It's the Supersound » JD

ANGELIQUE KIDJO & MIKE STEIPHENSON

JD — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:54:28 +0000

Fantastic Afro-Pop hit from Angelique Kidjo, coming from her 1992 album ‘Logozo’, which is well worth looking up. As is the very hard to track down ‘Jungle Club Mix’ of this track, off the 12″.

MP3: Angelique Kidjo – Batonga

In 1967 Sevac Ekian recorded a ceremony of Ingoma Tribe in the East African State Burundi. Back home he developed the idea to arrange a “musical marriage”(mariage musical). Therefore he asked the producer Mike Steiphenson to create a fitting tune to those absorbing drums he brought.
In 1971 the track was published under the pseudonym Burundi Black and is considered by some to be the first disco track (though I’d debate that).

MP3: Mike Steiphenson – Burundi Black (1st Part)

LOUISE FREEMAN & MAGIC TOUCH

JD — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:43:46 +0000

Italo disco from a queen who never quite made it big: Louise Freeman. Released in 1983 on Italy’s Bubble Records on the flip with ‘Aa Ee Oo Uu’, and coming across like an early Madonna hit.

MP3: Louise Freeman – Mirage

Non-stop 100% Silk hits don’t stop with a 12″ from another member of US Rhythm-Punk act Mi Ami (the first being ITAL who graced Melbourne’s shores just last week where I managed to catch his DJ set and an unbeatable live set too). This time the beats come from Magic Touch (Damon Palermo alongside Jonas Reinhardt, with Honey Owens on vocals.
Twisted House magic.

MP3: Magic Touch – Clubhouse

YOTHU YINDI

JD — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:17:22 +0000

Club mix of a semi-forgotten Australian track that sits in the back of people’s music memory.
Yothu Yindi for Meredith 2012.

MP3: Yothu Yindi – Djäpana (Gapirri Club Mix)

SonusCast ♒003 — Deformative

JD — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:01:13 +0000

SonusCast is the journey through the shotgun scattered sonic-mental network of a selected guest in each release, in the form of a simple mix. Influences, anthems, beat-gems and anything that fits.

Deformative is one Sean Walshe, brief Australian resident, now living in Belfast, UK.
Sean hosts the notorious Go Bang nights featuring international guests such as Ital and Bachelorette, amongst many others.
Here he generously presents us with a deep and long insight into his picks of the crate.

SonusCast ♒001
SonusCast ♒002

SONUSCAST ♒003 ¦ TRACK-BY-TRACK SYNOPSIS

Arthur Russell – This is How We Walk on the Moon (Youth Edit)
Arthur could have appeared 10 times on this mix, such is his influence. The obvious choice would have been Go Bang! but everyone knows that one so I decided on this really beautiful edit of one of my favourite tracks.

Jump – Funkatarium
High-octane progressive house classic from the early nineties – try not to lose your shit when the bells and percussion kick in at 1.46.

Pink and Black – Sometimes I Wish
Obscure, throbbing Italo gem.

Indian Jewelry – Chasing Rats Out
Never get tired of listening to these guys. This is an early track with more than a small nod to Suicide – not that that’s a bad thing.

Crash Course in Science – Flying Turns
One of the coolest bands of all time, rarely a Deformative set that doesn’t feature one of their tracks, usually this one.

Factory Floor – Lying (Chris Carter Remix)
Seeing these guys at 4am in Barcelona last year was mind-blowing! Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle played with them that night too, which was pretty special. Like CCIS, this amalgamates noise and groove perfectly.

Sonic Youth – Echo Canyon
It’s Sonic Youth…

Mike Simonetti & Johnny Jewel – Hollywood Seven (Discotent Dilemma Mix)
Difficult to decide on what Italians Do It Better to include. This is a huge track from last year (although Simonetti’s been djing it for years) from two of the coolest men in the game and a big Go Bang! anthem – pure disco-drama!

James Chance & the Contortions – Incorrigible (Liv Spencer and DJ Spun Remix)
This came out in early 2010 on Rong Music and has been a staple of my DJ sets since. Sick acid bassline, wild organ riffs and James Chance howling over the top of it all – rapturous!

Jacques Renault & Lee Douglas – Got to Find a Disco
Another from 2010 – stomping dancefloor burner from two modern disco legends.

Neu! – Isi
Just one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.

Tussle – Elephants Meandering (Sal P. and Dennis Young Remix)
Liquid Liquid should be here in their own right, but this remix by two core members for a band that once could have been considered their modern-day successors, is a thrilling, percussion driven stormer to rival Optimo, Bellhead or Cavern.

Les Georges Leningrad – Supa Doopa
I was hugely into the messy dance-punk aesthetic of the last decade – Troubleman Unlimited, GSL Records, Lovepump United, etc – and have great memories of dancing to this sublime piece of ‘petro-chemical rock n’roll’ back in 2006/2007.

