NYC 6/20 w/ The Maccabees, Miike Snow, Hatcham Social

You know, it's been said thousands of times before but I might as well restate for emphasis: You live in this city for a minute and just can't help but find yourself bombarded by creative forces. Not just bombarded but lured and pulled. You start drifting off some new direction - usually more than one at a time - and when you wake up (I haven't) you don't know how you got there. Here's what's guiding me, come down to Music Hall of Williamsburg 6/20 to see what comes out:

Diplo

Dam Funk
Deastro

Poirier

Thunderheist Set [Live]

Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning (Cut Copy Remix)
PNAU - Embrace
Anoraak - Fantasy Park (Moulinex Remix)
La Roux - In for the Kill (Twelves Remix)
Sebastian Tellier - Kilometer (A-Trak Remix)
Cut Copy - Nobody Lost, Nobody Found
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (Sam La More Remix)
Bomb The Bass - Old John
Royksopp - Poor Leno
Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction (Wideboys Reix)
The Presets - Talk Like That (CFCF Remix)
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody (Tenzin Remix)
Lykke Li - Breaking it Up (Punks Jump Up)
Chromeo - 100% (Nacho Lovers Remix)
Radiohead - Reckoner (Twelves Remix)

I got my baby back. This Macbook pro is making all the difference right now. 200% more battery life, 200% more productivity, 200% more procrastination, and 100% more DJing as of late. The Palmer Gallery exhibit was a solid success, I got a lot of good feedback despite my submission being straight silly. I spun at the Loeb art gallery as well for a late night viewing. Lots of fun, a chance to play more experimental tracks and meet some spacey art heads from the hudson valley. Smuggled out my share of wine and cheese before calling it a night, too. Then we had the Thunderheist gig on Friday, another big night for me. Their performance was...questionable...but all in all they were a good time and friendly people. Their DJ made a point of thanking me specifically for my opening set. I played some aussie house, making sure not to kill the crowd before they went on. The art of the warmup is something I've definitely gotta train, but that was a good start. It's all about not fully climaxing at the peaks; keeping things just at the brink of that crescendo in a very prog-house sort of way. I'll definitely be cookin up a new mix over break, until then you can grab the live recording (a bit sloppy, but that just makes it more reeeaal) from Friday up top.

Get at my Twitter.

General William Booth Enters into Heaven (Olmec Remix)

Strange happenings in Poughkeepsie, NY. Been without laptop for about a month now, following that tragic spill. I've gotta say, after that first-week-hump it's pretty smooth sailing. I've been working more in the library's media lab, bringing myself around Logic/Reason way more than usual. Here's what's come out of it. This is a production for a gallery show coming up highlighting student sound art at Vassar. The idea is to remix a poem, a concept I stole from DJ Spooky after reading the "Sound Unbound" anthology he edited. So I found this reading by Ginsberg (written by Vachel Lindsay) and time-stretched it into oblivion before slapping it on top of a simple little dubstep riff. Nothing special from a sonic point of view but his creepy acid-head voice definitely adds some sort of spice. Clearly, I'm not about to quit my day job or anything. But still, it was good to get my hands dirty in some real production.

Soundscapes

Acoustic space: the space we hear rather than see. Multidimensional, resonant, tactile, immersive and emphasizing temporal structure over the linearity of vision. Unlike a painting, photograph, opera, ballet or film, acoustic space is something to be plumbed physically. You can't see it through a glass wall. You can't be the passive audience member. Your very skin vibrates with each passing wave, redirecting it to create something entirely new. You become the vibration itself. The audience doesn't just bring a filter, it becomes the very composition.

...but who am I telling you this? Listen to this little soundscape I mashed up in Audacity and see if you can't step inside that grungy Caribbean shanty town:

Manifest

Yo Majesty - Don't Let Go
Booka Shade - Body Language (Tocadisco Remix)
Digitalism - Echoes (Suriusmo Remix)
Spank Rock - Put That Pussy on Me (Acapella)
The Field - The Little Heart Beats So Fast
Basic Soul Unit - Tunnels (Sebo K & Metro Remix)
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (Amigaman Remix)
!!! - Pardon My Freedom
Fatboy Slim - Jin Go Lo Ba (Jon Carter Remix)
In Flagranti - Business Acumen (Arveene Remix)
Underworld - Beautiful Burnout (Mark Knight Remix)
Busta Rhymes - Don't Touch Me (Acapella
DJ Mujava - Township Funk (Ashley Beedle Remix)
LCD Soundsystem - Beat Connection (Disco Dub Version)
Goldfrapp - A&E (Gui Boratto Remix)
Michel de Hey - Jetchi (John Digweed Edit)
Booka Shade - Karma Car (Club Mix)
John Digweed - Every Feelin'
Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing
Panthers - Goblin City (Holy Ghost! Disco Dub)
Outro

