I revived an old music blog from the early 2000s?

Maybe it’s been a foolish endeavor, and maybe I’m the only one who misses the blog ol’ days, but I’ve been giving it a shot. I’ve been working on restoring some of the old content, though much of it was lost. I’ve slowly been rebuilding the old remix sunday archives, and even posting the occasional new edition. And I’ve been writing again.

You can find all the label’s releases here, on bandcamp, or most anywhere you listen to music these days. I’ve still got copies of some of the old vinyl releases, and I recently 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 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 you want to get in touch, just give me a holler.

– Haldan/Boody

  • Carl Chaste – Troubles

    This is the world you made yourself, and now you have to live in it

    Last week, I promised you more four-to-the-floor. Carl Chaste is French; fittingly, the vocals on this song evoke for me the kind of thing you used to hear in early 2000s French Touch. Spoken in English, but with a pleasantly slurred French accent, they’re the familiar kind that direct the listener to stop worrying and just head to the dance floor. While there are these strong references to classic French house, the production is more referential of UKG of the era, with shuffling rimshots and blaring chopped up chords. Chaste tell us, “don’t compromise yourself, you’re all you’ve got” — a valid sentiment. Dancing more is almost always a good way to reconnect to oneself.

    “Troubles” is out now on Belgian label Potion Records, and is available for streaming wherever you do that. No bandcamp though, so if you want to play this out, you’ll have to suffice with beatport.

    Carl Chaste – “Troubles” (sc)

  • Nüll – Good

    Right now is just as good as then.

    Two forward-thinking cuts of housey electronica for you this morning. Nüll, real name Noel Lyons, is an artist based in the UK. Under various aliases, he makes music that spans across a number of genres, from this kind of quasi-house to ambient and lofi as Aatom and Yukyuk, to “incredibly unpopular doom/sludge-metal” as Gjør Styggedom.

    “Good” is part of a trio of songs (complemented by “Bad” and “Indifferent”) that reference classic house tropes like while remaining firmly in the now. “Humata”, Nüll’s latest, is more melancholy and leans further into the realm of organic electronica and ambient — delicate bells and water flow over stuttering ratcheted stabs. Both are excellent exercises in genre melding–neither easy to categorize, and that’s all good.

    These are both available for streaming all over, but I couldn’t find a bandcamp.

    Nüll – “Good” (sc)

    Nüll – “Humata” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Dull Reality – Fragment

    Sweet piece of emotive electro from Australian newcomer Dull Reality, real name Ben Shields. True to its title, the song is layered with cut up fragments of Shields’ soprano. The song explores the sense of anxiety Shields felt in the early stages of his partner’s pregnancy with their first child.

    I can relate–I was a puddle during that stage of my wife’s pregnancy last year–thankfully though, it proved for me to be the best kind of anxiety because it culminated in miracle. But at a time in the United States when the rights of child-bearing people are being trampled, we should be reminded that the right to the most consequential human choice, and all the anxiety and terror that can accompany it, is hanging by a thread.

    Out now for streaming all over, but no bandcamp yet.

    Dull Reality – “Fragment” (sc)

  • Mailbox: grey prince – Charity

    Blessing the world with the new vision like it was charity

    Very-hard-to-categorize hiphop from San Francisco-based Iranian-American artist grey prince, real name Jubin Pakdel. I’ll admit I can’t subscribe to all of the lyrics in this, but it’s undeniably fascinating stuff. Equally referencing Memphis phonk and experimental club à la HVAD (those incessant rolling kicks!), all within the context of… something else. I’m at a bit of a loss with this one, but I can’t quite stop listening. There’s a lot to unpack here; it sort of feels like it must have been made in one fit of flow state inspiration.

