"IF YOU WANT A VISION OF THE FUTURE, IMAGINE CRAP 808 SAMPLES STAMPING ON A HUMAN FACE- FOREVER"
Musick for Moorland was inspired by two immediate events. The first was writing a feature about The Haxan Cloak, whose self-titled album from this year is one of 2011’s finest, darkest treats. The second was a late night purchase of Leyland James Kirby’s 2008 album Bleaklow, recorded and released under the name The Stranger, whose theme was one of exploring the moors around the region where Kirby grew up.
Both musicians are tied together by writing music that’s strongly evocative of the countryside and untamed nature (and also of people being swallowed up by the wilderness). Both albums are wild, elemental listens, necessitating repeat listens at high volume on very large speakers.
This mix was also influenced by a trip to the Peak District a few weeks back, a welcome escape from the urban surrounds within which I spend most of my time.
Outside of these triggers to record the mix, there are the contents themselves. A number of (particularly British) artists have been taking electronic music and composition into darker and more treacherous territories over the last two to three years. People like Demdike Stare, Raime and Ekoplekz are rewiring and re-energising the dread ghosts of eighties Thatcherite Britain, potent reminders of the fucked state we find the UK in circa 2011. Others - Manchester’s Modern Love label and a number of people in Bristol immediately spring to mind - are wearing the hard, polished edges of dancefloor music away, leaving rhythms that send muffled ripples of dissonance outward through the mix. And the spectre of post-punk and early industrial - Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle - is once again leering forward in Perc’s hard-edged techno, Roly Porter’s ragged ambient landscapes, Actress’ house-not-house and Ekoplekz’s crushed analogue dub. Richard Skelton and Lawrence English both make music concerned with space and resonance, the former working with the naturally amplifying properties of wind-whipped moors in order to create beautiful, moving, exploratory string compositions.
There’s something peculiarly British about the landscapes - both urban and rural - these artists evoke: the main reason why it was particularly easy to find the common threads that bind them together in a mix.
So Musick for Moorland is intended, as much as possible, to match its title. For best results, if you’re not anywhere near somewhere wild, cold and unnerving to go walking, it’s probably about turning the lights off, or something similar.
Music by: 10-20, Raime, The Haxan Cloak, The Stranger, Andy Stott, Leyland Kirby, Miles, Demdike Stare, Perc, Richard Skelton, Chris Watson, Roly Porter, Lawrence English, Actress, Shackleton & Sam Kidel.
Download in 320: http://www.mediafire.com/?gg6supb820z47ah
The original plan was to record a super sunny house mix for the freak early October heatwave we just experienced, but by the time I got to my decks it had passed. Brief bloom. Blending moody autumnal bass tracks throughout definitely reinvigorated the DNA of the mix anyway, so whogivezafuk. Some stone cold house classics, a couple of underrated gems from the last couple of years and a smattering of new and upfront tracks. A psychedelic house journey featuring Oliverwho Factory, Risque Rhythm Team, Steffi, Dj Qu, Kowton, Isolee, Walton, Shed, Cosmin TRG, Carl Craig and more.
ALWAYS EVERYTHING 003: SECOND SUMMER ENDING by Always Everything on Mixcloud
Tracklist:
Peverelist - Sun Dance
Creative Sens - Rainbow Harmony
Funkineven - XXX
Risque Rhythm Team - The Jacking Zone
DVA - Ganja
Ikonika - Idiot (Altered Natives Remix)
Cosmin TRG - See Other People
Kode 9 & The Spaceape - Green Sun
Jam City - Barely A Trak
Morgan Geist - Detroit (c2rmx1)
Throwing Snow - Shadower
Steffi - Yours
Walton - Mangled Riddim
The Oliverwho Factory - Galactic Transit (Recall Mix)
Isolée - In Our Country
Kowton - Looking At You
DJ Qu - Babyluv
Altocamet - Contrasendito (Shed Remix)
Leyland Kirby - Live For The Future, Long For The Past
Download 320: http://www.mediafire.com/?rof32s3u4akvl37
Previous Mixes:
Always Everything 002 Grime Futurism 2
Always Everything 001 Flex Mentallo
Next in our mix series, a long overdue sequel.
