it's all about the beats

.... lots of different stuff here this week, but all anchored by the beat

Nosaj Thing - Drift

Coming out of LA's now infamous beat scene, this debut shows great depth maturity. For all you Flying Lotus sluts out there, here's is the less organic but no less sonically complex version. Pulsing rave/electro influenced synths ride over a super organic almost lazy hip hop beats, with eyebrow-raising ease. Like Flying Lotus, it's less about the individual song, and more about he sum of it's parts, as the album washes from song to song creating almost one giant track. This is future-electro avant-garde hip hop of the highest order... sorry but i'm trying to nail down an album that is almost un-pigeon-holeable... yeah, cop that english language!

No Made Sense - The Epillanic Choragi

So progressive sludgey post hardcore metal is nothing new. What has been lingering since Tool first invaded the space has only been built upon by bands like Isis, Buried Inside and The Psyke Project. Taking the prog and making it DIRTY, very dark and downright claustrophobic. Here, No Made Sense, push things even further with moody interludes, sweeping 13 minute opus's, light, shade, grey, rain, sun... pick an advective, verb, noun whatever, as rotating guitar lines, and drum beats swirl endlessly towards the apocalypse! Now exhale.....

FabricLive 47 - VA - mixed by Toddla T

Who hasn't heard of Fabric and the FabricLive series, but i wouldn't call this out unless i was suitably impressed. I suppose the overridding theme here is dancehall, but along the way you'll flow from nu-reggae to dubstep, drum'n'bass, soul and everything in-between, take a journey through the urban jungle!

Clutch - Strange Cousins from the West

Been doin' it for 20 years. Bluesy sabbath rock doesn't get any better.

Disco, prog RAWk wrap up

wow this is going to confuse the f#@k out of some people. Lots of interesting albums have come out of the last few weeks. Something for everyone here.

Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps

This isn't something we would expect to see released on Relapse Records - better know for pushing crazy hardcore, grind and death spasm nutiness. Dysrhythmia is an instrumental prog rock 3-piece. If the world were a fairer place, the guitarist would be held in the same exalted company as Van Halen and other so-called guitar gods. This music is devoid of trendiness, and pro-tools trickery… it’s almost indescribable. If you have any interest in rock music, song writing, song structure or would just like to have your jaw left broken on the ground, you need this.

Horse Meat Disco

Horse Meat Disco are a crew who put on spectacular gay dance club nights around the world… how hilarious is the name! This selection of lesser know disco inferno bangers, is nothing short of brilliant. Frankly I don’t care how much of a hard man you are, if you aren’t doing the running man early 80’s style, then you don’t have a pulse. This is more about the 8-minute disco jam than the 3-minute made-for-the-charts crap you’ll usually run screaming from. It’s unmixed, so this is perfect for the DJ, but even better for listening at home. Pure guilty bliss.

JJ – JJ No.2

Nothing is known about JJ. Is it one guy, a duo or a whole band? This guy/duo/band is cloaked in mystery. All we know is that JJ have released this debut album of blissed out summer indie electro pop sweetness on the label started by the guys in The Tough Alliance. This is pretty much where this album is aiming at. The subtlety is amazing; each song sounding like you have fallen in love for the first time. Check out track “ecstacy” for a floaty drugged out pop-take on a hip-hop beat. Go Sunday arvo come down!

Between the Buried and Me - Colors

Wow, am i late to the party with these guys.. this came out in 2007! As i am so fecking out of touch.. all i'll say is: pop, rock, death metal, opera, TV sitcom, prog, melodic angry who said what now?!?!?!

Looking forward to:

Sean Diddy Combs - Last Train to Paris, anyone who has been following his posts on twitter probably can't wait till this thing comes out and he falls flat on his face. I hope i'm wrong, but i bet i'm not

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 'nough said

Muse - The Resistance, please don't disappear up your own arses

Air - Love 2, a fair way off, but still hoping they can pull their career out of the fire

Mid Winter Warmers

Lynx & Kemo - The Raw Truth

I've been letting this one simmer for a few weeks, and i'm really glad i did. Kemo is a Yanky MC living in Germany and Lynx has been a young upstart in the UK drum'n'bass scene for a few years. Together they have put forward one of the most stripped back yet genre hopping dub'n'bass releases in ages. Straddling genres like playthings, the album never feels disjointed. In fact, more than any other realease in recent memory, the tracks play off each other seamlessly washing from lo-fi d'n'b, to dubstep, to jazzed out hippin' breaks. At first it all seams little underwhelming, but rest assured this is one of the most accomplished breaks/hip hop releases you'll listen to this year.