    Out now for streaming, no bandcamp.

    grey prince – “Charity” (sc)

  • Remix Sunday 159

    Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.
    – Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)

    Remix Sunday 159 Zipped Up. (138mb zip)

    Lisi – “Fists Up” (SAV//BLANK Dirt Cheap Bootleg)

    Tyler The Creator ft. Kali Uchis – “See You Again” (Kaala Jungle Edit)

    Ariana Grande – “Positions” (Davis Galvin Emo Steppaz Version)

    Yaeji – “Raingurl” (Aquarian Umami Warehouse Mix)

    Ricky Tinez – “Tokyo” (Black Tea Mix)

    Eazy-E & MC Ren – “Tha Muthaphukkin Real” (Meru’s 9 to 5 Remix)

    Bad Bunny ft. Jory Boy – “No Te Hagas” (Uproot Andy Remix)

    Tinashe – “2 On” (Skylaurr Rauthkeaux Respray)

    Ojerime – “Give It Up To Me” (Rushmore Mix)

    Oklou – “Fall” (BLCKEBY Kinshasa Nights Remix)

    Xzavier Stone x Soulja Boy – “Steamy Boy Swag” (M. Bootyspoon Edit)

    Teengirl Fantasy – “Where I Went” (Phrixus Bootleg)

    Caroline Polachek – “The Gate” (Nthng’s Safe Haven)

    4T Thieves – “The Hole in the Ground” (Ambient mix)

    image/ Kilian Eng

  • Visual Velcro 10

    Conflict at Serenity Pools – “faraway” (sc)

    monski – “CODE 0002” (sc)

    Jaz Valentino – “Life Waters”

  • Mailbox: es.cher – run!

    I long to feel the concrete on my skin

    London-based producer es.cher recently sent over this lovely song featuring vocalist Choruses from the Rock (a nice T.S. Eliot reference). Gentle rolling 2-step underpins a vocal collage focused on moving around the city wondering if that person feels the same way about you as you feel about them. A youthful concept that’s easy to associate with, the song makes pleasant a concept that characteristically is not. Pretty stuff for lovers (and the unloved).

    The song is out now for streaming, and you can grab it for whatever you wish to pay on bandcamp.

    es.cher – “run!” (ft. Choruses from the Rock)

  • Boys Noize & Abra – Affection (Solomun Remix)

    The first post I wrote last year after the site’s near-decade hiatus featured old favorite Boys Noize. It was a fitting return for us, as I wrote then, but I imagine some old readers here are wondering where the rave is? where the bass went? what about the 4×4? Well I still dig that stuff (particularly the rave, come on now), but as you’ve probably recognized by now, dear reader, I’ve largely turned my attention towards more contemplative club music (dumb term, but about sums it up). Funny enough though, that’s actually kind of where we started. If you’ve been with us since the beginning, you might remember that early posts on this site were actually often about trip hop, depressed underground hiphop, and even–gasp–indie rock. We changed over time, as we will continue to do.

    All of this to say though, there’s always still room for more 4×4 rave. In honor of this sentiment, and ~6 months back in action, here’s a dope new remix of that same Boys Noize & ABRA song, by Solomun. Thanks for sticking with me.

    Boys Noize & ABRA – “Affection” (Solomun Remix) (bc)

  • Mailbox: V/A – Swarm Intel Vol. 1

    Swarm Intel Vol. 1 is an ace electro compilation out of Goa from the folks at Orbs Cure Labs, and their new label OCL Records. Really nice to see this kind of stuff coming out of India, which has among the richest of musical histories, but is wildly underrepresented in electronic music (but not for lack of quality material!). The first of the selected songs comes from Sri Lankan Nigel Perera, the second from co-label-boss Pulpy Shilpy, both of whom deliver excellent tunes that live in the realm between dub-electro and glitch.

    The record is only available on bandcamp, so head over there and support the project.

    Worth noting also that Pulpy Shilpy was recently kicked off instagram for posting news related to lynchings in India directed at the country’s muslim minority population, a practice which, in certain ways, has been systemically condoned by the government (e.g., following riots in protest of anti-muslim hate crimes, a local government razed the homes of dozens of suspected protestors). Instagram has obviously pretended its actions are in the name of protecting users against sexual content. Rich.

