The ill-ec-tro-nic

After a lengthy hiatus from this blog I've decided to return and give you all more music than you can shake an electronic stick at. These tunes have been rocking my stereo for the last couple of months.


Echaskech - Shatterproof // Just Music Buy

Title track from their great new album out now on Just Music.

Every month Echaskech showcase different electronic artists at their residency at The Concrete Bar on London's south bank.
The next event is on October 17th with Max Cooper (Live) and Input Junkie (Live). For more info go to www.echaskech.co.uk
They also have an album launch for Shatterproof at the Queen of Hoxton on October 28th.



Point B - Track 1 // Combat Recordings Buy

Great melodic Dubstep from the forthcoming 'Suicide Beauty Spot' album on Combat Recordings. Released October 26th.




Andrew Weatherall - Built Back Higher // Rotters Golf Club Buy

Radical Majik - Direct Action (Andrew Weatherall Remix) // Rotters Golf Club Buy

Andrew Weatherall confounds critics who try and put his sound into any type of box. 'Built Back Higher' is my favourite track from his new album 'A Pox On The Pioneers'.

Weatherall also teams up with his Boardroom crew for more new tracks and remixes from 'Andrew Weatherall Vs The Boardroom Vol 2'


Ikonika - Smuck // Planet Mu released Oct 26th

Subeena - Analyse // Planet Mu released Oct 19th

The ladies are upstaging the boys with these two new releases forthcoming on Planet Mu.

It's more great 8 bit Dubstep in a Zomby style from Ikonika plus a melodic Dubtec wonder from Subeena




Florence And The Machine - You Got The Love (XX Remix) // Universal

So this is a remix of a cover version of The Source feat Candi Staton - 'You Got The Love' which itself was a mashup of her original acapella plus Jamie Principal's 'Your Love'.

Hmm.... Worth it though.




And finally some superb podcasts and mixes you should definitely check out.

2562 - Fact Mix 81

Scuba - Podcast 03

SCB - mnml ssgs mix 37

Labels: 2562, Andrew Weatherall, Echaskech, Ikonika, Planet Mu, Point B, Scuba, Subeena

I'm by no means a fan of everything that graces the Planet Mu label but as with last year, 2009 has seen some excellent releases from this camp. One thing that the label has always been synonymous with is experimentation and it's usually a fairly certain bet that anything it puts out isn't going to be formulaic and too easily pigeonholed.

All three of the albums I'm featuring here have been out a month or two at least but they've all proved to have the staying power to make repeat plays on my stereo so I figured they deserved a mention.

First up is Boxcutter's Arecibo Message which starts with two very strong tracks, Sidetrack and Mya Rave, both of which deliver solid 2 step variations and Burial-style atmospherics that'll satisfy any hunger you have for the days of old school rave. From here on in, the album takes all kinds of twists and turns, moving from the Drexyican influenced electro of the title track, through the kind of borderline mentalism one might typically expect of a Planet Mu record on Arcadia 202. There's room for some soulful vocals on Kab 28 and the final cut, A Cosmic Parent even brings a touch of disco to the party.

Boxcutter - Mya Rave // Planet Mu buy

Falty DL's Love is a Liability shares a number of similarities with Arecibo Message, exhibiting garage and electronica sensibilities throughout but where Arecibo Message seems a little erratic at times, Love is a Liability maintains a better sense of cohesion and flow. 2-step patterns, playful melodies and haunting vocals feature heavily and the album has a very strong sense of atmosphere. Dark dubstep vibes also feature heavily and while so many of the influences exhibited are taken from the past, the album also has a futuristic sci-fi feel to it and is without doubt one of my favourite albums of the year so far. It's hard to pick a standout track as there's so many strong cuts on offer so it's perhaps the wealth of the complete package that makes this album work so well. With his first release only coming out in 2007, Falty DL, aka Drew Lustman is a relative newcomer to the scene, but by all accounts he's been making some serious waves and with the quality of work on offer here it's not hard to see why.

Falty DL - Paradise Lost // Planet Mu buy

Upon hearing Few Nolder's, New Folder album, Planet Mu probably isn't the first place you're likely to think of as being its natural home as it's a much more 4/4 affair than usually appears on the label. This isn't to say it doesn't fit with the rest of the label's output, it really just gives further credence to my earlier statement that you should never make assumptions about anything bearing a Mu catalogue number without first giving it a listen. Over 9 tracks of varied micro house similar in style to the likes of Akufen, Lithuanian Linas Strockis serves up some interesting glitchtronica and shows that his decision to quit his career as a professional pianist back in 2001 was certainly to dance music's benefit.

Few Nolder - Pillow // Planet Mu buy

Labels: Boxcutter, Falty DL, Few Nolder, Planet Mu

This will be the last from me for a few weeks as I'm about to jet off on holiday but before I leave you in Langer's hands I've got just about enough time for one last post. Unlike many of my previous posts, there's no 'theme' to this one other than the fact that all of these tracks / albums have been getting some air time on my headphones.

