Mumdance – “In Love Again” (sc) [buy on bandcamp]
Big Dope P – “Top Shelf” ft. Littlez (sc) [buy on bandcamp]
LeFtO Early Bird – “Diane Charlemagne” ft. Iman Houssein (bc) [buy on bandcamp]
I’m reviving an old music blog at the end of 2021?
Maybe it’s foolish, and maybe I’m the only one who misses the blog ol’ days, but I’m gonna give it a shot. I’ll be working on restoring some of the old content, though much of it was lost. If there’s interest, I’ll try to figure out how to safely share some more of the old remix sunday archives.
For now though, you can find all the label’s releases here, on bandcamp, or anywhere you listen to music these days. I’ve also still got copies of some of the old vinyl releases, and I’ve just released the first in a set of charitable cassette compilations to raise awareness about the continued [mis]use of broken windows policing methods.
Plus I’ve put together a playlists section with a handful of spotify lists that hopefully start to capture a [slightly] updated version of the moods we used to peddle. Give those a listen and a ❤ if you would be so kind. If people want me to put together soundcloud playlists, or something else, give me a holler.
– Haldan/Boody
Mumdance – “In Love Again” (sc) [buy on bandcamp]
Big Dope P – “Top Shelf” ft. Littlez (sc) [buy on bandcamp]
LeFtO Early Bird – “Diane Charlemagne” ft. Iman Houssein (bc) [buy on bandcamp]
Lyra Valenza – “Joy Divided” (mp3)
KETTAMA – “Fly Away XTC” (sc)
Goitia Deitz – “Romance” (Tom Furse House Remix) (bc)
Tyler, The Creator – “WHAT A DAY” (prod. Madlib) (sc)
Mattr – “Eno” (sc)
Shygirl & Cosha – “thicc” (sc)
Oneohtrix Point Never – “On an Axis” (sc)
Lord Spikeheart – “REM FODDER” ft. James Ginzburg & Koenraad Ecker (sc)
Kim Gordon – “BYE BYE” (bc)
Beth Gibbons – “Floating On A Moment” (sc)
YUVI – “Жидає” (bc)
Joshua Crumbly – “again, on the road” (bc)
Brian Wenner – “Age of Execution” (bc)
Paultra Violet – “I Will Find Your Heart” (bc)
Gacha Bakradze – “Bowl” (bc)
Solbore – “The Often” (bc)
Kelela – “Happy Ending” (A.G Remix) (bc)
DJ Arana e Triz – “Fuzil dos Drake” (sc)
pherris – “Sinta Isto” (sc) [buy on bandcamp]
Falcons & Richtanner – “Art of Baile” (mp3)
Hatis Noit – “Jomon” (bc)
Rubio – “Llorar” (sc)
Max Cooper – “In Threes” (bc)
Daphni – “Cloudy” (Kelbin Remix) (sc)
Don Gog – “Q” (sc)
Parable – “Pin Drops” (bc)
A.dixen – In Safety (sc)
Evening Ocean – Believe In Good Things (sc)
Eluard – “Funny Jasmine” (bc)
ECHT! – “Cheesecake” (bc)
RiDylan – “Exit This” (bc)
Six Missing – “Cleanse” (bc)
Inwards – “Leavin’” (bc)
Max Cooper – “Forgotten Places” ft. Kathrin deBoer (bc)
Pari Eskandari – “Chador” (bc)
Benson Taylor & James Adrian Brown – “Church Of First” (bc)
Tectonic plates move because they’re dragged along as the molten mantle flows beneath them. The mantle flows because of convection currents created by the heat of the Earth’s core. The earth’s core is hot because it’s full of radioactive elements in a state of perpetual decay.
If the first half of this song sounds like anything identifiable, it’s probably some part of that process. Maybe the crush of the plates colliding; or the drag as they slip off the mantle; or the hyper-rapid boil of the heavy metals in the core; or maybe the embodiment of decay itself. After three minutes of all that heat, the song gives way to a kobyz solo that feels like water pouring into the tectonic gash, eventually petering off like steam disappearing into the atmosphere.
From Brighton-based Czech/Argentinian producer Solbore, from his yet-released album, Never Alone, Often Lonely (out in Febrary). I’ve also selected another prerelease piece that features one of my favorite artists of the past few years, Varsity Star (I wrote about him last year)–a much sweeter affair, but no less compelling.
Preorder Never Alone, Often Lonely on bandcamp, or stream the singles all over.
Solbore – “Seemingly Magic Things” ft. Inwards, Neil Cosgrove, Lachlan R. Dale, Nurbolat Kadyrbayev (bc)
Solbore – “Back in Time” ft. Varsity Star (bc)
Ainonow, real name Kyle Kroeck, is a Boston-based artist seeking to provide catharsis to his listeners. He aims to do this through razor-precise sound design at high tempos. He says he wants his music to allow listeners to embrace their dark sides–recognizing that darkness is part of being human–meanwhile providing a healthy and comforting space to channel those feelings. It’s not so often you hear this kind of emotional ambition from an artist working at the harder fringes of stateside Drum & Bass. And I’ll admit, I’m overall pretty cautious about dipping my toes into the vat of US bass music that includes Neuro, Mainline, and US-breaks. That stuff has just never been my bag. Above 160bpm, I’m just usually far more partial to the UK stuff: the grit and tangle of Jungle, the silkiness of old school Liquid.
