Category Archives: Music

Future Grooves: SBTRKT

Posted on June 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

While new bands are finding the benefits of anonymity, DJs and producers have obscured their identities for years. Whether using aliases to better match their identity to their music (Burial and Zomby) or wearing masks while performing (countless electro gimmicks), electronic music listeners are used to a little mystery in the mix.

SBTRKT uses an alias and a mask, and while that isn’t new and exciting, his music is. This week sees the release of his eponymous debut on the trend-setting Young Turks label, but the SBTRKT story goes back further than the new album, or even the string of EPs, singles, and remixes released over the last year or so. SBTRKT is the artist formerly known as Aaron Jerome, who toiled in nu jazz during the aughts.

As that scene died down, he assumed his new identity, releasing dubstep remixes of Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place” (“Right Place”) and Goldie’s “Inner City Life” (“Timeless”) in late 2009. Subsequent releases include the four-song 2020 EP, an instrumental set of broken beats and swirling basslines. Collaborations with soul singers Sampha and Jessie Ware revealed a soulful, UK funky influence that permeates last year’s Step In Shadows.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/nervous.mp3″ text=”SBTRKT feat. Jessie Ware – Nervous” dl=0]

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/colonise.mp3″ text=”SBTRKT – Colonise” dl=0]

That influence is on full display on SBTRKT, which weaves through the landscape of future garage, post-dubstep, and bass music, presenting the strongest attempt at electronic-pop crossover since Magnetic Man‘s album. In that same vein, SBTRKT again teams up with Sampha and Jessie Ware (along with Roses Gabor), using vocalists to humanize his beats. Lead single “Wildfire,” a collaboration with Little Dragon, finds Yukimi’s voice perfectly suited for the rubbery wobble.

From the sub-bass groove of “Right Thing to Do” to the funky edge of “Pharoahs,” SBTRKT presents a full picture of electronic dance music in 2011. SBTRKT, masked or not, won’t be anonymous for long.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/rightthing.mp3″ text=”SBTRKT feat. Jessie Ware and Sampha – Right Thing to Do” dl=0]

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/pharoahs.mp3″ text=”SBTRKT feat. Roses Gabor – Pharoahs” dl=0]

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Meet the High5Collective, masters of the unofficial video

Posted on June 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

“We make videos for artists that inspire us.”

That simple credo comes from the High5Collective. If you don’t know their name yet, you soon will. While music video directors CANADA use the traditional, artist-commissioned model, the High5Collective (or H5C) is trying something different: producing high-quality – but unofficial – videos on spec. Coupled with a low-information mystique and a reliance on social media like Tumblr, H5C is firmly in touch with the zeitgeist.

H5C appeared out of nowhere about a month ago, with a video for The Weeknd’s “The Morning.” Like the song, the clip is a lurid tribute to debauchery, complete with half-dressed club rats and expansive shots of the desert. Straying from form, however, is the video’s dip into darkness: a metaphorical take on the psychic damage that the club lifestyle entails.

http://vimeo.com/24453255

The collective has also tackled songs by the Internet driven, crew-of-the-moment, Odd Future. H5C’s video for Frank Ocean’s “We All Believe” continues the visual feel of “The Morning,” even if there isn’t as strong a thread from song to video. Like a better version of Rihanna’s “Man Down,” the clip is a tale of assault, revenge, and murder. Again, H5C opts for a sinister narrative and an unsettling conclusion.

http://vimeo.com/24812777

Their recently released video for Tyler, the Creator’s “Transylvania” attempts to capture the spirit of the earliest Odd Future clips (notably “EARL“). “Transylvania,” one of the hardest songs on Goblin, is the perfect soundtrack for some wolf gang-esque mayhem: skateboarding, drug-use, underage drinking, violence, theft, and eventually (and predictably), date rape. Like KIDS, it’s shocking because of its verisimilitude.

http://vimeo.com/25394063

Rounding out the collective’s output is a clip for Sander Kleinenberg’s electrohouse anthem “T.I.O.N.” The video is straight-forward but effective: one of those mythic parties of youth, with enough oddly colored drinks and sexual experimentation to go around. Also, body paint.

http://vimeo.com/25065341

Will the High5Collective be able to convert unofficial videos into official ones? In an age where Kreayshawn gets a $1 million contract after one video goes viral, the right combination of talent and savvy goes a long way. The High5Collective is blessed with both.

