2008 in Yon Scrying Bowl
SF: Looking to the future and flourishing of ideas, we've received many tips for greatness this year and formulated a few of our own from the grapevine and good ol' fashioned critique. Read on for our 2008 predictions!<br/><br/>PQ: ""All that music seems to have subconsciously amalgamated into a giant electronic music wad from which bits get extracted when it comes time to add rhythm"" - Let's Go Outside
| 06 Jan 2008
Keeping it local to begin with, the future looks rich for house and techno in yon scrying bowl. Local boys like Rustie and Double Helix demand at least one eye on them this year. Following on from the success of the Jagz the Smack EP, Rustie's just appeared on the Dress to Sweat Vol 2 compilation, dropping more killer bass and bleeps and teams up with 215: The Freshest Kids on the Cafe De Phresh EP, due for release early this year. Moving away from the two-step electro-funk that made his debut so intoxicating, Café De Phresh is pure Baltimore Bass, with Cerebral Vortex and Buddy Leezle weighing in on vocal duties. Double Helix, with their mix of beat poetry and mangled circuitry and ethos of dismantling musical with linguistic structures can be found on the Action! Disco! Crunk's Not Dead 2 compilation and playing gigs around the country. Also worth checking out is Hum and Haw, Alex Smoke and Jim Hutchinson's new label, which will be bringing you releases from Fool, Smoke's hip-hop project, as well as his techy output. If you missed their launch party check out the myspace.
Over in Glasgow, Desolation Yes! frontman Paul Elliot describes their futuristic yet retrospective sounds as "electro-dance-rock-pop." Brought together by Paul's 'Musicians Wanted' sign in Glasgow institution Missing Records, the band are currently promoting their recent double A-side single Templeton/Instinct and gearing up for the release of their debut album CyberNation later this spring. Album aside, 2008 will see more shows and further releases from the group: "We're also going to release our second single Futurepop at the end of February. We're hoping to get a couple of club remixes done, and the plan is to release it as a twelve-inch single. It's probably our most dance track – it's almost disco-esque. We've already had a few remixes back – one from Ian Carmichael who used to be in One Dove, who has done remixes for bands such as Death In Vegas."
Scrying on a more international basis we see Let's Go Outside, signed to the Soma/Pnuma imprint. The twisted mind behind the pulsing rhythms and distorted subject matter resides in Portland, Oregon, suitably far away for if he lived here, he'd have to endure crazed fans waiting outside his door for one more hit of music. His style takes in a variety of techno shades, but the influences aren't musical. "Dreams and my physical environment play a large role in my production," says Let's Go Outside. "Most of the instruments I create are either from my field recordings or synthetic reconstructions of something that showed up in my brain for no apparent reason... All that music seems to have subconsciously amalgamated into a giant electronic music wad from which bits get extracted when it comes time to add rhythm to the soundscapes."
The one man-machine approached Soma with a massive 100 tracks for his debut album, released on the 31st of Dec. It transpires that he has just over 500 masters of which he is proud enough to present to the public, which doesn't factor in the songs he does not keep. "It's not my intention to have a large library for the sake of appearing to be prolific," he says. "I make music almost every day for self-preservation. Everything I see, hear, and feel stays in my head until I get it out by manifesting it. Art makes the chatter go away."
His tracks feature tainted innocence in juxtaposition with filthy mind-juddering beats, and he explains why he adopts such brain-creeping combinations: "There is contrast in everything. For any idea I'm trying to convey, I want its equal and opposite to be present for balance... It's these ideas-gone-too-far that are usually the ones I turn into music. For every exploration of fantasy, I throw in an anchor of reality." Let's Go Outside will be touring Europe across February and March, live and DJing.
Cambridge duo Guy Brewer and George Levings are Commix. Their album Call to Mind is one of the most spectacular drum and bass albums to be produced in recent times, and was released on Metalheadz in October 2007. Levings and Brewer met just after leaving school, and have been making music for almost 10 years, individually and as Commix. Drawing inspiration from greats such as Detroit techno artist Derrick May, and American soul singer Billy Paul, the duo, originally a trio up until 2004, first released on vinyl for such highly respected labels such as DJ:SS Formation Records, C.I.A, Horizons Music and Hospital Records. Even the godfather of drum and bass, Fabio and tastemakers DJ Marky and Marcus Intalex spun out their tunes - it wasn't long before Metalheadz came knocking at their door in 2005, blown away by their Satellite Song track. It was featured on the coveted Metalheadz - MDZ05 compilation, and then as a critical 12" alongside tracks Urban Legend and If I Should Fall.
