Topical Storms

Uno's Tune #07 - The Notwist - This Room

Uno's Tune #06 - Gramatik - Afternoon Soul

Uno's Tune #05 - JLYMN - As of Yet

Wow. It has been a long time - after a long summer I'm back in the game again. The very name of my blog has to be questioned, after all my topicality has been far from up-to-the-minute! Oh well, here begins what I hope will be a flourishing bout of autumnal creativity.

Now, the artist I'm featuring today is a producer with his own vein of, to pigeonhole slightly, bass music, and one artist I believe we should all keep a close eye on. Little is known of JLYMN other than his imminent sound design credentials which become apparent when you listen to his music, especially the track in question: As of Yet. Composed using many found sounds from his kitchen, the song has an elegance to it that holds the piece together in spite of the almost chaotic squeaks and bleeps smattering the air around the docile synths playing in the background. The song has these nuances throughout, each of them working their differences to an advantage; it becomes reminiscent of certain Warp artists, or a lot of the music Eskmo makes. Beautiful stuff. Go to his SoundCloud page and check out more of his work.

Anyway that's me for now, but I will have more to say soon... Got some big stuff goin' on. 

Peace

Image: Erosie

So I'm back again. I'm just reviving my levels of creativity after having them dissolved thanks to the last bits of university work I've had to do. Finished now though and I'm actually back to writing in a more personal tone. Shit yeah.

Anyway for the time being I have a distinct lack of things to say despite an overflow of thoughts to think. Methinks all I need today is a bit of slightly shameless self-promotion. I have a few sets coming up, the main event being the sophomore session of Void at Public Life.

The last one was an epic day: dark, dirty, buzzing with energy and, if I'm honest, a bit of a blur - at least post-set anyway. It's easy to fall prey to the bar's allure, especially after realising the cash machine outside is available only after a 10 minute wait in a queue. I need to stop bringing my card out with me...

Anyway, if you're in or around London get yourselves down to the place for the beginning and catch me at around 2:30ish. Stick around and let the black hole of techno goodness suck you in until the time comes to party elsewhere. Bring it on.

Right-o, I've run out of things to say for now.

I'll be back for more soon. Maybe sooner. It's good to be back.

Peace

Uno's Tune #04 - Ghostpoet - Run Run Run [Brownswood Recordings]

Finally got the album. It's certainly something different.

Obaro Ejimiwe, a.k.a. Ghostpoet has really started to make an impact on the music scene around here, his ethereal presence projected wistfully through his songs. I've yet to see him live so I haven't had a first-hand experience of his stage persona but I'm betting the atmosphere surrounding him is electric in a different sense of the term.

There's a candidness to his lyricism, and when you listen and really pay attention you start to feel like you know him, you're able to empathise with his problems. You can picture his routine/daily grind in Longing For The Night, just how deep the pool of whisky is he's struggling through on Cash And Carry Me Home, or the level of suggestibility emitted through his television set in the featured song Run Run Run. This gives a separate focal point to the music itself which is particularly worthwhile because dissecting his music allows the dreamlike state he creates to really envelop you - especially on the night bus, drifting through a fog-soaked London at 3 in the morning. Most of the music itself hangs in the air, his voice and his heavy lyrics keeping it weighed down as if it were unable to exit this plane of existence - particularly on the aforementioned tunes, and Garden Path as well. I can't remember the last time an artist was so aptly named.

On another note today - Bristol was fun this weekend, want to big up the Dead Chemists and all the bands that played. Here's to the next one and it becoming an institution. Hopefully less on-stage vomiting though!

Oh also, get the Soul Clap Social Experiment 002 mix. Wicked stuff as always from the boys.

Anyway, good day.

Peace

Picture: Danny Hall a.k.a. Mr Hallz.

"Edison looked like he was enjoying himself for the first time in days. All the paeans to progress that surrounded him, all the Novagems and the lights that made them shine, and all Thomas Alva Edison wanted to do was listen to a record."

Greg Milner, extract from Perfecting Sound Forever: The Story of Recorded Music

Greetings. Been busy reading and writing, my dissertation hand-in date is looming ever closer...

The quote is a little snippet from one of the many books I'm in the middle of, a fascinating journey through the ever-altering life of recorded music. I'm learning a lot myself and certainly enjoying it, but I think I'll have to re-read it at a more relaxed time to really let it sink in deep. I suggest anyone with even a slight interest in real music get out and pick yourself up a copy, you won't regret it.

