The ground never seems to get dry, rain stains the sidewalks a permanent shade of sopping wet, dampening the bottoms of my jeans, infecting my thought process with hesitation when faced with the prospect of going outside…a layer of snow would be preferable, but then again, you don’t come to Scotland for the weather. At least not in December.
Some rain tunes, then:
Breakage- Rain
Giant- Rain Mind
Kavemura- Spacedonkey
ach, aye.
Suppins.
National Expressing through England and Scotland today, I’ve felt the need to express my national disdain for a certain American defense related individual who represents the views of the ignorant and “hawkish” everywhere… (Dissertation research on Iranian-Israeli-U.S. foreign policy relations…neat)
In recent light of a report that has surfaced today, the 30th of November, 2009, regarding the failure of American personnel to apprehend and capture one Osama bin Laden (BBC News story right meh), the documents point to Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense from 1975-77, as well as 2001-2006, as the chief culprit of this high-priority national security fuck-up.
While the report is very partisan and one-sided in that it did not allow any Republican party input, there must be a shred of truth in placing the blame of such a monumental mistake on one person. Further evidence that they’re pointing the finger in the right direction comes in the form of a quote from Dick Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld in May, 2003: “We don’t speak to evil”
That was in response to a peace offering from the Iranian government of Mohammed Khatami, in which even the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameini, signed off on resolving all disputed issues between the U.S. and Iran, including nuclear arms, terrorism, Israel, and economic sanctions. Another article is here, Washington Post…this actually happened.
It is too late now, as old-school, tradtional hard-liner Iranian Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been in office since 2005, and there is little hope of a reconciliation with the West while he is in Tehran. Obama is left to clean up the immature, arrogant mess created by the neo-conservatives of the W. Bush administration. Ain’t life grand.
That shit really bothers me as an overseas American. Dubstep, on the other hand, most certainly makes me feel muuuuch better. New, crazy ass Kromestar album, The Other Syde, hit stores recently, here’s a skank-friendly monster from that…
Kromestar- Wooo
and a Gemmy track off his new Johnny 5 EP, invest in this 4-track release, it absolutely oozes with a violet-shaded, velvet-coated style of hip hop meets dubstep meets cool-as-fuck.
Gemmy- Dolla Digital
If anything gets my mind off the mind-numbing mistakes of my homeland’s government, ’tis dubstep. Thank you, Bristol and London…
“You almost never from a Lynch movie get the sense that the point is to “entertain” you, and never that the point is to get you to fork over money to see it. This is one of the unsettling things about a Lynch movie: You don’t feel like you’re entering into any of the standard unspoken and/or unconscious contracts you normally enter into with other kinds of movies. This is unsettling because in the absence of such an unconscious contract we lose some of the psychic protections we normally (and necessarily) bring to bear on a medium as powerful as film. That is, if we know on some level what a movie wants from us, we can erect certain internal defenses that let us choose how much of ourselves we give away to it. The absence of point or recognizable agenda in Lynch’s films, though, strips these subliminal defenses and lets Lynch get inside your head in a way movies normally don’t. This is why his best films’ effects are often so emotional and nightmarish“
- David Foster Wallace, A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.
Everyone needs a direction to go in, some form of inertia that progresses one grey winter day to the next. But what would happen if you had no priorities, no agenda, an utter void of expectations that didn’t pound against the window panes of our collective minds? An aimless wander through the woods, schedules and time constraints be damned.
The work of Ramadanman seems to epitomize this same feeling expressed by Foster Wallace above, and my pathetic attempt to explain. With a soft, percussive progression, the Hessle Audio co-owner lulls you into a familiar tribal dubstep trope, only to peel that comfort and recognition away when things are too good to be true.
the Ramadanman....
Grab some fat headphones, hunt down some chilling implements, whatever they may be, and have a listen.
Ramadanman- Dayrider
and Revenue
A parting taster of Clubroot’s new self-titled LP, very meditative, earthy music right meh…check the Christian Bale sample from Batman Begins, and that mournful sub-bassline that follows…Clubroot- Serendipity Dub
Thank you come again.
Tribal. Deep. Spacious. Warm. Hypnotizing….just listen to the song. Came out a few weeks back, Headhunter and European techno guru F on a smooth, sub-heavy dubstep tip.
Headhunter & F- Dedale
The great thing about dubstep is that there’s a little something for everyone. So many cross-bred micro-genres and offshoots into any and every other type of music, dubstep is a genetically enhancing DNA strand of ideology that is sifting into everything in the UK at the moment. Here’s one of the summer’s more popular tunes, took so long to come out for release, but a 2009 anthem nonetheless…
Emalkay- When I Look at You
One more for the road, Skream with an absolute heartstopper of a remix…reggae tones morph into wobbles that hit harder than a runaway train headed straight for your living room…
Uzul- Rumble Inna Station (Skream Remix)
Enjoy your Sunday kids.
Lo siento for the long delay on posting, Halloween and copious amounts of animal tranquilzers have prevented me from forming functional typing habits with those curious appendages attached to me hands…
Here on this fine evening we have for you….the best, of Soundcloud. For those that don’t know, Soundcloud helps artists of all flavors and scents get feedback and pass around original productions, remixes, and mixes to like-minded musical membranes. In other words, it is a virtual treasure trove of unsigned and unheralded musical delight.
I began a group a while back titled simply, “The Best of Soundcloud” in hopes that through people’s submissions, I may find some enlightening and engaging tunes that simply havent been heard by most people. Big, big ups to the artists involved in the group, everyone brought something delectable to the table.
Without further ado, check out some of these mouth-wateringly artists and their growing escapades into all phases of melodic sound production:
Baskyl- Rockin’ the waters in Frankfurt, Germany, Baskyl is an open-ended electronica project of a mysterious man (or woman) who struck me with this immersive and bassial beat named “Fragile Timeframe”.
