First Floor #111 – CDs, Old Music and the Intersection of Pizza and Techno
a.k.a. Clubs might be closed (at least in some places), but there's still plenty of news and new music happening in the world of electronic music.
REAL QUICK
A round-up of of the last few weeks’ most interesting electronic music news, plus links to interviews, mixes, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
Music journalist Rob Sheffield has declared that “The CD Revival Is Finally Here” in a new article for Rolling Stone. On the surface, that claim tracks with a music ecosystem in which releasing vinyl has become more expensive (and difficult) and many artists / labels (especially “underground” ones) have returned to the CD format, but as musician / writer / Twitter agitator Damon Krukowski has pointed out, a little more context severely undercuts the idea that CDs are truly “back” on an industry-wide level.
First Floor might be in danger of becoming a Ted Gioia fan club, but the veteran music writer has intriguingly asked “Is Old Music Killing New Music?” in the latest edition of his Honest Broker newsletter. Based on recent reports detailing the growth of “catalog” (i.e. old) releases as a percentage of US music consumption, it examines a situation in which most new “hit” songs barely make a ripple in the culture and the industry struggles with what he describes as an “institutional failure” to discover and promote new music.
Brooklyn electronic music hub Bossa Nova Civic Club has been closed indefinitely after a fire broke out in one of the apartments above the venue. An online fundraising campaign has already raised more than $100K to support the club and its staff, and just yesterday the venue encouragingly announced that “it looks like [they’ll] be opening at some point” in an Instagram post.
SKY H1 is at the helm of the latest Resident Advisor podcast, and much like her excellent album that dropped last December on AD 93, the mix traverses a nebulous zone between ambient music and the rave.
Whatever you think of Friends with Benefits—the music-focused DAO whose leadership I interviewed a few months back—the group’s editorial platform WIP (a.k.a. Works in Progress) has been publishing some of the more thoughtful articles in the crypto / Web3 space. The latest, written by Austin Robey, examines what DAOs and real-world worker cooperatives can learn from each other.
Synth-pop duo Boy Harsher—whose new album The Runner is out tomorrow—were profiled by Cameron Cook for Crack magazine. (Just FYI: The short film that the pair created to accompany the LP is already available.)
Tristan Arp provided a peek inside his Mexico City studio (and his production methodology) in this Stamp the Wax piece by Hani Hanbali.
Tigersushi founder Joakim Bouaziz (a.k.a. Joakim) has teamed up with Tom Royer to launch Echio, a new livestreaming platform where artists can “share their knowledge and experience with their fans, who can support them in return.” Designed to offer a window into how artists think and work, it’s been launched with sessions from producers DJ Tennis and Lauer, and additional acts like Bambounou, Paul Epworth, Bok Bok and others are slated to participate in the weeks ahead.
MAKE PIZZA, NOT TECHNO
PLEASE NOTE: This interview was originally published on Tuesday and made available to paid newsletter subscribers, but the paywall has now been temporarily removed for the next 24 hours. If you’d like exclusive first access to long-form First Floor pieces—and unlimited views of all newsletter content—then please sign up for a paid subscription.
When the pandemic shut the world down back in 2020, artists responded in different ways. DJs started livestreaming. Producers started making ambient music. Everyone spent way too much time on social media.
P. Leone bought a pizza oven.
Since then, the Brooklyn native—whose catalog includes records for Rekids, Work Them and his own E-Missions label—has gone from making pizzas in his parents’ backyard to signing a lease for his very own pizzeria, Lucia, which is set to open in the next few weeks. As career pivots go, it’s fairly unusual, which is why I wanted to speak to him about what motivated his move away from the dancefloor. Over the course of a lengthy conversation, P. Leone was remarkably open, reflecting back on the highs and lows of life as a DJ, and his realization that he ultimately wanted something different. (And yes, there was also a lot of talk about pizza.)
To read the complete interview, please click here.
JUST ANNOUNCED
A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases that were announced during the past week.
Sofia Kourtesis—whose Fresia Magdalena EP was one of 2021’s most acclaimed electronic releases—has a new single, “Estación Esperanza,” which features a guest spot from multi-lingual singer-songwriter Manu Chao. Dedicated to her mother, the track is out now on Ninja Tune, and the Berlin-based Peruvian will also be opening for Caribou on his upcoming European tour.
Jacques Greene has a new EP on the way. Entitled Fantasy and rooted in “weeks of willing a form of peace and inspiration into [his] surroundings,” the EP—which features a collaboration with Satoimagae and guest vocals from Leanne Macomber—is slated for a January 28 release via LuckyMe. Two songs from the record, “Taurus” and “Leave Here,” are already available, and the EP will reportedly also be issued as an NFT, although details of that have yet to be shared. (Of course, I interviewed Greene about his first NFT experiment, “Promise,” last year.)
