First Floor #182 – Charting Precarity
a.k.a. A closer look at Waking Life and how it's dealing with a staggering financial loss, plus a round-up of the week's electronic music news and a fresh slate of new track recommendations.
Of all the pressures faced by those within creative industries, the invisible push to constantly project success is perhaps the most omnipresent. Although the mantra of “fake it until you make it” has been around for decades, in the context of today’s world—one in which all our lives are increasingly being lived online, and the struggle to merely get noticed has essentially become a global competition against everyone with smart phone and an internet connection—the need to “fake it” never quite seems to come to an end. I’ve touched on this topic before, but in a cultural environment where people are expected to not only be “always on,” but always at their absolute best, what space, if any, is there for public admissions of weakness and / or failure?
Last week the people behind Waking Life, an annual festival that takes place each summer in a remote corner of Portugal, elected to find out. After this year’s event unexpectedly lost more than €400,000, its organizers turned to the public for help, and did so while also opening up their books, detailing how the event’s costs, revenue and ticket sales have evolved during the past seven years. This sort of transparency is exceedingly rare in electronic music—and frankly, pretty much everywhere—and the trove of information they provided inspired the analysis-heavy article I published earlier this week. (More on that below.)
Aside from that, today’s edition of the newsletter is stuffed with the usual assortment of electronic music news, release announcements, links to interesting bits of music journalism and a healthy crop of new track recommendations. And speaking of recommendations, a really excellent one has been provided by artist Chantal Michelle, who kindly makes a guest appearance.
As always, there’s a lot going on in the electronic music sphere, but First Floor is here to point you toward the good stuff.
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 an in-depth look at the Waking Life festival, and more specifically the financial report that its organizers elected to share as part of last week’s announcement that their 2023 edition had suffered a massive financial loss. Not surprisingly, this involves diving into the numbers—multiple charts are involved—but it also considers what those numbers say about the feasibility of running a not-for-profit festival in the contemporary electronic music landscape.
OBLIGATORY BOOK MENTION
My first book is out now. It’s called First Floor Vol. 1: Reflections on Electronic Music Culture, and folks can either order it from my publisher Velocity Press, or if they’re in the UK or Europe, find it in a local bookshop. (And yes, it’s also available on Amazon.) The book is still making its way to North America—copies are literally on a boat crossing the Atlantic, and should arrive within the next week or so—but in the meantime, folks there are encouraged to preorder it from their favorite shop or via one of the links 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.
Scuba’s Not a Diving Podcast has been getting a lot of mentions lately here in the newsletter—it helps that he recently had me on the show as a guest—and the latest episode features none other than Sam Valenti IV, founder of the Ghostly International label and the man behind the brilliantly curated Herb Sundays newsletter / playlist series. Having spent decades in the music industry, he has plenty of wisdom to share, and always seems to do so with a genuine sense of optimism and enthusiasm, which offers a refreshing change from the usual grumpiness of his generational cohort (myself included).
Everyone seems to agree that AI technology is just getting off the ground, but it’s already finding its way into music production. Attack Magazine’s Adam Douglas put together a round-up of DAWs (digital audio workstations) that have incorporated the technology, and Tiffanie Ibe penned a similar piece for Mixmag, looking at eight different AI production tools.
Feed Forward, the notoriously hard-to-find 2010 debut album from techno collective Sandwell District (whose members included Regis, Function, Silent Servant and Female), was recently reissued via the Point of Departure label, which prompted writer Kiran Sande to put together an illuminating deep dive into the LP’s backstory for The Quietus. Sande knew the group personally—he claims that he was “first person outside of Sandwell personnel to hear that album”—and his observations provide real insights into the record’s genesis and what happened to the group in the years that followed its release.
Anthony Naples’ recent orbs album has garnered another round of rave reviews for the Incienso label co-founder, and now he’s chatted with journalist Bruce Tantum for a new DJ Mag feature. The piece touches upon the creative burst that birthed the LP, Naples’ place in the NYC scene and his current feelings about dance music.
Tzusing’s 绿帽 Green Hat is another one of 2023’s most acclaimed electronic full-lengths, and he’s discussed the album in detail as part of a new interview with Christian Eede for The Quietus, also talking about his evolving DJ style and how the LP’s title was partially inspired by a desire to piss off his father.
Keeping up with every single release from the uber-prolific All Centre imprint isn’t easy, but the UK bass outpost has introduced seemingly dozens of new talents during its five-year run. For the latest edition of DJ Mag’s The Sound of feature series, writer Eoin Murray talks to label bosses DJ Pitch and Simkin about how and why they run things in the unique way that they do.
JUST ANNOUNCED
A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases announced during the past week.