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Mixtape Monday: Kreayshawn / James Drake / Dev79

Posted on June 27, 2011 | Leave a comment


Kreayshawn X The Bay

This 20-minute tape by El Paso’s Nato Vato Taco mashes the Based Goddess‘ tracks with classic Bay Area beats and verses by the likes of E-40, C-Bo, Luniz, Mac Dre, Dru Down, C.I.N, IMP, and Potna Deuce. The result is equal parts hazy and hyphy, a reprieve from constant replays of “Bumpin’ Bumpin'” and “Gucci Gucci” (the latter of which has been pulled off YouTube for a mysterious Terms of Service violation). At the very least, it will help you with your Kreayshawn fix until Mishka/Clan Destine release Murdered in Memphis (teaser below).



Bombé & Mr. Caribbean – James Drake Mixtape

Another mash-up mixtape, this time blending the music of James Blake and Drake. While not relevant since at least The Grey Album, creations like this capture the zeitgeist like a firefly in a bottle: fleeting, but fun while it lasts. Exploitative? Sure, but the common ground between the two artists puts a new spin on old favorites. Blake’s R&B influence lends itself to Drake’s lazy boy rapping, and DJs Bombé and Mr. Caribbean dig deep into Blake’s catalog for some understated combinations.



Dev79 presents Street Bass Bootlegs

Here’s another angle on rhythm and bass: grimey, street bass remixes of radio rap songs. Everyone from Wacka Flocka to Gucci Mane to Daddy Yankee gets the hood-step treatment. Highlights include BD1982’s remix of Aaliyah’s “If Your Girl Only Knew” and the 6blocc edit of the Rye Rye / Starkey collab “VHS Go.” I’m increasingly weary of anything resembly dubstep remixes, but Philadelphia’s Dev79 has the low end under control; check out his take on the Travis Porter hit “Make It Rain.”


Download: Kreayshawn X The Bay
Download: Bombé & Mr. Caribbean – James Drake Mixtape
Download: Dev79 presents Street Bass Bootlegs

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Future Grooves: Brenmar

Posted on June 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

Since posting the video for Brenmar’s “Taking It Down,” I’ve been playing the track on repeat. Digging deeper into his body of work, I’ve found a unique strand of rhythm and bass. His songs surge on UK funky beats and sultry R&B samples, chopped with more finesse than those of his juke and footwork cousins. As Brenmar describes it, “this is club music for the present.”

Brenmar (government name Bill Salas) was born in Chicago and hones his craft in NYC. Over the last year or so, he’s made a name for himself with his club remixes of tracks by mainstream artists like Rihanna and Jamie Foxx. His flip of Ashanti’s “Only You” into the swaying “Boy U Got Me,” chops “boy you got me doing things that I would never do” across a bass-heavy jam (the song appeared on Top Billing’s excellent Truancy Compilation). Compared to “Boy U Got Me,” his remix of Aaliyah’s seminal “R U That Somebody” is a hypercharged workout, with nods to the juke of his hometown.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Brenmar-Boy_U_Got_Me.mp3″ text=”Brenmar – Boy U Got Me” dl=1]

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Aaliyah-R_U_That_Somebody_(Brenmar_Windy_City_Mix).mp3″ text=”Aaliyah – R U That Somebody (Brenmar’s Windy City Mix)” dl=1]

