Mach 5

Oh. Hey. It's been a while, I know. You've grown out/shaved the beard, I've quit/taken up smoking, and neither of us has found the time/put in an adequate amount of effort to really keep this relationship going. But what say we put all that behind us, eh?

Now I know it's been an exciting week for music, what with The Weeknd finally dropping their long-awaited mixtape Echoes of Silence (review pending), the emergence of a new Skrillex EP (review here), and Nicki Minaj spewing her bubblegum-pink wrath all over some poor, unfortunate soul. But we're gonna ignore all that for now.

Let me introduce y'all to Ryan Chapin Mach. In addition to being both a gentleman and a scholar (as well as a classmate of mine at the nation's 5th-druggiest college), he also manages to hold his own rather well as a producer-songwriter. His Bandcamp is littered with a veritable bevy of tracks from this past year – mostly lo-fi, Casio-driven laptop-pop (fatwa pending for the amount of hyphens I just used) – but lest you lose your way in the waiting labyrinth of strange and exotic photographs, allow me to provide you with a guide of sorts, in the form of a few highlights and favorites.

Now be nice and shake hands.


The Hors D'Oeuvres: hopefully all the proof you'll need to agree that this kid crafts a hook like no other. Stuck in my head by the second listen.

The Main Course: after a seemingly disconnected stream of individual tracks, it seems the man saw fit to put together an EP, and man am I glad he did. A pleasantly diverse release, featuring everything from reverb-drenched surf pop a la Best Coast to more stripped-down, acoustic fare.

The Dessert: .............well, as far as culinary metaphors go, this would be like following steak and potatoes with a chocolate-covered hand grenade. But while this track might match that jarring combination in sheer dissonance and explosivity, I find its distorted, auto-tuned chaos to be quite delectable.

Seconds: turns out he does "dark" quite well, I couldn't help but come back for more. Really dig the beat on this one.

The Midnight Snack: a slower, muddier, more emotional cut for those lonely late-night jaunts to yr common area's fridge. Maybe those lax bros left some pizza in the–dammit, they ate all of it. Selfish bastards. See if I ever come to one of their stupid games again.

Godspeed, and a merry Festivus to you all.

Lobster out.

getting in the christmas spirit

look out: more crustacean cognition goodness coming your way this holiday season. we got all the time in the world for sharin' tunes now... [well, at least i do].


to get you started in the holiday spirit:
Christmass N Titties - DJ Assault X Tchaikovsky [Low Limit Mashup]


Cheers,
///patkins///

THINGS

Just decided to throw together a little post of where I've been at recently, vibe-wise. Gotta maintain some semblance of activity on this blog, right?

Enjoy!

Unison - Bjork

From 2001's Vespertine. Yeah, Bjork's weird as all hell, but she's also proven one of the most creative, imaginative artists of the 21st century and a pioneer of personal and emotional electronic music. Read up on this lady; her influence permeates everything you love, from Baths to Radiohead.

Beck - Get Real Paid

From an underrated 1999 LP called Midnite Vultures. I consistently rank Beck among my absolute favorite musicians of all time. He pretty much just does what he wants (like make an album of soul and R&B experiments right on the heels of a folky one, right on the heels of one produced by the Dust Brothers...), and IT'S ALWAYS GOOD. Like here, he somehow managed to turn Kraftwerk-y techno-pop into some weird funked-out gangsta shit. If that doesn't constitute an astronomical level of swag, I don't know what does.

Seasons (Purpp Cobain Lean House Edit) - Six Foe

Lean House is basically chopped and screwed house music. Real chilled out, slowed-down vibes for those winter nights spent sipping lean and zonin'. Check out a mix of the stuff HERE.

Keeping It Moving - A Tribe Called Quest

A jam from the masters. Tribe can do no wrong, especially when the man behind the decks is none other than the legendary J. Dilla. This beat breaks necks.

No Day Massacare - Mr. Oizo

A cut from Analog Worms Attack, another example of why 1999 was cooler than you. While this track is actually far from monophonic **pushes glasses up nose**, it still packs quite a dark, funky wallop. Patkins will like this. Copped from Apes With Barrels, who love Oizo with all their hearts.

g r n b a n a n a s - Zeroh

Our favorite MC tearing up some FlyamSam shit. Can't wait for this cat to put more shit out, he's got some serious lyrical talent.

Lobster out.

