Play Minigolf Not Minimal

I need that shirt. And in other news, I recorded a mix this morning, "Geräusch 1" (named because there is an annoying hum throughout the whole thing that I can't seem to get rid of). If anyone has any ideas as to where I can host it, I could put it up here. Har and I wanted a little place to make our mixes available, so yeah, if anyone knows, tell us.

Ricardo Villalobos - Live at Awakenings

Here you can download a set by Ricardo Villalobos last year at Awakenings. It's a solid set.

...

I'm not gonna say anything.

For the Fatties

Fat not Phat, but Phat nonetheless. There's a trend going on in restaurants around the world, and it just hit Beijing last month. Every good restaurant tries to set an atmosphere of some kind; some try for nice atmospheres, others have themes, but now there are restaurants trying to create an atmosphere of "no atmosphere". These so-called "Dark Restaurants" are completely black and unlit.



The customers enter the restaurant by passing through a room with blindingly bright lights and pass into the main room where they are guided to their seats by waiters decked out in night vision goggles.



The idea behind these restaurants is that by cutting off other senses (vision, if you haven't guessed yet), your sense of taste is heightened and your food tastes better. I have no clue if this is really real, but if Daredevil is any indicator, I wouldn't doubt it. I'll be dining in the dark tonight to see if this is really true. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Ghostface Killah & Jadakiss - Run (Ratatat Remix)
This song is so hot, it'll burn your ears off. I don't know if it's the organ, crisp, cracking drums or Ghostface's urgent voice, but this song has it. Ghostface and Jadakiss rip into the song, detailing their chase from the fuzz and they don't hold back, spitting mad lyrics. The beat is supplied by Ratatat, and though they are a rock group themselves, they know how to do street beats right. This track comes off their remix album appropriately named "Remixes: Vol.1" which has a couple of other great tracks like Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up" and Beanie Sigel's "When You Hear That". The mix of Ghostface and Jadakiss's voices and Ratatat's backing make this song one of the most thugging, grooving gangster tracks. Pick this track up and you won't be disappointed.

Gaiser - Neural Block

Gaiser
Neural Block
M_nus

It sounds obvious to me that Gaiser has been listening to Sweet 'n Candy's release "Tacky Wakeup", because that familiar ping-pong-ball-or-drop-of-water sound is all over this release, which, luckily for Gaiser, is excellent. His release "And Answer" on M_nus last year was one of the best debut releases in recent memory, and he has since been featured on M_nus label comp min2max, Magda's mix CD "She's a Dancing Machine", Marco Carola's recent Fabric release, as well as numerous other compilations (his remix of Troy Pierce's "25 Bitches" has also seen quite a bit of play).

Neural Block begins with..."Neural Block", a track that begins as most M_nus releases do. A compressed kick drum, bleeps and bloops, minor vocal samples...all of it is here. The track really builds and doesn't dip once throughout its duration. That all familiar sound is pervasive throughout; I'm still not sure if it's a ping pong ball or a drop of water, but whatever it is, it certainly makes this track a hit. Second track "Half Life" comes in with a deeper opening, but soon becomes the more funky of the two. It is, however, extremely intricate in the way it's constructed, which really goes for all the tracks here, making this such an outstanding release.

The B side changes things up quite a bit. At first it doesn't seem like it, but there is definitely a difference between the first two tracks and the last two. Both of these tracks "Seepage" and "Separation" continue with the same level as the first two. "Seepage" evolves throughout, and it is in the last third of the track where it really shines. Intricate production, with great synth patterns, make this track definitely a stand out, but by this time, each track stands out in its own way. Which leads us to "Separation", which is clearly the darkest track on this release. It has a great mood about it, the pulse of the percussion really propels the track along whilst subtle noises in the background become more and more noticeable. All in all, another fantastic release from M_nus.

Ricardo Villalobos - What's Wrong My Friends?

Ricardo Villalobos
What's Wrong My Friends?
Perlon

Perlon has had an amazing year. Early on they released "Joker Family Park Part 2", Matt John's sequel to his first under the same name, cementing him as an extremely hot producer to look out for. "Superloooongevity", Perlon's fourth label comp, presented, as usual, a great assortment of tracks from Perlon all-stars as well as some new people. Plus, STL's "The Early Tracks" and Melchior Production's "Different Places" were massive hits as well. However, it is Ricardo Villalobos' follow up to undisputed-track-of-the-year "Fizheuer Zieheuer" that may have been Perlon's best release last year.

"What's Wrong My Friends?" shows Herr Villalobos moving in a different direction. We have horns a la Fizheuer, but the beat has a hint of tribalism that we've not seen in a few years from him. It's a new area, one that could go either way. On its own it's a great track, but it's not the best on the EP. "Gugga Sempa" picks things back up. A throwback to the feel of "Thé Au Harem D'Archimède", here is where things come together. It's not that "What's Wrong My Friends?" is bad, quite the opposite, it's better than most things out there, it's just that I like to see him at his most minimal, which is where "Gugga Sempa" falls.

Next we have "Africolaps", the shortest track on the EP, and one of the best. It starts of promising, and subtle beats quickly build on top of each other while a loop of an (African, I suppose) singer is heard. It's certainly the one here to play when people need to start dancing. Which brings us to "Dummolator". We start out in Fizheuer territory, with Villalobos playing around with the parameters of his drum machines, phasing and manipulating as he goes along with one beat, while keeping a steady one underneath. And, well, not much else happens until around the eight minute mark where we get a deep kick drum that really propels things. And again, this pretty much keeps up for the remainder of the track. It certainly gives those who dislike him plenty to hate on, but for those who love him, it's where he really shines. In my opinion, it's the best on the EP.

None of the tracks here really breathe like his "Achso" release and none are as long-winded and revolutionary as "Fizheuer Zieheuer", but minimal techno really does not get much better than this. I expect great things from both Perlon and Villalobos this year.

The Outsider - DJ Shadow

The music video is no exception to the awesome that Enuff (feat. Q-Tip & Lateef The Truth Speaker) leaves in its wake. Directed by Joe Baar and Francois Roland, the Enuff music video features Q-tip, Lateef and a Cardboard box robot. What more could you ask for? I start with this song for a reason. Enuff is clearly the highlight of the album.

::Faster Download::

Myself, being a long time fan of Shadow was far from disappointed in The Outsider (2006). Shadow's album was released with the help of many contributing hip-hop artists such as Keak Da Sneak, The Federation, and David Banner. Shadow keeps it real paying homage to his hard hip-hop roots with some songs featuring a 'new' 'teched drum machine' feel.


More than often, I find myself wincing at the nasty, crunched up bass sounds. Shadow is a bomb dude, but he seems to have over done it with the sci drum machine licks. The harsh voices of the hardest of h-hoppers just add to the pounding, and not in the best of ways. I love the lyrics and flow of just about every song, but with this...sometimes even disgusting drum tracks, it becomes all too much. As you can imagine.

But, like I started with, Enuff is nothing short of flawless. It's the crunkiest chunk of a thick spitting groover with everything on top. Clearly the glint the eye of this album. If not for the rest of it, pick up The Outsider for Enuff. You will not be disappointed.

(I had the illest article written up when Mr. Bloggyspot goes all Vecsch and I lost my glazzies and I couldn't viddy it any longer. With my rookers tap tap tapping away, I present you the "concise" version. Hoozah.)

What I Need

I want to be this person very badly. But, if you can notice (and I think only Har and James will), the sheets that these hoodies are on were definitely used by Har and James-O at one point. Solid.