Austere and alien, the classic 2002-2005 era of grime instrumentals remains one of the most futuristic and alien subgenres of electronic music. Though partly attributable to coincidence- the space required for MCs disfiguring UKG into asymmetry together with naive approaches to extremely restrictive technology- with the requisite imagination it is easy to place grime instrumentals into a lineage with early electronic work, electro, neue deutsche welle and other bold leaps into the unknown. Perhaps its the emphasis on hollowed out sinewaves, a sound that will always be associated with futurism. Maybe the hyper-functionality of 8-bar tracks and stark minimalism puts in mind classic modernist tropes of utopia. Or maybe its just the combination of hungry youngsters absorbing video game soundtracks and a naive approach to technology that calls to mind the usual examples from early electronic experimentation.
At the same time, the complete unattainability of so much of grime has almost imbued the music with a totemic kind of mythology. With limited white label runs, poor distribution infrastructure and rumours of the complete hard drive failure of some classic producers, incredibly there is a wealth of music that will never see the light of day outside of the battered copies in obsessives’ collections. Bizarrely, this futuristic music harkens back to an age before the internet gave everybody instant access to everything, creating a weirdly contradictory exoticism around tracks which can only be found in fossilised form, the lo-fi rips of records endlessly scavenged and re-encoded.
Futurism aside, its still some of the most striking dance music ever created, in its best spots attaining a delicate balance most fail to meet. Steely complexity and sonic experimentation is always tempered with an IDM-dodging functionality and security in purpose. Fierce sexuality and violence offset with a playful, often naive approach. Its at once exploratory and completely direct. Through all of these dichotomies the best grime instrumentals hit all the pleasure spots of the best UK dance music whilst crucially avoiding the oversteps and excesses of the more indulgent underground niches. Its always slightly baffled me that grime was pushed onto a braggadocio/violence side of the dubstep/grime false binary given how diverse the beats actually are, and I still experience a steadfast resistance from detractors who have already written the genre off. I’m still convinced that people from fairly distinct musical backgrounds can find a lot to enjoy in music that seems to exist, artificially or not, at the intersection of lo-fi, electronic music futurism, hypnogogic pop and UK dance music. Perhaps the recurring theme is music that works against restrictions; more and more I think that idea underlies the majority of worthwhile music.
This mix is a collection of a few more white labels I acquired since the previous Grime Futurism mix I did, together with some newer tracks that touch into that unique space. It seemed about right with the announcement of a (sacrilegious) Blade Runner sequel.
ALWAYS EVERYTHING 002: GRIME FUTURISM 2 by Always Everything on Mixcloud
Tracklist
Darq E Freaker - Queen of Hoxton
Superisk - Find Your Way
Big$hot & F1 - Armageddon
Becoming Real - Showdown In Chinatown (Instrumental)
Plasticman - Shockwave
Bok Bok - Crew Instrumental
Big$hot - Stomp Remix
Joker - Untitled.rsn
Zomby - Aquafresh
Starfox - Blink
Jon E Cash - Spanish Fly
Jay Weed - On The Nile (Becoming Real Remix)
Wonder - What
Mr Mitch - Skittles (Brey Remix)
Big$hot - Short Circuit
Jam City - Island
Royal T - Orangeade
Skepta - Love Is Here To Stay (Terror Danjah Remix)
Bossman - Bongo Eyes (Backwards Riddim)
Nocturnal - Bun Man
Bok Bok - Silo Pass
Wiley - Avenger
JME - Skeng
Untold - Never Went Away
Wiley - Colder (Bass Mix)
Vangelis - Main Titles / Ruff Sqwad - Lethal Injection
Download 320: http://www.mediafire.com/?ijytryq70t65yx6
Previous Mix: Always Everything 001: Flex Mentallo
We know, we know.. The internet’s somewhat.. overdetermined for mix series these days. With this in mind, Always Everything is keeping it intimate, these mixes are gonna be irregular and come solely from people we’re close to, in active dialogue with or otherwise. First off the bat comes from within the AE family itself, a set of doomy synth maximalism and booty jams from Flex Mentallo. Taking advantage of recent UK underground solidarity with dirty south hip hop and billboard top 40, Flex tightly mixes a set that brings UK bass mutations, trap anthems and synth driven abstractions together into one fluid, dancefloor ready package, offsetting R&B ethereality with speaker blowing low end, braggadocio with pathos, sweet with sour. Basically, it bangs, listen up.
