Claude & Marcus on Hub Radio

224 kbps / MP3 /  01:09:02 / Download

Been sat on this for a while – recorded a few weeks ago – serato + 1210s

Lots of my favourite dubstep from the last few years – some tracks you’ll definitely know from Kode9, TRG, Rustie etc – alongside some lesser known bangers from Milanese, Marcus Intalex, and Elemental. The first 15-20 minutes is slicing 4×4 dub techno – amazing 2562 remix of TVO, with some local bristol producers Headhunter and Appleblim too.

1.  Benga – Zero M2 (Tempa)
2.  Headhunter – Paragdim Shift (Tempa)
3.  TVO – The Dark is Rising (2562 remix) (Simple)
4.  Sideshow – If Alone (Appleblim & Komonazmuk remix) (Aus)
5.  Stereotype – Jahman (G-Stone)
6.  2562 – Morvern (Tectonic)
7.  Martyn – Vancouver (3024)
8.  TRG – Broken Heart (Martyn’s DCM Remix) (Hessle)
9.  Geoim – Reminissin’ (Berkane Sol)
10. Headhunter – Your say (Tempa)
11. Martyn and Marcus Intalex – After seven (Revolver)
12. Flying Lotus – RobertaFlack (Martyn remix) (Warp)
13. Pinch – Get Up (Tectonic)
14. Pattie Blingh_And The Akebulan 5 – Brother: The Point (2562 Remix) (Ramp)
15. Zomby – Spliff Dub (Rustie rmx) (Hyperdub)
16. Kode9 – 9 Samuari (Hyperdub)
17. The Bug w/ Flow Dan – Skeng (Kode9 mix)
18. Modeselektor w/ Paul St Heliare – Let Your Love Grow (Bpitch Control)
19. Elemental – Raw Material (Hotflush
20. Milanese – Double Face (Planet Mu)

A couple of weeks ago Claude and Marcus went into the studio with two guests DJs Whatnot and Trufflehunter for a special B2B mixing session on the technics – and the show is now here for you to download in MP3 form.

Higher Ground has been resident of Portland Square’s underground venue/bar Cosies for over a year now, and brings the funk down on a bi-monthly basis – with big Bristol guests always heading the bill, and funk, soul, hip hop and reggae pertruding from the Friday night Bristol air. Whatnot and Trufflehunter themselves have been about Bristol for quite some time now and most recently featured on the DMZ / Skull Disco lineup at Motion skate park, rocking the outdoor terrace with some silly disco skills.

The two hour set here is a mix of warm-up ambient, breaks and hip hop, before things get a bit filthy about 45 minutes in and the dubstep / techno tip comes to the fore. All, of course, interspered with some lovely microphone work from Claude (and one or two technical glitches). Rare Flying Lotus bootlegs sit alongside classics from Leftfield, and of course some brand spanking new tunes from modern names like Ramadanman, Geiom, Appleblim, and so on. Bass from both local and far away lands – with four St Pauls DJs at the helm.  Find the download link and tracklist in the playlists section. More updates concerning the show coming soon !!!

So, here it is : The first show of 2009 – more or less in mixtape format : Marcus returns to the studio, and with it the decks & mixer are put to good use. Brand new music from dubstep pioneer Mala, Ramadanman, Telefton Tel Aviv, Warp record’s  Harmonic 313, Animal Collective,  and Amon Tobin (Two Fingers). A rare bootleg white label from Flying Lotus. Some of the best tunes of 2008 from Martyn, Glasgow’s Rustie, Dj Paleface and Bristol’s Joker. Expect electronic, dub-tech, glitched out lushness along with some heavy bass.

