Never Been Fishing

Young Adults

2011-09-15T09:05:00.001-07:00

find me at YoungAdults.us from here on out...

Fishbowling

2010-09-17T16:29:00.001-07:00

It's been a minuto, but I haven't forgotten about you. Here's the opening third of my radio show this week... you can check my weekly playlists here.

01 D.Fish on KXLU 9.13.10 by d.fish

Korallreven – Loved-Up (LOL Boys Remix)
Korallreven – The Truest Faith (CFCF Remix)
Active Child – Wilderness (Houses Remix)
Animal Collective – College (Etherea Remix)
St. Vincent – Marry Me (Etherea Remix)

John Talabot – Matilda’s Dream (Jacques Renault Remix)
Bear In Heaven – Drug A Wheel (High Places Remix)
Joakim – Lonely Hearts (Loving Hands Remix)
Caribou – Selfish Boy

Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts #3
Huess – Broke
Reporter – Click Shaw (Runaway Remix)

Nebraska – Off Ramp
Ground Is Lava – On My Birthday *
Spektrum – Fit Together (Cosmo Remix)

Matthew Dear – You Put A Smell On Me *
Four Tet – Sing (Banton’s Indian Chants Remix)

Asura: Live In The Fishbowl

2010-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Meet Asura. He conjures washing soundscapes and destroys beats.

I was lucky enough to have him swing by my radio show for a live session.

What follows is the result. Enjoy.

Asura - Live @ 5 on KXLU by d.fish

Check out more from the Non-Projects label.

Breakneck Speed

2010-03-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

Shouts to DJ Sodapop for lacing me with some of the most forward-thinking Street Bass Sound that the burgeoning movement has to offer.

Debruit - 149 Dalston Airline

Let's jump things off with French wonkster Debruit's world-infused thumper of vocoded stutters and smoothed-out synth licks. Afro-robotics for future days.

Bullion - Long Promised

Next up, the off kilter sway of Bullion's killer soul crusher. Spliced croon chops skip atop a Phil Glass swirl, complete with military drum roll backbone. Toss in a MC's "Ugh!" and we have a sureshot on our hands.

...

I'll leave you with a cold-blooded killer from Caribou's new opus "Swim." This album is locked to make my year end list and I implore you good folks to not only "cop" it, but to actually go out (or stay in) and BUY the album when it drops. In the immortal words of Jerri Blank, "Good Tiiimes!"

Caribou - Leave House (Removed)

Globular Spin

2010-03-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

The Juan Maclean - A Human Disaster (House of House Remix)

House of House seem to be the flavor of the moment in the dirty downlow dance scene and this remix serves as a delectably sweaty taste. Steamy body music that refuses to quit.

Asura - Voxels

Just stumbled across this young buck (Ryan York) from the L.A.-based Non Projects Camp and I'm quite impressed. An iced-out clatter of a beat that harkens back to the finer moments from the early City Center Offices, Type, Arable et al era. Ace!

Javelin - Off My Mind

After seeing these dudes live I have a completely new level of appreciation for their sound. Nothing mind altering, just a keen sense of sound and arrangement with a hearty dousing of flavor. Beat boys with an unabashed soft spot for pop...aka just what I was waiting for.

Jungle Crunk

2009-12-09T20:48:00.001-08:00

Atlas Sound – Nightwork

Cox takes a stab at gurgling electronics on the last track of his Rough Trade EP and hits the jugular. Midnight droplets and streaming stars.

Jabberjaw – The Connie Shake

Primal thumps and staggered radar blips teeter on a minimal slab of beat that only Matt Dear could create. Gutteral body jams for the archaic at heart.

El Guincho – Antillas (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)

Island by way of banjo! Get lost in the thickets on this one.

Joe Goddard – Mango Chutney

Like Dora the explorer chased by stalking fauna through booby-trapped flora. Machete chops and sturdy stomps.

BANGERANG!

2009-09-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Claude VonStroke - Vocal Chords

Another exercise in polyvocality from the man behind the Mothership. Like echoed syllable practice from the far end of a wind tunnel, gradually growing as the headlights approach. Riiiiiicolaaaa!

Shit Robot - Simple Things (Work It Out) (Todd Terje Version)

The Todd is at it again. One of the hottest remixers in the game right now, Terje hits this one out the park and jogs off an extra victory lap for good measure slapping high fives each step of the way. Like a super duty erector set, this one's not for the build-a-phobics.

Beni - Fringe Element

Late-hour playfulness with sharp edges from this Kitsune caper. Nightrider laser beams and morphing Moog breakdowns. Hoff and Kitt on cruise control.

Too Hot

2009-09-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

Listen to these songs on the beach, at the park, by the pool, under a tree, blowing bubbles, near the ice cream truck, on a boat, through the fan, in a clover field, with lemonade, on the golf links, under an umbrella, chewing bubblicious, with the top dropped...

Washed Out - Get Up

Memory Tapes - Swimming Field

Sorcerer - Raydio (Play It)

Omo - 2pm

Woolfy - Two Far Gone

Hocus Pocus

2009-08-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

Another Slightly Sloppy Session recorded live on the Fishbowl 1200s. A little more wobbly than normal... free flowing potions and hocus pocus.