    On yet another note, the name of the compilation–a reference to the collective behavior of systems (incl. AI)–reminded me of the behavior of Jellyfish and Squid. The proliferation of swarms of these creatures due to the effects of climate change and overfishing is wreaking havoc on coastlines across the world, including in Goa. In Japan, for instance, infestations of Nomura’s Jellyfish (those fucking giant ones) have been so intense that they’ve even clogged thermal cooling lines used to keep Nuclear reactors at temperature. The image above is an example of a swarm of jellyfish off the Devon coast (image by Tommy May).

    Nigel Perera – “JFRYSHD” (sc)

    Pulpy Shilpy – “Rigor Tortoise” (sc)

    If you’re into electro and brain dance, we’ve got a big playlist for that.

  • Mailbox: Qrauer – Lustend

    Qrauer is a duo from Germany composed of a percussionist Christian Grochau and pianist Ludwig Bauer. “Lustend”, taken from their latest EP, Heeded is an optimistic piece of electronica. It’s deceivingly simple at first blush, but culminates in a cut-and-paste flurry of synthetic organized cacophony. “Stardoll”, also from their newest record, is essentially an interlude–sweet and shy, and perfectly titled. The EP is really worth a listen.

    Heeded is out now for streaming, or on bandcamp.

    Qrauer – “Lustend” (sc)

    Qrauer – “Stardoll” (sc)

  • Mailbox: An-Ten-Nae – Raindrops On Roses (The Biggie Edition)

    West Coast wonky featuring an AI-generated version of the late East Coast king. Don’t know what to make of this exactly, but hearing Big say words he never said is a trip, especially in unison with a powerpuff girl. An-Ten-Nae has been hustling for a decade and has crossed my radar several times; this one tickled me though. Only on the artist’s soundcloud, I guess for obvious reasons?

    An-Ten-Nae – “Raindrops On Roses” (The Biggie Edition) (sc)

  • Mailbox: bezdarnosti – Rooftop

    Here I go again posting more melancholy breakcore. Who knew this vibe would recapture my attention after all these years?

    This one is from Russian producer bezdarnosti, who sent me this track a few weeks ago. A simple but effective two and a half minute breakbeat workout at 165bpm with some chopped lofi chords and an indecipherable vocal sample low in the mix for good measure. No bass to speak of, but it doesn’t need it, it just works.

    Out now for streaming, or pay-what-you-wish on bezdarnosti’s bandcamp.

    bezdarnosti – “Rooftop” (bc)

    Like sad jungle? we’ve got a playlist for that.

  • Elliott – Tender

    British label Ritual Poison has been slow and deliberate, releasing one or two records a year since 2017, including a couple of recent favorites of mine from MOY, who I’ve covered previously. But that restraint has been worth it (and perhaps also just a product of necessity, given what the past years have held for most labels)–the label’s output has been faultless.

    Their first release of this year came out in January, and it’s probably my favorite so far. It comes from Elliott, one of the DJs behind South London’s Big Dyke Energy, and one half of duo Faff. The other three songs on Transcendence are ravier cuts of ultraviolet electro, all excellent in their own right; but the winner for me is the A1, a track bursting with psychotropic breakbeat NRG and emotive paradisiacal acid.

    Elliott – “Tender” (bc)

  • KEEFE – 808 Melody in C

    Another set of killers from KEEFE, I’m starting to think I’ve blogged half his catalog at this point. But KEEFE’s style is just dope, and these tracks serve as a warm reminder of a time on Palms Out when we used to live for this kind of thing.

    The featured track on this maxi-single is a punishing bit of electro, probably best suited for 4am warehouse sets. (They still have those right?, somewhere they must; I’m old now.) The A-side is more straight up dark techno than I’d usually post, but no less strong, and with a breakdown that would definitely be at home in a reboot of Blade.