This mix might be my first to really expresses something. I can't put my finger on what, but the movement and rhythm here definitely speak to an emotion. Is it coincidence? Something from me? Weird.
I was a little iffy on adding the rapping but in the end I'm glad I used them to balance out the artsy side of things. This mix also has a lot going on under the hood. Tons of glitch effects on the vocals, strange parametrizing on the tracks, and lots of VSTs I barely understand. Let me know how it sits. Peace

The Shallow End

Dipping my toes ever so slightly into the production pool here.

Olmec's Top 10 (Remixes) of '08

1) Mariah Carey - I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time (Designer Drugs Remix)
2) MGMT - Kids (Soulwax Remix)
3) Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax Remix)
4) Hercules & Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Vocal)
5) Sigur ros - Saeglópur (Crash Overdrive Remix)
6) Justice - Waters of Nazareth (Erol alkan’s Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr Re-Edit)
7) Kanye West - Love Lockdown (Chew Fu Small Room Fix)
8) Lil’ Wayne - A Milli (Flying Lotus Remix)
9) Leona Lewis - Every Bleeding Breath (Divide & Kreate Mash)
10) Sia - Buttons (CSS Remix)

Musings

_____The last few weeks I've had the chance to listen to more electronic music than ever before. The downside of this bargain is that I've been cursed with the ability to critique it. What does this mean for Olmec, who once knew not Tellier from Granier—Busy P from So Me—Digweed from Dorfmeister? Ignorance is bliss, and so it was for my first few forays into the DJ game. Songs were judged on the criterion of fun alone. Compression ratios, granual synthesis, and reverberative overcompensation were words as far from my lexicon as could be. Sets had neither trajectory nor purpose, but they sure were fun. Uninhibited, they wove together hip hop and electro in an effective, if not obvious, way.
_____Now, this can not stand. I just can't help but obsess over the musical merits of it all—the social and musical philosophy of the whole process. Liberal-artsy as it might sound, I know that unless you understand each and every presumption upon which your views rest, you can't hold them at all. In the next few posts, I'll probe the foundations of my understanding of DJing as an art, profession and skill set. If nothing else, it should at least help me resolve some things I've been turning over in mind. For one, the musical merits of the DJ in all of his forms. What is his role as 1) party starter 2) energy arbiter 3) musical taste-maker. How do these roles change on the internet, where highly tweaked compositions reign, as opposed to live/in the mix. Is the DJ inherently a musician and, if not, how can he become one? How does Hypemachine fuck everything up?
_____The original concept behind Olmec was HoodInternet but for electronica. Simply stated, this has not played out. My tastes are getting more snoody, pushing more towards well-developed sounds, seeking that height of sonic fidelity rather than whatever these mortals call "fun." Is this a problem? Listen and find out - new mix droppin' in short time...

In Japan

Comin' down the pipe:

King Creosote - You've No Clue Do You (Atlantic Conveyor Mix)

Midlake - Roscoe (Jody Den Broeder Remix)

DJ Medhi - Chocolate Trance (w/ Missy Eliot - Cop That Shit Acapella)

Dmitri In Paris - Track 18

Underworld - Beautiful Burnout

Shit Robot - Chasm (w/ Mike Jones - Badd Acapella)

Bloc Party - Banquet

Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Diplo Mix)

Head Automatica - Brooklyn is Burning

Ludachrist - Sea-Bast-I-Am

Prodigy - Girls (Rogue Element Remix)

Hood Internet - Wouldn't Grip Far

D.I.M - Is You (Brodinski Remix)

Six Feet Under - Main Theme (Photek Remix)

Underworld - Born Slippy (w/ Ludacris - Satisfaction Acapella)

Air - Mer Du Japon (Kris Menace Remix)

Big Shit Poppin'

9/9 Olmec Night @ The Mug

9/23 HH101 Party @ Socos

9/30 @ ???

