First Floor #225 – Knowing Where to Look
First Floor #225 – Knowing Where to Look
a.k.a. Thoughts on the current state of techno, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh slate of new track recommendations.
With the UK distracted by Glastonbury and a national election, and the US gearing up for a long holiday weekend, electronic music’s two leading discourse hubs have been relatively quiet during the past week or so. I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed that, even as I sit here in Spain, where few people genuinely care about any of those things. Keeping tabs on culture and the music industry may be a big part of my job, but it’s nice to occasionally have the volume turned down, even slightly, in the corners of the internet that I tend to inhabit.
That said, even a moderately slow week in electronic music is still pretty busy, and the First Floor digest is here to help anyone who’s interested in getting caught up. Below you’ll find news items, new release announcements and articles I think are worth reading, along with a healthy bundle of new track recommendations, all of them from releases that dropped during the past week. And for those craving a recommendation from someone who isn’t me, I’ve recruited TraTraTrax co-founder Nyksan to make a special guest appearance and offer up a selection of his own.
What else? Oh yes, I imagine many of you are eager to read the piece on the contemporary techno that I published earlier this week. The response to that has been very enthusiastic, which was honestly surprising given the amount of “techno is dead” sentiment that seems to be floating around electronic music these days. If you’re someone who wanted to see the full article, but ran into a paywall, I’m happy to report that it’s now available (temporarily) for everyone to read for free. Give it a look, especially if you’re in need of some new-ish techno in your life.
Let’s get started.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Every Tuesday, First Floor publishes a long-form piece that’s exclusively made available to paid newsletter subscribers only. The latest one, which is now (temporarily) open to everyone, takes a closer look at the current state of techno. Despite being one of modern electronic music’s foundational genres, it no longer resembles its Detroit roots, and is frequently dismissed—especially by younger generations—as being creatively stale. Can “traditional” techno still be compelling? And if so, where can one find quality new tunes?
SOME OTHER THINGS I DID
Second Floor is my monthly column for Nina, and the latest edition examines the growing number of pop and rock records being produced by established electronic artists. While these kinds of pivots—which are usually temporary—have been happening for decades, there’s been a noticeable uptick in recent years, so I looked at why that’s happening, and also highlighted some of my favorite releases that have emerged as a result.
First Floor has a monthly radio show on dublab BCN, and my final two shows of the season have now been archived, along with their complete tracklists. The May episode featured new music from Panoram, Chrissy, Sciahri, Wax, ezmerelda and others, and the June episode included tracks from Skee Mask, Grand River and Abul Mogard, Iceboy Violet & Nueen, Priori, Less-O and more. Like most things in Barcelona, dublab BCN will be taking a break during July and August, but the station’s live broadcasts will return in the fall.
REAL QUICK
A round-up of the last week’s most interesting electronic music news, plus links to interviews, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
Following the mass layoffs at Pitchfork earlier this year, there has been much speculation about what would happen to the publication, and this week it was announced that Mano Sundaresan—a music writer best known as the founder of the (mostly) rap blog No Bells—had been hired as the site’s new head of editorial content. The news was first shared by Billboard, who ran a lengthy joint interview with Sudaresan and Will Welch, the global editorial director of both GQ and Pitchfork. Their comments didn’t reveal many specifics, nor did they address the motivations behind the earlier layoffs, but they did speak about a desire to prioritize individual voices and engage in world-building around the site’s in-house tastemakers and the music scenes they inhabit. In related news, Pitchfork’s reviews director, Jeremy Larson, announced that he would be stepping into a new role as the publication’s deputy director.
Back in May, Resident Advisor published an investigative story detailing sexual assault allegations against Kamaal Williams, and in the weeks that followed, the site heard from 18 additional women, whose allegations ranged “from inappropriate behavior to sexual assault.” That prompted journalists Anu Shukla and Annabel Ross to continue their investigation, and this week RA published a follow-up piece, laying out the stories of four of those women. Although a representative for Williams previously said that he “emphatically denied” the accusations in the first article, the London artist did not respond to RA’s request for comment on second set of allegations, and he has yet to make any sort of public comment on the matter.
