Aphex Twin Sonic Router Mixes

SR Mix #88: Gang Colours [brownswood]

If you’ve got a sense of self-character, it’s easy to stick to your guns and just ‘do you.’ It is however becoming increasingly harder to ignore what everyone else is doing. As the internet provides ample voice for anyone willing to shout loud enough, there’s a constant bombardment of next hype – a million people screaming for your attention in unison. Trying to distance yourself from it so that it ends up just sounding like a dull din in the background shouldn’t really be as hard as it is and save logging off a computer and living an extended holiday for a couple of years, its proving tough not look at it and watch how the influence of what others do ripples out and seeps further into the perpetual echo chamber that is the internet. So when you find an artist who has a vision and sticks to it you stick with them.

Brownswood Recordings signing Gang Colours is fast becoming someone I’d like to put in that category. Being in the privileged position to have received music from Will Ozanne before he’d confirmed his debut release for Gilles Peterson’s label, he’s since busily explored a realm soaked in sepia; a melancholia that rides a slower pace than the work of someone like Deadboy – an artist who capably harnesses a similar vein of bitter sweetness. Triggered by his piano work, the Gang Colours project feels disjointed – like at times his melody out shines his drum work tenfold and vice versa, often in the same song – and his In Your Gut Like A Knife EP fully embellishes that, playing off its insecurities.

The bookending slow jams of ‘Village & City’ and ‘In Your Gut…’ are highlights, letting the more dancefloor focused stuttering of ‘Firewoks In Your Pocket’ and ‘Dance Around The Subject’ trickle with busted synth work that breezes over the awkwardly snatched percussion. Like the haze of a London street after a summer storm, it’s all bright and emotive, hinting, as unsubtly with its track titles as its choice of vocal samples, at better times and landmark personal experiences.

We’re excited to be able to represent Gang Colour’s vision on the 88th Sonic Router mix; its lush tones are bonding and his first release seems to wash over you with a kind of intricate melodic pleasantry that you won’t ever notice until you concentrate.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/sr-mix-88-gang-colours-brownswood/

Kayot – One Week On Cuba

Seekae – +Dome

Tokimonsta – Darkest (Dim) Feat. Favin Turek

Ifan Dafydd – No Good

Kevin Mcphee – Get in With You

Hot Chip – So Glad to see you

Carmen McRae – How Long Has This been going on (MJ Cole Remix)

LV & Message to the Bears ft Zaki Ibrahim – Explode

Pedestrian – Midsummer Common

Dj Dials – Pillowforts

(Kayot – One week in Cuba)

Clams Casino – The World Needs Change

Taylor McFerrin – done for

Gang Colours – In your gut like a knife

Nice Drake – Which Will

RADIO: SR x Hivemind.fm – Editor’s Choice 12.06.2011

1. Jehst – Poison [forthcoming YNR Productions]

2. Rigas Den Andre – December & Death [Flora & Fauna]

3. Samiyam – My Buddy [forthcoming Brainfeeder]

4. S S – Sand Machine [unknown]

5. Kelpe – Same New Era [forthcoming MYOR]

6. Floating Points – Marilyn [EGLO]

7. Milyoo – Games [forthcoming OPIT]

8. El Kid – Le Corbusier [forthcoming Immerse]

9. Guy Andrews – Your Notion [forthcoming Discobelle]

10. BNJMN – Hybridisation [forthcoming Svetlana]

11. Slow Hand Motem – Vanity Hugs [forthcoming Astro Dynamics]

12. Offshore – Pacer [forthcoming Big Dada]

13. Cupp Cave – Hypersport [forthcoming Vlek]

14. Lokiboi & Hackman – Untitled [unreleased]

15. Cosmin TRG – Bijoux [Hessle Audio]

16. Szare – Volya [forthcoming Idle Hands]

17. Elgato – Music (Body Mix) [Hessle Audio]

18. Sigha – HF028B1 [Hotflush]

19. Szare – Action Five [forthcoming Idle Hands]

20. Crewdson – Starting Out On The Wrong Foot [forthcoming Slowfoot]

21. George FitzGerald – Reset [forthcoming Aus Music]

22. Mista Men – Mean Street [unreleased]

23. Artifact – Archaic Line [unreleased]

24. Arctic – Atomicity (Part 1) [unreleased]

25. Jamie XX – Far Nearer [Numbers]

36. Hounds of Hate – Trident [unreleased]

37. Tyler, The Creator – Analog [XL]

38. Teeth – Shawty [502]

39. Superisk – Life Is Live [unreleased]

40. Geiom vs. Aleks Zen – Barefoot Loafin’ [unreleased]

41. Bass Clef – Rollercoasters of the Heart [forthcoming Punch Drunk]

42. Monky – Shirley Temples [unreleased]

43. Tessela – Slugger [forthcoming All City]

44. Pangaea – Runout [Hessle Audio]

45. Offshore – East Coast Capital Connect [big Dada]

46. Erra – BRK020A [forthcoming Berkane Sol]

47. DOK – West Coast [forthcoming Hyperdub]

48. Guido & Baobinga – Bumba [forthcoming BUILD]

49. Desto – Makowrap [forthcoming Rwina]

50. Vibezin – Mad Sick [forthcoming Keysound]

51. D1 – Sub Zero [Hessle Audio]

52. Hyetal – Phoenix (Fantastic Mr Fox Remix [FREE DL]

52. Earl Sweatshirt – Earl [Odd Future]

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/radio-sr-x-hivemind-fm-editors-choice-12-06-2011/

Jehst: “Life’s What Happens When You’re Making Other Plans”

Certain artists have gravitas, that kind of impact that never really leaves you. Whether it’s through the warmth of their music or the memorable couplets of their lyrical content, some tracks/songs/albums/people just stick with you. And in turn, when you see their influence in another person it’s something you can bond over, that common ground to enthuse about in the wee hours or a Saturday morning or on a minibus back from Wollacombe beach after an overcast afternoon in June, whether you know that person or not.

