Fantastic Mr Fox and Rich Reason - Fall

While a torrent of superlatives breaks about Joy Orbison’s Hyph Mngo ( a very pleasant track, which emerges out of hazy synth, to bump along with a kinda warm nostalgia) the real gem in this nascent sound is this track. Mr Fox having come to my attention via his fantastic mix on the vital Electronic Explorations weekly radio show, I’ve been seeking out his productions since. This track with his frequent collaborator, fellow Mancunian Richie Rich is particularly lush. Strutting brass hints at Mr Fox’s past creating leftfield hip-hop whilst the twin basslines boom and wriggle respectively around the ghostly central refrain. UK Funky? Wonky? You’d have to consult the Mole but its damn good. Fantastic Mr Fox will shortly be releasing his debut E.P. Sketches on the Black Acre label who also bring to us the quality Blue Daisy whose beautiful track Detached Strings can be heard on the Fantastic Mr Fox edition of Electronic Explorations linked to above, which you should definitely check out.

(Art work by Massimo Rao)

[We Share Our Mother's Health]

My love for this enigmatic Swedish duo has been rekindled after listening back to the fantastic Silent Shout after a couple of years when it was gathering dust in my bedroom. This video by Japanese artist Motomichi Nakamura is a typically mental outing for Karin and Olof and in my opinion is the baddest tune the pair have ever released. The techy bass interspersed with phat chopped-up-breaks remind me of alot of another one of my favourite electronic duos, the mighty Modeselektor...

[Some Soulful/Techno/Music]

More turntable-wizardry than you can shake a stick at this week. Action Jackson of the Beat 'n' Chips posse has come up with another gem of a mix for your ears to hear.

...[Tracklist]...

1]... Pelle Buys and a Different Jimi - You Go
2]... Michael Cleis - La Mezcla
3]... Catz & Dogz - Sunset in the East (Guillaume and the Coutu Dumonts Remix)
4]... Mastiksoul - Bofe De Elite
5]... Soul Clap - Die Ente
6]... Heinrichs and Hirtenfellner - Ear Worm
7]... Chelonis R. Jones and Marc Romboy - The Beat (Marc Romboy and Dimitri Andreas Remix)
8]... H.O.S.H - The Valve
9]... Menu - Moss Eisley (Tomski & Fredboy Tarteledit)
10]... Foals - Red Sox Pugie (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
11]... Fredski & Thomas Barford - March On Swan Lake
12]... Stimming - After Eight
13]... The Detroit Experiment - Think Twice (Henrik Schwarz Mix)

[No...Not Hobnob's]

But Hobnox! I figure while i'm on a music production tool-esque tip you'd be wise to check this one out too. The Hobnox Audiotool doesn't generate quite as much mirth as our previous entry but you have to admire that's some pretty nifty Flash jiggery-pokery.

[ToneMatrix]

Excellent little site I've been meaning to blog for some time. Andre-Michelle the programs creator describes it as a: "simple sinewave synthesizer triggered by an ordinary 16step sequencer. Each triggered step causes a force on the underlaying wave-map, which makes it more cute." Thanks to Adotellison for this little slice of joy.

[Transmission]

Hi all, havn't been arsed to write anything for a while because of shitty uni work but that's nearly over now so we are looking to the future. Talking of the the future we are hopefully going to do some futuristic new developments to S/S/S as soon as I can get Adam to do some work or good enough at photoshop to send him into the future by mocking him up as the kind of robotic/ninja hybrid he has always longed to be. Also, James is in a similar situation to me work wise and is equally if not more slack than me at this blog lark so he needs a swift boot up the behind to get anything done. SO..if all that goes to plan and if the (mild) success of the PANDAARMY night that bongers and co. prompts him to have a bash at doing a few more - there could be some decent stuff to put on here. In the mean time you'll have to put up with the first in the unofficial PANDAARMY promo mix series as created by my own fair hands...Distinctly less fluffy than the accompanying image would suggest...

...[Volume.1: Red Pandas on the March]...

1]...Kissy Sellout-This Kiss (Jack Beats Remix)
2]...The Prodigy-Take Me to the Hospital (Hostage Remix)
3]...Dave Spoon & DJ Zinc-Ghost Train (Original Mix)
4]...Passions Vs. Mathhead-Turn The Music Up
5]...Geometri-Airwolf
6]...Machines Don't Care-Junk
7]...Screwface & CTRL-Z-Stereotypical
8]...Wiley-Wearing My Rolex (Pirate Soundsystem Remix)
9]...AC Slater-BanGer (Drop The Lime Remix)
10]...M.I.A-XR2 (Silverlink Vs. Kicks Like A Mule Remix)
11]...Kid Sister-Pro Nails (Rusko Remix)
12]...Rustie-Tempered
13]...Joker-Digidesign

[Ed Rush & Optical - Sick Note]

At a recent house party an old fellow dressed as Darth Vader in Lingerie got his hands on youtube in the early hours of the morning after the Djs had retired. Though his attire intially led to some doubts over whether he should be allowed free reign over the room's music policy, he singlemindedly drowned these quibbles in a flood of bass. As he rinsed out classics from the golden age of drum and bass something inside me awoke and I've been tracking down all my old favourites ever since. Doesn't get much better than this Ed Rush & Optical tune. Balanced between darkness and funk, with their signature sounds of cartoony angst ushering the biggest baddest bassline. It's not too fast as the dark stuff got later on, just a steady ominious chug. Cheers Vader.

[La Roux (Skream vs Foamo Remix)]

Photo from here

There has been a hell of a lot of Dubstep remixes recently, which has is positives and negatives. It seems that to get your name out there (and by 'there' I mean mainstream radio) you have to do a remix of a well known tune. This I guess is standard in the dance industry but I fear it could lead to the decrease in experimentation which I so love in Dubstep. Having said all this I would like to draw you're attention to La Roux's 'In For a Kill' Skream vs Foamo remix. A jaganaut of a beat that seems to endlessly build until it reaches a beautiful crescendo. I might be able to turn the other cheek for this one.

Anyway enough of the lofty talk check the tune out!

[Zinc vs. Dave Spoon - Ghost Train]

As you may have already become aware we are quite fond of ghosts and the undead on this blog. Imagine my joy when I opened this months issue of iDJ to discover that two legendary producers have teamed up on a track called 'Ghost Train'. This shit demands a listen, Zinc returns to his rolling breakstep-garage styles ala 136 Trek and Spoon tweaks the production into 2009 with sum neat rave stabs and breakdowns. One to tear up the dance with...

[Joker-Digidesign]

Joker is blowing up the Dubstep scene with his insanely synth-heavy 'space-step'. The young Bristolian finally gets a release on the coveted Hyperdub label, home of heavyweights Burial and Kode 9 and its one of the biggest tunes I've heard in a long time. Digidesign's fluttering 8-bit sounds and lush sweeping harmonies all wrapped up in a grimey rawness give the track an overall sound a bit like an astronaut being butt-raped by an Atari...but nicer. I await the full length Joker LP with extremely baited breath...