ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Having lost count of amount of times we’ve read or even described someone’s music ourselves as being subtle, it begrudgingly seems perfectly apt when describing the work of Canadian producer Kevin McPhee. Built from a different more placated mould, his work, which we’ve been hearing in fits and spurts since the 3rd quarter of 2010, is finally hitting shops at the beginning of the year. Releasing on two of our most revered imprints, the Irish [nakedlunch] and the Bristol based Idle Hands (which is soon to be a physical record shop just off Stokes Croft in the city centre, seemingly filling the void left by Rooted Record’s closure last month) stands him in good stead from the off but it’s the fragility and soul of his music on tracks like the as yet unsigned ‘Try’ and ‘This Feeling’ that really connect.

He really has nailed his sound deep, almost oceanic sound palette and after a bout of complementary AIM conversations we shot him some questions, playing on our own interest in his background as much as his music and he delivered our 66th Sonic Router mix. Split, in McPhee’s own words, between “slower and faster tempo tracks,” it’s a perfect and concise showcase of a truly magnificent talent.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/01/inte ... hidle.html

Tracklist:

Kevin McPhee - I Will [???]
Kevin McPhee - Try [???]
Kevin McPhee - Sleep [Forthcoming Idle Hands]
Kevin McPhee - Bridges [Forthcoming [nakedlunch]]
Kevin McPhee - Sucre [???]
Kevin McPhee - Be [???]
Kevin McPhee - This Feeling [???]
Kevin McPhee - Get in With You (LV Remix) [Forthcoming [nakedlunch]]

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:29 am

For all our love of bastard house and the overloaded synth explosions of the current instrumental hip hop and skweee that we harp on about endlessly, it ain’t half clean sounding. OK admittedly, someone like Egyptrixx - whose just announced his debut album Bible Eyes will be released on Night Slugs in early March - uses a little more of that sheet noise aesthetic, trusting a lot of his stylistics to the overbearing presence inherent in his sound, but sometimes our ears just hanker for that completely immersive, brooding, drum kit falling down the stairs type of beat music. Plus, as Slugabed so eloquently pointed out recently, there’s not been so much of the slow, slow stuff round these parts recently.

Enter then Chairman Kato, a London dweller whose productions simultaneously imbibe the foreboding spirit of early El-P (think The Cold Vein more than Fantastic Damage) and Shackleton’s passion for drawn out drones as melodies. Texturally, it’s often hard to beat the crunch and depth in sound that you get from using analogue equipment, and Kato’s forthcoming EP for Pictures Music , the Wildfire EP, displays precisely what we mean by that sweeping statement. 5 tracks strong it revels in its own darkness, perfectly creating a darkened and lonely person’s dream state. ‘Gemini Eyes’ might well be the more floaty of the productions on offer on the EP, due out this Valentine’s Day, but with its sandpapered edges, scuffed synthesizers and far off kick drum it’s more of a turmoil inducer, coming on more cerebral than the obvious smash and blap of ‘Thuddd’ or the fierce head nod of ‘No Coincidence.’

As Pictures themselves put it in some early correspondence: “it's pretty fresh compared to all the other stuff that seems to be cycling around and there’s not a 2step beat in sight.” From one listen their point is overtly evident; Kato’s music is at once hypnotically subtle and tempered like gravel, probably the over-riding reason we wanted to see what he’d throw down for his contribution to our mix series…

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/02/inte ... music.html

Tracklist:

1. Leyland Kirby- ‘The Sound of Music Vanishing’
2. Harmonia and Eno- ‘Vanos Companeros’
3. Kassem Mosse- ‘Untitled’
4. Chairman Kato- ‘Streets Of Rage’
5. Lukid- ‘Rags’
6. Bat For Lashes- ‘Glass (Chairman Kato’s Rework)’
7. Hype Williams- ‘Rescue Dawn’
8. Fabulous Three- ‘Answer Me Softly’
9. Radiohead- ‘The Gloaming’
10. Redshape- ‘Manhattan’
11. Wbeeza- ‘Southern Girl’
12. Shed- ‘My R-Class’
13. John Roberts- ‘Navy Blue’
14. Luke Abbott- ‘Trans Forest Alignment’
15. Joy Division- ‘A Means To An End’
16. Com Truise- ‘Sundripped’
17. Broadcast- ‘You And Me In Time’
18. Chairman Kato- ‘Gemini Eyes (Teasmith version)’