1 hour 18 minutes / MP3 / 224 kbps  / 125MB  / DOWNLOAD

Tracklist:

Daedelus – Doorbell (Eastern Developments)
Daedelus – Girls (W/ Busdriver & Abstract Rude) (Plug Research)
Harmonic 313 – Cyclotron (Warp)
Flying Lotus – LTWXRMX(Warp)
Hudson Mohawke – Overnight (Warp)
Ramadanman – Carla (Hessle Audio)
Mille & Andrea – Sample Clearance (Daphne)
Shut Up and Dance – Epileptic (Martyn’s No Strobe Mix) (Shut Up And Dance Records)
Scientist – Laser Attack (Greensleeves Records)
Mala – Miracles (Deep Medi Musik)
Joker – Grimey Princess (Earwax)
Rustie & Joker – Play Doe (Kapsize)
Rustie – Tempered (Kapsize)
Daedelus – Touchstone (Ninja Tune)
Dj Paleface – Do You Mind (Crazy Cousins Mix) (Maximum Bass)
Kode9 & LD – 2 Bad (Hyper Dub)
Daedelus – Sundown (Ninja Tune)
Peverlist – Clunk Click Every Trip (Punchdrunk)
TRG – Put You Down (Ramadanman Refix) (Hessle Audio)
Calenda – Forever (Heavy Artillery)
Two Fingers – What You Know (W/ Sway) (Big Dada)
Animal Collective – Daily Routine (Domino)
Telefon Tel Aviv – The Birds (Bpitch Control)

Below are some of Marcus’s thoughts on his favourite releases of 2008 – 12″s, LPs, and remixes. Some of them are well enough known – You’d have done well to escape the hype surrounding Flying Lotus this year – but others, such as Sten, the Long Lost, and Headhunter - you might be less familiar with. In no particular order . .

The Long Lost – Luckiest Charm 12” (Ninja Tune)

Finally, and at last, Daedelus’s project with wife Laura Darlington on vocals came to fruitation this year with a 12” featuring the two lead songs from an LP which was long ago recorded and finished – with two Flying Lotus remixes on the flipside. The Art Of Kissing is unmistakably West Coast, psychedelic, sunny, and before you have time to glimpse at pictures of the pair and their unmistakably blissful air of melancholy you’ll already be in love. The artwork, lyrics and title of Luckiest Charm all tie in to form a romantic allegory that’s both touching, quaint, and unmistakably Daedelus – or should that be Darlington. If only we were all so lucky in our quest to please our heart’s longing.

Andy Stott – Unknown Exception (Modern Love)

Listening to 2006’s Merciless, the signs of Andy Stott’s potential were obvious, and anyone who witnessed, as I did, his appearance at the following year’s Sonar Festival in Barcelona, would have found themselves only more intrigued. Tracks like Florence demonstrated an uncanny talent for techno with a sentimental air – similar to that of Lawrence/Sten, whose Dial Records has done much to shape the innovative streak shown in the techno of the last few years which keeps headphone listening primarily in mind. So, then, a few years later, and a long series of 12”s on the Modern Love label confirmed Stott’s place alongside Claro Intelecto as being two of the biggest names in dub techno. With every new production their sound mutated and grew to new heights and senses of subtlety. The Resident Advisor podcast of 2007 remains my favourite to date and is an hour’s worth of deep, widescreen techno, best enjoyed on a train ride in content solitude.

Unknown Exception may only be a collection of these already released tracks, but put into LP form they, as mentioned, transcend the dance floor format of most techno and become a piece of work with a body that is whole and complete. Replace and Credit in particular retain an industrious aesthetic of cold, hard drums, best associated with his native Manchester. Yet he manages to transcend these sterile notions with some of the most heart warming, sentimental and emotional piano and synth melodies you’re likely to hear in a genre more used to 12”s being handled by DJs rather than romantics.

Appleblim / Peverelist – Soundboy 12” 2008 releases -

Soundboy’s Ashes Get Hacked Up and Spat Out in Disgust

Soundboy’s Suicide Note (Skull Disco)

Underlying the aggressive, Ralph Steadman-esque artwork of these two most recent 12” releases is the genre-defying quality of the work that exhibits outstanding subtlety from both producers Shackleton and Appleblim. Indeed, before the beat kicks in on both sides of ‘Soundboy’s Ashes’ you would be excused for thinking the two tracks were the ambient works of a melancholy and pacifying quality, the nostalgic synth of ‘Over Here’ signalling the beginning of something almost romantic. Yet the two (and Shackleton’s tracks in particular) retrace their steps to an all more disturbing and unsettling sound – with surely *thee* dirtiest bass heard in 2008 on ’Circling’, before the final few minutes revert to a blissful sound more akin to the works of Kompakt’s Pop Ambient series. Accomplished, professional, yet raw and unnerving – the intricate drum programming of Shackleton’s Shortwave rushes through a six minute shit storm of ferocious drumming before you have time to make sense of it all. A recent gig in Bristol confirmed that the man is as physically in touch with his music as it sounds – furiously swaying in time whilst simultaneously having a go at the sound engineer to turn it up. Soundboy’s Ashes contained my two most played songs of the year, with both truly outstanding artwork and a memorable title to boot.

