PASTURES NEW

It's been close to 5 months since I last posted, and I must confess I had very little intention of doing so again. Whilst claiming I had stopped doing so out of concern for the new copyright laws which could restrict the blogging of mp3's, this was coincidental to the more fundamental feeling that I didn't feel I had much motivation left to post what I was posting. My sudden decision to write today was caused by hearing a song I really wanted everyone to hear. Thus came the realisation that I had been trying to post things that I thought most people would like rather than those I genuinely thought were good, or that at least had some relevance to an overall point about music. From this point on I will be trying to write mindful of the mantra that you should always write for yourself, and while this may result in my occasionally sounding intolerably smug and tragically keen to seem arty, it should at least mean I have the drive to write more regularly about more important things, not necessarily restricted to a particular genre or trend or even music in general.


Boring and self-absorbed introductions aside, time for the music itself. When I started writing we were all riding on the crest of the wave of dubstep which was sweeping the UK at the time. It was new and interesting but, even better, was still evolving. The two principle directions in which the genre has gone since then have sadly not maintained my enthusiasm. Now, don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of clever and innovative stuff being produced, but it is becoming ever more difficult to find in the inconceivably huge cesspit that the scene as a whole has become. And I don't use the word cesspit without consideration; any inspection of the comments on youtube dubstep videos reveals a fanbase with an inexplicable penchant for shit, blood and incest in equal measure. As is so typical of the British attitude towards music, we have seized on one successful element, the 'dirty' wobble aspect of the genre, and gorged ourselves on it until our livers have finally exploded leaving some hideous dubstep pate. And many of those that haven't joined the descent into gratuitous filth have gone down the popstep line, which I find far less irritating, but just as pointless and inconsequential as most other stuff permeating the charts. Attempting to market dubstep to this wider audience has also led to the rise of people who know nothing about music developing a misconceived genre allegiance, shouting 'dubstep!' upon hearing any song at all with a bassline. This causes an awful lot of unnecessary aggravation. I must stress that my faith in dubstep has not completely died, and I will make sure that I post some soon to prove it, but overall I have been much in need of a comparitively minimalistic and clean antidote: nothing could epitomise this more than the productions of Nicolas Jaar.


Jaar is a musical prodigy in a way I don't think I've ever seen before except in classical performances. Born in Chile, he was inspired by the unique creations of fellow countryman Ricardo Villalobos in his early teens, and has since the age of 15 been producing his own brand of electronic music entirely unfettered by the restrictions of genre pigeon holing. Currently being released on the refreshingly laid back New York label Wolf & Lamb his productions have a sense of purity in their groove that is a perfect antidote to the aforementioned filth. Lie back and dissolve:

Nicolas Jaar - Time For Us
Nicolas Jaar - Marks
No Regular Play - Owe Me (Nicolas Jaar Remix)

GET A BIT MORE

Huge remix of Foreign Beggars here from Skism, personally I find the more lyrics are included the better with Foreign Beggars remixes, which means I think I prefer this to the Excision remix of No Holds Barred, but both are worth buying. Check it out

DONUT

February sees the arrival of a new remix package of M.A.N.D.Y and Booka Shade's follow up to the seminal Body Language - their latest collaboration, Donut. The package includes techno remixes from James Talk and Gui Boratto both of which are certainly worth listening to, but for me the pick of the bunch is the Boy 8 Bit remix. Once again he opts for a slow building and thoughtful work which pays little attention to any genre pigeon holing and climbs to a jumpy dancefloor climax after about 4 minutes. It feels an infinitely more satisfying track than the highly successful Drumming Song remix, a sign which means this will probably me a firm fixture on most people's laptops before long. Get the reduced bitrate version below, or go ahead and buy the whole remix package; it certainly seems a worthy investment. Additionally here's Logistics' contribution; their usual liquid drum and bass fare has not lost any of its effect, and I can see this remix being very multi-purpose - equally good as background or party music.