    Both out now for streaming, or grab ’em on bandcamp.

    KEEFE – “808 Melody in C” (sc)

    KEEFE – “Been Waiting” (sc)

  • Varsity Star – Mixtape

    Misleading title for this, so don’t be fooled. I’ll admit, I’m not usually one to spend a lot of time listening to mixtapes, so rest assured this is not, in fact, a mixtape, but rather a really lovely song simply titled “Mixtape”.

    I’ve been paying attention to Brooklyn-based Varsity Star for a while now, a couple of years after he emerged in 2017. A real manifestation of the heights in quality a “bedroom” producer can ascend to, Varsity Star’s productions are intimate and personal, while still achieving a satisfyingly high-res sheen (i.e., decidedly not lofi). He may do his fair share of genre-melding, but ultimately Varsity Star has a truly realized voice as a composer and producer.

    This song is from his latest full length, More Than Anything, released this past November. I’ve also included the closing song from his previous LP, 2020’s That’s Something. As the titles of the selected songs may imply, both albums are really perfect music for headphones. Don’t skip these.

    Varsity Star – “Mixtape” (sc)

    Varsity Star – “Headphones Kid” (sc)

  • Mailbox: K-ORA – Do You Remember

    Chicago-based artist K-ORA sent this over a few weeks ago — brooding melancholy ambient for rainy days like the one I’m experiencing right now. Brief enough to be to-the-point, a quality I generally find positive for ambient and drone — “Do You Remember” has plenty of textural detail to grip hold of, making it more than background listening. Not overly concerned with pleasance, but also without any painful dissonance, the song strikes a balance between mood-setting and active listening.

    “Do You Remember” is out now as part of K-ORA’s Sphere 2020, a five-song EP that goes beyond the ambience of this song. Only on bandcamp. Definitely worth checking out the whole release if you like this one.

    K-ORA – “Do You Remember” (bc)

    PS. while this isn’t on Spotify, if you’re looking for a couple of good ambient playlists, check out our Ocean of Ambience and Drumless Rave Explorations lists.

    image/ Alessio Trerotoli

  • Fthmlss – Heart Attack

    Released as part of the six-song Anxious, a record primarily focused on lofi hiphop sounds, “Heart Attack” is a mesmerizing piece of delicate vapor-juke from Manchester-based Fthlmlss, featuring vocals from folk singer Christie. The subject matter of the song may be intended to reflect the high stress of a cardiac event, but I find it totally soothing. Really lovely stuff here.

    Out now for streaming, or available for purchase as part of Anxious on bandcamp.

    Fthmlss – Heart Attack (ft. Christie) (sc)

  • Mailbox: PAPA Sound & Jamkid – Mannan (Skull Edit)

    Another one from PAPA Sound, the Swedish duo composed of Teddybears’ Patrik Arve and songwriter Paulo Albo, who I wrote about last month. This edit is some nice minimalist dancehall-tech featuring vocalist-turned-chef Jamkid.

    The original cut of “Mannen” and the edit featured here are both available for streaming, and should hopefully be available for purchase on the duo’s bandcamp soon.

    PAPA Sound & Jamkid – “Mannan” (Skull Edit) (sc)

    image/ Månen (the moon) as seen in Stockholm in 1900.

  • Mailbox: Human Centerpiece – My Sacrifice

    Dreamy breakbeats at jungle speeds from Dallas-based Human Centerpiece. Float away on those pads until you get to site of an Eyes Wide Shut-style ritual sacrifice. Then just go with it.

    The song is available for streaming all over, and also on bandcamp as part of Human Centerpiece’s upcoming full length, Surreal Estate.

    Human Centerpiece – “My Sacrifice” (sc)

    And if you enjoy emotive breakbeats, check out our Xtasy Breakbeats playlist — or if you really like new jungle sounds, check out our jungle playlist.