FoF DJs - d.Fish and Lazy Brow - 1:19:58

1. Matias Aguayo - I Was In Love f/ Aza Zander [Comeme]

2. Mugwump - Tellakian Circles (Runaway Remix) [Endless Flight]

3. Tomas Barford - Saturdays [Turbo]
4. The Emperor Machine - Repetition (David Bowie cover) [Rapster]
5. Bodycode - What Did You Say f/ Lerato [Spectral]
6. Pan/Tone - Muckefuk [Cereal Killers]
7. Voodeux - Just A Spoonful (Album Edit) [Mothership]
8. Lopazz - V-point f/ Eddie Zarook [Get Physical]

9. Alex Flatner & Lopazz - Take Me 2 [Cocoon]
10. Poni Hoax - Involutive Star (Joakim Remix) [Tigersushi]
11. Dapayk and Padberg - Khes [Mo's Ferry]
12. Cats and Dogs - Omanko [Mothership]

13. Headman - Roh f/ Stephen Dewaele [Gomma]

14. Subway - Simplex (Gatto Fritto Mix) [Soul Jazz]

Foils The Plan

2009-08-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Matias Aguayo - I Was In Love (feat. Aza Zander)

Matias is deathly mental and his label Comeme is what's really hood right now. Hood like galactic backyard boogies transmitted through tin-foiled antennae, not hood like duct-taped house slippers on the bball court. You had me at hi-hat.

James Yuill - This Sweet Love (Prins Thomas' Sneaky Edit)

Brought to you via the Kitsune Maison 7 comp., this cut continues on the inadvertent love theme. Embellishing on a plucked heartstrings loop, the Prins builds this one up like a marshmallow mansion. In the immortal words of Larry David, "Pretty, pretty, pretty goood."

JJ - Ecstasy

Not that I condone the usage of mdma outside of couples counseling, but hot damn does this track make me wanna roll down hills. Weezy and Gucci might need to watch their backs, JJ seems to have them locked in her sights.

She Said It Best

2009-08-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

These tracks all have female vocals that make me feel warm and tingly inside. Hope they do the same for you...

Javelin - Vibrationz

A young chap of Lucky Dragons, George Langford dubs his beats Tropical/Crunk on his myspace. Here's a playful summer neck-sprain anthem off his Jamz n Jemz snippet tape. Peep the swag and play it twice for full absorption...

Pollyester - You Are Amen

Another slow disco chugger from the archives, dripping with late night oscillations. Opening line: "I'm standing on the dance floor pretending to be shy..." This girl is pure naughty.

Pictureplane - Goth Star

Crunchy synth reverberations pave a rocky road for spliced pop diva vocal spurts. An all-good jammer with enough edge to keep you minding your Ps and Qs (whatever that's supposed to mean). Try it on for size.

Futuro Sound

2009-08-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Mount Kimbie - Sketch On Glass

Yes this song is sicko. These dudes have their hands on a sound alright: wonky slow burners with soul sung snippets sped to 45. Gimme some mo...

Antipop Consortium - Apparently

With hip-hop on its last gasp, APC claps back in the knick of time with a fresh gust from the respirator. This out-the-box fire starter from the forthcoming Fluorescent Black album bangs colossal. M. Saayid steals the show with stuttered flow.

Clara Mondshine - Die Drachentrommier (Pilooski Edit)

Pilooski successfully edits the soundtrack to cyborg sex with the standout cut from Tiger Sushi's Dirty Space Disco comp. Chugging, lascivious, and electric. Where's the wax at???

Sharing Is Caring

2009-07-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Atlas Sound (w/ Noah Lennox) - Walkabout

Stellar new material from Deerhunter's frontman with the helping hand of the elusive Panda Bear, stripped from the hipster Mecca itself Pitchfork.

Mano Le Tough - Halve A Sun

New heat on Prins Thomas' imprint Internasjonal, with blessing from the ever-reliable and super slept-on Keytars And Violins.

Kaoru Inoue - ESC

Add a new name to the musical rolodex, unearthed by Soft Soil Music Club.

Everybody's Watching

2009-07-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

Here's an all vinyl mix I recorded live tonight. I call it Thumper. enjoy...

Thumper - 1:08:06

Babytalk - Chance (Babytalk Remix)

Matias Aguayo - Walter Neff

In Flagranti - Just Gazing

Joakim - Lonely Hearts

Soulwax - KracK

Supermayer - Us And Them

Runaway - Alberg 30

Lopazz - 24 Hours (Jochen Trappe Remix)

Gui Boratto - Eggplant

The Embassy - Lurking (Tensnake Remix)

Jackpot - Ragazza

Booka Shade vs. Plastic Operator - Night Falls / Won't Back Down

Of The Earth

2009-07-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Joakim - Spiders

Hot Damn, just what I was holding my breath for! Joakim can do no wrong and this time he's gone so right he ended up left. An album that unfolds like peeling an artichoke, complete with rough leaves and pin pricks. Spiders lies at the heart. If you don't like this track, I don't like you.

