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News
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FEBRUARY 16 - MARCH 1
Earplug is a twice-monthly email magazine, delivering a handpicked
selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features to the international electronic-music community.
Some said it couldn't be done, but in between a Minus party at Weekend, Vakant's shindig at Watergate, getting Perlonized at Panoramabar, and the nonstop action of Club Transmediale, we not only scored scads of electronic-music gossip, but also actually managed to wring it out of a sweat-stained notebook into a shiny new issue of Earplug. This time we catch up with label consolidations, cover new releases from Cincinnati to Santiago, and get synaesthetic with Four Tet. And when you're done reading, fire up your favorite music software, because there's an anthem waiting to be (re)made with your name on it — and we'll tell you how to get it released by Karmarouge.
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With a reported 45 million iPods sold, not to mention all the other digital music players on the market, people are hungry for music. We can feed that hunger. Download.com Music offers over 75,000 free MP3s from artists of every stripe, from garage bands to top indie artists to major stars. |
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Farewell 2 J Dilla
Jay Dee dies of blood disease
Hip-hop producer James Yancey, best known under the aliases Jay Dee and J Dilla, passed away last week, just three days after his 32nd birthday. According to his record label Stones Throw, Yancey had suffered from "a rare and incurable blood disease" for the past several years, and also had been diagnosed with lupus. Portions of his most recent album, Donut — released on February 7, his birthday — were recorded in the hospital during his convalescence, according to Pitchfork. A Detroit native, Yancey originally achieved fame thanks to his production work for A Tribe Called Quest, Common, D'Angelo, and his own group, Slum Village. 2001's Welcome 2 Detroit, a collection of collaborations with Motor City rappers, helped cement his reputation as a top-tier producer worthy of solo billing, and in 2003 he joined Stones Throw, recording alongside Madlib as Jaylib. According to the label, at the time of Yancey's death, he had completed two other projects for the labels BBE and Operation Unknown, as well as production work for Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, MF Doom, and others. (PS)
Test Your Luckmelody
Gabriel Ananda offers "Glücksmelodie" to remixers
Cologne's Karmarouge Records and nonprofit net-label/talent resource FOEM Electronic Youth are inviting producers to remix Gabriel Ananda's "Ihre Persönliche Glücksmelodie" — the uplifting, ridiculously catchy anthem that became one of 2005's biggest club hits after its inclusion on Sven Väth's most recent Cocoon mix, The Sound of the Sixth Season. All entries will be judged by Ananda himself, with the winning entry set to be featured as a download-only extra for the forthcoming Glücksmelodie Remixes EP. Additionally, organizers say that, depending on the quality and quantity of the best productions, one or more might make it onto finished vinyl versions as well. Prospective entrants can visit www.foem.info for rules, remix parts, and MIDI clips; the final deadline for entry is April 31. (PS)
PLUR: Peace, Love, Unity, and... Re-orgs?
