The frenetic world of electronic music is full of distractions and diversions, hindering the ability to find transcendent music. Let Oggie James be your guru and lead down the path to musical Enlightenment.
Album, song and event reviews, mixtapes, and radio shows, light the way to Enlightenment, conveyed by Oggie James.
In late May Cheap Thrills, the curator of classics from Hervé, Jack Beats, Stanton Warriors and others, announced a new 10 track compilation in honour of their upcoming 10th anniversary. Before beginning to showcase any new content, they drew our attention with 10 of their greatest hits from their immense catalog in a compilation called FREE THRILLS. Although originally announced as being released July 6th (via Data Transmission here and UKF here), it seems there's been a snag as July 13th they tweeted "We're getting very close to announcing the main release..." Well that silence has since been broken, and doubly so, in that yesterday we got the first new Fake Blood release in years, "Shogun."
Created to recapture the classic rave vibes you'd heard in London, Fake Blood has gone back to signature bleepy, fidget house style combining shadowy intrigue, brilliant breakbeats and sensational synth pads. It stabs and slashes with Fake Blood's propensity for strange film samples, deserving of the title "Shogun." But best of all it is sonically sublime, pairing notes perfectly, achieving unparalleled accord and amicability in spite of its umbral atmopshere. No matter what Fake Blood track you want to choose, I can find for you transcendent sound design; my favourite however comes from the aforementioned FREE THRILLS, "Voices." It is this contrasting acerbity and attractiveness coming at the second drop (3:30 in "Voices") that melts my heart and has me falling in love with music once again. I had almost given up hope that Fake Blood would return, and I'm on the verge of gushing further, so I'll stop here, as we look forward to more from the forthcoming release of 10 Years Of Cheap Thrills.FOLLOW FAKE BLOOD: FACEBOOKSOUNDCLOUDTWITTER
Very few producers can boast the same kind of quality and longevity as Graeme Sinden. He's been a staple of the house scene since collaborating with the likes of Hervé (as The Count and Sinden) and SBTRKT nearly a decade ago. He's once again teamed up with Hervé, among other heavy hitters Bot (previously half of Crookers), Japan's Jaxx Da Fishworks and Alaska's Astronomar. The nine track collab laden EP, out now on Insomniac Records, brings bassy house tracks that, while having killer classic feels, succeeds in pushing the undeniably important genre forward. Download the EP free via ToneDen, here.The lead track brings Sinden and Hervé together again, showing off their incredible interplay. The amount of movement and instrumentation is incredible, once again proving these two work together wonderfully. Next, pay special attention to Sinden's solo track "Baby" with its classic bonking bass sound built around a grungy atmosphere. The next three tracks, all remixes, take a decisively different approach, but still one that fits into this formidable EP.
R3LL's remix relies on a piano lick and pulsating jersey club loops, definitely the most intense and energetic of the bunch. Bot brings back the bouncing bass with "Follow Me." The bed he's crafted for Aly Us' vocals makes it absolutely alluring and almost hypnotizing. It's easy to imagine several shufflers dancing all night to this one.
Next up is LO'99, who I've been a fan of ever since I heard Porter Robinson play Go Freek's remix of "My Mind" in his Monstercat Showcase set two summers ago. He's been on fire as of late (dropping remixes of Angelz and Stormzy), and continues that trend with his 420 Blog It take on "Mega." Obviously the throwback feels are strong, but the deep bass wobbles and alien atmosphere make it a worthy remix of such a classic track.
Following those remixes come three new collaborations. First "Cold Ass Flute" with Astronomar. It's eerie as can be, sending chills down your back, again with an extraterrestrial vibe and an all too evil laugh. Next is Hotfire and "Twiddle," which winds up slowly before the tension becomes too much and it turns into an all out stomper, suggesting that listeners just get stupid. The final collab comes with Marc Spence, whose "Nasty" has been mentioned many a time on this blog. "WTF" is mechanized madness. It's almost as though the two have built an Iron Giant type figure deep in the woods, and its coming to life can be heard through the panicked chirping of birds and earth shaking bass.
Sinden's House Linethen wraps up with a new Jaxx Da Fishworks production, "Don't Wait Up." It may be the best track to encapsulate the EP as a whole. It's got a great classic feel and construction to it, while still feeling fresh. The frenzied drop is like a steely stare down, daring you to dance. From Sinden and Hervé's "Body & Soul" to this fire finale, this EP is an excellent example of Sinden's impact on house music. If you've got the time, I highly suggest taking a scroll through his soundcloud page, it's absolutely littered with awesome tracks.
This Throwback Thursday, it gives me great pleasure to once again revisit one of my favourite DJ duos, Jack Beats and their ever extraordinary production value. As a two part post, I'll first look back at their collaboration with vocalist John B, in "All Night," and second, still to this day, one of my favourite mixes ever, that just happens to start with that very track, a live recording of their 2011 set from Bang Bang night club in San Diego, listen and download here.
This post once again takes me back to the glory days of the Erol Alkan forum, which at the time led me to their live set, which hosted a number of then IDs, which turned out to be classics like their collaboration with Diplo, "War" and the incredibly hyped, aforementioned set starting track, "All Night."
It was immediately clear to Erol Alkanites that it was a forthcoming Jack Beats record, as it featured their trademark synths and subharmonic vocal manipulations, however it was the genius progression and perfect mood setting that had the forum followers drooling. Without a doubt "All Night," and the accompanying mix are quintessential Jack Beats; the duo's combination of incredible production value and songwriting from a single track perspective, and their unparalleled ability to combine tracks, and curate a top notch set that hits on all cylinders.