I'm guessing that few outside of Scandinavia (myself included) will have heard of the curious genre known as Skwee but from the little I've read about it's basically synth driven lo-fi electronica that doesn't take itself too seriously. Eero Johannes' anonymously titled debut LP sits within said classification and delivers 13 tracks of bleepy goodness that range from synth pop similar in style to the the excellent Datashat through to slightly tougher and more 'serious' tracks that wouldn't sound out of place on a wonky aquacrunk dancefloor.

Eero Johannes - Katt Witt 700 Watts //Planet Mu buy

Next up is another debut LP but this time on a mellow hip hop tip. Adrian Michna started his recording career under the moniker Egg Foo Young and had an EP out on Andrea Parker's Touchin' Bass imprint a few years back and has done a handful of remixes and some production work since. On Magic Monday though he's dropped the pseudonym and his first name preferring simply to be known as Michna. The album is a tasty little number reminiscent of RJD2's early work with each track offering something a little different from the next whilst maintaining a warm relaxing vibe throughout.

Michna - Believe In It //Ghostly International buy

The ethereal vocals and soothing piano on Dutch Elm, the opening track of Sunken Foal's Fallen Arches, might lead the listener to assume it's going to be a breezy and relaxing ride all the way. However, while tracks such as Cash Poor are in a similar mould, this is a Planet Mu album after all so things get a little more 'challenging' as the album progresses and the various electronic toys are thrown into the mix.

Sunken Foal - Cash Poor // Planet Mu buy

Labels: Electronica, Ghostly International, Hip Hop, Michna, Planet Mu, Sunken Foal

Labels: Distance, Dubstep, Headhunter, Planet Mu, Starkey, Tempa

Despite their long running and prolific release schedule, Planet Mu isn't a label that I know a great deal about as I've always associated it with the more caustic end of IDM (something which I can only take in small doses). However, I was recently given some of the label's latest releases and although the crazed breakbeat of Venetian Snares' Detrimentalist resulted in a fairly short slot on the CD player, it was the efforts of two artists that I'd not heard of previously that tickled my ear buds and have been on frequent rotation since.

The Standoffish Cat (dodgy title!) is the debut LP from Mrs Jynx and is 13 tracks of electronica goodness. While none of the tracks are particularly groundbreaking they are all high quality mixes of floaty melodies and clicky percussion and if you've been hankering after the good old days of mid 90s electronica then this album should be just up your street.

Mrs Jynx - Time Missed //The Standoffish Cat

Buy The Standoffish Cat here.

iTAL tEK is another relatively new producer with only a handful of EPs ahead of his first full long player here. Cyclical shows off another of dubstep's many facets only this time it's luscious electronica melodies that have been thrown into the melting pot to spice up the sparse rhythms and gargantuan sub-bass.

iTAL tEK - Cyclical //Cyclical

Buy Cyclical here.

And for those of you that are fans of the slightly more deranged face of Planet Mu's releases, here's something from label owner Mike Paradinas from a few years back:

u-Ziq - Siege of Antioch //Bilious Paths

Buy Planet Mu here.

Labels: Dubstep, Electronica, iTAL tEK, Mrs Jynx, Planet Mu, u-Ziq

Ill-ec-tro-nic was recently featured in The Guardian in a round up of the best blogs to feature free music online. Check out the article here. Now of course the pressure is on to keep up with the new posts and give all you new readers some new content.

To start with let me introduce our regular monthly DJing sessions in the bar down at Cafe 1001 in Brick Lane, London.
Every second Thursday of the month you can hear myself and RAW spin the latest electronic tunes that are currently floating our boat. Joining me this Thursday (10th) will be Bauer, Mark Solo and Goodhand from Stuff Records straight out of Glasgow.

So expect multiple assortments of the finest electronic beats and come join us for a drink.

I couldn't leave without giving you a couple of tasters of what you might expect so here are the following treats.

Andy Stott - Hostile // Modern Love

This metallic gem featured in my Top 40 of 2007 and is a slab of straight up Basic Channel style Techno.
Buy the full 320 kbps MP3 or the 12" from Boomkat.

Next is a track I only got introduced to a couple of months ago but it immediately had me hooked. 'Qawwali' by Pinch was originally released on Plant Mu records back in 2006 but features on Pinch's new LP 'Underwater Dancehall' on Tectonic. The track has been renamed 'Brighter Day' and appears as a vocal version featuring Juakali and also as an instrumental. It's a sparse Dubstep masterpiece.

Check out samples and pick up a copy at Phonica.

Pinch - Qawwali // Planet Mu

Labels: 1001, Andy Stott, Dubstep, Modern Love, Pinch, Planet Mu, Techno, Tectonic