Jehst’s trademark socially aware lyrics and heritage production work often provide that link. As a bastion of credible UK accented rap back in 2003, when the Low Life label was the king of the crop, William Shield’s debut album proper, Falling Down, built perfectly on the formula and early groundwork of his debut EP, The High Plains Drifter. Brash with his tongue he continued to rap colloquially, name checking the same kind of products, evolutions and frustrations that everyone, even a white middle class teenager from rural Nottinghamshire, could relate to. It’s that skill and that easily applicable tone, coupled with his sample heavy production techniques and the fact that his street inflected delivery was astounding, always loaded with the kind of level headed intelligence and sense of humour that made him such a relevant emcee back then. Thankfully in 2011 he’s still as biting, just as hopelessly romantic and probably even more pissed off with promoters who continue to spell his name incorrectly.

Sitting in a secluded park in Farringdon to discuss his latest album, The Dragon Of An Ordinary Family, and the five year gap between that and his last solo work, Nuke Proof Suit, Shield’s is incredibly forthcoming; sipping at a coffee that undoubtedly went cold during the first 20 minutes of small talk and catching up…

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/jehst-life%E2%80%99s-what-happens-when-you%E2%80%99re-making-other-plans/

PODCAST: Sonic Router x Bleep.com #008

If you’ve ever walked into a record store and spent the whole day listening to music, talking to people about music, researching other types of music and recommending the bits that you find; then you might find you’re a little like us. We did it for a year a few calendars ago and that enthusiasm and the enjoyment of guiltless afternoons spent listening to everything and anything have just stuck with us. It’s why we’re happy to be able to do stuff like this: honouring our continual podcast pact with music retailer Bleep.com.

This month’s episode draws a line from Tyler, The Creator to Hessle Audio via beat excursions from eLan, TOKiMONSTA (pictured) and Young Montana?, noise experiments from Ekoplekz and Emptyset and bastard house stylings from LV, Kidkut, Ceramic, Andy Mac, Champion and more.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/podcast-sonic-router-x-bleep-com-008/

1. Barry Gray – Unreferenced Music Track 4 [Trunk]

2. Tyler, The Creator ft Hodgy Beats – Analog [XL]

3. Young Montana? – Suchbeats [Alpha Pup]

4. Tokimonsta – Stigmatizing Sex [brainfeeder]

5. eLan – Bleep Bloop Brrrr [Monkeytown]

6. Nasty Nasty – Prognosis [Robox Neotech]

7. Ekoplekz – Arkrite [Mordant Music]

8. Mountains – Thousand Square [Thrill Jockey]

9. Emptyset – Point [Tectonic]

10. Robag Whrume – Prognosen Bomm [Pampa]

11. Joe – Twice [Hessle Audio]

12. Vessel – Glitter [Astro:Dynamics]

13. Ceramic – The Message [EYE4EYE]

14. Andy Mac – Asteroid Belts [Punch Drunk]

15. Champion – Lose Control [Hardrive]

16. Lil Silva – Cheese & Bun [Good Years]

17. Ramadanman – Stifle [Hessle Audio]

18. Mr Tickle – Citrus (Don’t Get Lemon) [Roska Kicks N Snares]

19. Dark Sky – High Rise [blunted Robots]

20. Kidkut – Get Sum [Well Rounded]

21. Neon Jung – Too Many Facets [Magic Wire]

22. Randomer – Brunk [Hessle Audio]

23. LV & Josh Idehen – Northern Line [Keysound]

24. Addison Groove – It’s Got Me [3024]

25. P Money & Blacks – Boo You [butterz]

http://bleep.com/

SR Mix #89: Dalglish [Highpoint Lowlife]

There’s a lot currently going on in the life of Dalglish, aka Chris Douglas, in and outside of the fact that he’s a man who has been producing confrontational exploratory noises since the techno-advent time of the late 80′s, with his first official release appearing in 1992. His back catalogue of work since then has informed swathes of genres, let alone the artists operating inside them, over two decades and he is still producing music that is capable of stopping a listener dead in their tracks. After pursuing this interview for some time, chatting sporadically to Chris as we contended with both the complications and darkness that hindered the flow of conversation; the same ominous cloud that indirectly helped inform both of us of a mutual appreciation for the psychological position from which Dalglish’s music approaches the listener.

His recently released Benacah Drann Deachd album on Highpoint Lowlife is as psychologically challenging as it is aurally; a journey through a fractured landscape of techno debris and hauntological tremors that encompasses and transcends his bulging archive of previous work, under additional monikers like O.S.T. and Rook Vallade. Benacah… is a powerful record that commands any room in which it plays; it’s ambience is not the kind of ocean you can blissfully sink into. Instead it’s depths are the breeding grounds for violent skeins of corrupting energy. Bolts of unsettling emotions flash from the murky textures that conceal them; tectonic tensions erupt into flows of pyroclastic beats that harden into a discernible form then disintegrate as shockingly as they arose. It’s a textural record that evokes the pure tonal works of Fennesz and the intangible musical forms of Autechre and Aphex Twin.

