First Floor #144 – What Is a Persher?
a.k.a. A wide-ranging interview with Blawan and Pariah, plus a round-up of the week's electronic music news and a fresh batch of new track recommendations.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Every Tuesday, First Floor publishes a long-form piece that’s exclusively made available to paid newsletter subscribers only. A brief overview of the latest one is below, and its paywall has now been temporarily removed for the next 24 hours.
BLAWAN AND PARIAH GET HEAVY
Before COVID hit, Blawan (a.k.a. Jamie Roberts) and Pariah (a.k.a. Arthur Cayzer) were arguably at the high point of their careers. They’d been touring and releasing music as Karenn for nearly a decade, and following the success of their long-awaited 2019 debut album Grapefruit Regret, the duo had entered techno’s top tier. There was just one problem: they weren’t really enjoying it. Playing for bigger crowds than ever before, the English duo (who now live in Berlin and Amsterdam, respectively) felt increasingly disconnected from the techno scene, and found little kinship amongst the artists with whom they were sharing stages.
Something had to change, and once the pandemic threw electronic music—and the entire world—for an extended loop, Roberts and Cayzer found themselves exploring a new avenue, one rooted in their shared love of metal, punk, hardcore and other forms of heavy music. Out of that emerged a new project, Persher, a hard-charging, guitar- and growl-filled band (of sorts) whose debut record is due to arrive later this month October 21 via the Thrill Jockey label.
What inspired this new direction, and what does it say about Roberts’ and Cayzer’s relationship with electronic music? Is Persher a one-off experiment, or does it represent a more permanent shift in their artistic vision? Curious to find out, I asked the pair if they would be up for an interview, and they graciously agreed to speak with me. Our conversation—which dived into the particulars of Persher, but also touched on the duo’s future plans and how they fit into the worlds of both electronic and heavy music—was published earlier this week, and it’s now available (temporarily) for everyone to read in full here.
REAL QUICK
A round-up of the last week’s most interesting electronic music news, plus links to interviews, mixes, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
Hessle Audio is celebrating 15 years of existence, and Crack magazine has marked the occasion in a major way, publishing two long-form features by writer Gabriel Szatan. The first is an official cover story, which revolves around an expansive interview with label founders Ben UFO, Pearson Sound and Pangaea, while the second surveys a wide range of artists—including Anz, Objekt, Untold, Nick León, Mary Anne Hobbs, Blawan, Beatrice Dillon and Parris—about Hessle’s influence and impact. Capping things off, the three label bosses have also teamed up on a special B3B all-Hessle Audio DJ mix, which spends nearly 2.5 hours touring through the vaunted UK outpost’s catalog.
Speaking of cover stories (both print and digital, no matter how odd the latter may be), it was a busy week for them in the word of electronic music:
Before his Ultra Truth album arrives next month, Daniel Avery sat down with artist (and apparent music writer) Anna Wall—at the behest of DJ Mag—for a career-spanning conversation.
Mixmag has made UK duo Mount Kimbie its latest cover stars, with an in-depth feature written by Becky Buckle, who gets them to explain how their forthcoming album was created while the two were living 5000 miles apart. In the spirit of the LP’s split personality, the magazine also commissioned two separate DJ mixes from the group, one from Kai Campos and the other from Dom Maker.
New Jersey house legend Kerri Chandler has been named Beatportal’s latest Artist of the Month, and the accompanying feature (penned by Kristian J. Caryl) both looks back at his celebrated career and dives deep into his ambitious recent album, Spaces and Places.
Everyone is doing Daft Punk books. 2021 saw Ben Cardew’s Discovery: The Future Unfurled hit shelves, and Gabriel Szatan’s After Daft is on the calendar for 2023. (First Floor readers may remember that I interviewed Szatan about it here in the newsletter last year.) Now, Disco Pogo—the successor to Jockey Slut magazine—has entered the fray with a new tribute book called We Were the Robots. Due to land on March 1, 2023, it’s largely an archival collection of vintage Daft Punk-related material that ran in Jockey Slut—including the duo’s first-ever interview—though it also includes new features and exclusive interviews with the likes of James Murphy, Pedro Winter (a.k.a. Busy P) and DJ Falcon.
