In addition to Shatterfreaks “quality as standard” post, here is another nice free to download EP for you to grab. This EP is flying amongst all different sorts of blogs for over a week now and it definitely deserves a listen. I wish I could tell you a bit more about the artist behind this but there is not much info to be found. My personal favourite tracks are Red Giant and Sacred Science but I suggest you just have to check it out and find out yourself, enjoy!
Updates from March, 2010
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Nebula EP
tomlaan
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CalicoLeaf
shatterfreak
I find myself more and more, somewhat inevitably and altogether unequivocally, in two minds about music. Everything comes in twos now, every “if” holds hands with an “and”. It’s most compelling manifestation is in this growing attraction i have for music i could never see myself making but (those are cropping up a lot lately as well) only in cases where the differentiating factor is quite clearly something that cannot be learned. The difference needs to come from the very essence of the person who made the track, a difference in personality, perception and experience.
It’s possibly my view that production is an extension of personality, as producers we kind of give the game away with our music, offering little tit-bits and hints, and in time our bodies of work become layered, hidden amongst the one shots and melodies is an odd detritus of human emotion that can become altogether telling, at times.
Just from listening to his tracks, i know that myself and CalicoLeaf are very different people. It speaks a lot of his ability to make honest, interesting and altogether personal music. And then he lets us listen to it, which is pretty cool of him. He’s dreamed different dreams and felt different things and while all this sounds like it should be obvious, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes music isn’t a personal and freeing journey, sometimes it seems to be fraught with worry and an almost needy desire to be liked that if it were a person it would wear a sideways baseball cap and almost certainly have a nickname. CalicoLeaf on the other hand wouldn’t care…you can tell. His music is made because it’s the music he wants to make, plain and simple and you really have to respect that.Joe Hisaishi – Path of Wind (Calicoleaf RMX)
CalicoLeaf – Spheres of Kannos
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Quality as Standard
shatterfreak
My efforts to shed a bit more light on Irish Dubstep via the awesome power of Stripewaves is made a lot easier by the fact that there are some really talented people doing some really good things in the dubby realms on this little island. The more i try and write about music that more i realise the task is made especially easy when you talk about good music, so with this mantra in mind I’d like to introduce you to the new, free for download, release by Standard, featuring “Lights” by Major Grave and backed up by remixes from Colz and Bob.
Free for download is starting to turn into a bit of a murky spot, with so many producers and labels churning out tracks and a lot of people allowing everything they do to be downloadable all the time… so one thing i will say right now is don’t let this free business fool you, there are three quality tunes to be found here.
“Lights” by Major Grave is truly deserving of the term infectious. Excellent use of the vocal throughout gives a human feel that is often missing in electronic music, especially when cutting and glitching a vocal but excellently chosen sounds keep the whole human heartbeat ticking and the bass while big, is warm and inviting,palpitating along with the rest of the track. Subtle rhythmic changes and fantastically timed percussive switch-ups reign throughout. The track as a whole is assured and confident, happy to keep the listeners interest with deft changes and excellent production qualities rather than fall into the “torrent of noise” trap which can befall so many of us. A great track, you just know this is pure perfection on a sunny day.
Colz remix starts out feeling removed in tone from the original and the first kick lets you know this is going to be a very different journey. Taking the original track as a sound source rather than a template, Colz kicks off into a very different groove, setting the tone with some fantastic interplay between the bass line and the kicks. The track establishes it character early in these two elements and as more and more sounds start to fall in you quickly realise your feet are tapping, your doing that silly side ways shift in your chair and you stopped writing this review for a couple of minutes and got your boogie on. Even in the use of the vocal, the soft warmth is gone and things feel a nit more eager and tense. With fantastic rhythm and groove, this is remixing done right.
Bob once again turns in a unique and individual take with his remix, effectively using sounds sourced from the original to create a whole new monster. The shuffle in the beat is just ridiculous, and a deliciously structured bassline almost forces your imagination in the direction of how cool this would be with an eager crowd, a good rig and a dark room. Big right up to the end, the last section is the kind of controlled ferocity that i, personally, just plain love.
So, there you have it, a free release done the right way with a strong track and two unique and inviting interpretations of same. Follow the link below to grab a copy. And the best thing is, there will be more on the way!
http://smokelessfuels.blogspot.com/2010/03/major-grave-lights-ep_14.html
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Stripewaves Global 4
tomlaan
Stripewaves #2 is almost a day ago and it was smashing! Thanks to everybody who joined and the photos/videos will be up here soon! I hope you’re ready for some more because here comes a brand new Stripewaves Global mix, this time provided by Welfare from Dublin, Ireland. This 27 year old Dubstep and Jungle Producer/Dj originally started dj’ing and mixing techno but he’s into Dubstep and Jungle for a long time now. Welfare has been playing all over Ireland and is also hosting a weekly radio show called the Welfare Clinic, check out his Myspace for airdates and the shows. Enjoy this fine mixtape and make sure to check out his soundcloud if you like it!
Stripewaves Global 04 mixed by Welfare
Tracklist -
Vishnu
shatterfreak
Hailing from Perth, Australia, Brett Kelly is a genuine talent. Producing under the name of vishnu, calling him a Producer feels like a total understatement. Conjurer comes to mind, or we could even take the route of sounding silly and making up titles to try and get the point across. He writes tracks which invoke some very strong and very compelling journeys through the mind and memories. Mixed cultural hints become malleable emotive and sonic soundscapes…tracks become journeys, sometimes to the inner self and sometimes being thrust outward into a place we’ve never been or even imagined before. Is it odd that when listening to his music i can close my eyes and see myself in a barren desert, the midday sun turning everything below it in a simmering, sweltering melting pot of memories or imagine myself digitised, hurtling through phones lines and modems?
I could go on, but i won’t waste time. Hit play, sit back, be happy.
vishnu – unison
vishnu – shared thought
vishnu – chase the light
