Sup!
Been a long time since I released a new mix, mostly because i’ve been holdin out till I had a bunch of originals i could share. I wish there was more originals in here, but I’ve been working a really time consuming job and i have many other projects that all take up a lot of my time, so this is the best i could do. Hopefully my next mix will have more originals, but none the less, i hope you enjoy it.

Download The Mix

Tracklist:

Portland-based producer and live performer Graintable first caught my attention when he popped up as one of the defining members of our online glitch-hop community. His tunes are head bobbing, melodic and with that live/improvisational quality that is all too rare in traditional electronic music.  His music pays homage to a more organic movement which has led to offbeat styles like wonky, but is also meticulously crafted and dancefloor-ready – proven by his recent second-place victory in the Seattle laptop battle!

You’ve got an extremely unique take on glitch hop – a really raw live feel running through perfectly edited sounds.  Are you from a musical background? How did you get started in music?  What led you to this current style of performing and producing; did you always do such “live” sets?  How long have you been playing out?

I started playing the drums when I was 13 and then came guitar, bass, and piano.  I really liked the lower tones and percussive sounds of the bass so it eventually became my focus.  I studied sound engineering and jazz performance for a few semesters in college but eventually ended up dropping out and moving to California.  On the west coast I met some like minded musicians and we formed a “live electronica” band called Absynth.  It was kinda like STS9 or the Disco Biscuits type stuff, I played bass guitar and synth as well as triggering off loops and one shots on Ableton Live.  After touring the west coast for a while and self-releasing a live album with Absynth I decided I wanted to focus more on my own productions, so last fall we put the band on hold and Graintable was born.  I guess my style of performing comes from my experience playing instruments and from playing live with other musicians.

Who inspires you right now?  Did you have any mentors on your journey?

I’m inspired by my surroundings and experiences, just everyday life I guess.  I don’t know if I’ve ever really had a mentor?  I just kinda do my own thing.

How do you get your ideas for tunes, do you start more with live jamming or create ideas and figure out their performance afterwards?

I usually start with a drum beat or a synth sound and then just mess around until something clicks, something that makes my head nod.  Then I’ll just start building on that and see where it takes me.  Sometimes it goes nowhere and I end up going back to the original idea and starting over, or sometimes a new idea will come about and i’ll start over from there.  Once I feel the track is complete I bounce out the seperate tracks (bass, drums, ect..) into individual audio files and then cut them up into parts I can perform in my live set.”
Describe your production setup, and your live setup if different.

I wish i could say i had a mountain of analog synths and bounce everything through a vintage tape deck, but that shit is expensive!  I work mainly in Ableton Live with a few choice VSTs and an M-Audio Oxygen8 and Trigger Finger for control.  I’ve also got a Korg Kaossilator which is super fun and sometimes i’ll break out my fretless bass.  For live stuff I use an Akai APC 40, which i’m still just getting the hang of but it’s opened up quite a few new possibillities.

Where do you think this music we call glitch hop is going?  How is Portland receiving it?  Are you originally from there?  if not, what made you relocate there?

Hmm, that’s a tuff one.  I don’t really like to “label” music, I just know what I like and what I don’t like, so it’s kinda hard for me to say where glitch hop is going.  However I will say that it’s great to see so many producers emerging that are taking the “glitch hop” sound and making it thier own, transforming it into something new.  The only way a style of music is going go anywhere is if people keep being creative and re-inventing it.  If everybody goes for the same sound it’ll just get stale and fade away.  Portland’s got a real diverse music scene and people up here are just ready and waiting to eat up new forms of music.  I’m not originally from Portland, I grew up in New Hampshire, went to school in Boston, then moved to Lake Tahoe, CA, and just arrived in Portland last fall.  The band used to come up here for shows and I always loved it, so I just decided to move here.

What advice do you have for producers wanting to take their sets in a more live direction?  Essential tools?

Ableton Live is a good start.  It lets you manipulate audio and midi in anyway you can imagine.  You don’t need the biggest baddest midi controller either, you just have to think of a fun and creative way to “perform” your music using what you have.

Fill us in on Chip Chop.

Chip Chop has actually been around longer than the Graintable project.  Back when I played with Absynth, Adam (the drummer) and I would do “PA” sets with him on a small electronic drum kit (Roland SPD-S & KD-8) and myself on a laptop and midi controller.  It eventually evolved into it’s own sound and we’ve been at it full on since last summer.  Since we live in different states now, we collaborate on tracks via the internet.  I’ll send Adam something and he’ll add to it, or vice versa and a track will go back and forth anywhere from 2 to 20 times before we’re finished with it, then when we perform it live Adam plays the drum parts on the electronic kit.  Right now we’re working on our debut EP for Run Riot Records which should be available later this year. Both myself and Chip Chop appear on the Run Riot Records compilation “Motion Sickness”out now, and my solo stuff might see a release after the Chip Chop EP drops with a few remixes and dj mixes in between.