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:47 pm

As localised a sound as the current strains of house tempoed music emanating from London are, its humbling to think that everything can reach the furthest corners of the globe, thanks, undoubtedly, to the invention of the internet and the level of reach its given producers. The New York based Contakt - who has this week released his debut EP for the Local Action label - is one of the many benefactors of the information superhighway, able to discover and follow new trends and productions happening here and represent them properly in his adopted home at his co-run TURBOTAX parties.

His 3 tracker single ‘Not Forgotten’ also benefits from the technoid edge of UK funky, it sits comfortably alongside releases from the Deep Teknologi camp and the work of T.Williams, which can also be found on Local Action. Contakt brings his own distinctive vibe to proceedings, his tracks full of dry kicks that hit hard and snares that sound like a rally cry for listeners to shake their hypes in time to the carving synthesized riffs. He straddles an odd boundary that hasn’t really been breached yet, keeping his productions raw with an unabashed dancefloor bump, yet rooting his sounds in a deep techno pallet.

We caught up with him on the week of his release, to grab our 68th Sonic Router mix and discuss many things, including his production, the state of play in the US of A and that fertile middle ground between techno and London house music...

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/02/inte ... ction.html

Tracklist:

01. Rolando – Junie – Ostgut Ton
02. Shy One – Comfortable (Numan Remix) – DVA Music
03. Cosmin TRG – Seperat – 50 Weapons
04. Martin Kemp – Cracks – Unreleased
05. Aril Brikha – Read Only Memory (Octave One Remix) – Art of Vengeance
06. DJ Dom – Untitled – Ptn
07. Robert Hood – Clash – M Plant
08. Contakt – Not Forgotten (Rolando Remix) – Local Action
09. Los Hermanos – Tescat – Los Hermanos
10. Julio Bashmore – Ribble to Amazon – 3024
11. xxxy – Think Twice – Unreleased
12. Contakt – Still Up – Unreleased

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:08 pm

Raffertie’s Super imprint is going from strength to strength of late. Being in a privileged position to hear their music early, we can confirm that they’re tapping into a lot of corners that you probably wouldn’t expect given the 4 releases the label has put out to date. There’s a definite depth and commitment to the cause inherent to what the team behind the label are doing, their choice of remixers and the presentation of their releases speaks measures of their passion for design as much as the music.

PhOtOmachine, a faceless Brixton resident, is the latest producer to step out on the label, with his Technicolour EP and again, it’s a welcome display of club sculpted productions. Harnessing the swirl of a synthesizer as much as the warm thud of his kick drum on the eponymous track it’s obvious from the first listen that its music made to solely to move you. With percussive elements that trickle in the gaps between the bass stomp, ‘Technicolour’ explodes around the 4 minute mark, underpinning the repetitive vocal chant with a looping bass line that nails the whole track to the floor.

PhOtOmachine tracks are a welcome addition, they progress and twist into new manifestations without compromising their main dancefloor objectives, keeping the attention when their let fly and also popping out cleanly in the mix. We shot him some questions to quell our curiosity and honour him offering up our 69th Sonic Router mix...

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/02 ... super.html

Tracklist:

1. Greymatter - Seventh Disco
2. Daniel Wang - Not Feeling It
3. 24 Hour Experience - All Nighter
4. Ben Westbeech - Falling (Deetron Acid Dub)
5. Martyn & Mike Slott - All Nights
6. Julio Bashmore - Battle For Middle You
7. Cosmin TRG - Izolat
8. Hackman - Made Up My Mind
9. Omar S - Soley Supported
10. Bad Autopsy - Callback
11. Boddika - Boddika's House
12. Seiji - More of You
13. SBTRKT - Breakout
14. PhOtOmachine - FreaKQuency*

* Available exclusively on the Technicolour coloured cassettes which you can win by emailing the answer to the below question to the sonicrouter gmail by the 1st March.

Q: Who made the ‘808 Reduction’ remix of PhOtOmachine’s ‘Technicolour’?

