well as heavily processing the original vocals in the now accustomed BMSR style. Other faves include the hallucinatory Raspberry Dawn and the soothing lullaby-like 1, 2, 3 of Me.

Lost Picking Flowers in the Woods The title track of this ’06 record with its brittle tinny drums is an up-tempo trip into polychromatic daydream land; equal parts EDM and prog-rock. Another stand out, Drippy Eye grooves woozily with fluttering wood winds and synthetic ragged midrange. The long, winding, superb bass line intro anchors Flowers Grow Here, one of their strongest tunes to date! And Side 8 gets down hip hop style with a breakneck beat led by a dirty trash can snare.

Dandelion Gum. This was my introduction to BMSR and in my opinion, undoubtedly one of the finest records released in ’07. From beginning to end, it's the most consistently brilliant of all their albums ...or maybe I’m just biased. Nah. Lolipopsichord, Jump into My Mouth and Breath the Stardust, Sun Lips, Spinning Cotton Candy in a Shack Made of Shingles, and Untitled Roadside are all among their best tunes.

Drippers is a five track EP released in ’08 and is worth owning just for the up-tempo analog bass driven funk Zodiac Girls.

Fucked Up Friends This solo project from ring leader Tobacco was released on Anticon is possibly, my favorite album of the lot. Takes everything wonderful about the BSMR sound- the tripped out flutes, the gongs and church organs the vintage electronics faded with age -and hip-hop-itises it, adding catchier hooks and crunchier drums. Aesop Rock even shows up on Dirt mumbling something about Honey Bunches of Oats being the best cereal known to man.

Eating Us This record, which dropped about a month ago, is pure summer time vibes. By far the most polished offering yet, I dunno if you could even call it lo-fi any more. It’s probably their most realized album, though not necessarily the best overall. For this project, the guys saw fit to bring in a heavy weight producer to work some of that big-league sonic magic. Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips), to his credit, did an excellent job in augmenting the the BMSR sound. Twin of Myself and Smile the Day After Today; both choice slabs of electrified atmospheric pop that are as good as anything the guys have ever done.

http://www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com/

http://www.myspace.com/blackmothsuperrainbow

Skull Disco

Woe was the day this maverick imprint disbanded.

With a penetrating vision and amazing quality control, Skull Disco carved a hybrid-genre niche that has yet to be filled. Some nameless form of mutant, tribal, dread: a teeming mix of minimal techno, world music, dub, and glitch. Ponderous, thudding riddims; skittering edits; Eastern instrumentation; jagged, techy synthesizers, heavily delayed vocals from Jamaica to India; grimey, modulated subbass and more tablas than you could shake a handballa at reverberate through cavernous dubbed-out atmospheres.

If you're already a fan, perhaps this mix, posted on the Skull Disco website will rekindle some fond memories. If you're new to the sound, now's as good a time to check it out. Either way, download the mix and check out the site.

http://www.skulldisco.com/



[edit] Sound quality of the mix is really poor... just go and purchase these two albums:


Sound Boy Punishments










Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated By Vandals

ANSIFORM

Boy, is it a great time to love music. There's never been more people making more different varieties that're more readily available. For all of you ambient lovers out there, I got a little sumthin sumthin for ya. Check out this intoxicating parcel of sonic bliss. The perfect antidote to anxiety, insomnia, or silence.

Ansi045 Room With Blank Walls 320kbps Mp3

If you likey, why not check out the Ansiform label's site where you can download 320's of all 45 releases for free or subscribe to their podcast.

http://ansiform.afraid.org/

SAMIYAM

The Internet is an amazing thing no? Witness one Sam Baker who, within the space of 2008, went from anonymously making beats in his bedroom to being a much vaunted player in the left-field hip hop game. His meteoric rise to prominence can be attributed in part to experimental beatsmith Flying Lotus who originally put him on. Lotus, who discovered him via Myspace, was initially instrumental in his name getting out there, but it was the avalanche of adoring taste maker blogs that sealed his fate. This is as good an example as we are likely to find of the emerging new business model, if you can call it that. Bloggers, not A&R label suites are the new gatekeepers, and global Internet credibility, (which will lead to a higher profile thus more concert revenue) not signing to a major for a multi-album deal is the new jackpot.

