SEMAINE MUSIC #3

Bon…jour. Ça va? Ouais, je suis sûr que tu vas bien, probablement. Je vais bien aussi, merci pour me demander. Alors alors alors, c'est mars, le soleil flotte heureusement dans le ciel, c'est printemps. L'été c'est de pres – jusque-là, savoure les mers éclatantes des fleurs et la nouvelle vie. Pour l'instant, je suis dans une état d'esprit français; lis mes mots (en français) et écoute ces morceaux (en autre trucs).

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FVLCRVM – Notch EP
De la Slovaquie, c'est le producteur FVLCRVM avec son Notch EP. Disponible sur Gergaz Records, situé à Bratislava, c'est une collection des 6 chansons que fonctionnent grâce à une grande foi en rythme. C'est glorieusement écoutable. «Gospel of Juke» luit avec les rosées d'une matin d'été, l'electro bonbons écoulant; techno-inspiré «Yummy!» se pavane, sommant la boue-saleté pour un son futur-cherchant. Et puis tu as le disco house du «Prism Vision», où les vestiges de la population de la Terre danse dans la nuit galactique, avant «That's The Way It Is» avec son buffet des bruits: le crépitement ambiant, les voix harmonisants, les synthés brouillard-esque. C'est du futurisme, combiné avec l'antique culture pop.La musique pour aujourd'hui.

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HARRISON – Why You Make Me Happy
Ahh ce type est dingue; sa musique est dingue. Je veux dire «dingue» de façon que rapporte à vaporwave, et dans un sens totalement funky. Ben, normalement échantillonnant de tout choses funk et soul (presque trop?) HARRISON a décidé de ne pas utiliser beaucoup échantillonnage pour son récent morceau, «Why You Make Me Happy». Guidé par les synthés que rutilent dans la balade pétillant du rythme, c'est une chanson coupé-chirurgicalement mais elle conserve la nostalgie habituellement échantillonné par HARRISON, aussi un sens de l'âme, la romance, la cadence funk.

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Earthquake Island – 9 Tales About Galastrophy
Un album des remixes. Ok? Earthquake Island est un producteur italien habitant à Tokyo, appelé Emiliano Ruggiero. L'année dernière il lâchait son album premier, The Case Of Galastrophy – c'était charmant et dégageait le délassement intense. Maintenant voici 9 Tales About Galastrophy, 8 remixes des chansons du album original, également avec un nouvel morceau de Earthquake Island (appelé «So Bright», fondé sur des rythmes asymétriques). Sun Glitters fournit un remix pour «Fantastic», plaçant les sons originaux dans environs plus expansif. Le beatmaker japonais canooooopy ajoute son hip hop paranoïaque, et duo italien LIES leur electro nostalgique, et puis il y'a camarade italien Go Dugong, qui transformé «Super Strawberry» en une sphère bizarrement vacillant plein d'intention théâtral. Trop de sons pour moi d'écrire quand même, donc écoute.

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YES/NO Guest Mix 008 :: Meishi Smile
Guest Mix numero 8! C'est de Los Angeles habitant Meishi Smile: Meishi, le mot japonais pour «carte de visite», et Smile (le sourire), les deux à même temps indiquant des relations et interactions superficiels. Voici un type qui aime la culture japonaise, sa culture pop en particulier. Comme tel, le mix est ruisselant avec la musique japonaise seulement. Dès instrumental math rock, à les bandes sons des animes remixé, c'est une demi-heure tristement romantique (dans le bon sens).

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UKU – Forest 5 am (Kidkanevil remix)
Nom: M. Kidkanevil. Résidence: UK. Occupation: Créateur des beaux musiques. À savoir, sur le plan de hip hop glitch-chargé. (Si tu veux, regarde à l'interview entre moi-même – YES/NO – et Kidkanevil). Alors alors, ce morceau: «Forest 5 am» – c'est originairement par un producteur polonais appelé UKU, une liquide-brillant claire avec la percussion à grande vitesse. Le remix de Kidkanevil, cependant, est complètement différent. Un loop des bips implacables tourbillonnent le long des percussions – gazouillements, bruissements, bourdonnements, cracs – comme un torrent des aiguilles de pin et petits cailloux s'écrasant par les géants debouts de la fôret, l'air epais avec la nuit, tous embourbé avec des chocs de la sub-basse. À fin, un melodie naïf joue, la peur de la nuit est fini, les doigts de l'aube sur le point de s'écouler par les arbres. Euh ben, c'est comme si on erre à travers une fôret réel à 5 heures.