GET THE FREE LOST FROST EP HERE!

LISTEN:

Chip Chop – Los Gorditos

Gouseion – \”We\’re In High School\” – Graintable Remix

www.graintable.com
www.myspace.com/graintable
www.youtube.com/graintablemusic
www.myspace.com/chipchopmusic
www.runriotrecords.com

The difference between Toronto-based artist Ill Gates and anyone else you might check out?  An electrifying combination of intelligence, global awareness, and wicked bass combined with a compelling live presence.  There is a depth to his style that demands multiple listens, and I sat down with the man over a healthy vegan lunch to find out more.

Photo - Joffrey Middleton-Hope

So what’s the story of the Ill Gates logo?  There seems to be some pretty deep symbology going on.

Well, I wanted a symbol that wasn’t just my name, for one.  It’s kind of a crest for interdimensional security; a representation of the underground elite.  Or… what do you want it to be?

Is that the point of it?

There’s a lot of inspirations behind this symbol.  Things like Bohemian Grove – groups like that, developing all these strategies to prevent betrayal by their members.  Blackmailing them by forcing them to do highly immoral things on camera – creating this conspiracy of silence by people who have no empathy for the human race.  So I wanted to make something that was the opposite of this.  I borrowed symbols from a few of these places and inverted them, rearranged them.  Making a statement about how this world we’ve been presented with is a lie, and you need to make your own interpretation of it.  Something to make people think, but not tell them what to think.

@ The Dollhouse in Vancouver - Photo by John Revolver

I think that’s a pretty good description of a lot of your music.  So, how did you get started in production, and what are some of your favourite tools?

I got my first synth at the age of 12 using money from my child acting career and pretty much just haven’t stopped.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have enough success doing artistic things that I haven’t spent a lot of time doing unrelated work, which has given me a lot of time to develop my own style. Lorin Bassnectar is one of my best friends and he’s taught me a LOT over the years. Dave Tipper only ever stayed at my house for one week but it basically changed my life, and then my biggest inspiration is this crazy bitch named Nunich that I live with.
My favourite tool is Ableton Live – it’s so awesome I’d brush my teeth with it if I could.

Well I think that teaching seminars about it is an adequate substitute.  And what drew you to glitch-hop?

I’ve always liked experimental music, the more fucked up and creatively demented the better, and then when I dance i like to dance to hiphop. It’s a marriage made in heaven! I also think that hiphop culture is one of the most touching and awesome things to have ever come out of the modern underground. I grew up on a steady diet of fat beats, graffiti, breakdancing, and psychedelics. There’s really no better place for me than glitch hop.

Do you think there’s any ground left to break in music?

Electronic music is still really difficult to do live. When you’re playing on big sound systems you basically have to be playing mixed, mastered audio to really run the system proper. I’d really like the technology to get to the point where a real deal 100% LIVE live electronic act is within reach of anyone with a computer. As it currently stands you need to hire a highly skilled professional to sit out in the room mixing everything and riding your levels if you want it to sound proper.
Yeah.. I’ve already had that kind of problem.   If you don’t pre-master your samples the levels always go up and down.  I do enjoy the trend of live PA though.. what kind of trends would you like to see in electronic music?

I’d LOVE to see North American radio start behaving more like the BBC. Having the public airwaves be constantly full of new, domestic, electronic, underground, and experimental music is so important for the development of any music scene. In England you get kids growing up listening to pirate radio, or unreleased dubs on the BBC, and then when they get old enough to party that’s what they want to hear. In North America kids grow up listening to basically the worst music that has ever been made, so it’s really unsurprising that they grow up to have horrible taste in music and everything else.

More DJs should be playing their own music. When you travel, it becomes immediately apparent how completely unimaginative it is to just dj whatever this week’s hottest tunes on Beatport are. I see all of these DJs thinking they’re all unique and cutting edge when they drop the latest Reso or Rusko tune and it totally makes me roll my eyes.

Hey I resent that.  The Integrated Grime Unit is very grimey, and fairly integrated, but “cute” we are not.  If you want cute, go steal the Glitch Hop Forum bunny.  So what do you think of the scene in Canada?  What are the pros and cons of being an electronic musician here?

People in this country are so tame… The pockets of freaks are few and far between, and for the most part everyone just wants to go out and get bottle service and listen to Rihanna. It’s retarded. Without the few other crews doing underground jams I’d probably just saw off my own dick.

Heehee, all kidding aside, I actually love living in Canada. It’s a really open minded place, everyone is laid back, I can pay my rent doing only music, and each city totally has it’s own thing going on. Sure I wish that there were more and bigger parties, but that’s life. I’d really like to see some Canadian born genres, and for each city to have it’s own sound more. The Lighta! Crew guys are pretty good like that, and so is your cute little glitch hop fam, but the East Coast, the Prairies, and even Ontario have a LOOOOONG way to go.

What do you think is killing the scene in general; what trends are you sick of?