Mixcloud has made a major addition to its platform, announcing the launch of Mixcloud Tracks. Though it’s still in beta and being described as an “experiment,” the move seems like an obvious play to encourage SoundCloud users to instead publish their individual tracks on Mixcloud and use the latter as “a home for everything you do as a creator.”
According to a report by Resident Advisor’s Carlos Hawthorn, Ostgut Ton—the in-house booking agency of Berlin’s famed Berghain nightclub—will be shutting its doors at the end of the year. What’s perhaps even more surprising is the story’s mention of the fact that the widely influential Ostgut Ton record label apparently ceased operations at the end of last year.
Writer Tice Cin traveled to New Jersey to put together a long-form feature on Jersey club for DJ Mag. The piece traces back the genre’s history and origins, but also places a large focus on the current state of affairs, profiling several young artists who are bringing the music to a new generation of listeners (and, most importantly, dancers).
Following writer Tim Lawrence’s recent essay criticizing Louis Vuitton’s Fall in Love collection—which the fashion giant says was inspired by foundational NYC party The Loft and its founder David Mancuso—representatives of Mancuso’s estate have spoken to Resident Advisor, saying that they were not consulted and would not have agreed to the use of “David and The Loft's name, reputation and pioneering life's work to market their collection and brand.”
JUST ANNOUNCED
A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases announced during the past week.
Actress has a new EP on the way. Entitled Dummy Corporation, it’s slated for a November 11 release on Ninja Tune, and contains a title track that’s apparently 19 minutes long. First single “Dream” isn’t quite so epic—its runtime is just under nine-and-a-half minutes—but two versions of the track (the original and a more manageable edit) can already be heard here.
Fresh off the release of its five-year anniversary compilation It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature, Fever AM has lined up a new EP from label co-founder Mor Elian. Diva Test is scheduled to arrive on November 18, and includes a collaboration with her Fever AM partner Rhyw, and while that hasn’t been shared yet, the record’s opening track, “Itch Twitch,” is already available.
Anthony Parasole has adopted a new alias, FULL EFX, which the NYC artist plans to officially debut via a new album for the L.I.E.S. imprint. The HEADRUSH LP is due to surface on November 4, though its title track has already been shared.
More than a decade after the initial release of his Croydon House and Retribution 12”s on the Swamp81 label, Bristol bass mainstay Pinch has compiled, remixed and remastered all four tracks from those records onto a new Croydon House EP reissue. Set to drop on November 4 via his own Tectonic imprint, the record will also include new remixes from Shackleton and Adiel. No audio has been shared yet, but details about the release can be found here.
Finn is nothing if not creative, and yesterday the Manchester producer dropped an unorthodox new cassette mixtape called Jungle House, which dedicates one side to “speed garage played slow” and the other to “bassline house played fast.” The mix isn’t streaming online, but digital versions will be provided to all those who purchase the tape.
Russia 1985-1999 TraumaZone is the latest series from filmmaker Adam Curtis, and it seems that experimental producer Lawrence English is responsible for some of the accompanying music. On October 28, he’ll be releasing Themes and Atmospheres for Adam Curtis's Russia 1985-1999 TraumaZone via his Room40 label, although opening track “Another Ending, Theme to TraumaZone” is already available.
Following in the footsteps of last year’s It Was Always There releases, Martyn’s 3024 imprint will soon be kicking off another compilation series highlighting the work of artists who’ve taken part in the label’s mentoring program. The first volume of Everything Merged won’t arrive until November 4, but one of its songs, Guava’s “Believe in U,” has already been shared.
The Tartelet label has assembled a talent-rich compilation devoted to “downtempo, ambient and meditative” sounds. Medusozoa Vol. II includes tracks from Space Ghost, Max Graef, Glenn Astro, Zopelar, Doc Sleep, Athlete Whippet and many others, and while it won’t be released until November 25, several songs are already available here.