London duo Two Shell have quietly surged over the past two years, and their deliriously fun track “Home” was one of 2021’s biggest under-the-radar anthems. Originally issued on a limited-edition white label, that record—which also includes the B-side “No Reply”—has now been given a wide release on both vinyl and digital formats through the pair’s own Mainframe Audio imprint. “Home” is streaming here.
Shinichi Atobe dropped a new album on the DDS label last week. The mysterious Japanese producer, who largely stays out of the spotlight but reliably creates fabulous tunes, has titled his latest full-length Love of Plastic, and it’s available now via Boomkat.
Terrence Dixon isn’t big on self-promotion, but the Detroit techno veteran has a new EP called Relinked that’s due to arrive on February 18 via the Kynant label. Ahead of that, one of its tracks, “Relentlessly,” has already been shared.
Iceboy Violet is likely a new name for many First Floor readers, but the Manchester MC has assembled a new mixtape, The Vanity Project, that features production from Space Afrika, Slikback & Nick Leon, LOFT (a.k.a. aya), Jennifer Walton and others. Before the whole thing drops on January 26 through the 2 B Real imprint, the song “VANITY” has been made available.
Bass-loving London producer Breaka has announced the impending release of his debut album. We Move will arrive on February 18 through the artist’s own eponymous label, but several of its tracks have already been shared here.
Minimal Violence has lost a member, but the former duo—which is now a solo vehicle for Canadian artist Ash Luk—is set to release the third and final chapter of the DESTROY —> [physical] REALITY [psychic] <— TRUST EP trilogy. Entitled Phase Three – Transcendence –> Reaching a State of Pure Psychic Reality, it’s slated for a March 4 release on Tresor, and actually features collaborations with Luk’s mother and stepfather. One track from the record, “We Suffocate on the Violence of Light,” is available now.
Al Wootton’s excellent 2020 EP Maenads was apparently the first chapter of a trilogy, and its dubby second chapter, Callers Spring, is set for a February 4 release through the UK producer’s Trule imprint. Before it arrives, EP closer “Doxa” has been shared online.
NEW THIS WEEK
The following is a selection of my favorite tunes that came out during the last week or so. The ones in the ‘Big Three’ section are the songs I especially want to highlight (and therefore have longer write-ups), but the tracks in the ‘Best of the Rest’ section are also very much worth your time. In both sections, you can click the track titles to hear each song individually, or you can also just head over to this convenient Buy Music Club list to find them all in one place.
THE BIG THREE
Wheez-ie “Horizons (Tim Reaper Rmx)” (Evar)
Anyone who’s been following jungle in recent years won’t be surprised to see Tim Reaper’s name here. The London producer has made a habit of running laps around the drum & bass competition, and on the new Horizons Remixes EP, he outclasses an all-star cast that also includes DJ Stingray, Aura T-09, Cardopusher and VTSS. Wheez-ie’s original “Horizons”—the title track of the LA-based artist’s EP from last year—was a spacious breakbeat number with dramatic flair, but in Reaper’s hands, the tempo jumps significantly, as does the quantity of percussion. The drums border on the frantic, yet the rework still has a confidently laid-back quality, its rubbery bassline and twinkling melodies staying cool as the track rattles its way across the dancefloor.
DJ Earl “Burn Yo Azz” (Moveltraxx)
Discussions of footwork tend to focus on the genre’s fleet-footed drums, but “Burn Yo Azz”—the opening number on DJ Earl’s latest two-tracker—is a thrilling example of what happens when percussion is largely taken out of the equation. The song isn’t beatless or ambient, and it bounds along as quickly as you’d expect, but DJ Earl significantly dials back the drums, layering eerily twisting melodies atop a bed of steadily percolating pulses. Combined with the track’s trippy vocal loops, it winds up in a territory reminiscent of DJ Nate’s hypnotic early productions (which helped push footwork beyond the borders of its native Chicago during the late 2000s), cultivating an energy that’s ultimately a little spooky (and satisfyingly so).
John Roberts “Horse Hair” (Brunette Editions)
The first of three new releases John Roberts has lined up for early 2022, “Horse Hair” displays the now-LA-based producer’s well established talent for delicate details, its somber piano sounding like something pulled from a particularly symphonic bit of new age music. That said, the song has a more rugged side, with serrated distortion sticking to every inch of its insistent percussion. All together, these elements make for an unusual—albeit striking—mix, offering something uniquely pensive that nods to IDM and experimental techno, but ultimately sounds like neither.