More than seven years have passed since the unexpected death of Marcus Intalex, but the storied drum & bass artist’s life will soon be celebrated in a new book. How You Make Me Feel: The Life & Legacy of Marcus Intalex was written by Mark O'Donnell and Sherif Dhaimish, and it includes interviews with Goldie, Calibre, DJ Flight, Doc Scott, Mark XTC and others, along with rare photos, artwork and memorabilia. It’s due to arrive on October 4 via Velocity Press. (Full disclosure: Velocity Press was also the publisher of by own book, which came out last year.)
Beloved online mixes database MixesDB officially closed last weekend—sort of. The site’s URL now redirects to Mixes.wiki, a new hub that contains some, but not all, of the info previously housed on MixesDB. As detailed here, Mixes.wiki is still a work in progress, but those running it claim that they intend to continue MixesDB’s legacy as a community-driven resource and archive.
Speaking of MixesDB, last month journalist Will Pritchard penned a thoughtful article for Crack magazine about what the site’s closure means for electronic music, and also digs into what it says about the current state of the internet, particularly when it comes to the archiving of information. His piece also highlights another potential MixesDB replacement, MixesDB 2, which was set up by NYC artist and software engineer Ben Block (a.k.a. Simic).
OBLIGATORY BOOK MENTION
My first book is out now. It’s called First Floor Vol. 1: Reflections on Electronic Music Culture, and you can order it from my publisher Velocity Press. However, if you’re outside of the UK, I recommend that you either inquire at your favorite local bookshop or try one of the online sales links that have been compiled here.
JUST ANNOUNCED
A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases announced during the past week.
Shackleton’s passion for collaboration continues unabated. Yesterday it was announced that the shapeshifting UK producer had teamed up with Holy Tongue (a.k.a. the psychedelic dub trio of Al Wootton, Valentina Magaletti and Zongamin) on a forthcoming new album for AD 93. The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now came together after the two acts shared a festival bill in Sweden, and it’s slated for an August 23 release under the name Holy Tongue Meets Shackleton. Ahead of that, LP cut “The Merciful Lake” has already been shared.
Speaking of surprise collaborations, this week NYC artist MoMA Ready joined forces with Monterrey, Mexico’s ultra-prolific Regal86 on a new release. Issued via the former’s HAUS of ALTR label and purportedly created during a single three-day span, the 10-track effort is called THE TRAX, and it’s out now.
Dedicated Huerco S. fans already know that the Kansas native has worked under several different monikers over the years, but this week he debuted a new one, Mosslander Tablet. That debut can be found on Starfrog Slipmoded, a new remix EP from shinetiac, who last year dropped the Not All Who Wander Are Lost album on West Minteral Ltd. The opening track of that LP, “Star Frog Dilla,” is the source material for Starfrog Slipmoded, which features the Mosslander Tablet version along with additional reworks from Hysterical Love Project, pingstar, jp, goo age and Opheliaxz. The whole release is out now via the ost imprint.
A new Shanti Celeste single surfaced this week. Entitled “SLB,” it’s available now via Peach Discs and Method 808, and all profits from this summer’s Bandcamp sales will be donated to Operation Olive Branch, which the UK-based Chilean producer describes as “a volunteer-powered grassroots collective effort to connect with and amplify Palestinian voices in an effort to support their critical needs.”
NYC artist and Kindergarten Records founder Ma Sha has a new EP on the way. Pull to Stop will be her first solo effort since she debuted on Nervous Horizon with the Elastik EP last year, and it will be released by Steel City Dance Discs on July 25. Ahead of that, the record’s opening track, “Turboflow,” has been made available.
NYKSAN HAS BETTER TASTE THAN I DO
First Floor is effectively a one-person operation, but every edition of the Thursday digest cedes a small portion of the spotlight to an artist, writer or other figure from the music world, inviting them to recommend a piece of music. Today’s recommendation comes from Nyksan, a London-based Colombian artist best known as a co-founder of the white-hot TraTraTrax label. That said, he’s also a DJ and producer in his own right—his “Aló ma” collaboration with Moa Pillar was a highlight of last year’s no pare, sigue sigue 2 compilation—and, as he demonstrates with his selection here, he’s someone whose musical interests extend well beyond the confines of the dancefloor.
