Suicide - 23 Minutes Over Brussels

Suicide, "23 Minutes Over Brussels" (YSI link)

Every so often I like to focus on one particular artist or genre for a bit and that time has come again. I caught one of my favorite bands of all-time, Suicide, last Thursday night at Club Europa in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I'll have more to say on that later, but for now I wanted to start posting up some live Suicide music.

There's no other place to start than the duo's most infamous show, June 16, 1978, live at the Anciennes Belgique, Brussels, Belgium. The band was in Europe opening for a few bands you've probably heard of - The Clash and Elvis Costello. This particular night, they were opening for Elvis Costello & the Attractions and this particular crowd was not happy at having to wait to hear their hero. Suicide opens with "Ghost Rider" and it's all downhill from there. The guys are booed pretty lustily after that one, but little does anyone know that booing is this audience being polite. You get an "Elvis! Elvis!" chant after "Rocket USA," booing and whistling throughout the fourth song, "Dance." By the time they get to "Frankie Teardrop," things are getting ugly. Someone in the audience steals the microphone, forcing the promoter to come out and demand it back or the show will be cancelled. Alan Vega subsequently begins to tell the crowd (or one person in particular) to "fuck off" and as the tape cuts, a full-fledged riot has broken out. Vega gets his nose broken, the club is torn up and the Suicide legend begins. 23 minutes.

This was a bonus track released as a second on the reissue of Suicide's self-titled first album. If you do not own that album, stop whatever you are doing and buy a copy. Then, buy a second copy to give out to a stranger. This is essential music from the studio and the stage, the darkest, most immediate music I've ever heard.

Cabaret Voltaire - The Original Sound Of Sheffield '78/'82

Cabaret Voltaire, "Do The Mussolini (Headkick!)" (YSI link)

Cabaret Voltaire, "Nag Nag Nag" (YSI link)

Cabaret Voltaire, "Obsession" (YSI link)

Cabaret Voltaire, "Loosen The Clamp" (YSI link)

[Ed. note: Sorry for the m4a files. I uploaded this CD a long time ago and didn't realize I had done so in this format. I don't have access to the CD at the moment, but hopefully once I get back to Philly, I'll be able to give everyone a HQ mp3. In the meantime, this should give you a taste of CV.]

It wasn't all disco and cocaine back in the late 70s. There was also a parallel electronic music scene that took its inspiration from the avant garde and punk than soul and funk. Cabaret Voltaire are one of the best examples of this dark dance music. A trio consisting of Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson that formed in the early 70s, the band was supremely influential in developing the industrial sound. They themselves were influenced by the work of Beats like William S. Burroughs and Bryon Grisin, who experimented with the cut-up technique in which they would cut up their work into pieces and reorder them at random.

Enough background, let's get to the music. These songs come from the 2001 compilation, The Original Sound Of Sheffield '78/'82, on Mute Records that collected some of the band's best songs from the period of 1978-1982, the period when things first got rolling for the group. This early period features some of the bleakest, darkest music ever, a whole disc of feedback, distortion, manipulated sounds, tribal drum machine noises. There's definitely a pulse and rhythm here, somtimes buried under the static, this ain't bleeps and noises; check out the final song, "Loosen The Clamp," you will clearly hear that these guys were responding to the dance music coming out at the time. This isn't oontz-oontz dance music, but it's there, stripped to the bone. The funky bass, the mechanical, almost tribal drums and space-y keys create a hypnotic track that would influence lots of our favorite music still to come.

The earlier songs like the awesomely titled "Do The Mussolini (Headkick!)" come more out of the punk ether, with the main comparison that comes to my mind is the electro-punk sounds of Suicide. "Nag Nag Nag" is similar, starting off in feedback and never giving your eardrums much of break from there on out. There's some distorted vocals, a massive rhythm section that would make a rock band proud and that layer of feedback that drifts over the whole thing. Awesome stuff.

Obviously, I highly recommend picking up this CD from the excellent Forced Exposure, a great introduction to the group. We'll take a look at part of the look back which covers 1983-1987 and hopefully a lot more down the road, as we're gonna focus a lot more on this darker side of the dance music world. Oh, and I am going to be a little more active with my myspace page, so add me if you'd like some extra goodies. Yes? Yes!

Studio - Yearbook 1

Studio, "Origin (Shake You Down By The River)" (YSI link)

I mentioned Studio recently with their awesome Kylie Minogue remix, needed to put up tracks from their recent LP, Yearbook 1. This album is really just a repackaging, bringing together their earlier West Coast LP and No Comply 12" into a super-dope CD. It's probably easier to say that that is one of the best releases from 2007, one of those albums that seems completely confident in itself, in spite of, or maybe because of, the fact that the music sounds like little else out there.

