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AUGUST 21 - SEPT 3
Earplug is a bi-weekly email newsletter, delivering a handpicked
selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features for the
international electronic music community.
This is our last issue before many people go on their end-of-the-summer
holidays, but the music keeps coming — and while we're sad to see the
late sunsets go, this fall is gearing up to be a noisy good time. We
can't wait for the rowdy, rockin' albums coming soon from The Rapture, Adam Freeland, and Basement Jaxx, whose Kish Kash is really going to leave you wondering where your head's at. Kid Koala might be the busiest man with two
turntables and a felt-tip pen, but he took the time to draw this week's
header just for us. Thanks Eric. Cue it up and plug it in...
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Basement Jaxx Are Back
"More bass, less beat," says Felix Buxton of the Basement Jaxx' Kish Kash, the duo's recently completed third album due out this October. Those expecting dancefloor anthems like "Romeo" and "Do Your Thing" may be disappointed, but Kish Kash is the group's most inventive and groundbreaking work yet. Take it as a sign o' the times that garage beats, electroclash noise, paisley pop, and old time R&B all find a place in the Jaxx' new mix. From the album's hair-raising opener "Good Luck" and the delirious Prince-style "Right Here's the Spot" to the dirty pop of "Plug It In" and pogo-punk "Cish Cash," the Jaxx employ a series of guest vocalists — including Siouxsie Sioux, N'Sync's J.C. Chavez, Dizzee Rascal, and Bellrays singer Lisa Kekaula — as anchors for their future funk. "Tonight" is a stuttering Latin guitar and percussion number, and Buxton himself provides the vocals on standout tracks like "Living Room" and "Hot and Cold." After emerging from their Brixton studio with more than 30 completed songs, the housier ones fell away and left the noisier, not-quite-as-comfortable material. "We were less worried about the clubs," Buxton said. "We've done that and we want to move on and move forward." (DJP)
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Rage Against The RAVE Act
Reclusive club legend Junior Vazquez and turntablist DJ Craze are among the DJs scheduled to perform just steps from the US Capitol Building on September 6 at ROAR! 2, a daylong protest organized by the National Dance and Music Rights Alliance against the so-called "RAVE Act." Known formally as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, the statute holds promoters and venues legally responsible for their patrons' illicit drug use and was signed into law by President Bush on April 30, 2003 despite widespread condemnation by the dance music community, business owners, conservative columnists, and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), who all agree the act is unconstitutional and violates civil liberties. The protest lineup promises sets by DJs from across the country, interspersed with speeches by the ACLU's Graham Boyd, DPA president Ira Glasser, author Doug Rushkoff, and others. They better speak loud: Congress is currently considering "Rave Act II" — the Ecstasy Awareness Act of 2003 — an even more draconian measure which specifically threatens those who organize "raves" or "electronic dance music events" where drugs are used, regardless of promoter culpability, with fines of up to a $2 million. (AG)
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DJs' Best Friend
With the October 7 release of his second album, Some of My Best Friends Are DJs, Montreal's talented multi-tasker Kid Koala gets to show off many sides of his unique creativity. Musically, Koala picks up on the "Drunk Trumpet" theme of his debut, patiently scratching in organ parts, brass solos, bass lines, and vocal bits like a one-man Dixieland bandstand. As we might expect after his debut graphic novel, Nufonia Must Fall, published earlier this year with an accompanying soundtrack, Best Friends also includes a 52-page comic book drawn by Koala. "Basin Street Blues," the album's first single, has a dreamy animated video directed by Monkmus, who was also responsible for Koala's "Fender Bender" spot. This fall, his Short Attention Span Theater tour hits the road in the US before heading to Europe, promising a full-on vinyl vaudeville show with three DJs, new animated shorts by Monkmus, and a performance by someone named Lederhosen Lucil — plus cabaret-style seating for the entire audience. (DJP)
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Digital Download Gold Rush
The stampede has begun — numerous digital download services are jumping headfirst onto the iTunes bandwagon, each vying to become the Amazon of the online music world. Microsoft dipped its gigantic foot into the pool last week with a European service called MSN Music Club; buymusic.com launched the first iTunes-like service for Windows late last month; Rhapsody and Musicmatch will reinvent themselves by the end of this year with à la carte music services; Napster will soon relaunch as a pay service; and Apple is rumored to be grabbing for an even bigger slice of the pie as early as September with the much-ballyhooed debut of iTunes for Windows. In the meantime, the US backlash against the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) continues with the Senate announcing plans for full-blown hearings on the RIAA's crackdown on file-swappers and the powerful lobbying group NetCoalition weighing in on potential effects on the Internet industry from RIAA's lawsuits as well as their strategies for smoking out file-swappers. In what could be a prelude to mass international litigation, record companies last week began sending instant message warnings to file-swappers in Australia, Canada, Denmark and Germany, politely "reminding" them of the dangers of file sharing. (CW)
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MORE HEADLINES
Going Up?