I’m sick of people just dropping bassline banger after bassline banger with no melody or personality. It killed Drum and Bass, and it’ll kill Dubstep and Glitch Hop too if we let it. Let’s get some more melody in there, and make the tunes a bit more memorable. Too many DJ bass tunes gets overly phallocentric too. What i said above is basically the same complaint I hear from anyone who has a vagina.

I agree, and I have one.  So on the positive side again, what are the top ten producers you think people should be watching out for?

Dewey dB, EPROM, Rustie (heard some seeeeeerious unreleased tunes while in Cali… wow!).  The new Bassnectar album is pretty insane. I really hope he releases it before he fucking dies, Tipper’s got like 2 new albums of unreleased stuff I heard, Glitchy and Scratchy have some unreleased heaters too, and Ana Sia is slaying it pretty hard these days as well. Sharps from Edmonton is a badass, AmpLive has some fresh shit, and Mochipet has been making me pretty happy lately as well.

And what are you up to musically these days?

I’m doing a lot of remixes.  I just did something for Subswara, and I’m getting into a lot of techno-experimental dubstep.  It sounds like dubstep for orcs.  Got some stuff coming up on Muti Music as well.. I’m making another album.

Do tell!  What can we expect from it?

Well, the idea with my last album, Autopirate was to make a really diverse album.  Everyone else seemed to be doing the whole thing where you find ‘your own style’ and then beat it to death by making every tune sound the same) – I wanted to do the opposite.  This new one is going to be diverse, for sure, but there probably won’t be as many downtempo and experimental tunes on it, and most likely no breaks either. It’ll be much more dancefloor, and much more unified. Other than that… you’ll just have to come see me live if you’re curious!

CHECK OUT:

http://www.thephatconductor.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thephatconductor

BUY ILL GATES TRACKS

Photo - Joffrey Middleton-Hope

THE INTEGRATED GRIME UNIT :: REEL BASS TOUR 2008

Words & Photos by ill-esha——————————————————————————–“LIKE A ROBOT HAVING SEX WITH MC HAMMER,” grins Bevan of the hype Vancouver-based duo Glitchy & Scratchy when I ask him how he would describe glitch hop to someone who’s never heard it before. I’m sitting in my East Van recording studio swapping samples with Bev and Shaun, two glitchy young men who have taken over Vancouver with their unique sound. “Some people call it laser bass, turbo crunk, or womp hop..” they describe.

Although much of the current glitch-hop movement is based around San Francisco, Glitchy & Scratchy also credit UK act Tipper as an originator of the sound. “It’s kind of danceable downtempo taken to the same energy of a drum & bass track… like putting the fun back into hip hop.”Back in the day, Bevvy Swift and Global were breaks and D&B DJs at local raves. “We were tired of such constant heavy walls of sound, at such high BPMs, and wanted to shift towards music that was more about leaving space,” Bevan recounts.

Shaun agrees: “Playing stuff like Pendulum, but honing in on the half-time breakdowns.. Feeling like we needed to breathe more new life into our musical direction. We were writing D&B, but every track felt like it had already been done, so we took the elements of it that we liked and changed up the beats.”

The energy of these two DJs – also prolific producers and promoters – is infectious. After spending some time learning production, the two prowled the grounds of the Apex Festival in summer 2007, searching for any sign of the new sounds of artists they’d discovered. “At 3 am, we found a stage with these guys from Alberta – Jamie J and Application. We instantly connected, not having known there were any other locals into the Glitch Mob!! That was basically the start of [our crew], Integrated Grime Unit.”After the original meeting, the four also added fellow artist/producer Frank Grimes to the roster; as well, they connected with Deepz, who recently played with Glitch Mob at the massive Shambhala festival. Following that was a chance encounter with Dewey dB, a Toronto native and devoted promoter of bass music. “It didn’t originally register that Adrian knew a lot about glitch hop,” explains Shaun, “but after we started talking more and trading music, I realized differently. Besides being able to communicate with computers – we call him Tech Support – he’s been passionately supporting music. Throwing events with Dubslingers, running three dubstep sites.. he’s a production prodigy as well, and all of his tunes are very detailed.”

Bev’s eyes light up as he describes the I.G.U.’s first party, December 2007: “Everyone that came out was really excited just to hear this music. Our friends that came had been listening to us talk about it for two years, and then we got to showcase it. About 200 people, and it was funny because the police came, but they ended up apologizing because they realized it was a fundraiser and we actually had the proper licenses. We’ve had 7 parties since.”What was his favourite? “Zombies versus Robots, definitely. It was the biggest sweatbox party you’ve ever seen. Bringing you back to the 13-year-old raver days.. except this time the people are a little bit older, and know what’s up.”Shaun: “It was so hot that people should have left, but nobody did. Everyone just kept dancing and getting hotter. Awesome!”