We didn't really give much detail on Studio when we referenced them previously, so let's do a little background, little being the operative word. The Swedish group consists of two members, Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hagg, who have a handful of releases on the tiny Information label. They seem to be a part of this cosmic disco/Scandalearic scene that has formed around Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, which has stretched out, slowed down and loosened up electronic music.

Yearbook 1 is only eight tracks, but it clocks in at over 70 minutes long. There aren't any bad songs in my opinion, a great mix of shorter songs and epic jams, instrumentals and vocals, cosmic disco, pop, electrorock and more comes and goes during the course of the album. Take the track above, "Origin (Shake You Down By The River)." It starts out with an warped laugh moving from one ear to the next, then what sounds like a jet takes off and out of this intro, an awesome, funky bassline, a dreamy guitar and percussion comes in and suddenly a Latin/Afrobeat-ish track quickly comes forward. As the song progresses, the pace picks up and things get more rocking, without ever feeling forced. That might be the greatest part of this album, its willingness to take its time, to not rush. Two of my favorites tracks, "Out There" and "Life's A Beach," clock in at nearly 16 minutes and 13 minutes a piece, mini-masterpieces that hearken back to the disco epics. Man, this is rad music, I can't recommend it more highly right now.

Okay, one big reason for doing this post is to help get the word out and get this CD and all of their previous work a US release. C'mon respected labels, bring this one to the states, the kids are just waiting to have the minds blown by this group. If you can afford it, cop the imported version from Amazon for a little less than $30. Or perhaps a better option is to buy West Coast, the 2006 LP, which is available for domestic prices. I mean, you really need this music in your life, let's hope someone steps up and get their upcoming album a widespread release.

Soulwax - Most Of The Remixes We've Made For Other People...

Justice, "Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax remix)" (YSI link)

DJ Shadow, "Six Days (Soulwax remix)" (YSI link)

Arthur Argent, "Hold Your Head Up (Soulwhacked mix)" (YSI link)

It's the time of year when everyone starts looking back, compiling their best-of lists and whatnot. It's the perfect time to look at one of the best releases of this year, which looks back at the past decade of remixes from the seminal dance combo Soulwax. If you read this blog or care about electronic music, you already know about Soulwax. For those that don't, Soulwax is a Belgium music conglomerate run by the Dewaele brothers, Stephen and David. Under that moniker, they've made original studio music, play live around the world and remix other artists. They DJ as 2ManyDJs, world famous for their sets and How To Kill The DJ mixes. All of our favorites today, from Justice to Simian Mobile Disco to Digitalism, are in debt to these guys.

To celebrate a documentary called Part Of The Weekend Never Dies, which chronicled Radio Soulwax, Parlophone and Soulwax have compiled (almost) all of the remixes the guys have done over the past 10 years, from their 1997 Lords of Acid one to this year's Justice and Klaxons. I tried to give a good sampling above, covering the different ground that the guys have in terms of remix projects, including my favorite remix on the CD, the Soulwax remix of DJ Shadow's "Six Days." I left out the Daft Punk, Kylie Minogue, LCD Soundsystem, Klaxons and more, just to give you a sense of how stacked this compilation is. I did want to pay special attention to the Soulwhacked mix of Arthur Argent's "Hold Your Head Up," which was completely new to me. This one is sick, sick, sick; it's start off slow and relaxed, as instruments get added to the mix. Then, an awesome robotic voice comes in repeating the lyrics, Slowly but surely, a nasty bass comes in and the rocking drums rock harder and you get just a great tune. P.S. Pay special attention to the lyrics, my friends: "When it's love that brings you down, don't ever let them know. However hard they hurt you, don't ever let them know. Hold your head up."

Oh, and for the record, here's the full title of the album:

Most of the Remixes We've Made Over the Years Except for One by Einsturzende Neubaten Because We Lost it and a Few We Didn't Think Sounded Good Enough or Just Didn't Fit In But Including Some That are Hard to Find Because Either People Forgot About Them Or Just Simply Because They Haven't Been Released Yet. A Few We Really Love. One We Think is Just OK. Some We Did For Free. Some We Did For Money. Some Just For Ourselves Without Permission and Some For Friends as Swaps But Never On Time and Always At Our Studio In Ghent.

Clearly, this one gets our highest recommendation. It's just an amazing package for fans and DJs alike, 2 discs of pure bliss, Disc 2 features a mix by 2ManyDJs that takes you on a journey through the remix catalogue. This one is not easy to find for some reason, but HMV has it at a great price.