Sam's woozy, off-kilter electro hobbles with the swagger of a drunken b-boy- the drums pitching forward only to snap back into place. Loose, squiggly synths; lopsided, gurgling bass lines and an assortment of interesting, lo-fi, sampled instruments create a jagged motif which sounds thrown together, that is, spontaneous in the best sense of the word. If the beats sound a bit reminiscent of Flylo's, it may be because the two traded samples early on via the Internet. And would later form the Brainfeeder imprint once Sam relocated to LA.

I believe the acclaim is warranted but the obsessive harping on the Jay Dee connection not so much. Yeah, they’re both Michiganers who make(made) hip-hop, and I guess the case could be made that anyone producing hip-hop nowadays owes something to Dilla; but I think the comparison has been a bit over sold. So the dude likes experimenting with his drum machine without quantisization, it doesn't mean he’s a Dilla knock off. It just means his approach is relaxed and his style is a bit esoteric.

For a taste, check out this mix.

Also clock this unofficial debut he put together in ’08, Rap Beats vol. 1. (the files are poor quality but you'll get an idea.) Listening to this album is kind of like looking at the personal sketch pad of a Basquiat or a Robert Williams; yeah it’s only a semi-coherent collection of partially formed ideas, but it’s still fucking art. Especially digging the Nintendo inspired Super Chronizio Bros 2, the broken swing of Flotation Device, and the throw back electro bounce of It’s Important.

And make sure you grab his official release, The Return EP on Hyperdub. (Can’t say how jazzed I am about this new LA/UK axis of experimental electronic music.)

http://www.myspace.com/samiyambeats

http://www.brainfeedersite.com/

http://www.myspace.com/hyperdub

Crack House

Fidget, or Crack House as it is more colorfully referred to, is the latest mutant sound in urban London dance music. An off-shoot of Bassline, Fidget is some what of a hybrid between British 2-Step, B-More Club and electro house, with just a dash of drum & bass. Rude bwoy chatter, air-raid sirens, twitchy synths, 303 acid, UK garage vocals, various bleeps and bloops, break beats and grimey low end fuse together to form this infectiously propulsive sound. Pioneered by Switch, it is currently being championed by the formidable DJ Zinc. This of course is not all that surprising as his Bingo Beats imprint has been pushing these disparate genres in one way or another for almost a decade.

Grab this mix Zinc put together and enjoy the new sound of Urban London in the comfort of your own headphones.

DOWNLOAD


Here are a coupla free tracks for the downloadin' as well.

http://www.djzinc.com

http://www.bingobeats.com/

http://www.myspace.com/bingozinc

Wooden Shjips

This is a band that I’ve really been getting into in the last couple of months.

San Francisco based Wooden Shjips (J is silent) navigate the waters between psychedelia, kruat rock and noise. The songs, which are mostly instrumental, are built on simple repetitive rhythms. To these modest foundations layer upon layer of guitar is added, resulting in fortified walls of harmonic distortion. So dense is this seething caldron of frequency that at times it all seems to smear together into white noise.

The vocals, which are generally very minimal and heavily processed, are sung by band leader Erik “Ripley” Johnson. The lyrics are nearly unintelligible and cryptic when they can be deciphered at all. His delivery and tone vaguely recall Jim Morrison. But Morrison as he might have sounded doing a dub record with King Tubby. Dripping with reverb and delay, they materialize and fade into noise.

