First Floor #234 – Rave Dialogue vs. Rave Reality
a.k.a. Some thoughts on Aslice, an interview with writer Emily Witt, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh slate of new track recommendations.
Aslice is closing, which is disappointing, to say the least. Launched in 2022 and spearheaded by veteran artist DVS1, the revenue-sharing platform provided DJs with an easy way to voluntarily share a portion of their fees with the artists whose music they’d played in their sets. It was a simple idea, and one whose real-world existence appeared to be long overdue. The disparity between DJ fees and producer earnings has skyrocketed in recent years, particularly as the rise of streaming has all but eliminated what was once producers’ most reliable income stream.
DJs, especially successful DJs, know this.
And yet, not very many of them were willing to share even a small fraction of their earnings, despite the fact that unless a DJ is playing 100% their own tunes, their craft is quite literally dependent on music made by other people. The word “community” has long been something of an empty buzzword in electronic music circles, but after seeing the failure of a project like Aslice—which was simple to use, widely publicized and provided direct support to the artists, past and present, whose creative output is the foundation of the entire enterprise—it’s going to be hard not to interpret any future talk of “community” as total farce.
The Aslice team, to their credit, were rather gracious in the closure statement that’s currently posted on their website. Even so, there’s no shortage of damning information in ”A Slice of Fairness,” a 52-page external report they commissioned from data analysis firm Audience Strategies. Looking at the numbers it provides, there’s a lot more to say about how and why Aslice wound up falling short of its aims, and I’ll likely tackle the topic in more detail in a future edition of the newsletter. For now though, I’ll just defer to Barker, whose strongly worded, frustration-filled Instagram post on the shuttering of Aslice has been one of the few substantive public comments by an electronic artist of note. Most DJs have kept quiet on the matter, and while I’d like to think that’s because they feel some level of shame or regret, it’s more likely that they’re just waiting for the story to blow over—and hoping nobody asks if they themselves were participating in Aslice.
On another note entirely, earlier this week I published an interview with Emily Witt, an acclaimed journalist and current staff writer at The New Yorker. At first glance, she may seem like an unlikely candidate for First Floor, but her upcoming book, Health and Safety, revolves heavily around the Bushwick rave / party scene of the mid to late 2010s, and it’s quite unlike any dance music title I’ve ever read. Throw in the fact that it takes place during a time of intense sociopolitical upheaval, when Witt was also darting around the US to cover massive protests, political rallies and election campaigns, and her story becomes even more unique. We got into all of that and more during our conversation, which you can find below.
As for the rest of today’s First Floor digest, read on to find the usual assortment of news stories, new release announcements and essential reading links. Those with a hunger for new music will also want to check out today’s batch of new track recommendations, all of which come from releases that dropped during the past week. And if that’s not enough, none other than Carrier (f.k.a. Shifted) has dropped by with a special guest recommendation.
If you want to get caught up on the latest happenings in the world of electronic music, First Floor is here to help. 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, is an interview with journalist and writer Emily Witt, whose forthcoming book details (among other things) her entrance into the Bushwick rave / party scene. Taking a different approach than most books about dance music, Witt tells a highly personal story from a fan perspective, and also folds in the social and political chaos that was reshaping the world as her own life took on a radically different form.
ANOTHER THING I’M DOING
Today I’m heading to Berlin for New Visions, a two-day conference “dedicated to reshaping the music ecosystem through cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions.” As part of the programming, I will be moderating a panel tomorrow afternoon, one that’s meant to explore potential solutions to “the pervasive issue of missed royalty opportunities due to inaccurate, corrupt or false metadata.”
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.
It’s no secret that the streaming landscape can be a tough place for independent artists to navigate, and new challenges are surfacing all the time. In a new feature for the FADER, writer Jordan Darville outlines how streaming platforms, in their stepped-up efforts to crack down on fraudulent streams, are sometimes wrongly accusing independent artists of dodgy behavior. Even worse, this can prompt distributors—which all independent artists must use to get their music on streaming platforms in the first place—to freeze said artists’ streaming payouts, despite the fact that those same distributors often provide limited avenues for artists to dispute the charges and clear their name.
That said, after years of widespread complaints about streaming fraud, it’s hard to blame the major platforms for finally taking the issue seriously. Underlining the severity of the problem is a new Rolling Stone article by journalist Ethan Millman which outlines how the US has indicted a North Carolina musician who allegedly “used bot accounts and hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs to earn more than $10 million in royalty payments from the major streaming services.” Prosecutors are calling it “the first criminal case involving artificially inflated music streaming.”
