gay against youModesty prevents Dainty Records from drawing attention to Own It Hard, the new release from its very own electronica act Plush Concept out this week. Instead Dainty would like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the astoundingly good and (currently) free electronica on last.fm. Here are eight top trumps:
moduretik (Czechoslovakia)
Punchy breaks bound along closely followed by strong, minimal synth lines that in turn herald the arrival of pumpy melodies all blooming into an energetic carousel ride of irreverent glee … put a massive smile on my face and deserves a great deal more attention.
Sample tracks:
blunder
hezké dobré jitro
Beatslaughter (Germany)
Once in a while you’re are literally blown away by how good some of this horrifically under sung talent is. Beatlaughter's The Reckless Pursuit of Utopia is classic electronica with a nice contemporary feel while Machinery Torment must be one of the very few tracks that could genuinely qualify as ambient gabba – dark, caustic, dramatic, urgent… There’s definitely an overall old skool feel to the tracks - which aren’t afraid to tackle different categories of electronica - but the quality is both consistent and immediately obvious and as a result the tracks are pretty timeless.
Sample tracks:
The Reckless Pursuit Of Utopia
Machinery Torment
Quantazelle (USA)
Hmm… the unfortunate thing here is that this track isn’t free anymore but still deserves a mention, I feel. Brevity prevails in this nicely paced initially Arovane-esque classic piece of downtempo idm but the scrunchy beats and lightness of touch lend this an excitingly modern feel. The full track is still available for streaming.
Sample track:
Late Blazing Kinch Theme
gay against you (Scotland)
1. I can’t believe their music is free (I don’t think it will be for too much longer) 2. Despite their deserved cult following I still can’t believe that this lot aren’t the hottest band on the planet. Short bursts of hilariously Dadaist electro mess that's fun, clever, technically astounding and perfectly healthy… don’t think drill n bass, don’t think nu rave, don’t think electroclash, don’t think electronica. Just think… Um, Hello?! GAY!!!
Sample tracks:
Hello
Ice Scooter
Princess Diana Walkman
hautlle (USA)
The prefixes ‘emotional elctronica’ and ‘organic electronica’ worry me quite a lot. What is meant by them exactly? If one means electronica that is emotive and sounds organic (whether or not this is the process by which it has been made or not) then Hautle would, for me, be an excellent example of both of these things. The track in question clunks along like a rusty oil can full of car parts and broken glass rolling across an open landscape - both rhythmic and naturalistic - accompanied by the low howl of airy synths blowing like the wind through overhead telegraph wires. Then the melody cuts in – a desperately lonely staccato joined only by an organ’s mournful wail, the whole thing gradually building into a scratch-chorus of desolation… I felt extremely moved by the whole thing.
Sample track:
If You Were Me, and I Was Someone Else
ASP (asmallsimpleplan) (USA)
A knowingly retro feel to this music immediately puts this listener in mind of Warp’s ground breaking artificial intelligence series from the early nineties which is bound to please a secret old skool raver like me, but there’s more - much more - going on here. The basslines are dark and chunky, the beats clean and crisp, the melodies fluid and ethereal and the rhythms complex and syncopated. This means business and sounds very fresh indeed.
Sample tracks:
Hypnotique
Clockwatchers
Blit (Portugal)
Chirpy, quirky and likably eccentric, in some ways Blit recall the Niun Niggung era Mouse on Mars – except that I prefer Blit. There is a jazzy feel here and there, but don’t let that put you off! This manages to be jaunty and enjoyable while never appearing frivolous or frothy. The sound collages are textured and sophisticated, providing space for the glitches, parps and squeeks to do their thing.
Sample tracks:
El loco no soy yo
hierba mate
Sevish (United Kingdom)
Returning home from our grand tour of global electronica, Sevish’s drum n bass breaks are amazing but this isn’t just dance music, it has a definite experimental edge too. I was very taken by this short number that draws a nice close to this little virtual mixtape.