Mary Lattimore has a new album on the way. The LA-based harpist’s last full-length, 2020’s exceedingly lovely Silver Ladders, was made with the assistance of Slowdive’s Neil Halstead, and her new LP builds on that collaborative spirit, bringing in guests like Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Roy Montgomery, Samara Lubelski and Walt McClements. Entitled Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, the record will be available via Ghostly International on October 6, but first single “And Then He Wrapped His Wings Around Me” has already been shared.
Speaking of Ghostly, the label will soon be dropping another installment of its ongoing Emeralds reissue campaign. A remastered edition of the Cleveland trio’s 2010 LP Does It Look Like I’m Here?—which happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time—is set to arrive on August 25, and the CD / digital versions will come with seven previously unreleased songs, including two remixes of the title track by Daphni. One of those songs, “Escape Wheel,” is available now.
Helena Hauff will be at the helm of the next edition of fabric presents mix / compilation series. Slated for a September 22 release, it’s said to be devoted to “banging, high-tempo, punchy electro, breakbeat and techno,” and also contains a new track from the German artist herself. That song is called “Turn Your Sights Inward,” and it’s already been shared.
Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing live on opposite ends of North America, but the two beatmakers have nonetheless teamed up on a new single for LuckyMe. “Too Close” features the vocals of Ouri, and it’s out now.
Joy Orbison and Overmono also dropped a new collaborative single last week, jointly remixing the song “Freedom” from UK drill artist Kwengface. They’ve dubbed it “Freedom 2,” and it’s available now via the Ditto label.
Nathan Micay’s new To the God Named Dream album officially drops tomorrow, but the Canadian artist has in recent weeks let loose two club-ready versions of LP cut “Fangs,” one by Avalon Emerson and another he did himself. Both are out now on LuckyMe.
Dasha Rush has spent the past two decades straddling the line between techno and spiky experimental sounds, but she’s now completed a new album, Contemplating, which promises to take listeners “on a transcendental journey through ethereal landscapes and immersive textures.” The raster imprint will be releasing the LP on September 29, but closing track “Trumpets of Andromeda” has already been shared.
Eleven years have passed since Lukid last released a solo album, but the genre-melding UK artist hasn’t exactly been sitting on his hands during that time. He’s also one half of the Trilogy Tapes-affiliated duo Rezzett, but he’s this week unveiled plans for a forthcoming Lukid full-length, Tilt, that will arrive via the Glum label on October 6. In the meantime, opening song “End Melody” has already been made available.
Green-House has announced a new LP, A Host for All Kinds of Life, which also marks the project’s official expansion into a duo, with LA artist Olive Ardizoni now being joined by “long-time collaborator and confidant” Michael Flanagan. The new full-length aims to reckon with looming ecological disaster, and more specifically, how humans are emotionally responding to it. Leaving Records will be issuing the album on October 13, but one track, “Castle Song,” is available now.
CHANTAL MICHELLE HAS BETTER TASTE THAN I DO
First Floor is effectively a one-person operation, but every edition of the newsletter 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 Chantal Michelle, a New York-based sound artist and composer whose stirring ambient and experimental creations have (deservedly) been showered with praise in recent years, and whose beautiful Broken to Echoes album on burgeoning Glasgow outpost Somewhere Between Tapes is one of 2023’s most enchanting releases. She already has a new release in the works, 66 Rue L, and while she provides a few details in her recommendation below, the full rundown was made public just this morning.
Germán Bringas “Tunel Hacia Tí” (Smiling C)
Two years ago, I picked up a copy of Tunel Hacia Tí at the late and great Commend on the Lower East Side of Manhattan during a long weekend trip to NYC from Mexico City, where I was living at the time. Germán’s work was unbeknownst to me then, but the record quickly became my most played, to a point that borders on obsession. (I am listening for easily the hundredth time as I write this.) In its brevity and simplicity, the title track manages to express a sense of longing—for someone, or something—that deeply resonated with me and still does. At some point, I discovered that Germán was the proprietor of a jazz club in the Portales neighborhood of Mexico City called Jazzorca, and I went shortly thereafter. After a few mezcales I mustered the courage to approach him and tell him how much I loved his work, and we began exchanging music files—the result of which will be released later this month on Warm Winters Ltd.
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.
Levon Vincent “Theme Song” (Novel Sound)
Less than two months ago, I was hypothesizing here in the newsletter that after dabbling in ambient and downtempo rhythms on last year’s Silent Cities album, Levon Vincent had seemingly rededicated himself to the dancefloor with his new Work in Progress full-length. Well, it turns out that the veteran producer is more unpredictable than I thought, as he’s just dropped Silent Cities II, a surprise second volume of moody textures, melodic experiments and off-kilter beats, some of which get rather close to the hip-hop zone. “Theme Song,” however, is pure ’80s excess, a skittery cut whose scuzzy neon synths and hotel lounge piano would both sound perfect in a vintage Michael Mann flick. Grab your white blazer and enjoy.