Black Eyes – Deformative
Like Arthur Russell, Daniel Martin-McCormick could have featured on this mix a number of times. Mi Ami, Sex Worker and Ital are all projects that I adore, but the band that gave me my DJ moniker still mean more to me than any other.

Talking Heads – Drugs
I don’t want to meet a person who doesn’t love Talking Heads. Last track from Fear of Music – a great end to a great album – and hopefully to a great mix too.

SONUSCAST ♒003 ¦ DOWNLOAD

MIX/MP3: SonusCast ♒003 — DeformativeMEDIAFIRE

LEFTOVERS

JD — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:32:23 +0000

A short collection of Unpopular Organic Beats I was meant to post last year but never got around to.
____________________

Post ‘Remain In Light’ era Talking Heads inspired UK Afro-Pop.

MP3: Luna Twist – African Time

Deliciously fractured hard-J-Pop collaboration between Sakamoto (of Yellow Magic Orchestra) and diva Kisaragi.

MP3: Koharu Kisaragi & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Neo-Plant

Tough proto-industrial Fad Gadget track, this time with more sugar.

MP3: Fad Gadget – Collapsing New People

Upbeat Afro-House gem from NYC based producer Dennis Ferrer. Impossibly catchy chorus. Appears on the last SonusCast I put together.

MP3: Dennis Ferrer – Funu (Hi-Life mix)

Ethno-flavoured New Beat from the genre’s Belgian founders, Morton Sherman Bellucci.

MP3: Explorers Of The Nile – We Are All Egyptians
MP3: Chinese Ways – Secrets Of China

ITAL MELBOURNE TOUR

JD — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:05:55 +0000

Daniel Martin-McCormick proved to be one of the more diverse artists of 2011, what with the genius punk and post-hardcore of Mi Ami and Black Eyes, moving into dark synthetic pop with his solo project Sex Worker, and finally into messy/perfect, flat out twisted derivative-dancefloor anthems with Ital.

Early 2011 saw the release of “Ital’s Theme” his debut as Ital and also the very first release out on Amanda Brown’s (LA Vampires / Pocahaunted) dance label 100% Silk. With echoes of Omar S, this orgiastic eight minute jam of interlocking arpeggiating synth-lines, gurgling bass and gnarled high-hats has made everyone from the mainstream UK dance press to the Tumblr underground sit up and pay attention.

Fast-forward to today and Ital is at the forefront of the US underground’s excursions into the world of forward-thinking backward-looking house & techno. Recognising Martin-McCormick’s talent and depth, the legendary Planet Mu have signed him for his first full length effort, ‘Hive Mind’, to be released in February 2012.

Catch Ital playing his only live show at The Phoenix Public House, Melbourne – Friday 27th Jan sharing the stage with Kangaroo Skull (My Disco side project) as well as NO ZU, Forces and interstitial selectors the Plastic Champagne DJs (including members of Waves At Night).

Tickets on sale through moshtix.

You can also catch an Ital DJ set at Love Tempo #4 at Buffalo Club, Melbourne, this Wednesday Australia Day Eve.

Expect the usual assortment of balearic bangers, deep house, disco edits, confetti showers, blankets of dancefloor fog and party punch galore.

Rose Quartz Tracklist

Jon Hassell/Brian Eno – Ba-Benzele
Jeff Mills – Human Tracking Device
Theo Parrish – Shadow Dancing
Tony Allen – Ole (A Remix by Moritz von Oswald)
M. Pittman – Cherry Lee
Anthony “Shake” Shakir – Marching Into Darkness
Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts #6
Steve Moore – Zero-Point Field
Drexciya – Under Sea Disturbances
Mark E – Call Me

MP3: Ital & Bookworms – Rose Quartz Smoke Central AU/NZ Tour Mix
MP3: Ital – Ital’s Theme
MP3: Ital – Eternally Yours
MP3: LA Vampires & Ital – Streetwise
MP3: Ital – Only For Tonight (Original Instrumental Mix)

Selections (Best Of): 2011

JD — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:58:44 +0000

So it’s that time of the year when we start to reflect.
Both Patch and I have reflected.
Things that caught our ears in 2011.
We reflect them back upon you.
We urge you to listen to each and every one.

PATCH – 14 SELECTIONS OF 2011

MP3: Macintosh Plus – リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー
MP3: Rare Silk – Storm
MP3: Marimba Tree – Hush (Remix Vocal)
MP3: Kitaro – Cosmic Energy
MP3: Masayoshi Takanaka – Illusion
MP3: Wanexa – The Man from Colours
MP3: Protect-U – World Music
MP3: Metronomes – 18 Creature
MP3: Innergaze – What’s Your Body Doing Tonight?Blog Post
MP3: Melodious Myles & Bo – Love Odyssey
MP3: Rick Poppa Howard – Do What You Have to Do Blog Post
MP3: Try to Find Me – Needs Ending
MP3: Maxxi/Zeus – American Dreamer
MP3: I Shook Hands – It’s Just the Way

P.C.P.

