 |
 |
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
 |
News
New Releases
Festivals
Listen
Watch
Charts
Credits
|
|
JUNE 23 - JULY 6
Earplug is a twice-monthly email magazine, delivering a handpicked
selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features for the
international electronic-music community.
Wolfgang Voigt once said, "If others can say that rock 'n roll is a lifestyle, I absolutely have the right to say that techno is a lifestyle too." Substitute "electronic music" for "techno," and we couldn't agree more. This issue of Earplug once again chronicles the ins and outs of the world of circuits and samples, but it also provides a design for living: behind the music, we turn up invaluable lessons based on international cooperation, fervent dedication, and the importance of practice, practice, practice. And, as always, our DJ charts are full of wisdom as well, from the reminder to "Just Let Go" to the confirmation that "Jack Is Back." Yes, indeed — this is the life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Tangled Up in Beats
This month, we find ourselves in a bit of a tangle — literally. We stuck our pins in a map of the world to try to track some kind of pattern in the next few months of releases, strung up a cat's cradle of interconnections, and ended up snared in a net we can't escape from. But then, with music this good and collaborations this unexpected, who'd want to get away?
Starting with Montreal, this year's MUTEK festival was overloaded with fresh discoveries. Egg have a dizzying new 12-inch out on Paris' Karat label that has "summer anthem" written all over it, and Mike Shannon's Cynosure reaches out to Berlin and Santiago to bring together Bucci brothers Pier and Andrés for a rare collab full of broken bell tones and bumping beats. For MUTEK's own MUTEK Rec, Pier teams up with Daniel Nieto, aka Danieto, as Skipsapiens; their debut album Eco, plays with the fractured rhythms, variable tempos, and analog timbres of techno's restless adolescence. Meanwhile, Montreal mainstay Mossa plays pick-up sticks with his Cascadian brethren at Orac on his clattering Slavery When Wet EP.
Also on a Canadian tip, the folks from Toronto's Supesharu passed us a charming CD-R by the less charmingly named artist Continuous Dick; really the work of Polmo Polpo's Sandro Perri, the Birth of a Dick EP, out now, features a sweet slice of pop mentalism in line with the hotter-than-hot Hot Chip, with handclaps to spare, plus Afrobeat and hard-bop mixes from Adam Marshall.
Over in London, Simple Records' Will Saul is really all over the map, with samples of the African finger-piano and a jacking remix from Australia's Infusion on his brand new Mbira 12-inch, a guest spot from Philly's Ursula Rucker on his forthcoming Tic Toc EP (due out July 11), plus a remix from the peripatetic Swayzak. The Swayzak duo have also been busy, albeit with solo projects: James Taylor beat his partner to the punch when he released the understated Carthage Milk LP on Logistic in March, but now his cohort Richard Davis has chimed in as well, with the downcast Details on Berlin's Kitty-Yo.
The Paris-based Logistic and its sister label, Telegraph, have been doing a little globetrotting themselves, picking up Mike Shannon and Torontonian Jay Hunsberger's swinging Sunaj Assassins project, as well as the Farben-flavored Quadrille EP from Tokyo's Radiq, and Atom Heart's mind-bending Acid Evolution 1988-2003 — a fake compilation in which the Frankfurt-born, Chile-based techno veteran offers 16 takes on invented retro. Crossing space and time, the release is meta to the max; we can't think of a better ideal for today's tesseracting electronic music scene. (PS)
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MORE HEADLINES
Kim's Video Walks the Plank
Cops crack down on mixtape sales
more »
Water-Cooler Podcasting
Portable players bring musical diversity to the workplace more »
More than Just OK
Radiohead album tops Spin's 20-year list more »
No Busy Signal for Mobile Music
Napster and Ericsson partner up for downloading more »
Extinguishing the Fire
Major labels to implement CDs that can't be burned more »
Can't Trump This
Reality TV show solicits would-be record-label entrepreneurs
more »
Window Shopping
Microsoft announces new download subscription service more »
P2P Passé?