One of the trademarks of a Glitchy & Scratchy set is their assortment of original tunes. Using Logic 5.5 Platinum on a PC, they also name Native Instruments and Waves as some of their favourite plug-ins. But contrary to their prolific production of highly technical beats, the two laugh that they’re still not particularly computer-oriented. And how do you make these crazy sounds when you’re supposedly non-technical?“If Jimi Hendrix learned to use a left-handed guitar, we can learn to use Logic 5.5 to make glitch-hop!” Bevan beams.

Glitchy & Scratchy also collaborate with other producers like Tones and crewmates Dewey dB and Frank Grimes. There is talk of starting a label, which would include other talented locals deserving more exposure.“Nobody else in our city is playing glitch-hop. Our intake of music is completely separate from others, because a lot of people simply don’t know about it yet.” And this is precisely what the Integrated Grime Unit hopes to remedy with their Western Canada tour. Until mid-December, Glitchy & Scratchy, Dewey dB and Deepz will be on the road in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan to promote their brand of MC Hammer robot sex. Currently with a calendar marked for everything between Cranbrook and Saskatoon, I ask the boys what your typical unsuspecting civilian should expect from a Glitchy & Scratchy party. They are quick to fire off comments totally in sync with what I’ve seen in their high-octane, hyperactive shows:

Bevan: “I just wanna get drunk with as many people as POSSIBLE!”Shaun: “Do a whole lotta jumping off speakers and GETTING JIGGY WITH IT!”But really?Bevan: “Something that makes you react in ways you wouldn’t think.”Shaun: “We don’t give a larbage about anything except making music and having a good time with our friends. I have the best time of my life every time I spin a set, and I’ve been told it’s infectious.
”I’ve definitely been caught by the Glitchy & Scratchy bug and so have many others, judging by the high downloads of the Glitchy, Scratchy & Dewey dB “Laserbass” mix.

With achieving such quick success across the worlds of djing, promotion and music production, what kind of insight would they give other young artists on trying to launch their career? Bevan: “Create your own dream. We throw our own parties, create the atmosphere we want to play in. Just worry about getting your tunes heard, not signed.”Shaun: “Be prepared to put music above everything else in your life and never give up on the idea that you can make it. Focus on that feeling you get when you bring your tunes to people. DJing to me is like soaking the room with what I think is dope.”“Making it is not a place where you get,” says Bevan, “It’s how you feel while you’re getting there.”

I hand back their hard drives. “Here you go. Tonal FX, Lazers, Cinematic, Funk, Soul, Timbaland and Neptunes Drums, Horns, and Arcade Riffs.” Last question.. which one is Glitchy and which one is Scratchy?“Well,” says Shaun, “Wouldn’t you all like to know!!”

Download

MYSPACES (with TOUR DATE LIST):
GLITCHY & SCRATCHY
DEWEY dB

FACEBOOK:GLITCHY & SCRATCHY
INTEGRATED GRIME UNIT

TOUR DATE REQUESTS CONTACT: GLITCHYNSCRATCHY@HOTMAIL.COM
PRESS KIT: INTEGRATED GRIME UNIT PRESS KIT
Zombies Vs. Robots Video – WATCH ON FACEBOOK

In the heart of the mission district in SF; behind the cogs & gears of XLR8R, their web techie and licensing guru, is Bryant Rutledge {aka LL [Low Limit, Lowest Layer?]}. If we recuse one level deeper; behind Bryant Rutledge’s nine to five facade is half of the music genius of Lazer Sword. The other half being Antaeus Roy [aka Lando Kal]. Throw in Ghosts on Tape and you’ll get what peeps have been callin the Fort Knocks crew.

Lando and LL have been workin’ hard, and will be droppin’ their first release on B.E.A.R. records. They also have a tune coming out soon on a B.E.A.R. compilation. Their live show is what I would like to hear more often in the future of live glitch hop performers. Anyone can beatmatch and mix, but these guys take it to the next level. Everything they do live is 100% improvised, an all-out remix-the-fuck-out-of-everything type of affair. You never know to expect when you hear them rock the party, ’cause they don’t even know either. Think improvisational jazz circa 2010, only with dope drum machines, synths, and laptops instead of sax, bass cello, and a drum kit. They’ve blown up the spot with the likes of the glitch mob, flying lotus, mstrkrft, the cool kids, chromatics, kid 606, trackademicks, ghislain poirier, white girl lust & others…Seriously, you’re so not ready for these tunes:

LL – WHERE U BEEN 7.0 (MELTDOWN DELUXE)
Lazer Sword- $TREET $COOBY
I GET MONEY (LAZER SWORD NEON HOT POCKETS REMIX)

When I look at this guy, the last thing that comes to mind is University Professor; however, to the contrary, Steve Nalepa teaches ‘Principles of Music Technology’ at Chapman University Conservatory of Music. He shows really talented classical musicians how to use ProTools, Ableton Live, Reason, etc.

