New Cirez D & AckI Kokotos

Following Pryda's 19.5 release on Pryda Recordings, he's back in the booth with close friend Acki Kokotos and a preview of their efforts just dropped on John Digweed's "Transitions" show. It's a progressive monster, snarling bassline, and a typically sinuous MIddle-Eastern-esque melody. Only three minutes long but I can tell this is going to be a monster. Forthcoming on Pryda Friends.
-NL

Massive Attack

We're always fascinated by the music that gets our blood going, our feet moving, our hips swinging, those well-crafted pop nuggets that shimmer with catchy melodic hooks and brilliant, deftly-delivered choruses. But what adventure is there in the known? Not everyone enjoys the music that gets the cogs in your head turning, lets you settle somewhere warm and cozy, and just listen and think. But is the draw of that unknown; music whose elements you are only partially acquainted with. That being said, let us now venture into that unknown, into trip-hop, as it is called, a veritable amalgamation of a variety of genres into something fuller, deeper, and darker. There it is we find the subject of this post, Massive Attack.



Massive Attack, the Bristol trio of Robert Del Naja, Andrew Vowles, and Grant Evan Marshall, started in 1988 as the Wild Bunch before rounding out to the aforementioned trio that would release the most popular albums by the group.

Sound-wise, Massive Attack were the first to be labeled with the "trip-hop" moniker, which they fervently opposed, not wanting to be pigeon-holed. While now a definitive genre label, trip-hop can be explained through its influences and 'ingredient' sounds. Mixing Jamaican dub, downtempo, hip-hop, and acid jazz, Massive Attack's sound pulses with a deep, swollen feel; a viscous low-end, plenty of vocals (occasionally, heavily, filtered), effects-heavy guitar, and a variety of dubby synths gave their style of music a deep, laid-back feel. Massive Attack tracks flowed along, slowly, but fluidly, lush with atmosphere and sound, tracks as easily relaxed to as studied with.

Some case studies:







Enjoy, friends. Here's to the head.
-NL

Petar Dundov

Petar Dundov - Distant Shores

Sometimes the coolest techno is not the techno that bangs, but the techno that takes a single idea and rolls with it. Literally. Here, Croatian maestro Petar Dundov takes a lite-dub techno aesthetic, marries a beautifully ebbing Eastern European melody and stretching it out across deep pools of toms, skittering, echoing bass drums, and a hypnotic bassline. The approach here, musically speaking, is simple. Yet, the dynamics applied here are really what make this such an amazing track. You can almost hear the track undulate, curve, and dip at various times across its main riff. The idea of dynamics is heavily married to techno and nowhere is it more evident than here, on this lush, aural tapestry of a cut that Dundov has crafted. The melody itself even drifts along without pattern, sounding equal parts Mediterranean and Eastern European at the same time; deftly crafted to swing from cinematically somber one moment to deep and emotive the next. Here, Dundov has crafted yet another journey along a calm, moonlit shoreline: peaceful and quite bleak, yet pulverizing in its magnetic and hypnotic sway. The title tells it all: a place you can see and almost feel, that at the same time, exists just out of reach. Beautiful.

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Petar Dundov - Oasis

Where Distant Shores teased listeners with its brilliant swathes of atmosphere and melody, 'Oasis' rolls the melody out almost immediately, and it's noticeably warmer (and even adds in a little bit of Middle Eastern flair) standing in stark contrast with 'Distant Shores'. However, the focus is still on atmosphere, and here Dundov crafts with equal precision and detail a throbbing, breathing world that the darting little melody dances around in. The percussion is decidedly lighter this time around, but the bassline and atmosphere sure aren't. Nearly half-way in, the bass really starts to churn, humming along with a slightly ominous bent as the main melody starts to push deeper and deeper into the track, giving it a fuller, more angelic sound. Farther on, a much clearer synth doubles the second on riff duties, beefing up the hi-end without sacrificing the pulsing low-end. Again, here is a track with no peak, no pay-off, no climax. It is the journey, again, that matters: a beautifully made, texturally-deep slice of techno that shouldn't disappoint Dundov's fans.