It is with great pleasure that we present a mix from Dalglish that compliments his outlandish record. Providing a collection of pure experimental music and giving his album’s influence historical and musical reference points that encompass both his own career and a long lineage of electronic music. It shares an equally intense shadowy flow to his artist work, moving through cryptic electronic drone, coalescing into fiery noise, before dissipating into abstract forms of glitching dread techno as it twitches through krauty motorik and back into heavy paranoia again.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/sr-mix-89-dalglish-highpoint-lowlife/

Tracklist:

Synken

M boom

Pharoah Sanders

Can

Sun Ra

Asmus Tietchens

Todd Dockstader

Morton Subotnick

Leyland Kirby

Jean Michel Jarre

Bernard Herrmann

Hans joachim Roedelius & Tim Story

Synken

Klaus Janek & Scald Rougish

Ash RaTemple

Michael Rother

Daniel Lanois

Jon Hassell & Brian Eno

Cabaret Voltaire

Coil

Psyche/BFC

Tomita

The Irresistable Force

Cluster

Bardachd

Charles Hayward

Derrick May

Dalglish’s Benacah Drann Deachd is out now on Highpoint Lowlife.

Sonic Router x Hivemind FM tonight @ 10-12 GMT.

Lock in, jump in the chat.

http://www.hivemind.fm/

RADIO: SR x Hivemind.fm – Xpldr Session 26.06.2011

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/radio-sr-x-hivemind-fm-xpldr-session-26-06-2011/

Neon Jung – Just Can’t Leave It Alone [Magic Wire]

Julio Bashmore – Battle For Middle You (Maurice Donovan Dub) [PMR]

Levon Vincent – Double Jointed Sex Freak [Novel Sound]

Spekter – Pipebomb [sound Signature]

DJ Qu – Runwitit [underground Quality]

S-X – Woooo [butterz]

Szare – Volya [idle Hands]

Jon Convex – Falling Again [3024]

Vessel – Nylon Sunset (Peverelist Remix) [Left Blank]

Elgato – Blue [Hessle Audio]

Szare – Action Five [idle Hands]

BLM – Delharmonic [underground Quality]

Paul Woolford – Bareback [Phonica]

Alexi Delano & John Selway – Nowhere [CSM]

Esteban Edame – Los Acros [underground Quality]

Norman Nodge – Homology [MDR]

R-A-G – Rage (Spaventi & Aroy`s Mix) [Mos Deep]

Lory D – Acidronix [Numbers]

The Underground Track Master – Battle Cry [Mix Records]

Greeeman – Rubberband2 [Clone Jack For Days]

Anti-G – OepSs Te Hard! [Planet Mu]

Egyptrixx – Liberation Front (Mike Q Remix / Bok Bok Re-Edit) [Night Slugs White]

Don Morris – Amiga [Deep Teknologi]

Abe Duque w/ Blake Baxter – Disco Lights [Abe Duque Records]

Ossie – Set the Tone [Hyperdub]

Jay Weed – The Nile [Grizzly]

Bowly – Bleeps [berkane Sol]

Emvee – Windrush [shifting Peaks]

MMM – Dex [MMM]

Joe – Claptrap [Hessle Audio]

Mr Reds – Can U Feel It? [FFRR]

P Money & Blacks – Boo You [butterz]

Bok Bok – Silo Pass [Night Slugs]

Teeth – CNT [Noppa]

Bass Clef – Rollercoaster of the Heart [Punch Drunk]RADIO: SR x Hivemind.fm – Xpldr Session 26.06.2011

COMPETITION: Win Tickets to SR x fabric This Friday

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/competition-win-tickets-to-sr-x-fabric-this-friday/

SR Mix #90: Teeth [502/Noppa]

What is it that people want? Like realllly want? Do they want fame? Or do they want the quiet life? I’m a little confused…

The glamorisation of the party lifestyle that goes with notoriety, the alcoholic excess and the bevy of buxom girls that wear those shorts that don’t even cover a whole bum cheek, is omnipresent in the media. Thrust down our gullets in a torrent of overhyped mass budget music videos and faux-reality shows that only really succeed to tear a hole in the notion of how fickle and plastic some of the world’s population can be, with one hand, we’re cushioned and massaged by the flip side of the fame with the other. Case in point, Drake’s new song ‘Marvin’s Room,’ it’s a woozy, repressive look at the plights of fame, told perfectly in first hand by someone who’s living it and rebelling against the stupidity of it all.

There’s a personable and incredibly human aspect to Drake’s inward gaze; it feels like that moment when you’ve gone too hard for like a week, with multiple hangovers collected, lounging in idyllic surroundings with a vista stretching out to the Spanish coast, pondering just how the fuck you can make things work the way you want in between deep sighs and moments of severe anxiety. Everybody reacts different but everybody reacts…

The music of Finnish producer Teeth stirs up some of that same uncomfortable energy in me. The slowed up, torturous boom and sample chop of his breakthrough ‘Shawty,’ recently released on Oneman’s 502 Recordings, is a measured display of brooding. Defined as much by the thin, incisor like hi hats as the cloudy pads that support the “what your name is” mantra its purposefully eerie, a perfectly produced 140bpm exercise in making you feel on edge. His follow up 12” on Noppa, ‘CMT’ b/w ‘Low Cut Champagne,’ is built from the same sound palette, all crystalline and hazy synths with a massive emphasis placed on how heavy the drums hit, and as a result it maintains that reflective quality I’ve been aimlessly hinting at in this introduction.