iTunes beating out many illegal downloading services more »
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
DJ T. |
|
| Album: |
Boogie Playground |
| Label: |
Get Physical |
| Release: |
June 6 |
| Download: |
Beatport |
The Get Physical label continues to set the pace for the sexy, heady groove of electro house with the first full-length from Thomas Koch (aka DJ T.), which sees his longtime love of Italo-disco, acid, and Chicago house shape the tracks into catalysts for doing dirty things in dark rooms. Low bass lines throb, while handclaps and kick drums punctuate irresistible melodies. The driving stomp of "Galaga" will start any party, and "Funk on You" is an anthem waiting to happen. "A Guy Called Jack" and "Marching Theme," meanwhile, are beefy, modern odes to acid and Chicago house, and T. shows exceptional range with the controlled, hypnotic pulse of "Rising" and "The Calling." He may be German — he edited Groove magazine in his other life — but DJ T. perfectly captures the hazy, humid vibe of climes far more tropical on this sure summer smash. (KB)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
DJ Language |
|
| Album: |
Negroclash |
| Label: |
Staple |
| Release: |
April 28 |
Mixed live to G4, the 24-track Negroclash mix is more than just a brilliant party document — it's a manifesto. For years, the purposeful NYC party of the same name has thrown down month after month, and now its vibe has finally been documented for posterity. Three DJs make up Negroclash: DJ Lindsey relentlessly represents, DJ Language couldn't work harder, and Duane, an Other Music store floor-osopher, is the best-kept secret in the record business. As a team, their mixing makes you want to break into applause. A brilliant blend of phuture funk and cosmic crunk propels the party here, brimming with hooks, hops, and hits. Principals like Cat Stevens, Frankie Knuckles, and Jellybean all show up, as do cuts from the Pointer Sisters and MAW, but the juiciest string comes when "Automatic" turns into Toney Lee, folding into In Deep, and winding up with Phil Asher's break-up jam "Having Your Fun." As the 75-minute arc soars, the floor goes with it. (DD)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
DJ Sujinho |
|
| Album: |
I Love Baile Funk |
| Label: |
Nossa |
| Release: |
June 2005 |
The next chapter in the West's continuing fascination with Brazil's funk carioca, or baile funk, this mix CD from DJ Sujinho (aka New York hip-hop producer Kienyo Soulkid) is a lightning tour 'round the block, packed with well-worn classics and a few surprises. Concise snatches of favorites like the Trés Tenores' "Pavarotti" and MC Cidinho and MC Doca's "Rap da Felicidade" are meticulously collaged and cut up alongside the gruff tones of ghetto-superstar-to-be Mr. Catra, while Kienyo puts some spice into the mix by adding his own remixes and mash-ups. His version of Outkast's "The Way You Move" perfectly captures the bastardizing nature of funk, and neatly closes the circle where Southern hip-hop converged with hillside favela parties, permanently changing Brazil's musical landscape. (AC)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
Superpitcher |
|
| Album: |
Today |
| Label: |
Kompakt |
| Release: |
May 17 |
| Download: |
Kompakt MP3 |
A conservation of tone unfamiliar to more helter-skelter DJ romps marks Superpitcher's Today, a carefully crafted mix better suited for an early morning than a hectic night. The level of reserve leaves the listener aching for a climax, but also savoring the spare apexes created by Kompakt's chief lieutenant, aka Aksel Schaufler. The toned-down track list moves seamlessly through Nathan Fake's bubbling "Dinamo," Wighnomy Brothers' "Wurz und Blosse," and Lawrence's vocal-heavy remix of Superpitcher's own "Happiness" — a track that Schaufler uses to mark the ends of his DJ appearances, rather than the acmes. A mix that makes no attempt at nightclub re-creation, this release instead exceeds the mark at prolonging sublime tension. (NP)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
DJ Clever |
|
| Album: |
Breakbeat Science Exercise 5 |
| Label: |
Breakbeat Science |
| Release: |
May 2005 |
DJ Clever's Troubled Waters mix gave drum 'n bass a much-needed shot in the arm, pulling disenfranchised junglists away from their grime 12-inches and back into the fold. His imprint, Offshore Recordings, currently stands as the world's foremost leftfield drum 'n bass label, and Exercise 5 — recorded for Clever's daytime employer, Breakbeat Science — is filled to the brim with evidence of why, including cuts from Microcosm, Scale, and more. While more aggressive than his previous offering, it still manages to mix up dark dance floor material such as Graphic's "I Am Metal" (featuring Beans) with more melodic offerings like Klute's springy "Oshima" and Ezekiel Honig's ambient "Love Session" (re-worked into subtle syncopation by Graphic). As if the track selection alone weren't enough, Clever also shows his production chops (as Tundra) on "Deep Sleep" — further proving his commitment to keeping the genre fresh, without veering too far from the mainland. (CJN)
|
|
|
| |
| |
EARPLUG FAVES
I:Cube, Chicago sur Seine EP (Versatile)
Repair, Convenient Arrangements (Sub Static)
Actual Jakshun, Sequential Circuits EP (M-nus)
Skipsapiens, Eco (MUTEK_Rec)
Pomassl, Retrial Error (Laton)
Ivan Smagghe, Fabric 23 (Fabric)
Luigi Archetti/Bo Wiget, Low Tide Digitals II (Rune Grammofon)
Various, Casa Arena (Casa del Puente)
Damian Lazarus, Suck My Deck (Resist)
Recloose, Hiatus on the Horizon (Peacefrog)
The Juan Maclean, Less than Human (DFA/Astralwerks)
Nobody, And Everything Else... (Plug Research)
Minotaur Shock, Maritime (4AD)