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:55 am

After catching the wind and floating into our attention span with his releases on Wigflex's first 3 split releases Taylor has a new album coming and a new moniker to release it under. Taken from his middle names, whereas Taylor was his surname, Morris Cowan will release Circa on Zaubernuss, a sub label of German imprint, Traum.

We made him the subject of the February instalment of our Quietus column after he sent us the music and to quote ourselves his "compositions are sprawling 7 minute-plus slices of electronica, set firmly at the techno tempo, they're extra melodic, working away from the heat and intensity of a dancefloor as well as they do on it. Much like his Wigflex counterpart Hizatron, Taylor crafts a sound set completely his own, setting his kick drums back a little so that the melody draws the focus."

READ: SRQ018 - Patience and Progress with Morris Cowan

To live alongside the article he kindly put together a mix showcasing his production work which we've packaged up as part one of our 70th Sonic Router Mix. Stream only at this time it features a load of album tracks and many an unreleased gem from his hard drive...

STREAM: Morris Cowan - Sonic Router Mix #70.1

Tracklist:

1. Taylor – CMB [Super]
2. Taylor – Noob [On The Edge]
3. Morris Cowan – Flutterby [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
4. Morris Cowan – Sunnyville [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
5. Morris Cowan – Magnetor [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
6. Morris Cowan – Conflate [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
7. Morris Cowan – The Good Ship Fellow [Connect for Music]
8. Thomas Bjerring – Ice (Morris Cowan Remix) [Traum]
9. Morris Cowan – Afield [Super]

...but to run as his entry in our humble mix series he's today provided a downloadable mix, or SR #70.2, for your enjoyment. Described in his own words as "house/boogie tempo for the most part.. it's a mix, but i'm not quite sure what it is," its the second part of the duo of mixes he provided in lieu of his debut album and this being our 2nd birthday month.

DOWNLOAD: Morris Cowan - Sonic Router Mix #70.2

Tracklist:

1. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Waulking Song (Lone Remix) [Greco-Roman]
2. Angelo Battilani - Red Maple Leaf (Vaghe Stelle Remix Tool) [Margot]
3. Sebastian Mullaert - Music Becomes A Function [Mule Electronic]
4. Margot - H2 [Border Community]
5. Applescall - All Sparkles [Manual Music]
6. Arnaud Rebotini - The Spirit of Boogie [Process Recordings]
7. Roland M. Dill - Baked Potato [Trapez]
8. Deep Space Orchestra - Streetlights [Applied Rhythm Technology]
9. Lucy - Lav (Peter van Hoesen Remix) [Stroboscopic Artifacts]
10. Mig Dfoe - Amantea [Zaubernuss]

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:41 pm

Further exploring the power of 2 in this, our ‘second birthday period’ here on the world wide web, this week’s SR mix is by a super talented duo. Light Club is a collaborative project between two beat makers who reside miles apart from each other. One, Coco Bryce, we’ve featured heavily before and the other? Well Slow Hand Motem is someone whos work has slowly but surely beguiled us. Working together on a collaborative 7” released on Coco’s Myor label, a homespun imprint that’s already put out two stunning 12”s in the Tropical Heat series, Coco lives in Holland and Motem rests his head in Canada but from talking with them both its obvious that the gulf in their social geography doesn’t halt their processes one bit.

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/03 ... motem.html

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:23 am

We caught up with Carey for a chat about his music making process, R’n’B’s current peak in popularity and how he became interested in UK dancefloor sounds despite living on the other side of the planet. In return, he’s recorded us a mix that offers a clue as to the diversity of his tastes, and how his music brings them together in jarring, but strangely coherent, ways.