His Sonic Router mix, #90 in our ongoing series, also makes similar in roads into a world that feels warped and greyscale. I guess it’s just the way he sees things…

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/06/sr-mix-90-teeth-502noppa/

Teeth – Need A Refix [dub]

Addison Groove – Fuk Tha 101 [Hessle Audio]

Trusta – Feel So [forthcoming Swamp81]

Kuoyah – Convex Gravity (Desto remix) [dub]

Mele – Pyrex Vision [Truants]

MIA – It Takes A Muscle (Pearson Sound refix) [XL]

Myrryrs – Feel U (Bambounou & Teki Latex remix) [sound Pellegrino]

Headhunter – Sex At The Prom [Tempa]

xxxy- Kerpow [All City]

Jamie Grind – Don’t Think (dub)

Teeth – Take A Stand Overhead [forthcoming 502 Recordings]

Dark Sky – Reflex [Pictures Music]

Jay Weed – On The Nile [Grizzly]

Late – Fool (dub)

PODCAST: Sonic Router x Bleep.com #009

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/07/podcast-sonic-router-x-bleep-com-009/

1. Slugabed – Nu Krak Swing [Ninja Tune]

2. mfp – Future Hopes [brownswood]

3. Samiyam – Frosting Packets [brainfeeder]

4. DZA – I’ll Never Shirk The School [Project Mooncircle]

5. Com Truise – Glawio [Ghostly]

6. Squeaky Lobster – Aarnivalkea [Vlek]

7. Roedilus – Begegnung [bureau B]

8. Battles – Toddler [Warp]

9. Clams Casino – Gorilla [Tri Angle]

10. Motem – Vanity Hugs (Mesak Remix) [Astro:Dynamics]

11. Siriusmo – Rockwurst [Monkeytown]

>>> Wiley – Numbers In Action [big Dada]

12. Jacques Green – What Are You Feelin [uNO NYC]

13. Midland – Through Motion [Aus Music]

14. Cosmin TRG – De Dans [50 Weapons]

15. Girl Unit – Wut (Claude Von Stroke Remix) [Night Slugs]

16. Sigha – HF029B1 [Hotflush]

17. Milyoo – Biogram v2 (WNCL Remix) [WNCL]

18. Ossie – Power of Love [Hyperdub]

19. Jamie xx – Far Nearer [Numbers]

20. Zomby – A Devil Lay Here [4AD]

21. Guido & Baobinga – Bumba [build]

22. Teeth – Shawty [502]

23. SBTRKT – Ready Set Loop [Young Turks]

http://bleep.com/

Live 10-12 tonight: http://www.hivemind.fm/ Get locked.

RADIO: SR x Hivemind.fm – Xpldr Session 10.07.2011

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/07/radio-sr-x-hivemind-fm-xpldr-session-10-07-2011/

General LOK – Gama [white]

Loefah – Root [DMZ]

Double Helix – Chamber of Light [Keysound]

Teeth – Low Cut Champagne [Noppa]

Bass Clef – So Cruel [Punch Drunk]

Joe – Grimelight [Hessle Audio]

Dark Sky – High Rise [blunted Robots]

Bok Bok – Silo Pass [Night Slugs]

Wiley – Showa Eski (Mickey Pearce Remix) [Prodical]

Skream – Afrik [southside Dubstars]

Mala – Left Leg Out [DMZ]

TRC – Skipping Rope [butterz]

Silkie – 80s Baby [Deep Medi]

Aleks Zen – Pimp Shoes [berkane Sol]

S-X – Woooo (DJ Q Remix) [butterz]

Darkstar – Need You [Hyperdub]

Pangaea – Run Out [Hessle Audio]

MMM – Rio [MMM]

Emvee – Windrush [shifting Peaks]

Ossie – Set the Tone [Hyperdub]

Deadboy – Here 4u [Numbers]

LV & Okmalumkoolka – Zharp [Hyperdub]

Jay Weed – The Nile [Grizzly]

Fis-T – Deep Mover [502]

Ill Blu – Time to Get Nasty [Fantastic Four]

Pearson Sound – Wad [Hessle Audio]

Cosmin TRG – Izlet [50 Weapons]

R-A-G – Rage (Spaventi & Aroy`s Mix) [MOS Deep]

Portable – The Ghetto Escapes [Karat]

EQD – 004 [EQD]

Peverelist & Kowton – Beneath Radar [Levity Sound]

Karizma – Drumz Nightmare [R2]

Appleblim & October – NY Fizzzzz [schmorgasboard]

Even Tuell – Untitled [Workshop]

Tin Man – Nonneo (Donato Dozzy Remix) [Absurd]

Juniper – In the Interest of Time [underground Quality]

SRQ021/SR Mix #91: Stanislav Sevostyanikhin Puts Things Into Kontext

This month’s Sonic Router column for theQuietus focuses on the work of Russian producer, Kontext. After releasing a set of solid EPs, an impressive vinyl only album called Dissociate and, consequently, a 2 CD collation of his work to date on the Immerse label, he talks about his working environment and dicusses his music, providing the 91st mix in our ongoing mix series as an accompaniment.

