RYV HWUT EP [FREE DOWNLOAD]

To the uninitiated, the title of this post could seem like a bit of a mess or a mistake or both: a messy mistake. But never fear, it is actually not a mistake. This is the hwut EP by American producer RYV (also known as real-life-person Charlie Abbott). If you're wondering, though, what "hwut" means exactly, then all you need to do is cast your mind to King Of The Hill cause Hank Hill says "hwut" all the time. Alternatively, Urban Dictionary can tell you a lil' bit. As for RYV, I dunno, could be the Czechoslovakian for 'jerk' (rate of change of acceleration) in physics.

But let's move on. Enough of this - who am I to speculate? Let's listenate to this music. I'm sorry. Anyway, I found it the other day thanks to Spazzkid, who in some way, shape or form, knows Mr RYV. One listen was enough for the music to convey its quality, which is generally a good thing is it not? Like, why should you have to listen to it a zillion times to decide whether it's good or not? A short-but-longwinded-story shorter: three nice songs.

The atmosphere overall seems to grow wider, expanding into seemingly unexplored territories, the vibe more lonely and spacey as we venture further from where we are sitting to the outer reaches of hwut. From the cool coldness of the intergalactic flute synth chords and mechanical hotch-potch of percussion on the spacey opener 'Yaspring' (with some awesomely integral vocal samples and crackling lead synth stabs), we move onto the floating glitchness of 'Yuhhh' with its heavily reverbing xylophonic cloud, sounding by the end as though we are drifting off somewhere, into the nether-hwut.

'Betweentimes' starts with a shock, a dissonant sweep of a harp, to let us know that the journey through hwut is almost at an end. It is brimming with an uneasy atmosphere, poised as if ready to explode into something different yet remaining tensely on-guard the whole time. Organic-sounding perhaps-double bass supports the thin, abrasive chords with a dark and moody slo-jazz flavour; electric crackles pierce through (it actually sounds like he's sampled an electric attack from Pokémon?) as thin strands of a beat click their way through the song. Cut-up vocal samples form a cutesy yet unnerving melody.

This is a sometimes mindbending journey through tasty sounds and an increasingly alien atmosphere - delicious and flavoursome. And it's a free download courtesy of LA art/music collective & independent record label, Stereocure. All three songs. I know right? Cool.

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DISCLOSURE F FOR YOU (ONRA REMIX) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

This is a cool surprise. If you liked the original Disclosure song 'F For You', especially if you liked it for its housey, garagey flavours, then you may not necessarily like this unofficial remix by Paris-based man of hip hop, Onra. Not only is it a completely different speed, but it has a completely different feel. Some will like it, some will not.

I like it though. It's really cool to hear a song so huge get this kind of treatment is very nice indeed. I liked Disclosure's original, but it wasn't my favourite track of theirs, nope not at all. I think in this instance, Onra has given this song such a makeover that it can never return, at least in my eyes, to being that original song. I basically prefer this version.

If you've heard of Onra before, good for you, you're really clever at music; if you haven't, then... well I was going to write his biography out and then I realised that, well, Wikipedia has done it just fine already. Anyway. Now it's time to listen, so do it.

Onra gives it a retro feel, glints of metallic sound shine throughout, with a chord progression in the glistening synth that breathes an organic spirit into the track. Before, 'F For You' was clinically produced - in this remix, there is an earthiness to it that cannot be denied. A super slo-down hip hop beat and waves of mean, pulsing bass underpin these major changes to the fabric of this song; above, it's decorated with a nearly indiscernible tinkling of bells. All these throwback sounds give a charming appeal to the remix, whilst keeping the original hook of the original preserved like something in an echo tunnel. Laid-back and nicely chilled.

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BOTANY FEAT RYAT SIMPLE CREATURES

Here is something for you. It is from two American artists. One is called Botany (Spencer Stephenson IRL) and he is a producer from Texas. The other is called RYAT and she is a singer; in this instance, she provides vocals whilst Mr Botany lays down a long and winding road of heady noises.

This comes, by the way, from Botany's upcoming album - out 29th October on Texan label, Western Vinyl - called Lava Diviner (Truestory). It is so-called because it's kind of a concept album about a religious cult that prays for a volcano to erupt, but also being his debut album, Stephenson himself feels that it's a "cathartic release" - an eruption that was just waiting to happen. And fair enough too: his last release, an EP called Feeling Today, was released aaaall the way back in 2010.

