The last few weeks I’ve been taking a pretty deep journey into the debut LP Only Mountain from LA based beat-maker Take. Out on the Alpha Pup label, the album is really on another level in terms of sound and ideas – with one foot floating happily inside a sort of psychedelic, otherworldly pressurised funk and the other firmly planted in sun-drenched LA hip-hop. Insanely beautiful, utterly engaging and wholly original, Take’s sound is completely infectious. With each listen you’ll find something new to adore and admire. Only Mountain is a real achievement in future soul music. If you dig Dam-Funk, Flying Lotus, J.Dilla type steez then this is for you! Amazing music.
Also on the future funk vibe is the debut LP from Spanish-Trinidadian artist Oriol. His LP Night & Day arrives on the always reliable Planet Mu label and is chock full of spacey jazz boogie and soulful broken beats. A positive vibe permeates throughout and there’s an effortless feel to the rare grooves that Oriol serves up. Cannot wait to bump this when I head to Europe for some sun and surf. Part Herbie Hancock, part Hudson Mohawke – this is another quality LP in an already stellar year for forward thinking broken beat music.
We all know that dubstep has grown exponentially in popularity over the past few years and one of the genres pioneers Skream has now arrived with his sophomore album amidst crazed media hype for the genre. Skream straddles both the pop infused styles of the genre (especially with his Magnetic Man group alongside Benga and Artwork) alongside deeper chin stroke moments through his work with D Bridge and Instra:Mental. Fact: Skream is one of the scenes first real crossover superstars. Outside The Box is out now through Tempa and will certainly do no harm to the current wave of dubstep crossover especially with its more breaky, ravey moments. Purists should take heed but there’s still a few heavy bassweight moments that should please old school dub heads. Whatever your tastes there is no denying that Skream is an impeccable producer and Outside The Box is a lot of fun. The album features collabs with Murs, La Roux and heaps of others.
Another LP I’m looking forward to absorbing more on my o/s trip Aug/Sep is Sheffield’s The Black Dog’s Music For Real Airports. A response to the Brian Eno concept album of a similar name, the album is a soundscape field recording meditations on the experience of being ‘in and around’ airports. Sounds ‘wanky’ but it’s actually really dope. Ambient tunes wash into deeper post-techno beat driven efforts in a real made for headphone ‘on location’ experience. It’s a cohesive record of beautiful music and one that could transport you into that transient limbo airport vibe no matter where you are. An ambitious, challenging and rewarding listening experience and one that I 100% recommend.
In a strange move, one of my favourite producers Squarepusher has left the confines of his label Warp for a one-off EP release on the Ed Banger label. Due late August, Cryptic Motion is an unexpected pairing of artist and label, but one that should herald some fascinating sounds. Ed Banger and Warp recently held a party last year in Paris that showcased HudMo and Clark alongside Mr Oizo and Sebastian and as a label, Ed Banger, has reportedly been inspired by Warp for many years. The EP from Squarepusher will feature a new production and a remix by Mr Oizo – both tunes are available to stream on Soundcloud.
To hear tunes from all these releases and much more tune to The Antidote on 2XX 98.3FM from 9:30 – 11pm every Tues night or stream at www.2xxfm.org.au.