To indulge his passion, he also makes his own beautiful audiovisual masterpieces, under the moniker ‘Nalepa’. On his own, he’s released a handful of tracks on various artists compilations:

‘Fresh’ on Left Coast Liquid Vol. 1 {Native State [2005]}; ‘Porcelain’ on Beneath The Surface {Native State [2006]}; ‘Pomme Granite Dub’ on Future Sound Theory {Celestial Dragon Records [2006]}; ‘Blue’ on Devil in the Detail {Interchill Records [2007]}; and ‘Flatlands’ on Visionair #53: SOUND {Visionaire [2007]}.

Thanks to some motivation from the awesome artist Bluetech [founder of Native State], we can look forward to all these tracks [as well as a handful of others] getting re-released later this summer as a full length album – ‘Flatlands’. On top of this, it comes with a DVD packed full of sexy fun times videos by Benton-C Bainbridge, Brian Kane, Brian Ziffer and Thomas Williams. Not enough? As an added bonus, this disk of goodness will feature remixes by The Glitch Mob, Ruxpin, Deru, (a)pendics.shuffle, David Last, RD, RaNDom, Slidecamp, Kero, Rena Jones, Kraddy, Aerostatic, Bluetech and the Nosaj Thing track we posted already!! For anyone into this music as much as I am, you are thinking ‘what an album’, and you are right!

Here’s an interesting side story while you regain your composure — while I was researching this article, I was told a very old friend of Steve’s came across tracks off my Nosaj Thing article that had been cross posted to pampelmoose, including the Nosaj remix of Flatlands. The mp3 was listed as ‘Nalepa’, and due to the relatively uncommon last name, he decided to check if it was the same Nalepa. Sure enough, it was… So there ya have it – downtempo.ca re-unites people!

Steve and his friend MattB [aka RaNDom] from Japan, have been bouncing incredibly wicked ideas back and forth over the ocean [man, I love the 'net]. Together they go by Bass Science. On December 7, 2007, they dropped their debut EP on Native State, ‘Transmissions from Planet Dub‘. This very unique blend of well produced glitchy-bass-heavy-electronic-dubstep will slam you like a typhoon, and before you even notice you’ll be drowning in lush layers of atmospherics and angelic symphonics. If you make it through that, you most likely will be smacked around by crisp drums and crushed by an immense bass weight. Look out for the Bass Science LP slaughtering heads across the nation, due to drop late 2008. Try ‘Imminent Threat’ on for size below.

On top of all this, Steve has been working with Justin Rickles [aka Brasswork Agency]. Justin’s portfolio is as impressive as Steves – a sound engineer, who’s worked with greats like Public Enemy and The Young Dubliners, releasing music on Plex Records, as well as the infamous Merck Records [a big favourite here at downtempo.ca, i love you Gabe!], and also putting out an upcoming release on LeftHouse Records. These Chicago-born, LA-based music/multimedia event producers combine powers to make the killer duo The FMs. Just recently they dropped Fabulous Morning Swim, also on Native State Records [you can buy it from Beatport]. The FMs reminds me a lot of early IDM, but with a more modern spin. The production skills of both of these talented individuals really shines through across the whole EP. I’ve had a very difficult time picking out my favourite track from this album because I like them all so much! So, I’ve chosen ‘Fancy Seeing You Here’ because it suits my current mood the best.

Nalepa – Porcelain
Nalepa – Flatlands
Nalepa – Pomme Granite Dub

Bass Science – Imminent Threat [Buy the EP]

The FMs – Fancy Seeing You Here [Buy the EP]

Jason Chung aka Nosaj Thing has been catching a lot of peoples attention lately. The reason is obvious. People are starved for talented electronic musicians like this. When I first listened to Jason’s promo mixtape [recorded for dublab], my brain milk was leaking all over the desk …it was disgusting. Which brings me to an interesting question – at what point do words become completely ambiguous? The other day someone told me “yo, those shoes are rude!” and I wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing.

Ok! Sorry about the attention deficit influenced random tangent – listen to the mix: Nosaj Thing Live On Dublab

After I cleaned up the brain-mess, I hunted down his EP, which you can buy at Turntable Lab, iTunes and through Paypal. The release sounds like a combination of Eliot Lipp, Daedelus, edIT, Ooah, Lorn & Flying Lotus, but still has a lot of its own unique character and style to it. As I regard this as one of those pieces of art that are just an amazing journey front to back, it has been difficult for me to pick out single tracks as being my favourites. -sigh-

This is the part where I do anyways:

Nosaj Thing – Heart Entire
Nosaj Thing – Distro

In the process of searching for that EP I discovered that he’s dropped a slew of remixes, some of which have even been contest winners! Surprised? Unlikely.

Daedelus-It’s Madness (Nosaj Thing Remix)
Nalepa – Flatlands (Nosaj Thing Remix)
Health-Tabloid Sores (Nosaj Thing Remix)
Plastic Little-More Tongue Less Teeth ft. MF Doom (Nosaj Thing Remix)
Scarub from Living Ledgends (?)
Eliot Lipp (?)

