Unsound Festival New York 2012, (April, 18th - 22nd)

Unsound Festival has been organized for 10 years already and has grown to be one of the top festivals presenting eclectic, intelligent and inspiring contemporary music in Poland. Three years ago the organizers from Kraków joined forces with Fundacja Tone, the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Goethe-Institut New York and with the support of many other organizations from the States and Europe, and media partners such as The Wire, Hype Machine, LittleWhiteEarbuds, Playground Mag, Resident Advisor, Self Titled Mag, this very Wednsday 18th of April the third sessions of the Unsound Festival New York starts. Venues are spread across Manhattan and Brooklyn, including David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, (le) Poisson Rouge, Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building, BAMcinématek, WARSAW, ISSUE Project Room, Glasslands, Film Anthology Archives, West Park Presbyterian Church, IndieScreen.

Unsound Festival New York 2012 Playable Schedule by hypem.com

The Program includes forward-thinking music, discussion panels, screenings. By embracing a broad range of genres from contemporary classical music to post-industrial sounds to black metal to new directions in bass-driven club music, UNSOUND Festival uniquely explores the current music scene's cutting edge.

Program is so rich it is really difficult to mention all the attractions in one post. But once again I wish I had a magick teleporter to hop to the absolutely unique meeting of the dark ambient king Lustmord from LA with Norwegian champion of arctic sound Biosphere, who will present TRINITY, a work that explores the first tests of nuclear weapons in the New Mexico desert. TRINITY is commissioned by Unsound, with partner festival Communikey. This one you cannot MISS! The more so as they are supported by a well-known Polish musician Jacaszek with his trio promoting his latest album 'Glimmer' released on Ghostly International. (Saturday, 21st April, 07:00 PM // West Park Presbyterian Church). 

Just after this amazing event I really recommend you move your enchanted bodies to IndieScreen to enjoy a different kind of sensation, late-night Bass Mutations, already a a legendary series at both Krakow and NY Unsound. Future bass music of the highest quality is served by 2562 from the Netherlands and Helsinki's Teeth, both making live U.S debuts, supported by Stateside talent including Nguzunguzu, Distal and Throwing Snow, while Praveen (of Percussion Lab) performs with Machinedrum in a Sepalcure Live A/V show. DaveQ (of Dub War) opens with a DJ set. Arghh, I really wish I was there :(((

You should also check Friday night's show at Bunker presenting German electronic music giant Monolake who will present his jaw-dropping Live Surround adventure, while UK duo Demdike Stare should explore the dark outer-edges of experimental/club music. Brooklyners ITAL and Laurel Halo favor warped, idiosyncratic dance sounds, which attach as well to Chicago's Hieroglyphic Being. Zemi17 opens. Expect a lot of minimal beats and mind-twisting synths.

I would also definitely check Unsound LABS Music program which features collaborations between musicians of  different kinds working together for the first time in a series of unique free performances. Curated to cross borders related to matters of sound and geography, this year's program pairs artists from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia with musicians from the U.S. Furthermore, Unsound LABS discussion workshops look particularly interesting. In a series of discussion panels presented by The Wire Magazine, you will have a chance to meet Robert Henke a.k.a. Monolake, a figure who helped shape a unique Berlin techno sound and who is a co-developer of Ableton LIVE software or Stefan Betke a dub-techno icon, better known as Pole. Dave Tompkins presentation about evolution of Miami bass is another thing not to be missed. But the real highlight of this part of Unsound for me will definitely be a Jeremy Grimshaw's presentation on the music and mysticism of the esoteric, avant-garde and experimental composer  Le Monte Young, who was a prominent figure of Fluxus movement. I hope the good guys from Unsound will record all these workshops!   

I've mentioned just a few events, but look at this line-up - it is simply RIDICULOUS!!