The first album I obtained was the self titled Wooden Shjips. This record was made the old way- that is entirely analogue, from ½ inch tape to limited vinyl pressing. Opener We Ask You to Ride begins innocuously enough with looped drums, bass and Theremin-like synthesizer. Fairly uneventful until about a minute and forty seconds in at which point piercing distorted guitar slices through the methodical groove. This savage eruption foreshadows the onslaught ahead. All five of the tracks are sweet, but it’s on the bonus disc, comprised of the bands earlier 12”s, that things really heat up. Dance California starts with a formidable distorted Sabbath-esque riff. The intensity is then turned up to eleven with epileptic tambourines and torrential, blistering squalls of guitars. Death’s not Your Friend adds plinky synths and sleigh bells to the mix of ragged crunchy guitars. Ripley's vox drowning in time-based effects, seem to float disembodied over a great distance. Shrieking at the Moon starts, with a clean bass line then builds with twisted guitar distortion and escalates into controlled chaos almost dissonance at about three and a half minutes in.

The result is initially jarring but ultimately anesthetizing, kinda how I imagine the experience of being choked out in a sleeper hold would be.

The recently released Dos (Holy Mountain) begins with a snatch of feedback and a chunky distorted guitar riff. And though opener Motor Bike and Aquarian Time have a rough garage-y feel, over all the record seems more constrained. Having dampened down the visceral rawness of texture in favor of a more polished groove, this outing is heavier on the kraut influence- especially the organ-driven, funk of Fallin’. At other places things veer into surf territory (For So Long) with favorable results. I’m guessing this aesthetic change is due to the guys bringing in another producer and not because they’ve somehow lost the plot as some others have claimed.

As an interesting aside, it seems this band was started as an experiment with no intention of going anywhere. The project was conceived of by Ripley, as basically an outlet for improvisational jam sessions with friends. The thinking was apparently that gathering a bunch of guys with no formal musical training would bring a different perspective to the music. Here’s to the guys for committing this project to tape!

http://www.woodenshjips.com/

http://www.myspace.com/woodenshjips

http://www.holymountain.com

MF Doom

Daniel Dumile AKA Viktor Vaughn AKA King Gheedora AKA Metal Fingers AKA Doom is hands down one of my favorite rappers ever. Although he can hardly claim to be the most lyrically dexterous or conscious or street or whatever; in a world of cliches, biters and sucka MC’s, no one sounds like Mother Fuckin’ Doom. As eccentric as anyone rocking the mic this side of Kool Keith, Doom is a super villain among goons. Although he's also kinda like the Woody Allen of hip hop- insightful but slightly neurotic in a charmingly quirky way. His instantly recognizable, stream-of-conscious-style, is characterized by a nerdy preponderance for comic books (he raps in a Dr Doom mask) and an off-beat cadence that belies his natural gift for wordplay. Delivered with a buttery smooth tone, in a freestyle manner- sans chorus- he raps in the third person. His sense of humor, admittedly close to mine, is subtle and somewhat idiosychratic. His flows, which have a tendancy to start and end abruptly, are chock full of absurd metaphors and bad puns like “got more soul than a sock with a hole” Or one of my favorites:

'Bout to jet, get him, not a bet, dead 'em
Let 'em spit venom said 'em got a lot of shit with 'em
Let the rhythm hit 'em, it's stronger in the other voice
We make the joints that make 'em spread 'em butta moist
Man, please. The stage is made of panties
From the age of baby hoochies on to the grannies
Ban me the dough rake, daddy
The flow make her fatty shake, patty cake, patty cake

Madvillain - Figaro

A producer in his own right, Dumile can flip a track as easily as he laces it. I’ve compiled a partial run down of my favorite stuff by the man:

OPERATION DOOMSDAY – Dope! The first record to be released as MF Doom pretty much set the tone for his style. The production is lo fi and DYI-sounding in the original spirit of hip hop. Doom’s beats are fairly straight forward (the better to drop science over), usually just an instrument and looped drums. Intrerspersed throughout though, are tons of samples, mainly from vintage hip hop, Wild Style and cartoons like Fantastic Four and Spider Man (antagonists of Dr Doom). The tracks are minimal, but not boring; kitchy but not cheesy. Some notables are the Scooby Doo sampling Hey!, Rhymes like Dimes and Tick, Tick featuring MF Grimm. The latter with it’s "Speed it up Slow it up/Tick Tick MF Blow it Up" hook, stands out for it’s disorienting elasticity of tempo. The album also features guest rappers Tommy Gun, Rodan, Megalon and Columbia’s Kurious.

