Filed under: Beats, Experimental, Hip-Hop, Interview, News | Tags: amable, experimental, florida, free beats, Hip Hop, independant, instrumental hip hop, interview, orlando
I’ve spoken about the wonderfully different-yet-accessible music of Florida-based beatmaker Amable before on Fuck the Radio; most recently supporting his latest free EP release, The Bundle which is filled with some great experimental beats.
It’s with great pleasure that I interviewed the man behind the music in a special weekend post:
What was the idea behind the bundle? Was there any particular idea/concept behind it?
The Bundle is a collection of older songs that I did for various Strange Gibberish downloads. I wanted to shed light on some older songs and give something to the people who have been supporting my music.
A-lot of it is sample-based, are there any bizarre sample sources that you’ve snuck in?
That’s a good question. I would say the most ‘bizarre’ sample source used was a recording I made while under a highway overpass. I recorded the sounds of the cars passing overhead which created a sound similar to crashing waves with a reverb effect. Those sounds ended up being used for the intro to Bajo Del Calle.
Tell us about the artwork…
The artwork was created by Bradly Head, he is the proprietor of Gewih Ritual Documents. He’s done great artwork for the label so I was psyched when he offered to do the cover. Bradly made a joke about making a reference to Al Bundy from Married with Children so we ran with it. The Polk High Jersey and the Dodge Dart are obvious Al Bundy references. The cassette head of the character makes reference to my previous cassette release as well as my upcoming release. Also, the image on the stamp is of me as a child. Altogether, I thought the throwback concept was appropriate since the songs on The Bundle are older releases.
What music do you listen to when you are alone and not producing? Are there any particular songs/artists/records you have on repeat at the moment?
I’m always looking for samples so I listen to all kinds of music. At the moment, my favorite album is Synesthesia by K-the-ii?? on Fake Four Inc. It’s his first official instrumental album and it’s the most unique album I’ve heard to come out of the L.A. beat scene. His CD hasn’t left my player for three weeks now.
Tell us a little about your musical history? What did you grow-up listening to and how did you get to where you are now?
The first piece of music that I owned was an old school hip hop compilation cassette tape when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It had UTFO, Fat Boys, Whodini, Roxanne and a bunch of others. Later that year a friend gave me a copy of RUN DMC‘s Raising Hell, so that was my catalyst for collecting music. I grew up listening to everything, classic rock, metal, alternative, r&b, hip hop, jazz, soul, funk, whatever. Eventually I really got into underground hip hop and the whole beat movement going on with Ninja Tune, Mowax, Hefty and OM in the early years. This lead me into djing and digging for records which lead me into making beats.
Do you have any guilty pleasures/things people would be surprised you have in your music collection?
Sea and Cake, Pelican, Donovan.
What is your alcoholic beverage of choice?
That’s a tie between a Crown and ginger ale or a vodka with blood red orange juice.
Most overrated thing in music today?
Egos.
Filed under: Experimental | Tags: album, amable, avant-garde, beats, experimental, free, free beats, post-trip-hop, Psychedelic, sample based, Trip-Hop, visual
As promised, Amable‘s The Bundle was released today and it’s a neat collection of various experimental trip-hop tunes produced by the Florida-based beat-maker that have appeared all over the net these past few years.
A dynamic compilation of rarities, we’ll be catching up with Amable later in the week for a chat, so make sure you subscribe to the blog and check out the album, released by the quasi-avant-garde label Geweih Ritual Documents here:
http://geweihritual.bandcamp.com/album/the-bundle
You can also check out Amable‘s Spooky Bounce here.
And his soundcloud here.
Filed under: Beats, Electronica, Experimental, Upbeat | Tags: album, beats, Dance, Electronic, Electronica, ep, experimental, Flying Lotus, Funky, future beat, glitch, Upbeat
I bought Yellow Tangerine‘s First Juice EP a little over a week ago and burnt it to CD so I could listen to it in the car. Now I’m worried the CD will disintegrate inside my player because I’m playing it to oblivion.
Throwing elements of electronica, future beat, trip-hop and even a hint of funky house into a blender, the resulting smoothie of sound is something to be appreciated by fans of FlyLo and Bibio.
The EP’s standout track for me would have to be Paul Goes To Paris, which combines funky dance elements with some quasi-experimental glitching effects to produce a real head-bopper. Douu-Eeen sounds to me like something between The Avalanches and Daedelus. There’s a free download up of what I assume is the demo version of the track, which contains more letters in the title than the album version:
Yellow Tangerine – douuu-eeeeeeeeen
And the entire 6-track EP is available on bandcamp for roughly the cost of a large cheesburger meal at McDonalds:
http://yellowtangerine.bandcamp.com/album/first-juice-ep
If Soundcloud is your thang you can also check him out here:
http://soundcloud.com/yellow-tangerine
Filed under: Ambient, Beats, Chilled, Chillwave, Experimental, Mellow | Tags: Chilled, chillout, downtempo, Electronica, experimental, mellow, post-trip-hop, Soothing, Trip-Hop
Everyone has bizzare rituals; whether it be conditioning thier hair before they shampoo, purposely wearing socks inside out- or something a little more involved, like sitting in the same seat at the same bar every Friday after work and ordering the same drink. We all have little things that we like to keep to ourselves- it’s what keeps us sane. For me, every Sunday night after I get home from the radio station, I pour myself a small glass of red wine, turn the TV onto the ‘classic movies’ channel (where they play all the old black-and white films), mute it, and listen to music.