Elijah has been saying for quite some time that his influential Yellow Squares project will be coming to an end soon(ish), but before he officially moves on, he’ll be releasing a book that compiles some of the knowledge he’s come up with (and come across) during the past several years. Close the App, Make the Ting: Transformative Prompts for the Modern Artist is said to be for “anyone producing or thinking of producing creative work that needs something outside of ‘advice.’” It will be released on February 7 via Velocity Press, but those who preorder now can get a signed copy in November. (Full disclosure: Velocity Press was the publisher of my own book that came out last year.)
A few weeks back, First Floor published a detailed overview of Shackleton’s many collaborative projects during the past decade or so, and now Crack magazine has published a new conversation with the man himself. Led by writer Isaac Muk, the piece is actually an exchange between Shackleton and fellow UK producer Al Wootton, who’s also the de facto leader of the group Holy Tongue. Shackleton and Holy Tongue recently teamed up on an album for AD 93, and the discussion lays out how they met in the first place, how the record came together and how both men feel about the “English canon of weird music.”
Following a long hiatus, Seefeel last week released a new record, Everything Squared, the band’s first in 13 years. I’ve written a few words about it—scroll down to the “New This Week” section for that—but few journalists are better positioned to engage with the band and their work than Philip Sherburne, who this week published an in-depth interview with founding member Mark Clifford in his Futurism Restated newsletter.
For the latest edition of DJ Mag’s label-focused interview and mix series, The Sound of, journalist Christian Eede linked up with dBridge to discuss Exit Records and its 20-plus-year history. The mix showcases both new and old tracks from the imprint’s sizable catalog, while the interview finds dBridge explaining how Exit was born out of his departure from drum & bass crew Bad Company, and how his curatorial approach has evolved over time.
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.
Objekt is launching his own label. It’s called Kapsela, and the Berlin-based artist has decided to kick things off with a reissue of one of his most beloved tracks, “Ganzfeld,” which first came out in 2014. Along with the original song, Objekt has commissioned new remixes from Piezo, Ulla and Djrum. The latter’s rework is already available here, but the complete package will drop on October 4. Shortly thereafter, the second Kapsela release will surface, and while exact details are still scarce, it’s going to be a brand-new Objekt EP entitled Chicken Garaage.
Moin have a new album on the way. The UK-based trio of Valentina Magaletti, Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews—who were interviewed by First Floor back in 2022—say the new LP is called You Never End, and it finds them venturing into new territory, swapping out some of their usual vocal samples for IRL vocal collaborations. Coby Sey, james K, Sophia Al-Mari and Olan Monk all guest on the record, and the latter appears on opening cut “Guess It’s Wrecked,” which has already been shared. The full album will arrive on October 4 via AD 93.
When Hessle Audio co-founder Pearson Sound offered up a standalone single called “Hornet” back in June, it felt like a teaser for something more substantial. Well, yesterday the London-based producer unveiled plans for a full EP, Which Way Is Up. “Hornet” is on there, and can be heard here alongside another track, “Twister.” The complete release, however, won’t be available until October 4.
The Zenker Brothers keep themselves pretty busy running the Ilian Tape label, but somehow they also find the time to make music of their own. The German duo’s latest dispatch, an EP called Workhorse Supply, surfaced last week and is available in full now.
Techno started in North America—more specifically, in Detroit—but when it comes to contemporary dance music culture, Europe tends to get most of the attention. Determined to make clear that North America is still a vibrant techno hub, Washington DC artist Jackson Ryland has started a new label, Floorspeed. Dedicated to “funky techno meets hardgroove from the heart of North America.” the young imprint will be inaugurated with 1morning vs. 2Lanes, a record showcasing two of American techno’s young standouts. Before the EP drops on October 4, two tracks, one each from 1morning and 2Lanes, have already been shared here.
Following multiple outings on Livity Sound and his own mb studio label, bass-techno alchemist Toma Kami has completed his debut album. Entitled missed heaven, it promises an expansion of his sound, folding in elements of hyperpop, trap and Latin club, and it will be released on October 25. Ahead of that, lead track “Fungi” has been made available.