  • Visual Velcro 9

    DVRST – “Close Eyes” (sc)

    LDN Monos – “First Exit” (sc)

    ALL HARD FEELINGS – “Skibidi”

  • Mailbox: Milk & Jimmy Edgar – What Are We

    Milk, a Toronto-based newcomer, recently sent over this song she did with the ever-engaging Jimmy Edgar. Admittedly melodramatic, Milk croons sweetly over this Edgar beat in fabulous fashion. Apparently written to memorialize “a budding relationship, commitment issues, and a lil dash of mental illness”, Milk asks repeatedly on the hook: “Is this my demise? Is this how I die?” — if this is how death sounds, then I’m kinda comforted.

    The song is out now for streaming on Spotify, and everywhere else, and is available for pay-what-you-wish purchase on Milk’s bandcamp.

    Milk & Jimmy Edgar – “What We Are” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Robot:86 – Hyper Rewind

    Robot:86 describes himself as “an inhabitant of a desolate planet where war has been raging since the beginning of time.” London isn’t exactly totally desolate, but there’s no doubt that Albion certainly was the site of near-constant war until the end of the second World War, so allegorically Robot:86 isn’t far off.

    Hyper Rewind is Robot:86’s latest maxi-single — and spans from the excellent blown-out filter jungle of “Battle With Hypermind” to the icy minimalist electro of “Rewind the DJ”. Quite deft textural genre exploration on these two, worthy of notice.

    Hyper Rewind is now streaming, and is available to purchase on bandcamp. There’s also a Diggers Factory campaign to press vinyl, so get in your pre-order now to make that a reality.

    Robot:86 – “Battle With Hypermind” (bc)

    Robot:86 – “Rewind the DJ” (bc)

    PS. if you’re looking for more modern jungle, we’ve got a playlist for that. And if you’re looking for more electro, we’ve got one for that too.

  • So Durand – Take Me Back There

    “Take Me Back There” is an energetic cut of rave meets jungle meets hyperactive jackin’ piano house from Ottawa’s So Durand. With all those references packed into one song, it’s hard to believe you won’t be taken back there somehow listening to this. The song appears on So Durand’s newest EP, This Unruly Kingdom, which is similarly varied, though generally rooted in an effective use of breakbeats at jungle tempos. It’s solidly forward-looking stuff, while still referencing of the past enough to feel nicely familiar.

    This Unruly Kingdom is out now on the excellent Dublin-based Choki Biki, and is available for streaming on bandcamp. I’ve also included my other favorite from the record for good measure, which is a little headier, and features the sound of children playing — which is like a button that, when pressed, makes any song feel instantly cozier (Boards of Canada knew this trick well).

    So Durand – “Take Me Back There” (sc)

    So Durand – “Disons Que” (sc)

    PS. if you’re looking for more pianos over breaks, we’ve got a playlist just for that.

  • Past Palms – Ambient Music for Watering Plants

    Past Palms is an artist from Richmond, VA. Each song from Ambient Music for Watering Plants focuses on one typical tropical houseplant, in hopes of capturing the simple serenity of watering that life “while living in a gray, nature-less city”, as the artist describes their project.

    An ode to Eno’s Music For Airports, the substitute subject matter here could perhaps not be more fitting for the typical modern millennial’s adjusted outlook. Where boomers had the optimism to look to the skies, and the naive privilege to imagine themselves as post-colonial explorers, we are a generation generally more resigned to preserving a sense of peace in our own spaces. Where boomers once imagined themselves as the realists, concerned by a belief their children lacked boundaries, it turned out we were the ones more aware of our own limits and willing to live without some of the global excess our parents took for granted.

    Of course there are countless exceptions to these rules, but I can’t help but think about the heaps of trending instagram images featuring cozy plant-filled and sun-drenched studio apartments–and the millions of millennials navelgazing into their phones instead of out the window of a plane. And while Eno was concerned that we should ensure airports were more pleasant places to be, we all accept most of modern life just isn’t, and instead hope for a little slice of that pleasance at home.

