Blog: Acid Ted

We had a track from Mass Digital a couple of days ago. Here's his new deep house single, which came out yesterday. Inside of You is a deep, dark track driven by a warped vocal and sonorous bass. Music for dark corners. Without You is an altogether warmer track. It's a slow bit of deep house but takes a more melodic approach to things. Some flute and near-dub stylings add to the interest. By far the better track. Boris Mijolic, known by his artist name Mass Digital / [...]

Some new quality drum and bass stuff forthcoming on Worcester-based Protect Audio. It's all clips, so a mixtape for free download to make up for it. What we have is the  Diffraction Of Sound EP , which is a four-tracker from Shiver, Marukomu, Homemade Weapons and Survey. Out very soon. First, Marukomu and his track Iridium . This is a lovely bit of spartan sinister drum and bass. Throbs away nicely. Next, Shiver and Displaced . This is a stop start track with that ultra-fast sound that so reminds me of the [...]

We've had a few tracks  before from kORBian (Ian Hobbs) from Chelmsford, UK. Here's an edit of a track he's got coming out next month on VSR. His other stuff has mainly been deep house. This time, it's much more tech house, with only a little deep house warmth coming through on the synths. Good but not great. Blurb: a promo edit of my next release with [VSR] Records, due out 06/05/13 via Beatport (iTunes + Amazon release to follow).... the full 9:18 123 mix will be featured on a phenomenal collection of deep + tech [...]

Have you heard the newly released Daft Punk tune, Get Lucky ? What do you think? Random Access Memories is a very Daft Punk album title. A bit cliched perhaps. As for the track. Not sure about that guitar and the early 80s funk sound. Vocal from Pharrell threw me. Not in a good way. Disappointingly disposable pop. There are no doubt going to be a myriad of remixes. Here's one from Chubby Fingers that tries to give the track a bit of dancefloor oomph.  Makes it much more palatable. Free download.

Chilled house and a free live download? Never heard of Heion, despite what the PR blurb would have us believe, but this is a rather nice bit of beach house. Nothing too heavy or fast, just slinky. That's especially true of This Time , which totally hits the spot. Big Fever tries slightly too hard to go for that hazy 80s disco feel, thought the Ruben and Ra remix takes it to a lovely deep house place. Dynamicron remixes This Time into a more afro beat drum based track . And, the [...]

Here's some free tech house. Never heard of Serbia's Mass Digital. But this is a lovely bit of tech house that comes at things from a house warmth rather than miminal's coldness. I'm definitely enjoying tunes for warmer days at the moment, a reaction to the dark long winter this year. Blurb: Boris Mijolic, known by his artist name Mass Digital / SunsetDistrict was born on 13 February 1987. in Novi Sad, Serbia. This Serbian born music purist is making huge waves in the underground house/techno genre, upsetting the status quo by proving what [...]

Here's a really lovely track. Probably won't get the kudos it deserves. It doesn't really sit neatly into any standard dance genre. The beats are tech, but the oohs and aahs that waft it along come from a more chilled place. And some of the hi hats are a bit trap (I really don't like trap). But it links together really well. On this sunny morning, it's sense of hello-sky-hello-day really works. The remix is by Elliot Adamson from the not-very-sunny Sunderland, a town from the UK's Northern industrial wastelands. If you liked his Third [...]

Let's go the whole hog and make it Max Cooper Saturday with this remix for Nils Frahm. Free download. This remix has all the Max Cooper essential elements. It's a complex piece of music. It demands attention. It's never easy or straightforward. But it has  a melodic beauty and an uplifting spirit. It's almost symphonic in its scope and intent. From LastFM :   Nils Frahm , born in 1982, had an early introduction to music. During his childhood he was taught to play piano by Nahum Brodski – a student of the last scholar of  [...]

Where this morning's long mix was Max in reflective and melodic mode, here's a remix for Northern Ireland's Mmoths which is Max in his more dissonant phase. There is wheezing and hissing, like something from Eraserhead. It does eventually resolve into a tune but never loses that wheezing awkwardness. Free download. download the remixes here:  mmothsmusic.com/diariesremixes

A free downloadable long mix of IDM techno from Max Cooper. This may be a year old but was new to me. And very fine it is too. Lot's of Max Cooper tracks or remixes. A good way to start your weekend. 1. Max Cooper - Untitled 1 2. Max Cooper - Qualia (Traum) 3. Max Cooper - i (Traum) 4. Max Cooper - Darkroom - John Tejada Remix (Traum) 5. Max Cooper - i - Pele Remix (Traum) 6. Agoria - Panta Rei - Max Cooper Remix (Infine) 7. Pig & [...]