BEST OF THE REST
Sulk Rooms “The Escape (Live)” (Self-released)
Keen-eyed First Floor readers may remember that Sulk Rooms’ “Illusion”—a highlight from his chilly Winter Visit EP for the Waxing Crescent label—appeared in the newsletter a couple of months back, and now the UK producer (whose real name is Thomas Ragsdale, and who also makes music as Ffion) has put together a new version of that release, Winter Visit Live. As the name implies, it features live reinterpretations of the original tracks, many of which blissfully extend the source material. (Clocking in at nearly 11 minutes, this slow-burning rework of “The Escape” is more than double the length of the old version.) Even better, Ragsdale has uploaded a performance video documenting the song’s creation, and anyone who purchases Winter Visit Live will also receive accompanying live videos for all five of its tracks.
Slikback x Brodinski feat. Modulaw “Kombat” (Self-released)
Fresh off his collaborations with Giant Swan and Shapednoise, Kenyan producer Slikback has now teamed up with Brodinski on the new LOSSLESS EP. Like all of his recent releases, it’s available as a name-your-price download via Bandcamp, and it ends on an especially thrilling note with “Kombat,” an industrial-strength stomper that also features the talents of Swiss producer Modulaw. With its thundering, rap-indebted beats and gleaming widescreen synths, the track bares traces of labels like Fractal Fantasy—which has previously featured music from Modulaw—but it’s ultimately much more jagged, swapping out dancefloor sexiness for soundsystem menace.
UnknownSoul “Mental Training” (Nodo)
A 19-year-old newcomer from Buenos Aires, UnknownSoul has tapped into the hardcore continuum on his new 4 Formas EP, mining rhythms (and riddims) from genres like jungle, dubstep, trap and dancehall. Dark and brooding is his default mode, but opening cut “Mental Training” also has some R&B swagger, coming off like a caffeinated rework of an old Ciara instrumental and maintaining just enough of a glittery pop sensibility to prevent fun-starved listeners from running for the hills.
A.Fruit “Incredible” (Yuku)
Easily one of the toughest new tunes that dropped during the past week, “Incredible” is a muscular standout from Measures of Dispersion, the latest EP from Russian producer A.Fruit. A master of heavy bass, she employs a loping, DMZ-style wobble that’s potent enough to collapse a skull or two, but the track’s galloping rhythms—which sound a lot more like what Bristol outposts like Timedance, Livity Sound and Tectonic are up to—gleefully throw caution to the wind, battering anyone within earshot.
Mercy System “Recognise” (Voitax)
Combining sludgy, old-school-dubstep-style basslines with swinging garage drums seems like an obvious recipe for club success, yet it strangely doesn’t seem to happen all that often. Whatever the taboo, Mercy System—a Manchester artist who previously made music as Monir—happily bucks convention on the title track of his new EP. A booming cut that’s capable of rumbling even the largest bassbins, it also has enough bounce to perk up even the sleepiest dancefloors.
Dylan Dylan “Lootus” (Shall Not Fade)
Euphoria is the genre-hopping debut LP from French producer Dylan Dylan, and while its 11 tracks pleasantly tour through house, breakbeat and hip-hop, album closer “Lootus” strikes gold by gliding into a more definitively chill zone. There are still beats at work, but it’s the song’s swirly synth and vocal melodies that lead the way here, offering up something that sounds like a high-gloss combination of dream pop and trip-hop.
CELES7E “Arcane” (Mubert)
The history of music is full of concepts that wind up being fascinating in theory than they do in practice, and while some folks might disagree, I’d place “generative music” firmly in that category. As intriguing as the idea of infinitely changing, algorithm-driven music creation might be, most of the generative music I’ve come across over the years has been… not bad, necessarily, but certainly forgettable and / or mediocre. Nevertheless, when I saw the roster of artists involved in the new Infinite Limits compilation—which is available as a name-your-price download on Bandcamp—I figured that anything with music from Jay Glass Dubs, Tristan Arp, Etapp Kyle, Etch and many others of note was at least worth a listen.
It’s not all amazing, but the release—on which each song was culled from “infinite streams” the artists created in collaboration with Mubert’s AI—has some real bright spots, including “Arcane” from Russian artist CELES7E. With its floaty textures and ghostly vocal snippets, there are definite echoes of Holly Herndon in there, but the song is essentially a top-notch piece of disembodied ambient pop music. Even if you don’t know anything about how it was made, there’s a good chance you’ll want to listen to it a second time.
That brings us to the end of today’s newsletter. Thank you so much for reading First Floor, and 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.)
Until next time,
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.