2562, Actress, Baaba, Biosphere, DaveQ, Demdike Stare, Denis Kolokol/Tomek Chołoniewski Duo & Nate Wooley, Distal, Eltron John, Hai Nguyen Dinh & Nondor Neval, Hieroglyphic Being, Hype Williams, Inner Tube (Mark McGuire & Spencer Clark), ITAL, Jacaszek, Jenny Hval, Julia Holter, Julia Kent, Kotra & Black Rain, Laurel Halo, Lustmord, LXMP, Maria Minerva, Mark McGuire & Bartek Weber, Mark Van Hoen & Maria Minerva, MFO, Monolake, Napszyklat, Next Life, Nguzunguzu, P.MA, Peaking Lights, pole, Sepalcure, Sun Araw, Sun Araw vs. Heat Wave - DJ Set, Teeth, Throwing Snow, Zavoloka & Andrea Pensado, Zemi17

Fulgeance presents "Connecticut" Beat Tape

I'm a great fan of Fulgeance, the champion of MPC's and live acts. A few weeks ago I had a pleasure to enjoy his live performance in Warsaw... and this was really amazing. Now, Fulgeance released a Beat Tape produced by his side project called Connecticut (never heard of them!) This is a duo consiting of Fulgeance and DJ Blockbass. The Beat Tape is a collection of unreleased, often unmixed tracks with tons of great samples, showing a more adventurous and off-kilter side of this talented producer. The sound fluctates from midtempo electronic excursions a'la Prefuse 73 or Dabrye and twisted hip-hop beats through laidback jazzy passages to experimental electronica. A lot is going on, you'll never get bored listening to this stuff. I love such unpolished, raw, fat and unrestrained beat orgies. A real POWER! Fulgeance writes that these are old tracks and beats, but they kick ass nonetheless. If you like music presented by Fulgeance on his blog Musique Large you know what to expect. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY DOKTOR KRANK.

Connecticut has some releases on Eklektik Records.


Fulgeance presents "Connceticut" Beat Tape by fulgeance

King Deluxe Presents: Year One comp

One of my favorite providers of fresh music in 2011, a Canadian based label King Deluxe celebrates one year with the release of Year One compilation (in two parts). It includes a few highlights of quite a fruitful 12 months along with new interpretations by forward-thinking beatshmiths from across the globe including Fancy Mike, Ghost Mutt, Alphabets Heaven, I.D., Subp Yao, Option Command, Muta, Vaetxh, Acre and others. Stylistically this release offers diverse and wide-ranging beatz aesthetics with producers freely experimenting with sound, often quite successfully. This is not your typical easy-listening, ump ump sub sub UKG, Dubstep or Future Garage ting. Which is good, cause at the moment I'm really fed up with all this UK* scene. These tracks require some effort on the part of the listener, but trust me - you will be rewarded in the end :) If I am to name a few higlights I'd include: a fantastic Subp Yao's remix of equally great Aether by I.D., Zack Christ's angry, off-kilter refix of Aleph's Sulphozinum or Ghost Mutt's uplifting remix of Alphabets Heaven's Woman.  Don't hesitate peeps, grab this nice package, you won't be disappointed.

P-Fang - Tales of Terror 2011

Dark tales from graveyard zombie king P-Fang continue in the stinky, meaty and growling mixtape Tales of Terror 2011 (Oh I remember how you scarred me last year with your mix). Creepy beats from hell and eerie sonic trip is what I need this Autumn! Forget about your plastic pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, THIS is real deadly halloween vibe. The Dead will walk the Earth...

p-fang - tales of terror 2011 mixtape by p-fang

tracklist:
creepers2011 feat. trick daddy & iconz
crunkenstein feat. trillville
phantasmagoria
skeletons feat. night in a graveyard
fog juice feat. lord infamous
witchcraft
graveyard 1985


Robox Neotech will release P-Fang's EP - The Crypt on Halloween. Can't wait. Listen to the preview below.

rbxep25 - P-Fang - The CRYPT by Robox Neotech

Kidkanevil - Tokyorkshire Research Inc

Kidkanevil with another surprising release! This time it is a collection of 27 electronic scraps and beats, in a tribute to famous Raymond Scott, composer, audio engineer, a cooky scientist inventing early electronic devices such as polyphonic sequencer, or first self-composing synthetizer called Electronium. He has influenced many big names of the early electronic music era. His music also inspired naughty Londoner, Kidkanevil, to produce a fantastic, funny and highly entertaining beat tape using Scott's samples as source material. Kidkanevil vs. Scott offers pure sonic pleasure for any beathead. I personally had great time listening to these short sonic sketches. Grab it for free via bandcamp.

