video: Blondes - "Pleasure"

Pleasure from Blondes on Vimeo.

Blondes get a little crazier, funkier, more tribal and weirder than ever as heard in this Farley Gwazda-directed video for "Pleasure."  Their Business / Pleasure 12" is available for pre-order from RVNG Intl. with a release date of June 14, 2011.

(via Pitchfork)

more new old Four Tet - "Glasshead"

Four Tet's Kieran Hebden is either cleaning out his hard drive or feeling extremely generous (or both).  Yesterday, he shared "Thirtysixtwentyfive" via SoundCloud; today, it's "Glasshead," the A-side to a 1999 single released by Output Records.  "Glasshead" starts by sampling what sounds like a science documentary but then lets loose into a funk-jazz fusion with plenty of groove.

Glasshead (Output, 1999) by Four Tet

new Nathan Fake - "Clifford 2"

Speaking of Four Tet (see below), I had the pleasure of seeing one Nathan Fake open for Four Tet last year at Chicago's Empty Bottle.  Lacking any prior knowledge of Nathan or his music, Mr. Fake proceeded to melt my face with his electrified, energetic blend of distorted whateverstep.  I left the show that night blown away by both artists, but perhaps just a bit more by Nathan, since, for me, it was a complete surprise.  Well, we have a new song from Nathan Fake, in the form of a 14+ minute slow-burner that's part of a mega-compilation benefiting Japan.  Listen to the blips, tweaks and swells of "Clifford 2" below; support the 100+ song JAPANEASE Music Project for Japan here.

Clifford 2 by nathan fake •official•

Follow Nathan Fake on SoundCloud and at his Web site.

new Forest Spirits - EP

Behold, Forest Spirits' debut EP is upon us. Available for free download at bandcamp, the EP consists of seven songs, five of which are brand new and two that you may have heard if you follow Forest Spirits closely.  All are brilliant.  I described Forest Spirits' Summer Sleep/Storm Clouds single as "dreamstep": that applies to the EP as well, though the songs are a bit livelier.  I like the fact that artist Liam Richardson has the EP tagged as "ambient" and "electronica" as two separate entries, because while this is electronically generated music that has ambient elements, it is far too engaged, even jittery, to be "ambient electronica."  A subtle but important difference.  Stream the swirling, Soca-synth jam "A Diet Of Seeds" and the 2-step, 8-bit bouncer "All You Could Do" below; grab the rest of the excellent EP here.

MP3: Forest Spirits - A Diet Of Seeds
MP3: Forest Spirits - All You Could Do  

Gel Set - "Don't Need Money Cuz I Got A Gun"

I first heard Gel Set's "U-Lock In My Hand" on 20jazzfunkgreats and that shit has grown on me like wildfire ever since.  The song's chilly ambiance directly contradicted the outwardly aggressive attitude expressed by its lyrics.  Now it's pretty much impossible to listen to the song without envisioning a hooded figure hiding in the shadows, thwarting off threats with a bloody, battle-ravaged bike lock.  I got in touch with the Chicago-based act though MySpace (!), and solo member "Lulu" was kind enough to send over some of the songs that stream on Gel Set's page.  I've chosen to highlight "Don't Need Money Cuz I Got A Gun" because it exists on the same dystopian plane as "U-Lock In My Hand."  This time around, the hooded figure will just straight up shoot you, so don't play around.  Musically, the song's spirited synthesizers would sound right at home on the Italians Do It Better label, while the more foreboding, spaced-out sonics recall output from Disaro or Tri Angle.  Grab "Don't Need Money Cuz I Got A Gun" and "U-Lock In My Hand" below; hear more Gel Set here.

MP3: Gel Set - Don't Need Money Cuz I Got A Gun

MP3: Gel Set - U-Lock In My Hand

Two Inch Punch - InspHERation MiXXX

London lovestepper Two Inch Punch curated a mini-mix for BBC Radio 1 and it's currently available to stream (and download!) at his SoundCloud.  Clocking in at just over 20 minutes, producer Ben Ash breezes through more than 30 songs, seamlessly blending electronica, classic R&B and old-school hip-hop into one solid, sexy whole.  The short mix goes a long way in illuminating the inspiration for Ash's own blush-pop glitch-hop.  

+++ InspHERation MiXXX --- by T.I.P

new Forest Spirits - "Soda Spooks"

Brand new track from Auckland's Forest Spirits, the first we've heard since last year's excellent Summer Sleep/Storm Clouds release.  Taut with a giddy, fidgety beat, a constantly repeating female vocal sample and melodic synth tones and tweaks, "Soda Spooks" is a freshly-oiled robot fumbling about, or The Postal Service on Prozac.  Follow Forest Spirits on bandcamp. 

Forest Spirits - Soda Spooks

Beaú - "Glitter" & "Venice"

Glitter by Beaú

Venice by Beaú

Follow Beaú on SoundCloud.

D/R/U/G/S - Love/Lust 12"

Been waiting on D/R/U/G/S' debut release ever since I heard "Love/Lust" way back when ALTERED ZONES was born.  Well, the moment has finally arrived.  D/R/U/G/S' Love/Lust 12" is out May 9 on Moshi Moshi / Tender Age.  It features a crisper, cleaner rework of "Love/Lust" as well as new tracks "Velodrome I" and "Velodrome II."  The latter two tracks are suprisingly sci-fi-inspired and spaced-out compared to D/R/U/G/S darker output.  Incredibly fresh-sounding and tightly-stitched electronica of the highest quality.  Stream the whole thing below; pre-order it here. 