BONUS:
Zeroh - Natalie Portman

...and apparently he does shit like this now. I can dig it.

11/5/11 Wavelength of the Moment: K-swag

So James Brooks, one half of electronic pop outfit Elite Gymnastics, just wrote this awesome piece on "K-Wave," which is the kind of Korean pop music badassery that resulted in the above video. It features playboy bunnies (and playboy headphones!!!), two flamboyantly-clad Korean gentlemen rapping about bling & swag, and a fucking tank. Plus Diplo produced it. You actually have no reason not to hit play on this.

Hell, download that shit. It found its way onto my ipod in a nanosecond.

This is a motherfucking double combo.

Lobster out.

~ B O N U S ~

10/31/11 Wavelength of the Moment: Nu Shlohmo Videoh

Shlohmo - Trapped In A Burning House (Official Video)

We have finally been granted an official video from one of our favorite albums of the year, Bad Vibes: a haunted, hallucinatory, Halloween-ready trip through the woods, directed and edited by the man himself: Henry Laufer, alias Shlohmo.

An unsettling enigma from beginning to end (not unlike its musical source material), this video does an excellent job of showcasing Laufer's tact in visual storytelling: nothing is explicated, no answers await the perplexed viewer when they reach the end of this dark journey – only elusive images of windows and silhouettes, like distant memories briefly flitting in and out of our consciousness as we are dragged through the dim forest...

You gotta check out Bad Vibes if you haven't heard it yet. Shlohmo's making some really beautiful sounds right now, and we can't wait for what comes next (dance music, apparently).

Go iTunes that shit.

Lobster out.


~ ~ ~ BONUS ~ ~ ~


Cook, Clean, Pay the Rent (New House Version) - Teebs

New Teebs track being passed around in honor of his upcoming release on Brainfeeder, Collections 01. On some real ethereal shit, gotta love what this dude does with samples.


And on a less exciting note, it's likely that I'll be reducing my posting to more like once a week from now until the new year...unfortunately (for you dear readers), I've been cast in a production of "Hamlet," and as one can imagine, rehearsing for that is gonna take up a shitton of my (previously free) time. So hopefully patkins will be able to pick up my copious slack. Though it's also possible that I'll still manage to post more than him.

10/25/11 Wavelength of the Moment: DEEZ VIBEZ

GET IT???

I download a lot of music. So not all of it gets the listening attention it deserves, at least not immediately. But a select few of this past week's acquisitions managed to catch my ear, so here they are. Mostly chill/trip/downtempo electronica. Might try to make this "random batch" format a regular (weekly?) thing.


Paradise (3:33 Remix) - G-Side

Let's start with some atmospheric, impressively dark production work from 3:33. Best rap remix I've heard in a while.


An Iceberg Hurled Northward Through Clouds (Peaking Lights Vocal Remix) - Gold Panda

Man, do I love Gold Panda. He consistently puts out the most gorgeous, lush, beautiful productions. I've been listening to his album Lucky Shiner a lot lately. Peaking Lights throw in some reverb-washed vocals and dubbed-out experimental vibes on this stellar remix.


Luv Luv - Two Inch Punch

Got this gem from XLR8R, who got it from Two Inch Punch, who made it. #CAUSALITY


Still Sleeping ft. Steffaloo - Chrome Sparks

Chrome Sparks is the drummer for Stepdad, one of the most exciting synthpop acts around nowadays. He's also in the business of producing delicate, intricate electronic pop musics. Go grab his My <3 EP for FREE (though you can pay if you'd like), you won't regret it.


Video Games (Balam Acab Remix) - Lana Del Ray

Gorgeous remix by one of my new favorite producers, the Balam Acab. Ghostly vocals galore.


Waiter/The 5 Senses - Jeremih

D33J posted this to his facebook on a while back. Shameless boner jam, but it's got that tripped-out sex-in-space kind of vibe, which we here at CC are kind of into.


~ DEEZVIBEZ.ZIP ~


~ ~ BONUS ~ ~
nebula - dr.dr.

Unbeknownst to most of y'all, I occasionally try my hand at making music. Mostly psychedelic ambient stuff for the time being, but I'm working on more beat-oriented things nowadays (even the occasional trip-pop track). Give me a Listen / Like / Follow if you dig!


~ ~ ~ ADDENDUM TO THE BONUS ~ ~ ~
One of our favorite producers, Asura, just did an XLR8R podcast. You have no excuses.

