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News
New Releases
Festivals
Listen
Feature
Charts
Credits
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July 20 - August 2
Earplug is a twice-monthly email magazine, delivering a handpicked selection of news,
sounds, videos, and original features to the international electronic-music community.
We're just back from Greece's Synch fest and all abuzz with antiquities fever, which might explain why this issue's news section is filled with old-timers — and a curious instance of "file-sharing" involving a 2,000-year-old book. We also catch
up with industrial/EBM godfathers (and actual fathers) Nitzer Ebb, while our reviews dig up rarities and plug in the vintage synths. But if it's timeliness you're after, flip to the charts, where you can be as up-to-the-minute as you like — across multiple time zones, no less.
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Introducing Yaris. And Yaris. One's a liftback. The other's a sedan. Both are amazingly affordable.
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WWJS (Who Would Jesus Spank?)
Ninja Tune smacked by bible thumper
Big Dada-signed Spank Rock, the Philadelphia duo known for fusing Baltimore breaks, rowdy sing-along rapping, and nutty electronic production, never
claimed to be bigger than Jesus, but it looks like someone sitting in a high place — no, not Him — has decided not to take
any chances. Recent promotional shipments of the group's new album, YoYoYoYoYo, sent from the Montreal office of Big Dada's parent company Ninja Tune, arrived at their Los Angeles destinations with the CDs missing and Bibles in their stead, according to Ninja Tune employees.
The apparent mail tampering, which label representatives suspect happened on the US Postal Service's watch, comes after a
spate of promotional mail-outs arrived at US destinations in emptied envelopes (but with no additional contents included).
Given the group's relatively inoffensive name and innocuous album title, Ninja's label management is baffled as to why Spank
Rock was subject to an apparent swatting by the God Squad. "We're not talking about a Deicide record or Aleister Crowley re-issues, we're talking about a bumping good-times party hip-hop record," said the label in a public statement. "Is it because
they called out 'hemp hacky-sacking motherfuckers' on their record? We remain... confused. But please, Mr. or Mrs. Thief,
if you're reading this, please stop. Shit's getting expensive." (PS)
Still Kung-Fu Fighting, Ten Years On
DC Recordings readies anniversary comp, exhibition
For a decade now, J Saul Kane's DC Recordings has remained the label of choice for listeners with a thing for electro-breaks, kung-fu samples, and a Superfriends-worthy
pedigree. To celebrate ten years and nearly six dozen releases, late summer's Death Before Distemper will bring together new and unreleased tracks from recent label highlights Emperor Machine, Padded Cell, Kelpe, the Orichalc
Phase, and Kane's projects Depth Charge and Alexander's Dark Band. Then, on September 7, London's Phonica Records kicks off a retrospective exhibition of La Boca's design work for the label with a show featuring Depth Charge, Padded Cell, and Kelpe. While the label's press materials
suggest "the eve of a new stage" in DC's life, Kane counters, "It's more of a progression that has been evolving over time.
It's always been the same type of music on the radar — interesting, good, funky, weird shit. The music that inspires us and
makes us get up in the morning." There are plenty of shower soundtracks in the offing after the comp, including a long-awaited
new single from Depth Charge and the debut album from what many consider DC's most promising current signing, the psychedelically
inclined Emperor Machine. (PS)
The Boys Are Back
Pet Shop Boys return with album, book, tour
On June 28, Britain's dynamic dance duo Pet Shop Boys released their ninth studio album in 20 years. Fundamental marks their reunion with '80s iconoclast Trevor Horn, who previously produced Introspective, one of PSB's many remix and B-side collections that have kept them on the radar of several generations of listeners in between
albums. In keeping with tradition, the album is accompanied by a bonus CD, Fundamentalism, featuring reworks from Michael Mayer and Richard X, among others. Catalogue, a book highlighting their design and multimedia work, comes out this fall in time for a 23-city stateside tour, which kicks
off October 13 in Boston and hits New York's Radio City Music Hall on October 14. (JH)
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MORE HEADLINES
Caramelized Apple
Teen, iPod struck by lightning more »
The Madcap's Last Laugh
