Monday 20 May 2013

Guest Mix - Little Thoughts






I’ve been an admirer of the up-and-coming talent of Brighton producer Arthur Cambridge AKA Little Thoughts for a little while now. Although not always easy to pigeon hole his earlier releases on Acidic Records were quite down-tempo in contrast to the housier offerings on the Dachshund label.



Arthur tends to dj his own productions (every track in this set apart from the last is his own) and has recently teamed up with label mate Technical Pillow on a collaboration project “Technical Thoughts” for those in and around London you can catch a 4 hour free performance at the InSpiral Lounge in Camden on the 31st of May, as well as a supporting slot for ex Zero 7 and Groove Armada vocalist Sophie Barker @  the Pelican on the 13th of June or finally at the Gottwood Festival on the 20th to the 22nd of June.


So sit back, relax (or dance if you prefer) to the tropical grooves, techy beats and chilled sax of Little Thoughts.

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Audioglider - Summer Rainstorm e.p. Review






Artist: Audioglider


Title: Summer Rainstorm E.P.


Label: Section Records


Released: 13th May 2013




I don’t think they could have conjured up a more apt title for this e.p. (and I’m not referring to the rainy weather we’re experiencing in the UK recently) but the title track which conjures up the feeling of release from those summer storms after a few days of soaring temperatures. This is a magical soothing journey a perfect soundtrack for the summer months which I could easily see slotting into Ibiza chillout compilations.

This is followed by “Restoration” and Audioglider is on a roll here as this is another great summer track drifting between dubby bass lines and Mediterranean guitars which set me in mind of the CafĂ© Del Mar compilations.

The mood changes slightly with “Wrapped Up Tight” an electro’ish bass line is complemented with lush loops and warm synths and deep piano chords which gives a soulful, almost jazzy feel to the track in places.

The closing track “Crossing Boundaries” again is an apt description reflecting on the elements employed in this 80’s inspired e.p seamlessly weaving shoegaze, lounge, nu-disco and house which a pleasurable listen.

Personally, I think adding Audioglider to the artist rota of Section Records is a shrewd move by Nick Brennan he’s certainly dipping into all the sub-genres and I suspect given the airplay this could prove to be a summer smash, widening the appeal of the label to a wider fanbase.

Reviewed by Woodzee

http://www.sectionrecords.com/

InVibe Music Souls Emerge Compilation Review





Artist: Various


Title: Souls Emerge


Label: InVibe Music


Release Date: 7th May 2013





InVibe are a collective of musicians from Seattle whose ethos is to spread and share music that is made from, in their own words "beauty, heart and pure groove that transcends the norm. They look out for their producers on their roster and if you look on their home page you will see some very pleasing pie chart comparisons as to how a usual record company shares their profits and how they do.  Producers take note. They are up for the revolution.

With that said, into the album. 'Souls Emerge' is a compilation of some of the best artists on the label. It begins with the mighty Kalpataru Tree's remix of Citta Flows 'Cloud Story'. Once again he creates a sonic healing through his ability to tap into frequencies that at once are fully ground yet at the same time lift you into the realms of the spiritual aether and always underpinned with that earthy dub bass he does so well.

 It then moves onto Subaqueous's remix of Michael Maricle's 'Look' a desert dwelling excursion that conjures up being in a Bedouin tribe round the fire of the evening head nodding to a desert hip hop sound all sand and tied up camel's braying in the near distance.

GUDA's 'Benares 'Sunrise' brings it back (but not harsly) to a more western feel with a jazzy saxophone but still keeps with that tribal percussion sound. This overall is subtly done.

 The tempo rises slightly with Eyan Green's 'Para Angle' where he brings it to the dance. Think of glitch hop styling’s, a subtle 'wob wob' bass but so much warmer and understated but with just enough krunk to get the feet moving with warmth synth lines and a hint of that Bil Bless sound. 

Mas's 'Fireside' drops a beautifully infused hang (drum) infused with breakbeats all dohl drummed to perfection with disjointed faraway voices and a synth line that I'm not ashamed to say reminds me of Duran Duran's 'Save A Prayer' all brilliantly done.

Leave Trace's 'Quintessence' brings it fully into the warmest of dub techno with the heart beat pulse of a barely recognisable kick drum that reminds me so much of Paul Kalkbrenner's remix of Ellen Allien & Apparats 'Jet' but with that said he still creates his own unique airspace with his own thermal bass and beautiful folding synths n fx. 

Babajaga's 'Procession' once more takes us cross continent back to desert blown winds but this time with melancholic strings that speak of loss and longing whether in the personal or the greater picture but with a beat that calls to arms and to stay strong.  

With Leave Trace and Michael Maricle's 'State of Decay'  the earth plane is left and just about in contact with some static radio transmission of mission control but there is an underlying heartbeat that says "go further" and with a breakthrough on in to the stillness, orbiting, looking out to the majesty of this beautiful planet

The album closes perfectly with De La Lune's 'United Souls'.  Echoing sparse piano chords and a female voice (unknown) speaks to the warriors of this world to bring together the love that will see us through this one to a new and better world. 

Keep the faith People x 

Saturday 11 May 2013

Bearded Theory & the Magical Sounds Dance Tent


These days there seems to be more festivals (in the UK alone) than you can shake a shitty stick at covering and specialising in all genres of music. 


This year I'll be playing at the Magical Sounds Dance tent @ Bearded Theory the festival  has a number of global and dub fusion artists playing already such as Asian Dub Foundation, Macka B & Ruts DC. 

While the the Magical Sounds Dance Tent covers a range of artists from old skool legend A Guy Called Gerald who since his classics "Voodoo Ray" and "Emotions Electric" has moved through the realms Drum and Bass and more recently techno. Psychedelic dance masters O.O.O.D, Dub-Step collective Engine-Earz to the Celtic vibe of the Peatbog Faires. Indeed, the list goes on and I mustn't forget to mention Liquid Lounge and the Mosienko Project who have submitted Sun Is Shining guest mixes in the past.





So I'm hoping the sun will be shining next weekend and look forward to both playing and experiencing the Bearded Theory vibe.


For further details and tickets http://www.beardedtheory.co.uk/