The Zeroh/BlqBird Experience.

This man.


Man.


///p///

Salva Remixes

Salva is the man. Runner of cutting edge music label Frite Nite and producer of great music that runs runs the gamut from intense bass-driven dance bombs to chilled, textural arrangements of very original synth sounds. The Complex Housing LP was soundtrack to my summer, and as the seasons turn, I keep finding [read: looking for] Salva all over the place. He's all over XLR8R, which cant be anything but a good thing. Here is a collection of his remixes, plus a ridiculous bonus track that lovers of CC are sure to enjoy.

That Girl (Salva Remix) - Pharrell Ft. Snoop Dogg

Blue Movie (Salva Remix) - Beans

Blind (Salva Remix) - Rainbow Arabia

Part Time (Salva Remix) - Ango

Prawn Cocktail (Salva Remix) - Salva & Om Unit

Zoo Keeper (Salva Remix) - DZA

Keep Yer Chin Up (Salva Remix) - Wheez-ie

Dough Ft. Addiquit (Salva Remix) - Robert Koch

Close Your Eyes (Ft. Meshell Ndegeocello) (Salva Remix) - Michael Migs

BONUS TRACK: RAR ONLY
I Be Everywhere (Mumdance Remix) - Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane gets turned into a sitar-laced wobble whomp. Definitely a complement to the jonwayne joint.


Salva Remixes.rar

///patkins///

Zack Sekoff x Def Sound

Oh man. Some trip-as-fuck swag rap courtesy of Def Sound. Production by LA wunderkind Zack Sekoff.




~ ~ ~



BONUS:

Belly Beat by Zack Sekoff

10/14/11 Wavelength of the Moment: BORN GOLD X BRAIDS

So I really hate to do another one of those manic fanboy posts but one of our favorite bands just remixed one of our other favorite bands and it sounds fucking awesome.

Braids: "Native Speaker" (Born Gold Remix - Prefix Premiere) by prefixmag

The serene, dreamlike wonderland that was the centerpiece of Native Speaker just climbed on board a hyper-glitched noise-techno spaceship, captained by none other than Born Gold (who were no strangers to remixes when they called themselves Gobble Gobble) that takes Braids vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston's ethereal vocals and chops them up with a kaleidoscopic–but no less psychedelic–finesse. The overall style actually reminds me a lot of some of Asura's remixes on Unreleasables.

Go buy Native Speaker. It's an incredibly beautiful album.

Then go get Born Gold's album Bodysongs for FREE. It's some of the most forward-thinking and experimental music I've ever heard, and it's catchy-ass dance-pop to boot.

Lobster out.

VARIOUS AND SUNDRY THINGS PT. II

GUESS WHAT Y'ALL, IT'S ALL CAPS TIME AGAIN AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS: A BIG-ASS BATCH OF RANDOM/AWESOME MUSIC. ALL 4 U.

whole post:
~ VARIOUS & SUNDRY.ZIP ~


KING - JONWAYNE

THE WAYNIAC JUST DROPPED THIS EVIL-ASS SINGLE FROM HIS UPCOMING LP, THE DEATH OF ANDREW. WE'RE SUPER PSYCHED FOR OCTOBER 25th, YOU SHOULD BE TOO


POST98 - MNDSGN.

THIS DUDE IS ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE BEAT PRODUCERS. GO GRAB DAYPASS, OR NOMAPS IF YOU WANT A LITTLE MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK. BUT SERIOUSLY, PEEP THIS DUDE'S WARES


HORMONES - BIRD PETERSON

NEW ELECTRO HOUSE JAM FROM AN OLD STANDBY. BIRD PETERSON HAS GOT THAT HARD-N-QUIRKY SHIT ON LOCK


BABYFACE (JIMMY TAMBORELLO REMIX) - THE ELECTED

SOME SWEET ELECTRO-POP FROM ONE OF OUR IDOLS HERE AT CC


BACKWARDS, FASTER - RYAN CHAPIN MACH

THIS DUDE WRITES KILLER HOOKS OVER HAND-CRAFTED BEATS. LOTTA COOL SOUNDS GOING ON HERE, I REALLY LIKE WHERE HE'S TAKING HIS STYLE