Syd Barrett, 60, dies of cancer more »
Bits & Bobs
Run Stop Restore, Konrad Black launch Items & Things label more »
Locked and Loaded
Massive Attack ready autumn assault more »
We Do Too Play Guitars
North Valley Subconscious Orchestra raise the axe more »
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Artist: |
Thom Yorke |
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| Album: |
The Eraser |
| Label: |
XL |
| Release: |
July 11 |
On his solo debut, Radiohead's frontman proves himself once again a Doubting Thomas: "Are you only being nice because you
want something," "This is fucked up," and "It gets you down... there's no light in the dark" are among the queries and resignations
served up by Yorke's quivering, quavering voice. His voice, as ever, is masterful: the smoothest-crooning merchant of gloom
around, he could sell you the Brooklyn Bridge, after it had been blown up by a multinational terrorist combine, with one tremulous vowel. In interviews, Yorke has made it plain
that he set out to make a "laptop album," and it's true that the modest arrangements here suggest solitary, screen-lit nights
rather than the rapport of a stadium-rocking group; his rhythms, likewise, are decidedly programmed in nature. Unlike more
restless beatsmiths, however, Yorke often contents himself with a single repeating figure as the foundation for his top-heavy
heaps of tone and texture. An able, often frustrating, occasionally brilliant album, The Eraser makes for a comfortable holdover until Radiohead's next proper release; let's just be glad Yorke hasn't quit his day job. (PS)
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Artist: |
Chloé and Ivan Smagghe |
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| Album: |
Kill the DJ Presents the Dysfunctional Family |
| Label: |
Kill the DJ |
| Release: |
May 29 |
Those looking for a party mix of summery, hands-in-the-air, clubland magic should steer clear of the latest release from the
Kill the DJ camp, featuring a pair of France's finest in the mix. The cover is a giveaway: Chloé and Smagghe, shot in stark
black and white, come off as visages from a Gallic version of Grant Wood's American Gothic rather than superstar DJs. The vibe is a bit gothic as well — not in the black-eyeliner sense (though we do see a hint of
kohl around Smagghe's eyes on that cover shot), but in the way the mix hints of sinister doings in utterly unhealthy settings.
Even in the disc's most floor-friendly moments — the paranoid drone-tech of Egoexpress' "The Fool of the New City," or the
sleazy bump of Louderbach's "Grace (Anxiety)" — darkness prevails. The proceedings move further into the shadows as they depart
from four-to-the-floor sounds: Planningtorock's "Death Dream" sounds like carousel music as composed in an asylum, while Point
B's "After Burns" suggests what Boards of Canada would produce if they had nightmares rather dreams. (BT)
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Artist: |
Cut Chemist |
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| Album: |
The Audience's Listening |
| Label: |
Warner Bros. |
| Release: |
July 11 |
Any decent DJ digs for records, but for his long-awaited solo debut, The Audience's Listening, Cut Chemist has dug with more breadth and depth than most. The Astrud Gilberto samples combined with berimbau and guitar
infuse "The Garden" and "A Peak in Time" with a dreamy, bossa nova vibe. "Metrorail Thru Space" displays Kraftwerk-like robot-pop
chops. MCs get their time to shine as Edan and Mr. Lif rap on the speaker-thumping "Storm," and Hymnal gives us a hook on
"What's the Altitude." While the album showcases a diversity of styles, Cut Chemist's turntablist virtuosity shines through
on every song. Fans who've waited years for the lab rat's studio debut haven't done so in vain. (JRC)
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Artist: |
Black Turtleneck |
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| Album: |
Musical Chairs |
| Label: |
Normals Welcome |
| Release: |
June 6 |
When Jason Amm sings over the electro melodies he's made as Solvent for the past decade, he cloaks himself in vocoder, sounding
shy, robotic, and distant. On his newest project, Black Turtleneck, Amm and vocalist/co-producer Thomas Sinclair croon into
a mostly unadulterated mic, belting out upbeat synth-pop of the early Depeche Mode variety. With "Discontinued Parts," the
duo opens with the catchiest of love songs to an ailing synthesizer; they close with a breezy French house tune titled "Cul
de Sac," which suggests nothing of the kind. Musical Chairs is the best kind of "intelligent dance music" — a well-crafted pop album for swaying and bopping — that'll win over nerds
and newbies alike. (JSS)
