🐣 MURLO & CONDUCTA — TOGETHER

The cutting abrasion of this garage beat has that divine angularity that impels you to some semblance of rhythmic movement, a tight swing between the subtle shuffling thud of the kick and that cracking snare, with the hi-hat pattern effusing a boneless energy, the fairy zing of triangle ornamenting in the midst of those furioso metallics – yes, and here we have ourselves a staunch conveyance of UKG from the minds of Manchester musicmaker Murlo and Bristol-via-London producer Conducta. But it’s not just the sharp and shiffling scrappy beat that makes ‘Together’ a wonderful vessel of vibrant music.

No, it’s also the wonky synth chords that crown this song in tracts of gemlike glossiness and refraction, combined at some points with occasional crystalline clonks; and it’s also the soft scampering synth leads – like an urgent team of spirits working to lift this track off the ground and into some indescribable ether. These sounds shroud the track in otherworldliness, but it remains gloriously grounded with clean bulges of bass that give it a wide, bouncy flavour. And here we have the rhythm, and the atmosphere, but the soul of the song is in its pitch-shifted vocal, the nightcorey low-quality lifting of vocals from somewhere, their reverb, their high frequency, give it this quality of decayed siren-song that, alongside the punchy beat, the mystique of the synth, animate ‘Together’ with splendid heartache and melancholy.

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• 🔔 This sparkling space jewel of a collaborative track is actually the first ever release on Murlo's newborn label Coil Records. You may stream and purchase 'Together' by clicking this little hyperlink here.

  "I’ve wanted to start my own label for ages, but I feel like now is the perfect time," says Murlo. "I’m really looking forward to having the freedom to drop music whenever I feel like it, and getting more of my visual work into the world too."

• 🔔 The artwork that came with the announcement of the label (below) is very lovely, super atmospheric, and is drawn by label progenitor Murlo himself. You can watch the trailer for the inauguration of Coil Records on Instagram, amongst other places.
  

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📠
☟ Conducta Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ twitter ⚘ instagram ⚘ songkick ⚘ spotify

☟ Murlo Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ twitter ⚘ youtube ⚘ instagram ⚘ spotify ⚘ songkick

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🔮 NO PARTICULAR ORDER: KAREFUL'S 10 UK PRODUCERS TO WATCH 2018

UK producer Kareful has been recently tumbling into view from the internet right into real life on the energy of wave—not a wave, but Wave, the majestic monochrome atmospheric SoundCloud tag-turned-genre. Pushing the style and its general aesthetic forward and helping to incubate new producers is his nascent but fast-growing label Liquid Ritual, co-founded by LTHL and Stohou.

A year on from its radio show beginnings in 2016, the label looks set to burst with the spreading popularity of the wave scene. Their latest release is a Kareful collaboration with Nottingham producer Pholo called 'Atlantis', an icy zinger with a tapestry of textured percussion rattling beside trance-flavoured hollow synths, lush and wintry.

With his status as director and A&R for Liquid Ritual evident of the newness he's always on the look-out for, we asked Kareful if he would join us in celebrating the talent that 2017 has seen and he put together a list of exciting UK producers for you to copy and paste into your memory. Read on☟

The UK has always been at the forefront of intuitive electronic music, 2017 being no exception. With the power of the internet we are seeing more international producers pioneering interesting styles and sounds in little pockets all over the globe, but wherever I tour in the world, I'll always being hearing that UK influence in modern bass music. Here is my list of 10 UK producers that I believe everyone should be looking out for in 2018.

≈ Skit ≈

Fellow London producer and owner of Yusoul Records, Skit has always been on the ground pushing the young genre 'Wave' in London. In my opinion (along with some others) he helped shape the now very typical 'Wave' sound. Skit has a very popular show on Radar Radio + an EP on the way, so definitely one to watch.

☸ Vacant ☸

Vacant is one of those producers who is always in their room making music, and we'll probably only hear about 5% of it: whether it's future garage, grime, dubstep or trap, Vacant always excels. I've always been impressed by how large and loyal Vacant's following is considering his minimal use of social media, I guess good music will always shine through.

☯ Glacci ☯

Out of all the electronic LPs of the year the one that caught me the most was probably Nottingham's Glacci with Lifeforce (out on Plastician's label Terrorythm). I'm a real sucker for some melodic music – add some hard hitting drums and a big bassline and I'm hooked. Glacci fulfils all my music needs with this release.