Lindstrom and Prins Thomas - II

A few weeks back i said i was letting some albums grow on me. I didn't want to judge too soon. This was one of them, and i just can't stop returning to it. Like a tripped out prog soft electronic rock masterpiece from the future, this thing is so dreamy it almost makes me wish i could fly... At times sounding like a more organic version of Shpongle; from the opening track to the final note this album feels like nothing else. But be warned, it is not for the short of attention span as tracks build and build over minutes, with huge peaks and troughs, mutli-layering, crazed synth-lines and weird "what the fuck was that?" moments. MiNd aLteRing ShEEite..?><

Mothra - Dyes

no, not the dredful nu-metal cretins that crawled out of buttfuck USA in the late 90's. These guys are from Poland, and all i'll say is... if you grew up poor and hungry in Poland, you'd make hardcore punk as angry, unhinged and downright miserable as this... RAWK!!!

Things to look forward to:

new The Roots album
new lil wayne - please don't suck... but i have a bad feeling about this "rock" album
finally the new Datarock album.. good god take your time boys!

short and sweet

OK, boys and girls, just two quick albums that are worthy of your attention. In the process of going through some albums that are 'growers', so i'll write about them shortly... out!

Kylesa - Static Tensions

Remember that kid at school that used to liked Black Sabbath, always smelt of weed and loved drawing violent cartoons on his arms. Well that kid grew up and started a band called Kylesa - a progressive sludgey stoner RAWKin' metal band that loves the dusty desert riff. Think, Queens of the Stone Age, just wasted on mushrooms and on the verge of a psychotic episode. The production is as dirty as it gets and simply demands to be played while speeding in a car. In fact, this is your new car music... now go wrap that muscle car round a pole!

Filastine - Dirty Bomb

This is not new. In fact, when it was released in January it slipped under most peoples noses. It's music from the not to distant future. Equal parts dub-step, hip hop, cut and paste and breakcore all wrapped up with a world music slant. If you want proof of how inventive music can be, then this demands your attention. This is a truly mesmerizing talent, and what i love is this albums sounds like only a peak into the genius to come. If you want to know what global urban music sounds like, give this a few spins.

Long time between drinks

Sorry folks, been away on travel for a few weeks, but I'm back in the game and ready to alert you to some great new sounds from around the world.. we've got some dance, some metal and some hip hop for y'all....

The Empty Foxhole 2 - mixed by Stefan Goldman

Stefen Goldman has been a prolific producer of minimal tech and spacious house for the last few years. This compilation mixes his own productions alongside other minimal masterpieces and is clear proof he's at the top of his game. It's a real headphone trip, with the mix washing from glitchy minimal to techy inspired house. There's really so much to discover here, which is not usually the case in minimal mixes. Effortless in it's simplicity, devastating in it's outcome.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse

ANb are a strange beast... on first inspection back in the early 2000's they seemed like another joke band out to terrorize the world with chainsaw guitars, drum machine insanity and old school hardcore style. Their songs, often with tempo's over 1000bpm, were produced with the aim of offending the listener as much as possible. But on this album ANb show a great deal of maturity with amazing song structures, technical wizadry and diversity to burn. They have lost none of their hardcore crusty punk edge and grindcore stylings, more just expanded on their sound with extra vocalists and more genre hopping... For some reason these don't make the album disjointed, as there's a real thread running through this chaos... can't wait to see it live too.

Madlib - Beat Konductor vol. 5-6

Alright well Madlib isn't exactly an unknown quantity but his albums of instrumental patchwork hip hop will be less talked about than his productions for other hip hop heavy weights. This album is his tribute to the late Jay Dilla and really pays homage to the old 'cut and paste' style. Don't let that put you off, because the production is flawless, soulful, seamless and funky... If you are a bit sick of some dude just rapping over a beat this could be the hip hop album for you. It will garner tonnes of new fans... if anyone ever hears about it?!?!?!

so much good music out this week!!!!

Alright then, new week, new tunes bitches!... lots of brilliant stuff has been dropped since last we spoke, so lets get right down to it....

