SubVersion Stop 181: Muttley - Golden Ratio Mix - dedicated to Droid & Zvuku

The "Golden Ratio" mix started life as a concept set - to be sent to noisniks Droid & Zvuku of www.weareie.com. The plan in Droid's words was to "send me six of these, 6-10 minutes each, that we'll then take to the studio to process". My end of the bargain was complete, but Droid was so busy with family life he had to cancel.

The total runtime is 1hr, 1 minute, 3 seconds. I ensured there would be space for overlapping, processing and FX from any remixer. So that's the craic of the "Golden Ratio"...

~ Who is up for remixing any of these six parts included in the ZIP file? :)

For certain - you can listen to the whole set on an 'as is' basis. Please share on Facebook (I don't use it), SoundCloud link if possible, talk about the mix. I think it's my best yet in 9 years of heavily mixing. I wonder who can come up with a fresh set from these parts though? ;)

Be well, and thanks for reading and consuming "Golden Ratio". Dedicated to Droid and Zvuku - bless, lads.

Download "Muttley - Golden Ratio"

01 - Muttley - Inter Mix

Featuring Motion Sickness Of Time Travel, Antonymes, Foci's Left, Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd.

02 - Muttley - Canyons Of Lanterns

Featuring Andrew Lahiff, ASC, Tomas Weiss & Anthony Paul Kerby, Bruno Sanfillipo, Simon Scott.

03 - Muttley - New Beginnings (Tidal Darkening)

Featuring Deaf Center, Daniel Thomas Freeman, Afzhellarshom, Leyland Kirby.

04 - Muttley - Keep Dreaming, Keep Your Soul Alive

00:00 Zvuku - Logpile (Other Room Listening, Futuresequence, 2012)
00:00 Chaz Knapp - Love (Finger LP, 2010)
00:00 Geoff Gersh - Winter's Day End (These Predicaments LP, 2009)
01:45 Robin Guthrie, Eraldo Bernocchi & Harold Budd - Dream On (Winter Garden LP, 2011)
02:18 Last Harbour - Never (Paul Gregory remix) (Escape Was All I Ever Meant LP, Little Red Rabbit, 2012)
03:51 Bersarinn Quartett - Hier Und Jetzt (II LP, Denovali, 2012)
04:50 Daniel Lanois - Todos Santos (Belladonna LP, 1987)
10:00 end

05 - Muttley - The Perfect Ten

00:00 Maps And Diagrams - The Sea Of Mamara (Lights Will Call On You LP, 2012)
00:01 Greg Haines - Ernetti (Digressions LP, Preservation, 2012)
00:17 Bengalfuel - Crevices (Lowe EP, Hibernate, 2010)
01:21 Motion Sickness Of Time Travel - Late Summer Dreams (Red Tide LP, Hooker Vision, 2011)
03:22 The Caretaker - Now The Night Is Over (Patience [After Sebald] OST)
03:50 ASC - A Song For Hope (Out Of Sync LP, Auxiliary, 2012)
08:36 end

06 - Muttley - Namaste

00:00 Greg Haines - Azure (Digressions LP, Preservation, 2012)
00:06 Robin Guthrie, Eraldo Bernocchi & Harold Budd - South Of Heaven (Winter Garden LP, Rarenoise, 2011)
00:27 Last Days - Hanami (For Nihon LP, Unseen Records Japan Earthquake Benefit LP, 2011)
01:23 Bat For Lashes - Siren Song (Two Suns LP, One Little Indian, 2009)

1:01:03 end

M

SubVersion Stop 180: Foci's Left - Piano Paint (Grumpy Love LP, Sampler 1)

07:16 - 16MB - 320kbps

The first showcase of my debut album, "Grumpy Love", due in 2013. This is track two, "Piano Paint". White Blush said: "This is really beautiful. Thank you for sharing this! It sounds like it's meant to be part of a film score". "Searching, evolving, introspective yet ultimately uplifting; perfectly untidy and thoroughly enjoyable as a result" ~ Bob Macc. "Very nice " ~ Dwarde. "Oh man pure awesomeness!!! Cheers dude :)" ~ Daniel Crossley, Fluid Radio. As thanks for the support, I'm offering this as a free download on SoundCloud. Mastering by the always impeccable Subvert Central Mastering.