Check it out, it’s got a great deal of depth to it- Fragile Timeframe
Up next is Nilow, who’s plethora of dubstep remixes and original tracks has caught the attention of more than a few cracked glass eyes. Another German, this time outta Berlin, his remix of Edith Piaf is innovative and different, a very compelling take on a genre that is seeing less and less originality every day. I do believe he’s recently signed to BF Recordings…
Non je ne Regrette Rien Nilow Remix
A switchup of genres, these dudes got are a blistering rock mashup of styles that sound distinctively grunge to the notions of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Kodiak Jack are a 5-piece band from Portsmouth with several releases on various labels and some absoultely ripping live versions of their adreno-soaked tunes. Bunny Girl was a particular favorite of mine, check these crazy cats out…Bunny Girl
thats all for now, some more SoundCloud highlights and random blips of brain activity coming at you soon…and by soon i don’t mean another month. Fuckers.
Snare Bizzles—->out.
Bummer.
Mondays suck, any which way you spin it….there’s something to be said for a fresh start to the weak, end to the weekend hangover…but with the Buffalo Bills abhorrently representing my hometown week after week, combined with a mountain of Middle Eastern political theory to wade through, Monday October 12th 2009 has shaped up to be pretty WackDonald’s.
Some tunes to make you (and me) feel better, the first two are off of the new Hyperdub 5:5 collection.
Darkstar- Aidy's Girl's A Computer
Burial- Fostercare
This track’s always good for a laugh too, warning: filthy, face-reddening, don’t-let-your-mom-hear-this lyrics…
The Notorious B.I.G.- Big Booty Hoes
Back with more soon, creepuh creep creeeeepp
Zomby is an enigma in contemporary music, his work refusing to be siphoned off into genres or labels, defying any sense of continuity or progression. The anonymity of this reculsive yet firey producer is also a rarity: take the case of Burial, a bedroom producer out of South London who’s second album, Untrue, drew Mercury Award nominations and with them, a tabloid campaign that eventually forced William Bevan to out his hidden Burial identity.
Burial's Untrue.
With Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and blogs updating second by second, it is a wonder that Zomby is still an unknown, churning out twisted, technologically tortured music that seems one step ahead of virtually everyone else. Not showing up for booked DJ sets on a regular basis, as well as getting banned from dubstepforum, are just some of the other things that make the existence of this character so fucking amusing.
Is Zomby simply some lonely computer geek parked in front of his laptop for 18 hours a day, aggressively and passionately crackling away at his keyboard through a dimly lit smokescreen of London’s finest herbal essences? Probably.
But whoever this guy (or girl) is, you can be sure that the stream of music emitting from the deepest reaches of their incensed brain matter will not be coming to a halt anytime soon.
Zomby-Digital Flora
Zomby-Digital Fauna
Zomby-Bubble Bobble
Zomby-Mescaline Cola
The charm of living in a beautiful place like, say, St. Andrews, Scotland, can be completely lost in a week such as this. I know I am not alone among students attending British university when I say that I absolutely hate Fresher’s week, it is a fucking joke. The stores, bank, EVERYWHERE is a torrential sea of enthusiastic, “how was your summer?” humanity. The sooner our brave little town exits this macabre maelstrom the better.
Haven’t updated in a few days as I caught up with my brethren here in what is known as “The Bubble” to students….the catching up involved a perpetual liver dysfunction that has since subsided with other more raucous activities.
I’ll quit rambling and give you guys some delicious little treats that I have been savoring lately…
AC Slater-Jack Got Jacked (Jack Beats Remix)
Jack Beats will be setting the minds of several hundred kids on fire tonight at Starfields, the 4th St. Andrews has had since 2007. The wobbles are on their way and with the light show below, epic times are sure to ensue.
Next is 2 tracks from the Dub Police label owned by Caspa, this label seems to be able to find the best new talent in the genre right now. First up is The Future, and the second has been around all summer but is such a soulful piece of electronic heaven, I had to include it.
Trolley Snatcha-The Future
Sub Scape-Nothings Wrong
Lastly, I leave you with an organic, geekly beautiful Flying Lotus song centered around the better half of the robot duo from Star Wars..if you are unaware of FlyLo by now I’d highly suggest getting a copy of his Los Angeles album before the whole state of California melts off soothingly into the Pacific, taking these lush and smooth beats with it.
Flying Lotus-R2D2
BONUS:
Much love, peace out
Relief washes over my sun-burned (I know, Buffalo, right?) face, as my beloved Bills have overcome the torrential hordes of Tampa Bay, Florida. 80 degrees, sunny, 70,000+ football junkies crescendoing into a deafening roar in a packed stadium…a live NFL game is simply incomparable.
Mistakes were made, but glory can be considered very exploratory after performances by T.O., Lee Evans, Mr. Jackson (above), and Donte Whitner. Fuck the rest of the AFC East, and God bless (American) football.
With that said, some tunes. I got a ravaging dubstep track that will roll your socks right off your feet, and a reggae/dubbin’ ditty that is…wonderful. (P.S. dub=reggaeish dopeness whereas dubstep=electronic reggae with a heavy bass influence, like trying to massage an electric eel in mating season)
Why hold off on organizing the dropping of bombs….I’m too angry to let this post simply slide into a murky puddle of gastronomical waste product…
Eat it up, clean your plate, down the hatch…these 3 albums do not care if you want to get smoked, snorted, or inserted via routes that don’t see the sun all that often…they are not essential so much as they are vital to what I am trying to convey on this herrr clogged up blog….nom nom nom please buckle up click it or stick it up your favorite lass, and don’t forget to chew that shit before the GULP