Balance 014 - Mixed by Joris Voorn

I wouldn't normally put a mix CD on here but this is no ordinary mix CD. There are over 100 songs spanning 2 CD's. Don't think for a minute it's some patchy mash-up compilation, it's pure tech/prog/deep house all the way. The beauty here is Voorn has taken the baseline from one famous track, the vocals of another and the beat of about three to produce one of the most brilliantly layered washing machine mixes of sweeps, beats, that i have ever heard. He has even made room for some amazing ambient tunes and other none "4 on tha floor" classics like Goldie's "Timeless". Genius!

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Many Things

Fela Kuti was probably the biggest thing in Afrobeat and was known the world over especially for his productions in the 70's. It defined a generation, heavily influenced disco (and subsequent Dimitri from Paris compilations) and even today his beats are still being used and sampled. Seun is his son stepping up to the plate, fronting his fathers old band. Big shoes to fill indeed, however it's a case of like-father-like-son with this collection of eight afrobeat jam freakouts. There is no small amount of politically inspired lyricism also wedged amongst the good time booty shaking afro-vibes. Check out "Don't give shit to me" for a heavy does of politico-afro-dance mayhem, spanning almost 10 minutes.

Psyopus - Odd Senses

Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god help anyone who tries to approach this in one listen. Talk about throwing everything you've got at it. Think, if Dillinger Escape Plan took speed, then decided to play technical death metal covers of Mr Bungle songs. Complete with guitar squealing, crazy time signatures, totally out of control samples, screaming, trumpet solo's and... well you get the picture.... please only take in small doses, you could ship yourself off to the nuthouse very quickly with this CD

All in Brawl!!!

I was wanting to scribe some hip hop reviews this week but there's been precious little to get excited about. That N.A.S.A album is a big pile of bum dung, so i wait for some upcoming releases with baited breathe ... soooooo, here are some albums that have been on high rotation that you probably wouldn't have heard about but should probably give a listen.

Marcus Intalex pres. DAT:MUSIC - V/A

Marcus Intalex has been at the forefront of intelligent drum'n'bass for years now, his FabricLive mix was beautiful and this compilation on his Soul:R label is nothing short of huge. Spanning two CD's and over 22 songs, we cover the full spectrum of drum'n'bass from tech rollers to spaced out jams and stripped back, chilled out bliss. Mush of the interesting, and dare i say it, 'accessible material' is on the second CD. New tracks from Commix, Lomax and Chris Coda could barely be called drum'n'bass but are simply stunning. Which is where most of my praise arises from. This compilation isn't pushing the production of d'n'b forward, but chill out and down tuned elctronica too.

Architect - Ghost of the Saltwater Machines

Haven't really shone the light on too much hardcore and punk yet, but this is deserving of such attention. Crushing down tuned metal inspired hardcore, with huge breakdowns, and punishing riffs is nothing new but i haven't wanted to run around with a baseball and smash up my own apartment this much since Indecision's 1999 album Release the Cure. And that's pretty much the era these guys are going for. Angry, political and ready to stomp a policeman's nuts, albeit updated with more frenetic modern song structures and superb production. If you need a house demolished quick smart, put this on the ipod and let your self loose with a baseball bat!

Abakus - We Share the Same Dreams

Abakus do dreamy spacious uncheesey progressive house that is as much aimed at the lounge room as the dance floor. This isn't going to win any awards for departing from the prog house sound however each song is a masterpiece in deft layering, simple sliding synths and gorgeous sequencing. The drum sounds are surprisingly organic and there is enough interesting samples and song variety to warrant many repeated listens. Great for a late night spliff-a-thon or a Sunday arvo BBQ. Check out "Daybreak" or "Deun Deu".

The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules

The Whitest Boy Alive have made what they describe as their "disco" record, which seems a very popular thing to say of late. Even though the disco is more on the LCD Soundsystem side, than Donna Summer. This is lo-fi heart-warmingly cute disco played by an indie band. Don't be put off by the potential for naffness. The song writing is superbly deft and inventive, as you'd expect from an outfit led by Norwegian electronic producer Erlend Oye. Most tracks are like listening to shoe gazers cover your favourite deep house tracks in a jazz'd out 70's bar... where's the f#@king chai tea?