I hope you enjoy. More comments would be very much appreciated. Mick :)

If you like this, why not try (and buy?) Foci's Left - "FTAL Attraction". Lyrics and EP information enclosed in each track on Bandcamp: www.focisleft.bandcamp.com

SubVersion Stop 179: FTEL 009 - February 2013

FTEL 009 - February 2013

Synkro - Acceptance EP
Apollo Records vinyl / digital



I'm glad releases like this exist, I really am. For all its ditzy paint flecking, watercolouring the woodblock rhythms, Synkro displays a deeply human connection to mentality with "Acceptance". It's a symptom no less present than on the eponymous "Acceptance", with the vocal "I just wish people could accept each other for what they are on the inside" a precluding and idiomatically noble excursion into New Age Dubstep. But forget the tags, what dominantly breaks Synkro significantly from the norm of form is unrivalled.

Lapses of pure time signature or sequencer signposts keep the grooves mixed up in a layer of foggy fudge, the higher plain being nodded to here Dub Techno with lyrical accent smarts. Synkro's sound is as much a discombobulation of Dubstep as a transmuting to Ambient, taking a step off presets and carving a niche for himself. Apollo is an appropriate label: once home to "Atmospheres And Soundtracks" by Eno(s) and Daniel Lanois, the current climate sees the post-Dubstep - indeed, post-everything generation pack the dance in a hailstorm.

See what Resident Advisor say and order

Natan H & Amy Jean - For Her
Man Make Music 005 vinyl / download



Hand-machinery percussion that sounds like a razor trimming a flowing beard; operatic gasp-gasms of voice that keep the 4/4 tidily based; swooning, swooping, bassy pads cloying at the fundamental 4 bar/16 bar exploitations of "For Her" - a real party viber or gone off jive? It's the former, taking a "Doctor Detroit Techno" reverence to reverb as the production is nuanced and considered. Timbres of the handclaps are doused with a delightful delay to accentuate the vocal samples, and the bassline works really well together with the drums. This theme carries into "I Know", with more sonic information: "I know you're sick and tired", yet it continues to plait a big room Deep House metronome, with seeming weaves of horns, synths treading Hinduist levels, jabbing bass stabs wub-wubbing over the lead. "Rush" is anything but rushed, a slower tempo, passionate kiss of chilled House. These three tracks are no fodder - they belong in any Electronica enthusiast's collection.

Sample at Tailored Communicaton

Scale - Melting Point EP
Omni Music download

It's not 1997 any more, for some D&B's golden era with the rise of syncopated Techstep. Scale would fit right in, marrying the electronic clatter of early Technical Itch with the forward propulsion of Decoder. This three track EP hefts around the 168bpm mark - "Blacklight" benefiting from a low torque / high frequency modulated bassline that plays tricks with time and space. "Mutated Soul" mashes up the Apache, doing a 3/4 time (where half-step and double time mix), whereas "Melting Point" is perceptually eager to lock itself to pure two-step but doesn't quite compute, sampling Goldfrapp, coming across fresher as a result. The music in this EP deserves vinyl if it was a possibility from Omni Music; for now Chris Eschaton is just going to keep on keeping on with hearty goodness by the sounds of it.

Download from Subvert Central

Lifted from:

 For The Electronica Lovers...review and mixtape archive 001

SubVersion Stop 178: What do you think is your favourite NAME of artist ever?

An interesting one this. Relatively new member J12 asked "we talk just the name not the artist itself...". His choices are "Photek... and Dillinja ;)" It immediately got me to question why we like artist names initially, or if they're just extensions of a sound we came to like. Stuff including phonetics of the name can weave into the sound of the producer when we listen to them, when we're not listening to them, and when we cross paths.

My choice was easy: Ateleia. I had built such a strong connection with the syllabic associations of "At" and "telephony" in shorthand that, combined with the most moving music I have ever listened to, Ateleia straight away sprung up like a floodlight in the mind. My second choice would be Oneohtrix Point Never, purely by coincedence that he was front-covered in The Wire for February, and some previous liking of Daniel's music.

From reading the other 23 responses, we can see that humour and novelty value play roles in why people like certain names over others'. "I like these mostly because they make me laugh..." says Ian Patterson. There are names making others laugh - we see Statto and Sir Loris Of Crowthorne laughing about cube's inclusion of "Andy C". "I always thought Phantom Audio was a great name for a label as well." adds NVious.

On the whole, the names and their subject matter have a certain originality to them, something seemingly unborrowed. Contribute your name here for more opinions.

SubVersion Stop 177: Muttley - Able Datasphere (February 2013)

Muttley - 15 MOF Pt. 66 - Able Datasphere

My first ever mix in Ableton. Ambient, Electronica and Closcrete, all woven together peacefully. 