Dance sector steps up M&A activity
While the major labels seem to be using "52 Pickup" as their primary business model, independent dance labels are reshuffling the deck in an attempt to stay in the game. Last week, PIAS UK and Wall of Sound announced a new joint venture, PIAS/Wall of Sound, which will fold together much of the labels' UK rosters, including Amp Fiddler, 2 Many DJs/Soulwax, Vitalic, Tiga, and Röyksopp. Other Wall of Sound acts, such as Blak Twang, are still in negotiation. The news comes just weeks after Ministry of Sound's acquisition of Hed Kandi, known primarily for its stylish, lifestyle-oriented compilations. Meanwhile, even underground labels are joining forces: last week, Berlin's Shitkatapult announced that it would be incorporating Daniel Meteo's Meteosound imprint as an official label division. After years of sharing office space, aesthetics, and social networks, Shitkatapult spokesperson Nico Deuster explains that the merger of the two labels — one oriented toward leftfield techno and the other toward dub and experimental hip-hop — was a logical step. (PS)
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MORE HEADLINES
New Grooves for a New Era
Publication debuts online edition
more »
Going on Dirty, Going on Stank
Dizzee Rascal unveils new label more »
These Moon Boots Are Made for Walking
A history of cosmic disco more »
Bleaching the British Charts
The decline of "black music" in the UK more »
The Hacker vs Soundhack
Electroclash DJ lashes out at minimal techno more »
Tune In, Turn On, Pay Up
A guide to the UK's digital DJ license more »
Cex Is Dead, Long Live Cex
Rjyan Kidwell's struggle and spectacle more »
Wilco Closed, Use Juan Atkins Stop
The Guardian maps pop via London Tube more »
The Blond Bob Backs Bobsledding
Richie Hawtin scores Winter Olympic opening more »
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Artist: |
Mikkel Metal |
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| Album: |
Victimizer |
| Label: |
Kompakt |
| Release: |
January 29 |
Mikkel Metal's debut full-length for Kompakt is molten: a slow burner, a creeping mass — a scorching immersion rather than the immediate shock treatment that so much of the label's output has been of late. Instead of immediate hooks, Metal trades in atmospheres, layering similar colors and fricative textures in creeping compositions that pay off in ice-age installments, not immediate fixes. Like Superpitcher, he anchors everything with melancholic bass lines and pays homage to the obvious with lyrics that ponder Romantic tropes like "memory," but Metal's version of pop is even more downcast. True to his work for the Chain Reaction-influenced Echochord imprint, tracks like "Hemper" are pure heroin-house sprawl, spreading sludgy analog tones in a foam of clicks and grayscale schaffel. DJs will find this prime warm-up fare, while the rest of us revel in a soundtrack for breakups, breakdowns, and all the make-or-break moments in between. (PS)
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Artist: |
Five Deez |
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| Album: |
Kommunicator |
| Label: |
Rapster |
| Release: |
February 3 |
Since 1974, when jazz astronaut Sun Ra declared, "Space is the place," a small but courageous group of musicians — those behind the Dr. Octagon and Deltron aliases included — have trekked through the outer rings of future-bop experimentation. Following in those buoyant, cosmic footsteps come Cincinnati's Five Deez, a quartet of gifted producers and MCs led by the inimitable Fat Jon (the Ample Soul Physician). Rather than float weightlessly in the nebulous void of commercial radio, Five Deez have managed to establish a weigh station somewhere between Euro-hop fringe and reliable stateside groove — one where thick beats and memorable hooks are broken down and reconfigured with an admirable degree of dexterity. What results is an incomparable blend of Mo' Wax-era production, mid-Atlantic hip-house boogie, and entire atmospheres of stylized ambience. Drop the backpack and gas up the jetpack, because Kommunicator avoids the clichés of underground hip-hop with a vision fixed firmly on the firmament. (SM)
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Artist: |
Aardvarck |
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| Album: |
Cult Copy |
| Label: |
Rush Hour |
| Release: |
February 6 |
