180705 18:05

this week's post originally started out with a short rant which was essentially "in defence of r'n'b". on a re-read, i think i needed to have a lie down and think that arguement through again. however, it does bring us neatly to:

CIARA [U.S.]
oh (ghislain poirer bootleg) mp3
ghislain is a canadian producer that i featured some time ago on fat planet (an excellent mp3 of a ghislain production with guest vox from beans). his field is down/mid tempo broken beat meets alt-hip hop with a smart international flavour thrown in. that avant-beat creation is to the fore here in an unusual bootleg mix for ciara. there's no doubt that ciara is at the alternative end of commercial r'n'b (the original version of 'oh' has some absolutely killer production), yet here ghislain takes it way beyond its original intentions. i can't say it's 100% successful, but if you're a closet sucker for ciara (like me), then it's a public way to accept your fate. dig around for cadence weapon's bootleg of the same track - even more fucked up.

MURDERBOT [U.S.]
fi you mp3
another american artist today, albeit with a decidely carribbean vocal. if crunk or r'n'b isn't to your taste, how about dancehall breakcore? or ragga jungle? and from an artist who has this golden line cropping up in his resume? "i ate a peanut butter & marshmallow cream sandwich (aka a "fluffernutter") for lunch EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL DAY from the start of kindergarten until my high school graduation." what more do you need? murderbot is 22-year old kansas resident chrissy, and you can get a 2nd mp3 at the ever-excellent mashit site, plus more downloads (including mixtapes) at murderbot.com.

DRACULA ZOMBIE USA [U.S.]
bear island mp3
alright, so it's hat trick of yanks today - it's not that often i post multiple artists from north amerika, so i'm sure you'll forgive the excursion. dracula zombie usa had the foresight not only to email fat planet to let me know about their band, but to also back up that email with some top quality tunes. they describe their influences as "aphex twin, daft punk and lightning bolt" - and there's certainly an odd fusion of styles here. try to conjour a sound that might be described as 'post-punk breaks' - like lcd soundsystem getting dirty with an old sampler, more scattered than their usual 4-4 disco. [site]

last week's radio show: an electronic double-header - switzerland's lake lustre and sydney's ollo both dropped in for a chat (lars from ollo confusingly was born in the swiss town that former sydney resident lake lustre now lives...). for more info on lake lustre and to hear tracks from his album 'indecipherabilia', head to lakelustre.com. for more on ollo, click here.

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180705 20:43

EFTERKLANG [DENMARK]
kloy gyn mp3
it's not often that i openly throw around the phrase 'my new favourite band', as - in truth - i tend to have a new favourite at least once a week. i do feel however that it's absolutely appropriate to roll out the phrase in praise of efterklang. admittedly, i'm coming late to the table - an album and e.p. have escaped my attention and it was only after discovering their new single that they finally found their way into my heart (and the accompanying video helped in no small part). the track 'swarming' is wave after wave of beautiful sounds, with interjections of jerking cut-ups, smoothed out by stunning choral harmonies. their studied, 10-piece analog / digital approach references what is fast becoming something of a 'northern european' sound - a growing roster of artists who seemingly have the ability to replicate the sense of stark landscapes and open space from within their music. think the emotive sounds of sigur ros, jaga jazzist, mum, even bjork and you're close to the mark. the above track is taken from their recently re-released debut ep 'springer' which, along with the most recent album 'tripper', is available on the leaf label.