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Petar Dundov - Rain

At this point in the post, it should be quite clear the kind of techno Petar Dundov crafts: melodic dub techno with a deft eye for atmosphere and dynamics that forgoes climax for mood and a journey the listener won't soon forget. And guess what? More of the same here. The melody and pads are graceful, lush, and perfectly produced. There really isn't much more to say. Yet another success for Dundov, an emotive cut of dub techno that sounds in line with 'Distant Shores' almost. The melody is much more intricate and even features a beautiful harmony too.

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If you'd like more on Dundov, he's released an album on Music Man Records in 2008, 'Escapements', that features the above two cuts plus six others. 'Distant Shores' has just been released on Music Man and is available for download on beatport.com. All these cuts, minus '...Shores', are all available on iTunes as well. If you need some wind-down or relaxing music, you can't fare much better! Hats off to Petar Dundov and hope to hear more from him soon. Enjoy, friends.
-NL

A Taste of Progressive

Now here's a subject I don't often find myself talking about: progressive house. Sure, techno and minimal and tech house can be nuanced, deep, atmospheric, all kinds of adjectives. But when it comes to progressive house, what's the one word you're looking for? Big. Epic. Massive. Y'know, the hugest tracks with the hugest hooks. But even here there's differences to be found. Is the hook a slice of summer-time feel-good joy or a commanding missile of a tune that demands you dance? Every tune is different (unless it's some crap from Afrojack) but seriously, here are a few tracks to bite into for a taste of late 2000's progressive house. I also won't mention Pryda here, because honestly, Pryda is on a whole 'nother level. This is the tier below that. But make no mistake, these tunes are not any less epic. Just not as much so!



Paul Thomas & Jerome Isma-Ae - Tomorrow

Some tracks go for melodic hook madness, but Paul Thomas & Jerome Isma-Ae's most recent track for house monolith Toolroom features a more melodically subdued hook that's more euphoric for the epic, unabashedly anthemic synth stabs applied. That spine-tingling vocal works great too; this is a true hands-in-the-air anthem that will get more than a few spins this winter. It's still true to Paul Thomas's rumbling, almost techno-esque bassline and Isma-Ae's sense of how to craft the simplest hook but somehow making it seem like the second coming of God. Truly a massive track.

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Michael Woods - Dynamik

For this UK producer's debut EP on mau5trap (you read that right, Deadmau5's label) Woods goes all out with a title track that's an absolute monster. In the vein of Paul Thomas and Funkagenda, Woods's percussion is muscular and the bassline is not in the least bit lean. A minute in the breakdown begins, almost cinematic in its precision, fervor, and atmosphere, washing everything out and slowing coaxing in the multilayered hook that is just....breath-taking. You begin to get a sense that the best progressive tracks do not rely just on hooks, but have a keen sense of progression and mood that let things build like techno, only more quickly and with a more immediate pay-off. Equally important is crafting the breakdown so that the climax arrives at precisely the right moment. When it's done right, like here, you get goosebumps it sounds so dang good. Hats off to Woods, hope to see more of him in the future.

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Adam K - Wake Up feat. Naan

Adam K has a very distinctive style that relies heavily on triplets, moody pads, and a very simplistic application of kicks and hi-hats. But for all the crap people give him about his tracks all sounding the same, they all sound dang good, what's there to dislike. Progressive house either leans heavily on vocals or it doesn't at all. Here the vocal, provided by vocalist Naan, works beautifully over Adam K's lush, wholly progressive house landscape. This is nearly the stuff of trance; not a moment wasted, every second building the tone and mood of the track, giving it the power it needs to deliver that massive drop, and once again Adam K delivers. Massive tune.

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That's all from me. Enjoy, friends.
-NL

Live Long And Prosper

Almost incomparable.



Rarely will you find me championing a tune other than the newest Pryda or Seb Leger release, but months after playing this track over and over again, I'm finding it won't leave my feet or my brain anytime soon. Also, this has nothing to do with Spock at all. Justin Martin and Ardalan's masterpiece of ghetto-tech-house bops along with a warped growl, a deep bassline, and...operatic swells? This sounds like something that belongs right at home on dirtybird: very funky, groovy, with a pounding bassline more reminiscent of hip-hop than house. Either way, those operatic vocals swell, and you know something's about to happen. Then...the drop. The bottom collapses and the most satisfyingly groovy/ghetto bassline drops, and you go nuts. Trust me, if you don't elicit some form of groan while listening to this, you're probably dead inside. A peak-time track if ever there was one, full of novelty but equally full of groove and fun and fresh-ass sounds. And what a drop. Holy crap. You think you've heard them all, and then you hear something better. If this isn't one of the top 5 tunes of the year over at Resident Advisor, I will be extremely disappointed. I recommend multiple listens at max volume, a lot of people, and a LOT MORE BASS.