Herrmutt Lobby + NON preview (Jarring Effects)

Usually I do not post early soundcloud previews on my blog, I rather tend to review things in their final form, but I couldn't help myself with this preview of Hermutt Lobby & NON material forthcoming soon on the French netlabel Jarring Effects. Herrmutt Lobby is a collective of musicians, producers, 'scratch composers' & more from Brussels, but if I'm not mistaken, most of them currently reside in Berlin?  I really dig Hermutt Lobby's music, in particular that published on Eat Concrete (check their Bussfudge Powerscones EP), but this preview of new tracks literally blew my mind! Best, most solid, coherent, and neck-straining beats, with a dash of experimental electronica, I've heard in a while. It really twisted my neurons, hard. Definitely, most eagearly awaited release this year.

 

Herrmutt + Non draft beats preview by Herrmutt Lobby

DJ Pound - Robot Whispers (STRTEP006)

Another winner from Saturate! Records. !!! Robot Whispers by DJ Pound, hailing from San Diego, California, include a few short, but veeeery raw and heavy 'serenades' for pistons and cylinders, after listening to which most humans would run for cover :) Fortunately I love robots and though the artist presents merciless, inhumane approach to beatsmaking, exploring distant fringes of bass music, I definitely dig this slow-burning, straight-in-yer-guts sonic bombs. I grind my teeth, but after a few listenes I am totally captivated by heavy basslines and evenly distributed distortions. Well, after some time I even start feeling emotions ... Best glitch-hop (?) I've heard in a while for sure. It Takes Over, Try It or Lexfix should be dedicated to seekers of intelligent FILTH. Forget about all this shitty drilling dubstep copy-cat misery, you want a kick - let DJ Pound hit you hard and proper in an unique way.

WARNING: THIS MUSIC IS DESIGNED FOR GOOD SOUNDSYSTEM ONLY! DON'T TRY IT AT WORK ON YOUR MEASLY HEADPHONES OR, GOD FORBID, LAPTOP SPEAKERS.



DJ Pound melting audience at Low End Theory !!

Jakub Nox Ambroziak - Atom EP 2011

Jakub Nox Ambroziak - Atom EP 2011

01.Quarks
02.Atom
03.Proton decay
04.Neutron/Altai
05.Free Electron
06.Women from Hiroshima
07.Cosmos
08.Proton decay [Robot Koch Remix]
09.Quarks [Teielte Remix]

FREE DOWNLOAD (mediafire)

Jakub "NOX" Abroziak is a talented 20-year old beatmaker from Poland. On his Atom EP he offers a fresh mix of spacey post hip-hop beats, strange vocal samples with plethora of bleeps and off-kilter sound effects. Diversity is the key when describing the music of this youngster who explores various paths of electronic landscape, in the end knitting them together into quite interesting and developed compositions. His production skills still leave room for improvement, but he already knows how to build intriguing atmosphere and ear-catching passages ("Atom", "Free Electron" or "Women in Hiroshima")  and is not afraid of more experimental excercises ("Proton Decay" of  "Neutron/Altai"). As a deliciously tasty dessert come two remixes by heavy-weight champions of new beatz from Germany and Poland. Proton Decay's remix by one of my favorite producers, Robot Koch from Berlin, is my personal highlight of the entire release. This guy never disappoints! His music imagination and sensitivity along with the immaculate production always work soooooo well with my emotions. His tunes are simply "touching" for the lack of the better word, and this remix is definitely one of the best I've heard from Robot this year. Teielte from Poland keeps pace with Robert, delivering a nice up-beat refix of Quarks. All in all Atom EP by Nox is definitely worth checking and I'm really proud that more and more artists from my country hit the global (if niche) electronic music circuit with quality stuff.

Jakub Nox Amboziak - Atom EP 2011 by seventeenbricks



Jakub Nox Ambroziak - Quarks (official video) from Kamil Macejko on Vimeo.