Burial Remixes

Bloc Party, "Where Is Home? (Burial remix)" (YSI link)

Jamie Woon, "Wayfaring Stranger (Burial remix)" (YSI link)

Blackdown, "Crackle Blues (Burial remix)" (YSI link)

I'm not quite ready to put Burial behind us, so I wanted to take a look at the man's remixes from the past year. There seems something almost wrong about having the mysterious Burial lend his talent to someone else's music, his own music seems like an obsession that requires every second and every ounce of his talent. In some ways, after listening to these remixes, there seems to be a little truth to this, as nothing comes close to his own originals.

The main draw here is the Bloc Party remix for "Where Is Home," his first major remix as far as I know. The original comes from A Weekend In The City, an album that has grown on me all year. Burial takes the original out of the arena and brings it to the late-night streets. Things start off with what sounds like a steady rainfall you would expect in an old noir film, you can almost feel the fog coming in as the song goes ahead. From there, Burial brings in the breakbeats and effects, plus a really nice piano fill that create a great new version of this song about dislocation, identity and belonging. There's an odd breakdown in the middle, a sort of extension of the song's first few seconds, it breaks up the momentum for me. But other than that, it's a nice remix, completely transforming the original and in many ways providing a more proper mood for the lyrics of this song.

In a similar vein, Jamie Woon's "Wayfaring Stranger" delves into similarly important topics. Fortunately, Burial has provided a remix that does away with the nearly acapella gospel sound of the original, unsettling things and providing a proper home for this wayfaring stranger. Interestingly, the vocals are untouched for the most part, a departure from Burial's originals. That's not a bad thing, as Woon has a beautiful voice. The drums are standard, it's all about the haunting reverb sound that sit a little back in the mix, or even the vinyl crackles buried deep down too. Finally, I threw in the Burial remix of Blackdown's "Crackle Blues," a rare foray into remixing a dubstepper. It's definitely a departure from the other, dominated by a hi-hat beat that sits front and center. It's everything that goes on around that center that make this my favorite of the lot. From the ghostly sorta-voices in the background to the deep, subterranean bass, this remix haunts your ears in a good way. He does all this at such a measured pace too, never rushing or forcing things, it creeps up on you in a way few songs do.

Like I said Friday, you need to get a copy of Burial's Untrue LP as soon as possible.

Burial - Untrue

Burial, "Archangel" (YSI link)

Burial, "Untrue" (YSI link)

I'm about to embark on one of the biggest/scariest moments of my life, it's raining and miserable and I'm physically and mentally exhausted [ed. note: I wrote most of this yesterday when it was raining and I was embarking on said moment]. I can't think of a better time to jump back into dubstep by taking a look at its most acclaimed artist, Burial? Actually, I probably should be doing a post on love songs or brainless sugar pop tunes, but whatever.

Burial's Untrue is his second LP on Hyperdub and an immediate contender for album of the year. It's a really stunning achievement, picking up the corpse of trip-hop & UK Garage and lacing with huge subbass, skittering rhythms and detached, smeared soul/R&B vocals. It's those vocals that leave the most lasting impression, disembodied sounds longing, searching, hoping to connect but failing repeatedly. Check the sampled, robotic voices on "Archangel," which seem to be conversing. One asks "If I trust you" repeatedly to no answer, which fits the dark, unfulfilled nature of the music. Burial also adds these haunting effects deep in the mix, whether the crackling, rain-like ones on "Untrue" or the creepy wind sounds on "Archangel," that only add to the dark, sinister mood. All in all, the album is more focused than the excellent, self-titled debut, perhaps a reflection of Burial's confidence in his sound, avoiding more standard dubstep songs here.

I referenced dubstep and the album has come out on its premier label, but it's not a place to start with that genre. In fact, this album really seems to have as much in common with Massive Attack as it does with Skream, which isn't a bad thing. The pacing is different, the bass isn't as massive, a bit more melancholic and neurotic. I don't have as much knowledge of UK Garage, but what I have heard makes me think that that may be the biggest influence. The breakbeats and r&b vocals, however, are mutated by Burial's reverb and pitch-shifting, as he plays with time like its cotton candy. Creepy cotton candy, though, not the girl-y pink shit. Some have referred to it as futuristic soul, or Massive Attack for 2020, give it a listen and see what you come up with.