Kwala‘s album Shabang may be the perfect soundtrack for these moments. As wine slowly stains my lips and the suave-looking detective in the movie lights up his cigar, Kwala‘s expansive pads and smooth down-tempo rhythms fill the full aural spectrum. Not demanding enough to be abrasive or distracting, yet far from being boring or repetitive- the best way to describe Kwala‘s music would be something like ‘post-trip-hop’. Excuse my ‘typical-music-blogger-making-up-meaningless-genres-to-avoid-actually-describing-the-music’, but being superfluous when it comes to these things does nothing justice. Plus I want to enjoy my wine.
The full album is available here for a pick-your-price download and it comes with my highest recommendation:
<edit: It seems to have disappeared, but there is still some great stuff up there>
Filed under: Ambient, Chilled, Chillwave, Dance, Electronica, Experimental, MIXTAPE | Tags: ambient, Dance, Electronica, experimental, Mixtape, progressive
I’m going away for the week to enjoy the great Australian summer, so to keep your ears satisfied while I’m gone…
Another Fuck the Radio mixtape!
Fuck Melody features some artists you’ve already seen on this blog, and some you haven’t- it plays out like a DJ set, however the tracks are all split into individual files to make listening a breeze. Also included are links to all the artists featured.
I guarantee you’ll love it- or your money back it’s free! You literally have NOTHING to lose.
Filed under: Ambient, Electronica, Experimental | Tags: ambient, audio art, Electronica, experimental
Sound Toned‘s works are all unique examples of audio-art rather than traditionalist ‘music’. Also found on his Soundcloud page are a unique variety of spoken-word soundscapes and world-music.
Dark Waters is a space-y electronic piece, with beautiful sounds and tight percussive sounds that go against the normal conventions of ‘ambient’, while not quite crossing over into the miasma of ‘experimental’.
Download:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/sound-toned
Filed under: Experimental, Psychadelic, Rock, Upbeat | Tags: Dance, Pop, Psychedelic, Rock, synth-pop
Aside from having one of the coolest photos ever for the cover of their album Eye Contact, New York experimental/lo-fi electroclash outfit Gang Gang Dance recently stopped by my home city of Melbourne for a gig- and I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t make it 😦
Fans of Bjork, The Knife and perhaps even Animal Collective (especially those that have indulged in member Panda Bear‘s solo works) will find familiar-yet distinctly different sounds in Gang Gang Dance‘s work- across the whole Eye Contact record there’s a slight taste of Indian pop, African rhythms and even UK r&b, but only very subtly- the same way you get that odd metallic taste in your mouth before it rains.
For posting today I’ve picked the album’s closing track Thru and Thru. It’s very up-beat, what I can imagine Indian synth-pop would sound like if it was given a western re-hash. Quite an interesting listen, I must admit, it’s somewhat difficult to get into without the rest of the album to support it- but if you are a Bjork fan I’d say it’d be a little more accessible to you.
Also, is it just me or do they use the same samples as Infected Mushroom‘s Heavyweight at one point?
Gang Gang Dance – Thru and Thru
Filed under: Concrete, Experimental | Tags: avant-garde, Concrete, contemporary, experimental, Found Sound, soundscape, visual
So the first thing I posted on this blog was Rachel’s with Wouldn’t Live Anywhere Else (read the post here) which is an abstract-sound scape-meets-experimental-chamber-music piece. Caribou has posted a more raw soundscape on Soundcloud, and I’m a real sucker for the genre so I thought I’d share it.
I understand a-lot of people can’t really get into the idea of ‘found sound’ pieces; in-fact awhile ago I quoted Edgar Varèse in saying “Music is organised sound”, and Village is a track that challenges this idea to it’s very core.
Simply put, Village is a recording of two or three men having a causal conversation about text messaging in what sounds like a restaurant- but I think there’s a somewhat romanticised idea behind recording and sharing the sounds of civilization. I think John Cage put it best when he was talking about his composition 4’33” (an infamous contemporary peice which consisted of nothing but 4’33” of silence, which I’ve linked here)
There’s no such thing as silence. What they thought was silence, because they didn’t know how to listen, was full of accidental sounds.
While Cage‘s 4’33” is very much about experiencing the present moment that the piece is being performed, Caribou‘s Village presents a twist to the idea, which gives you the opportunity to experience a different setting, on the other side of the planet. Upon each listen your imagination adds more and more to the piece, at first I was interested in the conversation that can be heard, then the surrounding environment- the cars, the clanging of cutlery, the subtle noises of distant chirping birds.
