Had a good chat with Günseli Yalcinkaya for Dazed magazine about Futuromania, "the anti-humanist tone" versus the quirky all-too-human individuals and desires that animate machine music, and much more.
A kind of rehearsal for our conversation at Rough Trade East on Sunday June 23 (6pm)
Kieran Press-Reynolds churns out some more:
a piece on the "influencer horror videogame" Content Warning for New York Times
interview with Justice for GQ
an overview of a new genre of ambient rap for Nina
tasters for the latter:
"iokera helped define the scene’s sound by emphasizing naturalistic elements (“rhythmic foliage”) like bug noises and ASMR sounds.... Listening to iokera’s track “vines”... it feels like you’re lying down in a butterfly vivarium, being gently nibbled by sweet insects."
"cutspace is obsessed with writing systems, from engravings and graffiti across New York to Cuneiform and ancient scripts. Online, he presents himself as something like a fried academic, writing about his work recovering “long-decommissioned audio munitions” and describing his page as a research institute dedicated to asemics, or language that doesn’t have a meaning"
A mix that juxtaposes tracks from the scene with precursors and influences
New York-based DJ & producer umru invites New York-based researcher .cutspace to present his latest findings following extensive investigations into the lurid glyphics emerging across the city, using on-the-ground fieldwork and an assessment of the existing and relevant research matter to achieve a better understanding of what’s going on. Sources referenced include Steve Reich, A. G. Cook & Moh Baretta.
.cutspace & viznode — ID
Steve Reich — It’s Gonna Rain
Alexander Panos — ID
.cutspace & umru — ID
Fatshaudi — Emptyo Heart You Love
Keith Rowe — The Room (Extract)
margo proxy — Agor; loaves
MOH BARETTA — ID (prod. .cutspace)
alva noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto — reverso
heoliene — i11: deep storage
.cutspace — ID
kindohn — DELETE malone
xang — wit my homie (prod. felix + .cutspace)
Tiago Benzinho — El Sueño Americano | Wild Swans Shall Never Be Conquered
Young Thug — RiRi
Steve Reich — Drumming, Pt. 1
Tim Hecker — The Work of Art in the Age of Cultural Overproduction
Brian Eno — By This River
Bb Trickz — Llorando en la prada
Nosaj Thing & Jacques Greene — Too Close (feat. Ouri)
Speaker Knockerz — Dap You Up
A. G. Cook — Britpop
umru & .cutspace — ID
umru & Empress Of — ID
Life Without Buildings — The Leanover (A. G. Cook edit)
bloody shield — allofasudden (500 edit)
umru — ID
blankfac3 — # _Pai (prod. o0o & umru)
Jewelssea — _Destination Unknown
umru & .cutspace — ID
Shabjdeed — Nasheed
RealYungPhil — Can’t Hack It (Gud)
LUCY (Cooper B. Handy) — FRIDAY (umru dirge)
I had a ton of fun talking with Michaelangelo Matos for his substack Beat Connection - about Futuromania, electronic music, radio, my other books - with the chat structured around five deejay mixes, as that is Beat Connection's focus. The selection was bookended by two Radio One classics: John Peel's legendary Punk Special from December '76, Rustie's Essential Mix of April 2012. From back-to-barebones rock 'n'roll to maxed-out neo-prog digi-dance.
Along the way, I got reintroduced to these old favorites: UK garage from before either "speed" or "2step" kicked in, which I first heard via another of Matos's selections: Tuff Jam's Underground Frequencies Volume One.
Matos noticed that one of Basement Jaxx had some involvement in that gorgeous, gorgeous Mutiny track.