    The whole record is beautiful, and is available today–on Earth day–to stream, or on bandcamp. I’m probably partial to “Philodendron” — but then again, I love the sweetheart plant that hangs from my bathroom ceiling.

  • Mailbox: BLCKEBY – Columbo

    I got this in the mail recently from BLCKEBY (real name Marco Diamubeni), a producer hailing from Italy by way of RDC. “Columbo” relies heavily on a line sampled from “Hold Up” by famed French rap group 113, who you might remember from their pioneering track “Tonton Du Bled”. BLCKEBY takes a healthy slice of the acapella from “Hold Up” and flips it nice and dark, with some skittering percussion and what sounds like the occasional sneaker screech. Nice and simple take, but very effective.

    “Columbo” is available for streaming on Spotify and the like, but hasn’t made it to bandcamp quite yet.

    BLKEBY – “Columbo” (sc)

  • Visual Velcro 8

    Ivohé – “Termínelo” (sc)

    Otis Wongsam – “Genjutsu” (sc)

    Metavari – “Kings Die Like Other Men (Rediscovery)” (sc)

  • Nancy Mounir – Khalif Khalif

    Softly softly
    An arrogant man
    Has made my nights darker than carob

    Nancy Mounir is an Egyptian composer, part of Cairo’s new wave. This is from her debut album Nozhet El Nofous (translated to “Promenade of the Souls”), out June 3rd on Simsara Records. Using archival recordings of once-famed singers from Egypt at the turn of the 20th century, and seamlessly adding her own ambient arrangements, the album explores the tension between modernity and the warmth of familiarity. To hear a culturally sincere exploration of harmony against the backdrop of these traditionally monophonic styles is deeply refreshing, especially when it’s done without the slightest hint of novelty.

    This song uses as its foundation a lost recording of late singer and kanun player Saleh Abdel Hay, and I suggest you fall down the rabbit hole and listen to more of his recordings after you preorder Mounir’s album. As lovely as Hay’s old recordings are, on “Khalif Khalif”, Mounir really succeeds in bringing out a rich sense of the harmonic current within the innate nostalgia of this old recording — and without overdoing it, or caricature of any kind. Really captivating stuff, this.

    Nancy Mounir – “Khalif Khalif” (with Saleh Abdel Hay) (bc)

  • Mailbox: KEEFE – Execution

    Two more absolute destroyers from Chicago-based KEEFE, who I covered a few weeks ago. While festival season begins untempered and the latest COVID upswing continues, I can’t help but feel like these two tracks still manage to give a new–and less hopeless–meaning to the notion of ‘plague rave’. I like to imagine myself dancing to stuff like this post-apocalypse, complete with new masking styles à la 18th century plague doctors. If that’s humanity’s inevitable future, at least we’ll have music like this to meet the mood.

    Both tracks out now for streaming, or as part of Execution Pt. 1 on bandcamp.

    KEEFE – “This Cross” (sc)

    KEEFE – “Execution” (sc)

    (And if you’re looking for more stuff like this, we’ve got another playlist for you.)

  • Willow – Strawberry Moon

    I managed to miss this incredible record last year, on the venerable Workshop imprint. Aaliyah must be somewhere in my subconscious; this is the second track I’ve posted this week that samples the angel. From Willow, who has yet to miss a beat.

    Miraculously, there are still a couple of copies of the 12″ left.

    Willow – “Strawberry Moon” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Slackin Beats – 24/7 Dread

    Another slice of shuffling club from Malmö’s Slackin Beats, hot on the heels of his stellar previous single, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. This one features Stockholm-based Klara Zangerl, whose voice adds enough glitter to make this shimmer in that way only perfect Swedish pop does. It’s called “24/7 Dread”, but it’s leaving me far more elated than glum.

    You can stream the track now everywhere, or grab it on bandcamp.

    Slackin Beats – “24/7 Dread” ft. Klara Zangerl (sc)

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