[ Harbour City Sorrow ] "True house music" - the term rolls off the tongue these days, and many would have you believe it cannot be made without 707 handclaps and an MPC full of Gil Scott Heron quotes. Not only does this kind of thinking limit one's creativity, it ignores a very fruitful decade of house made in (and with) the digital age. Consider, however, electro: it's hard to even conceive [...]
[ Type Records ] Up on techno's Mount Olympus sits Chain Reaction, content in the fact that few techno labels have ever been quite so revered. Where Basic Channel invented and perfected a sound, they drafted a team of like-minded cohorts to expand that sound, and records such as Vladislav Delay's Multila and Vainqueur's Elevation have few equals. Unfortunately, some of this stuff remains rather difficult to find (unlike Ernestus and von Oswald's own work), and [...]
Directed by DGainz Let me find out this is the same cast and set from King Louie's "Work Somethin" video. Ha!
In a departure from the regular format of LWE's Curator's Cuts series, the 21st edition features some of LWE's writing staff discussing five of electronic music's prevailing trends in 2011, noting some of our favorite underrated tracks, and opining on what 2012 might have in store for us. Editor-in-chief, Steve Mizek, served as the moderator of a conversation between Per Bojsen-Moller, Steve Kerr, Chris Miller, Jordan Rothlein, and Andrew Ryce. Curator's Cuts 21: LWE Staff (67:34)
Penique Productions [ Swamp 81 ] When we last left Pinch he had just emerged, bleary eyed and soot covered, from Shackleton's subterranean lair. The duo's stunning long-player mined the labyrinthine, murky depths there still unexplored, and our heroes surfaced with crates full of obsidian frequencies and a tarred Gregorian choir. Still a bit scarred from the experience, and with plenty of opaque minerals in tow, [...]
Photo by Samuel Kessler Some complain that the media (music related or not) focuses too much on constructed narratives, and in dance music one of the most compelling recent narratives has been the vital New York house scene. While many of the producers involved, from Levon Vincent to Nina Kraviz, have all gone off to do their own thing, they all share the same back story: they all came through Jus-Ed. The lynchpin of Northeastern deep house has jump-started many a career, as well as having a very impressive one himself. Unfortunately, not even dance music [...]
Photo by Jeri Rafter [ A Made Up Sound ] Despite being one of the most consistent producers out there (or perhaps because of?), Dave Huismans has never really shocked me. Over the years his music has slowed down, embraced and disengaged 4/4 kick patterns, and generally gotten deadlier - and I've eagerly snatched each missive and rinsed it [...]
Yet another leak from the young gun, Chief Keef. It appears we're experiencing a bit of Keef-hysteria at the moment. Media outlets all over the city from bloggers to radio stations have been reaching out trying to get a piece of the young rapper. The emcee is polarizing to say the least, with fans, tweeters and commenters across the board sharing their opinion on Keef-good or bad. Love him or hate him. Either or. Here we have the remix to Keef's "First 48," featuring Chris Mille. Look for this one to land on Keef's Back [...]
As 2011 has come to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors. Heavy Years: 2000-2010 (Ernest Jenning) is the latest release from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills. The 14-track retrospective compiles songs from his last four albums, along with two new tracks [...]
[ Further Records ] Expectations can be dangerous. As record buyers, we bank on our expectations to guide us (eg. I'll usually pull a Strictly Rhythm record before 1994 and not bother with anything after). We're told to generally not be judgmental in life or form preconceptions, but with music these preconcieved notions are among the few things keeping us sane. So when it was announced that Donato Dozzy's production partner Nuel would be putting out an album on Further [...]
New York has a long and storied history when it comes to dance music, but nowadays, with so much focus in the scene being allocated to Berlin and London, New York's club scene has a bit of a "second [club] city" complex. And while many of the city's big clubs leave much to be desired, digging a little deeper in the outer boroughs reveals a handful of world-class parties that stand up with the halcyon days of New York's storied tenure as dance music's capital. Mister Saturday Night, helmed by Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin, is one of those parties. [...]
Directed by DGainz This beat is re.tard.ed.
Graphic by Eno Henze [ HUSH ] It's hard to say why specific sounds and genres ebb and flow in and out of the collective dance music conscience, but that motion itself is readily mirrored in our own listening habits. Some of us yin (dark and driving techno) while others yang (butt house): enjoying everything, but preferring certain sounds over others at any given moment. 2011 was, personally, a [...]
As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors. Heavy Years: 2000-2010 (Ernest Jenning) is the latest release from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills. The 14-track retrospective compiles songs from his last four albums, along with two new tracks recorded [...]
As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors. Heavy Years: 2000-2010 (Ernest Jenning) is the latest release from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills. The 14-track retrospective compiles songs from his last four albums, along with two new tracks recorded [...]
As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors. Heavy Years: 2000-2010 (Ernest Jenning) is the latest release from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Chicago singer/songwriter Chris Mills. The 14-track retrospective compiles songs from his last four albums, along with two new tracks recorded [...]
Photo by Henri De Carvalho The reason why everyone from artists and labels to venues and magazines offer podcasts is simple: it's the closest and most portable representation of the way most fans interact with dance music. Artists use them as calling cards for what they can bring to your fair city. Labels and clubs showcase the talent they nurture or book. And sites like us? We highlight admired artists with a sample of their skills. There's undoubtedly an absolute abundance of them, with new ones springing up seemingly every month. But unlike [...]
The problem that list enthusiasts face each year is the fluidity of the categories. An "album" can take many physical forms and be almost any length the format allows. The "single" is equally problematic in its definition, as a vinyl single is usually two tracks at least. But when you're pulling together tracks and albums lists, you're ignoring a vast seam of records that falls in-between even those nebulous categories. This list sets out to highlight five such records (not double-packs) which are the work of a single artist, and contains three or more tracks. It also must be [...]
In these days of near-weightless laptops and tiny iPhone production studios, the lure of vintage sounds, unwieldy analogue gear and physical media is hardly a surprise. The Hague-based Crème Organization embodies these tenants fully, issuing 123 after 123 of classicist house and boggy modular synthscapes. Born out of the 90s West Coast scene in the Netherlands, Crème's embrace of Midwest acid-house has at once kept true to the genre's origin while operating according to its own idiosyncratic rulebook. The label has gotten better (and weirder) with each year, and 2011 saw loads of top shelf jackers from names like Myriadd, [...]
Photo by Christopher Jonassen [ Throne of Blood ] As the days get shorter and we start closing out the year, many of us take the time to reflect on what we've heard in the seemingly arbitrary confines of the calendar and what has made the most impact. Our minds inevitably turn towards the "Silent State"s and the "Sicko Cell"s; those [...]
Little White Earbuds
Fake Shore Drive
MAGNET
Diplo x Usher: ‘Climax’
A-Trak - "Round of Applause" / "Where My Money At" (MP3 Download)
SHOCKING NEWS: Ben Gibbard turns to pills in wake of Zooey Deschanel divorce
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
Diplo - "Climax" (MP3 Stream)