01. 00:00 Felicia Atkinson - Summer Eyes (Summer Eyes EP, Morc Tapes, 2012)
02. 00:40 Antibreak - Another Life [170bpm to 120bpm mix] (Horizons EP, Absys, 2012)
03. 02:46 Steve Hauschildt - Accelarated Yearning (Sequitir LP, Kranky, 2012)
04. 05:53 Bat For Lashes - Winter Fields (The Haunted Man LP, Parlophone, 2012)
05. 08:05 Peter Broderick - Sickness, Bury (Home LP, Bella Union, 2008)
06. 08:42 Mono [Japan] - Legend (For My Parents LP, Temporary Residence, 2012)
07. 12:30 White Blush - Jolene (White Blush LP, White Blush Bandcamp, 2012)
08. 14:47 Rick James - Horrorface (Copy Rider [Untold refix] / Horrorface 12', Ruff Revival, 2011)

21:18 end

Download

Background

Things I'm thankful for: A roof over my head, one that's long-term. Parents and a sister who love me, despite my faults. A stable buoy to finances, so I won't get into debt. A safe manner about me, where I don't intend anyone harm. A sense of unconditional values towards those I love. Having the capacity to work from home, being a music journalist. Good food in Oxford where I live. People who have stayed true to me regardless of any fallouts or confusions we've had. Learning to cope with my schizophrenia to a level where I can occasionally go out for longer than half an hour at a time. Music therapy with my keyboard and its' sounds.

Foreground

Things I avoid: Circular arguments. Opportunists. Manipulative charlatans. Liars. Deceivers. Vindicative behaviour. Freeloaders. And I hope they avoid me, too.
 
Transcendental Introspection

Bringing out new things from tracks, thanks to envisioned changing of the base tempo of tunes, which in Ableton's case can change their structure.

Feedback welcome. :)

Michael

SubVersion Stop 176: SV Recommends White Blush - Influences Mix

An excellent start to the year for SubVersion's "SV Recommends" series, the last by Slowdive's Simon Scott. This time it's an Alternative and 80s New Wave selection from upcoming artists White Blush, their debut S/T released Winter 2012. I said on Fluid Radio back then: "I’ve been really impressed by this release, and best of all it’s in time for Xmas, and it’s “Name your price” on Bandcamp. Go get some, tame your inner vampire, and let the ghosts of halloween come out at night so you can fixate on what pumps the blood to the mind. Utterly non-forgettable, White Blush turns in a corker here – 'heaven is a place on Earth with you'".

SV Recommends White Blush - Influences Mix 

(59:35 - 55MB)

Tracklist

01. Nine Circles - Twinkling Stars

02. Xeno and Oaklander - Blue Flower

03. Tropic of Cancer - Dive (Wheel of the law)

04. The Soft Moon - When It's Over

05. My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes

06. Elliot Smith - Between the Bars

07. The Velvet Underground - Candy Says

08. Joy Division - Atmosphere

09. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Christine

10. John Maus - Bennington

11. VUM - Laura Palmer

12. Eleven Pond - Watching Trees

13. Julee Cruise - The Nightingale 

14. Cocteau Twins - Half Gifts (Live on MTV)

15. Blouse - Videotapes

Download SV Recommends - White Blush - Influences Mix (59:35 - 55MB)

Read my White Blush - S/T review

Buy or download White Blush - S/T

SubVersion Stop 175: Delilah - From The Roots Up (Warner Music)

My happiness for Delilah's "From The Roots Up" came through anticipation. In his article "Let The Deer In The City" for Fluid Radio, Fred Nolan explains of the shivers you get out of anticipation, and how it's neurochemistry. Those shivers are present on tenth track, "Love You So", Paloma Stoecker's follow-up to "Go", her Chaka Khan reassembler piece of "Ain't Nobody". But there's certainly a body for her muse, and it's not empty or larger-than-life music. Stoecker manages to carve "beauty in the rain", as on the excellent "Shades Of Grey", much better than the book of similar name could do for sexuality and innocence.

As I write this Paloma (Delilah's real name) is approaching 23 years old, this putting her above Adele in terms of writing a coherent record that touches traditional themes of love; feeling choked by love (see "Breathe" and its' svelt Dubstep unfurling of a foxy rhythm); and insecurity. Delilah speaks of insecurities' enigma in her SoulTV interview - how it's difficult to put trust in yourself. She also says there that she has over 150 tracks written. If they're anywhere near as good as the 12 on "From The Roots Up", they're worthy listening. "Inside My Love" by Minnie Ripperton, still, remains the only cover version in the whole set.

