The Unearthed Sounds crew members have compiled their weekly picks containing collectively, in no particular order, our favourite tracks/releases of the week.
Here are the selections individually from the crew:
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Release Date: 15th December 2017
Following Swayzak’s Gestures Of A Sycophant, the third release on Beatnik Boulevard sees the return of Appleblim after he launched the label in style with the Conch Shell Motives EP. This time the Berlin-based producer is working alongside long-time collaborator and fellow Bristol bassweight alumni Komon – the duo have turned out EPs for Aus Music and Apple Pips in the past, but this 12” represents the first new material from them since 2014.
The heads-down, meditative lilt of Appleblim & Komon’s Bristol past looms in the shadows on this EP, but it’s shot through with a steely, modernist dance floor bite and high-end sound design. Know Yourself pivots around crafty, 2-step kinked drums but there’s plenty of space afforded to atmospheric synth surges that plunge the track into a mood-altering headspace just to the left of the conventional dance floor.
In a more overt step away from the club, Enigmatic Light finds the pair exploring reduced, experimental approaches without discarding their penchant for heavy drum pressure. The sparse but booming kicks and bass stabs provide a powerful anchor to the swirling array of melodic matter coursing through the track, striking the perfect balance between structured arrangement and free-flowing sonics.
Stepping Out Of Yesterday closes the EP out with a beautiful, crooked reflection peppered with rich, chiming dub ripples, out of which a sprightly acid line emerges to affirm the electronica leanings of the track, and the EP as a whole. It’s a fitting end to a record that sees both producers striking out into exciting territory where the moody soundsystem pressure of their past can coexist with the shimmering, psychedelic production that comes so naturally to them.
A re-issue and remaster of another classic from the Cross Section stable on vinyl due to public demand. “Rush N Soul” is a certified anthem in Detroit since it’s first release in 1997 on his Active X-TraX ep and has been supported by the likes of Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak, Honey Dijon (BBC Radio1’s Residency) Mark Knight (Toolroom Radio), Mike Huckaby, Junior Sanchez, plus a host of other House Music heavy hitters!
On the flip is a brand new production from Chris, “Do What You Like”, displaying his continued passion for music production, pushing boundaries and taking risks. This track is definitely delivering attitude, and following no trends!
This release is a part of a series of releases forthcoming to celebrate 25 years of Cross Section which has been a constant giver and inspirational label for the real House heads across the globe!
Jack Stevens aka Sully has become somewhat of a cult figure in the jungle world with his output being in high demand. His work is unmistakable. It’s always true to it’s origins while simultaneously adding new takes and juxtapositions in palette and composition. A true artist that excels in his field.
Stevens returns to Astrophonica with Swandive, a body of work presented in dual energies - dark & light, body & mind, Yin & Yang. In Werk you’re put to the test physically as es- ki-like percussion stabs grab the attention and demand a response. A staple in Fracture’s DJ sets for the last year or so.
Poison demonstrates a side to Stevens’ production that is harder, meaner, cruder and all together more brutal than he is known for. The result is an infectious mix of venomous bass and corrupted drum breaks fit to kill any dance.
The title track Swandive begins to counterbalance the fierce energy and bring some har- mony opening with calming strings and trademark icy melodies before elevating to an intense state of amen divinity that twists and turns in a story like fashion.
Memories completes the balance with euphoric bass stabs and emotional strings culminat- ing in a searing and conclusive anime-like solo. Some of Stevens’ most daring work. The cycle is complete.
a1. Sully - Werk
a2. Sully - Poison
b1. Sully - Swandive
b2. Sully - Memories
Various Artists - Evident Ware Pt.01 [2x12" Vinyl LP]
Is this the sound of the future or fragments of the past coming back to haunt us? Is a remix of a classic thirty years after the fact an exercise in hauntology or a time loop closing? When hardcore came bowling out of the UK underground, it was sci-fi postulating rendered on wax, but it also reflected an inescapable reality at street level. Idealist, escapologist music that said as much about decades of inner city pressure as it did about outer space fantasies. A sweet refrain underpinned by a necessary ruffness, the elegant ballet of a break dissected 16 different ways over 16 bars, the protest pulse of the subs carrying the torch from one soundsystem culture to another.
What hardcore successfully struck on was so definably alien it set a new paradigm which has been cast back and forth in dialogue ever since. Whole scenes have risen and receded around these principles, and the constant remains – masses of bass carrying angular rhythms, unnerving echo chambers of disembodied voices and moments of staggering beauty and masterful ugliness. These principles have a universal appeal that burns bright generation to generation, never seemingly diminishing but rather fortifying with time. Sometimes a surge of inspiration finds the principles reinterpreted in head-spinning new ways, but the ethic remains the same.