Ibiza's prices inflating more »
Or Coming Down?
Ibiza's numbers reportedly off 20% more »
Sampa Nova
Brazilian music taking over more »
Disco 2000 Lives
Party Monster movie debuts more »
Gotcha!
Watch out for Nabster more »
18 All Over Again
Moby plans new DVD more »
On The List
Postal Service, Metro Area, Four Tet among prize nominees more »
Just Another Day
All Tomorrow's Parties LA rescheduled (again) more »
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Artist: |
Kraftwerk |
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| Album: |
Tour De France Soundtracks |
| Label: |
Kling Klang/Astralwerks |
| Release: |
August 12 |
Kraftwerk chose to release Tour De France Soundtracks to celebrate the centenary of the world's most famous bike race, and the album marks the group's first new material in 20 years and the debut of their newly digitalized Kling Klang studio. Built around a cycling theme, the album's tracks incorporate changing gears and whirring chains. Happily, Kraftwerk's instinct for melody remains undiminished as does their peerless production: "Titanium" is a gorgeous electronic symphony; "Vitamin," a delightful slice of Teutonic technopop. (BC)
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Artist: |
Ricardo Villalobos |
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| Album: |
Taka Taka |
| Label: |
Cocoon |
| Release: |
June 25 |
Tech house favorite Ricardo Villalobos' second mix is a study of the percussive mastery that enables the Chilean-born DJ to hold sway over crowds until the early morning. Taka Taka moves from the microhouse of Melchior Productions' "All There Is" and Brothers' Vibes' "Manos Libre," a deep tribal number with a crunching midrange before finally warming up to a thumping apex courtesy of tracks by Dan Bell and Errorsmith. Villalobos' underground reputation is cemented here — we can't wait for his own full-length on Playhouse due soon. (NP)
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Artist: |
Juana Molina |
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| Album: |
Segundo |
| Label: |
Domino |
| Release: |
July 1 |
The simple answer to why subtle and sublime Argentinean singer Juana Molina is hyped as the Spanish-language answer to everyone from Björk to Cat Power to Joni Mitchell can be found on her latest release, Segundo. Molina doesn't just sing — she delivers dreamy incantations in a perfectly shaped vocal range. Her voice is layered between folksy guitar picking, sly Latin percussion, and laptop beats that give the music both futuristic and rustic qualities. The resulting songs are quirky but eminently catchy — Segundo may be one of the year's best albums. (JH)
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Artist: |
Various |
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| Album: |
City Rockers Singles 1-23 |
| Label: |
City Rockers |
| Release: |
June 16 |
It'd be easy to write off Damien Lazarus' City Rockers as a relic of the moment that made tunes like Tiga's cover of "Sunglasses at Night" possible, representing a cheeky, slightly retro party vibe that's already on the wane. But the label's legacy is solid, from DifferentGear's enormous, strobe-and-fog tune "A Little Bit Paranoid" to Freddy & Herman's guileless, Balearic "Aquarius." Throw in Drug Punks' jackin' "Drug," four excellent FC Kahuna cuts, and Finnish fusionist Matti Oiling's lopsided electro "Cyclops Dance" -- from 1977, no less -- and you've got more than enough to make us want two dozen more singles. (PS)
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Artist: |
Colleen |
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| Album: |
Everyone Alive Wants Answers |
| Label: |
The Leaf Label |
| Release: |
June 30 |
Paris's Cecile Schott, recording here as Colleen, is reportedly a grade school teacher by trade, but there's no classroom ruckus here -- only the strange quiet of chalkboard dust settling in afternoon light and the creaking of rusted swings. Not so much cosmopolitan as wearily worldly, Everyone Alive Wants Answers is a rustling, beatless drift that makes other "ambient" music sound positively banging. Ethereal but eerily grounded, the album shrugs off its own title, offering only riddles and wispy illogic. (PS)
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Artist: |
DJ Heather |
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| Album: |
Dancefloor Principles |
| Label: |
Nordic Trax |
| Release: |
August 12 |
