musica

A whole host of new additions to the 2010 Glade festival line-up have been announced.

House and techno titans Green Velvet (pictured) and Jeff Mills will be appearing, and there’s dubstep aplenty from Skream and Benga (performing both b2b and live with Artwork as Magnetic Man) and Plastician. Other highlights include DFA disco types Holy Ghost!, Carl Cox, Wolf+Lamb, Boy Better Know, DJ Zinc, Seth Troxler and the mighty Autechre. Visit the Glade site for the full line-up and tickets.

The join a bill that already includes Orbital, Tricky and Simian Mobile Disco.

Glade takes place July 15-18 at Matterley Bowl in Hampshire.

To coincide with his specially commissioned new short film at Tate Modern, The Vinyl Factory presents CINE OPERA, a new art and vinyl edition from Michael Nyman.

Nyman is one of our greatest living composers; his many achievements include an Oscar-winning score for The Piano, and for a number of Peter Greenaway films (most memorably Drowning By Numbers) and experimental works such as Decay Music (recorded for Brian Eno’s Obscure imprint). Nyman is also a renowned critic and theorist, and was the first person to use the term “minimalism” to describe the work of Steve Reich, Philip Glass et al, in his seminal book Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond.

Cine Opera is a “21st anniversary re-imagining” of the classic 1989 Nyman album, La Traversée de Paris, that aims to showcase not just his work as composer, but also as filmmaker, photographer and artist.

Limited to 500 copies, CINE OPERA is presented in a gatefold sleeve. It’s the first time the album has been pressed on vinyl, and it features three exclusive bonus tracks as well as fine art print of Michael Nyman’s photography, hand numbered and signed by the artist, plus hand-written notes. Michael Nyman has been closely involved with every aspect of the edition’s creation.

La Traversée de Paris was first commissioned in 1989 to mark France’s bi-centennial celebrations. The original album consists of 17 pieces, each referring to a specific or generic location, historical incident, or cultural development in Paris since the time of the Revolution. Nyman has since used tracks from La Traversée de Paris in other concert, film and opera projects.

Nyman is an acclaimed photographer, publishing the Sublime collection, and has exhibited short films that have been shown at galleries including Tate Modern and MOMA. It was while on his travels in Mexico City that he discovered the Teatro Cine Opera, a beautiful cinema that has fallen into disrepair, and which gives this project its title. More information here.

The Vinyl Factory’s Cine Opera edition includes the following:

•    Gatefold Sleeve printed on pristine white 300gsm Colourplan with metallic ink, with exclusive Michael Nyman cover artwork •    2 x 200gram super-heavyweight vinyl records featuring La Traversée de Paris, plus three exclusive bonus tracks •    CD, containing full album & bonus tracks, housed in a Pochette •    Exclusive Michael Nyman photograph, printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper •    Michael Nyman essay and sleeve notes, printed on pristine white Colourplan •    Hand signed and individually numbered by Michael Nyman

Now with added sex and suicide in amongst the original’s toilet theme.

Last night FACT was totally blown away by a live set from Carlos Giffoni’s No Fun Acid. He was playing in support of Oneohtrix Point Never at The Grosvenor in South London, and the lean, mean audio/visual spectacular that he unleashed was astonishing.

Giffoni is the boss of New York noise label No Fun Productions, and the curator of the No Fun Fest. No Fun Acid is his radical take on acid house, and though he approaches it from the perspective of a noise artist, his understanding of rave rhythm and dynamics is strongly evident. Giffoni’s work reminds us of the endless psychedelic potential of acid house, and also its ability to function not just as dance music but as truly transporting, mind-warping sound.

As previously reported, Giffoni will release a No Fun Acid 12″ later this month, with a remix from Gavin Russom. In an excellent interview with The Quietus’s Louis Pattison, he talks about his increasing preoccupation with analogue electronic sound.

“It feels better to play this analogue stuff and experiment,” he says. “It leads to many avenues of sound I wouldn’t think of. It also sounds much better and interesting to my ears than digitally created music. Analogue means that all frequencies are possible – even the ones we can’t hear. Digital music is always limited by sample rate. I am voting for Infinity with my music.

What’s notable about Giffoni’s No Fun Acid project is how much more accessible than his previous work it is, without compromising on integrity or sheer sonic impact.

“I am never going to stop making bizarre electronic music, but at the same time I am seeing the value in putting down some beats and some melodic lines here and there – and spicing things up with some more musical side projects. Infinity is double ended and circular at the same time!”

“Digital music is always limited by sample rate. I am voting for Infinity with my music.”

So what are the origins of No Fun Acid? How did a noise artist end up making acid house?