Scorn “At One Place” (Ohm Resistance)
I have been obsessed with The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade these past few weeks; it might be related to the work we are starting to prepare with the artist and dear friend Daniel Brusatin for his next solo exhibition. You might say I’ve been embarking on a study of extremes and beliefs, listening to organic textures from Latin America, the likes of Ficciones del Trópico by Molero, more deconstructed expressions like Aeondelit’s releases and UK legends like The Fear Ratio. This Scorn song (and honestly the whole The Only Place album, which even has a Kool Keith feature haha) has really got me going. It feels so relevant, running melodies through distortion while touching upon the industrial and dub side of things.
It’s metal, dark and bassy, but somehow, for me, it’s also full of light, and even a bit intoxicating. Is this illbient? Whatever it is, it’s very sexy and I’m heavily into it.
NEW THIS WEEK
The following is a selection of my favorite tunes from releases that came out during the past week or so. Click the track titles to hear each song individually, or you can also just head over to this convenient Buy Music Club list if you prefer to listen to them all in one place.
Struction “Flip” (Ilian Tape)
Does Ilian Tape still qualify as a techno label? The Munich outpost certainly releases some techno, but its catalog, particularly in recent years, has branched out into a variety of different sounds, many of which defy easy classification. “Flip,” a standout cut from the new Basis EP, doesn’t even have a steady kick drum, and its skippy rhythm is topped by a hyperactive melodic procession that’s part Oni Ayhun, part Alexi Perälä, part Squarepusher and part Super Nintendo. Given that its creator, Struction (a.k.a. Djrum), is widely known for his ability to push the limits of DJing, it’s not surprising that his productions would take a similarly cavalier approach to genre norms, and while keeping up with the ping-ponging energy of “Flip” might be a challenge, it’s also a hell of a lot of fun.
a. brehme “shogatsu (VC-118A Remix)” (peaou)
The electronic music ranks are full of unheralded (and underheralded) talents, so it’s not exactly strange that VC-118A has spent the past decade-plus largely flying beneath the radar. But regardless of how many accolades he has or hasn’t received, the Finland-based Dutch producer—who’s also made music as Mohlao and Multicast Dynamics—has long been one of the electro genre’s most reliable talents. This remix, which appears on a. brehme’s new peaouoaep30003 EP, refashions the spacious IDM of the original “shogatsu” into a taut, groove-driven composition. Even with its retro-futuristic, robotic vocal fragments, it’s probably still too heady for most dancefloors, but anyone who surrenders to the song’s ethereal expanse won’t be thinking of the club for long.
Matrefakt “Gimme Some More (Funk Mix)” (Attitudes to Life)
The promo text for Matrefakt’s new Gimme Some More EP boasts that the record “captures the raw, unfiltered spirit of house music.” I suppose that’s not inaccurate, but a more detailed analysis would mention how this feverishly chugging “Funk Mix”—one of two versions of the title track on the release—occupies a space somewhere in between French touch and “Never Grow Old”-era Floorplan. Hard enough to be techno, but made soulful by its disco-flavored loops and a seemingly endless supply of horn splashes, the song provides an immediate shot in the arm—and is probably the best thing this UK duo has ever done. (That said, piano-powered EP cut “Marlb” is also quite good.)
Pizza Hotline “Polygon Island” (WRWTFWW)
Can PlayStation rightfully be called a genre? With his Pizza Hotline project, UK producer Harvey Jones—who also makes dubby techno under the name El Choop—makes an emphatic case that it can. Musically, Pizza Hotline is all about atmospheric drum & bass, but its shimmering sound palette is pure PlayStation—the original console, that is—its gleaming, nostalgia-soaked chords and cooly glowing pads evoking the dreamy mood of vintage RPGs and, on a more basic level, countless start-up screens from the 1990s. Although the new Polygon Island full-length doesn’t quite measure up to the project’s engrossing debut album, Level Select, it’s still an enchanting effort, most notably on the LP’s title track, where Jones’ deliciously chilled grooves sound something like a collaboration between Photek and Soichi Terada.