Cat Power's not normally my thing but this remix from Manchester's Club Clique has a winsome disco summeriness. Free download. Blurb: Hot on the heels of last year's series of Hype-Machine blockbusting Club Clique remixes - including Lana Del Rey's Video Games (one million plays and counting) - this is our first track of 2013: a Club Clique remix of our favourite Cat Power track, given away for free download this week to coincide with the video release of her stunning song 'Manhattan'. We've kept the warm, dreamy spirit of the original track and [...]

Perhaps  I'm churlish but when I read about X or Y being a " summer anthem " I want to move on. These are usually over-excited lowest common denominator tunes only to be enjoyed with an excess of sangria and sunburn. Something described as an anthem but which starts with some coughing, on the other hand piques my interest. Free download. Canadian duo Pigeon Hole have produced June , which is an anthem not for frenetic dancing and snogging but for sitting down and zoning out. There's a low key start, with the coughing, which becomes later vocals [...]

We had a Lance Herbstrong tune with Jimi Hendrix back here  which was fine quality. Here's a new one with Pete Tosh and some Thievery Corporation, in praise of the herb. Dub sitar stylee boyee. Free download. Blurb: Special thanks to Rob Myers of Thievery Corporation and Fort Knox Five on Sitar. Origami Pot Leaf by Vincent the Artist. Hemp can be used to make paper, cardboard, oils, milk, flour, soap, lotion, shampoo, make up, clothing, rope, canvas, nets, twine and carpets, [...]

By request: A very  long time ago  we had tracks from Aon (or A-on) from a promo CD. Scraping the barrel (aka falling across this accidentally), I find I had a 12″ of theirs with remixes by Sub Sub from 1993. Aon were a bit New Age-y, as witnessed by this from their CD: “The sound of A-on is timeless and global, deriving from ancient traditions and touching deep into the soul. The meoldies are intrinsically simple and pure, [...]

Lovely new house EP from Leav, out now. This is the fourth full release from Swdeden's Leav (Jonas Isaksson). There's something about the onset of spring/summer in the feel of this EP. Like a sashaying catwalk of an EP for a S/S13 collection. Opener Bask is a sprightly thing that gambols around like a new tech house lamb. Attack is nothing of the sort. It's the hazy heat of the summer sun and laying back to enjoy the deep house grooves. Scent is a brilliant bit of techno/tech house. Only closer, [...]

Normally, I'd say you should listen to these tracks by Horrorfall cos they're good. And, they are - but this time, I'm saying you should buy these with real money, on the basis that if you do so before the end of the weekend you'll help the victims of the Boston bombling and others. Colin C (leader of Horrorfall) says " It's a "pay-what-you-want" release on Bandcamp, and right now to help the victims of the Boston Bombing, I'm donating 100% of any money from it from now until the end of the weekend to the American Red Cross… [...]

Ah, cover versions. Love a good cover version me. Here's one from synth duo I Am Camera. It's a version of the Pet Shop Boys' 1987 hit Rent . Goes for a wistful tone akin to the original but with a doomier, more portentious, air. Nice but doesn't meet the visceral charge of the Carter USM version from the B Side to their 1990 single Rubbish . Both below, including a free live version by Carter. Carter USM live free download (though if you do pay, all money goes to charity - The National Autistic Society) [...]

Quality dub techno for you to enjoy. This is out at the end of the month but there's only clips. To make up for it a Frank Hellmond chilled number for free download. When we had some of Frank Hellmond's dub techno before , I commented on the similarity to Matthias Springer's work. It therefore comes as no  real surprise to find the two Germans working together. Their Wooden Cross EP is out on 24 April. There are two tracks and three remixes. In Mind is a classic dub techno track, with warm washes of [...]

Another long mix, after yesterday's from Jamie Harley. A conceptual cracker from Max Cooper for Magnetic magazine . Includes an unreleased Max Cooper track. Max Cooper says: The brief for this mix was to make something inspired by an architectural space. When I was doing my Post-Doc at UCL I used to go the British Museum to relax, and work in the beautiful library there, so I chose the space for the mix. I wanted to capture the ambient atmosphere in the central courtyard, so I did some binaural recording to [...]

We had the new release yesterday from Joe C on Ground Level. Today, here's a couple of freebies for you from Gound Level. First, a free track from Joe C. This is his bootleg of Bones & Nom De Strip - Shake & Bake . This is whoop, whoop bass. A bit too ghetto bass for my tastes, but perhaps not yours. [Alternate Download Link]: http://www.mediafire.com/?v5no 1cuz677dgzx Second, a free downloadable mixtape from Ground Level Supremo Andy McAllister for the National Union of Students. Free mixes! Never had that [...]