“BPM was never important for me to be honest. I’m more concerned that the speed or rhythm is in harmony with the basic idea.” – Kontext

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/07/srq021sr-mix-91-stanislav-sevostyanikhin-puts-things-into-kontext/

01. Kontext – Inracranial Vintage Radio (Immerse)

02. Kontext – Thaw (Subtle Audio)

03. Kontext – Soyuz-Apollo [instrumental] (Immerse)

04. Dissident feat. Liza Gotfrik – Ketaminechick (Dub)

05. Dissident – Stumble, Please! (Respect)

06. Kontext – Jumping into the Void (Dub)

07. Kontext – Egosurfing (Immerse)

08. Kontext – Strangelet (Dub)

09. Kontext – Daphnia Pulex (Immerse)

10. Kontext feat. Liza Gotfrik – Kukla klone klown (Dub)

11. Kontext – Cabbage Bugs (Dub)

12. Kontext – The Night of the Sweaty Knives (Dub)

13. Cyberworm feat. Kontext – Jenna (Audioboutique)

14. Kontext – Hometown Swamp [Remix] (Immerse)

http://thequietus.com/

SR Mix #92: Ralph LTF [Wifey]

People who make their own fun are great. You know, like that guy on the bus who giggles seemingly at nothing, never getting off without a home to go to. It might look freakishly weird, out of place or socially awkward, but dude’s having the time of his life just sat there, watching the rain trickle over the window. I wish I was more like that, less stress and crippling paranoia and more life affirming giggles and long, leisurely bus rides. Still, my original point stands; if you make something yourself, behind all the stress, the late nights and the worries is the drive and the self satisfaction inherent in doing it. We get that.

Wifey is an East London club night and I’m assuming here that it’s a similar labour of love as this site is to me, for one of its core duo, Ralph LTF. Like a lot of relationships born out of internet networking, we’ve never met ‘IRL.’ We started talking in a chat room discussing our Hivemind.fm radio show and a little bit about his nights and his own radio show on London pirate station, De Ja Vu. The Wifey club night stands tall, backed by the people behind labels like Local Action, UTTU and Infrasonics – who are regular conspirators and have been vocal on the way the booking policy merges attitude and boisterous basslines with a more refined sense of what’s happening in terms of London dancefloors.

With the offer left open for a Wifey contribution to our mix series we’re happy to be able to present the 91st Sonic Router mix, just in time to shout about their latest party. Set for the 15th July at Alibi in Dalston it features Spatial headlining alongside grime/bassline producer and fellow De Ja Vu DJ, Eastwood with Manchester duo Swing Ting holding down the support slots…

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/07/sr-mix-92-ralph-ltf-wifey/

1. Julio Bashmore – Batak Groove

2. SCB – 28 5

3. Kingdom – Hottest In America (Dub)

4. Joy O – Wade In

5. Breach – Fatherless (T. Williams Remix)

6. Benjamin Damage – Run and Bounce

7. Beneath – Send

8. Jacques Green – Holdin’ On

9. Jacques Green – Sorted

10. Blawan – Bohla

11. Boddika – Breezin

12. NKC – The Pyramids

13. Berghson – ACID

14. Photek – UFO (Addison Groove’s Almost Headhunter Remix)

15. Pangea – Won’t Hurt

16. Mister Tweeks – Cross That Line (Tweeks remix)

17. Voltron – Be For Real (Nguzunguzu Remix)

18. James Fox – Put It Back (Ramadanman Remix)

19. Fiedel – Doors To Manual

SR Mix #93: Grievous Angel [Keysound]

Throughout the two and half years this blog has been running we’ve seen certain stylistic shifts in dubstep. We’ve tried to help document the phases and new directions through speaking to some of the players involved and through shining a light on newcomers making waves whilst keeping a level of continuity about our writing. The tempo shifts is probably the most notable change. A lot of people dropped it and the yardstick moved. Even since we’ve been doing our radio show, we started in May of last year, we’ve ended up (or started) at 110bpm or slower, a difference of probably about 20bpm considering we started focused on joining the gaps between dubstep and the housier offshoots. And yeah, I know, I fucking hate it when people talk in bpm’s too, like ‘oh, yeah, I make like 111bpm slo-mo house’… If you’re going to be that niche and specific you could have have something of a better frame of reference but I digress…

One person who’s seeming revelled in the open ended nature of this tempo shift is Grievous Angel; a producer whose work with Blackdown and his Keysound label has melted from garage flecked dubstep, to garage flecked UK funky over the past couple of years. Watching his movements from afar we’ve always considered him to be the kind of dude who puts across well versed reasoning, in themeing his mixes and presenting what he does with a well informed persona.

His 2008 album, Belief Is The Enemy, experimented with dancehall, techno and ragga influences, reference points that were more or less expected at the time, a period when producers poured every offcut of anything into their productions, and since then he’s focused himself further on making his own brand of UK funky – house music made with some of dubstep’s open attitude and broad sound palette. He remixed the whole of Dusk & Blackdown’s Margins Music live, from the stems up, creating his own Redux version of the album which was released in 2009. It fully showcased his ability to fracture and twist source material and since then he’s continued the trend, creating his own DJ tool edits that often appear in his archival mixes hosted on his blog.