Listening back to this hour and half mix, gets me so excited to see Jack Beats, in just less than a month at The Hoxton, June 4th. It will be at least the 5th time I've seen them and I can honestly say that they never disappoint. Their mixes are always incredible, and as I look through my iTunes, I see at least 10 incredible mixes that never get old, whether it's their Essential Mixes (2010 & 2011), Promo mixes, for MixMag or their own EPs (Evolution Mix & Fabric Live), and even their live sets (Ultra 2013, Electric Zoo 2013 & Night Bass NYE 2015), there's hours of bass music to be enjoyed. Once again I've uploaded the 'Bang Bang Mix' for your listening pleasure, and remind you that tickets are still available for their show, here, while the facebook event is here.
For this week's installment of my Throwback Thursday series, it gives me great pleasure to re-upload and host, one of my favourite episodes from one of my favourite podcasts ever, the UK's Push Music.
While scrolling through my iTunes playlist looking for inspiration for last week's Throwback Thursday, I came across an incredible grouping of tracks. Wondering what it was that had encouraged me to download these tracks, I headed to google, searched for a tracklist and was instantly reminded of the Push Music Podcast. Bill Shephard, the man behind the Push Music moniker, always seemed to find the perfect balance between electro, house, new disco and indie dance, crafting some of the most forward thinking mixtapes, with just the right amount of retro throwbacks from the Talking Heads to 10cc/Godley and Creme. While many of the Push Music mixes still sound as fresh as ever, it is the third installment of the series that really does the trick for me.
Despite being a Halloween themed mixtape, I believe it could easily be consumed anytime you are looking to turn up. It's also the Halloween style atmosphere that makes this mix such a cinematic movement and journey. The track selection couldn't be anymore awesome and is only magnified by the incredible mixing that Shephard always injects into his podcasts. Starting with the line from Dawn Of The Dead, and a quick taste of Tears For Fears "Head Over Heels," the atmosphere is immediately established as we fall under the spell of Fake Blood's "The Dozens." Obviously Fake Blood's aesthetic is a perfect fit for such a dark, brooding mix and serves as a tremendous foundation to build upon.
Seamlessly, Goshi Goshi's "Ravin Cru," rises from the ashes of "The Dozens." It is Ravin Cru's combination of rough electro vibes and disco tinged guitars that so perfectly play the middleman to Fake Blood and Duck Sauce's "aNYway;" just another example of the organic, flow of Push Music's mix. Being such an electro head myself, I just wish there was a version of "aNYway" that had that raucous Ravin Cru bassline throughout. Regardless, Shepard improves upon the original of "aNYway" adding some depth with his smooth scratching. This helps to move us into DJ Zinc's "Blunt Edge" which is again amplified by some additional scratching.
As the mix continues with D.I.M. & Tai's "Lyposuct," we hear another film clip this time from Watchmen, the ominous and gory entry from Rorschach's journal, adds an even more evil flavour to the mix. Shephard continues to thurst the mix forward with scratching leading so superbly into the turntablist inspired, Riva Starr remix of Malente's "I Like It." Continuing to flow so naturally, Grum's "Heartbeats" seems to come out of nowhere. This section for some reason always reminds me of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, invoking some sort of unholy rave. This is only magnified by the fact that the next track is A-Trak's legendary remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll."
Furthering the cinematic horror motif, the mix delves further into the darkness of Designer Drugs' Saw aided "Drop Down." Ingeniously, Shephard mixes into Light Year and Jimmy 2 Sox remix of Toecutter's "Best Party Ever," making John Kramer happy by making his listeners grateful for being alive. "Best Party Ever" is a much need reprieve, a breath of funky fresh air. This funk continues through the classic sample in The Count's remix of Trevor Loveys' "Organ Grinder," and into the inescapable magic of Boys Noize's "Jeffer." This is followed by one of my favourite transitions, and while it isn't the most smooth flowing of the mix, there's something about the intoxicating tones of Boy 8-Bit's "Spells Of Deception" remix. It so perfectly mirrors the vocals "cause you're so cold," that the seemingly cold drop in and invasion of "Jeffer," that so wonderfully underscore the next level genius of Push Music's mixing.
Aided by another horror film sample, this time from The Evil Dead, Shephard moves into DJ Mehdi's remix of the Sebastien Tellier track "Oh Malheur," which seems evaporate into thin air. Rather, it evaporates into INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart," which at the classic silence drops into "Hell With Gravity." This time it'sa line from Donnie Darkothat accents the thumping evil of Just A Band, before the incredibly awesome transition into the second Fake Blood track of the mix, "Fix Your Accent." It too plays a perfect middleman between "To Hell With Gravity" and Alex Gopher's remix of the Kid Sister track "Get Fresh." The combination and overlapping of tracks gives the mix more of it's inescapable continuity, tied together so perfectly with the continuous scratching. Pushing through Zombie Nation's percussive "Worth It" and the bleepy Herve and Kissy Sell Out "Everybody," the mix is beginning to feel complete as it reaches the depths of Pepe Bradock's "Deep Burnt." But as a kind of cherry on top of the mix, Shephard blesses us with one final twisted track, in the form of VNNR's room shaking remix of Depuis91's "Erothiq."
It's been such an awesome experience reliving this masterful mix, and I highly encourage you check out more of Push Music's podcasts, and they are plentyful and always live up to his incredibly high level of ability. I've added the m4a file, complete with chapter markings, to my dropbox folder so you can download and listen at your leisure, link here. Get more from Push Music below.