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Artist: |
Kon & Amir and DJ Muro |
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| Album: |
The Kings of Diggin' |
| Label: |
Rapster |
| Release: |
July 11 |
Christian "Kon" Taylor and Amir Abdullah have made a name for themselves sifting through dollar bins to rock the party with
obscure soul, funk, and disco ditties. Along with their Japanese counterpart DJ Muro, they've put together The Kings of Diggin', unearthing lost funk and soul non-hits like the superhero-sounding anthem "Shako" by Cocody's Men. Kon & Amir — the former
a onetime Rawkus producer, the latter VP of sales at Fat Beats — play hepcats on the unmixed first disc with get-it-on-at-the-bar
cuts like J. Jones' "Feel Good." Muro's drum-infused second disc is a more upbeat foray into Funkytown, with jams like the
Moon People's "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut." We might not know what became of the no-hit wonders this nimble-fingered trio has
exhumed, but thank goodness someone salvaged them for the parties to come. (JSS)
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EARPLUG FAVES
Magda,
She's a Dancing Machine
(Minus)
Zero DB,
"Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines"
(Ninja Tune)
Various,
Total 7
(Kompakt)
A Guy Called Gerald,
Proto Acid: The Berlin Sessions
(Laboratory Instinct)
Daze Maxim,
"Simply Driving Gold"
(Hello? Repeat)
The Knife,
"We Share Our Mother's Health (Radio Slave Remix)"
(Brille)
Nôze,
Kitchen Remixe
(MBF)
Beckett & Taylor,
Hired New Hands
(Hand on the Plow)
Dinky,
Home on a Sunday
(Horizontal)
GummiHz,
Modern Dynamic
(Mobilee)
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REVIEW: Synch
July 6-8
Athens and Lavrio, Greece
Sweltering heat, slipping schedules, and hour-long travel times couldn't hold back Greece's Synch Festival in its third year.
Events unfolded Thursday evening at Athens' Benaki Museum with multimedia performances from a collection of Neen artists, an intriguing documentary on the life of electronic pioneer Bruce Haack, organic improv from Vienna's Vegetable Orchestra, and a surprisingly throwback set from Biosphere. Synch really got into gear, though, during the Friday and Saturday all-nighters in the post-industrial seaside town of Lavrio.
An occasionally noncommittal public didn't dampen inspired performances from the Bucci Brothers, Angie Reed, and Henrik Schwarz. Animal Collective, the Chap, Mouse on Mars, Argy, Amon Tobin, and Audio Bullys rallied more responsive crowds (though it was hard to understand why,
in the case of the latter's lackluster big-beat retreads). Afrika Bambaataa and Underground Resistance's Galaxy 2 Galaxy gave
rousing history lessons, but it was Mark Stewart and the Maffia that proved most mind-melting, even if to a disappointingly thin audience. (An hours-delayed starting time, not exactly atypical
of Greek events, may have had something to do with it.)
Synch wasn't all just decks, bands, and laptops; Angie Reed turned a playback set into a delightfully surreal multimedia affair
in the spirit of her sometime-collaborator Felix Kubin, while Edwin van der Heide's stunningly beautiful laser show immersed audiences nightly. His Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h), a robotic installation designed with Marnix de Nijs, proved an absolutely menacing counterpoint to the feel-good raving
outdoors — given the unrelated riots and bomb threats back in Athens, it was a reminder that, despite all the tubes onstage, entertainment never happens in a
vacuum. (PS)
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MORE FESTIVALS
10 Days Off
July 14-24
Ghent, Belgium
Festival Internacional de Benicássim
July 20-23
Benicássim, Spain
BAPLab 2006
July 22
Brooklyn, NY
Zimmerfrei.fm
July 23-30
Vodice, Croatia
Pitchfork Music Festival
July 29-30
Chicago, IL
Astropolis
August 3-6
Brest, France
The Big Chill
August 4-6
Herefordshire, UK
ElectroSplash wAfterParties
August 4-8
Castellón, Spain
SonneMondSterne
August 11-13
Saalburg, Germany
Zürich Street Parade
August 12
Zürich, Switzerland
Creamfields Andalucia
August 12
Playa de Villaricos, Spain
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Carl Craig: Live at Springsix, May 26, 2006 (stream)
From his Demon Days party to his remixes for the likes of Theo Parrish, Goldfrapp, and Delia & Gavin, Carl Craig is everywhere these days. In
this set from the Springsix festival in Graz, Austria, the master leads the crowd along the seam where soul, house, and techno join. Listen »
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Buzzin' Fly Presents Ben Watt (Windows Media)
With a new Buzzin' Fly mix freshly on the shelves, deep-house selector Ben Watt has every reason to be jumping with joy. So why is he so subdued