Those shaky, intrepid years of lo-fi samplers and narrow band broadcasts were defined by their lack of definition. Take a punt on a rare groove lick and work out how to get the low end louder. Then everything got organised – in the face of mass appeal scenes started splintering and preferences catered to. It may not have been a force for unity, but it engendered more intensive investigation. Years of scenes, styles, subgenres, niches, furrows, corridors, avenues, detours, each more hyper-specific than the last. Eventually though, everything breaks down so much it all becomes one mass again – a constant cross-contamination between these intensely cultivated strains, creating ever more potent hybrids that simply feed back into the temporal swirl.
Reggae and dancehall thrive when repurposing the familiar to create something new. This is what French producer Stalawa has achieved with his limited edition Record Store Day release, Trod on.
He’s refashioned a rare Canadian production of the King Tubby inspired Tempo rhythm, Dunne Done, and enlisted gritty-voiced Jamaican dancehall emcee Junior Demus for a haunting, horns-driven track with a hypnotic and unstoppable groove. Stalawa followers will recognise the rhythm, christened Dundee Done, from his Stalawa In East Africa EP project on Glasgow’s Scotch Bonnet Records.
Junior Demus is a dancehall talking legend of the early 80s, who took his name from his resemblance to the similarly granite-toned microphone pioneer Nicodemus. Demus’ vocal, with its resolute, Rasta-inspired lyric, was recorded in New York by the trumpeter and engineer Mush1. The limited quantity vinyl release, on Stalawa’s Foreign Mind label, comes with a stripped down instrumental version for the next generation of emcees to ride...
a1. Stalawa - Trod On ft Junior Demus
b1. Stalawa - Dundee Done
Detroit's Filthiest - Original Not Crispy [2x12" Vinyl LP]
The king of beats strikes again...After his classic trilogy, Detroit's Filthiest strikes again in collaboration with casa voyager presenting a killer double pack that blends the artist's oldschool ghettotech influences with his recent electrofunk works. Tested and approved.
Pitch Black’s “Electronomicon”, a landmark album in New Zealand’s electronica scene, finally gets pressed on vinyl. First released in 2000, “Electronomicon” shows Pitch Black developing their deep dubby sound further by creating long and involved song structures that traverse a range of sonic experiences. The resultant album journeys from organic ambience and layered soundscapes to skanking keyboards, cutting acid riffs and thumping rhythmic grooves, with dub being the glue that holds it all together.
“Electronomicon” reached 28 in the New Zealand album charts and led to a sell-out 30-date tour of New Zealand and Australia. It has since gone on to become one of the duo’s most popular albums, regularly finding new fans around the world.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release, the band dug out the original audio files and Angus McNaughton has re- mastered them for this vinyl release. Hamish Macaulay has also adapted the original artwork, creating a brand new collage for the centerfold out of pictures taken at the time.
Main Phase returns to Warehouse Rave with a four tracker 12" that shows the Copenhagen native take on both 2-step, grime and breaks. The release, Cool Down EP, sees the rising garagehead Main Phase explore the murky and dark areas of 2-step with direct nods to the grime scene generals as well as early rave sounds and euphoric breaks.
First cut on the 2-step dominated A-side, "Eski", sees Main Phase go dark with tight syncopated beats, heavy basslines and a little help from the godfather himself.
Staying in grime-ish areas, "Bluku" delivers clear nods to the grime-scene with icy synths and sirens while still maintaining the freshness of 2-step. Oh my gosh!
The B-side of the record opens up with the title track "Cool Down ('93 Mix)", an homage to big raves, hefty breaks and slashing reeses.
From slashing reeses to gully subs, the final track of the record, "All of the People" sees Main Phase make breaks workout side-by-side with playful synth melodies and mc-samples from way back when. Hold tight!
Fresh off the back of his latest installation of rollers and heavy hitters, FD drops in for a welcome visit to CIA. Already a firm favourite of the label, the producer’s recent form has seen him consistently stepping up through the gears, firing off a volley of dancefloor weapons and soulful cuts.
FD’s latest offering sees the producer deliver three refined yet weighty DJ tools, as he helps to connect the dots between sound for the more daring listeners and selectors. As usual with his work, each track turns in different directions, thoughtfully yet powerfully constructed.
‘First Sound’ is a lesson in class and stripped back simplicity, rolling and weighty yet with a character all of its own, making for a classic DJ tool. ‘Timberline’ takes proceedings a little darker and more techno-tinged with it’s looped soundscapes and layers, while the latest collaboration between FD and Total Science, ‘True North’ brings things down a notch, yet is loaded with enough bassweight to do serious damage.