Brewer is a self-taught musical wizard working predominantly with samples, and firmly believes that you don't have to know how to play an instrument to make music, whereas Levings comes from a solid soul-funk background: "He knows a lot about chords and things which really add another dimension to the music," comments Brewer. The music shifts and morphs through the genre's range seamlessly, and samples Reawaken Your Mind's back catalogue to the barrage of tunes it has absorbed over the last decade. Like the Grizzly Bear by John Stark that peers out from the cover artwork, it's as gentle as it is fierce. Call to Mind is certainly testament to Brewer's belief that people will always want something tactile when it comes to owning music - as a conceptual idea it's something you want to own rather than just dip into. Check out our feature on the last ever Manga club event on p47 - befittingly, Commix will be headlining, at one of their many slots across the UK in 2008.
The man of the moment tearing up the pirate and commercial stations alike is a top MC from North London. Wretch 32 has been about for a few years, mostly as one third of The Movement, but he's finally breaking through the glass ceiling of UK hip-hop elite, solo, and will continue to do so to a greater degree in 2008. Wretch 32 is gaining some serious appeal after receiving accolades for his efforts on the Learn From My Mixtape release. So what makes him different than any other MC out of London you ask? Well for starters he considers himself an 'edutainer' - "I'm able to make entertaining music that also carries strong messages."
Like most MCs he struggled to be heard, but Wretch 32 was fortunate enough to impress several key DJs early in his quest. However, the push he received from BBC 1xtra was beneficial beyond his expectations. BBC 1xtra have a history of thrusting fresh talent to the fore: Corrine Bailey Rae, Sway, JME, Skepta, Dizzee, and L-Marie are just a few names that have been blessed by their support in the past. Their help made it possible for Wretch to gain nationwide exposure. Now the time has come for Wretch 32 to move us closer to the imminent release of his first full length LP, Wretrospective, and going on latest single Punctuation, it will be punctuated by enjoyable brit-hop and clever wordplay: "(Wretrospective) has so many different levels to it. If you listen, it has longevity because the content and structure is so apparent in today's society. It's what the country needs music-wise; being conscious without being corny with it."
2006 and 2007 saw dubstep reach omnipresence. Infecting other genres like a virus, and with a colossal international fanbase, its current renown verges on astronomic proportions. Where do we go from here? The answer comes straight outta Croydon. Check out our full-length interview with Benga online. And more hallelujahs for those about to rock, such as more Italo sounds from a range of peeps (nods to Gomma), killer tracks from Lukid and Daedalus on London-based Werk Records, a bit of a rave revival, the curious George Pringle and new sounds from the relaunching Fakt Recordings. Get Fakt 01, a mix album compiled by Black Russian, a mysterious new wonky house artist, and featuring the likes of Tom Real Catz and Fake Hero will be the first of many top releases. Next month the Skinny talks with another one of our tips for next year - the kings of two-step, Chromeo, about their Grandmas' objections to new song Momma's Boy and French literature.
Over in Glasgow, Desolation Yes! frontman Paul Elliot describes their futuristic yet retrospective sounds as "electro-dance-rock-pop." Brought together by Paul's 'Musicians Wanted' sign in Glasgow institution Missing Records, the band are currently promoting their recent double A-side single Templeton/Instinct and gearing up for the release of their debut album CyberNation later this spring. Album aside, 2008 will see more shows and further releases from the group: "We're also going to release our second single Futurepop at the end of February. We're hoping to get a couple of club remixes done, and the plan is to release it as a twelve-inch single. It's probably our most dance track – it's almost disco-esque. We've already had a few remixes back – one from Ian Carmichael who used to be in One Dove, who has done remixes for bands such as Death In Vegas."
Scrying on a more international basis we see Let's Go Outside, signed to the Soma/Pnuma imprint. The twisted mind behind the pulsing rhythms and distorted subject matter resides in Portland, Oregon, suitably far away for if he lived here, he'd have to endure crazed fans waiting outside his door for one more hit of music. His style takes in a variety of techno shades, but the influences aren't musical. "Dreams and my physical environment play a large role in my production," says Let's Go Outside. "Most of the instruments I create are either from my field recordings or synthetic reconstructions of something that showed up in my brain for no apparent reason... All that music seems to have subconsciously amalgamated into a giant electronic music wad from which bits get extracted when it comes time to add rhythm to the soundscapes."
The one man-machine approached Soma with a massive 100 tracks for his debut album, released on the 31st of Dec. It transpires that he has just over 500 masters of which he is proud enough to present to the public, which doesn't factor in the songs he does not keep. "It's not my intention to have a large library for the sake of appearing to be prolific," he says. "I make music almost every day for self-preservation. Everything I see, hear, and feel stays in my head until I get it out by manifesting it. Art makes the chatter go away."