Zu - Carboniferous

Zu have been pumping out metal inspired droney electronic jazz records for the last 15 years, but it wasn't until Mike Patton and Buzz Osbourne (Fantomas/Melvins/Faith No More and various other bands) came on board for this album that it has all started to make sense. For anyone frothing on Battles or even more recent Dillinger Escape Plan this is going to hold much interest. The songs are a rumbling, hypnotic, throbbing mess of metal guitars, jazz timings and electronic trickery. Truly music from the not-to-distant future.

Page 1 says "If you want to go to HELL listen to":

Okilly dokilly METALorinoes, here are some killer albums straight from the slaughterhouse to you. There has a been a raft of awesome punishing work put out in recent weeks, so strap in and prepare to be bludgeoned:

Crowpath - One With Filth

I saw one review for this which read "these guys obviously hate there instruments". And to some point I would agree. This is trully some of the darkest metal i've heard in a while. Starting with the foreboding front cover of what looks like a sepia image of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, things don't get much better on the inside of the disk. Complete with crazy down-tuned guitars switching from breakneck riffing to droning doom styled hatred, with octopus drumming anchoring and a crazed vocalist painting the whole gory picture. This is not easy listening, and it's not meant to be. It's not quite quite death metal, it's not quite grindcore and it's not quite doom, but it is... very very good.

Cattle Decapitation - The Harvest Floor

Well, after listening to Crowpath i didn't think things could get much darker, until along came the vegan grindcore stylings of Cattle Decapitation. When this band began several years ago, they were more famous for their ridiculous name than anything else. And in typical grindcore style all songs were clocking in at around 30 seconds. But on their fourth release we are exposed to a totally mature and progressive sounding death grindcore outfit. They are truly masters of their instruments, pumping out some of the craziest metal you will hear this year. Songs predominately cover the gory demise of the human race, like that of the animals we eat. This vegan quartet (they have a veggie burger named after themselves), have produced one of the most amazingly technical, yet progressively diverse albums in recent memory.

Napalm Death - Times Waits For No Slave

Well, well, well, what do we have here... another year, another Napalm Death album. What am i going to write hear that hasn't already been said. This crusty punked up death grind band has been pumping out their particular brand of straight up bludgeoning RAWK for damn near 25 years... and not a lot has changed. They have matured ever so slightly on this record, but don't get me wrong, this isn't "Dylan goes electric"... it's straight up Napalm Death... and that is something so fist pumpingly good it would make me smile... if i weren't screaming a the top of my lungs!

Things to look forward to:

Mastodon - The follow up to the absolutely massive Blood Mountain will be their shot at metals ultimate crown.
Hatebreed - For the Lions, it's out today, and to be honest I'm not expecting much more than the usual intensity we have come to expect from the originators of crushing metalcore.

Page 1 recommends these sounds

alright first post here we go, just some cool electronic tunes i've been frothing on for the last few weeks that you should check out. Don't worry there will be other genres to follow. Contact me if you can't find them, cause some of this stuff is hard to come by:

Seba - Return to Forever

This Swedish drum'n'bass maestro has been around for many years releasing beautiful spacey tech'd out d'n'b bliss, on labels like LTJ Bukems Good Looking Records. This, his debut, is filled to the brim with lucious intelligent minimal gems. It really is something else to walk through the city with this swirling around in your headphones. Amazing layers and sweeps, sway the listeners head from one side to the other. This would be magic on a big system. Check out "Blaze and Fade Out" and the world dub futuristic masterpiece "Tomorrow".

Shed - Shedding the Past

WOW, where the hell did this come from! This German producer has been putting out techno on his own label for few years, but this artists album has been released on Ostgut Ton. Filled with stripped back, deep, minimal, dub techno tracks, this long player shows amazing diversity for a techno release, even taking in some masterful booming breaks and two step styled numbers. Sit back and listen to the layers build and build on tracks like "Flat Axe", "Slow Motion Replay"and the explosive "Estrange".

Deadbeat - Roots and Wire

A true purveyor of all things dub techno, with beautiful throbbing echoing synths and basslines. This Canadian native toured here in little ole Sydney just last week. There are a couple of dub reggae tracks that bookend this release with the center being jam packed with gorgeous dubbed out techno. Once again killer layering and amazing restraint is shown to make this easily one of the best dub techno releases in recent memory.


Things to look forward too:

FabricLive 44 - Commix... fuck yeah, this will kill it!
The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die!... will be interesting no matter what it is
MSTRKRFT - Fist of God... lets hope they've got more than three good tracks on this album.
Moby... jsut kidding i'd rather neck myself!!! hahahahha