Under his Meadowlands moniker, Brooklyn's Michael McGregor has dropped delicate music for quite a while now, among other things his very personal Berlin reverence Music From Mainzer Straße, one of the finest pieces of ambient put out in 2012. Despite continuing to delve into the art of zoned out soundscaping, McGregor recently extended his musical ventures by initiating M/M, a project dedicated to that certain intersection of noisier realms and dancefloor tropes that is not only becoming more and more ubiquitous as of late but that also (or nevertheless?) keeps us very much excited. Last night, McGregor unveiled his latest jam "8 (Dub)", allegedly while "vibing on Olbas pastilles maximum strength herbal cough drops", and also kindly sent our way as a gift for this site's third birthday. Thanks a lot, we really like it, so take a listen:
In related news, on top of that McGregor recently dropped another Meadowlands cassette, Tri-coastal Horizons, via the excellent Portuguese imprint Exo Tapes. Sadly, the physical edition of 25 is sold out already, but maybe you can find the digital version somewhere if you look hard enough (or ask the label). It's surely worth it. Listen to EP cut "Met Éireann" below.
Anthony Naples, the in-demand producer whose name is on the tip of everyone's tongue, has returned with a new EP for Will Bankhead’s Trilogy Tapes. After the release of the magnanimous House-styled Mad Disrespect EP on Mister Saturday Night Records last year, El Portal EP sees Naples using fragments of previous releases but evolving these into new realms of sound.
The EP confidently opens with the title track, a rich House number, full of pitch-blending synthesizer sounds that take an unexpected twist at its conclusion. It’s a warm opening, nothing too spectacular, but it introduces the EP to the next two spellbinding tracks, namely "Busy Signal" and "Pueblo". The former, the EP's penultimate track, has a four-to-the-floor House protrusion with layers of a supercilious hi-hat that overruns the record. Naples has taken a step away from vocal reworking, which was on such display on Mad Disrespect, but this has been replaced by his work with the piano. "Busy Signal" deploys a simple chord progression, but it’s the roughness and clarity in equal measures that creates its mesmerising quality. Naples delves further with his piano production exertions on the track "Pueblo". That track is quite unlike anything Naples has done previously due to its tempo and punchy tones. It deploys a slick jazzy impression whilst also incorporating a retro-ness in sound quality. It’s an overall great track – the beat is particularly astute.
The El Portal EP is a very professional record from a hugely exciting producer. Being associated with the likes of Mister Saturday Night from New York and now releasing on London's Trilogy Tapes, Anthony Naples has furthered his reputation internationally. It really feels like he can do no wrong.
The first forty-five seconds or so of Rainbow Arabia’s "River’s Edge" wouldn’t be out of place in an ’80s horror or action film: chilly and moody ambient soundscapes intersect with pulsing synthlines. But when Tiffany Preston’s vocals chime in, the song suddenly warms up and explodes with life, as the movie soundtrack turns into invigorating electronic-pop. The press release describes Rainbow Arabia’s sound as 'two musical vectors [which] simultaneously approach 1985 and 2025, intersecting briefly in the present.' Indeed, "River’s Edge" is a song that is oddly of this time and not melding today’s pop sensibilities with a wide array of textures and grooves from times far gone. Though Rainbow Arabia’s appeal to ’80s references might feel familiar, "River’s Edge" is elevated by the haunted and melancholic feel of Preston’s vocals into something strange and transfixing.
Rainbow Arabia will release their sophomore LP, FM Sushi, on Time No Place on April 15.
Ian Paige is mainly known for his work as part of stellar Portland, Maine-based astral folk collective Planets Around the Sun alongside Caitlin King (and occasionally Herbcraft's Matt Lajoie, among others), but he recently dropped his first-ever solo effort Poor Palimpsest, a four-track EP that further explores Paige's signature style of relentlessly trippy, heavily psychedelic and purposelessly meandering soundscape improvisations so well known from his main venture. This is music to zone out to, which doesn't mean that it's not worth to take a closer listen in order to actually yourself in the delicate, finely woven textures of the artist's sublime arrangements. Paige's visual treatment of opener "Reflections" essentially enhances the experience: more installation than actual video, the flickering patterns in basic colours open up complete sensual dimensions that eventually alter your state of mind. Psychedelic music like its supposed to be.
