Morphamish - Another Position EP

Morphamish returns with another package of rampaging electro-nasties that draw on the darker sides of drum 'n' breaks, dubstep and electronica to create a seething mess of awesome. Out now on Blacklantern, you can pick it up as a free download from the homebase, or use their official.FM page to stream the tracks. It's a doozy alright. BLM041 - Morphamish - Another Position E.P. Trailer whole ep FREE DL www.blacklanternmusic.com direct link in comments at 0.00 by morphamish

Church Of When The Shit Hits The Fan - EP Trailer

COWTSHTF 2 trailer - Full EP for free download from 8th July by COWTSHTF

Harlequinade and Asthmatic Astronaut's COWTSHTF project drops it's second EP early next month, but here's a small preview of how their self-styled "Doom-crunk" has evolved since debut OctoGate / Locust Ritual EP dropped last year.

New Texture EP 'Parasomnia'

New from Texture on Black Lantern - and it's free. Nuff said.

International Soundcloud Meet-Up pt. 2

Soundcloud Meetup - Glasgow 2011 [FULL VERSION] from GlasgowMeetup on Vimeo.

Apparently, it's been available for a good wee while now, but due to the impossible-to-locate Voltergeist, I've not yet seen the full thing. So, here's the 20 minute edit of the Glasgow Soundcloud meet-up event, including lots of panel chat from Paul Reset, Muslim Alim and Texture.

Booya.

Texture - Idoru's Ghost Mix

Texture's got a new mix up on his "T3XTUR3" Soundcloud - a mix of witch house/drag and some interesting downbeat stuff. It's nice and scary.



"Recorded at the abandoned weaponlabs facility, six months after 'the event'...
All degradation in sound quality is due to EMP-damaged hard drives - please adjust bass manually. For captain fauxhammer, admiral j. tacolexa and the ghosts of Whitechapel."

1 the gentle hum of anxiety / trent reznor & atticus ross
2 as the ocean sweeps you away / forest ocean
3 burnout eyess / oOoOO
4 tundra / metatron
5 rose bath [moon rmx] / raw moans
6 dreams / vortex rikers
7 new flesh / story of isaac
8 aqua net [party trash rmx] / raw moans
9 squares / fighting dan
10 mumbai / oOoOO
11 fucK that dAy [high park rmx] / raw moans
12 hearts / oOoOO
13 nightmares / vortex rikers
14 seawww / oOoOO
15 digital versicolor / glass candy
16 illusions / vortex rikers
17 trains / metatron
18 a dark wind blows / texture
19 cmyk / james blake


Idoru'sGhost [Witch House / Drag / Electro Mix] by t3xtur3

Metatron interview on Weaponizer

Weaponizer have just published an interview with the Niallist (as Metatron) in which he talks about making music, religion, Little Rock, and the differences between Manchester and Glasgow. Read it here. You can download the two Metatron EPs from Black Lantern Music here and here, but if you'd like to listen first, here's a wee playlist:

New Radio - Shackleton in the Mix

Former head of the pioneering Skull Disco label, and modern beat innovator Shackleton lays down some tracks for the Little Rock crew, in support of his forthcoming Fabric mix CD

It’s with great pleasure that we welcome the critically-acclaimed Shackleton to Radio Magnetic. Blending dubstep, minimalism, drone and percussive workouts, the limited 12″s on his Skull Disco platform re-invented bass music and modern production styles.

His work since the closure of Skull Disco (with the Soundbwoy’s Grave Get Desecrated by Vandals CD) has been equally impressive, with the release of an album on Perlon, extensive live and DJ dates and the launch of a new label Woe To The Septic Heart. His mix for Fabric drops next week.

40 minutes of Shackleton, plus brand new monsters from Joy Orbison, S-Type and Morphamish.

Tracklist

1. S-Type – Mr Lizard – Phuturelabs

Shackleton mix

1. Shackleton - Fireworks – unreleased
2. Shackleton - Deadman – unreleased
3. Shackleton – Bottles – unreleased
4. Shackleton – Hypno Angel – Skull Disco
5. Shackleton – Something Has Got To Give – Perlon
6. Shackleton – Massacre – Hot Flush
7. Shackleton – Torn Skin III (version) – unknown

1. Atari Teenage Riot – Activate – Digital Hardcore Recordings / via soundcloud
2. Texture vs Morphamish – Echo Boomers – Black Lantern Music
3. Joy Orbison – BB – Doldrums
4. WNCL – Mrs Fingers (Ekoplekz Replekz) – via sonicrouter.com

Stream here
Download here
Magnetic Homepage

Texture - Non-Sequitr

"Scottish Hip-hop is a non-sequitr"...
With the Silver Age EP (featuring Kid Ritalin) dropping tonight, here's a preview of what the new material from Texture sounds like... I've heard him dropping this a number of times at Slams and spoken word nights over the years, and that "Bacardi Breezers" line still makes me grin.