Also today, check out my boy Danny's artwork, as featured at the top of this post. He's a talented scamp with a real knack for capturing people and their essence. He usually draws all manner of weird and wonderful things, the organist being my personal favourite. His style is based around a knack for graffiti on top of other things, but no matter what his work always remains interesting and colourful. When he actually gets it done... Check out his page for more - I'll hopefully have him designing the artwork for my new mix when he's got time.

Oh, and what am I listening to today? Mainly Ernest Ranglin. Hero.

Right, I'm out. I got work to do.

Peace

Introducing...

Sleepy Time Ghost

I met Harry Metcalfe at a party down the road from my house sometime last year. As soon as I begin a conversation with somebody as equally interested in music it's not likely we'll stop talking any time soon.

Turns out he's friends with a lot of people I know from Westminster University, small world, small city. He works with a number of MCs, including another good friend of mine, Christopher Crooks, a.k.a. Nwike Jisike (also one of the producers/the MC in the collective I'm part of, Cold Dose Theory. Watch this space for more of our tunes and mixes). Metcalfe's tunes echo a number of producers without ever sounding the same, his hazy beats reflecting the sleepiness conveyed through his stage name.

The song in question, his most recent offering, When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth, is a beautiful little piece of instrumental music akin to older, more seminal acts such as Kruder & Dorfmeister or Nightmares On Wax, with some of the modern flourishes of artists like Teebs and even Lone. The vocal samples litter the periphery of the track, appearing on the horizon as the key changes in melody and the beats strut along like they mean business. The muffled drums bounce bells softly into the air as they float through the smoky space above the rest of the track whilst the groove remains solid in the centre of the clouds. Lovely stuff.

Loads to talk about on a sunny Monday morning, so here goes. First things first, I have nothing but good things to say about the Round Table Knights album, Say What?! I'll have more to write about it soon, however, once I've listened to it a few more times. It's one of the most fun electronic albums I've heard since Ost & Kjex did... Well, anything, really!

Oh and I have the new Bibio album, Mind Bokeh. Sounding intergalactically stellar so far. Love the cover art.

Lastly for today's round up, plugging a show I'm playing at. Dead Chemists, the brainchild of my friends Ed Eames and Charlie Brown, are holding the first of hopefully many club nights at The Fleece, in Bristol. The night features punk, hardcore and ska bands with yours truly stepping up to the decks to play a selection of hip-hop, punk, hardcore, beats, breaks and a bit of everything and anything I shove in my record bag. I love a challenge! Also joining me is my man Christopher Crooks who's going to keep the proceedings in line as he ceremonially masters the mic. Come down if you can, it promises to be an interesting night...!

Anyway, I've gone on enough, enjoy your day all. Sun is shining, weather is sweet.

Peace

Uno's Tune #03 - FD - Third Glance [Critical Recordings]

Drum & Bass, I've been unfaithful.

I have completely overlooked the genre over the last few months, the last time I paid close attention was on the release of Fabriclive 55, mixed by the enigmatically excellent DJ Marky. It was a really good album, but I just don't think it had the staying power of other releases from Fabric's opus such as Marcus Intalex's phenomenal Fabriclive 35. Don't get me wrong, I will be listening to it again, many times. It just didn't have the jump-up-and-samba stylings of The Brazilian Job, for instance. An album we all loved in the summer months.

Soon as I found out Kasra had released Critical Sound of Drum & Bass, I leapt on it. I've been a fan of his work in both his music and his Critical imprint for a long time, so I knew the sort of styles he'd bring in to this, a collection that is part retrospective, part prospective and very much introspective.

Most of the works on show here display a kind of emotional detachment from the outside, a detachment which is attached firmly to the elements of the music. It all works well, some tunes are much heavier and louder than others, and the change in pace begins to become noticeable half way through, peaking at Total Science's Redlines, Riya's voice breaking through the lingering clouds and floating around in the sunlight for five minutes.

The end of the collection is a look to the future of the label, FD being part of the plan. If it all ends up sounding like this I think I'll remember that future.

Peace

Salutations on a beautiful day.

Had a great weekend - was my birthday yesterday, so needless to say I've been out of action internet-wise the entire time. Realised how easy it is to have a birthday party if you adopt a sort of hole-and-corner philosophy, i.e. don't tell the entire world via facebook...