CARRIER 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 Carrier, the UK-born, Antwerp-based artist who’s operated under many monikers over the years, but achieved the most notoriety for his work as Shifted. Though he’s spent most of his career in the techno sphere, his recent output as Carrier—which has appeared on labels like The Trilogy Tapes, FELT and Berceuse Heroique, along with his own eponymous imprint—defies classification, exploring rhythmic abstraction while also bringing a hearty helping of noise, drone and tension into the mix. Simply put, the man seems to enjoy coloring outside the lines, so it’s not surprising that his selection here comes from an artist with a similar predilection.
gi “laces” (Absorb)
I first came across Sydney-based Gigi De Lacy via her debut EP, Orange Chorus Blonde Reveal, which was released last year on Altered States Tapes. Like much of the music that’s grabbing my attention these days, De Lacy’s work is not easily categorised. Rhythmically, it swings and flutters its way between the half and double tempo, with an impressive sense of depth and intricacy.
With “laces,” taken from what I believe is her first full-length excursion, Thought Makes Music, she hits just the right balance. Music like this can easily lose its humanity and feel overly cold, but on this cut in particular she shows a deft knack for nailing the intangible, bringing something that feels genuinely engaging yet challenging at the same time.
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.
Hassan Abou Alam “3asabi” (Nerve Collect)
Following an impressive string of speaker-rattling records for labels like YUKU, Banoffee Pies and Naive, Hassan Abou Alam has brought his bass-heavy magic to Dutch outpost Nerve Collect. “3asabi” opens the Egyptian producer’s new Mesh Mafhoom EP, and it’s a slap-happy rumbler, one that wields its sinister wobble with the precision of a trained assassin. Add in the song’s swinging, drum-heavy groove— which hints at kuduro and gqom, but ultimately resides in its own unique territory— and you’ve got a tune that is primed to do some serious damage.
Reeko “Urmah 2” (Samurai)
Over the past two decades, Reeko has devoted himself to techno, often taking cues from the industrial bent of the Birmingham sound. (He even teamed up with Surgeon on 2023’s Scoundrel EP.) Last year, however, the Asturian producer linked up with the drum & bass-oriented Samurai label for the first time, and took advantage of the opportunity to explore a new soundworld, crafting hybrid tunes that thrummed along at 170 bpm, but didn’t neatly fit into any particular genre. His latest outing on Samurai, the Urmah EP, is no easier to categorize, but it’s deeply intoxicating, offering up humid, tension-streaked dub mutations that nod toward techno, but largely avoid the genre’s usual penchant for straight lines. The work of artists like Konduku comes to mind, as does that of dBridge during his autonomic era, but “Urmah 2”—the most potent track on the record—has its own meditative allure, offsetting its percussive outbursts with slinky synth tones and a dusting of reverb.
RDS “Contentment” (De Lichting)
Amsterdam producer RDS appears to be a polite young fellow—for the official presentation of his debut album, E-Mutations, he literally put together a slideshow—and that affable sensibility carries over to his music. Created using an E-mu Workstation from 1997, the LP is filled with dreamy slices of ambient and IDM, its feelings of playfulness and wonder standing in stark contrast to the nihilist abandon and existential dread preferred by many of his contemporaries. It’s fitting that a song called “Contentment” is one of the record’s standout offerings, and though its bustling rhythms do at times harken back to artists like Aphex Twin, serenity is the prevailing characteristic, particularly once the song’s sweetly pitch-shifted vocals enter the fray.
Mute “Vibes (Gerd Janson Edit)” (Running Back)
Originally released in 2006, Mute’s Direct Cuts II served up a high-quality strain of boogie- and disco-infused deep house at a time when the Running Back imprint was just beginning to find its feet. Eighteen years later, label founder Gerd Janson has decided to give the record another go-round, going back to the original DAT tapes and re-editing the EP’s four tunes himself, which gives Direct Cuts II - Redux a slightly different (and more club-ready) flavor. This rework of “Vibes”—and yes, the title is a reference to the presence of some gorgeously twinkling vibraphone melodies—is a sturdy, albeit laid-back groover, and its relaxed funk will surely please anyone who’s ever wished that Ben Cenac and Gregg Fore had made more Dream 2 Science records back in the early ’90s.
Quintelium “Gentle Persuasions” (Somewherecold)
Hailing from California’s Central Valley, a region far more known for its fertile farmland than its musical exports—no offense to bands like Grandaddy, Korn and Deftones—Quintelium deals primarily in lush textures, stretching his soft drones and weightless melodies across the vast expanses of his new Dream and Reality album. Warm and inviting, his compositions borrow from new age and the more cosmic side of ambient, and LP highlight “Gentle Persuasions” exudes a sense of pure joy, accentuating its brightly sparkling chimes with hints of birdsong and some quietly epic synth riffs.