MM.. FOOD - This 2004 sequel to Doomsday was released on Minneapolis based Rhymesayers. Improving on the first “operation” in almost every area, this is some of his best stuff IMO. Almost entirely self produced, and again kicking off with a generous sample of Wildstyle; which talks about eating sandwiches. As one might guess the culinary references continue throughout on songs with names like Beef Rap, Kon Queso, Rap Knishes featuring Mr Fantastic and the Madlib produced One Beer. Again Doom isn’t shy around the MPC- lots of samples from everywhere; 70’s TV, 80’s hip hop (the Whodini sampling Deep Fried Friendz) and of course Spider Man and Fantastic Four.

VAUDEVILLE VILLAIN - This album is the first of Dumiles records that I aquired. Released under the Viktor Vaughn moniker (as in Victor Von Doom) it seems to explore the darker side of the mans personality. Beginning with a Spiderman sampling “overture”, the album then goes on somewhat of a futurist trip. But, as evidenced by the Open Mic Nite skits pt 1 & 2, his sense of humor is obviously still intact. Production duties this time were outsourced, mainly to SoundInk’s Heat Sensor and King Honey. His flow is generally more straight forward b-boy this time, but there is still plenty of variety. Whether it be the IDM crunch of Raedawn or the skewed RJD2 produced ballad Let Me Watch Vik Vaughn hits all the right spots.

SPECIAL HERBS & SPICES VOLS. 1-9 - Prodigious beatsmith that he is, Doom uses the Metal Fingers alias for this collection of his instrumental beats and pieces. Features instrumentals from Operation Doomsday and MM… Food among many others. Lots of wanky 70's instrument samples transformed into Dumile's signature-style catchy minimalism.

In addition to solo work, he's collaborated with some of the games finest, Madlib (as Madvillain) and Danger Mouse (as Danger Doom) to be specific.

MADVILLAINY In retrospect, with the way these two dig(for) samples, this colab was probably enevitable. Conceptually, it might be the illest hip hop LP to drop in at least a decade. Getting villainous over 20 tracks of slick, tricked out jazz, Doom and Madlib imagine themselves as a pair of arch supervillians bent on plunder and world domination. The beats here are some of Madlibs finest, and if you are at all familiar with the staggering output of the Beat Konducta (he put out 3 other albums that year alone) you'll know thats saying something. M.E.D., Wildchild, and Quasimoto all show up to drop guest verses.

THE MOUSE AND THE MASK After the Grey Album and before the phenomenon of Gnarles Barkley, Danger Mouse produced this criminally overlooked cartoon themed gem with Doom. A collaberation with the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, of which this record samples generously from. Considering Dumiles, cartoon fetish and the fact that he, Danger Mouse and Cartoon Network are all based out of Atlanta this was a natural collab. And because it's an Adult Swim joint there's original dialogue from Space Ghost, Brak, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab, etc. The beats are just bangin! The cameos are few, but quality. Ghostface drops some fiya on The Mask and Talib Kweli spits it proper on Old School.