Brenmar’s tracks are all about the perfect sample, always clipping just the right phrase or lyric to build a song around. On his debut EP, At It Again, it was Ne-Yo (“Make Me Say”) and Marques Houston (the aforementioned “Taking It Down”). He continues that practice on his latest, Let Me Know (Tasting), which was released Tuesday. The title tracks features one of Mya’s more suggestive lines (“If you’re likin’ what you’re tastin’ / Baby let me know“) and single “Want Me” continues the theme with some Brownstone.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/brenmar-wantme.mp3″ text=”Brenmar – Want Me” dl=0]

As a remixer, Brenmar has ventured out of the pop-R&B sweet spot, with interesting results. On remixes for Blondes and Teengirl Fantasy, he reverse engineers the chilled-out songs into more traditional dance tracks. It’s clearly a form he’s most comfortable with; what he calls club music for the present is more like club music from the future.

Check out his Gold Bricks mix for The Fader (below), and catch him at Baltimore’s Red Maple on June 30.


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Video Rundown: Nightwave / Adventure / Chad Valley

Posted on June 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Three videos with drastically different styles: post-MTV sampling; breezy hand-held; film school symbolism. United by a common theme, each clip is a meditation on what it is to “feel” (that was the easy part – it’s right there in each song title).

Nightwave – Feel

Formerly known as 8Bitch, the Slovenian Londoner Nightwave makes future bass that is true to her name. The video for “Feel,” off the EP of the same name, is a bubbling club track teeming with energetic synths and rave whistles. The video chops up the seminal coming-of-age film The Graduate, pushing the quick cuts of the Mike Nichols’ film to the extreme.

Adventure – Feels Like Heaven

As Adventure, Baltimore’s Benjamin Boeldt has transitioned from diehard chiptuner to synth pop crooner. In the video for “Feels Like Heaven,” Boeldt goes on some adventures of his own: jet skiing, sky-diving, and toying with some multi-colored skulls a la Dan Deacon. Both the video and song provide some airy, summertime fun.

Chad Valley – Now That I’m Real (How Does It Feel?)

The video for Chad Valley’s “Now That I’m Real” has that love-lorn, art school short film feel – in a good way. Beautifully shot in lush black and white by Lucy Bridger, the clip focuses on a couple and their interactions with a few found objects.

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The Verge: WU LYF

Posted on June 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

A recurring topic at this week’s Me Against the Music panel was anonymity in the digital age: how bands like Tennis and Cults, or entire scenes like witch house, have generated buzz by cultivating a sense of mystery.

Manchester band WU LYF has taken that lesson to heart. Until recently sitting for interviews, they were defined by the lack of press knowledge of the band. WU LYF, pronounced “woo life,” is an acronym for World Unite! Lucifer Youth Foundation. Comprised of Ellery Roberts (vocals, keyboards), Tom McClung (bass), Evans Kati (guitar), and Joe Manning (drums), the band’s name suggests some grandiose force to be reckoned with, as does the title of their debut album, Go Tell Fire to the Mountain.

On Go Tell Fire to the Mountain, WU LYF combines the indie rock immediacy of early Modest Mouse with the baroque tendencies of Arcade Fire. Roberts has the “I Could Die On Stage” vocals of Isaac Brock or Frank Black, growling out anthemic lyrics with the fury of a revival minister. In the same vein, church organs power the album, contributing a theatrical, solemn feel. The guitar work is airy but precise, accompanied by basslines and drumming that match Roberts’ ferocity. Compared to their lo-fi and chillwave contemporaries, the band is a breath of fresh air.

Early single “Heavy Pop” and B-side “Concrete Gold” are slow burning odes to nostalgia, obsessed with the familiar themes of lost innocence and feeling at home. The overwhelming passion with which Roberts sings is more than enough to make the simple lyrics seem fresh and poignant.