Long before the indietronic Cut Copy came around, there was Aardvarck's "Cult Copy" — a series of bottomless techno singles that merged classic Detroit tonalities with current-day Dutch depths. Finally, the turntable-disabled can now get their aluminum crutch on via this collection of loping, lumbering funk. The four versions of the title track that appear here pay homage to Carl Craig (who remixed it on vinyl) in the form of hammering drums and massive, analog theatrics; lying somewhere between breakbeat, techno, and EBM, the original is simply one of the underrated masterpieces of the decade. For its lushness, melodicism, and unflinching will to groove, the rest of the album's no slouch either. (PS)
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Artist: |
Atom TM & Pink Elln |
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| Album: |
Live Vol. 2 & 3 |
| Label: |
Logistic |
| Release: |
February 27 |
As if Uwe Schmidt — aka Atom Heart, Atom TM, Señor Coconut, and perhaps a hundred other aliases — weren't prolific enough already, here come two live recordings from his appearances alongside longtime accomplice Pink Elln (Tobias Freund, a member of NSI and Sieg Über Die Sonne). Recorded in Valparaiso, Chile and Zürich, Switzerland, these are hardly simple collectors' fare; rather, they're essential documents for anyone interested in acid evolution. Performed on laptops and 808, the two tracks — each around a half-hour long — twine together machine-like, real-time improv with sampling and digitally assisted construction. The end product is a relay race of ever-unspooling bass lines that turns back time with Superman speed, all while pushing the party further forward, into the eternally pulsing now. It's funky, feverish, and absolutely acid-fab. (PS)
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Artist: |
William Orbit |
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| Album: |
Hello Waveforms |
| Label: |
Sanctuary |
| Release: |
February 21 |
William Orbit's long career spans lofty, keyboard-oriented, ambient music under his own name; various productions under the Stone Cargo alias; and perhaps most notably, Grammy-winning production for Madonna's sweeping Ray Of Light album. Now, six years after Pieces in a Modern Style — Orbit's collection of classical reinterpretations — he returns with a gorgeous new work, Hello Waveforms. The 11-track effort is an often-soaring, soothing collection heavy on melancholy melody, chirpy, lilting keyboards, eloquent guitar-work, and sweeping string arrangements, all entrenched in an emotional bedrock with several peaks and relatively few valleys. Sonically, Orbit's production prowess is as solid as ever, setting childlike melodies and Eno-esque atmospheres in scenes of full Technicolor glory, while confidently crossing instrumental electronic compositions with touches of pop, from Finley Quaye's guitar to vocals from Kenna and Sugababes. (TP)
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EARPLUG FAVES
Bird Show, Lightning Ghost (Kranky)
Liars, Drum's Not Dead (Mute)
Atom TM & Pink Elln, Live Vol. 2 & 3 (Logistic)
The Knife, Silent Shout (Brille)
Sieg Über Die Sonne, Sovjet Suprem (Cynosure)
Modeselektor, Hello Mom Remixes (Bpitch Control)
Lump200, Dizzyland (Mental Groove LTD)
Markus Guentner, Lovely Society (Ware)
Gerd, Perspectives (LEA)
Dub Unlimited, Bullwackies Allstars (Wackies)
Alex Smoke, Paradolia (Soma)
Daniel Meteo, Peruments (Meteosound)
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PREVIEW: Coachella
April 29-30
Indio, CA
www.coachella.com
In the US, ravers and rockers rarely find opportunities to come together on common ground. But the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has consistently catered to both sides of the divide, pulling together bands and DJs — as well as hip-hop performers — beneath its desert tents. One of this year's headlining acts, Depeche Mode, is bound to attract fans of beats and lyrics alike, and while Tool and James Blunt make for questionable top billings at best, the remainder of the roster offers plenty of avenues for discovery and dancing. The fest is still months away, but tickets traditionally go quickly (and are already on sale), and lodging opportunities disappear faster than the morning dew on the polo grounds where it all takes place — so make your plans now. (PS)
LINEUP: Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Rós, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Carl Cox, Tosca, Derrick Carter, the Juan Maclean, Audio Bullys, Lyrics Born, Platinum Pied Pipers, Colette, Joey Beltram, Shy FX & T-Power, Scissor Sisters, Coldcut, Phoenix, Amadou & Mariam, Little Louie Vega, Mylo, Gnarls Barkley, Kaskade, Jamie Lidell, Jazzanova, Michael Mayer, Gilles Peterson, and more.
