musicMXR

Sick of the winter…some hot summer inspiration

Nightmares on Wax African Pirates (Trouble Man Mix)

also check out A Desi Dance Party

Slowdive - Souvlaki Space Station Pretentiously hazy shoegaze track.

Rant: Digital Audio

There is a problem with computers Digital Audio to put it more simply it sucks. There are really two problems, Digital to Analog Conversion (DAC) and audio compression. For the most part the whole digital concept is hype, while it is great for transmitting information across the globe but not so great for transmitting audio to a sound system of any type. For any audio to played in the physical world it must be converted to analog. Digital to Analog Conversion is for the most part a very cheap and very clumsy process, strongly exemplified by the extremely cheap cosmetic hardware put into computers.

Now pair this with a lack of power and compression. Lossy audio compression basicly simplifies the audio so it takes up less space. To simplify the music compression usually attacks the high range and low range first since they are the least noticeable. The difference is unnoticeable on cheap headphones, but connect the compressed source to low impedance headphones or an actual stereo and the flaws will be very noticeable when you considered the muffled high range and bass even with 320kps MP3s.

CDs for the most part sound very good and this is because more attention is devoted to amplification and there is no bias in the compression.

Kammerflimmer Kollektief - Cicadidae

It isn’t often to find talent like this; to put it quite liberally, Kammerflimmer Kollektief masterfully mixes the darkness of noise-rock and IDM with a set of more traditional set of instruments. The Ciccade album is the German group’s most commercially successful album. Creating a dramatic and overly-climatic soundscape. At times it can shift into extreme brightness yet return to dismal darkness only a moment later, in the end I would call this an uplifting exprience. To put it more simply it isn’t much different than Autchre but unlike Autchre you can enjoy the Kammerflimmer Kollektief and pass a drug test the next morning.

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie - The Man with the Shovel

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie is an experimental noise rock band out of Minneapolis. Noise Rock is one of those things I don’t entirely understand…but I like it. Its very refreshing to find a band like this from the states. A lot of great music is made in America but a half dozen corporations control the media and almost all the crap music that gets publicized; thus making it nearly impossible to find actual new talent.

Ursula Rucker and 4hero - The Awakening

Right now I am really regretting not picking up their somewhat new LP “Play with the Changes” when I spotted it last weekend (money is a bit tight). You can stream it here.

4hero is probably one of the most under appreciated music groups of our times. They have mastered the genre of Drum and Bass and distorted it to something very yet soulful. 4hero’s early work was more traditional yet apparently ground braking Jungle which eventually evolved into Drum and Bass. For their album Two Pages they replaced their drum machines with an orchestra and created a much more unique and accessible sound.

Also check out 4hero’s Hold it Down and it’s Quantic Soul Orchestra cover.

» Last.fm Playlist...

Last.fm is a great site for finding new music…probably my favorite feature is the playlist feature. I used it quite liberally and more as a bookmark tool. Since the redesign last.fm has been getting very restrictive with the tool…it seems like you need to be a “subscriber” to listen to full tracks from your own playlist and now playlists are limited to 200 tracks. It seems like the entire site has been going downhill in one way or another. Until this year I would constantly get great recommendations from strangers and I would return the favor. But I can’t remember the last time I got a legitimate recommendation.

So back to the point…The last few days I have been working on this playlist. It was mostly an attempt to make a diverse mix of chilled hip-hop jazz and electronic music. Clearly it isn’t done. Feedback appreciated

DJ Vadim “Theme to Big Willy Dee” not “Milwaukee”

Four Tet - Ringer (Domino Recordings) 2008

Four Tet Ringer

Four Tet (or Kieran Hebden) is the acclaimed UK ambient/experimental/jazz/electronic artist best known for the acclaimed 2001 album Pause. Ringer is a mini album (about 32 minutes) thats comes in the format of a CD (yawn) and more impressive Two Vinyl release with the grooves spaced generously far apart. The first track of Ringer…is Ringer a very fast paced and experimental track that seems to homage from early Techno and Drum n’ Bass; yet still carries a significant ambient prescience. The next track, Ribbons is a very dance-able track which builds into a very layered track. The highlight of the album is clearly Swimmer it is a extremely complex and layered track and yet there is a softer minimalistic side. Swimmer reminds me of Four Tet’s earlier work and yet it seems completely original. The ringer album isn’t for everyone for everyone. It is a bit on the repetitive side and it takes awhile to get into. It’s listening music; not background music. 3.5/5