SHUKAR COLLECTIVE [ROMANIA]
blooz gypsy mp3
verbal fight mp3
the perfect follow-on from efterklang, in that we find an altogether different approach to the same analog / digital fusion - although this time the source material is all the more bizarre. the collective consists of three members of the band shukar, teaming up with six contemporary beats / electronic producers. the core trio play what is known as 'ursari', a style of music traditionally created by men in order to encourage their (tamed) pet bears to dance for their amusement. shukar don't get involved with the 'bear' aspect (it is the 21st century after all), but they nonetheless keep the music alive. it's traditionally played using spoons, barrels and other wooden percussion and, in this album, there's also a tom waits-esque gutteral vocal that gives the music a rich, rough hue. add to this tradition a succession of breaks, a few rounds of turntablism and some avant-garde electronica and you're served with a genuinely unique and original sound. a fascinating lesson in preservation through reinvention. [site]

ELECTRONICAT [FRANCE]
dans les bois mp3
is there a name for being influenced by other blog posts? blogfluence? seeing scenestars post some music from electronicat last week reminded me that i had intended to do exactly the same. electronicat is fred bigot, who is single-handedly developing a style of music that some might feel is more akin to having your teeth drilled - but if you've ever listened to throbbing gristle at full volume, then electronicat is a walk in the park. alongside the sonic furore (an updated, brittle version of phil spector's wall of sound) is the sound of doo-wop mixed with the cramps and suicide - an odd place for you to stake your musical claim, but an original one nonetheless. the new release 'voodoo man' is not a world away from the 2003 album '21st century toy' and one can't help but wonder where electronicat will go next. still, fuzz and melody never went out of fashion (the jesus and mary chain built a career on it) and i'm certain bigot still has a few tricks more up his sleeve. [site]

this week's radio show: this week's feature album came from the excellent monika label. entitled ' four women no cry', it's a compilation of four solo female electronic artists from around the world: rosario blefari (argentina), eglantine gouzy (france), catarina pratter (austria) and tusia beridze (aka tba) from tbilisi, georgia. the whole album is a masterpiece of understatement - full of quiet, abstract electronica - and whilst it may not break boundaries, it certainly rattles a few preconceptions. more info and sound samples at monika-enterprise.de

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140705 08:09

i've just been lined up to play at this - sydneysiders should absolutely not miss this opportunity to see tujiko, an outstanding artist with a history of great releases on mego. download an mp3 at her epitonic page. :::

Popfrenzy and Room40 Presents
TUJIKO NORIKO (Japan) plus special guests Triosk
Only Sydney show
Saturday 13th August – The Mandarin Club, Sydney



Japan’s avant pop queen, Tujiko Noriko returns to Australia for a rare Sydney performance.

Japanese female electronic pop sensation, Tujiko Noriko from the Mego label, returns to Australia after sell out shows at last year’s What Is Music? Festival. Noriko will perform her only Sydney show in August in support of a new release, Blurred In My Mirror, on the Brisbane based ::Room40:: label.

For her Sydney show, Noriko will be joined by local Leaf signings Triosk, currently in the middle of recording a new album, making this an exceptional night of rare live performance.

Mixing capriciousness with prettiness and outright experimentalism in a manner gently reminiscent of avant-pop genius Haco, Tujiko Noriko's introduction to the world at large was one of the most astonishing of the last years. Often considered Japans answer to Björk, Noriko forges an awkward musical beauty that sets her apart from the no-fun out-electro underground, or shiny/happy Japanese pop-kids.

Most recently, Noriko has collaborated with Brisbane producer Lawrence English, on a record originating from a series of recordings made in a hotel room during What Is Music? 2004. Blurred In My Mirror released in August this year, features an array of artists including Aki Onda, John Chantler and Benjamin Thompson.

Tujiko Noriko is an artist off in her own distant musical world.