King Maceeyar “Our Memories” (MAL)
Is emo gqom an actual genre? Probably not, but term certainly fits “Our Memories,” a high-stepping cut from South African artist King Maceeyar. A standout from the new PRESSURE (PART II) compilation on Elle Andrews & Jon K’s MAL imprint, the track is undeniably gqom, but its elastic rhythms take a backseat to the song’s wistful pads and pastel hues, ultimately sounding like an updated take on the soft-focus synth-pop that once populated John Hughes soundtracks.
Yu Su “Counterclockwise” (Pinchy & Friends)
Plenty of artists sprinkle a sense of magic into their work, but in the case of Yu Su, that magic isn’t about glitzy spectacle and elaborate showmanship. The Vancouver-based artist is far too nuanced for that, and her low-key, new age-adjacent creations often exude a sense of youthful imagination, sparking the same feeling of wonder an awkward preteen might experience when they’re staying up past their bedtime, thoroughly engulfed in the pages of a fantasy novel or the final stages of an RPG. The floaty, slow-brewing synths of “Counterclockwise”—a highlight of her new I Want an Earth EP—do evoke visions of calmly drifting off into another dimension, but the song’s cozy contours also inspire a sense of security, reminding us that imagining far-away lands can be done while huddled under a warm blanket in your own bed.
mu tate “frank’s hublots” (3XL)
mu tate “was it holy (feat. Desireé Monique)” (3XL)
3XL is still a relatively young label, but in less than two years, the Berlin outpost has carved out its own distinctive soundworld, one that’s woozy, psychedelic, defiantly digital and heavily indebted to the most tripped-out variants of Southern rap. mu tate’s they’re with you always is the imprint’s latest offering, and it finds the London-based Latvian luxuriating in the shimmering waters of his own personal flotation tank. LP standout “frank’s hublots” fully embraces weightlessness, its wordless diva fragments doing zero-G ballet atop the song’s syrupy sub-bass. Less lush (but no less effective) is “was it in holy,” on which Desireé Monique delivers dreamy spoken word beneath a slow procession of water droplets and the quiet rumble of a far-off rainstorm. Both tracks are gorgeous—and, honestly, so is the rest of the record.
Sulk Rooms & James Adrian Brown “Panoramic” (Self-released)
“Panoramic” apparently “started life as a very simple meditative drone,” but English musicians Thomas Ragsdale (working here under his Sulk Rooms alias) and James Adrian Brown together shaped that drone into something that’s both grand a little unnerving. Few people do cinematic dirge better than Ragsdale, and while there’s nothing ostentatious about the song, “Panoramic” does have a kind of widescreen largesse, its ever-swelling, organ-like tones—which have been bolstered by the duo’s insistent (albeit unobtrusive) percussive hits—provoking the same sense of humility and utter smallness one feels when taking in something truly wondrous for the very first time.
Kemt “Terminal 21” (Lost Palms)
Silky smooth and subtly funky, “Terminal 21” is deep house done right. A dreamy highlight of Kemt’s excellent new Moony EP, the track bears traces of artists like Larry Heard, Marcellus Pittman and Dream 2 Science, and while the vibe may be familiar, there’s nothing stale about the music or its laid-back, reverb-kissed groove, which dreamily cruises toward a golden horizon.
Kassian “Prelude” (!K7)
In a time when many artists seem to interpret the idea of “going big” as a simple matter of faster tempos and fatter kicks, Kassian continue to prove that occupying the big room doesn’t require dumbing things down or smashing people over the head. Phase Two is the UK duo’s latest EP, and “Prelude”—one of several quality tunes on the record—is brimming with confident cool, and even brings to mind some of the Chemical Brothers more techno-leaning work. Built atop a sturdy and propulsive underbelly, the track is potent enough to rumble even the largest bassbins, but there’s no brute force involved, nor is it necessary; it’s the song’s spindly acid wiggles, vocoderized vocal refrain (“let’s survive together”) and housey groove that are going to lure folks onto the dancefloor.
ANMON “Moon” (YUKU)
Every once in a while, it’s nice to indulge in something truly filthy, and the music of ANMON—a collaboration between French artists DJ Saint Pierre and Ténèbre—is perfectly content to thrash around in the (digital) muck. “Moon,” the lead track of the duo’s new Moon & Clock EP, sounds like an unholy union of fast techno, dancehall, Tuvan throat singing and that freaky scene in Dune when the Imperial Army is introduced for the first time. It’s an unlikely combination, to be sure, but it’s also genuinely thrilling, the song’s seeming chaos only enhancing its unbridled spirit.
And with that, today’s edition of First Floor comes to a close. 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.