Martyn / Marcus Intalex – After Seven 12” (Revolver)

It would be easy to single out Martyn’s Broken Heart remix for TRG as maybe the track of the year, but then again the Ramadanman refit of Put You Down is exemplary rather than exceptional, and if this is about releases rather than songs, it’s Martyn’s collaboration with Marcus Intalex which remains the most resounding. On first listen, the three collected tracks sound clumsy, hastily finished and mute. But the more you listen, the more the two separate influences of these great individual produces become obvious and imminent – On Storm Watch, the intricate drum programming is blatantly that of drum and bass kingpin Intalex. The piano strokes are only an accompaniment to the general make up of the track, before the chord progression strikes and it all falls into place – a method of song structure that would be very familiar to fans of Martyn’s dubstep productions – and indeed Broken Heart in particular. On the other side After Seven sounds like any other echo filled dub tune before the rhythm releases deep, shifting tones and a stomping beat. JW on a Good Night lightens up things somewhat but remains progressive in its connotations for two producers of conflicting styles. Sure, Martyn used to make drum and bass tunes, but ask any of the fans he’s made in the last year and they would swear he’s been working on perfecting his dub tech style his whole life. One of the most unique releases of 2008 right here – and probably one of the only things my radio co host / housemate didn’t mind me rinsing the shit out of time and time again.

2562 – Aerial (Tectonic)

Hailing from The Hague in Netherlands, it wasn’t until I was in line at passport control in Schlipol Airport last autumn that it dawned on me just how much I liked this album. The stern, formal action of queuing was unable to keep me from bopping away like someone who had just arrived in a club and was finding their way about. 2562 uses skeleton dub rhythms and then combines them with deep, intricate production and sampling more akin to the deeper sound of IDM or electronica. His recent side project A Made Up Sound demonstrates these qualities more clearly, but it’s on Aerial that the producer breaks the mould of dubstep, making tunes that certainly don’t sound like they could be made in five minutes as many of the genre’s pedants would have it. ‘Morvern’ and ‘Moog Dub’ are moody, brooding statements of intent from Dave Huismans, the former mustering up an air of the exotic with its bird call samples Combined with more minimal, intended-for-DJ-play tracks like “Basin Dub”, and the fact this came out on Pinch’s Bristolian label Tectonic, Aerial was one of the most forward looking LPs of the year.

Flying Lotus – Los Angeles (Warp)

Much has been said and written about Flying Lotus since the release of his Warp EP over a year ago. Many accused the basis of the album’s aesthetic values to be that of a rough, incomplete and unfinished producer for whom making beat tapes meant a likening for quantity over quality. But for anyone who has followed his rise since 2006’s

album, 1983, Los Angeles was nothing but a qualified and logical step of progression in his sound. His LP release for Plug Research opened with the hazy, disorientating sounds of the ambient title track, and ‘Brainfeeder’ repeats this trend albeit in a much more confident and coherent way. It’s these very same trademark productions that were at first steadily discounted – a dislike for quantization, a rough, unfinished sounding bass, and clumsy song structure – that quickly became the common sounds for a wider group of producers who came to the fore during 2008 – Glasgow’s Lucky Me crew (Rustie, HudMo, et al ) being amongst them.

Neil Landstrumm- Lord for £39 (Planet Mu)

If anyone could please make sense of the cover then hook me up with an explanation. Surely the best and most comprehensive electronica release on Planet Mu of 2008. I would dare say Neil Landstrumm is a man who enjoys his own company, and that you can tell by this record. It’s not his blatantly Scandanavian exterior that betrays such an influence in his personality – though he looked quite the beard-scratcher at a recent gig in Bristol, surrounded by drum machines, synths and sequencers – but instead the harsh, unforgiving sound of Lord For £39 that, though still based on a similar sound to Restaurant of Assassins – expands and varies on it greatly. Old Rabbits sounds like it’s been taken as a sketch from the Analord series, fed uppers that have been cut with headache pills and ushered on into a bloody fist fight – with Rustie and Si Begg watching his back the whole time.