"Tujiko Noriko is creating some of the best avant-pop that you’re not hearing" - Todd Burns, Stylus Magazine
"Noriko is near-religiously fascinating and spell-casting" - Nitsuh Abebe, Pitchfork Media

SHOW DETAILS:
Tujiko Noriko (Japan) with special guests Triosk
Plus DJ’s Clark Nova (Frigid), Red Peugeot (Popfrenzy), Stuart Buchanan of Fat Planet on FBi 94.5FM.
Saturday 13th August
Mandarin Club, Sydney
Cnr Goulburn and Pitt St, City
Presales available from Gifted Records, 10 Fitzroy Place, Surry Hills, Tel: 02 8354 0972

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100705 18:30

BLAMSTRAIN [FINLAND]
envelope diving mp3
theme for a wordless moment mp3
a top-shelf electronic album found its way into my hands recently, bound not in a cd sleeve, but rather a piece of A4 paper masquerading as a press release. from such inauspicious beginnings, comes an outstanding piece of work. finnish producer juho hietala's debut 'ensi' dropped on merck records last year, and for the follow-up release, he's drafted in some of the scene's more considered artists for a remix album. 'blamstrain remixed' features fellow finn and merck compadre, lackluster, morr's isan, funckarma (warp, skam, neo ouija), syndrone (aka machine drum), mesak (one half of mr. velcro fastener) and plenty more. you can hear streams of this essential release at m3rck.net and find out more about the artist at blamstrain.com. the above mp3s are taken from one of juho's many mp3 releases, you can find another two on a monotonik mp3 release at mono211.com.

MALAVENTURA [SPAIN]
mussuka mp3
sambaal mp3
the opening page of malaventura's web site spends a lot of time telling us what he is not. he is not a band, nor does he play electronic music, nor is his music available in any stores. naturally with so many disclaimers, there's little room to describe just what it is. the first track above is a sunny acoustic track with bubbling electronics underneath, taken from his newly released second album 'malaventurados' which he cites as being "sometimes innocent, sometimes evil". the second track - from his debut 'malaventura01' opts for a grander vision, a cinematic epic with dirty beats and lush string samplers. download more at malaventura.com

NNNJ [CANADA]
goop scoop mp3
what's the weather like today mp3
demeter's pupil mp3
more from the agriculture label, from brooklyn-based, montreal-born martin baumgartner, nnnj (pronounced 'inch'). there's no defining the sound of nnnj, familiar yet collectively untraceable. listen to 'goop scoop' for example, dub-driven downtempo funk at its core, yet layered with a vocal (eastern or asian?) that sits outside of those genres. 'demeter's pupil' opens with an eastern strings and devotional chants, anchored with a rolling hip hop beat. like much of agriculture's output, this is world music for people who don't like world music. the album is called 'monkey straddle' and you can buy online via the agriculture web site.

this week's radio show: this week's playlist is here. the feature album was shukar collective's 'urban gypsy'. the collective consists of three members of the band shukar and six contemporary beats / electronic producers from romania. shukar's music is known as 'ursari' (derived from 'bear tamer'), a style traditionally played for bears to dance to, while men drank and made merry... what a concept. there's no bears in shukar's music today, and the addition of local producers into the line-up has produced one of the most original albums of 2005, a fascinating blend of romanian tradition with breaks, turntablism and avant-garde electronics. hear a sample of the album online and get more information at worldmusic.net.



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030705 17:34

this week's radio show playlist is online here. celebrating the next phase of their reissue program, today i played some tracks from can, specifically from the albums 'unlimited edition', 'future days' and 'soon over babaluma'. more info on these 'must have' reissues from mute records can be found at mute.com.

there's less of an update this week as i have family visiting from scotland, so time is precious unfortunately. instead, let me direct you to some mp3s from french artist melodium whose album i featured on the show on 19th june: 'le fin de tout' (from the album 'la tête qui flotte') and 'feltmelt' (from 'anaemia') can both be found at mp3 site, better propaganda. for more info on melodium, check out the label site.

'year one compilation' update: unlike my other blog compadres, i don't host files, i just link to mp3s that artists and labels host themselves - so it's always good to know when something screws up. apparently, the cocorosie track 'by your side' on the fat planet 'year one compilation' has been down. i've just updated it - and you can directly download the updated mp3 here. and on my happy wanderings, i also came across two other cocorosie mp3s for you - good friday and jesus loves me. more info on the girls' last album here. expect a new album 'noah's ark' in august.



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