Bonobo, Live Sessions EP (Ninja Tune)
The Free Design, The Free Design Redesigned, Vol. 2 (Light in the Attic)
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
PREVIEW: Roskilde
35th Annual Roskilde Festival
June 30-July 03
Roskilde, Denmark
This summer, join 100,000 fellow music lovers in 1,000-year-old Roskilde, Denmark for one of Europe's biggest and longest-running festivals. From its humble beginnings in 1971 — with one stage and 20 bands — the gathering has grown to encompass six performance areas and 250-plus acts on 136 sprawling acres, boasting its own pharmacy, newspaper, radio station, film festival, and campground. Located 19 miles west of Copenhagen, Roskilde features a roster that reads like your dream CD collection: this year's lineup ranges from Digweed to the Dresden Dolls, the Faint to Flogging Molly, and the Raveonettes to Röyksopp. Now halfway through its fourth decade, the festival artfully blends a mix of American, European, and Latin American performers on a bill so mammoth and diverse that every last one of your friends can go and have a blast; it's one of the only places you're likely to find Two Lone Swordsmen and Velvet Revolver, Snoop Dogg and Thievery Corporation, or Audioslave and Autechre, all in the same lineup. Heavy metal godfathers Black Sabbath, teen pin-up Bright Eyes, indie rock icons Sonic Youth, clubland darling Carl Cox, and new wave godfathers Duran Duran — Roskilde offers the best of all worlds, and then some. (MM)
|
|
| |
REVIEW: Sónar
June 16-18
Barcelona, Spain
The crowd — estimated at 88,500 people — has departed, and Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art has been returned to a more tranquil state, but the reverberations from Sónar still linger in the humid summer air. The 12th edition of the annual festival of "advanced music" provided an almost limitless array of possibilities — as long as you could squeeze your way into the limited-capacity venues for hotly tipped shows like Matthew Herbert's culinary extravaganza, and had the stamina to endure three days of musical marathons that lasted from noon until daybreak the following morning. Less strictly focused on electronic music than in years prior, Sónar 2005 emphasized the expanding possibilities for live performance in a post-clubbing era, ranging from LCD Soundsystem's all-out hard rock assault to Moloko singer Róisín Murphy's solo torch songs and Jamie Lidell's bizarre (and brilliant) hybrid of techno, classic soul, and multimedia performance art. But there was also no short supply of DJs and more conventional laptop artists to keep time-tested paradigms alive; standout sets came from Ada, Mathew Jonson, and Cut Chemist — who closed his set with a brilliant feedback loop of audience participation, recorded and scratched on the fly. The most touching moment of the weekend, however, certainly belonged to 2ManyDJs, who crested a hard-hitting mix of techno, classics, and God-knows-what to a climax with the Undertones' "Teenage Kicks." Well known as John Peel's favorite song, it was impossible to see the selection as anything but a tribute to the late radio presenter, without whom 2ManyDJs — and possibly Sónar itself — would almost certainly not exist. (PS)
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
OTHER FESTIVALS
Analog Pleasures: Ecosystem Festival Benefit
June 25
Ghent, Belgium
Eurockeennes
July 1-3
Belfort, France
Synch
July 1-3
Lavrio, Greece
Les Siestes Electroniques
July 1-10
Toulouse, France
Montreux Jazz Festival
July 1-16
Montreux, Switzerland
Liquid Architecture
July 1-23
Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Cairns, and Canberra, Australia
Awakenings
July 2
Spaarnwoude, Netherlands
Exit Fest
July 7-10
Novi Sad, Serbia
Beats, Breaks & Culture: Toronto Electronic Music Festival
July 8-10
Toronto, Ontario
5 Days Off
July 13-17
Amsterdam, Netherlands
GeoLogic
July 15-17
Shawnee Cave Amphitheatre, Illinois
Glade Festival
July 15-17
Newbury, England
Monegros Desert Festival XI (Groove Parade)
July 16
Monegros, Spain
Intonation Music Festival
July 16-17
Chicago, IL
Optronica
July 20-24
Manchester, England
For more festivals,
click here
|
|
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
Nick Holder: May 2005 Hotmix (RealAudio)
Toronto's Nick Holder starts off woozy, before plunging to sublime depths of soulful house with this hourlong mix of oxygenated, underwater goodness. It's like getting the bends, in reverse.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
Eats Tapes: Live at Transplant (MP3)
San Francisco's gearboxing heavyweights pull no punches on this 40-minute recording of an Oakland warehouse party — acid drips from their brows, and the climax is a TKO of accelerating 808s.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
Rex the Dog: Minimix (MP3)
London's secretive Rex the Dog — Daniel Miller? Ewan Pearson? The Taco Bell Chihuahua? — takes a five-minute run around the block, putting his mark on Bangkok Impact, S'Express, and Ellen Allien. It's a disco inferno, and the hydrants are all his.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
Lorry Low: Beat Poetry (MP3)
Grab your notebook and your Leica, and follow Moscow DJ duo Lorry Low as they tour the hinterlands of microhouse. Survey Monobox, Robag Wruhme, Lex Dinamo, and more, while serenaded by the voices of Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, and Gregory Corso.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
gameboyZ madness (MP3)
Who needs the PSP when you can make this much mayhem with a couple of Gameboys? A bleepy, mimimal mix from Babychlor that'll have you leaping like Frogger.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Looking for more hot mix sets and fresh new tracks?