Jesse Rose - Wine Gum

This dude is basically the king of fidget. His Made To Play label is the premier purveyor of scuffle house and the first proper full length does not half step. This cut reminds me of a Subway track, serpentine and motorik.

Bibio - S'Vive

A departure from the growingly analogous catalogue that Stephen Wilkinson has amassed. Ambivalence Avenue finds his long awaited enrollment in the Warp roster, equipt with unforeseen blaps and flylo chops. Nibble on this little ditty.

Jewels In Cases

2009-07-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I wrote about the digi era for the Friends Of Friends website. I'm also tweeting for the label @FoFmusic... hop on board!

Jewels In Cases

I’m curious to know what will stack upon one another in the music landfills of the future. Something tells me they’ll be shiny like jewels in cases, tiny orbs refracting rainbows back at the sun. Times change. Technology evolves and weeds out the weaker links like Darwin’s garden. But some things remain the same; the classic constant, maybe phased but never fatally dazed – in this case, the LP.

It used to be all about singles for me. I’m talking tapes. The paper sleeve that would crease just a little bit more on each insertion; the black reel to reel that you would scrunch too often, forcing you to stick a pencil in the bottom to flip it back over; the pop of the deck when the side hit the end. “Practicality” was not yet a word in my vocab. But phrases like, “U Can’t Touch This,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “Ice Ice Baby,” “That Girl Is Poison,” and “Let’s Talk About Sex” all existed.

Then came along the CD revolution in the early 90s, but I kept it pretty real with the singles. Add to vocab, “Kiss Me Back,” “Slam,” “True Fuschnick,” “They Want Efx,” and “OPP.” Also add, “lazer,” “scratch,” and “skip.” Blasting from my Mega Bass Sony box that I got for Hanukah were a whole slew of other words that I could never share with my parents but felt all-the-fresher for memorizing (even if I only comprehended half of them). The single format was so pure. No intros, skits, interludes, outros or formulaic filler cuts. Only the most banging heaters, skimmed by some major label big wig from the top of the pop melting pot. There was even an eye level row at the Wharehouse (my local music outlet / video rental spot) that would take the guesswork out, pointing me to the hottest gold and plat cats of the moment. Those were the days.

As I matured, I began to understand and appreciate the full-length. The intricacies explored and concepts achieved through a fifteen track journey. Personality, depth, humor, tension, intermission, and resolution. Admittedly though, I still found myself skipping around to my choice cuts, wearing off the paint on the “Repeat” button from continuous touches.

Music was more than an intangible floating consortium of sound in time. It was an actual thing, a commodity, something that you could hold, and see, and break, complete with album art and inserts, liner notes and lyrics. It had character and nuance and provided the owner a sense of investment and thus, a connection to the artist. You had to leave the house, ride your bike/car for miles, find a spot to park, walk in the store, find the proper section, finger through hundreds of titles, analyze cover art, make a selection, carry it to the cash register, pull out your wallet, pay, put the change back in your wallet, walk back to the bike/car, but as you’re leaving the security sensor goes off accidentally, so you go back to the register, they desensitize the purchase again, you walk out (again), hop back on/in your bike/car, ride back home, unlock the door, bust open the shrink wrap, pop the disc in the player and then… actually hear the music. The physicality of not only the product but the process made it a trillion times more rewarding.

Now, in this digital age of ripping (off), downloading, and sharing, technology has taken the work out of an esoteric art form. Music has become long lists of bit rates, file format abbrev.s, and metadata tags. It’s now shamefully easy to download any album you have the knack to hear. Why would anyone buy a CD? If you are having doubts, try this little exercise I developed…

Step One: Think of any album you want to own (and I use the word “own” loosely).

Step Two: Type in the Artist Name, Album Title and the word “BLOGSPOT” into a Google search.

Step Three: Click on any of the top five results and find the download link within the post.

*If this doesn’t work you have two options:

a) go out and buy it

b) go fuck yourself

I was stuck in denial for some time, covering my eyes as fellow music heads pointed me towards the impending Death of the CD. Maybe it’s because I had invested so much time and money into the shiniest of formats, or maybe it was the purist in me who had grown to cherish the “press play and let the album do the work” approach. Either way, the Compact Disc can now be buried alongside the 8-track and tape in the Family of Forgotten Formats wing of the graveyard.

But the vinyl LP just won’t disappear. The original household conveyor of sound left for extinction some twenty years ago, refuses to go quietly. Bulky, analog, space consuming, easily damaged, effort demanding, and at least 4x times the production cost of a CD, the record is experiencing a resurgence that goes against common sense but pivots on the very nature of music: Feeling.

In short, nerds still need something to hold.

As music acquisition gets easier and more homogenized by the nano-sec, it has become a decree of a fan’s hipness and individuality to opt for inconvenience. Vinyl requires work from the listener. Placing the wax on the platter, manipulating the needle, flipping it over upon a side’s completion – a less isolated, more organic music experience that one grows to relish with time. It’s the aged wine to MP3’s frat boy keg stand. And as such, vinyl collecting has taken on an air of snobbishness unrivaled in music consumption. With in-your-face art, like band t-shirts or posters, records are branded merchandise that show off a fan’s allegiances. An assertion of “mine not yours” accumulation that emphatically stomps out the pervasive presence of unabashed sharing and begs the question, “How cool are you?”