Always Everything 001: Flex Mentallo by Always Everything on Mixcloud
Tracklist
Gucci Mane - Volume (instrumental) [Prod. J.U.S.T.I.C.E League]
Morgan Zarate - Hookid
Young Jeezy - What They Want
Maximillion Dunbar - Down There
Gucci Mane - All About The Money (Instrumental) [Prod. Drumma Boy]
Beyonce - Diva
Rustie - Dragonfly
Young L - Loser
Ginz - Boss
Rick Ross - MC Hammer (feat. Gucci Mane)
SX - 10:28am (Instrumental)
Pearson Sound - Blanked
Ciara - Ride (feat. Ludacris)
Becoming Real - Showdown In Chinatown (Instrumental)
Dozen - Too Much (Illum Sphere)
Ludacris - Party No Mo
Superisk - Find Your Way VIP (Instrumental)
Kuedo - Joy Construction
The-Dream - F.I.L.A
Jam City - 2 Hot
Hype Williams - Ooovrrr
Final End
Download in 320: http://www.mediafire.com/?98phl4bpkqttc47
So it’s been a quiet few weeks here at AE, what with time spent taking stock of the year’s developments and the almighty stumbling block/distraction that was Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s ATP weekend (Oneida’s Ocropolis installation – a ten hour performance with a revolving door cast that included Deerhoof, Mike Watt and Chris Corsano – is worth a particular mention, a casually psychedelic, mind-expanding way to spend a day).
As with the last time he recorded one, though, it seems an appropriate to break radio silence with a new offering from local producer/DJ extraordinaire Tom Ford, more commonly known as Peverelist – a dub-heavy mix for RA/Little White Earbuds guru Andrew Ryce’s new blog, Futureproofing. Unusually for Pev, he’s revealed the (characteristically mouthwatering) tracklist, swinging everywhere from the monochrome, metallic house of A Made Up Sound and Kowton’s depth charge of a jam, ‘She Don’t Jack’, to several new tracks from himself, Bass Clef and Bristol’s Kähn. The gorgeous, deftly sliced vocals of Kähn’s opener ‘Like We Used To’ are particularly potent, and the cascading chords and tricky syncopations of Ford’s own ‘Fundamentals’ and ‘Dance Til The Police Come’ (wonderfully titled, in the wake of ‘Skeng’ soundtracking the Millbank’s semi-demolition) are among his most fiendishly complex yet. As his music has evolved over the last few years it’s become ever more stylized and increasingly distinctive, particularly in the percussive aspect: though the techno comparisons that assisted/limited his early music were at least partially accurate, the Peverelist of now has fully honed the nervy inflections of tracks like ‘Erstwhile Riddim’ into a unique fusion, one that slows jungle’s restless, rolling vistas to a tempo at which new elements are gradually revealed from amongst the chaos.
In this mix, Ford’s music is neatly placed in the context of 2010’s soundsystem shifts towards groove-oriented, bass-heavy house music, even among those considered ‘dubstep’ to the core - the likes of Pev himself, Pinch and Appleblim. In a year when the discourse surrounding what is or isn’t dubstep has become increasingly fractured, with sub-genres piled upon sub-genres in a frankly exhausting scramble to define, limit, contain, the unwillingness of many of its most respected practitioners to buy into any particular niche has been consistently refreshing. What is/isn’t dubstep circa 2010 is a fluid beast, less restricted in pace or structure than ever before – evidenced by the slower tempo that dominates this mix, and Ford’s recent house-heavy set at Dubloaded - but on the bleeding edge it continues to search for innovative new outlets.
Download the mix and read an exclusive interview at Futureproofing.
Tracklist:
Kähn - ‘Like We Used To’ (Dub)
A Made Up Sound - ‘Rear Window’ (Delsin)
Kowton ‘She Don’t Jack’ (Idle Hands)
T++ ‘Cropped’ (Honest Jons)
Peverelist ‘Fundamentals’ (Dub)
Shake ‘Drummer Downstairs’ (Fit Sound)
Peverelist ‘Dance til the Police Come’ (Dub)
Peverelist ‘Livity’ (Dub)
Emptyset ‘Red Sun’ (Peverelist mix) (Dub)
Bass Clef ‘Rollercoasters of the Heart’ (Dub)
Andy Mac ‘Every Time’ (Dub)
Kähn ‘Helter Skelter’ (Dub)
Ekoplekz ‘Stalag Zero’ (Punch Drunk)
—-
There’s more to come from AE in the run-up to Christmas - some thoughts on the year’s developments and the way things are set to continue into 2011 and beyond.