Village is a minute-long moment captured forever through sound, bottled up in an mp3 file and able to be revisited again and again.
Believe it or not, I’m actually an avid radio listener. After a long day at work (selling Eminem CDs to pre-teen girls at a music store) I was delighted to tune into a glo-fi/shoegaze show on a community station while driving home. Gsstoak‘s Goleg captivated me to the point where I sat in my driveway, refusing to get out of the car until the track had finished.
Luckily I carry a notebook around everywhere I go (which girls tell me is ‘creepy’, but I wouldn’t expect them to understand considering most of the girls I meet at bars are so superficial they don’t have anything in their life worthy of writing down) and I was able to scrawl down Gsstoak‘s name as the radio DJ announced the track ID (a challenge in its own right considering the bizarre spelling).
Goleg reminds me of Animal Collective, it’s got that psych-pop/electronic-folk sound. On the first listen, it brought a smile to my face- and reminded me of the pleasures of finding new music (especially after listening to Kylie Minogue’s live album about 50 times through at the music shop). I feel as if it’s like a good book that I don’t want to ruin for you by describing- so just skip to the download!
Also worth mentioning is his bandcamp page where he has an entire album called Mt. Internet available for free! The album as a whole is rich with a lo-fi electronic folk sound which is really quite unique.
Download:
Bandcamp:
Soundcloud:
Tumblr:
Filed under: Acid, Electronica, Experimental, Jazz | Tags: Acid-Jazz, experimental
Kuhn has been getting some attention for his release Slime Beach, played by XFM dj Mary Anne Hobbs last month. This release with Astro Nautico is more a of a trip-hoppy acid-jazzstep style track which is quite intriguing.
Download:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/kuhnmusic
Website:
(Note to self: I have to stop making up genres like acid-jazzstep)
Filed under: Classical, Experimental | Tags: Acoustic, classical, contemporary, experimental, visual
I caught two of my favourite artists Skream and Benga perform as part of Magnetic Man at Parklife Festival recently. My god it was mind-blowing. Their dubstep sound has elements of classical drum and bass/jungle and even progressive/minimal techno.
Flying Into Tokyo however is none of these, but rather a contemporary classical piece that really breathes life. Quite stunning, something to lie on your bed and listen to on a rainy day.
Magnetic Man – Flying Into Tokyo
Filed under: Acid, Dubstep, Electronica, Experimental, Psychadelic | Tags: Acid, Dubstep, Electronic, experimental, glitch, Psychedelic
Venetian Snares does some pretty rad stuff. Similar to Aphex Twin, not quite accessible to the virgin listener, his breakcore/acid sound is pretty hectic, and the brilliantly named Chainsaw Fellatio is no exception. On my first listen I was enjoying the acid bassline melody until I felt like I was getting assaulted by some fucking hi-hat sample (you’ll see what I’m talking about). Then it all fades away, and at about the 1:30 mark, shit gets TIGHT. A hip-hop beat takes you off guard and suddenly you feel like c-walking your ass to the nearest DMT dealer. Give it a listen, I guarantee you’ll have trouble finding anything quite like it:
Venetian Snares – Chainsaw Fellatio
Filed under: Concrete, Experimental, Noise | Tags: Concrete, Electronic, experimental, noise
Have I not posted this yet!?
An experimental track from one of my fave record labels Ninja Tune, Amon Tobin‘s Foley Room is an ingenious creation that takes the theory of musique concrete to a new level. In fact, they even made a freakin’ documentary about how it was recorded because it’s so bad ass. Pick up the album, andtake a listen to the title track in the meantime.
<download removed at request>
Filed under: Electronica, Experimental, remix, Upbeat | Tags: b&, Funky, independant, Remix, Upbeat
Bee Ampersand makes a few edits to Dorian Concept’s version of this Clifford Gilberto piece. What a complicated string of artists…
Previously exclusive to the fuck the Radio New Years Mixtape found here:
https://fucktheradio.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/fuck-the-radio-returns/
Filed under: Dubstep, Experimental, Noise, Upbeat | Tags: Acid, ambient, Dubstep, experimental, Funky, Upbeat
Shlohmo is a legend, taking the art of a ‘dubstep drop’ to a whole new level. It’s sophisticated, beyond the cliche “GET THE FUCK OUTTA HEREEE WUB WUB WUB WOBBBBB WOBBBB” style filth that makes your body contort and bang around like something out of the exorcist on the dance-floor, Spoons is dubstep for your brain, allow the various lobes to bob around to the beat while your cerebellum chills with the groove. There’s something almost acidic about it, like an acid-meets-hip-hop hybrid, the sounds coming out of the Wu Tang Clan’s mouths if Aphex Twin and Skream were spit-roasting them rhythmically one at a time.
Before this gets any more sexually charged and disturbing, I think you should give Spoons a listen…