But don’t get me wrong, despite the rapid spike in vinyl sales over the past few years (officially up 89% from ’07 to ’08, not even including independent retailers, used sales and ebay), vinyl still remains a niche market, thwarted by digital singles and albums. To put things in perspective, LP sales were a measly .01 percent of the total units of music sold last year according to the Nielson SoundScan.

The digital tide is clearly the wave of the future, but the commodity still has a draw, albeit not as attractive as before. Many major labels are amping up their vinyl offerings for the first time in decades and a growing amount of LP releases now include download cards. This hybridized release style may prove to be the only way to sell music physically as time transpires.

So where do we go from here?

(The Million Dollar Question)

Who knows, but my thought is that something tactile must remain in the mix. Collectors’ items, art, apparel, exclusive incentives, free tacos, something… anything REAL that will elicit desire in order to stand out against a growingly convenient and mindless digital market.

Summer Daze

2009-07-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

City Center - Bleed Blood

Fred Thomas has been crushing it for me as of late. Firmly fixed on the fulcrum between sing-along pop bliss and fuzzed-out bedroom headspace, the album guides you through strange terrains that seem oddly familiar.

Burial / Four Tet - Moth

A smoky slow burner from this otherworldly collabo. Mystery looms overhead this black label 12", released on Text. The wax crackle throughout becomes a soothing foundation for this thick fog of a thumper.

Soft Circle - Don't Just Stand There (Eric Broucek Mix)

Babytalk is back at it with this monster remix off the Milky Disco 2 comp from Lo Recordings. Play it loud and shake your money maker.

Actress - Hazyville

2009-05-01T00:28:00.000-07:00

myneglectedlittleblogspot.com

been off the grind for too long.

Darren Cunningham runs Werk Discs and makes music as Actress.

I wrote this review of his full-length album for TMT a bit ago.

Actress - Hazyville

Here's one of the choice cuts:

Ivy May Gilpin

It's Raining

2009-02-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

Droplets plop atop my noggin. Fogged in and bogged down. Onwards and up words.

Gas - Pop I

Fenton - Bunny

Arden - Kidney's Crash

Phillip Jeck - Wipe

Greg Davis - Submersion Tank Part One (V.2)

A Breath Of Fresh

2009-01-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

Floating on a plush cream pad, slinking through layers of atmosphere. Rising, hang gliding over crests of ice flakes. Light beams break through crust to a heated magma core. Like oreo filling, but oceans of it. Sun spots hover overhead, circling like clandestine vultures. Wind chimes in a mountain tunnel tickle one another. Radio waves skip phrases mid-length as tides shift. Rainsticks stacked to make a raft. Continental drifting…

Mountains - Choral

Koen Holtkamp - Bear Bell

Tim Hecker - Borderlands

HEATERS

2009-01-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

A couple bangerangs to move backsides to. That slap you across the face with raw meat slab, speaker-humper's delight type style.

This Zomby track demands looping. Massive destruction. Don't get too vexed with the odd closing vocal blip. Booyaka!

Zomby - Need Ur Lovin'

Chateau Flight takes a nice detour toward the more rugged of terrains. Brings to mind the spiraling menace of Troy Pierce. Watch the wobble wobble.

Chateau Flight - La Roquette

Also, I got a new slot on KXLU. Do tune in Tuesday mornings from 6-10 pst. You can stream it live here.

Hatchback - Colors Of The Sun

2009-01-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

Computers crash, uploads fade, and moods swing.

Here's my latest review for TinyMixTapes of the Hatchback album released last year on Lo Recordings:

Colors Of The Sun

and the standout single to accompany

Hatchback - White Diamond

Wrap It Up B...

2008-12-16T21:33:00.001-08:00

Ashamed how long it's been. Wish I had a good excuse. Here's a list and a mix to make it up to you.

2008:

30. Zombie Zombie – A Land For Renegades
29. Tussle – Cream Cuts
28. Rong Music / Various – Notwave
27. Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi / Various – Cosmic Disco? Cosmic Rock!
26. Syclops – I’ve Got My Eye On You
25. Why? – Alopecia
24. Clark – Turning Dragon
23. Hatchback – Colors Of The Sun
22. Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too
21. Kelley Polar – I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling
20. High Places – High Places
19. Booka Shade – The Sun And The Neon Light
18. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
17. Diplo & Santogold – Top Ranking
16. Atlas Sound – Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
15. Black Devil Disco Club – Eight Oh Eight
14. Joakim – My Best Remixes
13. Low Motion Disco - Keep It Slow
12. Four Tet - Ringer
11. Mahjongg - Kontpab
10. Growing – All The Way
9. Quiet Village – Silent Movie
8. Gang Gang Dance – Saint Dymphna
7. The Dodos - Visiter
6. Hercules And Love Affair – Hercules And Love Affair
5. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
4. El Guincho – Alegranza!
3. Larytta – Difficult Fun
2. Deerhunter – Microcastle
1. The Chap – Mega Breakfast

Top 12”s

LCD Soundsystem – Big Ideas (Babytalk Remix)
Hercules And Love Affair – Calssique 2 / Roar
In Flagranti – Firmly Planted Memories
Hot Chip – One Pure Thought (Supermayer Remix)
Bostro Pesopeo – Falls EP
Watussi – Purple Moon / If All We Had Was Love

and here's the mix:

Slightly Sloppy with Lazy Brow

tracklist to follow...