—-
Rory
Beaming out from the mighty Hivemind.fm straight to your laptops! Eighteen B2B Flex Mentallo smash up the dance the first Thursday of every month, 6pm-8pm.
Part One
Always Everything Radio 002.1 by Always Everything on Mixcloud
Part Two:
Always Everything Radio 002.2 by Always Everything on Mixcloud
Split into two parts because we went on a bit longer than usual, new bits from Appleblim & Ramadanman, Girl Unit, Headhunter, Ikonika, LHF, Becoming Real, Sigha, Eliphino and much much more. Travels through house, techno, dubstep, dirty south hip hop, juke and grime. Tune in next month, first Thursday, 18:00-20:00 on Hivemind.fm.
Tracklisting:
The Hizatron – Telescope Dope [Wigflex]
Nick Hoppner – ISP [Ostgut Ton]
SCB – Hard Boiled VIP [Hotflush]
JTRP – Dungeons [forthcoming Deep Teknologi]
Julio Bashmore – Chazm [Ten Thousand yen]
Kowton – She Don’t Jack [forthcoming Idle Hands]
October – Memory Man [Caravan]
Lone – Angel Brain [Magic Wire]
Stateless – Ariel (Midland’s Inflight Remix) [forthcoming Ninja Tune]
Appleblim & Ramadanman – Void 23 [forthcoming Aus Music]
dOP – 1 Gram [Circus Company]
Elgato – Blue [Hessle Audio]
James Fox – Put It Back [TAKE]
Model 500 – Wanna Be There [Metroplex]
Untold – Mass Dreams Of The Future [R&S]
Japanese Telecom – Cigarette Lighter [International Deejay Gigolos]
Manaboo – Delinquent [forthcoming Immerse]
Eliphino – You’ll Know [forthcoming Somethinksounds]
Shortstuff – Herb Face [Ramp]
Shortstuff & Mickey Pearce – Tripped Up (Ramadanman Refix) [Ramp]
Gucci Mane – Weirdo [Warner Bros]
Girl Unit – Showstoppa [Night Slugs]
Rick Ross – Blowin’ Money Fast [Island/Def Jam]
Ginz – Boss [Soul Jazz]
Joker – Snake Eater [Soul Motive]
Guido – Korg Back [forthcoming Tectonic]
Taylor – CMB (Girl Unit Remix) [forthcoming Super]
Ludacris feat Gucci Mane – Party No Mo [Def Jam]
Kuedo – Joy Construction [Planet Mu]
Ikonika – Ikonoklast (JOH Remix) [forthcoming Hyperdub]
DJ Roc – One Blood [Planet Mu]
Cedaa – Tiffany [Car Crash Set]
Ramadanman – Glut [Hemlock]
Double Helix – Chamber of Light [forthcoming Keysound]
Becoming Real feat. Trim – Like Me [forthcoming Not Even]
Wiley – Cable Street [Avalanche Music]
Terror Danjah – Bruzin VIP [Hyperdub]
Headhunter – Chasing Dragons [forthcoming Idle Hands]
Mala – City Cycle [forthcoming Tectonic]
Kode9 – You Don’t Wash [K7!]
Shackleton vs. Kasai Allstars – Mukuba Special [Congotronics]
Goldwill – The Curtain (Aera Edit) [Wandering]
Kerri Chandler – Pong (Ben Klock Remix) [Clone]
Space Dimension Controller – Mercurial Attraction [R&S]
Sigha – Over The Edge [Our Circula Sound]
Risque Rhythm Team – The Jacking Zone [Chicago Connection]
Bowly – Bleeps [Berkane Sol]
Geiom & Shortstuff - Wardencliffe [Planet Mu]
Blawan – Iddy [Hessle Audio]
Horsepower Productions – 18th Special [forthcoming Tempa]
Pocz & Pacheko – Zarbak (Brackles Remix) [Senseless]
Dorian Concept – Her Tears Taste Like Pears [Ninja Tune]
Mellowhype – Hell [OFWGKTA]
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