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"Quite often when I'm writing my best tracks I'm experiencing a feeling or a memory that is
guiding my musical intuition. It is a reaction to my surroundings and personal perspective."
☞ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏᴜʀ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴡɪᴛʜ Glacci ☜

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ⅇ Pholo ⅇ

Nottingham's new kid on the block Pholo has really shined for me this year, essentially coming out nowhere, I've been been thoroughly impressed by this kid's grind. His mix of emotional synths and organic world music percussion really caught me and even with his young catalogue of tunes behind him... Pholo has easily earnt his place on this list.

♾ Rapture 4D ♾

Perhaps the youngest producer on this list, at only 20 Rapture 4D has been one of the kids leading the pack of Glasgow's grime scene. Him and his crew have been making serious waves among the UK scene and rightly so. Probably one of my favourite grime producer at the moment. This list would not be complete without him.

☽ Klasey Jones ☽

When I first discovered producer Klasey Jones I was very surprised to find out he was also from Romford. His first official EP Foreign Buyers Club really pushed the boundaries of what Wave could be; I've always been taken aback by his impressive use of sampling layered with '80s synth work.

☄ Compa ☄

I first discovered Manchester's Compa before I ever took producing seriously, I think I was 16 or 17 at the time, following his radio show and relistening to radio rips of unreleased tracks uploaded by fans on YouTube. It was insane an insane moment as a fan when Compa started making some wavy stuff of his own. I've been spoilt with large folders of unreleased beats that will probably never see the light of day, but luckily enough a few made it out of the record bag and onto the online stores. I'm excited to see where Compa's musical direction goes next.

⚑ Aesthetic Kid ⚑

Yung Ldn's founder Aesthetic Kid is definitely one to look out for next year. His atmospheric update on 'Sweetboy Grime' never fails to impress me. I often find myself reaching for an Aesthetic Kid track when DJing without any hesitation.

⚘ Palence ⚘

I've known this London-born producer for a long time; we met when he still went by HVRXLD, and even collaborated in the early days. Palence re-found himself after dropping his Glider EP on Armada's brand new sublabel Vaypor. His moody ambient music makes for some great home listening, and I'm curious to see where he'll take the Palence rebrand in 2018.

⚱ Muttley ⚱

Bristol producer Muttley first entered my radar in early 2017 – his style of production heavily varies from track to track which has always kept me interested. Making splashes in Bristol's tight but buzzing electronic music community, I hope to see Muttley make it on more London line-ups in 2018.

• 🔔 Listen to all these tracks in our playlist: Kareful's 10 UK Producers To Watch Out For In 2018.
• 🔔 Learn more about Liquid Ritual on SoundCloud or, for a more detailed treatise, their official site.

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📠
☟ Kareful Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ bandcamp ⚘ twitter ⚘ instagram ⚘ spotify ⚘ traktrain

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📣 LAZY INTERVIEW #32 — IGLOOGHOST

When music, when art, when anything surfaces in our world that is not altogether comprehensible in its unique outward appearance and its enigmatic origins and if it is skilfully done and compositionally brilliant, much like the multimedia microcosmic way in which Bristol-based producer IGLOOGHOST's debut album for Brainfeeder, Neō Wax Bloom, voyaged from a human brain into something that creates a reflection of itself in the human brains that hear its maximalist output, when something like this arrives, naturally everybody wants to know everything about it, and like a less negative version of the Buddhist parable of the poisoned arrow soon a hungry and curious mind wants to learn all they can about the creator; information lies only with them, whilst mere speculation lay elsewhere, thus conjuring a certain amount of power for the creator.

Or is it pressure? Whilst the choice to divulge – or not – background information regarding the framework and foundations of art allows the artist control over how openly the art itself can be perceived, revealing too much information breaks the spell of intrigue, careful imagery becomes too human, too fallible.

The lazy interview seeks only to hold a mirror up to the artists who venture through its question marks, and in its plain glassy surface is IGLOOGHOST, an entity, both progenitor and product of his music, a deliberate cryptid, not a composer nor a producer, but very much half-absorbed by his own creations, almost not of this world. And therein lies the strength of Neō Wax Bloom, not only in its music that cuts the air and judders atoms into cosmic ketchup and inaugurates floods of dopamine excitement in the brain, but also in its extended world, the story that it unfolds, the artwork and the characters depicted in that artwork; it is a powerful raving monster.