It's a song sung with an ease and originality, like all the songs on "From The Roots Up", and could easily have been her own. "If I had faith in my own voice, I was still getting used to the sound of my voice singing" she says in the selected interview. Ultimately she has a commonality with grasping commonality, and this consequently transcends, producing a dice-rolling effect on the tones of the words, where she decides to vary range. The range of styles is principally rooted in Pop-Soul, Trip-Hop, with meddling of the Drum & Bass and Dubstep tempos. What's certain: this is the beginning of a rooted musical future for the young-star.

Delilah Wikipedia

SubVersion Stop 174: Pelt - Effigy (MIE Records, 2012)

Pelt, on "Effigy" hold candle to since 2009 departed guitarist, Jack Rose. It's a work that looks at the vulnerability of human consciousness, as for one the first piece I don't like at all - but it's only one piece. Strings seethe with directional polish of peanut butter toothpaste, in disharmony with the LP's base spread: transgressive drone-Folk. The second, "Wings Of Dirt" is totally different, positively - soothing, Folksy, rhythmically svelt, and a starting of much more harmonic watering on the lawn of "Effigy", effigy being mounds of grass accumulated over long periods of time, in historic counterbalance to a myriad of events.

This Pelt record was released in October 2012, a time when I had reviewed Mindspan - "The Aeon Expanse" for Fluid Radio. A time, consequentially, when lots of (heart)beat driven music was edging into crop on its own mound, with Ambient hardy perennial. Pelt's music, besides the first (un)tune, is best described as adapting the furnishings of musique concrete, then playing a cold call on itself within a context of new friends (instruments, tunings and technical 'smithery) in its ongoing duration. Virtuosity of the instruments such as piano ("Last Toast Before Capsizing" is all lower pitched hamming on the keys, in undulating microcosm motions) and guitar (the epicentric part), with harmonium channelled like barred MMA heat, racking up the energy and gets the percussion to interweave an almost Turkish-y tone. "Spikes And Ties" as the third, begins to converse near to Cindytalk but doesn't go further - it sounds like it belongs in an Improv workshop rather than a fully-realised record. "Spikes" is no description for stasis, but maybe "Ties" is. 

For being tied to Pelt's "Effigy" is the trying task. It feels wracked with a very conscious pain, and at one hour 42 minutes in length it's unlikely to hold together as a focused work for many. I've listened three times, and while rudiments like "Ashes Of A Photograph" make me want to listen to it again, the point in masked: it neither expands in really impressive fantasised fashion from previous Pelt, nor works as a full album. Maybe I'm being too harsh - I'm sure the first track has much to do with it - but as a whole "Effigy" sounds like a missed opportunuty. Sorry guys.

Listen at The Wire archives

SubVersion Stop 173: Billy The Kid + Jordan 'O Shea @ The Cellar, Oxford, Monday 4th February 2013

Billy The Kid has a tattoo with the word "Lost" on her arm - fact. She explained on The Hour, a Vancouver show that it's about making your own map, going through life like you just stumbled into something. A shame then that this wasn't more the case for her potential audience tonight, because she turns in an excellent performance, wrought with the seductive wit of Joni Mitchell, and poppier starlet non-warble like Delilah in equal measure.

Support to The Long Way Home tour invites Jordan 'O Shea, a young lad who's been playing on bills with acoustic songsmiths like My Crooked Teeth recently. "Wintervention" gets us going as he tunes into stolen lights, stolen love, "Summer bring her back to me". Performing with a non-waily energy that peaks at just the right points while indebting itself to where the wail ends: with Radiohead, and Foals at their shrewdest. He occasionally loses his grip on the lyricism but when he's in full flow he can sound like bottled Ritz water.

Billy The Kid is also shrewd, but for something else: her track ordering. For instance,"These City Lights", a lovely Country Blues ballad she plays without drums and harmonica accompaniment - just on guitar - becomes greater the centrepiece sounded slightly later in, rather than at the beginning. A pattern shuffling is hence created where you can build your own maps, if you dared. And if you cared to deal with her meaty metaphors like "people as sand / slipping through my hands", you're repayed.  One word though: attitude. "If I close my eyes, I worry / do the stars all disappear?" sang Jordan earlier in the show. While Billy Pettinger prefers a toke with her collaborators Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and R.E.M: "what are you, bummed?" in response to the turnout. It raises a wry smile, but the lasting impression is thus: just because you've played and produced with top artists Billy, don't make you no funstar. Mixed feelings on an evening that should have been teeming. 

Billy The Kid: Website
Jordan 'O Shea: Bandcamp