First Floor #253 – Embracing the Jam
An interview with Barker, plus a round-up of the latest electronic music news and a fresh batch of new track recommendations.
As a music critic, I genuinely try to keep an open mind. Change is a constant in culture, and while I may not love every new development that comes down the pipe, I do try to evaluate things on their own terms. What I like doesn’t have to align perfectly with what I think is worthy of examination, and that means engaging with sounds, ideas and methodologies that aren’t necessarily to my taste.
All that said, there are some lines that I will not cross, and few notions are more strongly burned into my personal critical rubric than this:
Jam bands suck, and the culture around them is even worse.
Maybe this is a byproduct of growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I reflexively rejected the lingering traces of hippie culture that the region was known for, particularly during the pre-tech era. (My decades-long disdain for all things Burning Man is partially rooted in a similar sentiment.) Whatever the reason though, I’ve spent most of my life actively dismissing jam bands and their legions of devotees, viewing the whole ecosystem as a sort of large-scale grift by masturbatory musicians who’ve cashed in on borrowed ’60s nostalgia and usurped communities that had nowhere else to go after Jerry Garcia died.
And yet, when I was interviewing Barker earlier this week, I found myself tentatively nodding along as the Berlin-based artist enthusiastically described a growing circuit of long-form, multi-artist live jams. In his mind, this nascent scene is one of the most exciting things about contemporary electronic music, and a chance for the genre to move beyond the increasingly stagnant DJ paradigm.
Is he right? Possibly. And while I’m not about to suddenly put on a String Cheese Incident t-shirt or anything like that, I am open to the idea that live jams are something that could provide a much-needed breath of fresh air to the entire electronic music realm. It certainly sounds better than sticking another generation of influencers in the DJ booth, and for struggling producers, putting an increased focus on live performance—whether it’s delivered as part of a jam or not—is a path that’s at the very least worth considering.
You’ll find that Barker interview below, and though it was first published earlier this week, the paywall has now been removed—temporarily—so everyone can give it a read. Otherwise, keep scrolling for the rest of today’s First Floor digest, which pulls together news items, new release announcements and suggested reading links from the past week. As always, there’s also a healthy assortment of track recommendations, all of them highlighting tunes that were released during the past seven days, and I’ve also recruited Italian producer Piezo to stop in with a special guest recommendation.
Let’s get started.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Every Tuesday, First Floor publishes a long-form piece that’s initially made available to paid subscribers only. But if you’re not part of the paid tier, now’s your chance to see what you missed! The latest piece is now (temporarily) open to everyone, and it’s an interview with Barker, who talks at length about his highly anticipated new album, but also takes stock of how he’s been affected by the massive upheaval in electronic music—and the world—during the past five years.
FIRST FLOOR LIVE WITH ELIJAH
First Floor is launching a new series of live events, and the first one is happening in Barcelona next Friday, February 28 at Casa Montjuic. I’ll be joined that night by UK artist, writer and thinker Elijah (a.k.a. the man behind the conversation-starting Yellow Squares project), who will be presenting the latest version of his “Close the App, Make the Ting” lecture before we sit down to dissect the current state of the culture and the music industry. And yes, we’ll also be talking about his new book.
Tickets are available here. Capacity is limited, and tickets are moving quickly, so make sure to grab one now before they’re gone.
REAL QUICK
A round-up of the most interesting electronic music news from the past week, plus links to interviews, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.
Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine book—which chronicles the history of Spotify and details many of the streaming giant’s unethical / exploitative practices—has been generating a lot of conversation this year, despite the fact that it hasn’t even been officially released outside of the US yet. First Floor interviewed the New York-based writer last month, and this week the Guardian published an excerpt from the book, one that focuses on Spotify’s Discover Mode program and its many similarities to the (now illegal) payola practices that plagued the radio industry in the 1950s.
Yana Pavlova has died. A Ukrainian artist with a hauntingly beautiful voice, she was best known for her collaborations with Pavel Milyakov (a.k.a. buttechno), who shared news of her passing via Instagram. Their track “the thrill” recently landed on First Floor’s favorite tracks of 2024 list, and the pair also collaborated on a couple of excellent 2021 albums, BLUE and Wandering.
The trance “revival” has essentially become a permanent fixture of the electronic music landscape, and Sam Valenti has dedicated his most recent Herb Sundays newsletter to the oft-maligned (albeit stubbornly popular) genre. The wide-ranging piece—which is apparently only part one of a multi-part series—includes many of his own thoughtful observations, surveying the music’s trajectory across several decades, and also includes the input of people like Lorenzo Senni, Patrick Holland, Priori, Nathan Micay and, yes, yours truly.