🐤


w h o   a r e   y o u ?   w h e r e   a r e   y o u   f r o m ?   w h a t   d o   y o u   d o ?

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I'M IN MY GOLDEN MANSION DOING SCHOOLWORK. I WANNA DROP OUT OF SCHOOL.

h o w   d i d   y o u   s t a r t   c r e a t i n g   m u s i c ?

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PLUGGING WIRES INTO MELONS.

h o w   w o u l d   y o u   d e s c r i b e   y o u r   s o u n d ?

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COOL.

i s   t h e r e   a   p e r f e c t   t i m e   a n d   p l a c e   f o r   l i s t e n i n g   t o   y o u r   m u s i c ?

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7PM IS ALWAYS COOL. SOUNDS GOOD IN A TRAIN. „
BEANS ON TOAST
” w h a t   i n s p i r e s   y o u   m o s t   w h e n   m a k i n g   a   t r a c k ?

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WHAT DOESN'T EXIST YET.

w h a t   i s   y o u r   m o s t   m e m o r a b l e   m u s i c a l   e x p e r i e n c e ?

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BUYING GROCERIES FROM LIDL LISTENING TO EIGHT LINES BY STEVE REICH FOR THE FIRST TIME.

w h a t   a r e   y o u r   f a v o u r i t e   t h r e e   s o n g s   a t   t h e   m o m e n t ?

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BIG DONK KING - EVIL TWIN
DOG MODE - TERRIFIC NECKLACE
A$AP BARRY CHUCKLE - 2 ME (2 U)

w h o   d o   y o u   m o s t   a d m i r e   i n   t h e   m u s i c   w o r l d ?

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IGLOOGHOST.

i n   y o u r   o p i n i o n ,   w h a t   i s   t h e   f u t u r e   o f   m u s i c ?

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IGLOOGHOST.

w h a t ' s   t h e   f u t u r e   o f   y o u r   m u s i c   –   w h a t   d o   y o u   h o p e   t o   d o   n e x t ?

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I WANNA MAKE FIGURINES, INTERACTIVE EXHIBITIONS & A CARTOON.

w h a t   i s   m o s t   i m p o r t a n t   t o   y o u ?

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BEANS ON TOAST.


🍃

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• 🔔 This piece of writing follows the release of Neō Wax Bloom on 29th September via Brainfeeder. You may attain it for yourself digitally and physically by clicking these hyperlinked words.

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📠
☟ IGLOOGHOST Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ bandcamp ⚘ twitter ⚘ tumblr ⚘ instagram ⚘ songkick

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L  A  Z  Y    I N T E R V I E W    S E R I E S

← #31: TOUCH SENSITIVE #32: ??????? →

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EVM128 FEAT. OLMO CASSIBBA – TREATMENT

Wooowww, well well well. This captured my imagination a great deal when I first heard it. A month or so later, it's still teetering on the borders of my memory like a candy wrapper glimmering in sunlight, or like something else that might draw your attention – crystals strewn across a beach, finding a prize (plastic funny-smelling figurine) in your cereal as you pour it into your bowl. That sort of thing.

It arrives from EVM128, real name Luke Meads: Bristol progeny who now dwells in London. It's called 'Treatment'. Heralded in descriptions and press releases as a revival of another Bristol product, broken beat, it's easy to discern the fragmented nature of the beat through your own ears: irregular patterns in the alternating kick and abrasive-fluid snare, jangling tambourine cut and placed between these, hi-hats skiffling in unusual order, additions of flighty cymbal bell-hits, assertive hyperactive snare rolls, other percussive syncopations, all offbeat in a style that fits rhythmically between house and hip-hop. People 'in the know' will say 'ah yes this broken beat rite here'. Sounds broken – simple.

Hmmmm, well, actually, thinking about it… it seems less simple the more you think about it. Despite knowing about the style beforehand, despite listening to 'Treatment' on repeat, the pattern of the beat feels fresh every time. Is it its seeming irregularity that makes it harder to pick up on? Are there genuinely predictable and unpredictable rhythms in music? I suppose you could become used to it after a long while… These are questions for a neurologist.