on this mix? Just par for the course for the former Lazy Dog, for whom jacking always goes hand-in-hand with slacking — in
the best way possible. Listen »
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Mark Verbos: Analog Hardware Live PA, June 26, 2006 (MP3)
Plug-ins? Mark Verbos don't need no steenkin' plug-ins; the New Yorker crafts his music in real-time on living (well, almost), breathing (you could swear) machines — giving
his metallic, acidic sets an urgency and a stridency you won't hear from many space-bar pushers. Listen »
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Paul Kalkbrenner: Live at Awakenings Festival, July 1, 2006 (MP3)
Bpitch Control's Paul Kalkbrenner makes trance for people who insist they hate trance. It's fat, acid-drenched, and crests
as relentlessly as the rising tide, sweeping away everything in its path. Just listen to his live rendition of the surging
"Tatu Tata" and try to keep your head above water. Listen »
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Spank Rock (RealAudio)
When they aren't pissing off the religious right, Philly's Spank Rock delight in cheap Casiotone frequencies and off-the-wall rhymes. Here, they've got so much bounce in
their flounce, you could throw the book at 'em and it'd rebound right back in your face. 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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That Total (Middle) Age
Nitzer Ebb bring EBM to a new generation of bodies
After almost a decade away, industrial godfathers Nitzer Ebb returned to the stage at this year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival, performing prior to headliner Richie Hawtin at Monday's closing ceremonies and making explicit the connection between their visceral, vintage sound and today's techno
— a connection Hawtin has repeatedly expressed in his mixes and live appearances. Nitzer Ebb's Detroit appearance preceded
a European festival tour in support of a new greatest hits album, Body of Work. Also forthcoming is a remix album in which artists including Black Strobe, Robag Wruhme, Derrick May, and the Hacker put a contemporary spin on Nitzer Ebb classics. Post-performance, vocalist Douglas McCarthy's two young sons, who had never
seen the band perform, nodded their heads when their father — as stern and commanding a stage presence as ever — asked them
if they were shocked at what daddy did for work. Earplug's Nick Parish caught up with McCarthy soon afterward.
EP: So, after the long layoff, how did it feel?
DM: To come onstage after 11 years, it's fairly daunting, and it's quite an auspicious occasion, being here in Detroit. It's kind
of one of the places we started off as a band, but it felt great. It felt like it should have felt: we enjoyed it, and we
did what we came here to do.
EP: What role does Detroit hold in the heritage of the band?
DM: A lot, really. When we first came up in the late '80s, Detroit was just emerging as an electronic music center; Chicago a
little bit, with all the jack stuff. When we first got here, we felt like there was a lot going on with the community here.
The way people worked together with their own clubs to make things happen, it was really similar to how we grew up in England;
there was nothing going on, so you had to make it happen. We felt a connection with what was happening here.
EP: How does the remix album sound?
keep reading »
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MORE FEATURES
Everything Everything and More
Underworld resurface, promise new album for 2006 more »
Vinyl Solution
Craig Richards champions wax, fears sobriety more »
Techno-Knot-Techno
"Minimal Scarf" phenom explained more »
Boogie Playmates
Get Physical puts the bounce back in electro-house more »
In the Balance
Matthew Herbert weighs in on Scale more »
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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 tracks, download MP3s, or purchase vinyl.
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Mark Broom
(Pure Plastic/Bpitch Control)
London, UK
www.markbroom.co.uk
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- Matt John, Joker Family Park 2 EP (Perlon)
- Teste, "The Wipe (Teste: Love, War & Techno Remix)" (Polarized)
- Lighter Thief,
"Zippo King Two"
(Ifach)
- DK7,
"The Difference"
(Output)
- Future/Past, "Clinically Inclined Remix" (R&S)
- 5 Mic Cluster,
"Basildon Lover (Extended Remix)"
(Output)
- Raudive, "Here" (Podium)
- Tan-Ru, "Changeling" (Trelik)
- Mark Broom,
"Things"
(CD-R)
- Ican, "A Quien" (Planet E)
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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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