Ben Cardew’s Line Noise newsletter gets referenced semi-regularly here at First Floor, but it actually started out as a podcast, one that this week celebrated its 200th episode by interviewing Kompakt legend Wolfgang Voigt (a.k.a. GAS). Cardew also marked the milestone with a post highlighting some of his favorite episodes from the podcast’s nearly decade-long run.
Just days after First Floor pondered the recent uptick in nostalgia-oriented content being created by the electronic music press, Resident Advisor published a new Rewind feature that recounts the history behind Richie Hawtin’s seminal 1999 release, Decks, EFX & 909. That’s not a complaint! Written by Paul Weedon, it’s a solid read that revisits a time when the techno sphere in many ways had stagnated, prompting Hawtin to actively try to push things forward.
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.
With all of the insanity coming out of the US, last month’s devastating LA wildfires have largely disappeared from the daily discourse, but crucial relief efforts are still underway. Earlier this month, LA label ESP Institute released a massive benefit compilation, ESP Institute XV – I Active, II Passive, III Unobtanium, which includes 90 tracks from the likes of Young Marco, Powder, Alex Kassian, Doc Sleep, Roman Flügel, Benedikt Frey, Afrikan Sciences, Tornado Wallace, Brendon Moeller and many, many others. Proceeds will be divided between non-profit organizations CalFund, MusiCares, GiveDirectly, Global Empowerment Mission and Canine Rescue Club, along with GoFundMe campaigns for underrepresented LA families.
As a general rule, First Floor doesn’t grant much coverage to edits, but when a new batch of edits is done by Skee Mask, making an exception feels justified. Over the weekend, the German producer dropped a refix package called 2RR on Bandcamp. Inside are reworks of Persona 5’s “Beneath the Mask” and the Chemical Brothers remix of Dave Clarke’s “No One's Driving,” and while both are currently available name-your-price downloads, Skee Mask says they will only remain online for a short time.
Avalon Emerson dropped a surprise new single, her first for the Dead Oceans label. Available now, “Don’t Be Seen with Me”—which also has an accompanying video—is a cover of a 1982 track by synth-pop outfit Oppenheimer Analysis, and it’s said to be the inaugural installment of a new dancefloor-focused singles series she’s calling Perpetual Emotion Machine. (Full disclosure: Emerson and I work together on the Buy Music Club platform.)
Not many producers can top Ploy when it comes to creative drum programming, and the UK artist will soon be bringing his percussive talents to the Dekmantel label via a new double pack called It’s Later Than You Think. Billed as a collection of “no-nonsense house,” it’s due to arrive on March 14, but opening track “When in Room” has already been shared.
UK duo emptyset have a new full-length on the way. First presented as a live performance at the Tate Modern, Dissever is said to draw from the intertwined histories of cosmic rock, minimalism and electronic music. The LP will be issued via Thrill Jockey on May 23, but ahead of that, the song “Gloam” has already been made available.
Bristol bass outpost Tectonic is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and intends to mark the occasion with a new compilation, EPs from Trim, Beatrice M. and 2562 and a forthcoming full-length from label founder Pinch. Details about those releases have not yet been shared, but Pinch will be whetting people’s appetites with a new EP, Red Rabbit, that he made alongside Lorem. That record is due to surface on March 6, though EP cut “Small Steps in the Dark” is available now.
Speaking of UK bass, Kevin Richard Martin (a.k.a. The Bug) collaborated with Dis Fig on a new standalone single, “Silent.” It’s available now as a name-your-price Bandcamp download through Martin’s Intercranial imprint.
Maurice Fulton has used many different names over the years, but his work as BOOF dates back more than two decades. The project’s latest full-length, Night Blooming Cereus, unexpectedly surfaced last Friday via Fulton’s BubbleTease Communications label, and it’s available in full now.
Although Nazar’s acclaimed 2020 debut album, Guerilla, provided a rough-edged recontextualization of Angolan kuduro, his follow-up is set to go down a much different path. Entitled Demilitarise, it’s said to be inspired by both an extended illness and “the flowering of new love,” and although Hyperdub will be releasing the full LP on April 25, first single “Anticipate” has already been shared.
PIEZO 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 Piezo, a Milan-based artist who’s spent more than a decade exploring the various corners of both the hardcore continuum and the techno spectrum, adorning them with his own unique sense of sound design along the way. His catalog includes an impressive string of bassbin-rattling releases on labels like Wisdom Teeth, Nervous Horizon, Hundebiss and Idle Hands, and his most recent effort, Ecstatic Nostalgia, was part of last month’s relaunch of the Dekmantel UFO imprint. Here, he offers up some thoughts on dance music’s dreaded t-word, and shares a tune that embodies some of the genre’s best traits.
