Speak the truth better than any language

Concentrate… concentrate: Luciano @ DEMF

The beast is finally unleashed! My comprehensive review of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (complete with quickie interviews) is now up on Resident Advisor. Easily my favorite piece of any I’ve done for them thusfar. Hopefully you’ll enjoy as well.

Cobblestone Jazz, “W” [Cocoon Recordings]
The boys over at Random Circuits have already gone down this road, but its quality (and a friendly reminder, thanks J) has prompted me to give it my rating as well. Its snub-nosed bass line is strikingly funky in spite of its concise nature, providing the footsteps for the disembodied, vocoderized vocal. The step-like progression of broad ambient planes brings the tune to a clear-headed peak over insistent a shimmy and shake house rhythm. In case you needed another reason to pick up Cocoon Compilation G, this is quite possibly its greatest selling point.

Heiko Laux, “Invasion” [Art of Perception]

Shahrokh & Sound of K, “Chicago” [Compost Records]

Tame the sea

Picture by LJ_brooksbaum

My review of Ed Banger’s Ed Rec Vol. 2 is now up on RA. It’s hard not to notice that the majority of releases of this nu-rave/French house revival have been receiving mediocre to poor scores from RA — and from myself in specific. And I’d like to believe it’s because they’ve earned them instead of some bias against the sound. There have been a handful of artists — Justice, Guns N Bombs, Digitalism, SebastiAn (occasionally) and Mr. Oizo (likewise) — whose style has wowed me by pushing farther from the key signifiers of the genre. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been digging deep enough, but it seems the rest of the acts I’ve come upon who are riding this new sound into the ground, well, are doing just that. And with Kitsune and Ed Banger (and Turbo Records, I guess) as popular as they are, everyone and their brother is trying to get their hand in the So_Me designed cookie jar. Not a huge surprise, but it hasn’t meant a proportionate swell of great records. I guess that’s how it should be, though it still feels weird, almost narrow-minded, to have such consistent critical opinions about a genre. Anyone reading know what the scene was like when this movement first grew legs in the 90s?

Oliver Koletzki, “Don’t Forget to Go Home” [Stil Vor Talent]

Heiko Laux, “Ornaments” [Kanzleramt]

Shinedoe, “Seek and You Will Find” [100% Pure]

CCCP, “Cosmodrome Baikanur” (Sleeper Thief Mix) [Sixty Four Records]