Top Ten Tunes pt.2

2008-11-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

6. Hatchback - Nesso

West Coast, Sunroof, PCH, Solar Eclipse, Melted Rocky Road...

(Lo Recordings)

7. High Places - From Stardust To Sentience

Blowing Bubbles, Forgotten Friends, Merry Machines, Dark Days...

(Thrill Jockey)

8. Scotti Coats - Beautiful Ones

Loose Change, Step Dads, Test Tubes, Church Organs, Taser Gun...

(Rong Music)

9. Zombie Zombie - Nightclubbing

No-Doz, Asthma Attack, Bed Of Nails, Costume Party, Rocket USA...

(Versatile Records)

10. Growing - Green Flag

Grating Cheese, Incubator, Pond Scum, Light Show, Silly Putty...

(Social Registry)

**Decoder in box**

Ain't Trickin' If You Got It

2008-11-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a snip of a recent KXLU show

David - KXLU 10/16

Dølle Jølle – Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje Remix)
The Chap – Caution Me (Vincent Oliver’s Minimal Effort Remix)
Lopazz – I Need Ya
Bostro Pesopeo – Communquis
The Stranglers – Bear Cage – Optimo’s Psyche Out
Soulwax – Krack – Nite Versions
In Flagranti – Just Gazing (Robag Wruhme Remix, Joakim Edit)
Booka Shade – Numbers – DJ Kicks
Four Tet – Wing Body Wing – Ringer
Michna Triple – Chrome Dipped – Magic Monday

Running Time - 1:07:17

CMJ NYC 3

2008-10-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Friday/Saturday. Batteries Low. Street Seeking. Fader Fort. Le Poisson Rouge.

Senseless

Fluff Padded

Dormant Scream

Big Hands Pixel

Top Ten Tunes pt. 1

2008-10-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

In no particular order:

1. The Chap - Ethnic Instrument (Joakim Remix)

A crunching robo-thrash take on one of the standouts from the Mega Breakfast album by the French mastermind himself.

(Ghostly International)

2. Bostro Pesopeo - Falls

Grunt and chant laden flutter scuttle. What rock was this dude hiding under and what else is down there?

(Permanent Vacation)

3. Aeroplane ft. Kathy Diamond - Whispers (Hercules And Love Affair Remix)

Over and over, over and over, over and over again.

(Eskimo)

4. Broke - We Ain't Got It

Matias Aguayo's first tandem project since Closer Musik finds him strutting his sexy stuff all over a brilliant bloop beat.

(Kompakt)

5. LCD Soundsystem - Big Ideas (Babytalk Remix)

A new epic from Babytalk that thwarts the original. Beware the synth swells mid-course, you will grow to love them.

(DFA)

CMJ NYC 2

2008-10-25T01:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday. Walking. Ben's Pizza. Fader Fort. Pianos. Hi Fi

Purple Drank

Agro Tag

Wall Ride

Crystal Stilts

Mother Of Science

Snorkel Snout

Spinning Mullet

2008-10-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

This guy is my new hero.

CMJ NYC 1

2008-10-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Night at CMJ - Fader Party. Max Fish. Motor City. DFA at Santos. In-Betweens.

My sentiments exactly

Say AH!

Mic'd Up

Vinyl Stevie

Thinking It Through

Between The Lines

Magillicutty Dweller

Still Going...

Juan MacLean Theremin Multitask

Graphic Shaun

Rip My Stocking

Stickydisc Records

2008-10-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

I've been gushing out of every orifice about the Stickydisc camp ever since I stumbled across Babytalk’s Chance 12”. Babytalk is Eric Broucek, DFA right hand man and former touring member of the Juan MacLean. Partnered with Morgan Wiley, Hercules and Love Affair keyboardist, Babytalk becomes Watussi (hopefully a Cluster reference), to round out the Stickydisc roster. Almost more importantly, is that Eric’s little brother Ian was a classmate of mine at Westwood Charter School here in West LA. I grew up around the corner from the school and we all used to go trick or treating together as kids. As we got older we egged teachers houses and jacked little kids for their overflowing pillowcases of starbursts and milk duds. Their dad was a musician and did the DJing / MCing at the Halloween Hoot annual carnival for the school, his booming voice audible from my backyard. I should have known the kid was destined for stardom. A decade and a half later Eric’s in Brooklyn working alongside James Murphy, the top Don of the scene. I’m sure he doesn’t remember me.