Submitting a mix to us that he’s calling the third in a running volume of Tense, Nervous House mixes, James Balf caught up with the producer to discuss the very notion of the title, Ableton and the wealth and diversity of modern club music…

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/07/sr-mix-93-grievous-angel-keysound/

Kerri Chandler & Monique Bingham: In The Morning (Lost Love Dub) [bigga Sounds 2006]

Shackleton: Blood Rhythm (Grievous Angel Edit) (2011)

Jamie Woon: Night Air [Ramadanman Remix] (Grievous Angel 130 Edit) [Candent Songs 2010]

Zander Hardy: Attack [Deep Teknologi Records 2010]

Oddyssey: Use It Up and Wear It Out (Grievous Angel Edit) [RCA 1980]

Unknown Soulja: Killing Kong [unreleased 2010]

Don Morris: Amiga [Deep Teknologi Records 2010]

Grievous Angel: Kleer [unreleased 2011]

DJ Gregory: Don’t Panic [Faya Combo 2009]

T.Williams: Drumstrumental [Deep Teknologi Records 2010]

DiscoKaina: Click Me On (Grievous Angel Remix) [unreleased 2011]

DJ Gregory & Gregor Salto: Con Alegria (Solo ‘More Cowbell’ Remix) [Defected 2009]

Grievous Angel Vs Kalbata: Reload [unreleased 2011]

Grievous Angel feat. Rubi Dan: Move Down Low VIP [soul Jazz 2010]

Wiley: Electric Boogaloo (ROLLER EXPRESS RMX) [One Love 2010]

Delphic: Halcyon. (L-Vis 1990 Remix) [Chimeric Records 2010]

Felix Da Housecat: Kick Drum [2009]

Grievous Angel: Lush Vibes [unreleased 2010]

Shackleton: Blood Rhythm (Grievous Angel Funky Remix) [unreleased 2011]

The boy Marlow live for Sonic Router 10-12 tonight, get locked.

http://www.hivemind.fm/

New shit.

We're live right now on http://www.hivemind.fm/ get locked, jump in the chat. New shit. Etc.

SR Mix #94: Samoyed [Flask/Astro:Dynamics]

Unrest can be physical or mental. Surging emotions can be just as forceful as actions and as London, and several other major UK cities, recover from the affects of rioting there’s a tense mood that needs appeasing. Now, it’s a tenuous link considering the gravity of the events washed over in the first two sentences of this introduction but… mood is something that Samoyed’s music displays in droves. We were moved by his Always From This Point album that appeared with little fanfare back in May on the Flask label. It was an unexpected gem, something described at the time as “Floating with all manner of featherweight restraint the superlative drones and slow unfurling of the eight tracks on Always… provoke a regressive kind of hypnotherapy” – full review here

Listening to it again now, the album’s drones feel incredibly sombre in places, but it’s a tensely coiled work; a bundle of nervous energy swirling deeper downwards toward the floor. What struck me from the start was just how engulfing it was. All too often cinematic drone can be a perplexing ebb to listen to; alienating you with either an all to instant distortion that continues for a further half hour or general floundering and lack of definitive direction. Growing with Always… from the beginning, from the start of ‘Trumpet O’ Doom,’ levels you for the shimmer like din of tracks like ‘To Feel A Body’ and the movement of the other beatless pieces contained on it.

The other side of Samoyed’s productions are tough dancefloor tracks like ‘Klondike Rush’ that whilst loaded with the same lo-fi charm and tape hiss character as his atmospheric work run at a similar pace as his Astro:Dynamics label mate (he’s soon to release a 10” on the fledgling imprint) Vessel, who’s ragged and bitty take on house music we’ve profiled before on SR Mix #81. Tagged on his soundcloud as ‘melty,’ a great adjective given the graceful slop of the sounds that spill out from under the drum beats, Samoyed’s deprecated character, as well as his array of musical approaches, struck a chord with our operation and in the pursuit of knowledge we caught up with the Scottish musician to find out a little more and reignite our mix series with the 94th instalment.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/08/sr-mix-94-samoyed-flaskastrodynamics/

No tracklist given.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/

SR Mix #95: Scratcha DVA [Hyperdub/DVA]

Scratcha DVA is one of those guys who puts in the work. As a radio DJ he’s been present on the airwaves of Rinse FM for a long time, holding down the Grimey Breakfast show; a staple part of what’s made Rinse such a unique broadcaster over the last five or so years, giving him a platform to twist his own incredibly endearing outlook on life with new music and an overwhelming dose of humour. As a producer he’s made waves with his remixes, his releases on Hyperdub and those on his own label, DVA Music. They’ve all presented a skewed view on UK funky; a house pace that’s underpinned with a darker, grimier edge and with tracks like ‘Natty,’ ‘Ganja’ and ‘Jelly Roll,’ works that often feature the wormiest of all possible melody lines, he’s found a place in the short, and long, term memories of a lot of people.

When interviewing him for TRAP magazine recently (read the full transcript here) I wrote: “You get the feeling from just a few minutes of conversing with Scratcha that there’s a lot more savvy thinking that takes place away from the limelight. For all his charisma and otherworldly banter – our conversation skips from music to live on air dumpings and the time “we done some internet grooming to get some guy on the show, then we rang him up and [his former producer] Dave put on a girl’s voice and told him they should go link at a train station” – there’s a devout intelligence there.” It’s a very big plus that Scratcha is such an ingenious producer whose unique and fun take on London dancefloor music has earned him serious chops with a lot of people. Ourselves included.