NEW THIS WEEK
The following is a selection of my favorite tunes from releases that came out during the past 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
Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka “Lilieae” (Mondoj / Unsound)
Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka “Sudany” (Mondoj / Unsound)
It was only a few months ago that Sofie Birch’s Holotropica was widely hailed as one of the year’s finest ambient releases, and now the Danish artist is back again, offering up a collaborative album with Poland’s Antonina Nowacka that’s just as spellbinding. The two artists first connected at an improvised joint performance organized by Unsound in 2021, but their new Languoria LP makes clear that the relationship has truly blossomed. Although Nowacka is a vocalist, that term doesn’t quite capture the scope of her work, as her voice not only has a seemingly operatic range, but also frequently takes on an almost spiritual quality. On “Lilieae,” it largely floats in the background, ceding the spotlight to Birch’s pastoral suite of pastel pads and gently plucked strings, while the arrestingly beautiful “Sudany” gives Nowacka a bit more shine, her emotive vocalizations taking on a fantastical (and somewhat Enya-like) character amidst the song’s exquisite array of twinkling chimes and crystalline melodies.
Theory “Cassini’s Dream” (RuptureLDN)
Response & Pliskin “Stars & Stripes” (RuptureLDN)
Launched in 2006, RuptureLDN got started during a time when jungle and drum & bass were anything but the hottest sounds in electronic music, but the persistence of founders Mantra and Double O has undoubtedly paid off in recent years. Not only are they at the helm of one of London’s (if not the world’s) top jungle parties, they’re increasingly known for curating one of the genre’s top labels as well. Since 2018, RuptureLDN’s output has included The Planets, a series of compilation EPs designed to champion “the junglist titans who inhabit the Rupture universe,” and last week saw the release of two new installments: Jupiter and Saturn. Both records include some heaters, but it’s Saturn that’s most impressive, as Theory’s “Cassini’s Dream”—a spaced-out cut with dreamy sonics and a jazz-inflected bassline—capably fits into the “sounds like ’90s Photek” category, while Response & Pliskin’s “Stars & Stripes” charts a more playful (albeit still heady) course, layering a wonky synth melody atop its bouncy rumble.
Ron Morelli “Gun Smoke (Club Mix)” (L.I.E.S.)
Although many dozens of artists have contributed to the L.I.E.S. catalog since the label first launched in 2010, founder Ron Morelli has perhaps always been its most defining personality, even as he’s largely avoided the press and has produced music (mostly for other labels) more heavily rooted in jagged squall than eminently danceable grooves. That said, between his curation of L.I.E.S. and his work as a DJ, it’s long been clear that Morelli has an ear for the club, and on his house-oriented new Torture Promo 12”—an apparent precursor to a forthcoming double LP, Heart Stopper, that’s due out next year—he puts that ear to satisfying use. It’s still raw of course, but the lack of polish doesn’t detract from the appeal of “Gun Smoke (Club Mix),” an intense slice of synth-heavy, sci-fi machine-funk that could double for a classic Lil Louis track, or even a long-lost ’90s cut from Chicago eccentrics like Traxx or Hieroglyphic Being.
BEST OF THE REST
DJ Steve “Universes” (Klasse Wrecks)
During the opening minutes of “Universes,” the song’s fluttering synth tones recall any number of ’80s film soundtracks, evoking images of well-meaning nerds fervently crunching numbers on their computers in an effort to save the day. Halfway through, however, a loping, Larry Heard-style bassline enters the fray, along with some chilled breaks and wonky bits of acid, transforming the track—a highlight of DJ Steve’s new Reality EP—into a playful (albeit still undeniably retro) dancefloor gem.
Call Super “Swallow Me” (Can You Feel the Sun)
“Swallow Me”—the title track of Call Super’s latest EP—won’t be for everyone, and that largely boils down to its operatic vocal breakdown, which is actually a sample of a 2019 live performance by Kamala Sankaram. That said, the rest of the song is essentially a lively house cut, one powered by a taut bassline, spritely synth blooms and a recurring vocal refrain (which says “on the weather vane”) that lends the tune a welcome bit of soulful gravitas.
