Teleosteopathy

Marco Carola’s (see comments) Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva’s Plus 8 label has been pushing all the right buttons this year, from Paco Osuna’s “Crazy” to Marco Carola’s superlative “Apnea” release. From the latter, I love “Dancing Days” and “Pallegio” so much that I seem to want to mix them in and out of everything else I hear.

The same addiction threatens with this release from Skoozbot, which seems to be named after a type of grotesque toy. Thankfully the tracks are neither ugly nor tacky. Instead, the title cut is a hefty slab of jittery funk - it’s part of the same stable as what DJ Koze and Ambivalent have been up to, in that it’s off-kilter enough to be more than the sum of its standardly ‘minimal’ parts. The Adam Beyer remix is a lot deeper and more maximal and would kill in the right situation, but it’s Paco Osuna who comes in with the subtlest take, mixing the original’s drips and drops with effects cribbed from other great tracks of the moments - hisses from Faki’s “My Black Sheep” and whooping sirens that sound like they came straight from Matthew Dear’s burglar alarm.

The remaining three tracks are more tool-like, but still manage to demonstrate Skoozbot’s versatility. Thank you also to the man who turned me on to his remix of JPLS’ “Green 01″ on M_nus - another keeper.

Skoozbot - “Next To Monchhichi [Paco Osuna Remix]” [Plus 8]

Spectral’s second installment in the Death Is Nothing To Fear series contains four tracks of bubbling menace. Jonas Kopp’s remix of Plan Tec’s “Espias Psiquicos” has perhaps had the most attention (it’s definitely the scariest of the four), while Mikael Stavöstrand’s “Can You See Thru My Eyes” sounds like it’ll set any floor on fire if given enough space to breathe.

James T. Cotton goes almost disco with his effort, but “2 Keys” nearly drowns in its own layers. Conversely, Geoff White contributes a more restrained cut, which works off the same idea that made 2000 And One’s Eulberg remix so effective. A single treble note wavers and flutters for the duration, underpinned by a classic Spectral squelch. It’s not meant as an anthem, rather it excels as a subtle mood changer.

Geoff White - “Apartmental” [Spectral Sound]

An odd one, this one. It’s carnival disco spliced with traditional singing and tribal drumming - all marvellously clattery and wonky. I’d love to hear more from Oorutaichi, but their website is somewhat elliptical.

Oorutaichi - “Misen Gymnastics” [Bear Funk]

In which Rune & Sydenham combine the threads woven this year by Âme, Argy and Len Faki (all of whom I’ve talked about with varying degrees of cringe-inducing hyperbole) into a ridiculously powerful whole. “Elephant” is ruthless in its attack, transporting me from my room to a hands-aloft dancefloor and leaving me there for minutes after its end.

May I also recommend pieces by Philip Sherburne (on Ricardo Villalobos in The Wire) and Kiran Sande (on almost everything now, in Fact).

Rune & Sydenham - “Elephant” [Avocado]

Firstly, i’d be very grateful if someone could identify this mp3 for me. I got it on an unmarked mix cd and love it to bits, but have so far failed in working out what it is. Any help much appreciated!

For today’s album track, i’m putting up what is really a bonus track from Deadbeat’s new Journeyman’s Annual album on ~scape records. I only discovered him relatively recently, following the breadcrumb trail left by his ~scape fellows Pole and Jan Jelinek. As expected, Deadbeat’s album is tightly linked with the slinky, whirring cuts found on Pole’s fantastic Steingarten album from earlier this year, although it substitutes that CD’s icy perfection for more shambolic earthiness.

The whole album revolves around the reverb-laced ambience forged on his earlier full-lengths, but Deadbeat’s sound is now at once more accomplished and more laid-back. Liberal use of vocals only enhances the impact of the deepsea backing; these tracks lope rather than bounce. Listening to the remix of “Black Stacey” serves as an apt introduction to the rest of the album, so i’d best let you get on with it.

A final note about this release: it is as immaculately designed and packaged as the rest of ~scape’s output.

Saul Williams - “Black Stacey” [Deadbeat Remix] [~scape]

First up, definitely head over to RA to hear Ben Klock’s podcast. It’s brilliant.

Glade Festival 2007 was intense. Apparently, this last weekend saw the worst weather to hit England since the 1940s, and we were trapped in the middle of a huge field in a tiny tent. The mud was up over wellies, cars were being towed, portaloos were left unemptied and one stage didn’t open for half a day. Ouch.

Nevertheless, we managed to variously take in: Oood (odd-psy); Ceephax Acid Crew (bad sound); UNKLE (too busy falling around to hear); Magda (swooon); Richie Hawtin (played Samim’s “Heater” out of just the monitors after they had turned off the main Funktion One system, and I still danced my feet off); Digitalism (fun); Eat Static (substances make psytrance a lot easier to lose your mind to); Venetian Snares (shortlived but stunning); Derrick May (absolutely mindblowing); DJ Scotch Egg + Band (Gameboys!!); and Squarepusher (again, mindblowing).

I can’t remember many of the details, but what I do remember very well is that I had a really good time. To calm me (and maybe you) down, here’s the dub track from the new Echospace release. If you get the chance, listen to Rod Modell’s “Plays Michael Mantra” release too. Just the relaxing type of music I need after a weekend of such mayhem.

Model 500 - “Starlight [Echospace Dub]” [Echospace]

I am going to Glade from early tomorrow morning, so i’ll be back with news of the M_nus showcase, and others, early next week. Enjoy the weekend!

It’s album day again. Today it’s Argenis Brito’s silky smooth Micro Mundo on Luciano’s Cadenza label, which gets off to a flying start with the bouncy, string-inflected “Espeijismo”. It’s reminiscent of Wearemonster-era Isolée, although slightly lighter and sparser. It’s got the same building-block structure, as different elements (strings, bass vocals, synth highlights) come in and out in phase, bouncing off each other and vying for position. Just before 6 minutes, there’s an adorable moment where the track almost falls apart, before coming back full-swing for the final minute or so.

The rest of the album is similarly constructed, although always with different variations in texture and mood. “Disconet”, in particular, has something quite frantic about its clashing keys and high-frequency twitters. Overall I find the album a little more satisfying than the more hyped outing from Digitaline on the same label, although both are worth your time. Check out the incredibly beautiful artwork on the Brito album, too; Cadenza really do have style!

Argenis Brito - “Espeijismo” [Cadenza]

Out soon on Force Sense, Schatz & Wickinger come strong with a batch of visceral minimal tracks in the same vein as Wickinger’s “Blutrausch” on Traum last year. The B-side “Dschungel Rock” is a more off-kilter Gabriel Ananda, if that’s possible. “More Heroin” sounds, aptly, like the peak of a very intense trip. Wickinger also provided half of a recent Liebe Detail 12″, alongside Sebbo’s “Beirut Boogie”. A rising star, then.

Schatz & Wickinger - “More Heroin” [Force Sense]

This is from Shlomi Aber, who collaborated with Guy Gerber on last year’s lovely “Sea Of Sand” single. It’s a bit of a companion to the Eulberg/2000 And One remix I posted last week, in that it’s built around a trembling treble note that sounds like it’s falling over its own feet. This one’s a bit less tense than the Eulberg track, though, so maybe it’s more suited to mixing than it is full play. The B-side is a Gel Abril ‘Acid Rework’, which is all you need to know really. I’m not sure how well it works, but it’s still worth a listen.

Shlomi Aber - “Freakside” [Ovum]