But it's not just the beat that makes EVM128's track so salted-caramel-delicious; add to the neurone-stimulating skiffle-thump a modulating wobble of airy ghostly synth – woo-oo-oo-oo, like that – the occasional singular soft chord simply asserting its existence in the midst of the beat thicket, the drippy-splash melodic synth painting chilled lounge melodies in miniature; add all this and you have a special sound, seemingly effortless and wonderfully basic.

And that's not forgetting Olmo Cassibba, the Sicilian-Scottish alto saxophonist and person-of-percussion, whose blissful work on the flute completes 'Treatment', making it a great clashing together of these fractured even garage-lilting beats, these trip-hopping future-facing electronics, and horizontal lounge exotica sunshine pouring in, jungle-beach-cosmopolitan-hangout jazz flavours, the phantom of cigarette smoke hanging like a thin veil in a basement club, nocturnal car-driving under illuminated palm trees.

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• And there is more of this delightful beatwork and instrumental goodness on EVM128's debut album, Nova. It's out now and you can listen to / purchase it here.

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☟ EVM128 Social Media Presence ☟
Facebook • SoundCloud • Twitter • Tumblr • YouTube

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BEAK> BEAK>

I had no idea that this band even existed, the UK-based BEAK>, until a couple of days ago. More to the point, I had no idea that it was formed and is fronted by Geoff Barrow from Portishead. Why? I have no idea - I guess if you don't look you don't find.

So I had a wee listen to their 2009 self-titled debut album and was super impressed at the way everything sounded - raw and energetic, but well-produced and polished at the same time. It's a kind of minimal mix of strong bass mixed with erratic beats that all provide foundations for washed-out vocals, harsh effect-laden whipped-up guitars and other ambient sounds that all provide for a pretty majestic experience, I've gotta say.

It runs through all sorts of genres, from the wonderful pure synthtastic electro of opener 'Backwell' to the psyched-out ambient dub of 'Ears Have Ears'. The psychedelic grunge post-rock spook-fest that is 'Ham Green' comes out of nowhere and fills the air with real crunchy bass some ethereal just-in-earshot yelling and a lovely bit of heavily phased guitar solo madness towards the end. It's that sound that you can't get away from though, that triumphantly energetic atmosphere that seems too good to be true.

But it is true. Geoff Barrow and bandmates Billy Fuller and Matt Williams recorded the album "live in one room with no overdubs or repair, only using edits to create arrangements." So that's how they get that amazing sound, like you're listening to a live take - BECAUSE IT IS ONE. All the songs were also written in Bristol during a 12 day period, meaning that this band just goes up and up in my estimation - there's a lot of talent here. Even the pure noise of 'Barrow Gurney' is cool to listen to, acting as a scuzzy introduction to the chilled and gentle lounge chants of 'The Cornubia'; yes, they sure know how to create a dynamic.

The album ends on strangely dystopian tribal electro vibe, it becoming the final echo you hear before the music fizzles out - its first half cries with beats and bass, the second is bristling with harsh experimental electronic noise, reverb and distortion flying around until the last second.

But the stand-out track, for me, is the understated buzzing fly presence of 'I Know'. Carried through to its end by a galloping skiffly sped-up hip-hop beat, this is the perfect song to put you in a daze and keep you there - it's very easy to lose track of time listening to this song. There are some wonderful Ian Curtis-esque vocals skulking in the background that drop quietly with the bass that provides the beef for this brilliant song.

So, as you can tell, this is definitely worth a listen. And being the nice guy that I am, I've shared the album below, along with the track listing. Enjoy these sultry sounds.

1. Backwell - 06:14
2. Pill - 05:34
3. Ham Green - 06:27
4. I Know - 05:01 (could've been 0:30 - could've been 10:43)
5. Battery Point - 07:10
6. Ears Have Ears - 04:22
7. Iron Acton - 05:00
8. Blagdon Lake - 04:43
9. Barrow Gurney - 02:01
10. The Cornubia - 04:00
11. Dundry Hill - 07:37
12. Flax Bourton - 02:49



• Check BEAK> on Bandcamp
• And also on Myspace
• And here's their little Wikipedia page

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