Money Lang “What Now” (Never Sleep)
As Chevel, Dario Tronchin has spent years sculpting moody (and quite good) techno deconstructions, but his Money Lang alias—which debuted with last year’s brilliant Treviso Mare mixtape—seems to be a celebration of color, joy and the same kind of neon-crunk stylings that put artists like Hudson Mohawke and Rustie on the map more than a decade ago. “What Now” is from the Italian producer’s new $22 EP, and it skillfully tosses bits of trance, Baltimore club and dreamy ambient into a hyperactive (but still irresistibly vibrant) brew.
Terrence Dixon & Jordan GCZ “Fretless” (Rush Hour)
The lead track off Terrence Dixon & Jordan GCZ’s new collaborative Keep in Mind I’m out of My Mind LP, “Fretless” is a ponderous deep house cut from two guys who clearly know their way around a late-night groove. With percussion that barely rises above a simmer and smudged synths that drift more than they soar, the low-key tune exudes cool, leaving plenty of room for its wandering (and somewhat jazzy) bassline to lend the slightest hint of wiggle to the proceedings.
Ekin Fil “ghost boy” (Helen Scarsdale Agency)
It’s unfair that Ekin Fil will likely always be haunted by comparisons to Grouper—and yes, I’m admittedly perpetuating that situation here—but with more than a decade of releases under her belt, the Turkish artist deserves to be celebrated on her own terms. On her latest album, dora agora, she returns to the guitar sounds that characterized many of her earliest efforts, and “ghost boy” is a waterlogged high point, its melancholy strums and heartbroken vocal laments swaddled in soft layers of reverb.
36 “Nite Whispers” (3six)
Colours in the Dark, the latest full-length from UK ambient veteran 36, is an album about depression, but it’s not a sad record per se. It’s definitely emotional, but the meditative tones and melodic swells of gauzy LP highlight “Nite Whispers” veer more toward filmic grandeur than paralyzing gloom, its patient upward swoon seemingly focused on the light that streams in after a long period of being mired in darkness.
Kevin Richard Martin “Berlin Walls” (Intercranial)
Over the course of his long career (and many different aliases / projects, including his work as The Bug), Kevin Martin has never shied away from the muck, but his sludgy sonics have perhaps never sounded as cinematic as they do on his new Downtown album. “Berlin Walls” is the record’s deliberate opener, and it’s an elegantly gritty melange of crackling static, moody textures and, most importantly, slowly thrumming basslines that sound like they came from an actual stand-up bass. Potent but never ostentatious, the track makes clear why one Bandcamp commenter wrote, “someone please get this man a film to score already.”
Sam Prekop “Every Night” (TAL)
Although his solo efforts long ago diverged from the jazzy-inflected indie rock he makes with The Sea and Cake, it still feels a bit odd to imagine Sam Prekop noodling the night away in front of a massive modular rig. That said, his synth explorations continue to get better and better, and his latest album The Sparrow—which arrives just a few months after his collaborative Sons of LP with John McEntire—is stuffed with exceedingly pleasant compositions. “Every Night” is the best of the bunch, a brightly warbling gem that gradually drifts toward the horizon.
Deetron presents Soulmate “Reflection” (Ilian Tape)
No offense to Deetron, but seeing the Swiss techno veteran pop up on Ilian Tape with the new Tribe One EP is rather unexpected, even in the context of the Zenker Brothers’ clear efforts in recent years to expand the label beyond breakbeats and broken techno rhythms. (Adding to the mystery is his decision to appear as Soulmate, an alias that’s been largely inactive during the past 20 years.) Stuffed with Latin and African percussion, the whole release sashays its way across the dancefloor, but the percolating standout “Reflection” offers up a particularly hypnotic array of drums.
Generali Minerali “Batteries Aren’t Low” (RFR)
Despite the genre literally being 40-plus years old, electro can still feel uniquely invigorating, at least when it’s done right. “Batteries Aren’t Low,” the razor-sharp opening cut on Generali Minerali’s new Rocketman EP, has a definite sci-fi aesthetic, but the Georgian producer has smartly paired all those vintage bleeps and bloops with a bit of breakdance-ready funk swagger, landing in a zone that’s as much “Planet Rock” as it is planet Mars.
That brings us to the end of today’s First Floor. 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.