Shows to Love: As You Like It Presents | Ghostly Meets Spectral
SAN FRANCISCO TONIGHT: There are shows that are not to be missed, and then there are shows that you can be certain are never EVER going to happen again. Tonight, our friends with As You Like It are bringing out one of THOSE kinds of lineups, with a full room of Ghostly International and Spectral Sound artists for your dome. Featuring Ryan Crosson (Spectral/ Visionquest), (the almost NEVER seen) Osborne (Ghostly/ Spectral), and Solvent (Ghostly), all of which adds up to—well, it’s just all a bit too exciting to put into words, really.
And yes, though this is very last minute, discounted presale tickets are STILL available here (until 6pm PST), and more will be available at the door.
Still need convincing? Plug in to the sets below, and prepare for awesome. See you at Public Works!
Ryan Crosson is one of the four gents who make up powerhouse collaboration Visionquest, and as far as fast-rising artists are concerned, this one comes with a bullet.
Osborne is Todd Osborn is Soundmurderer is Superstructure is one half of TNT … and the list goes on, really. For more on him and his varied career, check out this interview he did with the Red Bull Music Academy here. Also, check out his mix for the XLR8R Podcast here.
Solvent has been making beautiful, “genre-defying” electronic music for a decade and a half, and his most recent album, Subject to Shift was released in 2010 on Ghostly International. You can also find his releases on Morr Music as well as his own label, Suction Records.
Battles | ‘Dross Glop 1’
Today, Battles announced the first installment of their four-part 12” remix series Dross Glop, due out on February 6. Featuring stellar remixes from Gui Boratto and The Field, Dross Glop 1 sets the bar high, and given that no announcements have yet been made regarding who might yet be on the roster for the remaining three releases, it’s pretty fair to expect some surprises. You can preview both tracks below, and find out more about the series itself here. In the meantime, the folks with Bleep are already doing preorders, and you can even subscribe to the entire series there.
Check out the new video for WhoMadeWho’s incredible “Inside World”. This one’s not so work safe, but one hell of a good jab at human sexuality in all its weirdness. You can find the “Inside World” single here.
P.S. They’ve also released an EXCELLENT remix by Digitalism. Listen below.
If you haven’t already been doing so, keep your eyes peeled for pretty much any and all things Blawan. There’s little to be said that can’t be better explained than actually listening to him, so check out his mix for Fact below, and you can find his mix for Boiler Room over here.
The Clone Basement Series has really been tearing things up for who knows how long; it kills me not to be hearing more of this stuff played out, but this Untold track, “Little Things Like That” really needs about as much time on the floor as you can stand to give it. Get. This. One.
Tracks on the Radar: October to November
Aaaaaand, we’re back, our coffers are full of all kinds of treats culled from that unexpected hiatus. There have been quite a lot of recent releases worth squawking about in this last month (plus or minus), so to get things rolling, here’s our round-up of the little somethings we’ve been listening to during the transition into Autumn. Consider this a first pass at what’s been on rotation here during this recent lapse in communication—there’s quite a lot more to come.
1.) Mark E | “Oranges (Jacques Renault Edit)”
2.) The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble f/ Emika | Pretend (Soul Clap Remix)
3.) Dauwd | “Whats There”
4.) Gold Panda | “Through Clouds”
5.) Washed Out | “Call It Off”
6.) M83 | “Midnight City (Trentemøller Remix”
7.) Tracey Thorn | “Night Time”
8.) 214 | “Flush”
Future Islands | ‘On The Water’
If there’s one thing that’s always deeply satisfying to stumble across, it’s the fabled sleeper album; the one that slips past listener radar and across the reviews without perking up ears attuned to seeking that which deserves second and third listens, landing in your lap like it was gold wrapped in tinfoil. Open the wrapper, and you’ll see that what you’ve got is precious, but often that process itself can be time consuming, at best.
This is where we find the latest release from Future Islands, titled On The Water (Thrill Jockey). It’s one of the few truly solid indie rock albums to come out this year (Destroyer’s Kaputt and PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake being the two best examples of this year’s output thus far), and yet somehow, despite decent reviews across the board, failed to make any substantial waves. Perhaps this is due to the fact that their sound seems to fall into the greater realm of music derivative of 80’s post-punk and no wave that lately has been growing exponentially in quantity—though this album is far better in its approach, it’s easy to imagine how easily it might get lost in the din of similar imitators. The thing is, Future Islands appear to have nailed a deeply satisfying-to-hear subtlety to their composition structure that doesn’t beat you over the head, but sounds refreshing in its authenticity and unpretentiousness. Style-wise—since this is most definitely derivative in style—these guys sound like The The meets Roxy Music meets New Order (those basslines are especially reminiscent of Peter Hook’s unmistakeable style), and they toe the line between past and present like champs. In other words, if you spent a great deal of your youth listening to Morrissey, or you like Destroyer, the Radio Dept., or Metronomy, this is definitely an album worth grabbing.
You can purchase (and hear) the album over at Thrill Jockey, or check out the samples below of the stunning The The throwback “Before the Bridge” (think “This Is The Day”) and the happy-go-lucky “Balance” (which sounds too similar to Rod Stewart’s lone synth pop hit “Young Turks” not to be mentioned).
Out Today/ Tomorrow: Martyn | ‘Ghost People’
You can now hear an an exclusive stream of the new album from Martyn, Ghost People, via the good folks with Mixmag. This is Martyn’s first full-length foray out of the world of his own label, 3024, finding the producer on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder imprint.
As is to be expected, these tracks pretty clearly straddle that ever-dissolving line between the worlds of dubstep and techno (and even house, in this case), and sound like someone’s been listening to a lot of old school Detroit techno in the last year. As it is, there’s very little Martyn makes that doesn’t sound clearly derivative, but he does so with such skill that it would be hard to fault him for making his influences plain. This isn’t a stale-out-of-the-box throwback, but rather an incredibly refreshing rehashing of some crowd favorites that are very dancefloor-friendly.
The album is out today and tomorrow, October 10/11, depending on where you live, and is already available via Bleep (who’ve written a particularly interesting review of the album). Meanwhile, you can preview the entire release below.