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/03 ... eshum.html

Tracklist:

Missy Elliott – Ching-a-Ling
The Notorious B.I.G. – Nasty Girl feat. Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge and Avery Storm (Instrumental) [Prod. Jazze Pha]
Jozif – Jus You
Moodymann – Runaway
Blackstreet – Deep
Busy Signal – Jafrican Ting
Levon Vincent – Six Figures
Optimum – Light Year
X-103 – The Gardens
Urban Tribe – Program 1
Portable – Find Me
Max B – Techno Shit feat. French Montana
Bok Bok – Ripe Banana
Steel – Shake That
DJ Clap Pina – Bass GuaraChazz
Dro Carey – All Behind Wingless
Low Deep – Down Like That (Instrumental)
Missy Elliott – Hot Boyz Remix Acapella
Lloyd Banks – Fly Like The Wind Feat. Jim Jones (Instrumental) [Prod. Germ]
Abner Malaty – Spirals The Seer of Sound
Drake – Unforgettable Feat. Young Jeezy

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 5:46 pm

Ossie is a producer that’s been bubbling under for a while now, making moves on the UK funky underground with his own decidedly warped take on the house sound of now. Turning his hand from tribal jams like ‘Ossie Baba’ to R&B refixes that heat up a dancefloor he’s just released the enchanting earworming ‘Tarantula’ on the freshly minted Lightworks imprint. It’s his biggest success to date, all hip shaking percussive manoeuvres, deep pulsing synth stabs and then there’s that mulitlimbed lead line that creeps and lurks in the most resplendent corners of your room late at night. Packaged with the tougher ‘Creepy Crawlies’ and a Funkineven remix of the A side on the flip, it marks both the dawn of a new imprint and the realisation of Ossie’s music – something that, judging by our quick exchange, has evidently been a long time coming.

With more releases on the horizon, including a 12” release forthcoming on Kode9’s Hyperdub incubator, we caught up with him to learn us a few things about him, his links to Live FM (and one of Joy O’s favourite selectors) Petchy and his future endeavours. Plus he turns in the latest instalment in our ongoing mix series, #73, a 90 min mix which features plenty of his own material set amongst some of his favourite house records.

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/03 ... works.html

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:41 pm

First popping out in a mix from Manc beardo xxxy, Zeppy Zep’s production moniker, is characteristic of the personality contained in his music - it’s just as animated, fully dosed up on high octane dancefloor workouts. Tracks like ‘Marillion’ emulate the snare work of the afore mentioned chromosomed one, hitting in a typically splashy way, glitching into frams over weird concoctions of reverbed chords, but it was the awkward drum fumble of ‘Rebis’ that first sent us into a headspin. Built around a true earworm of a leadline it flips through beat progressions ending up in a 4x4 strut that pounds over the descending vocal snatches with authority. It’s a bonafide show stealer and the tune that opened the door for us to a handful of original productions and his remix of former SR mixer The Phantom’s ‘Night Game.’

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/03 ... audio.html

Tracklist:

1. Tom Encore - Spellbound (Zeppy Zep Remix) (Concrete Cut)
2. Gil Scott-Heron And Jamie XX - I'm New Here (XL)
3. Objekt - The Goose that Got Away (Objekt)
4. Superisk - Life is Live (Dub)
5. Ben Westbeech - Falling (Dark Sky Remix) (Strictly Rhythm)
6. Hoodmode - Everything (Dub)
7. The Hundred In The Hands - Pigeons (Blawan's bare bones Remix) (Warp)
8. Lokiboi - Marina Faib (Dub)
9. M.I.A. - It Takes A Muscle (Pearson Sound Refix) (XL)
10. Damon Wild - Aqua (Synewave)
11. Hackman - Made Up My Mind (PTN)
12. Martyn & Mike Slott - All Nights (All City)
13. Mount Kimbie - Mayor (Hotflush)
14. Hardrive - Deep Inside (ZYX Music)
15. Beat Pharmacy - Piece of Mind (Ramadanman Refix) (Deep Space Media)
16. Joy O - Jels (Hotflush)
17. Blawan - Kaz (R&S Records)
18. John Roberts - Ever Or Not (Dial)

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:52 pm

Twenty six year old Glaswegian digital artist and sonic experimenter Tom Scholefield has been slowly rising in stature over the last couple of years. With mixes across a multitude of blogs and DJ sets in increasing demand it's hard to look across his rapidly diversifying body of work and pin him down to any one specialist artform – but it's under the banner of his audio-visual label, Display Copy, that he is most productive. As an artist he has been called upon to produce some high profile commissions including the hallucinogenic neon paint splashed video for Hudson Mohawke's 'Joy Fantastic,' the cover for Oneohtrix Point Never's Rifts album, as well as further OPN art, a Laurel Halo video, Mogwai posters and he has also worked with labels such as Optimo, Warp and DFA. You may well recognise his work if you’ve followed the recent releases on Numbers and the labels the crew ran beforehand, but in short, Scholefield’s is no small portfolio.