Dumile’s route to the top (well top of the indy tastemakers lists) was drawn out and quite bumpy- frought with setbacks that lesser men might have succombed to. Dude has payed his dues no doubt! His first release was way back in 1991. At the time he was calling himself Zev Love X. The record, which was a collaberation with his brother DJ Subroc, was titled Mt. Hood and released under the alias KMD. Just before the release of the second KMD record, Subroc died tragicly in an automobile acident; KMD was dropped from Elektra and the album Black Bastards was shelved. Dumile dissapeared from the scene for the next 5 years or so, resurfacing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe open mic as the masked supervillain MF Doom. He hasn't publicly broken character since.

http://www.myspace.com/mfdoom

J-TEK

...As in short for British 'ardcore Jungle Tekno not the arpeggiated cheese from Japan. At some point during the 90's the multi-racial urban London phenomenon of jungle transmogrified into a mostly-white, mostly-suburban niche scene known by the incredibly bald descriptor drum and bass.

What happened?

Well, it lost the funk. The joyous chaotic mash of 30 years worth of black music (funk, soul, dub reggae and hip hop) crossed with rave culture gave way to yet another strain of streamlined minimal techno, albeit with much higher BPMs. Gone were the intricately chopped breakbeats and rude bwoy attitude, the helium vocals, the rumbling sub bass, and with it the spirit of anything goes. The beats were now strictly 2 stepping- kick, snare; kick snare, a la Ed Rush and Alex Reese- and the out of control tempo was now cresting 180 BPMs. So fast that breakbeats (the very foundation of the music) didn't sound right.

Although there were several other contributing factors like the move away from ragga vocals and toward heavy guitar pedal distortion; many, including yours truly, think that the out of control speed is what put the final nail in the coffin.

Enter J-Tek Records; which aims to combine "the ideas of the past with the engineering of the future" thus "bringing it back to move forward". This apparently means slowing things down and putting the emphasis back on the breaks, but anchoring them with solid 808 1/4 beats.

I was a little skeptical at first, I mean "c'mon J-Tek? Isn't that arpeggiated cheese from Japan?" Despite sounding like somewhat of a regression, the names involved were intriguing. Among them, original dubplate don Randall, old school hardcore provocateurs Tango & Ratty and the mighty Digital.

This set by Outrage and Modular was recorded live in Dublin and should give you an idea. Download MP3

The mix is more or less what I guess should be expected- fairly straight forward (150 BPM) techno mixed with chopped up breaks and some other odds and ends (the Dubstep mash-up of Digital's Deadline and Q Projects classic Champion Sound @ 24 minutes in, however makes the whole download worthwhile. Trust!)

Though I don't a whole lot of progression here, the beats are solid. And the exciting thing about this to me is that the J-Tek seems to be part of a larger movement in which the walls between EDM genres are thankfully being torn down- purists be damned. Interestingly the Grime generation is overlapping with similar ideas (read Zomby). And of course there's the clusterfuck of shit going on in the electro scene as anyone who's not been living under a rock for the last five years can attest to. I for one, fully welcome this- as the late 90's diaspora in dance music has foisted unnecessary rules on people and in the process really stifled creativity.

Here's another mix, with better sound quality. This one's done by DJ Madcap. It's on more of a classic old school jungle tip. LINK

http://j-tekrecords.ning.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jtekrecords

http://www.j-tekforum.co.uk/

The Mars Volta

Since rising from the rubble of what was once critically acclaimed punk-rock outfit At the Drive -In, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (as The Mars Volta) have charted their own sonic course aesthectically to much fanfare and probably even more disdain. With influences as diverse as prog-rock, hardcore, salsa and dub (Bixler-Zavala name checking Yes and Public Image Limited in the same sentence) Volta’s sound is sprawling, indulgent and long-winded- dissipating into entropy at times only to reconstitute, breaking down into manic post-hardcore.

This post is basically a rundown of their catalogue as of now.


The Tremulant EP – Their initial demo as a newly formed band was produced by Alex Newport and contains three songs. This EP was rough but really hinted at the direction the new project would take. Introducing a new sound for front man Bixler-Zavala and a decidedly psychedelic slant, while remaining firmly grounded in their punk/hardcore roots





Deloused in the Comatorium— The record that really established the band’s M.O. heralding the arrival of the Volta we know today. Long and varied, with extensive intro’s and outros, ballads and straight hardcore, Deloused is a concept album (the first of many) loosely based on the life of an influential friend from El Paso. It follows the protagonist Cerpin Taxt who after a failed attempt at suicide falls into a deep coma. Here in a dream world he embarks on bizarre and fantastical adventures. Awakening only to successfully take his life.