Justin Martin & Ardalan - Mr. Spock [dirtybird]

Enjoy. That's it for the day.
-NL

Trois

Clean your plate for dessert.



Tres Demented (Laurent Garnier & Carl Craig) - Demented (Or Just Crazy)

This is about as tribal as you'll ever hear Carl Craig go, but I'll be damned if this isn't a dirty, muscular drum workout that literally shakes with a demented, ferocious energy all its own. Frequent bursts of male bellows, yelps, screeches, and gasps punctuate the track and only build the tension that the percussion churns out. This is a full-blown tribal house-fest, and when everything swirls into a crazed, chaotic maelstrom, only to have the kick drop around 3:55...this track explodes from the inside out. A pulsating, looping drone opens up and the track just...well, it just chugs right along. Few tracks ever create this much energy, let alone sustain it. A great peak-time track if used right. Hell, this could probably cause architectural damage...

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Reference - Best Night In Detroit

The B-side to this decidedly "Detroit" release from natives Reference takes a Detroit spin on dub techno that leaves you with a warm feeling all over, even after the track has stopped spinning. One half of the duo, producer Luke Hess's influence is almost immediately noticeable: lush, dub-inflected pads quiver with a depth and peaceful ebb and flow of that good ol' Detroit sound. More rhythmic than the A-side, 'Best Night...' goes for depth and warmth and succeeds definitively, with classic Detroit chords eventually bathing themselves inside this spacious, creamy bath-tub of dub. An introspective turn on a classic sound that's perfect as a techno lullaby as it is a sexy, sensuous Detroit-influenced slab of dub techno. Majestic, powerful...comforting.

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Reshuffle - The Uppershelf

Reshuffle (Guy Gerber & Niv Hadas) appear on Gerber's own 'Supplemental Facts' imprint with yet another slice of dark, ominous techno. After 'Hedonism' (my favorite track of theirs and included on my most recent mix) 'Uppershelf' takes eery metallic pads and reverbs the hell out of them as a warped, rib-crushing bassline creeps out of the ether. A dissonant looped bell tone creates even more tension until what enters? An even MORE creepy synth line that tails off into the distance before cycling back time and time again. This is the very edge of techno before we get into horror territory...but such a well-produced slice of techno that still somehow can get people to dance is a testament to Gerber's fondness for occupying his empty spaces with dissonant ambience, dark, warped basslines, and vaguely eerie synth leads. And he's done it again. This ain't no 'Hedonism', but it can still stand on its own in any set and works great as a near-peak tune. A literal machine of evil.

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Enjoy, friends.
-NL

Three's A Crowd

Absolutely.



Portable - Life Magically Is

It's always hard to get my hands on a Perlon release. For starters, it's a vinyl-only label. Well, that's mostly it. But here we have a vocal-based techno cut that builds a track around the vocal line. A drugged-out vacuous pad whooshes and spirals around the sinister voice as it goes on and on, slowly, powerfully, deeply. The vocal line was clearly not an afterthought, as everything from the hypnotic, near-dissonant bell synth, muscular bassline, and twisted metallic toms works underneath the voice, as if it's controlling all movement and change within the track. It's a journey, to say the least. A masterwork of mood and method from one of Perlon's elite.

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H.O.S.H. - Cash The Chord

The most recent single from the Diynamic camp is a buoyant, bubbly little tech house cut that features a tense, spastic percussion section underpinning a typically groovy rhythm and a somehow not-annoying piano riff. Laid-back and almost jazzy, it fits the mood and groove to a tee. There's even a lite-string section thrown in for good measure. Plenty of bounce, plenty of groove, easy to mix in and out of, not much more you could ask for from H.O.S.H.

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DJ Falcon & Thomas Bangalter do Call On Me in a big way

This sort of speaks for itself. "Call On Me" morphed into a shimmering, nine-minute summer hands-in-the-air epic that goes for elation over pounding bass. Absolutely in love with this. If you weren't tired of this song before, this won't change any minds. But it might bop some heads.

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Call it an evening. Enjoy, friends.
-NL