His tracks feature tainted innocence in juxtaposition with filthy mind-juddering beats, and he explains why he adopts such brain-creeping combinations: "There is contrast in everything. For any idea I'm trying to convey, I want its equal and opposite to be present for balance... It's these ideas-gone-too-far that are usually the ones I turn into music. For every exploration of fantasy, I throw in an anchor of reality." Let's Go Outside will be touring Europe across February and March, live and DJing.
Cambridge duo Guy Brewer and George Levings are Commix. Their album Call to Mind is one of the most spectacular drum and bass albums to be produced in recent times, and was released on Metalheadz in October 2007. Levings and Brewer met just after leaving school, and have been making music for almost 10 years, individually and as Commix. Drawing inspiration from greats such as Detroit techno artist Derrick May, and American soul singer Billy Paul, the duo, originally a trio up until 2004, first released on vinyl for such highly respected labels such as DJ:SS Formation Records, C.I.A, Horizons Music and Hospital Records. Even the godfather of drum and bass, Fabio and tastemakers DJ Marky and Marcus Intalex spun out their tunes - it wasn't long before Metalheadz came knocking at their door in 2005, blown away by their Satellite Song track. It was featured on the coveted Metalheadz - MDZ05 compilation, and then as a critical 12" alongside tracks Urban Legend and If I Should Fall.
Brewer is a self-taught musical wizard working predominantly with samples, and firmly believes that you don't have to know how to play an instrument to make music, whereas Levings comes from a solid soul-funk background: "He knows a lot about chords and things which really add another dimension to the music," comments Brewer. The music shifts and morphs through the genre's range seamlessly, and samples Reawaken Your Mind's back catalogue to the barrage of tunes it has absorbed over the last decade. Like the Grizzly Bear by John Stark that peers out from the cover artwork, it's as gentle as it is fierce. Call to Mind is certainly testament to Brewer's belief that people will always want something tactile when it comes to owning music - as a conceptual idea it's something you want to own rather than just dip into. Check out our feature on the last ever Manga club event on p47 - befittingly, Commix will be headlining, at one of their many slots across the UK in 2008.
The man of the moment tearing up the pirate and commercial stations alike is a top MC from North London. Wretch 32 has been about for a few years, mostly as one third of The Movement, but he's finally breaking through the glass ceiling of UK hip-hop elite, solo, and will continue to do so to a greater degree in 2008. Wretch 32 is gaining some serious appeal after receiving accolades for his efforts on the Learn From My Mixtape release. So what makes him different than any other MC out of London you ask? Well for starters he considers himself an 'edutainer' - "I'm able to make entertaining music that also carries strong messages."
Like most MCs he struggled to be heard, but Wretch 32 was fortunate enough to impress several key DJs early in his quest. However, the push he received from BBC 1xtra was beneficial beyond his expectations. BBC 1xtra have a history of thrusting fresh talent to the fore: Corrine Bailey Rae, Sway, JME, Skepta, Dizzee, and L-Marie are just a few names that have been blessed by their support in the past. Their help made it possible for Wretch to gain nationwide exposure. Now the time has come for Wretch 32 to move us closer to the imminent release of his first full length LP, Wretrospective, and going on latest single Punctuation, it will be punctuated by enjoyable brit-hop and clever wordplay: "(Wretrospective) has so many different levels to it. If you listen, it has longevity because the content and structure is so apparent in today's society. It's what the country needs music-wise; being conscious without being corny with it."
2006 and 2007 saw dubstep reach omnipresence. Infecting other genres like a virus, and with a colossal international fanbase, its current renown verges on astronomic proportions. Where do we go from here? The answer comes straight outta Croydon. Check out our full-length interview with Benga online. And more hallelujahs for those about to rock, such as more Italo sounds from a range of peeps (nods to Gomma), killer tracks from Lukid and Daedalus on London-based Werk Records, a bit of a rave revival, the curious George Pringle and new sounds from the relaunching Fakt Recordings. Get Fakt 01, a mix album compiled by Black Russian, a mysterious new wonky house artist, and featuring the likes of Tom Real Catz and Fake Hero will be the first of many top releases. Next month the Skinny talks with another one of our tips for next year - the kings of two-step, Chromeo, about their Grandmas' objections to new song Momma's Boy and French literature.
http://www.myspace.com/georgepringle, http://www.myspace.com/rustiebeetz, http://www.myspace.com/doublehelixonline, http://www.werk-it.com, http://www.myspace.com/lukid, http://www.myspace.com/bengabeats, http://www.myspace.com/commix, http://www.myspace.