Video by KD McCune, Beats & Production: Salem Anders


From weaponizer "Big up all the Scottish hip-hop heroes who inspired this verse: Harlequinade, Tickle, Laughing Gear, the Penpushers, Asthmatic Astronaut, J Seal and Livesciences, Quietman, Stanley Odd, Fountainbridge Collective, Lifeshows, Soom T, Salem Anders, Morphamish, 5hit-Hop Ninja Terminatorz, Krowne, Profisee and Ema J, Monkeytribe, B-Burg, Dan Bland, the Volume! crew, Surface Emp, Loki and Skatabrainz, Verse 1, Abdominal Showmen, Yush2k crew, all LuckyMe crew, MCF crew, Jee4ce, Nasty P, Vigilante, Spytec, Granite Emcees, Nu Urban Frontier, Nafees, all Dropzone Records crew... and to anyone writing real beats and rhymes... hit us up at Black Lantern Music. PEACE."

'Nuff said.

More Black Lantern...

New on Black Lantern, a 3-track EP from Metatron, AKA The Niallist, is definitely worth your checking out. A mixture of industrial, electro and post-garage, it's creepy, narcotic business for the dark nights of the soul. Free download here.

Coming on Thursday of this week - Texture's brand new EP, Synaesthesia, featuring Kid Ritalin.
In other news, we may well be pressing Morphamish to vinyl very soon. The incestuous cross-pollination continues; here's to Black Lantern.

New Radio - Robot Funk

Another dose of contemporary hotness and a couple of classics from Team Little Rock. With talking.

New records from Punch Drunk, Trentemøller, Carl Craig and more. Team Little Rock dig deep and come up with a fistful of bangers.

shallowrave.com

Tracklist

1. Chris Carter – Electrodub – Optimo Music
2. Ekoplekz – Stalag Zero – Punch Drunk
3. Twin Lizard Vol. 4 – The 6 Billion – Needle Groove
4. Trentemøller - Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider Go!!! (Trentemøller Remix) – IMR
5. Ramadanman & Appleblim – Void 23 (Carl Craig Re-edit) – Aus Music
6. Aril Brikha – Groove La Chord – Transmat
7. Cobblestone Jazz – Fiesta – Wagon Repair
8. The Church of When the Shit Hits the Fan – Octo Gate – Black Lantern
9. S-Type – Medusa – Phuturelabs
10. Untold – Mass Dreams Of The Future – R&S Records
11. The Squire of Gothos – Til Da Morning – Rag & Bone Records

Stream Here
Download Here
Radiomagnetic page

CHURCH OF WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN - Octo Gate / Locust Ritual EP Free Download

From our pals at Black Lantern Music - they have this to say:

"Combining the up-front, hard-edged electronic assault of Asthmatic Astronaut, on ferocious form in his first official outing since 'Super Intelligent Common Sense,' and the twisted flows of hQ, fresh from production duties on 'Vortex Cabaret,' this EP is the rawest, sickest three tracks of hip-hop / electro to come out of Scotland in a long time.

Read their insane bio for more information about the project. COWTSHTF are featured on today's Radio Scotland Music Cafe show with Vic Galloway - tune in to catch them live in session, no doubt destroying the place as they did last Sunday at the Black Lantern birthday party."

So download the EP from here, listen to it through, and then it should be about quarter past one, time to tune in to Radio One to hear the band on Vic Galloway.

New Radio - Improbable Machinery

Team Little Rock once again lose their microphones and let the music do the talking, with brand new tunes from Vakant and Line Idle. Also new music from Matthew Dear, Kavsrave, Starkey and Female.

Techno, disco and minimalism all get an airing in the latest installment from the people behind Little Rock Records and shallowrave.com

Tracklist

1. Line Idle – Half Measures – Little Rock Records
2. Kid Ritalin – Junk Yard – Unreleased
3. Maurizio – MO4A - M-series
4. Leo Cavello – Magma – via bandcamp
5. Dewalta – Stringer Bell - Vakant
6. Matthew Dear – Dog Days – Ghostly
7. Nico Purman – Xpress Yourself – Vakant
8. Proper Soul – Next Stop Paris – unreleased
9. Female – Regis Edit – Sandwell District
10. Starkey – Sector 9 Shootout – via Amontobin.com
11. The Heavy – How You Like Me Now? (Joker Edit) – Counter Records
12. Kavsrave – P-Clart - Numbers
13. Morphamish – No More Funny Business – Black Lantern
14. DFRNT – Tenfold (DFRNT’s Less is More Mix) – via dfrnt.com

Free Asthmatic Astronaut

I have to bail, sorry by ASTHMATIC ASTRONAUT
Ben from Tokamak was hanging out with DJ AA when gigging through in Edinburgh last weekend, and the lovely chap has picked up a copy of Super Intelligent Common Sense for me to check out. Stupid bugger went and forgot it though, so I'm waiting on hearing the full version. For now, here's some freebie Double-A for you to get your ears round.