Jason is planning on dropping a split 7″ with Lorn, as well as a full length LP sometime in mid 2008! Word is he’s been working pretty damn hard to get it all polished and finished up. I’m not sure who to be more excited about on that 7″ to be totally honest – Lorn and Nosaj Thing are both top notch electronic music producers.

Jason is yet to be signed to a lable, which kinda blows my mind! Hefty? Alphapup? Glitch Mob Unlimited? Seriously what are you guys waiting for? This guy is Glitch-Hop’s best kept secret!

I also recommend checking out his friend Kawata, and the Mixtape. It reminded me how much i love Ratatat. If you haven’t heard their Remixes Vol. 2 yet you really should cop that shit also.

Ok, I’ll just come right out and admit it, I’m obsessed with the glitch mob and everything glitch mob, for fuck sakes I even have a glitch mob sticker on my laptop that I cherish almost more than the laptop itself. I’m tempted to say that Ooah [Joshua Mayer] is one of the most well rounded members of the Glitch Mob, at least in terms of talents. And damm, look at him, that man is sexy! (click the image for a bigger one….droool)

Ooah is a seriously amazing turntablist. Listen to some of his older mixes, and you’ll be spoiled with delightful scratching, beat juggling and mixing [do i really need to mention mixing, i mean isn't that part of the definition of a mix? I guess it depends you could be really hot on noisecore "mix" tapes]. Seriously, what ever happened to turntablism? It’s like ever since Q-bert destroyed the DMCs for a couple years in a row its been kind of a dying art. I’m sure I’m going to get heckled for saying that. I mean, don’t get me wrong here, but turntablism used to be so much more intigrated into an [electronic music] DJ’s set than it is these days. I guess turntablists have been replaced by ableton live dj’s with their armory of VSTs like buffer override, or at least this is what has happened to Ooah.

Besides being a member of the glitch mob, Josh is also one half of the Seedling Escape duo (see below for their promo mix). The other half being Kitty D, another member of the glitch mob. Ooah has a slew of mixes (complete list below) hidden on the otherwise useless glitch mob website [edit - well i guess you could be a fanboy like me and stare at their logo while you masturbate to glitch hop].
Ooah released Hacksaw and Tubstomper on Alpha Pup’s sub label Glitch Mob Unlimited. You can buy those tracks from addictech here and here. He also released Stomp The Yard on a Muti Music compilation I talked about recently, you can buy that track here. And finally the only other tune I’m aware that he’s somewhat officially released is contained within a mix, so i don’t really consider it as counting as a full release of the track. The tune, Tuesday Again, was released as track 4 on the Devil in Detail mix cd which came out on Interchill Records on Sept 27th, 2007. You can order that CD here. Although this mix cd is tight, I can’t wait for a proper release of this track for my own greedy mixing purposes, and well because its mental!
Biggup Ooah, you got nothin’ but love commin’ from me.

Mixes:
The Seedling Escape Mix
Scientific Sound
Dub(step)
Ooah Days
Ghetto Fabulous
Tastes Like Vinyl

Tunes:
<REMOVED>

Oh and just in case you weren’t already overwhelmed with good music, heres one last mix: Local Area Network
This CD was given out the last night after three nights of incredible STS9 performances @ Red Rocks and the Ogden in Denver. It was distributed at the Cervante’s Masterpiece Ballroom after party on September 8th, the bill included Ooah, edIT and Boreta of Glitch Mob and Bassnectar.

1. Ooah “Tuesday Again” (Interchill Records)
2. edIT “Straight Heat” (Alpha Pup Records)
3. Boreta & Eprom “The Good, The Bad, The Squishy” (Unreleased)
4. Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg “The Next Episode” (Kraddy Remix Instrumental) (Refiner Records)/Mr. Vegas “Under Mi Sensi” (Acapella)
5. edIT “The Sirens” (Alpha Pup Records)
6. Boreta & Eprom “Psyphy feat. Mc Epcot” (Unreleased)
7. Ooah “Stomp The Yard” (Muti Music)
8. Lupe Fiasco “I Gotcha” (Kraddy Remix) (Refiner Records)
9. Boreta “Lobegrinder” (Glitch Mob Unlimited)
10. The Grouch “Artsy (edIT Remix)” (Alpha Pup)
11. Clipse “Mr. Me Too (a.k.a. Jalapeno Body Poppers) (Ooah Remix)” (Unreleased)
12. BlackStar “Bright As The Stars (a.k.a. Mos Beautiful) (Kraddy Remix)” (Refiner Records)
*Mix by DJ Yogurt, MC Rev

Believe it or not, I do actually listen to all of the submissions for content on this page …and I get a lot. That said, this blog isn’t very big because I don’t believe in posting daily. I can’t stand bloggers that dilute their content with daily posts about the latest this and hottest that. Quality over quantity, right?