Makes sense, really. Anyway thanks for everyone who dropped by Saturday. Unsurprisingly I spent a significant chunk of the night rooted to my chair, apparently unable to move lest I allow a bad vibration to enter or exit my speakers. If you see me at a house party you're likely to bear witness to me mixing on whatever I can get my hands on - if you've got a good request I'll probably love you forever. Same applies for most instances in life, to be fair!

So on another note, today I picked up the debut album from Lucy, entitled Wordplay For Working Bees. The Stroboscopic Artefacts founder has proven his penchant for techno via an intricate reworking of the genre, and despite his label only being eight official 12" releases in, he really is one to keep a keen eye on. Hopefully I'll get round to listening to it a few times in the next couple of days so I'll get my thoughts up here.

Peace

The far east.

Peace

Uno's Tune #02

Benoit & Sergio - Boy Trouble (Visionquest Remix) [DFA Records]

There's a storm brewing.

A six-pronged attack from both Benoit & Sergio and the four-man, 4/4 superteam of Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss, Shaun Reeves and Ryan Crosson. Now we all know the hype that currently surrounds each one of these artists is gradually growing to magnanimous, perhaps dangerous levels, but screw it... They're all simply good at what they do, this song being a fine example of their collective work.

Since I first heard Benoit & Sergio a couple of months back I've been eagerly following their progress - I certainly haven't been disappointed. The Washington DC duo's style is a fresh take on the more live sounding end of the house/techno spectrum, often peppered with a ridiculously infectious vocal line that will stick in your head for weeks (see: Walk & Talk). I'm really looking forward to catching their live show next time they head over to London; I'm sure they'll end up with full orchestras soon, should be good!

As for Visionquest, I don't think they really need much of an explanation.

Taking the whole vision quest thing very literally. Nutters. Read their hilarious interview on Ibiza Voice to get more of a grasp.

Their style is a slightly more straight-up variety of the house they produce for New York based Wolf + Lamb, spliced with a tech groove that works in a truly melodious sense both at home and the dancefloor. If you're in London, go check them out at Fabric this coming Saturday - guaranteed to be a massive night but it will be packed to the rafters.

Peace

"Wake up, please. Please!" she cried. "This is no time to be sleeping!" She pounded on me with her fists. "Please. If you don't get up, the world is going to end!"

Haruki Murakami, extract from Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

This was the last thing I read before finally dropping off to sleep last night (or, to those of you who aren't students, this morning). Ironic, seeing as it would have been far more beneficial for me to have recalled these words subconsciously, moments before I opened my eyes, not moments before I closed them. I wonder how much more I would get done if I rose an hour or so earlier every day? I literally just need someone to wake me every morning up screaming about the apparently imminent annihilation of the planet, sure that would do the trick.

So, tonight at my workplace, The Champion pub in Notting Hill, we have our fortnightly musical guest Ian Munro doing his thing. Ian has recently released The Sense EP, a smattering of his musical talent that proves he is able to create infectious songs as well as emulating them. He uses a loop-box in order to form a thicker texture to his melodies, layering his vocal and guitar parts with terrific aplomb. Considering he plays a fairly recognised selection of popular tunes new and old, I think he manages to breathe a bit of new life in to them. Check him out online and go get pissed at one of his gigs - watch the crowd gradually work up their Dutch courage and join them in dancing like fools at the end.

Oh yeah and it's wine club tonight. Discount booze for all!

Peace

One more item of business for the evening - my tune of the moment.

Now, this moment in question could last a few hours, it could last a few days. Who knows? Some music is simply too hard to force from my auditory cortex, damn it! All I can say is that I'll be frequently updating these songs, and that the genre will rarely ever stay the same.

Uno's Tune #01

Grooveman Spot - Change Situations [Jazzy Sport]

A shimmering slice of futuristic funk from  Japanese producer Grooveman Spot, a.k.a. DJ Kou-G. The album from which this song is picked, his 2010 effort Change Situations, features some of the coolest artwork I've seen in a while as well:

All I really want to say is, we need the Jazzy Sport crew to float over to our shores sometime in the near future, bringing their brand of space-age beats across the cosmos with them.

Peace

Evening.

I won't bore you with introductions; all you need to know is that I am Ed Frost, a.k.a. Uno.

I'll be ranting, raving, proclaiming and raining down useless/ful tidbits of musical knowledge on to your screens for... well, for as long as my mind holds out. I'm sure that as I flow with the waves of the web I'll be joined by other collaborators from all walks of life, so keep your eyes on this space for beats, poetry, art, photography and whatever else I (we) feel like sharing with the world.

Anyway, welcome. Got so far to go.

Peace