Matthis Ruffing “Silt Strider” (Elicit)
Like many in recent years, I too got hooked by this new trance resurgence. I started including more of the genre in my DJ sets, and I would put a bouncy upbeat bass in my own tunes every now and then ... I guess the key (as always) is not getting trapped by old tropes and to keep pushing forward, exploring new combinations and playing with contrasts. What Mathis Ruffing does here is a perfect example of this approach: “Silt Strider” is obviously hectic, trippy and pilled-up, but somehow there’s also a sense of weightlessness. It’s not so serious, but it’s also very emotional at the same time—which is something I find incredibly contemporary.
LISTEN UP
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.
Thread Heather “Old Haunts of the Blessed” (Diskotopia)
After more than a decade of working under the A Taut Line moniker, the Diskotopia label co-founder is trying a new alias on for size. Although Thread Heather technically debuted back in 2023 with a single song (“My Best Pearls”), the new La Distance EP is the project’s first proper solo release, and based on its contents, the Bristol-born, Tokyo-based artist appears to have taken a keen interest in late-night grooves and static-glazed deep house. The standout “Old Haunts of the Blessed” is bathed in all sorts of fuzz, its charmingly ramshackle beat flanked by bright chords, cool horns and the muted shredding of what sounds like a far-off metal guitarist.
Mr. G “Dust in the System : Tokyo dub plate” (Phoenix G)
Speaking of deep house, few artists do it better than Mr. G, and the UK veteran leads off his new Gettin’ somewhere? EP with the excellent “Dust in the System: Tokyo dub plate.” A low-key strutter, it opens with little more than a slightly rubbery rhythm and some sultry vocal clips, but as the minutes pass, the track’s funk-infused bassline slowly transforms into dubsteppy wobble. It’s an unexpected move from an artist whose usual sound palette sits miles away from the hardcore continuum, but what’s most impressive is how Mr. G incorporates that wobble into a cozy house groove.
RAVEN “UNLIMITED EDITION” (Incienso)
RAVEN “FINAL FADE SYNC” (Incienso)
Can an album be both billowing and funky? Listening to GNOSIS, the debut full-length from San Francisco producer RAVEN, it appears that the answer is “yes.” Populated with both mediative passages and more dynamic fare, the LP has two constants: dreamily rippling synth textures and a persistent haze of static. The latter makes even the chunky, Mr. Fingers-esque groove of “UNLIMITED EDITION” sound like it’s being played from an old boombox—or maybe a vintage turntable with a missing ground wire. The neon glow of album closer “FINAL FADE SYNC,” however, still manages to bust through the fog, its rapid-fire arpeggios evoking memories of Miami Vice and electroclash alike.
Scratchclart “DWLU (feat. Special Guest & DJ Tubby)” (Self-released)
Digging deep into his contacts, Scratcha DVA enlisted a slew of collaborators on his romantically inclined new Valentine Rose Vol. 1 EP. Most recognizable among them are producers like Sinjin Hawke and Scotti Dee, but the record’s best tune, “DWLU,” features the contributions of the relatively unknown DJ Tubby and a “special guest” who prefers to remain anonymous. Whoever they are, they seem to have brought some silky R&B to the table, working in tandem with Scratcha and Tubby to layer the song’s lovelorn vocals atop a lightly shuffling beat while bathing the whole thing in warm, pillow-soft textures. What results is something that feels like a cross between an old Crazy Cousinz track and a 3 a.m. phone call from an ex.
Aasthma “Pulteney Symphony” (Self-released)
Big with a capital B and emotional with a capital E, “Pulteney Symphony” is the latest single from Aasthma, the genre-busting collaborative endeavor of Swedish producers (and good buddies) Peder Mannerfelt and Pär Grindvik. With its rousing strings and off-kilter shuffle, this hi-def tearjerker—yes, it’s a candidate for the big-room sad canon—prompts questions like, “What if Moby had tried his hand at UK garage?” and “What if Disclosure hadn’t been so determined to land on the pop charts?” But really, it’s just an immaculately crafted tune from two club veterans who aren’t afraid to wade into potentially cheesy waters—and, more importantly, know how to navigate them without losing themselves in the process.
