Teleosteopathy

Ruede Hagelstein’s “Ghostdrive” was my introduction to the Upon.You record label, and now it’s responsible for a great three-track in from Marcus Meinhardt called the Paper Plane EP. The title track grounds itself on a seductive bass growl of the kind that makes you feel slightly dirty just listening to it. The percussion plays lackadaisically over the top, creating ever shifting patterns and tones. Towards the end of the track, a slight chromatic shift emerges from the mixture adding that extra bit of intrigue.

The other two tracks are different: “Final Impulse” rocks hard for 9 minutes, while “Sweet Line” is a lot more laid-back and funky. A good release.

Marcus Meinhardt - “Paper Plane” [Upon.You]

Thwip thwip thwip…Mikael Stavöstrand sure knows how to make weird noises. This collaboration with Luis Ortega is no exception: “O Amour” wobbles; “Mandrake” slides; and “Sparkling” just plain out slays. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster spliced from from “Bay Of Figs” and “Baby Kate” that turns out to be even more monstrous than that sounds.

What a year for Stavöstrand so far, with his banging remix of Cinelli’s “Antenna 2″, his contribution to Spectral’s second Death Is Nothing To Fear comp and, arriving on Thema records, a 5-track collaboration with Big Bully. All I can say is keep ‘em coming.

Ortega & Stavöstrand - “Sparkling” [Rrygular]

Given that Wolfgang Voigt (whose music I have the utmost respect for) wants Kompakt to be seen as an up-to-date company that moves with the times, I find it surprising that perhaps their most high-profile upcoming release - SuperMayer Save The World - is in fact one of the most staid. In a year that’s seen Gui Boratto mix minimal with deep (Chromophobia), Motiivi: Tuntematon try acidgaze (”Mankind Failed”) and Perc & Fractal do fuck-knows what with schaffel (”Up”), Superpitcher and Michael Mayer seem entrenched in their 2003/4 heyday.

I’m the first to vouch for my appreciation of ‘pitcher’s Here Comes Love and Mayer’s Fabric 13. I think they’re great. But if opening track “The Art Of Letting Go” were anything to go by, SuperMayer seem to have taken that lounge formula and decided to play it through the guise of a Lily Allen covers band. Later, the requiem-speed bossa nova “The Lonesome King” spins a clichéd yarn about…well, not much really. It’s a dirge.

The album’s not all as bad as that. I find myself warming to the hazy “Saturndays”, but only with the slight reservation that I’d rather be listening to Chromophobia’s “Hera”. “Please Sunshine” is an inoffensive Metro Area-style jam, but again, I expected more from this collaboration than Metro Area knock-offs.

It gets better towards the end, though, first with “Planet Of The Sick” (squiggly synth riff, proper bassline, and piano wriggle all over a very lively beat) and then with the monumental “Two Of Us”. This appears remixed on the Total 8 compilation, where Geiger blisses is out to match some of Kompakt’s best swoonworthy moments (see: Superpitcher’s “Don’t Save Us From The Flames” remix). The original is almost 10 minutes of everything I love about Kompakt at its best. The beat is heavy and reliable, there’s a great fat mid-range buzz and there’s a childlike xylophone line over the top. Past half-way through the midrange swells even further, finally bottoming out into an uneasy plink-plonk that echoes through the final minutes.

It’s that mixture of dark and light I find most exciting in Kompakt productions. If only Saves The World had more moments like “Two Of Us”. As it is, I’ll content myself with the prospect of new Burger/Voigt remixes and productions, like their lovely rework of Gudrun Gut’s “Move Me”, out on Monika now.

SuperMayer - “Two Of Us” [Kompakt]

Although they only have a handful of releases under their belt, Kalimari Musique have already got my undivided attention with excellent tracks from Seph, Lee Curtiss and now Miss Fitz. “Geschprech” mines the subterranean sounds found on Matthew Dear’s Fabric 27 mix, particularly the hammer-and-pickaxe clanking of Mikael Stavöstrand’s “Body Control” (in fact Lee Curtiss made an appearance early on in that mix). Jeff Samuel’s remix ups the bucephalus-factor with bouncing balls, water droplets, phased vocals and a REALLY funky shuffle beat. It’s infectious.

B-side “Polikolique” adds jazz piano into the mix, which would serve to lighten the mood were the drums and bass not so menacing. That’s what I like about this record - the unexpected mixing of moods without ever overwhelming the groove. Death Of Cool comes highly recommended.