Tristwch Y Fenywod “Blodyn Gwyrdd” (Night School)
If 4AD had been founded in Westeros instead of early-’80s London, Tristwch Y Fenywod might be the label’s signature act. The Leeds trio, who bill themselves as a “Welsh-language gothic avant-rock power-coven,” have channeled their witchy magic into a brilliant self-titled debut album, taking the humble zither to triumphant new heights along the way. (In truth, the group actually employs a dual zither attack.) A project like this could easily veer into full-blown kitsch, especially since the Welsh language often sounds so fantastical to English-accustomed ears, but Tristwch Y Fenywod’s music is ultimately closer to that of bands like The Cranes and The Cure than it is to some sort of medieval cosplay. Still, there’s something transportive about pomp-filled LP opener “Blodyn Gwyrdd”—it’s not hard to imagine it soundtracking the climax of a dance in a 16th-century royal court, or accompanying ancient armies as they march off to war—but the song remains deeply stirring. Plenty of artists have their own sound, but Tristwch Y Fenywod appear to occupy their own universe.
Pavel Milyakov “the thrill (feat. Yana Pavlova)” (Psy X)
As buttechno, Pavel Milyakov often gravitates towards spastic, trance-infused club tracks, and as fun as they are, the more subdued work he makes under his own name might be even better. His new Enthropic Vision release, which includes guest spots from Martyna Basta, Richie Culver and Torus, doesn’t abandon the dancefloor altogether—“gabba-17” reflects the technicolor spirit of its title, “the eternal break” includes a bit of proggy grandeur and “drifted off” is a Burial-esque bit of deconstructed garage. But in the end, its strongest selection is also its most introspective. Reuniting Milyakov with Ukrainian singer Yana Pavlova—their beautifully glum, post-punk-flavored 2021 album BLUE is still a must-listen—“the thrill” bears traces of Young Marble Giants, Mazzy Star and maybe even The xx. It’s a hazy lament, and its ethereal melancholy is bewitching.
MJ Guider “To the Hour” (Across the Horizon)
In a way, we have Pan American to thank for “To the Hour” finding its way into the world. The ambient / experimental veteran was enlisted to put together Across the Horizon Vol.1, the first installment of a new artist-curated compilation series that’s loosely based around the idea of “ambient country.” The record includes a track from Pan American himself, a separate collaboration he did with violinist Chelsea Bridge and “To the Hour,” a slow-burning, drone-laden cut from New Orleans artist and kranky affiliate MJ Guider. Humid, hypnotic and oddly blissful, even during its noisiest moments, it deals in the same sort of elegant squall that bands like Sonic Youth once made their calling card.
Lia Kohl “Ignition, Sneakers” (Moon Glyph)
On paper, “Ignition, Sneakers” should be a deeply irritating song. Like the rest of Lia Kohl’s new Normal Sounds album, it’s built around seemingly mundane—and potentially annoying—field recordings the Chicago-based cellist captured in her immediate environment. There are buzzing appliances, airplanes roaring overhead, blaring car horns and a litany of other sounds, most of which our brains tend to automatically tune out. Kohl, on the other hand, chose to engage with these sounds directly, leaving her recordings largely unprocessed and then composing around them. “Ignition, Sneakers” literally features both the incessant beeping that happens when a key is inserted into a car’s ignition and the pitchy squeals of sneakers on a gymnasium floor, and yet the song turns out to be strangely beautiful, with Kohl adding in gorgeous cello swells and some little synth notes that could have lifted from an 8-bit Nintendo game. The whole album is like that, and, yes, it’s challenging, but unlike many other heavily conceptual projects, Normal Sounds never becomes a grating listen.
Seefeel “Hooked Paw” (Warp)
Most contemporary electronic artists wouldn’t go 13 months without releasing new music, but before last week, 13 years had gone by since Seefeel last dropped new material. Yet the UK post-rock / experimental / impossible-to-neatly-categorize group has taken the pause in stride, offering up new mini-album Everything Squared as though it were no big deal. More than three decades in, they’re not especially interested in taking big creative swings; if anything, the new record is more like a return to the source, revisiting a time (i.e. the ’90s) when notions of genre were far more flexible and thoughtfully weird electronic music was by and large a niche concern. Surveying the release, there are moments of scratchy ambient, haunted avant-pop and what might be described as IDM-meets-shoegaze. There’s a weightlessness to the music, but it’s not easy listening, and never feels insubstantial. In other words, it’s a Seefeel record, and “Hooked Paw” is a particularly strong cut, one which seems to effortlessly glide through a slightly swampy strain of reverb-laden alien dub.
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.