Fancy Mike - Sigma Chi Primavera

Fancy Mike - Sigma Chi Primavera

Tracklist:
01. Twin Peaks feat. constrobuz 1:54
02. Adult Swim feat. Stephen Farris 4:10
03. Captain Nero feat. Montgomery Clunk 2:21
04. Ramachandran #011010 (pixelord's tron cat remix) 3:56
05. Swan Swan feat. Starfawn 3:56
06. Lazer Opera #58008 (Jack Contra's Pagliacci Reprise) 4:06
07. Ramachandran #323 (bugseed's sequel) 3:14
08. Goblin feat. constrobuz 3:42
09. Ramachandran #666 (Alphabets Heaven's Mephistopheles Mix) 2.48
10. Ramachandran #1337 (satanicpornocultshop's bleep bloop blo...) 4:05
11. Ramachandran #00 (ages film suite) 3:51
12. Superman 2:15

[KING004] Fancy Mike - Sigma Chi Primavera by king_deluxe

DOKTOR KRANK'S RELEASE OF THE MONTH - 9/10***

On 19 April 2011, 21-year-old Midwest-native beatmaker Fancy Mike released Sigma Chi Primavera, his follow up to last year's Madison Square Gardner on the Canadian label King Deluxe Records.  Thumbs up to Fancy Mike and King Deluxe for gathering so many great collaborators and remixers, incl. Pixelord, Montgomery Clunk, Alphabets Heaven, Constrobuz, Jack Contra, Sephen Farris, ages, Bugseed, Starfawn. As a whole a very interesting and eclectic album. As usual with this type of multi-genre, collaborative thing, diversity is the key here. Cosmic mutant beatz and a kind of lo-fi aesthetics seem to be the leitmotive of all tracks, as well as absolutely impeccable production quality. The rest is just an orgy of forward-looking, unrestrainted, contemporary sonic explorations served by Fancy Mike and his talented young friends. I can easily imagine powerful Adult Swim with its bright neon synths and great samples storming any dancefloor, just paving the way for my favorite banger of this release i.e. Pixelord' tron cat remix of Ramachandran #011010. 8-bit sound has never been more appealing than under the buttons of this Russian guy, he really knows how to achieve more with less. Whereas Captain Nero featuring Romanian wizzkid Monty Clunk is a kind of modern tribal psychedelia mixing tambourine and heavy drums with crazy synths and all-encompassing voice drifting in the background. Other tunes on this amazing EP tell their own story. Sometimes it is just pure beauty  like in Swan Swan (oh boy this female vocal turns me on) or off-kilter experiments in Alphabets Heaven's Mephistopheles Mix of Ramachandran or Ninja Tune'ish broken beat in satanicpornocultshop's bleep bloop blorp refix of the same tune. Jack Contra's Pagliacci Reprise of Lazer Opera, reminding me of Kid606 and other artists from Titerbeat roster, is a real slap in the face of any classic Opera fun :)) Well, f..k them, I still love his lazers and heavy guitar riffs. The rest is equally good, so don't hesitate and load these sonic bullets to your player and deliver some fresh energy to your synapses. Highly recommended by Doktor Krank!!!

You can grab the entire album in lower quality version

Fancy Mike - Sigma Chi Primavera (192kbps)

.. or buy higher quality version from King Deluxe Store:

Fancy Mike - Sigma Chi Primavera (High Quality)

And watch this funny video to Pixelord's remix.

Fancy Mike - Ramachandran Pixelord remix from pixelord on Vimeo.

iL - apoLLo1ne3hree

Error Broadcast has just released a fascinating debut by the young producer from the US. iL's apoLLo1ne3hree EP is one of the most interesting and inspiring works I've heard in a while. Digesting this stuff took some time, but it was definitely worth it!

iL comes from Illinois and has a very peculiar and unique method of self expression, I must say. He produces heavily squashed, cut-up beats, patching weird and defragmented sound samples together as if by a hand of blind Chaos Magician practicing the art of making powerful audio sigils, creating a kind of swirling and nigthmarish stream of consciousness. I yet have to decide whether he is defending himself against his inner demons or whether he tries to attract innocent souls to his demonic world :) He goes far off the beaten track in the process, even for the beatz scene which is full of brave explorers of uncharted soundscapes. A listener versed in contemporary beat music will discover many familiar traits, from ambient, RnB or post-garage to Lucky-Me type of soulful dubs, but as a whole the listening experience is really one of the kind. Though this may not seem the case at the first hearing, iL mixes all the short pieces very craftily and skilfully delivering very individual and mature compositions. I appreciate artists following their own path, in particular when this path is not easy to sell to the general public. In the end such an approach will always payback in good fortune and respect. Enthusiastic reviews and opinions of iL's EP in the blogosphere seem to prove this. Naming highlights of this release makes no sense, this is the work of art to be digested end-to-end. Highly recommended by Doktor Krank!

iL - apoLLo1ne3hree

Bonus:
iL - When She Wakes Up by Error Broadcast

... and a new sketch posted by iL to his soundcloud recently. The story continues ....