New Radio - 2274

X-posted from Radiomagnetic.com

Listen online, stream and download the Little Rock podcast on Radio Magnetic from the people behind Little Rock Records and ShallowRave.blogspot.com.

Residents only this week with tunes from Chez Damier, Basic Channel, Dario Zenker, and that new King Midas Sound remix. Tasty.

New from Black Lantern, Unoiki and Echospace, it’s business as usual for Little Rock with dub, techno and ambient.

Tracklisting

1. Round One ft. Andy Caine – I’m Your Brother – Main Street Records
2. Round One ft. Andy Caine – Quadrant Dub II – Main Street Records
3. Dario Zenker – Apollo 910 – Vakant
4. Ramadanman & Midland – Your Words Matter – Aus
5. Basic Channel – Q-loop – Basic Channel
6. Chez Damier – Soul Minimal (original mix) - Mojuba
7. Gas – Track 2 – Raster Noton
8. CV313 – King Midas Sound Remix – Echospace
9. Dr Nojoke – clonefixnature - Unoiki
10. Kink Slap Simian – Beautiful Android – Black Lantern
11. Monolake – Pipeline- Imbalance
12. Jonas Kopp – Michigan Lake – Ostgut
13. Todd Edwards – I might Be (Joy Orbison remix) – Scion A/V

Stream that badboy
Download that motherbizzle

New Morphamish tracks

Here's some more Black Lantern Music-related business for folks to check out.



The Edinburgh-based producer Morphamish (who dropped the wicked Urge Mode EP on Black Lantern a few months back) has put a couple of new tracks up on his Soundcloud page.

Both tracks feature MCs, and the first to step up to the gauntlet is the well know Edi rapper Profisee (who recently took over Vic Galloway's New Music Scotland BBC slot for a show) with a remix of his track "Movin'". It's great to see these guys together, and the track is a wicked uptempo, slightly glitchy, double-time groover that will do as it says on the tin.

Profisee-Movin(Morphamish remix) by morphamish

The other track gets a big shout out from us featuring as it does Black Lantern/Weaponizer's Texture but also Shallow Rave's very own Kid Ritalin! It's more downtempo and even more glitchy, with a head nod feel helped by raps that reference the Invisibles (surprise!), Dark City and a general dystopia. It's called "Silver Age".

Silver Age-feat.Texture+Kid Ritalin by morphamish

METATRON on Black Lantern Music

More free music from the folk at Black Lantern, this time by Shallow Rave's own the Niallist. It's 3 tracks in a pre-futurist/post-dubstep style, influenced by the likes of 2562, Skull Disco and Ramadan Man. More info and the download link here. Listen to it here via Fairtilizer.

Early Morning Music

It's very early in the morning, I have a bunch of work to do, and here's some of the music that I am feeling as I do it.

DADDY SCRABBLE Thingy EP (Black Lantern Music)



The latest release on Black Lantern is a bit of a departure, while still remaining in the BLM ballpark. Some very lush jazz horn arrangements rub up against looped and stuttered vocal samples, live drums and fat synth bass, on what seems like mostly live-recorded tracks that have been treated a lot in the post-production. The musicianship is really great on this one, another quality free download from BLM. Early morning jazz baby. Yeah, I must be getting old.

WAVE MACHINES Keep The Lights On (Kid Adrift v Scharkz Mix)



I did a couple of remixes of this tune myself (as did a lot of people I know - none of which got accepted). But right now I am feeling the almost "Requiem For A Dream" orchestration-meets-heavy dubstep vibe of this mix by current hot property Kid Adrift and our mate at the BBC Mr Alim. Nice ending too.

EMPIRE OF THE SUN Country



And just for the sake of it, from one of my favourite albums of last year (mostly due to this tune). They may look weird but this tune is beautiful - like Angelo Badlamienti covering John Barry. The always had a bit of a comedown vibe, so I am glad to report it works just as well when you're getting up as when you're nodding off.

Free DJ Kutmah

From Dangerous Minds:

"[DJ] Kutmah, a.k.a. Justin McNulty, a British national born of a Scottish father and Egyptian mother, had been taken into custody by U.S. immigration officials last week and is being detained in a facility in New Mexico."

Full story at the L.A. Times, and the official Free Kutmah site.