Like many lovers of Chicago house music around the world, regulars at Vancouver's intimate Sonar club have adopted DJ Heather as their own. And on the club's debut mix CD, Heather remains a true ambassador of her hometown's sound. From the opening track "All I Need" (featuring Superjane compatriot Colette on vocals) and Justin Long and Dan X's "Tell Everybody" to Mazi & Spettro's sassy "Wrong" and Stacey Kidd's dusty groove "Jazzy Days II," Heather's prime-time grooves drip with Windy City sweat. (DJP)
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EARPLUG FAVES
Dub Pistols, Six Million Ways To Live
(Distinctive)
Tommy Guerrero, Soul Food Taqueria
(Mo' Wax)
Prefuse 73, Extinguished: Outtakes
(Warp)
FC Kahuna, Another Fine Mess
(Azuli)
People Under the Stairs, Or Stay Tuned (OM)
Praful, One Day Deep (Rendezvous Music)
m-µZiq, Bilious Paths (Planet Mu)
DJ Cosmo, The Disco-tech of...
(Yellow)
Various, Hotel Pelirocco
(Distinctive)
Plastikman, Closer
(Novamute)
Chingy, Jackpot
(Capitol)
Sascha Funke, Bravo(Bpitch Control)
Tin Hat Trio, The Rodeo Eroded
(Ropeadope)
Matthew Dear, Leave Luck to Heaven
(Ghostly)
Victor Gama, Pangeia Instrumentos
(Rephlex)
Los Soneros Del Barrio, Siguiendo La Tradicion
(Rumba Jams)
Monobox, Molecule
(Logistic)
The Rip Off Artist, Pet Sounds
(Vertical Form)
Sustainer, Cuantico
(Italic)
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Recap: Roskilde Festival
June 26-29, 2003
Roskilde, Denmark
Massive Attack's dubbed-out wall of sound and Metro Area's lush live disco-nouveau were among the many highlights of this year's Roskilde Festival. For more than 20 years, Denmark's seductive midnight sun and rolling meadows have served as a picturesque backdrop for one of Europe's best music festivals. This time, more than 150 acts performed over four days and nights, including no wave anti-heroes Suicide, ambient orchestra Sigur Rós, new age gospel cheerleaders the Polyphonic Spree, Afrobeat percussionist Tony Allen, punk-funkers Radio 4, and Scandinavia's outrageous Turbonegro. The Metropol and Pavilion side stages hosted artists and DJs including David Holmes, Console, and dZihan & Kamien. The weekend's highlight was Björk's decadent closing set, featuring the playful Icelandic pop star sporting a severe mod bowl-cut and a blue-feathered headdress. As "Violently Happy" uplifted the crowd, the stage was crowned with a shower of fireworks — a spectacular finish to a fantastic festival. (DP)
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Recap: Soma 2003
Cologne, Germany
August 1-3, 2003
Outdoor festivals often run the risk of being too hot, dirty, or debaucherous for our taste, but stumbling upon Cologne's Soma 2003 had us wishing we'd brought a tent. With the waving flags and bright lights surrounding Jugendpark (the festival went off right in Cologne's city center), Soma 2003 had the look and feel of a Midwestern state fair. When we arrived, thousands of partiers were huddled around hometown label Kompakt's stage, dancing to an all-too-smooth deep house set by Tobias Thomas. But the real action was in the concessions area, where a feast of African, Vietnamese, and Thai food was laid out as Brazilian women danced wildly while serving up caipirinhas. At the reggae stage, a DJ played dub to people crashed out in hammocks and there was even a "kinder" area for the kids. Back at Kompakt's stage, Superpitcher spun lots of "shuffle" (or "schaffel") tracks with their distinctive yo-yo rhythms. Michael Mayer finished out the night with the sort of mix of shuffle tracks and wet-eyed rave that make his recent release Speicher so fantastic. (EB)
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Preview: Southport Weekender
Southport, Merseyside, UK
October 31 - November 2, 2003
Now in its 17th year — though in those 17 years it has moved through a few manifestations and destinations — this fall's twice-annual Southport Weekender promises to be another classic. With Masters at Work teaming up for a six-deck, six-CDJ1000 marathon and Blaze performing live, dedicated househeads are in for a treat. On the jazzy tip, Mr. Scruff and Gilles Peterson are scheduled to mix it up in the BBar, while old school Southport stalwarts like Bob Jones, Terry Jones, and Norman Jay are sure to deliver the kind of sets that make them Northern Soul heroes in the US. Dozens of other DJs and live acts are scheduled throughout the weekend, and since the festival takes over an entire holiday resort, all the action is just a stone's throw from the comfort of your own chalet. The neighbors won't be asking you to keep the music down. (GR)
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Real Player required for these streams.