“This project was born from both my interest in synthetic sound and from growing up surrounded by electronic music at clubs, raves, on the radio, birthday parties, in the supermarket… there’s electronic music everywhere. The acid synthetic line is something that came naturally to me when I started to do more experiments with sequencers in modular’s – probably it was engraved in my brain somewhere – so from there I got a few drum machines, a 303 clone, and No Fun Acid was born.”

Giffoni reveals that, in addition to the Gavin Russom remix on the immininet 12″, Italians Do It Better head honcho Mike Simonetti is working on a remix of a different NFA track for a subsequent release. Can we expect to hear more original material in this vein?

“I just got an 808 clone and I expect to do some more experimentation within the Acid space in the near future,” Giffoni says. “We’ll see where it goes – I am having a lot of fun with it right now and a lot people seem to be getting excited about it. Change is good. Electronic music is good. Partying and dancing is good. No Fun Acid is good.”

“Change is good. Electronic music is good. Partying and dancing is good.”

Also of interest in The Quietus interview is Giffoni’s confirmation that he’ll be releasing a CD box set of Conrad Schnitzler’s Colour albums on No Fun Productions.

“I have the rights to release a CD box set of the entire ‘Colour’ collection and some unreleased material from the time, along with pictures and liner notes. It’s a big project and it will cost a lot of money. All the parts minus the artwork are ready to go.”

Schnitzler, born 1937. is a true icon of German electronic music. An early member of Tangerine Dream, he co-founded Kluster (before they became Cluster) and has continued to innovate ever since, as solo artist, collaborator and producer.  His Colour series is comprised of Schwarz (1971), Rot (1973), Blau (1974), Gelb (1981), Grun (1981), and, depending on who you ask, Gold (2003) and Silver (2009). The Colour collection was recorded chiefly in the 1970s, and most of the early releases were originally available only via Schnitzler’s private press. We await the No Fun box set with bated breath, and so too should you.

Read the full interview with Giffoni here.



Sound of Music Evolution – aka S.O.M.E. – is a series of nights at London’s The Den & Centro, formally The End.

Their latest round of events kicks off next week, with Romanian dubstepper Cosmin TRG headlining the main room. TRG’s one of the genre’s top DJs, with a sound that mixes up his own productions – which have found homes on Tempa, Hessle Audio and more over the years – with the best house, garage and more.

Supporting him in the main room are Rockwell, Jubei, Buckone and Shaolin.

Room 2 is curated by Deep Teknologi, the UK house collective that we’ve been firm supporters of this year. Label bosses SEF and T. Williams will both play; the latter’s forthcoming self-titled EP features tracks being played out by Brackles, Ben UFO, Sinden and more. Rinse FM’s excellent MA1 also plays.

Support comes from fellow Deep Teknologi members J. Bevin and Zander Hardy, as well as FACT’s Tom Lea.

Future S.O.M.E. Nights at The Den feature Commix, Rossi B and Luca, The Heatwave, Mizz Beats, Mungo’s Hi-Fi and more. For more details, hit up their website. Facebook event group for the 24th – where you can get on the guest list – can be found here.

Well it was only a matter of time. Now presenting… Plastikman SYNK.

Director hints that award-winning actor will play cult singer/songwriter in forthcoming biopic

So the long-delayed new album by Erykah Badu is out later this month.

The sequel to 2008’s acclaimed New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), it’s been delayed throughout the year, but now has a solid release date. We think. We hope.

Anyway, those who’ve been reading FACT will know that a track from the record – featuring none other than Lil Wayne – was leaked to the public, complete with video earlier this year. Well fans now have a chance to hear more material from New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), in the form of a collaboration with Madlib, titled ‘Strawberry Incense’.

You can stream the track in full on Badu’s website, and what do you know, it’s very good, Badu’s vocals perfectly complimented over a harp-centred production by the Stones Throw man, who himself has released three albums already this year. Or something like that.

Oh, and Badu has also revealed the artwork for Part Two. Here it is:

On May 17 Crammed Discs will release Assume Crash Position, the new album from Konono No.1, and the fourth volume in its Congotronics series.

Recorded in the Congolese street-band’s Kinshasa home with producer Vincent Kenis, it’s the follow-up to the group’s widely acclaimed 2005 debut, and finds them augmenting their legendarily intense, hypnotic grooves – wrought out of thumb-pianos and found percussion – with electric guitars and bass played by neighbourhood musicians. Various vocalists are involved, plus guitarist Manuaku Pepe Felly (Zaïko Langa Langa) and members of fellow Congotronics group Kasai Allstars.

According to a press release, the band’s sound remains anchored in traditional bazombo trance music, but is apparently now “deeper, more layered and ethereal, without losing any of that signature raw power and driving energy”.