New Music Reviews

"Ultimate Breakbeats and shit right? Niggaz still, makin money offa those shits. Loopin the same shits for a thousand years and shit right?" - The RZA as Bobby Digital - B.O.B.B.Y

And with that in mind, sporadic record review time.

Blackmass Plastics - The Spinal Conflict - Black Lantern (out now)
Morphamish's Urge Mode, the third leg of BLM finally kicks off, with a split EP between Blackmass Plastics and his slightly more techy alter ego Crooked One. So for one swift download, you get one remix by each, of the other, and an original tune. Squelch Gate's proving favourite so far - a speedy, but none-too-mental 4/4 banger, offset by dubby percussion and LFO basslines. Hearing a flagged-up "here it comes" in a breakdown should be stupid, but proves awesome, and the crispness of the production indicates how killer it'll sound in a club. The low-end nastiness of Uranium Blues and the shuffling rave-isms of Tek Tek (Crooked One remix) are both well executed too, giving the EP a diverse pallette of the whole bass music spectrum. It's fucking brilliant to see a name like Blackmass, who's put out a wealth of vinyls on the likes of Rag and Bone, acknowledging the power of netlabellism and the CC mindset. We need more like this online.

Gremino - It's Working - Rag and Bone (10 May)
Right. About a month back, I found an old CD called "James Browns' Funky People" - a compilation of those ubiquitous breakbeats that show up in hip-hop, D'n'B, Rave and every genre under the sun. We figured it might be fun to kickstart the old rave phenomenon and add in some 808 kicks, nippy synths and rip off James Brown. Whilst Gremino's new EP is very much in line with Rag and Bone's previous blends of rave / tech / step, he's totally beaten us to the punch, with the title track basically an evolving looped breakbeat that adds to and augments each breakdown. Great for those times when you just need to up the intensity in a mix, but a little staid on it's own. Hyper's one of those tunes everyone will be trying to make in a years time; a forward-thinking juggernaut rumbling with the caged spirit of rave. It's as big and nasty as you'd expect from R&B, but with a mournfully reverbed vocal, and jittery synths that make for a more 6am feel. Problem sounds like very little else I've heard in a while - sculpting echos of rave staples, before splicing in a crazed breakbeat and setting it lose. A bold and unusual record from a producer with all the right creds. Keep an eye on this one.

Rusko - O.M.G - Mad Decent
I'm not going to give this the longest review, simply because it'll receive more press attention than Lindsay Lohan's knickers, but I've given a copy of this a blast, and I feel it worth noting that Rusko's not just the one trick pony capable of chocking out yet another Cockney Thug, Jahova, Hammertime or Pro Nails remix (all of which were pretty sweet). Admittedly, opener Woo Boost is the same overly-polished wubstep he's made his speciality, with sirens, rising synths and occaissonal "woo!"s making this a student-friendly skank-along, while Rub-a-dub Shakedown is cheery popstep that doesn't really go anywhere. However, Kumon Kumon is probably Rusko's best application of his talents to date - a hoover-bass, breakbeat-driven rave monster from when pills were still awesome. Rusko does dumb so well, and on this one, he surpasses even himself. You're on My Mind and I Love You are wub-spliced pop, and if nothing else, I'm glad to see the Andrew WK of bass music doing something different. Worth noting.

Captain Ahab - The End of Irony - deathbombarc.com
Captain Ahab are one of those undescribably brilliant bands who completely defy genre or categorisation - part noisecore, part electro, part spoken-word / hip-hop with a total pop sheen. Abrasive and surreal shit. Acting Hard begins with a looped vocal "backslap you for acting hard", whilst an emo-inflected gregorian choir rumbles into life; as the incessant loops build up, a frenetic synth joins in, and the whole thing explodes into spastic scream-fest. Death to False to Techno blasts in like Gay Against You covering Deathklok - ludicrous, camp noise-making that switches it's focus every 20 seconds, sequeing between hardstyle, breakbeat, minimal, and gangchant vocals. Without being so crass as to say the whole record sounds like this, you'll have made up your mind after these two tracks whether or not you want to hear more.

The closest reference point for The End of Irony would New York's No Wave scene, or possibly modern queercore like Kids on TV; both inhabit that curious Venn diagram where experimentalism and intellectual concepts collide with vicious anarchy and pure atavistic indulgence. Like both of the above, Captain Ahab also write with a great feel for slick pop music. It's still hard listening, and were it not for the slick execution, would be disregarded as nothing but masturbatory drug-fuckery; as it is, The End of Irony is challenging and occasionally frustrating genius.

Morphamish "Urge Mode" EP

Meanwhile, over on Black Lantern Music, the new EP by the super-talented Morphamish has dropped. "The Urge Mode" EP is a must for fans of basslines. And beats. And melodies. And music. We will have a more in-depth review of this coming very soon.