Ali Berger “0621 People are just asking” (Trackland)
Deep house is often thought of as something best suited to dimly lit dancefloors in the wee hours of the morning, but “0621 People are just asking,” the sparkling lead cut from the new Shout EP, is begging to be played in the sunshine. An understated (albeit undeniably bumping) tune from Ali Berger, it finds the Pittsburgh-based workhorse in top form, relying on little more than a peppy drum pattern and some jaunty piano chords to establish the song’s eminently enjoyable groove. Clocking in at more than nine minutes, it’s something of a marathon, but Berger keeps things loose and jazzy throughout—and impressively does so without veering off into needless asides or bouts of self-indulgent navel-gazing. (For what it’s worth, the EP’s excellent title track operates in a similar zone, though it’s an even more laid-back offering.)
J. Albert “Slowga” (Self-released)
Plenty of artists can do multiple things, but J. Albert is the rare talent who seems capable of doing just about anything, at least when it comes to making electronic music. “Slowga,” a scratchy, low-slung gem from the NYC-based producer’s new I want to be good so bad EP, nods to the lush journeys of Basic Channel, but its persistent static makes the whole thing sound like it was recorded on a four-track with filthy tape heads. That grit, however, does nothing to detract from the song’s allure, or from its sense of intimacy, the hazy aesthetic conjuring thoughts of J. Albert performing in a dark room for less than a dozen people—and doing so with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
Bartosz Kruczyński “Dream V” (Balmat)
In purely curatorial terms, the Balmat label—which hasn’t even reached its third birthday yet—has a pretty sparkling reputation, which is why it’s strange that Dreams & Whispers, the new ambient album from Bartosz Kruczyński hasn’t received more attention. Maybe that’s because the Polish artist is better known for the varied (and often dancefloor-oriented) work he’s done under the name Earth Trax, but this new full-length is flat-out gorgeous, its sparse compositions and weightless, almost crystalline melodies immediately outshining the anodyne spa-core that often dominates the ambient sphere. The LP’s immersive nature makes picking individual favorites a difficult task, though the record’s first half is especially strong, its blissful elegance perfectly exemplified by the free-floating euphoria of “Dream V.”
Patricia Wolf “The Ptarmigan and the Gyrfalcon” (Nite Hive)
The idea of a Portland artist making an album about birds runs dangerously close to cliché—or even a Portlandia sketch—but Patricia Wolf nimbly avoids cringe on her latest full-length, The Secret Lives of Birds. Despite being an avid birdwatcher and someone who routinely heads into nature to collect field recordings, Wolf remains the primary protagonist on the record, weaving bits of birdsong into her ambient meditations and tastefully cinematic synthscapes. Her avian friends are ever-present, yes, but they never feel like a gimmick, and on the arresting standout “The Ptarmigan and the Gyrfalcon,” they largely recede into the background, allowing Wolf’s rich, Vangelis-like melodies to take flight instead.
Sachi Kobayashi “Lament” (Spirituals)
Lamentations, the latest album from Japanese ambient artist Sachi Kobayashi, is rooted in sadness. More specifically, it’s her response to the numerous wars currently raging around the globe, and the sustained grief she’s experienced as a result. Anyone who pays even passing attention to the news can likely relate, but rather than wallowing, Kobayashi has funneled her melancholy into something beautiful, filling her record with warbling textures, resonant drones and symphonic flourishes. Perhaps that sounds grandiose, but Lamentations is a humble—and decidedly human—effort, its lo-fi, unassuming nature due in part to the fact that many of its elements were looped, stretched or otherwise manipulated on one of Kobayashi’s tape decks. With its assortment of angelic voices, album highlight “Lament” takes on a choral quality, sounding like a funeral hymn for someone who was truly, deeply loved.
That brings us to the end of today’s First Floor digest. Thank you so much for reading the newsletter, and, as always, I do hope that you enjoyed the tunes. (Don’t forget, you can find them all on this handy Buy Music Club list, and if you like them, please buy them.)
Have a great week,
Shawn
Shawn Reynaldo is a freelance writer, editor, presenter and project manager. Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter, or you can just drop him an email to get in touch about projects, collaborations or potential work opportunities.