JD — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:28:04 +0000

More deluxe Dark Dance tunes courtesy of Melbourne’s P.C.P. (Luke Brown). Earlier on in the year we posted both his track ‘Piza‘ and the fantastic ethnographically confused ‘Shebeen Mix‘.

P.C.P. will also debut his live show alongside Miles Brown from the Nighterrors, Matthew Brown, Morgan (WORNG, The Emergency) and a few others for a late night music series happening on the 21st of January, 2012. More details yet to come.

Here’s the soundcloud as well.

MP3: P.C.P. – Divide

MP3: P.C.P. – Vello

WIDE BOY AWAKE

JD — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:21:48 +0000

A total forgotten classic New Wave/Post-Punk-Pop club gem. Wide Boy Awake was Kevin Mooney, bassist for Adam and the Ants on his iconic ‘Kings of the Wild Frontier’ album. They only released a few EP’s and 12″s but never an album before dissolving.

Slang Teacher was the B-Side to the cheeseball track ‘Chicken Outlaw’ and god only knows why they didnt just stick to this style.

Next to impossible to find in a digital format, the other Wide Boy Awake track that I could never tire of is ‘Billy Hyena’, released in 1984 and still sounds completely fresh.

Wide Boy Awake need to be known by everyone.

MP3: Wide Boy Awake – Slang Teacher

MP3: Wide Boy Awake – Billy Hyena (Dub)

SonusCast ♒002 — DJJD – Ethnographic Confusion

JD — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:39:55 +0000

SonusCast is the journey through the shotgun scattered sonic-mental network of a selected guest in each release, in the form of a simple mix. Influences, anthems, beat-gems and anything that fits.

Our previous and inaugural SonusCast courtesy of Valentino of Germany was something special. It’s been quite a while since my last mix I’ve put together for Waves, the last one’s really being mixtapes here and here.

For a while now I’ve been busting to put something together along the lines of what we’ve been calling Ethnographic Confusion; a strong love and fascination with traditional ethnic groups and cultures (music, art, language), but possibly not having the best idea’s on its origins. Not trying to reduce a culture to a few 2D ideas, but really wanting to understand it and not really knowing where to start. Audio Afrophile.

SONUSCAST ♒002 ¦ TRACK-BY-TRACK SYNOPSIS

African Rhythms (Intro) – Oneness of Juju
The Afro-Funk excursions of Plunky Branch & The Oneness of Juju served up some killer breaks from this album in ’75 (African Rhythms) and well into the ’80s.

Ahvuomo – Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela is probably one of the most important African (more specifically, South African) musicians outside of Fela Kuti. Power Afro-Beat!

Funu (Hi-Life mix) – Dennis Ferrer
The work of NY DJ Dennis Ferrer and released in 2001, this one still holds strong.

Masimba Bele (12″ Version) – The Unknown Cases
The German Helmut Zerlett, Stefan Krachten in collaboration with Ghanaian percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah. This is a monster; heavy riffs, chugging bass, and an explosive vocal effort by Reebop, who unfortunately died before its release in 1983. A must have.

Khoi Khoi – Secret Circuit
The ‘newest’ track on the mix (really an edit, but I’m lost in finding an ID on the original). If you havent already, wrap your ears around what, for me, was one of the best releases of 2010. Curated by Lovefingers on his then fledgling label ESP Institute featuring dudes such as Basso, Lee Douglas, Lexx and here Secret Circuit.

Don’t Go Lose It Baby – Hugh Masekela
I couldnt resist another Masekela cut. ‘Don’t Go Lose It Baby’ has got to be his most euphoric, disco-friendly release.

Ashewo Ara – Kabbala – Ashewo Ara
Kabbala was fronted by two Ghanian brothers, based in London, and weighing alot more heavily on the Afro side of the Post-Punk-Funk surge (A Certain Ratio, Maximum Joy etc).

Dance Khomela – Penny Penny
Possibly my all time favourite ‘outsider’ disco artist, Penny Penny comes from that hazy somewhere between naivety and pure dedication and love. Pretty sure Awesome Tapes From Africa get all the credit for busting this release of pure 90′s Shangaan heaven.

Peuple Eyo – Ray Lema
Bubbling and bouncy number from the Congolese (DRC) Raymond Lema A’nsi Nzinga, coming from his 1985 album ‘Medicine’.

Epuguzu - Pierre Akendengue
Dig that bassline at the start. Gabon-born Akendengue released this back in ’83 in the UK on CBS Records.

A.I.E (A’Mwana) – Black Blood
Before UK band Bananarama covered this as their first 12″ released in 1981, an African group recording in Belgium, Black Blood, released their own with predominantly Swahili lyrics. This version has got it down.

SONUSCAST ♒002 ¦ DOWNLOAD

MIX/MP3: SonusCast ♒002 — DJJD – Ethnographic ConfusionMEDIAFIRE