LAMENT FOR MORNING - RALEIGH MONCRIEF

SOME REALLY NEAT EXPERIMENTAL ELECTRONIC SHIT FROM THE DUDE WHO CO-PRODUCED THE DIRTY PROJECTORS' BITTE ORCA. REALLY DIGGIN HIS STUFF LATELY, GRAB THIS MIX HE DID FOR ALTERED ZONES IF YOU DIG


TRILLA (PROD. BY BEAUTIFUL LOU) - ASAP ROCKY FT. A$AP TWELVY & A$AP NAST

AND WE CLOSE IT OUT WITH SOME TRILL SHIT FROM ASAP ROCKY. YADIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG


whole post:
~ VARIOUS & SUNDRY.ZIP ~


AIGHT IM OUT

~

((( zip-only bonus track!! )))

Levert - Davis
Serengeti (left-field rap shit) dropped mad rhymes on some matthewdavid (experimental/ambient/beat shit) tracks, and you can get a whole album of this awesomeness for a mere $7. I suggest you do, if you consider yourself a connoisseur of the strange like ourselves...

"Not-Dubstep"

None of this is dubstep. but if you don't jam like its dubstep, you don't get it.


wait, what?
Obsidian (Mux Mool Remix) - Mexicans With Guns
Los Perritos - Mexicans with Guns
Lets Get Ill - Jantsen
Brobylon - Heyoka
Lilac - Blue Hawaii


wait... this is all dubstep.
except for that blue hawaii track. wait, what? singer/guitar player in braids? what?
BUMP THIS SHIT
///patkins///

The Weeknd - Initiation

Really trip new joint from The Weeknd. "The Morning" this ain't.

Initiation - The Weeknd


Hot on the heels of Thursday's brilliant experimentations with genre and sonic atmosphere, it looks like Abel Tesfaye & co. are looking ever forward. There's shit going down here production-wise that blows my mind.

And yet, miraculously, the song itself still manages to give you just "What You Need" (sorry) – a dark, driving, chopped up beat; an eerie vocal melody, distorted and pitch-shifted to hell and back; then, of course, there's Tesfaye's trademark lyrical menace.

The content is familiar, to say the least: some poor girl gets sucked into a dark underground world of sex, drugs, and fame, where power games and depraved hedonism are the norm. But with every track the Weeknd put out, the menace of Tesfaye's lyrics seems to be reflected more and more in the sonic atmosphere of the songs themselves, and I'll be bold to say that this might be the most beautifully paranoid and dramatic track they've put out so far. You actually feel scared listening to it, and I feel that most music doesn't do that nearly enough nowadays.

Keep your eyes on the OVOXO, kids. Toronto's doing seriously big things right now, and Drake's new album has the Weekend all over it.

Go get Thursday and House of Balloons for FREE. Best decision you'll make today.

Lobster out.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . B O N U S . S W A G . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Beautiful collab from two UK electronica legends, Burial and Massive Attack (pre-order the vinyl HERE because there will be no digital release), slated for an October 17th release. Found this over at Live For The Funk.

Sky Raper (Shlohmo Remix) - Comfort Fit

An old Shlohmo track I dug up, show the boy some love and go buy Bad Vibes (which I'll be reviewing shortly)

Nope - CBG (Chill Black Guys)

And finally, on an entirely different note, some swagged-out L.A. shit I found over at WEDIDIT. For anyone who would prefer the party in this video over one of the Weeknd's typical jaunts.

10/5/11 Wavelength of the Moment: Take 1

Been getting real into ASAP Rocky lately. This is a track the self-proclaimed "pretty motherfucker" did with Oakland's Main Attrakionz, and it comes with one of the most profoundly deep beats I've ever heard (courtesy of Clams Casino, who I've also been all over lately). You can get it on Main Attrakionz' recent tape, 808s & Dark Grapes II, which you can go grab for free (and I suggest you do).

Likewise with ASAP's recent tape, Deep Purple.

Swag.



Shouts to WEDIDIT for putting me on this tip (via the above video).

EDIT: ///patkins/// also found a nice, chilled out bootleg of purple swag that you can add to your collection:
Purple Swag (Jim-E Stack Bootleg) - ASAP Rocky

Lobster out.