Two of the album’s standouts have already been paired with videos that are violent and political. “Spitting Blood” is surprisingly catchy, with a bouncy Afrobeat influence and overdubbed vocals. The stark drums that punctuate the epic “Dirt” underscore the song’s – and the band’s – revolutionary spirit (and the outro suggests a different meaning for their name: “World unite, love you forever”). With Go Tell Fire to the Mountain, WU LYF won’t be anonymous for long.

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Future Grooves: Gladkill

Posted on June 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

There is nothing quite like discovering a new musician in a mixtape. Sandwiched between familiar tracks, this quick glimpse of a previously unknown talent is exhilarating. Recently, I experienced this while listening to the second half of the Luvstep 2 mix, with a track called “Eastbound.”

The artist behind this slice of luvstep, with its barely-there beat, purple synths, and fragmented moans, is Gladkill. The New York DJ is the type of producer I used to feature when this column was still called Dubstep Dossier. Gladkill’s music falls in the dubstep-bass-glitch space popularized by the Bristol scene. But while that type of music has become derivative and exceedingly unpleasant, Gladkill has stuck to his guns, infusing his tracks with a strong sense of melody.

Last year’s Ghostwork EP is a perfect example of this, with melodies that range from dreamlike (“Lucky Me”) to romantic (“That Girl is Trouble”) to haunting (“Memories”). For fans of subtle applications of midrange wobble, any of the six tracks on Ghostwork will do the trick. The mood is chilled out, but with a current of energy that prevents the music from becoming ambient.

That current has been amplified on Gladkill’s latest EP, LoveLost. As the title suggests, this is a melancholy affair, but with the optimism and hope of someone coming out of a depression. Compared to Ghostwork, everything sounds bigger, from the synths on “Statis” to the bass of “Out of Your Comfort.” A highlight is the grower “Just a Thought,” which gently echoes along before revealing a layered finale.

Gladkill’s music is luvstep at its finest, capturing the contrast between bass-heavy dubstep and the more melodic side of electronic exploration. Discovering it on Luvstep 2 was more than just luck.

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Future Grooves: Chrissy Murderbot

Posted on June 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

Chrissy Murderbot has too much energy. Whether it’s releasing a mixtape a week for an entire year, or spinning an uptempo mix of footwork and rave, his output is simply exhausting.

The Chicago DJ, formerly known as Chris Shively, defines his style as “juke-rave-jungle-disco-tropical-hi-NRG-gangsta-dancehall-ghetto-garage-core,” a tongue-in-cheek take on his deep and varied musical influences. DJing since 1995, he started gaining notoriety in the underground in the middle of the last decade, releasing a set of jungle anthems (Ruff in the Bunny Fizness) in 2007.

In 2009, Murderbot released a self-titled record on his own label, Sleazetone. The album runs the gamut from rave-tribute, a la Zomby’s seminal Where Were U in 92?, to the juke and footwork of his hometown. Some tracks even combine the two, mixing chopped samples and beats with hands-in-the-air sirens and synths.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cm_musicsounds.mp3″ text=”Chrissy Murderbot – Music Sounds Better w/ Me” dl=0]

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cm_mfhouse.mp3″ text=”Chrissy Murderbot – MF House” dl=0]

Chicago’s electronic underground is a case of a rising tide lifting all boats. Between the club hits of Willy Joy and Rob Threezy and the ascendant and influential footwork scene (typified by DJ Nate), greater attention is being paid to Murderbot, who plays in an undefined space between his peers. His latest record, Women’s Studies, was released last month on Planet Mu.

Women’s Studies continues where Chrissy Murderbot left off, with a new focus on tropical bass and bashment. With a host of guests that include toasters MC ZULU and Rubi Dan, Murderbot does his best Redlight impression on tracks like “The Vibe is So Right.” Still, Chicago is where his heart is: “Bussin Down” features juke luminary DJ Spinn on a shimmering bounce fest.