M.A.N.D.Y and Booka Shade - Donut (Boy 8 Bit Remix)
M.A.N.D.Y and Booka Shade - Donut (Logistics Remix)

CLUNGE

Uni exams are finally over, and fingers crossed there won't be anything academic requiring strict undivided attention from now until the summer term. Having had a think about it I'm intending to give this page a revamp as soon as I can meet up with someone with the necessary computer literacy, and rest assured posts will be far more regular from now on. 2010 appears to be hotting up already with some exciting January releases. First up here is Sduk's latest production, the man behind the Emalkay remix which caused some ripples in the latter stages of last year. If you'll ignore the inexplicably crude title (although I've also made it the title of the post through wanton attention seeking) you'll find a classy and original piece of dubstep, embodying some of the higher 'Purple' synths that we've come to associate with Joker and co, the force of which is enhanced by the shuddering no-frills bassline. Show some support and buy this one in 320.

Sduk - Clunge (160 kbps)

Nick Supply is a fidget specialist, and this new track, judging by the title, seems to be his take on dubstep. It's not the most original production I've heard, but as with the fidget he is generally associated with, its success is to be judged in terms of its practical application, which we'll all agree is success on a night out. Even if purely for the Requiem For A Dream sample, I think I'd find myself getting very over excited over this if I heard it live, and for those of you who call a fun Saturday afternoon watching the entirety of Sky Sports Soccer Saturday with this permanently on in the background, you'll probably jizz all over the dancefloor.


Nick Supply - Requiem For A Dub

Be sure to check back soon, this is a short post to get back into the swing of things, and there will be much more to come. Enjoy

CONSISTENTLY FLUXING

I'm keeping a keen eye on anything Circus Records are announcing at the moment. They seem to be assembling some sort of Lord of the Rings style army of producers with a view to causing widespread damage during 2010. If the forthcoming releases are anything to go by, noone will be offering much resistance. Leading the way is Flux Pavilion, who's been killing it with everything he's been involved in lately (go check out How Rude as well as the tracks below). Above is Got 2 Know, just announced as being intended for release in March with Normalize on the flipside. Big. Digital Controller is not as hectic as some of his other tunes but successfully combines melody with a squelchy bassline. Get the reduced bitrate version below. And although Ignition has been around for a while I've only just got hold of a decent quality version. Make sure you buy it, but have a quick listen to this download first on decent speakers. Creates complete chaos on the dancefloor.

Flux Pavilion - Digital Controller (192kbps)
Downlink - Ignition

NETSKY DOES FIDGET

For those who found my snow related comments in the last post cynical, I now definitely feel vindicated. However, its almost time to return North for the new term, and despite the prospect of exams for which I am thoroughly unprepared I am definitely excited about being back in the city environment, so some upbeat music seems in order. There has been a mass exodus of DnB producers trying their hands at house this year, most notably Zinc with his Crack House EP, but very little of it has been in the fidget mould, which is why I was so surprised to see this clip from Netsky and Murdoch. No sign of any official release date yet, but perhaps a sign of things to come. Additionally, check the reduced bitrate download of Subfocus' own fidget track, one of my picks from their superb album, below.

Subfocus - Move Higher (189kbps)

PARIAH

All Christmas related activites have finally come to end, snow has been officially declared a massive pain in the arse, and reality returns for all. This post can either be taken as calm before the storm material for those of you that splashed out for big nights tomorrow, or for those of you who got it all wrong and are doing nothing or didnt get invited anywhere it might level you out enough to stop any wrist slitting at midnight. I was toying with which of the recent Pariah remixes to put up but have decided to go with all three. Whilst each has its own individual and specific feel, they are all haunting yet dreamily beautiful. The remix of The XX, in particular, has that Burial-esque atmosphere of finding yourself walking deserted urban streets in the rain in the early hours of the morning. All 3 definitely worth a listen.

The XX - Basic Space (Pariah Remix) (192kbps)
Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This (Pariah Remix) (128kbps)
Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (Pariah Remix)