It started a few months back when I was DJing a party. I bumped into this kid who was a friend of a friend and we started playing the “Do you know so-and-so” six degrees of separation game and ended up on Eric’s name. This brought up DFA, from which we clicked over the new Syclops album. He told me to look out for Babytalk. I didn’t think much of it, but stored away the name in the mental musical Rolodex. A couple months later, I’m at Amoeba in the Misc. B section and I see the Stickydisc print for the first time. There it was: green black and tan tribal triangle zigzag. If I had any doubts, the Hercules remix cred cast them aside. It is truly one of the purest moments in life when you lay a record that you’ve never heard before down on the platter for its first play. This instance in particular was purer than most. The seed that was planted months ago had finally broken its stalk through the thick dirt. A baby was born.

It’s funny how, as a DJ, I feel like I actually had a part in the creation of the music I play by unearthing it. I guess it’s a way of rationalizing my addiction to consumerism. If I didn’t buy that record, would anyone ever hear it? Well, it’s very egocentric to think that the answer to the question would be anything resembling a “no.” But, in a way, I almost depend on that train of thought to push me forward in my pursuit of progressive tunes.

I opened my radio show a few weeks ago with Watussi’s “If All We Had Was Love” track and a couple hours later I just couldn’t resist playing a Babytalk track. Some guy called in during the Babytalk, blown away, asking what it was and where he could find it. He said he was out of his car for the past couple hours and had just returned to be greeted by the song, but he had heard (what he thought was) the last DJ play another track hours ago that really stood out. After a general description, I realized it was the Watussi track he was speaking of. Those were the only two songs he had heard and he had no clue they were the same artist. The stars were properly aligned for him, and it gave me the reassurance I needed. My zealous worship was not in vain.

A description of the Stickydisc sound came to me in a dream. You’re driving up a hill that gets steeper and steeper as you ascend. Eventually you are completely vertical rushing full speed ahead. The hill ends and you are thrust into the ether. Once you clear the first cloud you launch through a portal. You enter a world of throbbing colors, vibrant to the point that they blur all vision. Engulfed by the light waves you pulse as they do, lacking all control. You lose concepts of time and space and just ARE. The seasons change around you, but you are none the wiser. There are no calendars here. It is a stable realm that exists by chance. But you are there for a reason.

“Rising higher as we get down.”

In more real terms, Stickydisc is unreal. It’s a cosmic sorcery of sultry synth work, horny horn huffs and a healthy helping of snaps, kicks and claps. The seven or eight minute frame that surrounds each track can barely contain most excursions. They build up and break down midcourse, only to swell and bulge again like unrelenting love muscles. Never is a nano wasted. Subdued voices mingle amidst the madness with poignant nuggets of (un)conscious thought that burrow their way into brains like the best of earwigs.

Good luck getting them out!

Buy the vinyl here

and check these tracks

Babytalk - Chance

Watussi - If All We Had Was Love

Seattle

2008-10-17T01:51:00.000-07:00

Click on these pics from a recent trip. More on this soon...

I Used To Sell Mixtapes...

2008-10-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

The fine peeps at Tiny Mix Tapes have added your boy to their noteworthy roster of music writers. My discussion of the Larytta album, Difficult Fun, has been posted today as the site's feature review.

You can check it out here.

Dig Log #1

2008-10-14T14:37:00.001-07:00

A recurring section where I dissect my recent vinyl findings. These are all albums I actually purchased. The goal is to keep it under about $43 (usually 3 or 4 pieces depending on the Used luck). Please go out and support the artists you love. Buy music!

Everyday Music, Seattle---

In Flagranti - Firmly Planted Memories - Very exciting Black Mambazo body mover from this super-duper slept on. The vocal sample echoes in my mind, a tribal séance kind of mantra. Please tell me what it says so I can sing along with the right words for once. This Brooklyn duo has hit their stride. The cover design – while not as lewd as I’m used – has taken an interesting turn towards new directions. Banger status from the Codek camp!

In Flagranti - Frimly Planted Memories

Optimo - Psyche Out - Selected cuts from their mix released on Eskimo. Glad I took a chance on this one. Didn’t recognize any of the tracks but one, the Dinosaur (left out the L) jam “Kiss Me Again.” Skatt Bros bring the easy standout with Walk The Night, but every song knocks… cosmic, freaky and fun.

Skatt Bros. - Walk The Night

Michael Mayer - Touch - This one was used and I couldn’t pass it up. We were seeing him the next night and I’d never even heard this solo full length. A solid listen, very characteristic of the signature Kompakt sound, but definitely best for a single song here or there.

It Might Blow Up...

2008-10-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

It happens every time. The underground gets “Over”. I used to get bitter, gripping to pre-big-break bands like stuffed pound puppies, all to myself. I didn’t want the wrong people getting their hands on my top secrets in fear of a co-opted movement of fakers and perpetrators. I guess it was the battle-mode hip-hop head in me, “keeping it true.” Who would have thought that same hip-hop head would be beat matching techno and disco records just a few years later? You grow up. You turn in your cotton-padded animals to Goodwill and let others share the love you held too tight to chest for oh so long.

