Flying Saucepan Records

Today's recommended listening comes from Flying Saucepan Records, an Ayrshire-based archive label run by an old friend of Shallowrave. Designed to clear hard-drives, catalogue archives and provide an outlet for many projects that never saw the light of day, Flying Saucepan's first release proudly display their mid-90s heritage, channelling acid, rave and the Sheffield warehouse scene. Also rocking out the speakers is the first Panpod, a mix of influential and related projects that joins the dots between electro, industrial, rave and techno, and is really rather kinky. 

Professor Elemental - This Is My Horse

 

I am beginning to think that perhaps Professor Elemental is becoming more and more unhinged (if such as thing is possible), but either way, here's him rapping about horses, in what's definitely one of the more interesting pieces of topical humour to come out of the whole "oh god, we've eaten named animals" crisis.

Node / Antinode

www.christosmichalakos.com www.laurensarahhayes.com

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2012 favourites Tropic of Cancer - I Feel Nothing

As every magazine starts compiling the inevitable end of year lists and arguing over the best releases, best live acts, most influential singles etc, I realised I'd never given any time on the blog to the bloody excellent Tropic of Cancer, who I've really been digging this year. With releases on Downwards and a forthcoming long-player due on Blackest Ever Black, there's a strong technoid influence running through their work, with hints of Raime, Throbbing Gristle and Regis all apparent, despite the slower tempo and gnarlier sound palette. Tropic of Cancer's work finds the middle ground between the syrupy psychedelia of hynagogic pop and the bleached emptiness of Witch House, carefully nurturing the space at the edge of sound to create unsettlingly beautiful atmospherics around dark gothic pop songs.
For me, their releases were some of the best stuff of 2012, and appealed to both my love of electronica and techno, and my long-standing love of doom metal. Yeah, I said it, they're doom. Deal with it. Bandcamp here.

Tropic of Cancer - M.U. Podcast #31 (December 2011)  by Mundo Urbano on Mixcloud

CUR$ES

A quick post about Glasgow synth trio CUR$ES, whose albums are all up for free download on their Bandcamp page. Three musicians, using a Prophet 08 synth, MIDI pads and a Yamaha drum pad station, the multi-instrumentalist band switch parts mid-song while playing live, creating a vibrant, musically capricious sound that evokes everything from Joker's purple-wow dubstep sounds to the ghost-garage of Burial or Ghostek, with detours through witch house, drag and classic synthpop. 

They're an absolutely incendiary live act, as was proved when we saw them deliver an outstanding live session in support of Com Truise at Captain's Rest last week. Have a listen to their latest album Hey, cool! I'm dead, and their recent split with ARM WTCHS FNGRS, and click through for yet more goodies from three rising stars of Scottish electronic music. We expect big things from CUR$ES as their career progresses!

Headless Kross - Burning Hammer

From the 2011 album "Bear", which is available as a pay what you want download from the Headless Kross bandcamp.  Yes, Headless Kross are on facebook.

p.WRECKS & K. CLIFTON aka QUIZ

p.WRECKS and K. Clifton (aka Quiz) are two rappers hailing from Spokane, Washington. I first came across them via producer BL▲CK CEILING, who has done some tracks with Quiz. Since then I've followed both rappers, each of whom are incredibly prolific. Another thing they have in common is a multi-syllabic, polyrhythmic flow, and a tendency to dwell on the dark side of life. They're both fantastic rappers and producers in their own right, but when they collaborate (often with producer Xrin Arms), the results are stratospherically awesome. I don't know what they put in the water down in Spokane, but from where I'm sitting it seems like they have an incredibly diverse and high-concept underground hip-hop scene. These guys are the ones to watch: I hope this post leads you to more of their brilliant solo works.

Old Signs in Flesh feat. Quiz produced by the chukchee by p.WRECKS

Dry Heaving feat. GuttahFace, K.Clifton, Xrin Arms by p.WRECKS

different thoughts feat. FatArm, K.Clifton, Xrin Arms by p.WRECKS

FURTHER LISTENING (ALBUMS):

p.WRECKS - There Is Nothing... Whatever

La Propagandue Asiatique presents Quiz aka K. Clifton - And Then The Cause Was Broke

Xrin Arms - Human Hallucinogen 


- post by Texture

New Big Tajj

Glasgow's boombox juggernaut and bastion of Scottish hip-hop, Big Tajj delivers more conscious, intelligent rhymes and shit-hot hooks, along with a cluster of awesome scottish talent. Sacrifice ft Mandeep Sethi is a big favourite, with it's distorted flutes backing sharp flows on the subjects of imperialism, colonialism and identity. Just give it a spin, and support your friendly local MC.

Free Ben Butler & Mousepad EP

Available now through Bandcamp, the mighty Ben Butler & Mousepad have a seven track remix EP up for free download. There's mixes of the track Future Tent by Genuine Guy, Splash Wave, Thunderous Mountain, Sun Papa, oMMM, Tangles, and Shallow Rave's own the Niallist. Styles range from boom-bap to abstract elecronica to disco, all whilst keeping the low-slung synth-funk groove of the original. The release is to coincide with the first BB&MP 7" on dodpop, and we've been told to expect more from BB&MP before the year is out. Huzzah!


http://benbutlerandmousepad.bandcamp.com/track/future-tent-sun-papa-remix

EL-P on Bandcamp

Trawling Bandcamp, I found that the truly awesome EL-P has a page, with a five tunes free to download. How To Serve Man, with it's great opening samples, and the fantastic diss "that's not a mouth, it's a boredom generator powered by irritation" is probably my favourite, with EL-P ranting about how the world is really not as we perceive and everything is fucked. The repeated hook of "I hope it all turns out like you wanted it to" is just awesome.

There's also a couple of tracks demonstrating EL-P's knack for killer production (Check Aesop Rock's Gun for the Whole Family and 49 Thieves for other great examples). Meanstreak in 3 Parts is a miniturised epic, flitting between sticky electro, cut and scratched boom-bap, and Rustie-esque power-crunk in the space of four minutes. Sadly, there's no time for his esoteric flows, but it's still stunning.

Download free EL-P tunes here.