Low End Theory Podcast 20: D-Styles and TOKiMONSTA

You, if you are reading this blog, probably know about Low End Theory, the wednesday night club night at the Airliner in LA. Low End is pretty much universally acknowledged as the epicenter of the beat music scene and forward-thinking electronic music in general. And, if you know low end theory, you know that every so often, they put out a podcast. This is the closest you can come to immersing yourself in the very special Low End aesthetic without being there yourself on a packed, sweaty, bass-y, glorious wednesday night. the only thing missing is the tremendous array of subs... unless you have a tremendous array of subs to bump this shit on.


Podcast number 20: D-Styles and TOKiMONSTA. D-Styles' set takes up the majority of the podcast, and he frickin ROCKS this. The beats are choice of choice, including some Odd Future joints that he takes and drops in with Gucci Mane a capellas and all sorts of other things. Mono/Poly's in there, TOKi is in there, all manner of wubs and womps and booms.... D-Styles put together a woofer-rattling set that is pretty much mindblowing. TOKiMONSTA's set is shorter, but still packs a pretty serious punch. Somewhat more laid-back, TOKi's set includes (obviously) a lot of her own beats, which lends it a pretty specific sound thats hard to describe but complements D-Styles' set very nicely. 


The best part? ITS FREE, guys! Check the link below. Let D-Styles and TOKi blow your mind. Use good headphones or speakers, and let 'er rip. 


Low End Theory Podcast #20


///patkins///

A WHOLE GANG OF NEW SHIT

RANDOM BATCH ALL CAPS LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


DROP DOWN - DESIGNER DRUGS

I FUCKING LOVE DESIGNER DRUGS


SEARCHING - JONWAYNE

SUPER CHILL SAMPLING ON THIS JONWAYNE JOINT


GRAPES ALLA VODKA

RL GRIME IS THE SHIT GO GET HIS CLIPZ EP FO FREEEEEE


WILDFIRE (DRAKE REMIX) - SBTRKT

DRAKE ON SOME SBTRKT SHIT I'M REALLY FEELIN THIS


ACT LIKE A HO - BORGORE

GURL WHEN WE IN BED ACT LIKE A HO....BUT FIRST DO THA DISHEZZ!!!!!


AIGHT PEACE

Adult Swim - [unclassified]

Those wonderful people at Adult Swim along with Scion A/V have released another compilation of unreleased/rare/baddass music from the tv series. The compilation includes people like SBTRKT, Starkey, Burial, Kode9 and other bass/garage/2-step/dubstep/post-dubstep type artists. 18 tracks in all, and completely free for download HERE. I highly recommend it to you. I'm only now beginning to get into garage/2-step/UK dance stuff, and this comp has some excellent tunes along those lines. I mean, this SBTRKT trk, for example (what i did there):

Golddigger - SBTRKT

Eris - Starkey 

Download the whole comp

Bump this shit.

///patkins///

This kid thinks he's Flying Lotus

I think I'm FlyLo by Lil Z x OtrosCosmosis

"swag."

Lobster out.

. . . . . . . .

...I wanted that to be the entire post, but then I peeped this track:

Belly Beat by Zack Sekoff

Zack Sekoff is a 15-year old producer from Los Angeles, California, whose dream is to play Low End Theory before he's 18, which may not be a wholly unreasonable feat if he keeps pumping out shit like this. His sound's certainly got some room to grow, but then again I wasn't remixing Bilal at 15.

Oh yeah, he also raps:

Stream of Conciousness (Liborator) by Zack Sekoff

Now I can't say he's my favorite lyricist (yet), but any high schooler who's on a Brainfeeder tip and writes lines like "doin big things / Nicki Minaj's ass" is good in my book. Keep your eyes on this kid.

Various Swag via WEDIDIT

"What Im On" is a video triptych of hip-hop at its most bizarre.

Compiled by Melonious Drunk of the illustrious WEDIDIT Collective. Go browse their wares, they make killer music.







"Swag."

Lobster Out.

9/20/11 Wavelength of the Moment: NEW WAYNIAC

The man's unstoppable. Keeps handing out free shit like it's candy. And it's all quality to boot. Make sure you get the tapes at the bottom of this post.

Peep deez wares:


Really impressive rework of a Slidecamp jam:
Slidecamp: Geometer (Jonwayne Remix) by ALPHA PUP


A chilled-out rap joint featuring blood hungry brother (and WEDIDIT cohort) Zeroh the Blqbrd:
Experiment 17 (jonwayne is a secret spy) by jawnwayne


A superfluously heavy entry for a recent beatmaking competition:
Jonwayne - F#$%STICK. by jawnwayne


Oh yeah, and how about this free rap mixtape he just decided to give away for free?