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Good Times Sound System at Notting Hill Carnival, August 2002
If you can't make it to London this weekend for 2003's festivities, check out this archive of Norman Jay's famous sound system going at it for two days last August. Then start looking for a cheap last-minute fare.
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Marc from 4hero, R Solution Summer Special,
August 2003
One half of the broken beat champions 4hero, Marc drops a sultry,
soulful beatscape of classic and nu soul with a healthy dash of Stevie on the minimal but effective nuwavradio.co.uk
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Jeff Mills live, May 2003
With pirated Jeff Mills mix CDs commanding $60 and up on ebay, the rarity of his recorded sets cannot be over-emphasized. An hour of Detroit classics mixed with contemporary techno tracks from the excellent MixMax site.
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Hisham Sarnawi, Rhythmaculture mix, March 2003
Tripoli-born, New York-based Hisham Sarnawi is 1/3 of the Dirty Gringos production trio; as a DJ, his big room mix of techno, house, and breaks is tight.
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Mr. Mike, In The Box, August 2003
For more than 12 years, Switzerland's Mr. Mike has been keeping the house flame alive in the Alps — his weekly show is broadcast on Swiss national radio every Friday night.
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Pirkka, #220 On The Late Night Tip, August 2003
Mix of the Week is Helsinki-based DJ and record store owner Pirkka's one-man (plus a few guests) "soulful and other beautiful sounds" audio-blog — he posts a new one every seven (or so) days.
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No S#@!
Although they've directed award-winning videos for Radiohead, Blur, and Morcheeba, the London-based production house Shynola may have found the perfect musical counterpart to their high-tech cut-up style in the Rapture's already classic dance-punk mash-up "House of Jealous Lovers." The new spot is a computer-generated homage to the same Situationist artwork that influenced collagists like Jamie Reid, whose designs for the Sex Pistols defined early punk's visual style. Shynola's controversial video for Queens of the Stone Age's "Go With The Flow" is up for two MTV Video Music Awards, and their Atari-chic animation for Junior Senior's "D-D-Don't Stop the Beat" helped put the Danish duo on the top of the charts in dozens of countries. Shynola's highly original amalgam of live action, computer-generated animation, and street-savvy art has already been employed to great effect by Nike, Foot Locker, and Playstation, while their most recent creations are available only as mobile phone downloads as part of MTV and Motorola's European MTV Mash campaign. (DJP)
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watch » |
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Whatever Makes You Happy
They may call themselves Happy, but you wouldn't guess the directorial team of Guy Shelmerdine and Richard Farmer has a cheery outlook on life from watching their award-winning work. Happy's first music video — the newly released spot for Adam Freeland's "We Want Your Soul," a biting indictment of corporate intrusion masquerading as a Prodigy-style rave-up — follows a man as he's over-logo-ed to his breaking point. Freeland's album Now and Then is due in September, and Happy may helm the second video as well. "Dog Breath," the directors' UK-only spot for Wrigley's gum featuring a guy throwing up a dog, was banned from British television after receiving a record number of complaints, while their safe sex PSAs aimed at teenagers are both jarring and effective. But after winning advertising's Best New Director award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and with new spots for Playstation and Volkswagen in the can, the Happy directors may actually be sharing a little smile. (DJP)
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Mo' Wax in the Museum