D/R/U/G/S Love / Lust by wearemachinemusic

Sun Glitters - "Grow Up Like A Beautiful Flower"

Sun Glitters' music has been popping up in all the right places as a result of his excellent Everything Could Be Fine EP.  Luxembourg artist Victor Ferreira has also been uploading new Sun Glitters songs to his SoundCloud at a pretty decent clip.  "Grow Up Like A Beautiful Flower" is set to be included on a benefit compilation for Japan.  Its contemplative key tones, smooth guitar textures and crackling, fuzzy background noises recall Will Wiesenfeld's work as both Baths and Geotic.  Great stuff.  For more new songs, follow Sun Glitters on SoundCloud; buy the Everything Could Be Fine EP at bandcamp.

grow up like a beautiful flower by Sun Glitters

Daggereyess - Daggereyess EP

You've already heard Daggereyess' crystalline cut "Hooked."  Now you can hear the rest of his self-titled debut EP, streaming below and at his SoundCloud.  Looks like it's set for digital release on May 9.  "So Hyped" is a shimmering, throbbing banger; "Terrorrr" is an atmospheric adventure in dubstep. 

Daggereyess - Daggereyess EP by Daggereyess

Follow Daggereyess on SoundCloud / Twitter / YouTube

worriedaboutsatan - "Heart Monitor" (ANTWERP Remix)

ANTWERP's remix of worriedaboutsatan landed in my inbox early yesterday morning, and it's been on steady repeat ever since.  The Hackney-based electronic artist shortened the original version even as he made it all the more sonically saturated.  What was once a skittering skeleton of a song is now a syrupy slow-burner with one hell of a plodding bass line.  Seems like this qualifies as dreamstep, given the atmospherics and the jumbled vocals.  Hear ANTWERP originals as well as remixes for Cymbals and D/R/U/G/S at his bandcamp.

 worriedaboutsatan - Heart Monitor (ANTWERP Remix)

Follow ANTWERP on bandcamp / Facebook / SoundCloud / Tumblr

New Four Tet - "Pinnacles" / New Daphni - "Ye Ye"

Brand new song from Four Tet, whose album There Is Love In You made my list of favorites of 2010 and whose two live performances in Chicago last year were some of the best I've ever seen.  "Pinnacles" is classic Four Tet - radically simple bits of melodic sound repeating to meditative effect.  In this case, it's a chugging bass line, Asian-sounding string plucks, cascades of house piano and staccato synth washes.  From an upcoming split on Four Tet's own TEXT Records; the other side features Daphni's "Ye Ye."

Pinnacles by Four Tet

EDIT: Thanks to Solar Bears on Twitter, who pointed me to Self-Titled, who provide more information on this Four Tet/Daphni split.  Daphni, it turns out, is a new moniker for Caribou's Dan Snaith.  Caribou also made my list of albums of 2010, and his performance at Millennium Park last year was simply spectacular.  Daphni's contribution to the split, "Ye Ye," is a banger that shuffles and throbs along, making this one of the hottest splits to drop this year.  TEXT Records' web presence is non-existent, but the release should be out soon - I'd recommend checking Boomkat, Juno.co.uk and Rough Trade on a regular basis, as this will likely sell out quick.

Daphni - Ye Ye by Caribouband

(photo)

RxRy - Alpha + guest mixtape

Over the weekend, Casket Crash Vigil favorite RxRy made his Alpha "microLP/megaEP" available for download at his blog.  (UPDATE: On Monday afternoon, the download was taken down, as Alpha is now due for release on vinyl this May!)  As the artist described in an interview with GIMME TINNITUS, Alpha is "comprised of samples taken from an AM radio and manipulated via midi sequencing."  Having had the chance to hear Alpha, I can say that the resulting sounds are the most sonically saturated we've heard from RxRy.  They are also quite possibly his best work to date.  If the sound-canceling properties of outer space somehow enabled the transmission of noise from producer to consumer, this is doubtless what we'd hear as spaceships stretched into star-bending warp speed. I have a feeling, though, that the artist himself hears these sounds as more earthly than extraterrestrial.  In keeping with Mother Earth, then, these are the sounds of a future in which the biological and technological have become one and the same.  Witness the cybernetic crickets on "L.2_Evaporated" for an example.  Stream that and "A2.2_Phase" below; stay tuned for news on Alpha's vinyl release.

RxRy - L.2_Evaporated
RxRy - A2.2_Phase

---

In the meantime, RxRy was kind enough to make a guest mix for me.  I asked him around 12:40 PM on Saturday; it was in my inbox before 10:00 PM that night.  Featuring Aphex Twin, Atlas Sound, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tim Hecker and others, it was inspired by "the subtle shift in light between 3:32pm and 5.58pm."  Listen/download below.

RxRy's The Subtle Shift In Light Between 3.32pm and 5.58pm Mixtape

Artwork/tracklist after the jump:

RxRy - Alpha (Coming May 2011)

Something's afoot from dream-state drown-step artist RxRy.  The artist's blog features five new teaser videos and a promise for something by the name of Alpha, to arrive this year.  A fourth full-length?  A new EP?  An audio-visual album a la Animal Collective's "Oddsac"?  Only time will tell.  The sounds showcased in the following teaser videos are the most sonically saturated we've heard from RxRy.  It's early, and the audio snippets are short, but they may also be the most promising yet. 

EDIT: Alpha is a "microLP/megaEP," originally released as a free download, now set for release on vinyl this May.  Read more here.


A | RxRy | 1 from Rx Ry on Vimeo.


L | RxRy | 2011 from Rx Ry on Vimeo.


P | RxRy | 2011 from Rx Ry on Vimeo.


H | RxRy | 2011 from Rx Ry on Vimeo.


A.2 | RxRy | 2011 from Rx Ry on Vimeo.
 
RxRy on Blogger / SoundCloud / Vimeo