Miss Fitz - “Geschprech [Jeff Samuel Remix]“ [Kalimari Musique]

Apologies for the lack of post last Friday, but unfortunately I was getting (officially) older so was taking (unofficial) leave.

Basteroid has been forging his own eccentric path on his and Metope’s Areal label since 2001 and still shows no sign of mellowing or conforming. This can only be a good thing if he continues making tracks like “Error Del Disco”, which marries an almost Kompakt-like foundation with very un-Kompakt-life Sega Megadrive synth melodies and a mammoth phased breakdown halfway through. The bassline is also far fatter than anything found on Kompakt’s new and slightly weedy Total 8 compilation.

B-side “Stuck” gets, well, stuck, as Basteroid plays around with a skipping sound-effect to the limit of acceptibility. I’d call it IDM if it weren’t so danceable the rest of the time. Here’s to more novel releases from an oft-underappreciated producer.

Basteroid - “Error Del Disco”[Areal]

And again…can anyone tell me what this track is called? This mystery has been left unsolved for weeks now and i’m beginning to despair. It’s so good but i’ve got no idea what it is.

I’ve only just recently been turned on to Pom Pom’s series of numbered and nameless releases. 29’s A1 side was all bombastic maximalism, taking 2007’s deep house revival but substituting subtlety for a synth far more italo than house. 30 is a different beast. The A side lopes along at a ridiculously slow tempo, throwing snare fluorishes all over a background awash with high pitched arpeggios and strings. Spacey, yes, but also a bit trying.

Although a little less offbeat, the B is far more successful. Ratcheting up the tension throughout its 9 minutes, the bass sounds really threatening under a direct mid-range beat. I prefer 29 to this release, but with an artist so consistently prolific i’m just glad that the series is still going.

Pom Pom - “30 B” [Pom Pom]

Items & Things is the M_nus sublabel run by Magda, Marc Houle and Troy Pierce. Their second release Spies & Lies is absolutely unstoppable. Houle contributes another hulking exercise in “Bay Of Figs”-style lack of compromise - i’m still undecided on it but there’s no denying that it’s provocative. On “Oogity Boogity”,Thrill Cosby (great name!) chases Heartthrob’s “Baby Kate” down a dark alley, only for Alexi Delano to join in the fun on “Would You?”.

It’s Kasper’s “Turn Tricks On The Side” that hits me the hardest, however. The added adrenaline in the bassline and midrange drums injects some energy into proceedings, before a quirky synth line starts needling away over the top. The breakdown after 3 minutes is classic peaktime material.

So this is a release full of contrast between three darker workouts and one joyous jump for glee in the middle. I’m sure the Houle track will divide - and it predicts an interesting full-length from him - but overall Spies & Things is more than worth the money.

Kasper - “Turn Tricks On The Side” [Items & Things]

Agnès can do no wrong for me this year, and here he comes in with a beautifully laid-back remix of Chaton’s new one on Sthlmaudio. Slow and groovy, it fits in with the vibe found on the Langenberg track I posted last week. I’m all for floor-raising anthems but sometimes it takes an understated track like this to really make my day.

Chaton - “Catch The Beat [Agnès - Limmat Luftmadratz Redive]” [Sthlmaudio]

In a little while i’m going to post an hour-long mix I made recently featuring a lot of the tracks i’ve posted over the last 6 weeks or so and a few others to boot, including but not limited to: Soz Adams, JPLS, Plan Tec, Dominik Eulberg, Audion, Rejected, Marc Antona, Moonbeam and Gabriel Ananda.

Here it is.

Funky little number here, which is released alongside a Matt John remix. His “Soulkaramba” has been praised and maligned in equal measure it seems, but I think it fits in nicely with other similarly lengthy tracks from Cassy and Johan Fotmeijer. Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts is/are also responsible for a remix on Shackleton’s new stomach-rumbler “Next To Nothing”. Don’t miss it.

I’ve been having a good time listening to Claude VonStroke’s mix from DEMF. New sets are going up online periodically from now on at the DEMF website.

Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - “Saperlipopette” [Floppy Funk]

I was at Field Day festival over the weekend, hence no post on Friday. Below is a great track I heard while I was there, played live by the man himself. Swoon.

Also check out Ronan’s rocking podcast from last week over at House Is A Feeling - it features Marc Antona’s lovely new one out on Mobilee Records now.

Normal service resumes tomorrow.

Matthew Dear - “Tide” [Spectral Sound]