I can't recommend this one more highly, one of the best albums of the year from what I can remember. Like The Knife last year, this album heads into the darkness with various genres and comes out with a classic, although not in the dancefloor sense. This is for those late-night subway rides or nights in your room with the headphones in, when it's dark and things seem a little unsure. Buy your copy now, no hesitation. Check this cool interview with Burial conducted by Kode9, plus this excellent review by Phillip Sherburne for Pitchfork (okay, he's a way better reviewer than me, get over yourselves!)

Battles - Tonto +

Battles, "Tonto (The Field remix)" (YSI link)

Battles, "Tonto (Four Tet remix)" (YSI link)

The end of the year is nearly upon us and I have a feeling that the Battles LP, Mirrored, will make on a few end of the year releases. Perhaps to keep them in the mind of the blogosphere's voters, they recently released the Tonto + EP with some remixes, live songs and a DVD.

Not surprisingly, the band chose interesting remixers for their song "Tonto," eschewing the typical new-electro guys like MSTRKRFT for two artists that seem more comfortable with the experimental side of things. The Field is another of 2007's biggest names, responsible for one of the biggest techno LPs of the year on Kompakt. Here, he delivers a glitchy remix of the original, taking out the guitar picking, adding a bass drum and stuttering, noisy, swirling synths. The repetitive sound actually slowly moves, great stuff. The Four Tet remix sticks a lot closer to the original (the guitars and weird vocals are back!) Four Tet, a.k.a. Kieran Hebden, adds a rumbling bass to the mix, some bubbling, space-y effects and a generally more consistent sound and pacing. I feel like this one is a good way into Battles music for those coming from the electronic/dance side of things.

Grab a copy of this EP/DVD at Turntable Lab, but I'd recommend buying the LP first and digging into the band's post-rock/jam band-y music, as it's well-worth the time and money. Will it end on the Pound for Pound end-of-year list? Actually, that's a really great question, imaginary reader. I have no idea what that list is gonna look like.

Plastikman - Krakpot

Plastikman, "Krakpot" (YSI link) 256

Plastikman, "Elektrostatik" (YSI link) 256

Okay, I know you are thinking, "Didn't you say you were going to melt your face off with acid Friday?" One may think that I didn't achieve this because I was taking advantage of the weekend and livin' it up, but oh no, au contraire. Honestly, I was looking out for you, my dear reader, as I wanted you to be able to have a great, productive, fun weekend, the calm before the holiday storm in a sense. One listen to Plastikman's "Krakpot" and "Electrostatik" will melt your face and mind, leaving you incapable of traveling home for Thanksgiving, talking to relatives, going out on the big Wednesday night party scene, just generally trying to live your life day to day. The creeping, haunting acid line will burrow deep in your brain stem, it is not for the faint of heart.

Plastikman is better know to us as Richie Hawtin, the legendary Canadian producer who has made classic electronic music for the better part of two decades. We're going to say more about him in the coming weeks, from his own releases to stuff on the labels he founded Plus 8 and M_Nus, but for this blog, there's no better place to start than the music he put out under the Plastikman alias, especially as we take a look at acid house.

Above is his first release under that moniker, the Krakpot 12". Originally released in 1993 on the Nova Mute label, it's some of the best, most frightening music I've ever heard. The 11+ minute "Krakpot" returns acid to its minimal roots, featuring an acid-y bassline that snakes its way around your body in a slow, methodical way, combined with an insistent, heavy kick drum and some effects (blowing wind?). It's hard to believe that Hawtin could hold one's attention for so long with so little, but that's the magic of acid I guess (or more likely the amazing talents of Hawtin). While "Krakpot" may be better known, "Elektrostatik" is every bit as good and nasty. It all seems a little more frenetic, from the drums to the bass. You need to listen to these two on headphones, I seriously just want to freak out right now like a crazy person. You absolutely need this in your life, end of story.

Josh Wink's Acid Classics

Josh Wink's Acid Classics (YSI link)

I warned you, I hope that you have proper protective gear as we are gonna be dealing with lots of acid today. I can't think of a better way to start this off than with this recent mix Josh Wink did for Mixmag. Josh Wink's Acid Classics is the perfect intro for anyone not familiar or looking to get more familiar with this music that began in Chicago in the mid 80s. While long-time fans will have heard all of these songs, it's still well-worth the download as it's an impeccable mix, filled with classics for one 70 minute journey into the Roland 303. Mixmag chose the right guy for this job, as not only was Wink a huge part of the original acid scene ("Don't Laugh"), but he has been involved in the resurgence of that sound in the past few years.

I want everyone to listen to this one until the end of the day, as I know no one is doing work on Friday afternoon. We're gonna start with opening track from this mix first, I have chills I'm so excited.