Francis The Mute — Another lengthily concept album, this time based on the characters from a journal that late keyboardist Jeremy Ward found. Ward related deeply with the incomplete manuscript and began to finish it himself. The character names which make up the song titles are lifted directly from this journal. This may be the most obtuse record I’ve ever listened to. I’m trying to imagine what the reaction from the label execs was upon first listen. Three out of four of the first tracks clock in at over ten minutes long. The album is divided into 5 songs that stretch over twelve tracks. On top of all of this at least half of the lyrics are in Spanish. But musically, it has a lot to offer; from glam to jazz fusion, ambient to metal-esque, this is a dense impossibly layered album.



Amputechture – The first conceptless long player and probably my least favorite album, Amputechture seemed to lack direction at some points. The songs were mostly solid and though there were certainly moments of brilliance, it seemed a little forced . Vermicide, was the obvious radio single clocking in at just over four minutes long, while the next shortest song was over seven minutes. One of the things that bothered me a bit about this one was the heavy reliance on plug-ins.



The Bedlam In Goliath - Finds Volta back in peak form with yet another concept album. Probably anyone would consider Bedlam an improvement over it’s predecessor. Goliath, refers to an entity that the band allegedly contacted while fooling with an old oija board found in Israel, and the record is based on this Ouija board and the entities that it allegedly summoned. Many of the lyrics are come straight form these ‘alleged’ communications. The correspondence started out relatively benign according to the band, but then became more and more threatening and bizarre. Ominous things began happening, audio files disappeared, a studio was flooded and an engineer cracked up. Finally Omar decided to destroy the thing and bury it so it would no longer cause trouble.

It's hard to imagine a current band in rock music that is more polarizing than The Mars Volta. On one side the taste makers- bloggers, pitchfork folks, etc.; on the other legions of fans, many of them younger who just appreciate a band that rocks live. And I’m of the mind that one shouldn’t completely write them off until actually witnessing them perform.

Although I can see where detractors are coming from when they accuse TMV of being overblown, self-indulgant, proggy, wanksters; I think we can all agree that they are kick-ass musicians and, I for one appreciate their blatant over the top excess for what it is- the key word here being blatant. They never really claimed to be anything else. When i look at TMV, I see talented musicians signed to a major label, making the music that they want to make, regardless of how it's received. Few acts these days can pull off such a feat.

http://www.thebedlam.net/

http://www.themarsvolta.co.uk/

http://www.myspace.com/themarsvolta

DUBSTEP

Dubstep may now rightfully lay claim as heir to London's three decade old bass culture— a rich tapestry which began with Jamaican immigrant sound clashes of 80’s; fused with rave to spawn the drum & bass movement of the early 90’s; and then once that had moved out into the suburbs mutated into the bubbly pop breakbeat rnb of 2-Step Garage. By the end of the millennium—save for a select few; El-B, Zed Bias, Oris Jay- the 2-Step sound was waning. Mostly do to commercial overexposure, an excess of ego and a dearth of creativity. The inner city yoot, however, were quietly reclaiming their culture. The result:, Grime. Championed by Wiley, Jammer, and a host of fresh faced teenagers like MRK1 & Plastician. The sound was harder, darker and seething with inner city paranoia. Mixing gangsta bravado with the production values of late 90’s era Ed Rush and Optical, this was Britains equivalent to the reactionary stage of American hip hop that saw NWA come to prominence. Dubstep, a periphery movement quietly spun out of all of these myriad sounds.