He’s been a little quiet of late, reportedly working on a full length LP, but we got wind that he’s playing at the Deviation Carinval Special taking place at Paradise on Monday 29th August, alongside people like EZ, Zinc, Alexander Nut, Lil Silva and the whole bottle of rum magician himself, Benji B. He’s long been a discussion topic as well as a mix target for us, Scratcha’s older productions sum up a period of time last summer that all seemed to roll into one long cluster of basements and vibes perfectly; so without further ado, Sonic Router is overjoyed to present SR Mix #95 by Scratcha DVA.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/08/sr-mix-95-scratcha-dva-hyperdubdva/

Jamie Woon – Shoulda (DVA’s Soule:Power Remix)

Shy One – Spring Romance

Cooly G – Sunshine (Simbad Remix)

Presk – Love Again

Kingdom ft Naomi Allen – Take Me (Instrumental)

Kingdom ft Naomi Allen – Take Me

Muhsinah – Stop & Go

Walton – Aggy

Fireworks ft Bounty Killer, Ghetts, Shystie & Trilla – Limb By Limb (Accapella)

Doc Daneeka – Murdah Strings

Instra:mental – Pyramid

Cardopusher – Everybody

Joss Ryan – Melancholy Dreams

Shy One – Pastel Requiem

DVA – The Flute Tune

Archer – Night Train

SR Mix #96: LR. Groove & DJ Eastwood [Déjà Vu]

For the last 17 years the high profile former pirate station, Rinse FM, has constantly pushed and represented underground London, but they were never the only pirate operation on the FM dial that served up fresh, interesting new music daily. With Rinse now a legit operation, broadcasting out across the city, there’s a spot at the summit of our capital’s pirate community that’s aching to be filled. After some time in the wilderness, one station making powerful waves again is Déjà Vu – a crew we introduced you to in a roundabout way with Ralph LTF’s SR Mix, #92 and our feature on Spooky.

Formed in the late ’90s, Déjà spent the early part of the last decade as one of grime and garage’s most notorious hubs, playing host to shows by N.A.S.T.Y. Crew, Meridian Crew (JME and Skepta’s pre-Roll Deep home), Essentials and more. If you’re into grime, chances are you’ve seen the infamous footage of Dizzee Rascal and Crazy Titch’s confrontation in an East London tower block – that was taken outside Déjà’s home at the time. But as grime’s star ascended out from beyond the underground, Déjà’s profile began to fade.

In the last couple of years however, the station has returned to prominence, showcasing the rawer side of UK house (something which, unfortunately, has far less of a presence on Rinse than it did this time last year) with DJs like Eastwood & LR Groove, Weeksey, Rudimental’s Locksmith, Whitecoat and Smoove Kriminal manning some of the station’s most popular shows. In the last couple of months, the station has also recruited Spooky, Slackk, the Local Action label and London clubnight Wifey for regular slots, while the R&B, old school shows and chat shows are amongst the best you’ll find on London’s dial.

This Friday, Déjà Vu celebrates the Bank Holiday weekend with Square Biz, a station showcase across both rooms of Clerkenwell’s Fluid Bar. Sets come from DJ Dlux, Mikey Futuristic, Joshua Jones, Tommy Sparks, Phil Bliss and Jammin in Room 1, while the rawer Room 2 features Eastwood & LR Groove, Rudimental, Weeksey, Smoove Kriminal, Local Action resident DJ Laizi, Tallman Stretch and Wifey’s Ralph LTF and RK. To cement the occasion in internet folklore, Déjà DJs Eastwood (pictured) and LR. Groove have split mix duties, both providing a half hour insight into the blend of flavours you can expect from their show, The East & Groove Show, and from the general 4×4 arm of the station.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/08/sr-mix-96-lr-groove-dj-eastwood-deja-vu/

LR. Groove section tracklist:

1. Andy Jay & S-Tee – Spiralling

2. Hagan – God Bless House

3. LR.Groove – Bush Man

4. DJ Trizzy – Bamboo Groove

5. LR.Groove – Quick

6. Vandalism & Angger Dimas – She Got It

7. Razzlerman – Renk Dread (Taza Refix)

8. LR.Groove – Child’s Play

9. LR.Groove & Razzlerman – Cyber Link

10. LR.Groove – Deep In The Bush

11. LR.Groove- Over Come

12. LR.Groove & DJ Young One – 1st Step

Eastwood section tracklist:

1. DJ Eastwood – Me nah ave no name but m heavy u zimmie

2. T.williams – Hearbeat (Paul Woolford remix)

3. Naughty Raver – Bass Slave

4. DJ Eastwood – Toilet Blocker

5. Jook10 – Hazard

6. Formula Music – Trapped

7. Alpha27 – Cannon Fodder

8. Mosca – Bax

9. Lil Silva – Cheese n bun

10. Redlight – Source 16

11. Zander Hardy – In The Deep

12. Formula Music – Bass Killer

13. Ill Blu – Monsta

14. Shay N Sinista – Car Jack

15. Shortstuff – What mickey talking about

16. Ill Blu – Meltdown

17. DJ Eastwood – Oh Yh

18. DJ Eastwood – Piggy Bank

Catch the East & Groove show every Saturday between 8pm – 10pm.

Radio tonight 10-12 GMT Xpldr Session for Sonic Router: http://www.hivemind.fm/

SR Mix #97: Nochexxx [RAMP Recordings]

Without trying to sound like a bitter old shrew, there’s little mystery left around modern musicians. Access to every part of their lives is now the norm. Forgoing press intrusion or paparazzi, a lot of electronic musicians consistently use the internet to up their profile – and quite rightly so, it’s an incredible promotional tool. Whether or not I really need to know how long they waited in the Post Office or how long they’ve spent landlocked in an airport cafe I’m still not sure, but in this climate, when someone doesn’t go for that approach – and I’m obviously overzealously generalising here – artists like Burial or Zomby, people who avoid all those “LOOK AT ME” type tactics in favour of a work ethic, that is a news story in itself. Inactivity, it seems, still stokes the fire.