~ Jonwayne - I Don't Care ~

Or if you're really more into beats than rhymes, it's not like he also gave away an instrumental tape last month or anything...

~ Jonwayne - Thanks, Bro ~
(alt link for a .zip over at Dublab)

Aaaaaaaand then there's this new Death of Andrew LP in the works for Alpha Pup. Peep the album art below, and get amped for October 25th.



If you want more instrumental goodness, Go buy his opus Bowser from Alpha Pup.

This cat is doing big things. Don't sleep.

Lobster out.

Return to the Interstellar Plane

Hello out there! Here i am, floating back from the depths of space to make my return to the blog. I've missed you, and i've been listening to lotsa thangs. Heres a dump of tracks for.. well.. listening. Look for the zip, and a special video gift at the end...

Session Cats - Flying Lotus
From the 2006 demo tape, super hip-hoppy and dilla-y (?). Comin out of nowhere, FlyLo


Party Animal - Hudson Mohawke
NEW HUDSON MOHAWKE. HudMo gives Gucci Mane a whole new context with this lovely little party starter. This is from Pleasure Principle, a limited vinyl-only release with a handful of pop remixes. If you can get your hands on it, I highly suggest you do.


Latenight - TOKiMONSTA
From Bedtime Lullabies, came out in 2008. If you can tell me in the comments which more recent song samples this one, i'll give you a prize....


Safari Disco Club - Yelle
You gotta love the intro to this song... and the whole song. Even though i can't quite understand what Yelle is saying (read: its in french), i'm taken away by the synth dance pop.


Hairy Candy - Tobacco
Tobacco is one member of Black Moth Super Rainbow, an all-analog psychedelic group. They remind me a little of the rolling stones, but even more synths... glorious


Forever Heavy - Black Moth Super Rainbow
I mentioned these guys above. Look at their name. You know you have to hear this.


That Girl (Salva Remix) - Pharell Ft. Snoop Dogg
Salva gives the treatment. Somewhat minimal but as such super clean. Salva does some really great shit with his percussion in this track.


Transmission - Terracotta Blue
Submitted to us! Pretty neat, especially the out-of-time sounds towards the end. Its like beat music meets chillwave.


Hot N Cold (Yelle Remix) - Katy Perry
DANSE DANSE DANSE DANSE


Cruel - St. Vincent
On a different note - some new St. Vincent. If you don't know St. Vincent, you should definitely check her out - there is some beautiful musicmaking going on here.


KeyboardCatZip.zip


///patkins///


Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJNBfBr-OGU&feature=player_embedded


You will laugh.

9/18/11 Wavelength of the Moment: Some Ghettotech

I got this track on XL8R in April, and I rediscovered it latey and have been listening to it a lot. It's a jukey, hyperactive take on a Lil Scrappy track, and it turns out that mid-oughts Atlanta crunk translates pretty well into some double-time dancefloor swag. All hail Kaptain Cadillac.

[Download:] Look At Me (Kaptain Cadillac Remix) - Lil Scrappy


~ [BONUS BONERJAMS:] ~

[Download:] Pumpz - Salva & Vortex
Some shit in a similar vein, courtesy of Friends of Friends jukemaster Salva. Got this at XLR8R as well.

One to Love - Rain Dog

Another XLR8R gem, this time from Rain Dog. Absolutely beautiful track, reminds me of Geotic, but with some chopped-up post-dubstep in the mix. Go pay whatever you want to download his EP, it's friggin gorgeous.

[Download:] Ass-N-Titties - DJ Assault

And here's some OG Ghettotech for yo ass. Detroit dance music in the 90's was a strange and beautiful thing.

As you probably gleaned, the moral of this post is that you should probably read XLR8R. They consistently post the most amazing, diverse, and forward thinking sounds in electronic music today, and we love them here at CC. So go check their site out. SOOOOO much free shit.

Lobster out.

9/14/11 Wavelength of the Moment: New James Blake

Sorry I'm posting so incessantly. Patkins is AWOL so I'm basically the blog for now, and that doesn't mean that we should lower our productivity.

There's a new James Blake track in circulation. I'm really digging this song, that groove at the end reminds me a bit of "The Zone" by future-rnb champions The Weeknd and Drake. Really impressive shit.