Konono No.1 will be playing the following live dates in May:

Saturday 8 May – ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES (curated by Matt Groening) Tuesday 11 May w/ OMAR SOULEYMAN, Metropolis, Bristol Thursday 13 May – FUTURE EVERYTHING, Manchester

Tracklist: Wumbanzanga Thin Legs Mama Na Bana Makembe Fula Fula Guyome Konono Wa Wa Wa Nakobala Lisusu Te

Directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, the 10″ version of this single will be exclusively sold via Oxfam.

Many of you will have already downed a few drinks and danced a merry dance at the CAMP (City Arts & Music Project), the venue recently opened on City Road in East London by secretsundaze’s James Priestley.

Well, this April the CAMP – and its club space the BASEMENT – launches “officially” with a diverse programme of music and entertainment. Highlights for us are the Süd Electronic party on April 10, which features a live set from much-hyped house talent Tevo Howard and DJ sets from Panorama Bar’s Prosumer and Tama Sumo, the April 9 album launch from teenagersintokyo, with support from David E. Sugar and Death Metal Disco Scene, and an Upset The Rhythm-curated headline show from Hunx + His Punx on April 8. Full listings, with time and price details, are below.

Oh, and before the official launch week, there’s a chance to catch Rinse FM / Eglo Records’ Alex Nut spin with DJ IQ and Mr Thing at the CAMP, on Saturday 20 March. Wednesday 7 April // The CAMP // 7pm – 12am // 30 min sets at 7:15pm, 8:30pm & 9:30pm // Free Entry Space Is The Place LIVE: The Bukky Leo Quartet w/ Bukky Leo (tenor sax/flute) + Sophie Allowa (drums) David Morris (guitar) & Jay Darwis (bass)

Thursday 8 April // The BASEMENT // 8pm – 1am // £7 ADV, more OTD Upset The Rhythm LIVE: Hunx & His Punx + Support DJS: UTR djs

Thursday 8 April // The CAMP // 8pm – 1am // Free Entry The Meltdown DJS: Jonathan More (Coldcut) + Ross Allen & Raff Daddy

Friday 9 April // The BASEMENT // 8pm – 4am // Free Entry LIVE: teenagersintokyo (Album Launch) + David E Sugar (Kitsuné) & Death Metal Disco Scene DJS: Ocelot + teenagersintokyo + Khalil b2b CSY + Wah Girls & Last.fm djs Friday 9 April // The CAMP // 10pm-4am // Free Entry Work It! DJS: Work It Girls + Nell + Island Spicey + Playing With Knives + Maxwelll Jaye + Gas Bags Saturday 10 April // The BASEMENT // 10pm – 8am // £10 ADV, £9 OTD b4 12, £12 after Süd Electronic LIVE: Tevo Howard (Beautiful Granville, Hour House Is Your Rush) DJS: Prosumer (Panorama Bar, Ostugt Ton, Running Back, Diamonds & Pearls) + Tama Sumo (Panorama Bar, Ostgut Ton, Diamonds & Pearls) + Lakuti (Süd, Uzuri)

Saturday 10 April // The CAMP // 8pm – 4am // Free Entry FIXEDFEAR LIVE: Phantom (Young Turks) + Shiv Lizzy DJS: Matthew Burgess (Lowlife) + Nick Priestley + Reverend JFK & Jaime Blanco

Available on: Rush Hour 12″

Whenever a new FaltyDL released is announced it’s hard to know what the hell you’re supposed to expect.  Now the impossible-to-define producer (real name Drew Lustman), who in his short history has tackled almost every genre du jour in one form or another, has gone and made a retro-tinged EP for Rush Hour’s brand new imprint.

Opener ‘All In The Place’ is immediately stunning, a classicist manifesto expertly blending all sorts of tried-and-tested sounds and textures.  It’s an adept mixture of Detroit, dub techno, and even acid house, and its restless, constantly morphing structure would be jarring were it not for the breathtaking clarity and propulsive momentum. The moment it starts it’s like the sun breaking out, spreading warmth and illuminating everything in its vicinity, and the plasticky, almost gaudy synths set a standard for the rest of the EP. ’St. Marks’ pairs an addictive vocal sample with rolling staccato percussion, breaking out of its loosely-defined shackles for brief moments, jumping, puttering, and even stopping unpredictably. Lustman gets delirious for the second half of the track, laying strings all over, bringing the vocals to the forefront and and phasing the chords out in glorious 3D. Then everything drops and the drums become faintly crunchy, footsteps that suddenly explode into starbursts of light before zooming back into place, breathing heavily and struggling to regain composure.