As is the case with a little group called Hot Chip. Passed to me five years ago by my work supervisor Will at the Environmental Design library of UC Berkeley, Coming On Strong was an album that slapped me in a, you never heard some shit like this before, kind of way. Wonderin’ how the hell does Stevie Wonder see things. It was on some other - whiteboy eclectic electric funk with enough tongue in cheek to keep you constantly guessing. Kraft dinners, shiny SUV’s, blazin’ out Yo La Tengo, and I don’t know about babies being born. Far from anything I reshelved books to ever before. Yeah, it made a major mark and lead me into a world of music that could allow the outside world a peak in, while still remaining itself all the while.

Flash forward five years to a few days ago. I show up at the Wiltern for the second of a dual-night Hot Chip stint. The fair share of scenic weenies and bangs-hidden women greet me in the foyer. Despite lacking the coveted purple wristband, I found my way down to the pit area of the venue (good to see my gangster tactics are still in tact) where giddy groupies ogled stage hands, presuming they were band members putting the finishing touches on sound check. A bearded man behind me let out a massive war cry in honor of the headliners and, as if on cue, the five Chippers, joined by the live drummer from the LCD band, made their way on stage to much hurrah.

Trendy or not, the band still knows how to put on a damn good show. Despite only playing one track from their first (and finest) album, a so-so rendition of Down With Prince, they tweaked and freaked synths and drum machines churning out their latest sweat inducing hits Ready For The Floor and One Pure Thought (of which the Supermayer remix is ridic). Not their best show ever - admittedly I lacked the school boy fervor from years passed - but it did rank up there, climaxing with an encore performance of No Fit State that resembled a crazed American Apparel ad once enough flailing hip-kids jumped on stage.

They concluded with a disappointing slow song that I didn’t recognize, deflating the energy that they had surmounted in one fell swoop, but I guess it was a fitting comedown from their high octane set. The lights came on and everyone scattered like vampires into the street. A bombardment of rave fliers from every angle shortly followed. I walked away with a resolved sentiment, realizing, you can blow up a balloon and still stick a needle in its soft spot without it popping.

Difficult Fun

2008-10-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Offbeat, off-kilter, and for the most part off their rockers, Swiss tandem Larytta are making trouble in the best of ways. The phrases ‘degenerate-rock,’ ‘ESLectro,’ and ‘exchange-student afro-pop’ readily come to mind. For an electronic head locked in the basement, this is an uncomfortable breath of fresh air, goose bump material that leaves you looking back over your shoulder to see if someone is watching. Taking the impossibility out of contradiction, Difficult Fun is the best of tests. Like your calculus teacher handing out a problem set of brain-teasers and optical illusions, Larytta challenges you to take a leap outside of comfy confines and expand your notion of what music-making is and can be.

A kaleidoscopic range of styles crammed into a 13-track easy-to-swallow capsule, Difficult Fun manages to teeter between depression, hilarity, confusion, and hope, like a bipolar best friend who always answers the phone on first ring. Not to mention they make dope-ass beats. Lyrically, Christian Pahud & Guy Meldem have amassed a trippy testimony of trials and (mostly) tribs, ups and (mostly) downs. With lyrical gems like “You should really see a doctor/ Yeah I know it’s on my mind” (“Bauch Amp”) and “I know seven languages/ I know the capitals of every country/ But where is the money?” (“The Money”), the duo uses the album to talk each other through erratic fits of scatter-brained malady. The voices themselves represent contrasting hemispheres of the mental — one side, a hard, monotone splotch of drab grey attempting to break through its imposed sedation; the other, a soft saccharine seduction that isn’t afraid to hit the painful high notes. Conversely, if one were to tune-out the actual words, the album would read like a pop scrapbook, pieced together by ethnomusicologists who got their hands on a rusty MPC.

Both clean and gritty, subdued and erratic, plain and edgy, Larytta find a way to be what you want of them, all the while never quite becoming the people they themselves want to be. On “Is This Cheese?,” muttered vocals mingle with scuttling bass blasts that would easily ascend the rungs of the pop chart if they weren’t so odd in their infectiousness. Elsewhere, tracks like “Ya-Ya-Ya” and “Voodoo Things” bang Konono No. 1 congotronic lo-fidelity below monosyllabic tribal chants, grunts, and toots. “Spoiled Kids” finds the twisted Swiss’ters tweaking dance floor 4x4 rhythms with stuttered synth stabs and vocal snippets that refuse to quit.

There is an insatiable thirst tracing through the narrative of Difficult Fun. Larytta never actually finds the hose, but if they did, a water fight would likely ensue before any quenching was accomplished.

Is This Cheese? on Just Sayin Is All

Bauch Amp and Ya-Ya-Ya on rcrdlbl.com

The Graveyard

2008-09-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

So I've got this little radio show ditty on KXLU. That's 88.9 FM Los Angeles. They've got me doing the Graveyard Shift on Wed. night/Thurs. morn, 2a-6a (for now). If you can't sleep, check me out. Here's a couple past playlists from my show. Lots of fun stuff. Mostly just me raving solo in the studio.

