Remember Amp Live?

When Radiohead released In Rainbows, an obscure hip-hop producer unleashed a critically celebrated unauthorized remix album called Rainydayz Remixes shortly after, free of charge. His name was Amp Live and the EP featured guest spots from Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday, and Del The Funky Homosapien. A cease and desist order almost killed the project, but with the help of blogs and certain relevant cultural ouposts, the project saw the light of day finally as Oakland native Amp Live reached a settlement with Radiohead. You can still download the album free of charge on this web site, if you haven't heard it yet!

This brings us to today's topic, a track that Amp Live issued last spring is brought back into the spotlight due to an amazing remix EP launched yesterday on junodownload. Gary Is A Robot is a hip-hop club banger, with a auto-tuned poisoned chorus. But at least there's a vocoder the rest of the time. It's track infatuated with futurist ideals of spaceships and space travel, aptly reminding me of certain Brooklyn based Kapt10kurt productions. The track also features microphone interventions by MCs Micro Jaxson & Trackademicks. Needless to say the above isn't quite my cup to tea. However a brilliant set of remixes on this new EP rekindled my appreciation for epic scale eletro-house.

San Fransisco's Al Vellila's remix was the first track I listened to and after hearing the rest, it still sticks out as my favorite. It is a track that is ripe with Valérie collective throwback antics. But with MCs. Space age synths and 80s percussive fills carry the track until the galaxy shattering arpeggio comes to punch it up. A guaranteed dance-floor pleaser.

Other highlights include the James Curd remix, bringing a more downtempo approach to this track with an octave skipping bass line punctuated by a vibraphone maintained melody.

MP3: Amp Live - Gary Is A Robot

MP3: Amp Live - Gary Is A Robot (Al Vellila Remix)

Web Site: www.zionicrew.com

Twitter: twitter.com/amplive

Release Date: November 10th 2009

Label: Child's Play

Purchase Link: Juno Download

Watch for Amp Live's solo debut sometime in 2010 called Murder at the Discotek.

Brownstone Megaphone: Nylon Sound

Sunday I received an e-mail from a certain John Whitlock from Brooklyn who is a talented graphic designer and musician. He self-released an album, Nylon Sound, late last August under the moniker of Brownstone Megaphone. For a self-released project, Nylon Sound is rather impressive. Building a hip-hop foundation, over which, layers of syncopated effect ridden samples make for an interesting listen. Subtle melodies still manage to pierce through the dystopic arrangements on most tracks, however. Giving experimental I.D.M. to the masses, Brownstone Megaphone and his Nylon Sound would fit nicely on the Ninja Tune or Warp Records imprints.

Stream the whole album from his web site: www.brownstonemegaphone.com

Website: www.brownstonemegaphone.com

Label: Self-Released

Release Date: 24th of August 2009

BBC's The Great British Synth Documentary is on Youtube!

Stumbled upon this somewhere on facebook! This is great, giving us a history of the early days of electronic music and the pioneers who developed what is today such an important cultural movement!

Warp Unleashes Bibio's Next Album

I'm sitting at my favorite spot downtown Guadalajara with my headphones on listening to Bibio's new album The Apple And The Tooth set for release on November 9th. Bibio, also known as Stephen Wilkinson, was signed this summer to prestigious British label Warp Records, at the same time he issued his 3rd album Ambivalence Avenue. The Apple And The Tooth full length features some new tracks and some reworks/remixes from the last album. A great soundtrack for where I am as the sun sets down and I nonchalantly observe a beautiful girl sitting a few tables away from mine...

Bibio's songs can be melancholic, manic or downright strange. Rooted in downtempo, Wilkinson isn't afraid of displaying his instrumentalist skills in guitar based ambient tracks such as Haikuesque ( The Gentleman Losers' Whispers In The Rain Mix). The first four tracks, presumably the new original material on the album, remind me of Black Moth Super Rainbow, psychedelia done with a Warp Records twist. There are even touches of dubstep bass with breakbeat madness on Steal The Lamp. With all these different flavors, Bibio stands out as a producer that doesn't want to be part of a specific scene, and whose appreciation for a broad range of music permeates through his work.

My favorite track is a self remix of an Ambivalence Avenue track and last on the album, Palm Of Your Wave. It's lush dual guitar intro leads into an unfamiliar dreamscape. Wilkinson's vocals lament over some sampled flutes while rhythmically, only a tambourine echoes on every 3rd beat. Simplistic magic.

To see what I mean, check out the streaming songs on Bibio's Myspace page.

TONIGHT!: MODESEKTOR @ BAR AMERICAS

Holy Shit! FIELD MUSIC IS BACK!

One of my favorite bands of the mid 2000s, Field Music, announced a few years ago that they were planning to split up after 2007's Tones of Town. Their jangly, precisely produced, brand of harmony-pop had me hooked. Needless to say, I was left devastated. In 2008, Not even a solo album by the band's David Brewis as School of Language could make me feel better.

Today I am proud to learn via MFR, that the band is back!! LET THERE BE JOY TO THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD!! FIELD MUSIC IS BACK!!!

Here is an MP3 off their forthcoming Memphis Industries record, due sometime in early 2010.

Field Music - Measure

Technologystolemyvinyl

Technologystolemyvinyl from Steve St.Louis on Vimeo.

Big up to my Winnipeg brethren on this nice little doc about the changes in DJing over recent years. Here they are stirring the debate over Vinyl and Serato. So which one is it?