So, on that note, someone whose persistently kept the emails flowing – Ernest Gonzales aka Theory Of Everything, the man behind Exponential Records. He had originally sent me Exponential Presents: Collapsing Culture, but that was during my one year hiatus from blogging. So, although I did indeed listen to it, I never really worked up the motivation to write about it. Since then, he’s sent me all sorts of music, among other things. Most of it is really good, but I, being not only a very critical and picky listener, but also an avid deleter, ended up only keeping a few tunes. As it turns out, these all happened to be by A.M. Architect. Coincidence? Unlikely.

Like all of the musicians behind Exponential Records, A.M. Architect (Daniel Stanush & Diego Chavez) are from San Antonio, Texas. Currently, they are working on releasing an EP or LP through Exponential later this year. Their production style is awesome – all tracks are well mastered, and the content is always very jazzy, luscious, and melodic. It reminds me a lot of Aphilas, or Sofa Lofa.

Recently, Ernest let me know about Wait Till The Ice Melts, a various artists compilation due to drop sometime in March, ‘08 on Exponential. This time I listened to it front to back. And then I listened to it again, which is rare for me. Like I mentioned, I have a lot of music to go through, so something has to be pretty damm good for me to listen twice. The songs I felt really stood out the most were Ernest’s “Caviar, Cigarettes, Dynamite, & Laser Beams”, and of course, A.M. Architect’s “Upon”.

Check them out! I’ve also linked a handful of A.M. Architect tunes that aren’t on this compilation. Enjoy, and make sure to grab a copy of the compilation when it comes out in March.

Ernest Gonzales – Caviar, Cigarettes, Dynamite, & Laser Beams
A.M. Architect – Upon
A.M. Architect – Next of Kin
A.M. Architect – Sleepless Night
A.M. Architect – Unspoken

Vibesquad aka Aaron Holstein is a musician / producer based near Boulder, Colorado. He not only makes music with computers, plays bass, keyboards, guitar, sings, bangs on drums, shakes things, manipulates synthesizers, samplers, doo-dads & what nots… but he also creates websites, digital graphics, writes words and spreads good vibes! Can you ask for more? He plays with Zilla & Sporque, and makes his own special blend of musical sounds & vibrational transmissions as VibeSquad.
I first heard Vibesquad live, last summer (2006), but could not get my fingers on anything until he dropped the Return Of The Pudding People EP on Native State Records. In late 2007 he released some of his hottest material yet, an EP called Sounds to Accompany the Dance Move: The Worm on Proboscis, a label which was created by James Watts (KiloWatts) and Bil Bless. He also dropped a single, Snagglepuss on a pretty dope glitch-hop compilation, Clipping Paths, which was released on the Muti-Music.
Here are two of my favourite tracks by him to date. Please buy his tunes if you like them, this genius has a child to feed!
Biggie Shorty (BUY!)
Dome Piece (BUY!)

So I guess this should be a post all about why I haven’t written anything on any of my websites for over a year…ok, so, moving on, I have two great mixes for you to listen to, they’ve been posted over at dubstep.ca by Crendore.

The Shambhala Mix is very chill, serious downtempo, dubstepy vibes, lots of burial and even an exclusive track by Crendore, Rainy Days. The StripHop Mix is much more of a dancefloor party mix, lots of glitch hop in the first half and finishes off with some heavy whompity ragga dubstep tracks. He’s also packed in a .cue file incase you want to burn the mix as the 32 individual tracks instead of one long track.

Shambhala Mix Tracklist:
01.Kode 9 – Find My Way
02.Scuba – Dream
03.Matty G – Bitter Love
04.Fat Freddy’s Drop – Cays Crays (DMZ Remix)
05.Digital Mystikz Feat Spen G – Anti War Dub
06.Tom Burbank – Slab
07.Boxcutter – Tauhid
08.Vaccine – Wishful Thinking
09.L Wiz – Girl from Codeine City
10.Rusko – Action Dread
11.Burial – Unite
12.Djunya – Rooted
13.Martyn – Broken
14.Crendore – Rainy Days
15.Scuba – Harpoon
16.Various Productions – Lost
17.Plasticman – Japan
18.Tom Burbank – Riding Off
19.Burial – Wayfaring Stranger
20.Burial – Gutted
21.Burial – Southern Comfort
22.Mala – Bury the Bwoy
23.Scuba – Frisco
24.Jawbone – Duppy Conqueror

StripHop Mix Tracklist:
01.Boreta – Bubblin in The Cut
02.Health – Tabloid Sores (Nosaj Thing)
03.Vibesquad – Biggie Shortie
04.Vibesquad – Funk Iz
05.Ooah – The Seedling Escape
06.Markus Wormstorm – J.O.T.D.
07.EdIT – Straight Heat
08.Nosaj Thing – Heart Entire
09.EdIT – Arty
10.Lazer Sword – Stuntin Like My Daddy (RMX)
11.Ooah – Hacksaw
12.Tipper – Learning Is Remembering
13.Breakbeat Budah – Endurance
14.Eprom – Scratchedizzle
15.Lazer Sword – Last Level
16.Unknown – Good Bad Squishy
17.PRGz – Rollin
18.Crendore – Rollin (Mashup)
19.Matty G – One Step
20.Skream – Pass the Redstripe
21.Crendore – Living in Love (Mashup)
22.The Black Ghost – Some Way Through This (Skream & Plastician RMX)
23.Burial – Block Party Where is Home (RMX)
24.Marlow – Machine
25.Rusko – Jahova
26.Skream & Cluekid – Sandsnake
27.Marlow – Convoy
28.Quark Rukspin and Planas – Miserere
29.Unknown – Intercom
30.Babylon System – Everyday Hustle
31.Coki vs. lil jon – act a fool
32.Crendore – Cockney Thug (Mashup)

