Dunes brings us 53 minutes of magnificently funked-up house and bass music. He’s the local guest for this month’s OnTheSly (with Jillionaire and Dre Skull) and accordingly has done guestmix duties for the second installment of OnTheSly’s mix series. Dunes caught my eye via his association with Sleepyhead and their bi-monthly Broke City party at The Cove (1st and 3rd Thursdays).

Anyway, about the mix – seriously deep summer vibes herein. Great selection and solid mixing keeps the energy light and nimble throughout. Versatile without losing focus, the mix touches on warehouse, tropical vibes, some more soulful stuff and a palpable undercurrent of classic hiphop,  all without losing focus on a steady 4×4. Good shit – this definitely puts Dunes on my list of “Good DJs I’d Go See”. Have yrself a listen, and make sure to catch him live next Thursday (for free!)

Tracklist:
Bubba – Keep Love
Tom Demac – Dirty Honey
Toby Tobias feat Brendan Reilly – Tomorrow’s Bringing (Bicep NY Remix)
Unknown Artist – Time Has Come Back (Breach Remix)
Dream 2 Science – How Do I Love Thee
&ME – Matters
Tiefschwarz – Corporate Butcher
Catz ‘n Dogz – Fixation (Worthy Remix)
Luca Bacchetti – On The Moon With You
Lauhaus & Kabale – Hiphouse
Boddika – Basement
Black Orange Juice – Back Of My Car
Mendo & Yvan Genkins – Gods On Hill
The Chain – Geo
Luca Bacchetti – High Life
Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team – Strange Touch
Redwan – Drive ‘N Drugs
House of Stank – Get Up, Yeah! (Hijack Remix)
Bosstone – You (Chaos in The CBD Remix)
Figgy – Know You Better (Dunes Remix)

Tracklist:
Thriftworks – Unreleased
Thriftworks – Swamp Gods
B. Lewis – Unreleased
Balam Acab – Apart
Thriftworks – Unreleased
Insightful – Unreleased
Lapalux – Time Spike Jamz
Thriftworks – Soul Of The Cricket
Grouper – Hold The Way (Thrifted)
Lofi Collective – Observations (Thrifted)
Thriftworks – As The Crow Flies
Thriftworks – Zenzero
Thriftworks – Your All
Thriftworks X Russ Liquid – Unreleased
Thriftworks – 87 Dropper
Thriftworks – Pillow In The Woods
Insightful – Milk And Almonds
Thriftworks – Goat Ropes
Thriftworks – Wang Roll
Insightful – Lama With A Scarf On
Thriftworks – Thizza Thizza
Thriftworks – Trotter
Thriftworks – Out Tongue

Soul Motive Records Showcase

Tracklist:
Joker – Snake Eater (Soul Motive 001)
??? – Jump (Soul Motive White 001)
Julio Bashmore – Around (Soul Motive 007)
Eleven Tigers – Made of (Soul Motive 008)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kahn – Angeles *Superisk Remix* (Soul Motive White 002)
Eleven Tigers – Stableface *Dark Sky Remix* (Soul Motive 010Pt2)
Coleco – Find Me feat. Victoria Klewin (Soul Motive 011)
??? – Secrets (Soul Motive White 001)
Isola Dusk – Look of Shame (2 Floors Down 002)
Eleven Tigers – Stableface *Peverelist Remix* (Soul Motive 010Pt1)
Coleco – Hypnogogia (Soul Motive 011)
Eleven Tigers – Songs For You (Soul Motive 008)
Isola Dusk – Waiting For You (2 Floors Down 002)
7 Arrows – Emergence (2 Floors Down 003)
Eleven Tigers – Forever (Soul Motive 008)
Eleven Tigers – Stableface *Macc Remix* (Soul Motive 010Pt2)

 

Kelpe – Sonic Router Mix #128

Tracklist:
Romare – Down The Line
1000names – Water Resistant Rakete
Rechenzentrum – Norden
Coco Bryce – Dub Space
Blank & Kytt – Thursday & Snow (Reprise)
Huess – Splash Pamela
Onra – Hide And Seek
Kelpe – I Felt Fuzzy
Mr Beatnick – Rainbow Road
BNJMN – Black Square
Samoyed – A Small Good Thing
Fulgeance – Hiver Normand
Roj – The Process Revealed
Naive Machine – Back to Basics
Mono/Poly – Glow
Blank & Kytt – Jangle
Ital Tek – Up
Teebs & Jackhigh – Tropics
Hauschka – Schones Madchen

 