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Wayne&Wax: A Crunk Genealogy (MP3)
Boston's Wayne Marshall blogs, rocks local clubs, and drops science on electronic music at some joint called Harvard. Here, the syllabus explores electro's roots and branches, from Gary Numan and Kraftwerk to Cybotron and Afrika Bambaataa, all the way up to funk carioca. Listen »
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Diplo at the Guggenheim (QuickTime)
Diplo's recent appearance at Flavorpill's First Fridays at the Guggenheim event series had lines stretching around the block in NYC. For all those who got left out in the cold, here's a brain-melting recap of the madness that went down inside. Listen »
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DJ Moneyshot: Two Fag Mix (MP3)
DJ Moneyshot's latest mix, originally played on XFM's "The Rinse," sounds hopped up on a lot more than just nicotine. The restless session takes in everything from Doors edits and Young MC to Shy FX and Daft Punk. And when was the last time you heard G-Love and Special Sauce in a DJ mix, anyway? Listen »
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Den Odell: And Did We Mention Our Disco Residency Set (MP3)
Any collective that remixes Of Montreal and Charts Panico, Syclops, Modeselektor, and Reinhard Voigt all together is our kind of crew. Our Disco resident Den Odell blows through Naum Gabo, Mr. Oizo, Klymaxx, Test Icicles, and more in just 45 minutes, making it easy to get a greedy second listen before you dig into archived sets from Justice, Tim Sweeney, Optimo, Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, and more. Listen »
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RobotSpeak: RobotSpeak Sessions 3.0 (Podcast)
San Francisco's RobotSpeak isn't just one of the best electronic-music gear shops in the world; it's also a killer neighborhood hangout and veritable salon, especially when it hosts the monthly RobotSpeak sessions featuring distinguished guests and up-and-coming local talent. Now available via iTunes podcasts, the most recent Session cuts up wacky homebrewed electronica with artist Q&As and audience participation.
Listen »
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Looking for more hot mix sets and fresh new tracks?
Check out Blentwell for an
ongoing document of the evolution of blended music online.
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Four Tet
Everything Ecstatic: Films + Part 2
Domino, DVD/CD
There's always been a generous amount of beauty hidden within the calibrated disorder that Kieran Hebden produces under his Four Tet alias. His most recent release, Everything Ecstatic, is perhaps his most challenging record yet, moving firmly away from the usual melodic foundations in favor of the crash-and-ride dynamics of intricately programmed percussion. Yet, even at his most experimental, Hebden's instrumentals retain the uniquely cinematic quality that has always made his work well-suited for the video format. With Everything Ecstatic: Films + Part 2, he brings the audio/video synergy to fruition, matching each of the album's ten eclectic tracks with similarly imaginative short films. In addition to the DVD, the release includes a CD with three new songs, a continuation of "Sun Drums and Soil," and a radical, 16-minute extended reworking of "Turtle Turtle Up."
Keep reading »
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MORE VIDEO
The Knife, "Silent Shout" watch »
Vitalic, "Birds"
watch »
Hot Chip, "Over and Over" watch »
Bjork vs THX1138, video mashup
watch »
Death from Above 1979, "Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Remix)"
watch »
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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.
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Onur Özer
(Vakant/Muzik Krause)
Berlin, Germany
www.onurozer.net
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- Brett Longman, "Love Buff" (Logistic)
- Pantytec, Maybe/Moriomelo (Perlon)
- Benjamin Fehr and FFWD, Truth & Consequences EP (Catenaccio)
- Mathias Kaden, "Pentaton" (Vakant)
- Rhythm & Sound, "Let We Go (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)" (Burial Mix)
- Loco Dice, "Carthago" (Cocoon)
- Cabanne, "Dirtycology (Agnes Remix)" (STHLM)
- Diego Capri and Andrea Gentile, "Minimal Configuration" (Elettronica Romana)
- Dan Curtin, We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For (Headspace)
- Phage and Daniel Dreier, "Beeswax" (Klang)
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View all of this week's charts »
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Editors:
Melody Caraballo
Jocelyn K. Glei
Doug Levy
Sascha Lewis
Steve Marchese
Philip Sherburne
Jon Spooner
Cyrus Wadia
Founder:
David J. Prince
Cover Art:
Hannah Stouffer
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Contributors:
Andy Cumming
David Day
Carl Hagen
Jorge Hernandez
James Jung
Craig Kapilow
Colin James Nagy
Cameron Octigan
Nick Parish
Tim Pratt
Dustin Ross
Maggie Stein
Bruce Tantum
Mark Teppo
Toby Warner
Production:
Anjuli Ayer
Morgan Croney
Pilar Gallego
Sander-Martijn Milks
Judah Wiedre
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About Us |
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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.
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Media Partnerships |
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Every other week, Earplug presents one exclusive media partner. Click for more information about advertising opportunities on Earplug and across all Flavorpill publications.
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Cover Art |
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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.
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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.
To criticize, praise, or generally comment on this publication,
please send an email to feedback.
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