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/03 ... -copy.html

Tracklist:

1. Konx-om-Pax - 7th Dimension (Rustie Remix)
2. Team Brick - Track 3 (Klad Heist)
3. The Human League - Disco Disaster
4. Alexander Robotnick - Ar Stack 2
5. Konx-om-Pax - II
6. Bernard Parmegiani - Échos/mélopée
7. Carl Craig - Sound On Sound
8. Konx-om-Pax - Chevy Chase Mega Looper
9. James Ferraro - Untitled (Clear)
10. SPK - Stammheim Torturkammer
11. Synergy - Terminal Hotel
12. Oneohtrix Point Never - Gates of Sanct Vacui
13. Konx-om-Pax - Glacier Mountain Descent
14. Madhya - Thème Solennel de la Rédemption

my left retina · Post by **my left retina** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:16 pm

Bristol’s Immerse Records were one of the first people to really support this site, with their label boss Kidkut providing one of our first mixes and with their output. Having released a texturally brilliant album by Kontext called Dissociate, along with a steady stream of great 12”s last year (from people like XI, Arkist, Late, Simon/off and Cloak & Dagger) their first release of 2011 comes from Outboxx, a pairing of Bristolian producers pushing a decidedly more house tempoed groove.

Jacob Martin (who also produces as Hodge - his excellent ‘Conjecture’ is out now digitally through Pollen) and Matt Lambert’s debut 12” under the moniker, ‘Kate Libby’s’ b/w ‘Bertie’s Groove,’ feels live, as if it was somewhat improvised during a particularly fruitful session. ‘Bertie’s Groove’ is overly infectious, the lush chord and bass progression splintering off into shards of pure sunshine, whilst ‘Kate Libby’s’ is more stripped back, powered by the constant shuffle of the handclap. Outboxx’s is purist house music; a little ponderous, produced with a sheen and built with a steady injection of musicality – something that doesn’t surprise when the duo’s partnership is broken down into specific roles.

With news of their second single being signed to Well Rounded’s house music offshoot, Well Rounded Housing Project, we caught up with the guys to peddle our snapshot Q&A and grab our 76th Sonic Router Mix - an extended session though likeminded grooves.

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2011/04 ... merse.html

Tracklist:

Outboxx - Brighten my day (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Sesped - Bastards (forthcoming Pollen)
Deft - Blade Runner Blues (unreleased)
Rob Hindle - Buenos Aires 2am read by Jonathan Tafler (LateNightTales)
Grooveman Spot - Going On (Jazzy Sport)
Portrait - Moving on (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Anthony Shakir - Detroit State (Space Dimension Controller Remix) (Rush Hour)
Outboxx - Kate Libby (Immerse)
Chez Damier - Soul Minimal (Mojuba)
Outboxx - Bertie's Groove (Immerse)
Behling and simpson - Politics (unreleased)
Kidkut + Arkist - One Year Later (forthcoming Hot Flush
October & Appleblim - NY Fizzzzzz (forthcoming Smorgasbord)
Kowton - She Don't Jack (Idle Hands)
Andy Mac - Asteroid (forthcoming Punch Drunk)
Gerry Read - Untitled (forthcoming Fourth Wave)
Bakey Ustl - A Tender Place (Unthank)
Vessel - Glitter (unreleased)
Mean Poppa Lean - Personality (Leon remix) (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Outboxx -Falling Apart ft Naomi Jeremy (unreleased)

ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: Ghost Mutt [Donky Pitch]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: Desto [Ramp/Noppa]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: Distal & C.R.S.T.

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: Distal & C.R.S.T.

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: Distal & C.R.S.T.

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #61 Gerry Read

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #62 Mista Men [Greenmoney]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #62 Mista Men [Greenmoney]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #64 Randomer [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #65 Royal T [Butterz]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #66 Kevin McPhee [nakedlunch

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #67 Chairman Kato [Pictures]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Re: ROLLER: Sonic Router Mixes: #69 PhOtOmachine [Super]

Who is online