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De La Soul – Stakes Is High (Demicat remix)
Un autre remix. Celui-ci est par producteur coréen (sud) Demicat. Auparavant, il offrait son EP Out Loud, dont morceau «Singing Bird» avec chanteuse coréenne Neon Bunny j'écrivis sur. Maintenant ce remix de cette 1996 chanson par De La Soul arrive de célébrer le 25e anniversaire de l'album début de De La Soul, et elle a mon l'approbation. Demicat a un penchant pour des sons ensoleillés indomptables des années 90, et ici ça c'est très fort. Il y a des synthés chauds, l'élégance lounge-aligné, des basse écrasée. C'est une tranche du passé bien-aimé, mais maintenant encadrée avec de dynamisme occlusif actuel.

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KA-YU – UNXSUAL
Dingue dingue totalement dingue! Hamdoulah ce morceau va très bien. Quand d'abord je l'ai entendu, putain ça me fait exploser. Blasphéme! Mais c'est vrai. Je suis pas désolé. Il s'appel «UNXSUAL» et est par un producteur néerlandais d'origine des moluques appelé KA-YU. Ce morceau est vraiment intéressant car c'est un remix d'un remix, un film dans un film, un réve dedans un réve. Dingue non? L'originel, «Temptations», est essentiellement un remis de chanson par Beyoncé, «Rather Die Young», contenant des tas des échantillons de la chanson susmentionné. «UNXSUAL» est un succès instantané, un coup de dopamine, qui tient tendrement ton coeur qu'il devient fou, ton esprit inextricablement lié à les sons juke-aromatisés. Ce morceau connaît son immensité et est déborde avec la confiance.

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slinky – Dmndz
L'exploitation minière pour les diamants sur un autre monde. Y'a machinerie extraterrestre qui fait des bruits métalliques, plein de la menace toquée. Les filons des diamants sont gigantesque, plongeant profondément dans la terre. Ces sont les sons d'américain producteur, slinky. Le morceau s'appel «Dmndz» et en effet évoque les luisants multiformes des diamants, avec rafales fraîches de synthé – les scintillements des mines dans le ventre fracturé de la terre.

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C'EST ÇA OK?

SI TU HAIS MON FRANÇAIS JE M'EN FOUT.

BON WEEKEND.

À PLUS.

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EARTHQUAKE ISLAND – 9 TALES ABOUT GALASTROPHY (REMIXES)

Last summer, in July to be precise, I wrote about an album called The Case of Galastrophy by an Italian guy who lives in Tokyo, Emiliano Ruggiero, aka Earthquake Island (so-named cause of that natural phenomenon of new islands being made from mud and stuff by undersea earthquakes, like the one off the coast of Pakistan last year). It was a lovely album, effusing intense chillment that was quite easy to get lost in.

Now well over half-a-year later, a set of remixes appear, reworking tracks from the original into new sonic offerings. Dubbed 9 Tales About Galastrophy, there are 8 remixes by 8 different artists, with one wholly new track from Earthquake Island himself. My favourite track from the original album, 'Fantastic', has been given a remix by another wonderful artist, Sun Glitters, placing it in more expansively brooding surroundings than before, retaining and altering the lone vocal sample – "…Fantastic…" – whilst a gravelly cascade of percussion blankets the track. Also making an appearance is Japanese beatmaker canooooopy, whose experimental hip hop style skiffles in sumptuous offbeats, providing consistent foundations to the ever-twisted noises from the original. Italian duo LIES provide their typical electro style in juddering piercing glistenings of synth in their remix of 'My Moon, My Moon', the original of which is a super-slow, fresh affair – now it pulses with up-tempo rhythm.

In a different remix, 'My Moon, My Moon' becomes a punchy, sample-invaded piece of alternative R&B in the hands of Godblesscomputers, a Bologna-based also known as Lorenzo Nada. This one is a moody remix that focuses on percussion, the synth sounds being rather understated, like a fog through which the beat marches rhythmically through. The atmospheric 'Flying Cat 2' gets a very dark reworking by Italian producer Machweo, inserting police-siren-esque noises and clanging pulses of menacing gloopy synth.

Super expansive rich synth chords in sombre progression dominate avant-garde Italian musicmaker Grovekingsley's remix of 'The Lake And The Mist', forested with bustling percussion, carried in a cradle of bass. My favourite is from Brussels-based Haring, cutting 'Sunrise On' into bite-sized pieces, chopping them together in stuttering succession, pausing for cold reverbing ambience, bass rising up into the final sample-heaven of the track soaring with whooshes of synth. Or maybe my favourite is actually Go Dugong's remix of 'Super Strawberry' – an exceedingly bassy number in its original form, rollicking with raw-sounding drums, has now become a weirdly swaying ball of energy; telephones ring, cheeky synth bleeps boil, samples of a girl laughing appear. It's full of theatrical intent, exciting as it is showy, full of electro attitude.