Blu Terra “Fix” (SPLOT)
The new Bluf EP apparently sprouted forth from the bassline of opening number “Is the Place”—and to be fair, it’s a killer bassline—but the rambunctious “Fix” is the record’s vibrant high point. Made by Blu Terra—a Polish producer who’s one half of the group Private Press, and also previously worked under the name Newborn Jr.—the track is a skippy breakbeat hybrid, borrowing from garage, dubstep and jungle without sounding exactly like any of those genres. And though it’s underpinned by a heavy dose of low-end pressure, “Fix” never gets mired in its own sludge; with its twitchy bounce and laser-like zaps, the song is better suited to an aerobic workout than a night of moody mugging.
Gaiko “Crush” (Nous’klaer)
Breakbeat, grime, trance, trip-hop, jazz, new age, ambient, IDM … Belgian-Japanese artist Gaiko is painting with a whole lot of different colors on his self-titled debut album, yet the LP somehow never once feels disjointed. On the contrary, it recalls the giddy, “throw it all in a blender and see what happens” approach that artists like Hudson Mohawke and Rustie made their calling card during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Gaiko does swap out some of their brashness for some pop sheen—there’s not much trap or dubstep bravado to be found in his particular stew—but what really stands out is how wonderfully alive his production feels, even during those moments when he brings down the energy level and indulges in a bit of introspection. On the whole though, the album is full of whimsy, verve and lightning-quick switch-ups, and things get especially lively on “Crush,” a jungle-adjacent romp where Gaiko’s playfully smacking rhythms take flight in a space he’s stuffed with squishy pads, cartoonish sound effects and (not kidding) the sounds of a cheering crowd. On paper, that perhaps sounds ridiculous, but coming out of a speaker, it’s damn near perfect.
WOST & Entrañas “Selvática (Pangaea Remix)” (TraTraTrax)
Anyone with a taste for Latin rhythms and heavy bass has most likely come across the work of WOST during the past few years. Aside from his scene-stealing appearances on labels like TraTraTrax, N.A.A.F.I and International Chrome, the Bogotá-based Venezuelan has loaded up his Bandcamp with dozens of white-hot edits. Miniteca Selvática is his first EP proper for TraTraTrax, and as the title implies, it owes a huge debt to Latin and Caribbean soundsystem culture. Lead track “Selvática”—a collaboration with Ecuadorian up-and-comer Entrañas—puts a Brazilian funk vocal clip to work atop a grimey, growling bassline. It’s a solid tune that sits capably alongside the work of fellow TraTraTraxers like Verraco and Doctor Jeep, but Pangaea’s roided-up rework of the song is the EP’s true club smasher. The Hessle Audio co-founder has been on a hot streak of his own in recent years—“Installation,” anyone?—and in his hands, the “Selvática” bassline becomes not just louder, but downright nasty, its brawny, elastic notes practically flexing their way across the dancefloor.
Torn Hawk “Point Break Font” (Fixed Rhythms)
It’s not often that I’ll reference a comment from Bandcamp when writing about a piece of music, but Chris Zaldua—who authors the excellent Thoughts of a Certain Sound newsletter—pretty much nailed it when he described Torn Hawk’s new Flip to Raw EP as “super sick mutant downtempo for the freak squad.” Seeing the New Jersey producer pop up on the house- and techno-oriented Fixed Rhythms label is something of a surprise, as his weirdo creations have had little to do with the dancefloor in recent years. This new record isn’t exactly full of functional club tools either, but there’s a lot to like about its lurching scuzz-funk. “Point Break Font” is one of several highlights, and with its corroded drums, angsty grunge-isms and ever-present tension, it sounds like Torn Hawk’s attempt to soundtrack what increasingly feels like an irreversible societal collapse.
Jordan GCZ “Don’ Be Sad, Life Is Sweet” (quiet details)
“Lynchian” is not a word one would expect to use when describing the music of Jordan GCZ, but the veteran producer—best known for his work as one half of Juju & Jordash—has set aside his dancefloor proclivities on the new Hope Isn't a Four Letter Word. As with other quiet details releases, it’s nominally ambient in nature, but there’s an understated quirkiness to its contents, which at times sound as though they’re channeling the Twin Peaks soundtrack. Jordan GCZ’s use of the DX7 synth—which was all over Twin Peaks—has a lot to do with that, but the standout “Don’ Be Sad, Life Is Sweet” also shares the show’s sense of eerie calm, its pensive beauty enhanced by the presence of ghostly vocal fragments and the wandering notes of a melodica.
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.)
Until next time,
Shawn
Shawn Reynaldo is a freelance writer, editor, presenter and project manager. Find him on LinkedIn and Instagram—and make sure to follow First Floor on Instagram as well—or you can just drop Shawn an email to get in touch about projects, collaborations or potential work opportunities.