Tenaka – Collected

Tenaka – Collected / tracklist
side a – falling in
a. overhead the albatross – think, thank, thunk (tenaka remix)
b. tenaka – open out (feat. the holy roman army)
c. tenaka – Home (feat. daithi and elaine mai)
d. tenaka – falling in (feat. nadir & declan de barra)
d. tenaka – imes

side b – everytime is different
e. le galaxie – Orion (Tenaka Remix)
f. tenaka – everytime is different
g. tenaka – everything else (feat. daithi & musea)
h. miss elayneous – dominoes (tenaka remix)
i. tenaka – i know (feat. nadir)
j. tenaka – eroica

side c – waves
k. tenaka – three
l. tenaka – waves
m. julie feeney – aching (tenaka remix)
n. daithi – the dog (tenaka remix)
o. owensie – subtle connections (tenaka remix feat. nina hynes

side d – ride out
p. tenaka – throw sevens
q. tenaka – the alaskan (feat. sacred animals)
r. tenaka – universe i (feat. sorcha brennan)
s. tenaka – three (feat. colin j morris)
t. tenaka – ride out

Ana Sia is goin hard in 2012. She’s just relaunched her website, is helming Frite Nite (putting out tracks by Lazer Sword, Salva, NastyNasty, Distal, Grenier, B.Bravo, EPROM and more) and has just completed a very exciting 4 part mix series.

The first mix, Sparkly Eyes Technique, is a bold and (to me) unexpected move for Ana. I’d always thought of her as a versatile, discriminating purveyor mostly glitchhop and dubstep, but this mix is dominated by muscular house and dark, throbbing techno jams. As with all these mixes, there’s no track list (and it’s not my job to make you one) but I can tell you that Boddika features prominently. It’s a thoroughly warehouse vibe, and shows right off the bat that Ana isn’t interested in the same old, same ole.

Rebound is the second in the series, examining the those primo dubstep vintages in ’05-’09. Every track is a classic – Zombie, The Bug, Mala, etc. This mix will almost certainly mean more to those who felt this music at the time in dark clubs on huge systems, and will feel those goosebumps of nostalgia. But for those who are looking for a dubstep history lesson, you couldn’t find a better place to start (ok, maybe Dubstep Warz). This is the sound of the genre when it was raw and as surprising to the artists as it was to the club-goers. Certainly it’s an ode to a golden era, but it’s by no means a eulogy; it’s a retelling of an origin story – a return to roots and a call to arms.

The third mix, “Hybrid Vigor”, is my favorite of the series, so I want to let Ana explain this one:

I love music that gets caught in-between genres; the unclassifiable, the awkward, the genre of “other”. Hybrid Vigor celebrates these moments of musical purgatory sampling juke, drum&bass, hip-hop, & whatever adjective can be used to decipher the following 45 minutes.

Finally, We-K finished things up by taking us on a tour through the grime-i-verse. Again, her words do it best,

We-K is a salute to a genre that has been mostly uncharted territory in the states to my surprise, but cannot possibly be ignored if you step into the UK, where in my opinion, is where most popular electronic music reaped it’s influences. Grime’s a style that fuses garage/dancehall/hiphop & explores the full range of 140bpm, also serving my love of dubstep & dark riddims & bass

Rook represents, to me, the absolute best of contemporary dubstep. While many have abandoned the term, terrified of being even remotely associated with such gauche, unsubtle music as “brostep”, Rook has fearlessly (and peerlessly) sculpted his own funk-oriented sound. We have here a recreation of his live set from The 2012 Lucidity Festival 2 weeks ago.

Whereas dubstep started out as music that emphasized space and feeling, in a post-Skrillex world it has become so busy, noisy and overwrought as to have completely lost any semblance of soul or musicality. Rook happily reverses this trend. Fusing the finest wobbles with funky breaks, plenty of “real” instrumentation, and a keen ear for melody, Rook has put the womp in its proper context; as a supporting element to the funk. Perhaps most importantly, it brings the FUN back into the mix.

If you get down with Koan Sound, Blunt Instrument or Love and Light, you’ll fucking love this mix. And if an hour just isn’t enought Rook for ya, then gorge your ears on 15 editions of his MOONBASS mix series.

Trouble & Bass doin what Trouble & Bass do best – balls out, ravejuice-soaked party jams. ‘Sidewinder’ is an explosively energetic peak-hour destroyer. Don’t call it big room though – it’s not at all commercial sounding, maintaining that T&B grit that we know and love. ‘Little Chronic’ is a bit more playful, tweaking out the plaintive cries of Biggie Smalls over stabby ravepiano and gobs of hoover-synths.