What began around the turn of the millennium in South London at the now Legendary club night FWD pushed by djs like Hatcha and Kode 9 has since exploded into world-wide phenomenon due in large part to the Internet. At the epicenter of this phenomenon, Tempa, the record label, whose first mix compilation of boundary pushing 2-Step gave the genre it’s very namesake.


Here is a shortlist of some of my favorite producers:

Benga is unquestionably one of the quintessential Dubstep dons, along with Skream and the Digital Mystiks. Hailing form Croydon in South London, he’s been around since the beginning. His sound incorporates stuttering Detroit-esque synths, syncopated riddims and deep deadly sub bass.

Essential listening: Diary of an Afro Warrior Tempa 

http://www.myspace.com/bengabeats

Digital Mystikz The duo of Mala & Coki have a more traditionally dub take on the sound. Dubstep by definition minimal, but the Mystikz take it to a whole new plateau. Soundscapes devoid of almost anything save for the odd orchestral sample with heavy delay and the constant throbbing pulse of sub sonic frequencies.

Essential Listening: Anything of the releases on their DMZ label.

www.myspace.com/dmzuk


Burial has by far the highest profile outside of the “scene”. Although his music is classed with Dubstep, it’s more akin to Rhythm & Sound crossed with late 90’s 2-Step. His sound could be classed lo-fi by some. Dense, cinematic, almost mournful, atmosphere, and jerky minimal beats conjure the experience of a stroll though London’s run-down industrial parkland on a cold rainy day. With his newer material he’s Incorporated processed contemporary style r&b vox which sound eerily disembodied over his sparse and haunting production.

Essential Listening:
Burial (Hyperdub)
Untrue (Hyperdub)
Ghost Hardware EP (Hyperdub)

http://www.myspace.com/burialuk

Distance, another producer that could be considered somewhat of an outsider. He seems to draw more on the influence form metal, than rave. This is definitely apparent in the results he achieves. Heavy drums and twisted bass that sounds like it’s been run through guitar petals.

Essential Listening: My Demons Planet Mu
(And watch out for his new album Repercussions out this month on Planet Mu)

http://www.myspace.com/djdistancedu

Boxcutter is an alias of England's Barry Lynn. A jack and master of all trades both in terms of versatility and production/engineering capabilities. In fact even classing him as merely a dubstep artist is doing him somewhat of a disservice. Lynn, a virtuoso bass player is equally adept at making minimal techno, 2-step, grime and atmospheric drum and bass . His skittering glitchly beats dance around celestial atmospherics and seriously grimy low end.His sound is somewhat like a dubbed out Squarepusher, dub being the anchoring aspect of all his experiments.

Essential Listing:
Oeneric Planet Mu
Glyphic Planet Mu
Balancing Lakes (as Barry Lynn) Planet Mu

http://www.myspace.com/barrylynnmusic

A Few others I'd mention:

Skull Disco is a label/collective formed of three producers; Shackleton, Appleblim and Gatekeeper. Another variation on the Dubstep theme, these guys' sound is heavily influenced by Asia. The sounds these guys are pushing features lots of tablas and sitars and middle eastern sounding atmosphere. A very tribal feel with percussion more evocative of a drum circle than a rave. And of course there’s plenty of subs to go around.

http://www.skulldisco.com/


2562 has kind of Basic Channel-esque take on the sound. Equal parts minimal techno and dub. Some really good stuff!

www.myspace.com/2562dub


Zomby, Joker and Cluekid are all on this grimy 8bit bleep crossed with vintage old school 'ardcore thing. It’s really interesting to see the influence of early video games crossed with rave and the low end sensibilities of the dancehall.
Listen Here

http://www.myspace.com/zombyproductions


I don’t even pretend to be an authority on whats emerging from this corner of the music world. I did buy records and dj this stuff back in ‘04 – ‘05 ish. But man, I listen to a lot of different things, no one scene can contain me. If you wanna here from someone who really has their ear to the ground, check out Blackdown’s blog, it’s the best Dubstep resource I’ve yet found.