But credit where credit is due, Ainonow is using some of the conventions of those US sub-genres to make something truly refined. This is incredibly intricately programmed music, with an impressive amount of patience and a refreshing lack of reliance on the standard build up+drop+breakdown/repeat structure. This is without doubt music for the dancefloor, but for all that the basslines may growl, they never stay in one place for long or quite repeat themselves. And those drums sound less like the lonely loopy staccato of typical D&B drum programming, and more as if someone spiked a marching band’s gatorade with adderall and convinced them the floor was lava. It’s refreshing to hear this level of thoughtful experimentation in this kind of packaging, especially from a producer so clearly concerned about how his music affects people emotionally. Big pad breakdowns, 90s nostalgia, ePiC dRoPs, and massive over-compression aren’t the only ways for an American bass music producer to coax strong feelings from people, and Ainonow is evidence of that.
Ainonow is current with two-tracker Exile. Grab it on bandcamp for free, or steam it on your outlet of choice.
Ainonow – “Exile” (sc)
(Expand)
This review was written in support of the artist’s promotional campaign.
L E M F R E C K – “U Gd? (GOD/GOOD)”
El Búho – “Cenizas de Agua” ft. Nita
Ike – “Fight Day” (sc)
Oroboro – “SPIKYMEMORY” (sc)
Clouds in a Headlock – “Phantasia” (sc)
Maraschino – “Smoke & Mirrors” (bc)
ASA 808 – “Love No Matter What” ft. DAEDE (bc)
Graffiti Welfare – “Volume” (sc)
Previous-era Palms Out stalwarts Big Dope P and Feadz from Paris team up to remix this classic NYC house track by Uncanny Alliance, the duo composed of Brinsley Evans and E.V. Mystique. The original was a hit in the clubs of early-90s New York, but probably is better remembered for its bootleg by Louie Vega and Kenny Dope. This new 2022 version strays pretty far from the original and the early boots, with a shimmery touch of the French and a bunch of jukey fake-outs, but it definitely maintains some of that OG sass.
It’s out now as part of Moveltraxx’s excellent comp Street Bangers Factory 20. Grab it on bandcamp, or stream it wherever.
Uncanny Alliance – “I Got My Education” (Big Dope P & Feadz Remix) (sc)
TIBASKO – “Traces” (sc)
Juno Francis – “Labyrinth” (sc)
The China Blue – “tonightfeelsdifferent” (sc)
Brent Faiyaz – “PRICE OF FAME”
Shygirl – “Firefly” (sc)
Sudan Archives – “Home Maker” (Edit) (bc)
Hector John Guerra – “Quantum Success Coaching Academy” (sc)
Free The Robots – “Kaduwa” ft. Teebs (sc)
Precursor – “Opulent” (sc)
Space Ghost & Teddy Bryant – “Heaven Sent” (sc)
Metavari – “Páirc Sequence” (sc)
Occult A/V – “Reaching Across the Void” ft. Gloria de Oliveira (sc)
Conflict at Serenity Pools – “faraway” (sc)
monski – “CODE 0002” (sc)
DVRST – “Close Eyes” (sc)
LDN Monos – “First Exit” (sc)
Ivohé – “Termínelo” (sc)
Otis Wongsam – “Genjutsu” (sc)
Metavari – “Kings Die Like Other Men (Rediscovery)” (sc)
Three years after her debut LP, a new single from Berlin-based Argentinian artist Catnapp ahead of her Trust album release, out on Monkeytown on May 20. The press release for this seems to acknowledge that connections will inevitably be drawn to artists like 100gecs, etc., but attempts to cut through that noise a bit:
Trust does border on overload, but again, that’s by design. The LP arrives at a time when attention spans are short, interruptions are constant, multi-tasking has become routine and practically the entire history of music is now accessible at the push of the button.[…] Call it hyperpop if you must, but pop concentrate might be a more accurate term.
I agree with the sentiment; it’s hard to keep a listener’s attention these days, and especially hard to draw them in to a new full length for long enough to appreciate a narrative. But Trust makes a valiant attempt to achieve this kind of focus. Anchored by the pleasant contrasts inherent in Catnapp’s delicate voice and energetic delivery, the album strikes a balance between the sound of the new guard of hyphenate hyperpop-gabber-trance producers like Aamourocean and established progenitors of what might now fairly (though reductively) be called proto-hyperpop, Modeselektor (who feature on two songs on the album).
In a vacuum, I’d call this album (and its lead single) a great addition to the never-named Berlin electro-hop genre for which Modeselektor have been such emphatic and sincere torchbearers. But outside that vacuum, it’s certainly also fair to say this will appeal to a new generation of listeners who, perhaps without knowing the context, would lump this in with hyperpop, a genre that itself lacks any truly defined borders (and really that’s not a bad thing). Ultimately, what counts is not how distorted the 909 is, whether there are enough supersaws, or if a head is adorned with blue dyes versus fitted caps–rather it’s whether the music gets its listeners to respond. I’d say this definitely ought to.
Trust is available for preorder directly from Monkeytown. The lead single is streaming now, and is downloadable with preorders via bandcamp.
Catnapp – “time on me” (bc)