Drop The Lime takes remix duties on Sidewinder and turns it into a dark, twangy halfstep banger, while RacknRuin swings the beat on Little Chronic over a rolling bassline for a more UK warehouse sound. Top notch work all around.

Drops May 8th! If you can’t get enought AC Slater, check out his live set from Trouble and Bass a few weeks back.

The first ever Dimensions Festival is still five months away (Sept 6-9), but already hype is building around the incredible lineup and setting. Today they announced the final round of additions to a lineup that is already a wet dream for many dance music fans. The additions consist of Four Tet, Mount Kimbie, Carl Craig, Portico Quartet, Tom Middleton, Koreless, Todd Terje, John Talabot, Morgan Geist, Axel Boman. Here’s more from the press release:

Kieran Hebden is without a doubt one of the most diverse musicians London has produced and has played a huge role in some of the most memorable music the city has created. Known to many as Four Tet, Hebden has a career that dates back to the late 90’s with a string of impressive albums on Domino Records. Drawing elements from Folk, Jazz, Electronica and Hip Hop, Hebden has worked with a wide range of artists from MF Doom to Radiohead. Currently living in New York, Four Tet sets sail for Croatia for a highly
anticipated live performance.

Embracing the raw energy from live music, Dimensions welcomes a Mercury prize nominated four-piece band. Formed in East London, Portico Quartet have a delicate and cinematic sound drawing influence from a wide rage of genres, encompassing both acoustic and electronic elements. Another great British act to perform this year have travelled the globe with their impressive live show and have certainly made their mark on the Bass music community.
Signed to the prestigious Hotflush Recordings, Mount Kimbie bring the full live set up to Dimensions.

Tom Middelton is an artist who is no stranger to all things deep and wonderful. Prolific during the 90’s as an ambient producer, Middelton is also well versed in House and Electro. This September Middelton joins Dimensions as Sounds Of the Cosmos, his new label which showcases a variety of styles all of which fit in perfectly with the vibe of the festival.
Glasgow has always produced exceptional talent and Koreless is by far the city’s hottest new contributor. His break through moment was back in 2011with his track “4D’ which saw appreciation from Benji B and numerous Dj’s on Rinse FM. Alongside the live acts added, Dimensions boasts some of the greatest DJ’s from Europe and America. New York’s Morgan Geist of Metro Area joins Norwegian Disco prince Todd Terje, Swedish Deep House don Axel Boman and Spanish melancholic master, John Talabot.

And here’s my two cents:

Four Tet is rapidly becoming a living legend. For many 20 somethings, (incl. me, natch) Four Tet was their college dorm soundtrack. And it appealed to people who thought they didn’t like electronic music, like parents or girlfriends! He’s since earned his chops as an amibitious avant garde musician, collaborating with Burial, Thom Yorke, and the late Steve Reich and as an incredibly accomplished remixer (Aphex Twin, Andrew Bird, The xx, Radiohead, Bonobo, Madvillain, etc) . More importantly, he’s learned how to

Mount Kimbie had one of the most universally acclaimed albums of 2010, Crooks and Lovers. And while they haven’t put out a whole lot since then, I hear that their live performance is excellent. I’d be stoked to see them recreate their noodly compositions.

I don’t listen to a ton of techno, but I do know two things – 1, it’s best left to the experts, and 2, it’s best when it’s raw as fuck. So a don like Carl Craig, whose name is basically synonymous with Detroit, doing a live set with a ton of gear, well, you know that’s going to be something special.

Koreless is another big name for me. His boiler room mix was all too short, but one of the finest Dj sets I’ve heard in ages.

Launched as the little sister of Outlook, currently the world’s best bass music festival, Dimensions promises a more intimate experience focused on house, techno, and other grown-folks dance music. What it shares with Outlook, however, is the amazing setting (an abandoned castle on the Croatian coast), the most incredible soundsystems you’ve ever heard, and an absolutely unbelievable lineup. Here’s everyone else who’s already been announced:

Little Dragon, Carl Craig Presents 69 – live, Moodymann, Four Tet – Live,Theo Parish, Mount Kimbie – Live, Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Joy Orbison, Dyed Soundorom, Gold Panda, Cassy, Scuba, Surgeon, Shackleton, Jimmy Edgar, Todd Terje, Levon Vincent, Roman Flugel, Floating Points, Andrew Weatherall, Mala – Digital Mystikz, Kode 9,
Morgan Geist – Metro Area, Axel Boman, John Talabot, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Ryan Elliott, Pearson Sound, Nathan Fake, dBridge, Loefah, Boddika, Kyle Hall, Benji B, Ben UFO, Blawan, Kassem Mosse, Space Dimension Controller, 2562, Portico Quartet, Pinch, Huxley, Machinedrum, Joel Mull, Iration Steppas, Untold, Mungo’s Hifi, Deadbeat, Jack Sparrow, Author, Pariah, Pangaea, Sigha, Objekt, Midland, Alexander Nut, Anstam, Funkineven, Locked Groove, Fatima (live), Amit, Dub Phizix, Loxy, Synkro, Consequence, SP:MC, Barker, N>E>D, Paul Spymania and David Martin