Hello, and thank you all for your continued support of my music blog. I’m glad that many people frequent it because I really love sharing music with everyone in my life. One of the questions I get asked on a consistant basis is to recommend some “good” Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) and Squarepusher (Thomas Jenkinson) songs. I would like to take a moment to emphasize the point that this is by no means an exhaustive journey into either of these creative geniuses. Rather these six songs I have selected, three from each artist, are meant as a sampling of a few of my favourite songs by each artist. If you know of similar songs by these artists, we would love to hear about it, just leave a comment! Without any further rambling lets begin:
Aphex Twin – Girl/Boy Song sample taken from his 1996 LP “Richard D. James”
Squarepusher – Port Rhombus taken from his 1996 EP “Port Rhombus”
Aphex Twin – Flim sample taken from his 1997 LP “Come to Daddy”
Aphex Twin – Window Licker sample taken from his 1999 EP “Windowlicker”
Squarepusher – My Red Hot Car taken from his 2001 LP “Go Plastic”
Squarepusher – Do You Know Squarepusher taken from his 2002 LP “Do You Know Squarepusher”

Honourable mention also go to the following songs, which are also very good, but I am not comfortable posting that many “sample” songs on here, so look them up, and buy the cd’s/lp’s to support these guys!
Squarepusher – Iambic 5 Poetry (Budakhan Mindphone EP, 1999)
Squarepusher – Iambic 9 Poetry (Ultravisitor LP, 2004)
Squarepusher – Come on my selector (Big Loada EP, 1997)
Aphex Twin – Vordhosbn (DrukQs LP, 2001)
Aphex Twin – Avril 15th (DrukQs LP, 2001)
Aphex Twin – Mt Saint Michel Mix St. Michaels Mount (DrukQs LP, 2001)

This is one of my favourite downtempo record lables, and one of the best EP’s i’ve ever heard. only 4 tracks, but every single one is on point.
“The Sofa Buoy’s first release for Deep-Water marries the lushest dreamscapes with equal measures of breaks and glitches. The release is the labels deepest foray into electronica to date, with producer Chris Cousin confidently steering his tracks toward the melodic and the atmospheric. The EP caters for the discerning disco with the up-for-it ‘Pump da Ball’ and loafs on that deep-sea sofa bed with ‘Struth Ruth’. Hint is rising high now that Ninja Tunes have snapped him up and his brace of limited edition 10” singles are hot property. The Old-skool pastoral downbeat king digs his teeth in to the quirky neck of ‘Counts the Accular’ with his synth-ed out and Minatuar-esque remix…essential stuff for all Hint-heads”

Something a bit different from Merck, the debut 7-track EP from latest signing Aphilas displaying an organic, multi-layered knack with instrumental hip hop and clever samples – all softly destined for the downtempo. Opening cut ‘Lifelong Fiction’ is gorgeous – the beats skipping effortlessly around a melange of strings, flutes, clarinets, the odd mandolin and loose vocal caresses – lovely cinematic styles painted blue. “That’s Just What It’s For” and “Collective Memory Loss” are much more Machine Drum induced, complete with more cut-ups and spannered arrangements, but head for the magnificent “Dubbed Coil of Smoke” on the flip for a smokey display of tight beats and midnight sparkling Rhodes keys, slightly reminiscent of Dj Shadow’s best, but with a different set of rules at its disposal. Very limited as per usual, some copies coming on purple/grey marble effect vinyl. Lovely.
Download for free from archive.org!

Denmark’s Jonas Munk, aka Manual, first came to our attention with his mesmerising EP for the excellent Hobby Industries label. This debut Album for the increasingly devestating Morr Music label is sure to become regarded as a bit of a classic before too long…..there seems to be a bit of a buzz about this LP……people talking. Where Manual differs from the idm fraternity is with his accoustic front. The spine that runs through almost every track accross the 9 gems on offer is an organic one…..melodica, guitars, Piano. The beats and percussive arrangements come as a definite afterburn…..almost an afterthought. Comparisons are hard to conjur up with any degree of precision, but think of Kim Hiorthoy, Boards, Mum. In fact, the overwhelming essence of this LP is in its immaculate musicianship and songwriting displays…warm, but not sickly….melancholy…but uplifting. Recognisable, but new. Essential.