10/5 DayGlo @ N.College Center

 

Summer Sampler

Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl
Acapellas - Rihanna "Please Don't Stop The Music," Suzanne Vega "At the Diner"
Hood Internet - Shorty get Looks
Usher - Love In This Club (MSTRKRFT Remix)
Dizzy Rascal - Sirens (Acid Girls Remix)
Jape - Floating (D.I.M Remix) Vs. Boys Noise - Oh! (A-Track Remix)
Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head (Greg Kurstin Remix)
Stanton Warriors - Who's Afraid of Detroit?
Acapella - Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc."
Partial Arts - Cruising
Acapella - Spank Rock "What It Look Like"
Stanton Warriors - Make em' Shake It
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Nuckles Remix)
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Okenfold Remix)

What a Summer. Not yet in a position to give a full retrospective, but let's just say I haven't had nearly as much time for this DJ shit as I predicted. For some reason sitting down at my computer is never an attractive option when you're lodged in the heart of Tokyo. I've officially fallen in love with this city; coming back is no longer an 'if' but 'when.' The first half of this mix was stitched together before my flight, the rest is my Summer. That deep house you hear - a little nod to the increduble Japanese scene. 'Blind' has been my summer jam so far; can't wait to spin this vinyl. Rounding things out we've got Radiohead, who I'm seeing in about 3 weeks. at APW Oh and did I mention I'm going to Fuji Rock? MBV, Kasabian, Bloc Party, Grand Master Flash? Beeyawh!

まだまだ

Anarchy - Switch Sides
ComaーChi - 放浪
Kemui - Right
Bronk - 渓流にひる便
Kan & Dj Krush - Mosa
MackaーChin - Inori
Kan Freestyle


Not really a demonstration of any mixing skill but here's a little Japanese hip hop produced for the さくらまつりfestivities here at Vassar. A little awkward to play on stage for my teachers and peers, but the project was a blast to make. Since Apple only lets you buy from your national store, I had to order a itunes.jp gift certificate straight from the islands then get the back barcode scanned/emailed over to me. Well worth it, I found some great stuff. Definitely a bit disorienting stepping into an entirely new music scene but I was able to pick out Kan and Anarchy as two aces in there. DJ Krush as well but that goes without saying. Look forward to more in the Jap style over the next weeks, I'll be there through all of June and July. Already overwhelmed and I haven't even left...

From the Dead...

Freshman Mini-Mix

Justice - Stress (Auto Remix) w/ Luda - Stand Up
Madonna - 4 Minutes (Bob Sinclar Space Funk Mix)
Estelle - American Boy (Stockholm Syndrome Mix)
Justice - DANCE (mstrkrft mix)
A-track - Stronger
Mia vs. Ocelot - Our Boyz


Mini-mixes are the shit. New tip named Paper Route Gangstaz from Diplo and Benzi just dropped - Excellent. It definitely takes a unique talent to condense songs into such a short composition. For this one, I tried to keep everything 1:30, including transitions. A little disappointed that I could only fit 6 tracks in, but realistically that was the ceiling. El Presidente requested this mix to provide a bit of ambiance prior to an event he's throwing. I'm not really sure if this is what Joey had in mind but I think it's pretty aight. All the remixes are from this year so it's got that little theme going for it as well. Headbang to this shet. Reflective meta-post up soon....

Soulfire

Coldcut - Colors of The Soul Vs. Lil' Wayne - Fireman

Welcome Mads readers! Today I'm serving up a track I'm especially fond of. Instrumentals courtesy of a fine English trip hop duo you may not have heard of, Coldcut. And of course, that's none other than lil weezy himself on the vox. It's hard not to respect Lil' Wayne, despite him fitting the "self-obsessed hip-hop twerp" stereotype quite perfectly. Nevertheless, he's probably the post prolific rapper out there, spitting out quality mixtapes left and right. I'm working with Back on My Grizzy, another Weezy track, for my next set and it's another mindbender. Just listen to this beat and tell me you don't wanna break something.

Take it easy people, and check out my back-catalog if you haven't already!

Throw Some Funk on Dat Bitch

Daft Punk - Da Funk (Casino Inc) Vs. T.I. - Throw Some D's

I've had these two tracks matched up in my set for a while and finally decided to render them out together. This Da Funk remix is one of the best I've heard - walks the house/disco line with precision. Match that up with TIs drawly flow and you've got a hit. TI isn't your typical pop rapper...or maybe he is; I don't really listen to a lot of TI. One thing's for sure though - Top Back and Throw Some D's are both legit bangers. His choppy flow in the middle of this a capella fits well over the breakdown in the instrumental. It's a shame he insists on keeping his songs locked below 80bpm, but I guess that's a matter of taste. Go go gadget Ableton!