Sample tracks
A Bridge
Thanks for reading...
keept it fragile, dainty x
***
Own It Hard, the new release from Plush Concept is online with Dainty Records now. www.daintyrecords.co.uk
***
Related artists not mentioned above:
Autechre The Black Dog Aphex Twin Boards of Canada µ-Ziq Squarepusher
moduretik (Czechoslovakia)
Punchy breaks bound along closely followed by strong, minimal synth lines that in turn herald the arrival of pumpy melodies all blooming into an energetic carousel ride of irreverent glee … put a massive smile on my face and deserves a great deal more attention.
Sample tracks:
blunderhezké dobré jitroBeatslaughter (Germany)
Once in a while you’re are literally blown away by how good some of this horrifically under sung talent is. Beatlaughter's The Reckless Pursuit of Utopia is classic electronica with a nice contemporary feel while Machinery Torment must be one of the very few tracks that could genuinely qualify as ambient gabba – dark, caustic, dramatic, urgent… There’s definitely an overall old skool feel to the tracks - which aren’t afraid to tackle different categories of electronica - but the quality is both consistent and immediately obvious and as a result the tracks are pretty timeless.
Sample tracks:
The Reckless Pursuit Of UtopiaMachinery TormentQuantazelle (USA)
Hmm… the unfortunate thing here is that this track isn’t free anymore but still deserves a mention, I feel. Brevity prevails in this nicely paced initially Arovane-esque classic piece of downtempo idm but the scrunchy beats and lightness of touch lend this an excitingly modern feel. The full track is still available for streaming.
Sample track:
Late Blazing Kinch Themegay against you (Scotland)
1. I can’t believe their music is free (I don’t think it will be for too much longer) 2. Despite their deserved cult following I still can’t believe that this lot aren’t the hottest band on the planet. Short bursts of hilariously Dadaist electro mess that's fun, clever, technically astounding and perfectly healthy… don’t think drill n bass, don’t think nu rave, don’t think electroclash, don’t think electronica. Just think… Um, Hello?! GAY!!!
Sample tracks:
HelloIce ScooterPrincess Diana Walkmanhautlle (USA)
The prefixes ‘emotional elctronica’ and ‘organic electronica’ worry me quite a lot. What is meant by them exactly? If one means electronica that is emotive and sounds organic (whether or not this is the process by which it has been made or not) then Hautle would, for me, be an excellent example of both of these things. The track in question clunks along like a rusty oil can full of car parts and broken glass rolling across an open landscape - both rhythmic and naturalistic - accompanied by the low howl of airy synths blowing like the wind through overhead telegraph wires. Then the melody cuts in – a desperately lonely staccato joined only by an organ’s mournful wail, the whole thing gradually building into a scratch-chorus of desolation… I felt extremely moved by the whole thing.
Sample track:
If You Were Me, and I Was Someone ElseASP (asmallsimpleplan) (USA)
A knowingly retro feel to this music immediately puts this listener in mind of Warp’s ground breaking artificial intelligence series from the early nineties which is bound to please a secret old skool raver like me, but there’s more - much more - going on here. The basslines are dark and chunky, the beats clean and crisp, the melodies fluid and ethereal and the rhythms complex and syncopated. This means business and sounds very fresh indeed.
Sample tracks:
HypnotiqueClockwatchersBlit (Portugal)
Chirpy, quirky and likably eccentric, in some ways Blit recall the Niun Niggung era Mouse on Mars – except that I prefer Blit. There is a jazzy feel here and there, but don’t let that put you off! This manages to be jaunty and enjoyable while never appearing frivolous or frothy. The sound collages are textured and sophisticated, providing space for the glitches, parps and squeeks to do their thing.
Sample tracks:
El loco no soy yohierba mateSevish (United Kingdom)
Returning home from our grand tour of global electronica, Sevish’s drum n bass breaks are amazing but this isn’t just dance music, it has a definite experimental edge too. I was very taken by this short number that draws a nice close to this little virtual mixtape.
Sample tracks
A BridgeThanks for reading...
keept it fragile, dainty x
***
Own It Hard, the new release from Plush Concept is online with Dainty Records now. www.daintyrecords.co.uk
***
Related artists not mentioned above:
Autechre The Black Dog Aphex Twin Boards of Canada µ-Ziq Squarepusher