James Lavelle's Mo' Wax label has always matched its innovative music with a unique design aesthetic, bringing in an impressive depth of talent for projects from album covers to promotional fliers. In anticipation of the release of Lavelle's second UNKLE album, Never, Never Land, London's Institute of Contemporary Arts hosts a four-day exhibition of paintings, photography, clothing, and product designs charting the Mo' Wax graphic evolution. The show includes the original Futura canvas of the sleeve for Never, Never Land, Will Bankhead photography, rare and unreleased record sleeves, the limited edition UNKLE Kubrick toys, and exclusive Bathing Ape t-shirts. On the exhibition's closing night, the group will perform live at the museum with guest musicians and DJs all backed by new animated shorts by Unorthodox Styles. In addition, two films will be screened before the live show: the 11-minute animated short for the album's first single "Eye for An Eye," based on original artwork by 3D of Massive Attack and directed by Shynola (see related story above), and a nine-minute documentary of Futura painting the new UNKLE canvas. (DJP)
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Low Res, Long Range
Completists beware: If Thomas Brinkmann's alphabetized singles series or Mike Ink's Kreisel 99 project (52 7"s released weekly in countdown to the turn of the millennium) filled you with equal parts lust and dread, you're going to want to be very careful about getting your credit card anywhere near Low Res' Jukebox series. Known for his hyperreal jazz on Mille Plateaux (as Crank) and on Plug Research, Low Res, aka LA's Danny Zelonky, has teamed up with Belgium's Aim Records to offer a stunning 100 7" singles, one released each month over the next eight years. For the dabblers, individual singles are available for $7 a pop, but a $70 subscription nets you a dozen installments of Zelonky's twisted digital noir that bristles with hybrid instruments like saxomaphones, oboemaboes, and samplamabers. For true completists, the real dilemma will be where to put all the disks at the series' close, but consider this: A beat-up jukebox on eBay will set you back less than the entire Low Res series. (PS)
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!K7 - 150th Release
!K7 released their first record back in 1996, and, in the years since, the label has emerged as one of the leading lights for independent electronic musicians. From early albums by Nicolette and Terence Parker to more recent releases from Herbert, A Guy Called Gerald, and Tiga, !K7 has consistently served as a platform for exciting new music. !K7 created the DJ Kicks series and is the exclusive partner with Kruder and Dorfmeister's G-Stone label, while artists like Shantel, Terranova, Swayzak, Spacek, Mike Ladd, and Earl Zinger all call the label home. This month marks the release of !K7 150, a double disc retrospective celebrating their 150th release.
 The first five people to name five artists who have released albums on !K7 Records within
the past twelve months will win a copy of !K7 150 and Tiga's DJ Kicks CDs.
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Header Design:
Kid Koala
Mailer Design:
Double K Design
Editors:
David J. Prince
Philip Sherburne
Sascha Lewis
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Production:
Mark Mangan
Anjuli Ayer
Keats
Gray Sevilla
Contributors:
Ethan Brown
Ben Cardew
Andy Gensler
Jorge Hernandez
Steve Marchese
Mandy Minor
Dan Parham
Nick Parish
Graeme Rutherford
Jon Spooner
Cyrus Wadia
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Submissions/Feedback |
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Tell us what you think is exciting and worth including in Earplug by dropping us an email at tips. Writers interested in getting even more involved should reach us at contribute. And if what you want to do is criticize, praise, or generally comment on this publication, please send an email to feedback.
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About Us |
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Earplug is an email newsletter dedicated to electronic music and its
many dynamic styles and influences. Published every two weeks, it features a
handpicked selection of music news, cultural spotlights, tip sheets, CD
reviews, original reporting, and music festival previews and reviews.
Earplug offers only pure editorial and unbiased news — no money is
accepted from any artists, labels, promoters, or companies seeking
mention.
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