Lastly we have Earthquake Island's new track, 'So Bright'; founded on the skewed rhythm of an unusual offbeat, crowded with ripping snares and multi-claps tick-tocked with neat hi-hats, it features convulsing waves of bass around which heartfelt merry-go-rounds of sampled sound and voices whirl in funfair peeling-paint nostalgia above; the height of summer; running around having fun; reclining in the heartbeat pulse of the sun. This collection of artists have, with like-minded intention, remixed the songs of Earthquake Island not overtly, not dramatically, but in some cases just enough to provide a dream version of the track in question – an alternate reality version, a Dark World rendition. As such, despite not being dramatic or wildly different, 9 Tales About Galastrophy warrants a listen, its chilled-out, twisted and often hip-hop-inspired vibe a gorgeous journey nonetheless.

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EARTHQUAKE ISLAND THE CASE OF GALASTROPHY

Oh deary me. I was supposed to write about this a while back, but things kept coming in and piling up and whatever. The travesties of the cluttered life are many and embarrassing. If I were a total professional, I'd leave this part out. But I'm a real person. Send me an email and I'll whizz back the most professional reply this side of the finance industry. But since I'm writing and it's fun to do, I'll just be a real person thanks. Cheers! Ok!

I wrote about Italian-in-Tokyo Earthquake Island last month, specifically his song 'The lake and the mist'. This song's smart percussion and ambient sounds drove it into a whole region of chillment - very nice indeed. It comes from the album, released at the end of last month, The case of Galastrophy. I was very interested to hear what this sounded like (but yeah it slipped my mind like I said).

And thankfully, listening to it now, it certainly delivers. Based on my own expectations in any case, it's exactly what I thought it would be - not that it is predictable. For instance, first track 'Sunrise on', whose breathy synths act like veils for ghost-recording samples, gives the beat pride of place, filling it with a jingling like loose change in pockets, well-placed banks of snares and crispy claps. It's this attention to detail in the beat that becomes a defining character of the album. It's just as well constructed in the slow fluid tide of 'My moon, my moon' - a space-jump from the dusty surface of a lunar landscape to look down upon the deathly still surface - and in 'The lake and the mist'.

But sometimes the beat isn't so much of an experimental toying with percussive sounds - it can be minimalistic, as in the the simple kicks 'n' snare of gently chilled 'Flying cat 2' and the delectable claps in 'Bedding and wheels', whose sampling is in contrast quite hectic, providing a wilderness for the track. Earthquake Island, real name Emiliano Ruggiero, also puts a traditional groove on a couple of tracks - namely that of hip hop: 'Fantastic' is as its adjectival namesake describes, intergalactic sounds moan and bubble and stretch far-off behind the swaggering beat, whistles of a space mechanic at work on a ship, the lone vocal sample of "Fantastic" beautifully interrupts the song at intervals - other instrumental samples jostle for space. Easily my favourite on the album.

In a similar vein 'Super strawberry' waxes hip hop, a head-boppin' beat stuck with tight snares and rain-stick-sandstone-crumbling claps. Samples interlace: a girl giggling (or crying?), snippets of something sung, glistening xylophonic sounds. 'Galastrophy' both continues and ends the chilled vibe that lies at the heart of this album. Its slowdown beat holds up a whole host of noises, a whole cacophony of them like Snapchats from another galaxy. A spoken word sample speaks of life on other planets, and it kinda cements what I was thinking all along: Earthquake Island is a producer lost in imagination, looking up at the sky - and everywhere else around him - for inspiration. His dreamy sounds, which seem tailor-made for the purpose of losing yourself therein, are clear evidence of this.

This comes from the Italo-Swedish (or Swedo-Italian) label, Fresh Yo! Records.

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EARTHQUAKE ISLAND THE LAKE AND THE MIST

This is just, well, I really like it. It's really cool when someone actually personally sends you an email with their own music. Even better when the music is actually good and tasty, like a Belgian bun. So when I looked at my emails today (I didn't yesterday, sorry!) and saw in amongst the usual stuff a non-templated email from a guy called Emiliano Ruggiero and checked the sound that he had sent me, well, I was really happy. It's real indie promotion - the guy is doing it himself.

Anyway as you might guess from the name he is Italian, but he lives in Tokyo and makes music under the name Earthquake Island. To add even more countries to the mix, he is signed to the record label FRESH YO! which is split between Italy and Sweden. A nice mix is always fun. Anyway. The song is called 'The lake and the mist' and it is from Earthquake Island's upcoming album The Case of Galastrophy, out 24th June.

If this song is anything to go by, a festival of fresh fizzy beats, then the album should be a very nice listen indeed. The video, of various things being poured on the floor - from marbles to jelly beans - seems to fit the mingling drops of greatness in the song. Check it oot.

Watch those things spill on the floor!

Everything about this electronic experimental number is wonderful: the contrasts between the trebly white noise distorted woodblock percussion and deep 'n' smooth sub bass; the far-off chimes and ambient jungle sounds; drips of flanging modulated synth. It's all melded as one package of lo-fi, atmospherically chill music. The kind of thing that doesn't evoke any particular image but a mood instead. Tranquility. Maybe a bit of bleakness as well but isn't tranquility bleak in its own way sometimes?

This was very nice.

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