But aside from the mysteries and canon of trivia that lies behind this release, what is there? Well, there is this song called 'Simple Creatures'. It is an amalgamation of organic noises that clatter together in orgiastic repetition, presided over by the sweeping layered lilt of RYAT.

The sond creates the perfect setting: euphoria tinged with darkness that illustrates the simple pleasures of simple creatures. Hi-hats judder, bells tinkle, electronic boops bob along, tapping percussion - a general yet intricate mash of makeshift metallic clink-clanking forges a path almost into the crater of the volcano itself, followed by the chorus of voices provided by RYAT. Her thousand-layers of vocals are as addictive as they are blissfully easy on the ears. A drivingly relentless yet understated bass upholds all of this. It reminds me of entering the Fire Temple in Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the first time: heat warps the air and the intensity of your surroundings just overwhelm you. This is what this song is like. But it is sweetly overwhelming. As such, it'll be really nice to hear how 'Simple Creatures' will fit into the journey that I expect Lava Diviner (Truestory) will be.

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CORY JREAMZ ALIVE

So we got a nice treat right now, from the up-and-coming rapper from Houston, Cory Jreamz - the amount I've written about him already is testament to the fact that he is doing different stuff: if I didn't like it I wouldn't be writing about it. He's even been captured by the Q&A of the YES/NO Lazy Interview. He started getting noticed a bit more after he dropped his song 'Howl' from upcoming release The Lonely Painter - it being played on the radio by the likes of Scroobius Pip and featured on a zillion zines - and as for this song, 'Alive', it was premiered on VICE's music arm Noisey. I'm happy to see that he's getting the attention he deserves.

Yep, with 'Howl' on one hand and 'Alive' on the other, it seems as though The Lonely Painter - Jreamz's upcoming album - is going to be an interesting and intense listen. Here's the video for 'Alive', directed by CJ himself and shot by Andrew Goodwin - a perfect match for the song.

With unnerving vocal samples chopped-up and looped, the music is thick and rumbling, dark and looming, snapping suddenly into full-bodied synth and sampling - a melding of elements - about halfway through. The skeleton of a snare rattles in the foreground. Although it is a rap (filled with cultural references including Marlon Brando and To Kill A Mockingbird) there is something jarring and unexpected about his delivery that it could be more of a poem than anything else. It's a phresh take on things and in the world of rap, a phresh take is the best take sometimes - it is all too easy to sound like someone else. Cory Jreamz, however, continues to sound like Cory Jreamz.

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SEPTEMBER 2013 PLAYLIST

Hi everyone. I hope you're all doing well. As I was walking to go and get a coffee this morning it suddenly struck me that it was Autumn. Yeah, like, for reals Autumn. Straight up grey sky, blustery wind, chestnut spiky thingies on the pavement, brown leaves blowing about. Yes. Autumn. In all its glory. Being quite a lover of summer I find it quite difficult to get into the swing of Autumn, let alone Winter, but there is one thing I do look forward to: coats. Not only do they hide the inevitable tide of fat that grows with the cold, dark nights, but they also have loads of pockets which is really handy for keeping loads of things on you - from cigarettes to wallets, small food items and other refreshments; coats are useful.

Anyway, I've done that thing again where I make a playlist. It's just under 2 hours long and features all (well, most of) all the fun music I've written about this past month. I am still just trying to get over the fact that it is the first day of October. All those October releases I've been reading about seemed miles away, ages and ages away, but now they're practically on my doorstep. That's enough of that though. Please enjoy this playlist, it's especially for you. Put it on when you cook some dinner or do some homework or just while you're lounging around.

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THING OF THE MONTH || Kero Kero Bonito - 'Sick Beat'

Why? Well, although it was a latecomer to the September playlist, out of everything I have featured on YES/NO, this particular song just resonated with me. There's rapping in Japanese (not that I can understand but I likes the sound of it), there's samples of Super Mario 64, there are little carnival whistles dotted in there, it has a general quirky atmosphere, is majorly catchy, and it also has a nice message: that girls are just as eligible and entitled to play videogames as boys are. The rapper in the song, Sarah, reckons she could win at any game, "whether you're a boy or a girl or a supercomputer. In any case, that's that. Skip straight to 'Sick Beat' if you wanna hear it right now.

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