Poor Palimpsest is out now on tape via Chicago's Teen River.
Sometime last fall, Brooklyn-based imprint Styles Upon Styles launched its Bangers and Ash release series, which 'invites artists to create heady experiments for the a-side and club-oriented tunes for the b-side of a specially designed 12" record'. A very intriguing concept as proven by the first two EPs, produced by tomlaan and Clay Wilson, who both found a perfect balance between a more ambient-leaning, experimental first half, and a no less complex yet dance-ready flip side. Now, the forthcoming third release takes the idea a step further. Seemingly a split release between King Garbage and kuxxan SUUM, the mastermind behind both projects is Brooklyn's Zach Cooper, so far better known for the latter guise's juke and bass-indebted dance efforts. Indeed, the EP's kuxxan SUUM-credited b-side further elaborates on Cooper's approach to contemporary beat tropes and is suitable for every forward-thinking floor between Berlin and Sydney. However, it is the naturally quieter, decidedly pop-affirming a-side that really mesmerizes. King Garbage, which consists of Cooper and Austin-based vocalist Victor DiMotsis, delivers a very compelling, laid-back yet twisted set of four tracks of avant-soul, stripped-down and restrained yet unequivocally groovy.
In anticipation of the release, which is due in April in a limited edition of 200, the label has dropped – you may have guessed it – a surprising and truly excellent cover version of the Portishead classic by King Garbage, which will not be part of the EP but is available as a free download via Soundcloud. The track, which rips the original apart completely save for the famous sampled drum beat loop and the lyrics, serves as a fine introduction to the duo's work. Take a listen below.
Brooklyn-based Prism House take the fine toothcomb approach to music which could be equated with picking lice out of a kid’s hair. "Need You (Part 1)" sounds like the duo being right there with you breaking and mincing branches through a wood chipper and then sharpening and julienning them even more. The needles on the trees peruse, and titter. Here comes the boom, for sure. It’s mealy and tangible in your mouth, almost like listening to larvae. You just want to eat it in a weird way as if a cooking show is playing in your ears.
March 5 will see the Ceremony Recordings release of Prism House’s Reflections EP. The duo will also play Brooklyn's Cameo Gallery together with NFOP faves Wildarms and our very own Solar Year on March 6.
Yesterday saw Mykki Blanco leak "Feeling Special", giving us the first taste of Blanco’s forthcoming Betty Rubble: The Initiation EP. The track is Blanco’s most minimal, with a laid-back feel that’s in stark contrast with Blanco’s other, more upfront and aggressive songs. But that doesn’t mean "Feeling Special" is any less dark: Blanco raps 'Follow, follow, follow / follow me down that rabbit hole' as though in a trance, and you can’t help but feel like you’re getting deeper and deeper into Blanco’s twisted underworld. Even so, "Feeling Special" feels like just a teaser of the dark places Blanco is slowly leading us towards, and I, for one, am looking forward to seeing where we go next.
Stream "Feeling Special" below, and look for the Betty Rubble: The Initiation EP later this year.
Keep Shelly In Athens' "Madmen Love" uses the most basic of dubstep sounds: the slow pull and swatting and crash and reverberation basically patented de rigeur 'wobble' known to us all so well now. In this way, it's similar to their 2011 song "DIY" off the Our Own Dream EP. But this dubstep doesn't aim for bombast; "Madmen Love" is in control. It features megaphone-filtered singing like Amber Coffmann's vocals on Major Lazer's "Get Free", and I remember writing about Keep Shelly in Athens' live show, mentioning how it was much more rock guitar themed than what I'd previously heard on the EP itself. The same shows up again in "Madmen Love", with its parts of straight-up hard guitar.
"Madmen Love" is digitally out now on Cascine (get it on iTunes now) and as a limited 7" with b-side "Time Only Exists To Betray Us" on Japanese imprint Sixteen Tambourines. Keep Shelly In Athens' debut LP is set to be released this fall via Cascine.