8/21
Artist/Song/Album

Bjorn Torske – Hatten Passer – Sunkissed Compilation
YACHT – The Summer Song – 12”
Gucci Soundsystem – Acarpenter (Joakim Mix) – 12”
Bobby Evans – Freak-A-Zoid Robots – Delicious Vinyl Rmxxxology
The Black Ghosts – Repetition Kills You – The Black Ghosts
The Knife – Marble House (Booka Shade Mix) – 12”
Morgan Geist – Palace Knife – Double Night Time
Matthew Dear – Hammers – EP1
Brooks – Bedbugs – Red Tape
Prins Thomas & Todd Terje – Ranbaen – 12”
James Pants – B-Side – We’re Through
Delia Gonzales + Gavin Russom – Rise – The Days Of Mars
Animal Collective – Visiting Friends – Sung Tongs
Blockhead – Triptych Pt. 1 – Music By Cavelight
Slug / Aesop Rock / MF Doom – Put Your Quarter Up – 12”
NOIA – West Is The Best – Collected
Adlib – Manipulation Of The Mind’s Set – Manipulator
Eliot Lipp – Beyond The City – The Outside
Larytta – Spoiled Kids – Difficult Fun
Inch-Time – Icicles + Snowflakes
DJ Koze – Estrella – Kosi Comes Around
Kim Hiorthoy – Track 3 – Live Shet
Lil Kim – Lighters Up – 12”
Diplo – Brew Barrymore
E40 – Gasoline – 12”
Skream! – Rutten – Skream!
Pan American – Steel Stars - 360 Business / 360 Bypass
Steve Reich – America – Before The War – Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint
Black Dice – Seabird – Beaches And Canyons
Phillip Jeck – Wholesome – 7
AU – Summerheat – Verbs
Hood – You’re Worth The Whole World – Cold House
Coco Rosie – Japan – The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn
Air – Playground Love – The Virgin Suicides Score
Salvatore – Chant Of The No-Nos – Fresh
Dirty Projectors – Two Sheep Asleep – New Attitude
Fog – What-A-Day Day – Ether Teeth

7/18
Artist/Song/Album

Four Tet – Ringer – Ringer EP
Deerhunter – Nothing Ever Happened – Micro Castle
Crystal Antlers – Owl – EP
Chromatics – I Want Your Love – Night Drive
In Flagranti – NonPlusUltra Remix
The Congo Sound – Say I’m Your Number One (Superpitcher Remix)
Clark – New Year Storm – Turning Dragons
Booka Shade – Karma Car – The Sun And The Neon Light
The Dave Howard Singers – Yon Yoonson – Funnky Alternatives 4 Comp.
Low Motion Disco – People Come In Slowly – Keep It Slow
Magnetophone – Kel’s Vintage Thought (Out Hud Remix)
Yellow Magic Orchestra – Seoul Music – Disco Not Disco Comp.
Diskjokke – Interpolation – Staying In
Cameo – Back and Forth (Dub)
Joakim – The Minimum Of Life – Fantimes
Gui Boratto – Beautiful Life – Chromophobia
Neon Neon – Raquel – Stainless Style
Pier Bucci – Tita – Familia
Deadbeat – Port-Au-Prince – New World Observer
Pantha Du Prince – Steiner Im Flug – This Bliss
Bracken – Heathens (Third Eye Foundation Remix)
Murmur – Undertone – Undertone
Kraftwerk – Airwaves – Radioactivity
Lindstrom – The Long Way Home – Where You Go I Go Too
Suicide – Rocket USA – Suicide
Odd Nosdam – The Kill Tone Two – Level Live Wires
Outputmessage – Snow – Nebulae
Sascha Funke – Summer Rain – Mango
The Velvet Underground – The Murder Mystery – Velvet Underground
Laurie Anderson – Excellent Birds – Mister Heartbreak
The Books – Take Time – The Lemon Of Pink
Grizzly Bear – Sure Thing – Sorry For The Delay
Eno / Moebius / Roedilius – The Belldog – After The Heat
Labradford – Track 2 – E Luxo So
Bobby Brown – Mama Knows Boys A Rambler – The Enlightening Beam Of Axonda
El Guincho – Cuando Maravilla Fui – Alegranza
Pascal Schaefer – Drrrunk – Dawn
Populous – Hip-Hop Cocotte – Queue For Love
Nobody & Mystic Chords Of Memory – Feet Upon Sand (DNTEL Remix)
Jim O’Rourke – Women Of The World – Eureka
Primal Scream – Higher Than The Sun – Screamadelica
Christopher Willits – Colors Shifting – Surf Boundaries
Mantler – Marnie – Sadisfaction
Console – Hibernating – Mono

Never Been Fishing

2008-09-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to write for magazines. Real print. More than tangible - rip-able. Share my quest for forward-thinking beat driven movements beyond my three friend music circle. Uncloak ether-region nuggets of traveling sound through stationary word. Post my Amoeba lists for fellow seekers of this nebulous misnomer of a genre and help you connect the dots in a new and unforeseen way. The magazines I read are slowly corroding; the patina of this independent arena wears thin; websites just aren't hitting the nail on the head. Meanwhile, I'm sucking my pacifier, coated in ad-funded editor assignments, waiting for a pitch I actually feel to catch. Enough waiting, time to cast out my line and fish out the dirtiest of gems from murky depths.