Turn off the sky and come inside with me by [iL]

Turn On, Tune In, Drop out

I  am currently reading a fantastic book "Entangled" by Graham Hancock, a first fiction work by this controversial and daring explorer of archaic wisdom, hallucinogenic heritage and follower of numerous other paths of non-orthodox science (I highly recommend his opus magnum - Supernatural).  This post is dedicated to machine elves of supernatural dimensions and all adventurers hoping to encounter them during intensive psychedelic trips. Your time will come :)

I will not be very original and start my random selection from the track called D.M.T. by Tidus, an emcee and producer trying to convey dreamy, poetic message working with left-field, hip-hop, psych-rock, jazzy and many others music styles. Interesting.

TIDUS - D.M.T.

This one was taken from his full-length album, Absolute Elsewhere which is "a mind trip, one that you wont need entheogens to enjoy". Check this one out - a few really tasty bits for your mind to be found there.

One more tune from Tidus I like:

Tidus-Barrel by oktidus

18-year old Russian beatsmaker - Aleph in the best track of Haunt For Little Blind Fish EP released a few weeks ago on King Deluxe. I am more and more convinced that guys from Russia have some kind of top-secret facility hidden in Siberia where they were busily cooking and breeding super-talented producers for the last few years and recently started releasing them onto the general public to pursue some hidden and very very dangereous agenda :))

Aleph - Astyanax Mexicanus by king_deluxe

Next guy on my list iL from Illinois clearly went overboard many moons ago :) I am still trying to digest his off-kilter beat collages, expect more info on this blog about his latest debut apoLLo1ne3hree on Error Broadcast.

iL - For by Error Broadcast

... and now something completely different .... I fell in love with this tune instantly

Digital Farm Animals - I'll Never Fall In Love by Digital Farm Animals

I could not omit one of the best creators of mental, rocking tunes!!

Slugabed's Rockin U is available as a part of 50-tune package Nihon Kizuna - Compilation of music from worldwide artists donated to help raise awareness and money for the Japan Red Cross in support of the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Northern Japan. Be so kind and share some monies with people in need!!

ROCKIN U by SLUGABED

Oh boy, if synths could killl :) Great, uplifting tune by Hyetal taken from his forthcoming album Broadcast on Black Acre Records:

Hyetal - Beach Scene by Black Acre Records

FX-laden twisted button work in + verb remix of Planet Soap's track. Dope and ill bass. I like!

Planet Soap - Escape From Supernova500 (+verb Remix) by +verb

Jeremiah Jae - Rappayamatantra EP (Brainfeeder)

JEREMIAH JAE
RAPPAYAMATANTRA EP (Brainfeeder)
Release Date: March 22, 2011

1. The Dirty Collector Pt. 1
2. Kings Bop
3. Guns Go Off (Remix)
4. $easons
5. Raw Tape$
6. Vertical Pupils
7. Stones Passage
8. Glitter Kit