An artist like this week’s SR mixer, Nochexxx, is a case in point. Other than the fact that he resides in Cambridge, a fact I know because he was included and interviewed in a scene report on Cambridge in the WIRE a few issues back, I don’t really know a damn thing about the guy. Internet research tells me that he’s an avid MPC user, shunning in the box production for a more hands on, warts and static type approach, but it’s his music that really speaks to me. Having released work on Werk Dics, his awkwardly warped take on a 4×4 hip hop featuring emcee Sensational on the ‘Smashing Your System’ 12”, and RAMP Recordings, who just released the second 12” of Nochexxx’s music, he’s created a wholly shabby sound palette that’s admittedly as crumbly as it is punchy.

When reviewing his latest 12”, ‘Savage Herald’ b/w ‘Charro,’ I lamented that Nochexxx held a place in my mind akin to Shackleton and Mordant Music – two artists whose flaunting of any kind of convention has produced discographies that whilst brittle, are incredibly worthy of extended listening. And I stand by that, because he’s just as rugged and stoic in his vision as those namechecked. Nochexxx makes warped music for dark dancefloors; crackly DJ tools that veer through melodic passages with gusto, sounding near broken and like nothing else out there.

We’ve always been keen to showcase artists who do things a little different and after watching the pomp apocalypse in the video for ‘Charro’ for the umpteenth time, we asked him to curate the 97th mix in our ongoing series.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/09/sr-mix-97-nochexxx-ramp-recordings/

SR Mix #98: H.U.D. [stillcold]

A while back, we got an unmarked zip of tunes simply labelled as Lesotho Protokol. We played them a bit on our radio show and enjoyed the weird directions of bastardisation. From the four four house stomp of ‘Lesotho Protokol,’ to the flowery vocal chops of ‘You’re Mine’ the tunes were interesting, both because we had no real clue who was behind the project and because there was a genuinely awkward style to the production. There’s a definite sideways lilt to the bass work on the title track ‘Lesotho Protokol.’ It’s almost too much, or too little, the strange buoyancy of the bassline buries itself beneath the drum work but at times still drapes itself over the top of it…

Whilst ‘You’re Mine’ bounces more conventionally, propelled through bittersweet vocal samples by Roska-esque tom stabs and a digitized ribbon backed up with a pad line, the third tune ‘2 Fly’ is almost R&B, prodding its way through several melodies at once with a heavy handed kick drum just driving the whole thing onwards. Together the tunes felt like they were coming from three different places sonically but they seemed to work as some mixed up statement, a poignant form of a refusal to compromise.

The Lesotho Protokol release came out in July on the freshly minted Stillcold label, and we’re still just as stuck for reliable information even now. What we do know is that the label is one hundred per cent committed to releasing their wares on vinyl – refusing at this time to release the tracks digitally – and that the next release comes in part from the Hotflush signed Lando Kal with a white label bootleg of 90s dancefloor smash,‘Rhythm of the Night.’

Rhythm Of The Night (Lando Kal version) [forthcoming Stillcold White 001]

We caught up with the label’s main protagonist, H.U.D, a DJ whose smooth mixing style on his Bodymusik radio show has won him fans and slots at nights like Pipedown in East London, and tried to grab a little bit more understanding regarding where the Stillcold and Lethoso Protokol projects are coming from. Oh, and he also provided an excellent 50 minutes of music spun together as the 98th mix in our ongoing series…

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/09/sr-mix-98-h-u-d-stillcold/

Lando Kal – TMRW [forthcoming Stillcold Records]

Spatial – 10074b (dub) [unreleased]

Anthony Shake Shakir – Piper [Frictional]

Too Funk – Venus Fly Trap [Ferox]

M. Dettmann – Rerun [MDR Records]

Skudge – Ontic (Rolando remix) [skudge]

Lando Kal – Rhythm Sektion [unreleased]

Oracy – Funk Advice [Mojuba]

Manik – Ditmars Blvd [Ovum Recordings]

Mosca – BAX [Numbers]

Redshape – Son Of A… [Delsin]

Presk – Headway [Ten Thousand Yen]

????? – ????? [unreleased]

Walton – Mangled Riddim

Darling Farah – Grace [unreleased]

Stephen Brown – Body Work [indigo Aera]

Venice Calypso – Tunguska

DSL Official – Oo Aa Ee (remix)

Lesotho Protokol – Untitled (Life Is)

Interview with Sully: http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/09/sully-ive-always-been-drawn-to-extremes/

SRQ022/SR Mix #99: Ifan Dafydd: “Being Correct Is Boring…”

The latest Sonic Router column for theQuietus focuses on Welsh producer, Ifan Dafydd. He’s the producer who’s debut 12″ release, ‘No Good’ b/w ‘Miranda’ made a massive impact upon the internet at the time of release a few weeks ago. Justly likened to James Blake and even rumoured to be him working under another alias, we caught up with Dafydd to address the mystery surrounding his being and the origins behind his music.

“Whether a chord progression makes any sense to me theoretically doesn’t really bother me as much anymore. Being correct is boring anyway.” - Ifan Dafydd

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/09/srq022sr-mix-99-ifan-dafydd-being-correct-is-boring/

Chopin – Mazurka Op. 67 No.2

Blawan – Lavender

Pedestrian – Hei Poa

Pearson Sound – WAD

Fantastic Mr Fox – If I

Gang Colours – Dance Around The Subject

Disclosure – Offline Dexterity

Koreless – MD

Joy Orbison – So Derobe

Hors x Henrik Koefod x Kilimanjaro – Fell

Mount Kimbie – Fifty Mile View

James Blake – Postpone

Addison Groove – Footcrab

R Kelly – Exit

Ifan Dafydd – Miranda

Cloud Boat – Lions on the beach

Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m No Good