Found this over at Live For The Funk, who we are (okay, who I am) currently nuts about. They have their finger on some of the most exciting sounds of the moment, and I seriously recommend that you "follow" their twitter and/or "like" their facebook page as you see fit. Or at least just go over and browse for a little, you will come away with some badass new music.

ovoxo.

Lobster out.

~ ~ ~

¡¡ BONUS: !!
The Zone - The Weeknd ft. Drake

From Abel Tesafaye's most recent mixtape, Thursday, which impressed me so much that a month later I still plan to review it. But I always say that, don't I? Better stop making all these lil posts and get my longform on.

D33J gets D33P: an Introduction

You need to get into D33J.

I'll confess, I've been sleepin on this dude. Or half-awake, rather: I've actually been listening to his music for a while now, as he's a member of L.A.'s WEDIDIT Collective (whom we follow pretty devotedly). But for whatever reason, most likely my distraction with various other sounds, I never really had that "a-ha!" moment.

Until the other day. I put on my headphones for the walk to my 9am class, played this jam, and boom:

She's Deep - D33J


The name's apt–this is a deep tune. But that swaggy little eighth-note figure is what really got me. And I'd never really noticed the vocals before: ghostly, reverb-washed melodies floating like clouds over an ocean of liquid obsidian.

Many of his tunes evoke a similar vibe: deep, calming, trippy, and chilled-out all at once. He's also a genre-bender, which is nice–his productions incorporate every imaginable influence from experimental Low End Theory beat shit to R&B to hip-hop to whatever the fuck Baths and Gold Panda are...there's even some motherfucking chillwave in there.

And yet, from these seemingly disparate genres, he manages to pull together the most gorgeous, ethereal, and serene sound.

So in case you didn't figure this out already, the general aim of this post is to get you into D33J. Here's some shit that might help:


That's his EP. It's free. You should get it.

Marvin's Room (D33J Remix) - Drake

Y'all know how much we loved that Shlohmo remix of the same tune, but D33J's take on Drake holds a special place in my heart as well.

Mooon - D33J

A gift for reaching 600 "likes" on Facebook. Awesome track, those guitars really get me.

Sleeping Out (Lotide Remix) - D33J

A remix of a remix, actually–San Diego's Lotide takes D33J's woozy, chilled-out flip of the Postal Service's "Sleeping In" and sends it into another dimension of experimental beat heaven.

Then there's this mix he did for Live For The Funk (one of my absolute favorite blogs nowadays), which may be one of the best artist mixes I've heard in quite some time. Seriously. Absolutely beautiful track selection, an incredibly deep/chill aesthetic vibe, and with killer transitions to boot! You need this mix.

D33J MIX FOR LFTF by LFTF

Read the accompanying interview with LFTF HERE to learn more about this dude.

Go "like" the man on Facebook to keep in touch.

And get everything in this post. I mean it.

Lobster out.

9/9/11 Wavelength of the Moment: NEW BORN GOLD (GOBBLE GOBBLE)

Cecil Frena's future-apocalypto-pop project Born Gold (until now known as Gobble Gobble) just released another track from their debut LP, Bodysongs, which comes out in little more than a week (Sept. 20) via Hovercraft (their collective with Purity Ring and Kuhrye-oo) and Crash Symbols. I preordered that shit on vinyl, so I'm lucky enough to be downloading the mp3's as we speak. That means a review is coming, so GET READY.

*ahem.*

For fans of "Lawn Knives," arguably their "hit" thus far, "Decimate Everything" is gonna sound pretty familiar. It's in a similar tonality, at a similar tempo, and even the wordless croon of the hook isn't all that different. But there's a hell of a lot more intricacy to the production on this one, and it incorporates some really neat switches between dancey techno and two-steppy half-time.

So you get the point. Get the track, go preorder the vinyl if you can't wait two weeks for the mp3's (you now get an instant download if you grab the wax) and accept Born Gold as your new deity. Or just "like" them on Facebook.

Born Gold - Decimate Everything


BONUS:

That Way - Born Gold

Love this one. Dark, deep, and driving, with more than a sprinkling of house influence. Who cares if "Decimate Everything" sounds like "Lawn Knives," they've never done ANYTHING like this track.

Alabaster Bodyworlds - Born Gold

Updated take on some classic Gbl.

(( also, you can now like Crustacean Cognition on Facebook! GO DO THAT SHIT!! ))