Posts Tagged ‘ analog ’
From his Chicago roots spring ties to 5 Magazine (where he contributed to their DJ mix series) and his edits on Partehardy Records, and he shows off a full range of sound on this installment to the Phonocast series. Stretching from raw electroid and industrial sounds to lush r&b and gospel house, to beatdown and funkadelic styles, [ READ MORE ]
Emphasis proprietor and Obsolete Music Technology alter-ego Steven Tang has always taken a hardware-driven approach to dreamy techno, with melancholy chords and dry punchy drums that align him with the Model 500 and Rhythim Is Rhythim side of the Motor City’s lineage. Overall, this well-formed EP is no exception. That said, the incorporation of the [ READ MORE ]
While admittedly a pricey collection, this is a real gem of a package. It was originally put out as a free / donation-based digital only album, but happily (perhaps due to strong listener response) Legowelt has self-released the beautiful, rough, personal recordings in vinyl package. Danny Wolfers describes the original project thusly: “Ok people here [ READ MORE ]
The Analogue Cops tend to bang it out and get a bit rough around the edges, in an almost antique-sounding way. Blawan tends to give rough, floor-ready superficially rough-hewn beats as well. The intersection of the two acts is all in-your-face handclaps, dry snares, scuffed shoes, half-samples, and droning changeless chords. All about atmosphere and [ READ MORE ]
The dark horse series “Vanguard Sound” has been establishing an aesthetic of gritty, almost militant house music. The sound here straddles the range of haunted acid, industrial electro, jack, and techno. Amir Alexander‘s imprint continues the trend with its third 12″. As usual for the series, the tracks are varied and strong. DJ Spider’s Tribal [ READ MORE ]
Housefactors (aka Larry Heard, aka Mr Fingers, aka Fingers Inc) keeps it raw and uptempo on this full re-issue of his 1988 Blackmarket 12″. Originally titled “Play It Loud,” this EP has been repackaged with updated labeling but contains all of the original material from the seminal release. In the intervening years, house music has [ READ MORE ]
Beautiful, melancholy, raw drum machine sounds and wandering melodies envelope the tellingly-titled A-side track; while there’s not a lot of movement through the song, it does set the atmosphere quite well. On the flip a more upbeat jam, Place Is A Machine Pt.1, weaves squeaky interlaced synthesizer lines reminiscent of Rephlex records’ timelessness. Closing out the EP [ READ MORE ]
For a genre steeped in masks, aliases and anonymity from its onset, it’s impressive just how exceptionally enigmatic the duo behind Drexciya were among their Detroit techno contemporaries. Blending science fiction, mythology and, um, marine physics and biology, the pair crafted vivid portraits of a universe deep within the sea that came across like Bladerunner [ READ MORE ]
Prolific Chicago-based producer & multiple-label owner Hakim Murphy releases his latest full length on his own Machining Dreams imprint. “There is just yourself, thoughts, and phrases” he blurrily imparts in the album’s opening monologue, before launching into his characteristically stark yet warm dry beat craft. He has slowed things down for this collection, and tempo [ READ MORE ]
This Nangka 12″ marks the opening of Tony Ollivierra‘s new Northside District imprint (more info available on the label’s facebook page.) Not to be confused with his brother, Neil Ollivierra of The Detroit Escalator Co., Tony Ollivierra has recorded eponymously for the Dynamite Soul label and more extensively under the Ibex moniker for Planet E, Rush Hour, [ READ MORE ]
Opening with what sounds suspiciously like a daring re-cut of Bob James’ Nautilus, G Marcell contributes one of the standout tracks so far for Plan B’s rugged and raw Vanguard Sound series. This, the second installment, again features Chicago’s own Hakim Murphy along with label regulars DJ Spider and Dakini 9. G Marcell’s aforementioned Renegade [ READ MORE ]
Only the third artist to have an album released on Jamal Moss’ Mathematics imprint (not counting those under The Sun God‘s various aliases), John Heckle more than meets the high expectations involved. The album’s strength lies in its ability to jump from one style to another while remaining confident and commanding. On “The Charge,” “The [ READ MORE ]
Levon Vincent’s increasingly infamous Novel Sounds imprint, an outlet devoted to his solo releases since 2008, drops another likely limited, stamped whitelabel edition to close out 2011. If you’ve been following his progress, this release will come as no surprise, but rather as a welcome addition to his steadily building catalog. (Well, steady save for [ READ MORE ]
The strange acronym here stands for the collaboration between Manuel Gonzales and Wild Oats owner Kyle Hall. Of the tracks here, 3 of them sound to me like they could have been rough-sketch versions of Kyle Hall’s Must See EP for Third Ear. They’re handy with the rough-and-ready swung percussion, quick cut edits, and boomy [ READ MORE ]
Recently emergent Ukranian producer Vakula revisits his Yuri Shulgin collaboration “Saturday” on this crowded EP. Vakula closes out the EP with a revision of his own work, a blurry and moody blue joint that is too enchanting for its short running time. Sharing the B side with him are Fudge Fingas, who submit a melody-heavy downbeat house [ READ MORE ]
This album is a tour-de-force. It might take a moment to realize, though – given the style of music. This is deep house at its most essential and, more than anything, understated. The glacial melodic developments and acidic builds are punctuated by Gunnar Jonsson’s trademark analog keyboard flourishes, the beats a balance of Joel Alter’s [ READ MORE ]
Omar S‘ sophomore album continues the prolific and outspoken DJ & producer’s current reign of lo-fi supremacy for the Detroit region. Slowly tweaking the acid, the filter resonance, the levels throughout, these are tracks that slowly build and groove with just a handful of elements. Opening the release is a heavily filtered r&b loop with [ READ MORE ]
Another new find by Mathematics A&R Jamal Moss, and there doesn’t seem to be much information floating around about her, him, them yet. But while the artist(s) behind the music are mysterious here, the music has incontrovertible roots in Chicago house and early Detroit techno. The EP has a certain Mediterranean flair to its classicism, [ READ MORE ]
Urban Tribe is a collaboration between Anthony “Shake” Shakir, Carl “C2″ Craig, and Sherard “DJ Stingray” Ingram. For the uninitiated: this is an all-stars powerhouse team of Detroit heavyweights, with over 40 years of productions between them. Carl Craig runs Planet E. Sherard Ingram is connected with the various Drexciya projects. Shake runs Frictional. The [ READ MORE ]
First off, Further gets top marks for their typically dazzling presentation: hand-screened full-colour jackets and co-ordinated translucent vinyl; minimalist, distinctive, functional. After an eclectic EP for Uzuri, the Pittsburgh Track Authority trio is musically somewhat more restrained on this, their second outing. The tracks are keyboard-centric instrumental house, they’re floor-friendly, warm, groovy and alive. With [ READ MORE ]