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Sorry

We have been on a bit of a hiatus here at Trainspotter due to finals and the holidays. We will be returning better than ever in the new year. I'm porting the blog to a domain so that will mean no more broken links. Also there will be more regular content. You can also expect a new mix from me in the next week and a top albums of 2007 chart. So sit tight boys and girls.

Jichael Mackson's Wicked Game

I've gone through so many micro-phases in 2007 that its impossible to keep track of all of the Techno subgenres that have pleased my ears this year. But, I've passed by enough little insular electronic music cliques to know that the very best tracks manage to transcend their subgenre to define their own niche in the broader community of music. Jichael Mackson's The Grass is Always Greener from his Wasn't Me EP on [Musique Risquée] is a track that does just that. Jichael Mackson combines Bob Ross and Chris Isaak in a perfect example of the weird beauty that can come from the recontextualization of American pop culture that occurs when different cultures cross-pollinate. The sensual chords of Wicked Game mingles surprisingly well with the soothingly bland artistic advice of Bob Ross--a lone peculiar success in what I imagine to be the long line of disappointed television painting show hosts.

Let Jichael Mackson resurrect those innocent feelings of childhood lust and confusion that were prodded awake by a supermodel rolling around in the sand on VH1 in 1994:


Jichael Mackson - The Grass is Always Greener [risque014]

Oh, and if you doubt the haunting qualities of Chris Isaak's sun-bleached guitar strumming, consider this, Chris Isaak has only a two degree seperation from David Lynch:

Chris Isaak -> Angelo Badalamenti -> David Lynch

David Lynch seems to be some sort of specter that hovers near everything good.

Sennh is With You

Traum is a fantastic label known for their highly melodic releases--Dominik Eulberg, Gabriel Ananda, Nathan Fake, Dinky, Fairmont, come to mind--and Sennh follows in that tradition more than competently. His recent 12" I Am With You wraps warm heart-swelling chords around a tech house thump that becomes more intense at the right times, then he drops in a pretty percussive plinking melody that runs up and down your spine. A really beautiful track.


Sennh - I Am With You


And here's another Traum track, it's a remix of Minilogue's Seconds by Moonbeam, whose Eclipse 12" [Traum] was a personal favorite of mine from this year.


Minilogue - Seconds (Moonbeam remix)

GTMK - Mosquito

GTMK is Gregor Tresher & Monika Kruse. I don't know much about either of them, but together they make a solid team. They have released a fantastic record on Intacto. The B-side 'Mosquito' is so good it makes you itch to listen to it over and over. It is fast-paced and tight with the intention of making people go wild. This track looks to be at the heart of my next mix. 'Panchakarma' is more laid-back, but just as powerful.


GTMK - Mosquito [Intacto]

Burial

Burial's new album is generating so much buzz I doubt he'll remain an anonymous London dubstepper for much longer. I hate to join the, erm, hype machine, but he has made some really great tracks, and there's no denying that. The best of his new album tempers the hyper-dramatic swooning vocals with murky dubbed-out effects, while keeping the beat straightforward enough to keep my interest. I think his more atmospheric, beatless stuff works better in a certain altered state, if you know what I mean.

Here are my favorites from the new LP, Untrue [hyperdub]:


Burial - Archangel


Burial - Untrue

check out his myspace here

Cadenza es como la influenza

Cadenza released the luscious Contemporary 0.1 and Classics last month as a 2 disc cd. Contemporary 0.1 has been mixed so beautifully by Luciano. The mix features Luciano himself, the Romanians who started Arpiar (Petre Inspirescu and Rhadoo), Argenis Brito, and Digitaline, and the Chilean Alejandro Vivanco among others. Cadenza is headed in the right direction continually becoming more and more amazing. Even though I enjoyed the mix better, Classics, a collection of past highlights, is still top-notch. Check out Matt's Thanksgiving Feast for a track from that disc. Here's a couple that I love from the mix:


Alejandro Vivanco - Madre Tierra
"Respira por tus manos, respira por tus pies...agradece" - beautiful


Petre Inspirescu - Galantar
This song sounds like trying to start an engine that won't start. BUT, it is not your engine it is the engine of your worst enemy, then you realize they are stuck and you are moving forward - so satisfying. It is 1 of 2 Pedro songs that appear on Contemporary 0.1 - the other, 'Racakadoom', you can find in Matt's Cyberjungle mix. You don't want to miss the Arpiar showcase at next years Winter Music Conference in Miami.