Once in a while I come across the stuff escaping all classifications, hard-to-digest, demanding but delivering quite a unique experience. But it is exceptionally hard to write a few critical sentences about the actual 'songs' I heard in this parituclar case. Rappayamatantra EP, to be dropped March, 22 on the Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label is the debut (if one does not count self-released Dxcne EP which not many people had a chance to listen to probably) by Jeremiah Jae, 21-year old producer and rapper from Chicago whose speciality seems to be serious beatscooking. Yes, his music is cooky, avantgarde, lo-fi trip in the best tradition of plunderphonics (in particular in tracks like The Dirty Collector pt. 1 reminding me of the works of champions of this sound - Negativeland). A patchowork of fantastic strange samples, off-the-beat, mutant hip-hop sonic textures with weird rhyming and vocalizations, experimental jazz improvisations overstretched beyond any limits, synthetizers playing creepy melodies, often mutating into spastic chaos or downright silly rhymes. Actualy, well-controlled chaos rules the music work of Jeremiah Jae, and though this type of experimental, sample based, cut-up approach to production process is nothing exceptional or new, this guy - while drawing inspiration from so many sources - has a rare ability of putting all these pieces into one nearly coherent whole. I really admire his bravery thanks to which he has created a very personal work of art which he nonetheless shares very willingly with the listeneres delivering quite a unique experience. My personal highlights of this EP incl. Seasons and Raw Tapes - probably most accessible and traditional tracks in the set plus totally off-kilter Glitter Kit. This is not an easy music, you would not dance your ass  off to the beat, definitely you would not be able to chill out he he, but I encourage you to give it a try. Such an impressive music erudition at such a young age does not surprise if one learns that his father was a musical director for Miles Davis in the late years of Davis's career and his mother sang gospel. Later this year, Brainfeeder will release Jeremiah Jae's full length Raw Money Raps and I will be eagerly awaiting more weird stuff from this cooky wizardy

Jeremiah Jae visited Poland a few days ago playing together with another heavy weight beatsmith from Brainfeeder roster - Teebs. I couldn't make it (I really really wish I was there) and I believe he gave one-of-the-kind performance...

Raffertie - Electronic Explorations 118

Raffertie in the hot mix for Electronic Explorations. For all of you who know Raffertie's previous productions, this mix can be a bit of surprise. Raffertie's ravey, oldschool, amen-infused, wobble-horror aesthetics seem to be now subjected to a serious treatment with UK Funky and Future Garage, and also experimental electronica (reminding me a of tigerbeat6 productions) though with a definite trademark of crazy Raffertie sound. And with tracks like Rank Functions I can definitley hear Raffertie moving into even more experimental areas. Which is GOOD! I regard Raffertie a top producer and expect exploring new directions in music exactly from such people. Well, we will see what will come of it, new stuff from Raffertie will drop soon. For the time being, listen to his Electronic Explorations mix.

Raffertie about the mix:

"The mix is a preview of just some of my new material that I’ve been working on recently and it defines a new direction that I am heading with my music. The first release on my brand new label, a track called ‘Rank Functions’, which will be backed with a brilliant remix from Brighton’s Ital Tek as well as two other original tracks from myself are showcased in the mix. Photomachine and Randomer, two producers who have been dazzling me with their productions in recent months and who will also be releasing on my new label, are included here in the mix.

A full announcement about the label will be going up on my blog in the next week or two: http://www.raffertie.com"

Check Raffertie's soundcloud and follow him on twitter

Raffertie - Electronic Explorations 118

01 – Raffertie – Aperitif
02 – Raffertie – They Pecked Off Her Nose
03 – Photomachine – Waves
04 – Raffertie – Ghost Machine
05 – Randomer & Subtrak – Alize
06 – Raffertie – Scatter Consortium
07 – SBTRKT – When Doves Strike
08 – Raffertie – Folly
09 – SBTRKT & Sampha – Break Off
10 – Arkist – Until Next Time
11 – Rfertie – A Dainty Dish
12 – Raffertie – Horse Flesh
13 – Graphics – Sarah Sampled
14 – Mahni – Second
15 – Robyn – Hang With Me (Hot City Remix)
16 – Raffertie – His Counting House
17 – Raffertie – Rank Functions

Helen Austin - When We Were Young (HipGnosis Mnr Ncnvnc Mx)

Beautiful remix of Helen Austin's - When We Were Young by HipGnosis. I am a real sucker for females singing such songs!!! HipGnosis glitched up infectious vocal and lovely guitars of Helen Austin, cut the beat up properly and laid down solid foundation for dreamy voyage through the sea of mesmerizing lyrics. This tune made my day. Please, gimme more.



You can catch HipGnosis (a.k.a. Eric Young) on mighty glitch.fm as a host of the show Between Zero and One. Definitely one of the most versatile, eclectic and 'deep' shows in this radio station, covering a braod range of music styles from breakcore, experimental hip-hop, IDM to glitch hop and psychedelia. Check his soundcloud for more sounds.

And don't forget to check HipGnosis experimental downtempo album Scientific Illuminism (Is For Sissies) released in April this year.