The blindingly bright, cheery tones of ‘Discoko’ are offset by a silky smooth chords and acid squelches, making for a track that’s like a pastiche of the old Artificial Intelligence series on Warp.  But instead of the robotic, inhuman mechanics of those releases, “Discoko” stomps, and stomps hard – pseudo-Purple-Wow synths fly all over the track, but the drums are almost always there to pin things down and keep them firmly in place, landing hard and decisively. ‘Groove’ closes the EP in fine form, a little more straightforward than the other tracks with insistent percussion, chopped, broken up and shuffled behind gurgling synths interrupted by an absolutely gorgeous breakdown about a minute in, until the drums come back in and poke holes in the downy quilt, resuming the stunted gallop.

It’s actually quite fitting that Lustman released this EP on Rush Hour, as it sounds like it was made with mostly old equipment; in fact, it probably could pass for an old Metroplex record or something excepting that unmistakably modern touch. Lustman’s music bristles with a giddy excitability, the sounds stubbornly refusing to stay where they’re supposed to and his melodies often going off on unforeseen tangents. These tracks aren’t exactly straightforward techno, then, but they might as well be for a man whose gloriously confounding work is often described as dubstep, funky, wonky, IDM, garage, and whatever else you might want to throw at him.  I’m guilty of some of these myself, but when I listen to this record all those silly terms vanish and I’m forced to marvel at the clarity of vision and purity of execution here, a record that transparently apes the canon without ever sounding derivative.  It’s starting to look like FaltyDL can do anything, and this release is one of his best yet, with ‘St. Marks’ already feeling like a highlight of his surprisingly large catalogue.

Andrew Ryce

[click for larger image] Our party with Mexican Summer Records kicks off at noon today (Friday March 19) at Klub Krucial, on 6th St. next to Emo's. The day party is FREE and open to the public (NO RSVP or badge/wristband required), while the evening showcase is an official SXSW event. First 50 people that show up get a free Mexican Summer/Gorilla vs. Bear SXSW t-shirt by RVCA and a copy of... click through for more...

Ray Mang, who has been turning out top disco-flavoured gear since 1996, recently made his DFA debut with the sizzling ‘Bullet Proof’.

A cover of George Clinton’s classic, it features a spirited vocal turn from the fabulous Lady Miss Kier (pictured) – yes, she of Dee-Lite fame. The single is out now on 12″ and digital; have this taut radio edit on us.

Download: Ray Mang – Bullet Proof (Radio Edit) (Available for seven days)

Kano, the voice behind grime hits like ‘Typical Me’ and ‘Boys love Girls’, who broke out of London’s underground a few years back with a series of moderately received albums, has a new free mixtape to download. Titled Jack Beaur: The 7 Day Edition, it features 11 new tracks from the former NASTY Crew member, including vocals of Major Lazer’s ‘Pon de Floor’ (we really wish this one was longer than two minutes) and Tinie Tempah’s number one ‘Pass Out’. You can download the entire thing in 320 bitrate format, FLAC and more, as well as stream the tracks individually over at Kano’s Bandcamp page.

The genesis of the mixtape is apparently as follows: “seven days ago, Kano set himself the 24 inspired, Jack Bauer-style mission of creating a new mixtape completely from scratch in just one week. Kano announce the idea on Twitter, invited followers for input on possible beats, called up producer Mikey J and set about working against the steadily ticking clock.”

Oh, and we now know some stuff about Kano’s new album. It will be titled Method to the Maadness, and features Boys Noize, Hot Chip, Damon Albarn and Radioclit. It’s due out later this year.

7 Day Edition tracklist: 1. Intro 2. You Are Young 3. Track Burglar 4. Pass Out (KA Freestyle) 5. Game Over 6. Rude Boy 7. Chip Roll, Sausage In Batter 8. Back Home 9. Kinda Like A Big Deal (KA Freestyle) 10. Kano In The House (Pon De Floor) 11. Pursuit Of Happiness

DJ Jus-Ed will release a new album in late April, entitled Next Level [via Resident Advisor].

The record will come out on the New York producer’s own Underground Quality imprint, and it features ten previously unreleased tracks. It’s the follow-up to his 2005 debut Carnival House.

Jus-Ed has become much-rated among deep house and techno heads of late, thanks to his own tracks as well as the output of Underground Quality, including 12″s by Anton Zap, Levon Vincent and Nina Kraviz. His sumptuous GV-255 Step Up EP was one of our favourite dancefloor releases of 2009, and we’re keen to hear if the new album lives up to, even builds on, its extraordinary sound. Almost as much as we’re looking forward to hearing the inauspiciously named ‘SHIT’.

Tracklist: 1. I’m Comin 2. 20 Below 3. Strings From The Hood 4. Marco’s Love 5. Play Date 6. Listening In 7. SHIT 8. Matrix 9. Stimulate 10. Dub Project 3

"Don't leave me, Diane. No, it's not a mask. I can be your Jacob now. I did this for you..."