Check out Blentwell for an
ongoing document of the evolution of blended music online.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Review: The Fearless Freaks
Shout! Factory
A few years ago, most electronic-music publications may have balked at covering the Flaming Lips. But since the release of 1999's masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin, and its follow-up, 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, frontman Wayne Coyne, bassist Michael Ivins, and drummer Steven Drozd have steadily infused electronic elements into their repertoire. The Lips' stunning cover of Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" was a launching point for a new trajectory toward pop experimentalism; it was followed by a remix and cover courtesy of the Postal Service, a collaboration with the Chemical Brothers ("The Golden Path"), a guest appearance on the newest Thievery Corporation record, and most recently, a reverential cover of "What Is the Light?" by Plug Research's Nobody. Courageous and inventive, this second phase of the Flaming Lips' career is a promising development.
At this point in their timeline, it's impossible to predict to what shores the Lips will next steer their creative ship, but at least looking back is now easier, thanks to filmmaker Bradley Beesley's newest work — the definitive recounting of the journey thus far. The Fearless Freaks documentary, recently released both in theaters and on DVD, is an unquestionable labor of love. Developed over 15 years, it benefits from unparalleled access to the band; Beesley's artfully modest aperture captures behind-the-scenes glimpses at countless live shows, impromptu performances, and music video sets. From intimate footage of Drozd brother jam sessions to visual postcards of the Coyne family Christmas, Freaks offers a unique time capsule for both diehard, old-school Lips lovers and the enormous post-Soft Bulletin robot-fighting army. (SM)
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MORE VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA
Röyksopp, "Only This Moment"
watch »
Ladytron, "Sugar"
watch »
Kraftwerk, "Numbers" (Live)
watch »
One Self, "Bluebird"
watch »
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
Each week, Earplug sneaks a peek inside the crates of our favorite DJs. We'll even help you beef up your own bag: click on selected titles to preview, download, or purchase vinyl.
|
|
M.A.N.D.Y. (Get Physical)
Berlin, Germany
www.physical-music.com/artists/mandy/mandy_bio_e.php
|
|
- Hans-Peter Lindstrom, "I Feel Space" (Feedelity)
- Fischerspooner, "Just Let Go (M.A.N.D.Y. Remix)" (Gigolo)
- Booka Shade, Mandarine Girl EP (Get Physical)
- Samim & Michal, "Angel" (Tuningspork)
- Ada, "Eve (DJ Koze Remix)" (Areal)
- Knife, "Pass this On (M.A.N.D.Y. Knifer Mix)" (Rabid)
- LCD Soundsystem, "Disco Infiltrator (FK's Infiltrated Dub)" (DFA)
- Isolée, "Pillowtalk" (Playhouse)
- Brtschitsch & Galluzzi, "Regenschauer (Guido Schneider Remix)" (Taksi)
- Jaumëtic, "Un Avion Japonés" (Regular)
|
|
|
| |
Click to view all of this week's charts »
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Editors:
Philip Sherburne
Doug Levy
Sascha Lewis
Cyrus Wadia
Jon Spooner
Steve Marchese
Founder:
David J. Prince
Cover Design:
Cottin
|
Contributors:
Andy Cumming
David Day
Carleton Gholz
Jorge Hernandez
James Jung
Andrew Kellman
Sebastian Koch
Mandy Minor
Colin James Nagy
Nick Parish
Tim Pratt
Maggie Stein
Mark Teppo
Production:
Sameer Shah
Anjuli Ayer
Peter Stepek
Jane Lerner
William Pierce
Sander-Martijn Milks
Toby Warner
Mark Mangan
|
|
|
| |
Submissions/Feedback |
| |
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.
To criticize, praise, or generally comment on this publication,
please send an email to feedback.
|
|
| |
| |
Cover Design |
| |
We have an open call to create the covers that run at the top of each issue.
If you would like to submit a design, please email us at design
and we'll send you the necessary specs.
|
|
| |
| |
About Us |
| |
Earplug is an email magazine 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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
   |