Tickets are available HERE

For More info about Tickets, Boat Party Tickets, Coach Travel from the UK, Transfers from nearby airports, Camping and Accommodation CLICK HERE

Sub Swara have returned! Not that anyone who knows the work of Dave Sharma and Dhruva Ganeson ever thought they left. They were most likely just off the map finding the finest Balinese cymbals, then recording them in an acoustically perfect Wampa ice-cave with custom-built tube pre-amps reverse engineered from martian sound weaponry, and then doing their final mixdowns it in an Ayahuasca ceremony atop  Mount Kilauea. Shit takes time to do right.

But soon, your patience will be rewarded. They’ve announced that they will be releasing 15 brand new tracks, not as an LP, but as a mixtape titled “The Rudiment”, dropping May 1st. Today they’ve given  us a taste with the Amy Winehouse-sampling track “You Don’t Know”. No easy feat, but they’ve matched the Lioness’s passionate vocals with galloping drums and a ferocious tearout synth-line. Cop the free download on soundcloud so you can really savor all that luscious reverb.

Tinker, who grabbed my ears with her incredibly fresh mix for BigUp, can add yet another EDM institution to her resume with this guest mix for the Memekast. Featuring her trademark lush, classy, textural glitch hop selections, this mix is all too short at 32:36.

Go Listen to it HERE or subscribe to the memekast in iTunes

Tracklist:
Yheti – Pink Shlumper
Kalya Scintilla – The Velvet Squish
Thriftworks – Trotter
Kuhn – Slime Beach
Pixelord – Keramika (Naive Machine Remix)
Moscow – Mind Shine
B-Ju – Gobble Gobble
Robot Koch – Vortex Cookies (Flako Remix)
Rihanna – Rude Boy (Hovatron Remix)
Tinker – Blip Skip
Manuele Atzenti – Bum! Clack!
Mosca – Tilt Shift
Pixelord – Imaginary Friends

From the tracklist you can probably tell Tinker has her finger on the pulse of the underground. But the mix is also really nicely put together – great tunes, in the right order. If your left wanting more fine mixing and impeccable selections, she has many more mixes over on her soundcloud.

Ninjatune has done it again, bringing us yet another brilliant release at the intersection of  LIVE and ELECTRONIC. YPPAH is the alias of Joe Corrales Jr., and now a full live band that fuses dusty breaks with poignant instrumentation to great effect. I’d seen the name a few times recently in official Ninjatune communiques, and while my interest was piqued by it’s androgynous unpronouncability, it was hearing the “Eighty One” Album minimix that really got me electrified. Turns out YPPAH has put out a half dozen releases on Ninjatune since ’06. Dunno how I slept on ‘im till now.

One could safely assume from the cover that this is a work awash in texture and nostalgia (and it is) – but to me it sounds a lot more like the nineties than eighty one. Yppah takes a tasteful post-rock/psychadelia sound and infusing it with potent electronics. Imagine if Cinematic Orchestra’s J.Swincoe was producing Do Make Say Think, and you’re not far off. There’s clear evidence of reverence for guys like DJ Shadow, Boards of Canada and the Chemical Brothers, who could squeeze teardrops out of psychadelic samples and breakbeats. But while YPPAH is steeped in nostalgia, they aren’t mired by it. Their sound is urgent, full, and ready to say something new (albiet with familiar pieces).

This album came out April 2nd, and is available for purchase on iTunes and at NinjatuneHQ. If you’d like even more YPPAH, check out the mix that Joe did for Solid Steel this past week, featuring all tracks from 1981.

Tracklist:

Brian Eno & David Byrne _ Mea Culpa _ Sire
Gang of Four _ What We All Want _ EMI
The Cure _ Other Voices _ Polydor
Gary Numan _ Moral _ Beggars Banquet
The Sound _ Judgement _ Korova
Cocteau Twins _ Blind Dumb Deaf _ 4AD
Siouxsie & The Banshees _ Into the Light _ Polydor
The Church _ Sisters _ EMI
Kraftwerk _ Computer Love _ EMI