Headhunter – Nomad (Tempa)

The young Bristol producer has seen his bookings expand to the worldwide market since the release of this highly entertaining and varied LP. Finely treading the line between dub tech and dubstep, this release defies genres and undermines their importance as a reference.

Sten – The Essence (Dial)

The only reason this isn’t higher up the list is because I’m much, much more fond of his productions under the Lawrence alias. With Sten, he tears apart all notions of the experimental in terms of electronic music as an art form, and instead fuses together pure dance-floor focused minimal fury. The Essence is a grower – the more you listen, the deeper and more intricate it appears and sounds – a tone shift here, the smallest of changes in the high hat there – amplified to great effect. It’s one of those albums that you wouldn’t recommend as a starting point for someone unfamiliar with techno. I think an analogy I swear to god I made up in one of my dreams is most valid here – Introducing a techno newbie to The Essence would be like trying to tempt a vegetarian with Panda meat.

I will stop myself there.

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James Holden on the main stage at Glade Festival

After last year’s total wash out, 2008’s Glade can be claimed as a success for all. On Friday night Noisia display their love for the sort of twisted drum and bass that leaves the thought of an impending collaboration with Amon Tobin mouth watering, Pendulum working the masses up even higher into a state of delirium afterwards. For all of their mass market appeal which provokes talk of blandness rather than innovation, the atmosphere inside the tent is irresistible to all. Ital Tek heads up the Saturday, the gushing melodies disguising the dub rhythms into a form of IDM first and foremost. Friction later pulls one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, with no record on for longer than a minute or so, triple dropping at a ridiculous pace and consistency, his set pleasing the most hard worn of drum and bass veterans. Border Community’s James Holden makes us wait for a good 15 minutes before the washed-out synths give way to rich high ends and a thumping techno beat. His set is of a varied nature, with Four Tet, AFX, and The Knife all being aired. Afterwards he’s visibly ecstatic as he dismounts to the embrace of those waiting backstage. “I played the first Glade four years ago, and I just don’t know where the time’s gone.”

 
Rob Hall’s complex formula of hip hop and electronica is constantly occupying, but he is inevitably only the warm up for those that follow, Autechre. As in accordance with everything you would do to lose a crowd, the tent’s lights and visuals are completely blacked out, and there is nothing but two shadowy figures hunched over a fascinating array of gear, pounding away multiple rhythms and jarring bass lines, some of which stutter to an abrupt halt, whilst others build up to a euphoric madness. There is simply no-one like them, and as their last beat slows to a halt, an obvious ending to the most complex of hour-long compositions, their followers are once again assured that they are still in a league of their own. Current Value continues this IDM trend, albeit with more of a likening for the stop-and-start familiarities of break-core, and before I know it, it’s light outside, and I’ve not only lost all my friends, but also the feeling in my legs.
Sunday’s arrival is signalled by Elemental, who’s thoroughly having it behind his laptop in a manner that suggests he’s been here amongst us this whole weekend. Daedelus’s performance is fascinating as always, and whilst we stroll around the site, eventually settling for a cup of Chai, we have much to talk about. “It’s challenging playing to new audiences. It’s really fun to be able to drop songs I wouldn’t normally touch. I love twisting the kids up.”

 
Caspa & Rusko are visibly buzzing to be playing to such a large crowd, the latter having to keep a sober tab on his partner’s actions throughout. The pairing is comical, and their wobbly bass might be tiresome by the end of the hour, but their performance behind the decks is one of the best of the weekend. Finally, Warp’s Clark savagely lets rip in the Overkill tent, where a weekend’s worth of smoke machine is emptied on the spot, the crowd only glimpsing him once or twice throughout the hour.

I’m back from Canada but as you can imagine the show is still on the back burner for summer. Big Chill in a few weeks, where Flying Lotus, Mixmaster Morris, Daedelus, Trentemoller etc will be rocking out the club tent – Maybe see you about ? I’ll be in the tent all Saturday night for the Soundcrash curated run of performances.