I Feel Like a Deer in the Headlights (again)

With a revving engine, Doppler-effected car horns that might recall the Chelonis R. Jones's nu-classic "Deer In The Headlights," and a grimy gurgling bassline, Booka Shade really save what I felt was a pretty crappy Dubfire track, "I Feel Speed." Don't bother with the original, here's Booka Shade's driving dub:


Dubfire - I Feel Speed (Booka Shade Dub)

Switch Remixes The Futureheads

Remember UK band The Futureheads?. I recently came onto a promo remix Switch put out of the song Worry About it Later off The Futureheads' second album News and Tributes. Switch completely butchers the song, but in the result is wonderful. Short loops of lyrics repeat throughout the song, with a steady bassline and heavy synths added...it doesn't disappoint.



The Futureheads - Worry About it Later (Switch Remix)



The Futureheads - Worry About it Later



MY favorite Futureheads song:

Steed Lord!!!! + H&M + music

Fashion and music undoubtedly go hand in hand. Iceland's Steed Lord (M.E.G.A, Demo, A.C. Banana$ and Kali) recently released a line of clothing for the sweden-based meccastore H&M. If you haven't taken notice of Steed's style yet, well you're missing out. Clothing primarily consists of 80's inspired designs and materials...spandex, windbreakers, etc...with wild neon colors and geometric shapes.

Musically, Steed Lord flawlessly mixes house and ghetto genres to create a wonderful style of music, which the clothing line only compliments.

Steed Lord - You (Klever Remixxx)




Steed Lord - Dirty Mutha




Steed Lord - Dirty Mutha (Crookers Remix)

Donnacha Costello - Colorseries

THIS is exactly what I love about minimal. So simple, so beautiful, it's kinda like what Steve Reich would sound like making dance music. All his tracks capture that bittersweet melancholic ecstasy that Aphex Twin's "Xtal" does so well. Colorseries is an album created out of a collection of tracks selected by Costello from his previously released series of 12"s, along with a few tracks of unreleased material from the Colorseries sessions. I can't get enough of this album, I'd love to hear all the colors he's released.



Donnacha Costello - Orange A


Donnacha Costello - Mustard B

(Minimise)

Radio Slave - Bell Clap Dance

OK enough brooding from me. It's time to start dancing again. I need a cowbell and some clapping to get started. Wait, Matt Edwards has the remedy. He begins with the bell and the clapping but then an addictive six-note scale chimes in. After that you'll be dancing all the way to bliss. If you need more convincing on how good this Radio Slave track is know that Villalobos used it in his Fabric mix that I posted a little while ago from RBMA Radio.


Radio Slave - Bell Clap Dance [Rekids]

Digitalism - Idealistic [Video]

So it seems that two months ago I posted an unofficial video for 'Idealistic'. I just saw this video yesterday and I believe it is the official one. Digitalism keep putting out great videos all so beautiful and well-shot with interesting and clever concepts. This video is totally representative of how I am feeling right now. All the happy times and memories of the past 5 years have been erased and it feels like I meant nothing to her. I don't know what was real or if it was all a lie. I thought I was going to marry her, but I guess I was just idealistic...The video was directed by Guillaume Berg and Bastien Lattanzio.

Thankful For Music

Even though I'm still feeling down and I miss her for some reason, I still have plenty to be thankful for. I'd be lost without my family, friends, and music. I hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving. Matt's feast looks delicious - here is what's cooking in my kitchen (buy some of these records instead of buying a bunch of stuff on friday that you don't really need):

Much better than her Blondie LP - Michaela Dippel is really evolving into something special and so is Areal.



Ada - Barren Space [Areal]


Pan-O-Rama is a terrific long player and includes many gems such as this one.



Pan-Pot - Crank [Mobilee]


You can always expect great things from James Holden. The ending really gets me going counteracting the tryptophan. I found this track at the wonderful Random Circuits.



Avus - Fancy Arse (James Holden's Sunday Night Extension) [Perc Trax]


Complex and spacey. I love the tapping of the woodblock. I believe it is a woodblock anyway.



Ruede Hagelstein - Der Kammbläser [Lebensfreude]


Recently featured on Deadset's podcast for Resident Advisor and Ewan Pearson's Fabric 35 this track will really get you swingin' and groovin'.



Johannes Heil - All For One (Tobi Neumann's Swinging Remix) [Klang]

Thanksgiving Feast

What better time to post a smorgasbord of tracks than the beginning of this lovely holiday season? Not a difficult task, as this has been one of the most exciting years for music in recent memory from where I'm sittin. That's plenty to be thankful for.

Let's start with something deep and sinister:



H.O.S.H. - Don Alfredo with Adriano [Kindisch]



Follow that with a soulful emotive minimal classic:



Luciano and Pier Bucci - Amael [Cadenza]



Zone out, way out, deep space style:



Smith N Hack - Falling Stars [Smith-N-Hack]



Get Discofied:



Metro Area - RMM Special Dub [Environ]



And some tasty electro synthpop RnB for dessert:



Daedelus - My Beau [Ninja Tune]


That's all folks, have a happy Thanksgiving!