Writing about Chrissy Murderbot is as challenging as digesting his high-energy, seemingly boundless catalog. For example, I can’t say that I listened to every one of his mixtapes. However, I can definitely recommend his take on UK Rave, circa 1991, which begs the question, “Where were you in ’91?”

Download: Chrissy Murderbot – Week 12: UK Rave, 1991

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The Verge: Secret Cities

Posted on June 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Secret Cities‘ band name suggests forgotten locales, overrun by flora and fauna, eroded by the passage of time. Their music, while not as dire, toys with all things nostalgic and exotic that their name suggests.

Secret Cities was formed by friends – and singers/multi-instrumentalists – Charlie Gokey and Marie “MJ” Parker when they were 15. Growing up at opposite ends of North Dakota, the two traded four-track tape recordings before recruiting drummer Alex Abnos to round out the band, then called the White Foliage. A move to Fargo, a few minor releases and a name change later, the White Foliage became Secret Cities.

Their first record, Pink Graffiti, was released in 2010. It is less folky and more immediate than their work as the White Foliage, stringing together elements from baroque pop and indie rock. Gokey and Parker exchange time on the mic; the male/female vocal dynamic provides a familiar, comforting aspect to the music. Pink Graffiti alternates between the dreamy gaze of tracks like “Aw, Rats” and the hook-driven, xylophone-and-handclap jam “Color.”

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sc_awrats.mp3″ text=”Secret Cities – Aw, Rats” dl=0]

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sc_color.mp3″ text=”Secret Cities – Color” dl=0]

After touring to support Pink Graffiti, the band hunkered down in the basement of an abandoned Kansas City bank to record its follow-up, Strange Hearts. The record is more airy and lo-fi than Pink Graffiti, yet warmer and more approachable. It is 30 minutes of 60s-styled pop hooks, from the opener, the sunny, Afrobeat rocker “Always Friends,” to the closer, the bouncy “Portland” (which sounds like Matt and Kim-lite). As comforting as that can be, Secret Cities is at their best playing with the formula a bit, like on “The Park.” A piano ballad in the style of Carole King by-way-of Feist, “The Park” lets Parker truly shine.

[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sc_thepark.mp3″ text=”Secret Cities – The Park” dl=0]

The video for “Always Friends” uses a split-screen, double-sided narrative of high school romance to capture the essence of the song, and that of the album: a full spectrum of emotions, with the warm tinge of nostalgia.

Catch Secret Cities at Comet Ping Pong on Monday, June 13, with Mercies and Paperhaus.

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Video Rundown: Brenmar / The Weeknd / Tyler the Creator

Posted on June 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

Here are three new videos that challenge the concept of sexuality in the format. Audiences are used to dancers, models, and objects of affection in clips; what happens when these sex objects are taken out of their element?

Brenmar – Taking It Down

The video for Brenmar’s “Taking It Down” flips the concept of the lap dance: the dancer keeps her clothes on as she takes off Brenmar’s… hair. Intercut with scenes from a dreamlike, after-hours rave in the barber shop, the clip complements the Marques Houston-sampling slice of rhythm and bass. Who knew a straight razor shave could be so sexy?

The Weeknd – The Morning

From the High 5 Collective comes another unofficial – yet slickly produced – video for a song by the Weeknd. Like the clip for “What You Need,” this one for “The Morning” features semi-dressed club girls during the morning after. But as these four wander home from partying in the desert, things take a turn for the weird. Models, cocaine, the Devil – what doesn’t this video have?

http://vimeo.com/24453255

Tyler the Creator – She (feat. Frank Ocean)

Odd Future has come a long way from lo-fi skate videos. The clip for Tyler’s “She” actually has a narrative, albeit an OFWGKTA-approved one about stalking and violence. Tyler (who also directed) appears as the ski-mask and Supreme clad Goblin, stalking Frank Ocean’s girlfriend. The twisted tale of high school devotion ends with Tyler smiling and practically winking at the camera, acknowledging that the video – and the Odd Future MO – are both fantasies.

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