Records

2econd Class Citizen LP ‘The Small Minority’ out today!

It’s fast becoming a vintage year for great album releases and today, another is finally unleashed into the world. I’ve said more than enough about Aaron Thomason over the past years, aside from actually collaborating with him on the multi-track ‘Magpie Music’ on my last album as well as getting him to remix ‘The Illectrik Hoax’, and his second album release lives up to, and expands, on the first. I think I have about three different versions of this record on my hard drive from the last 18 months at least, each one has built upon the preceding version and got better and better. There is no filler on this record and it’s attracting some very favourable reviews, check out the lush gatefold vinyl and CD too!

You can finally buy it today after being on pre-order for a while, particularly from the Equinox online store, but if you order via the HHV.DE site then you have a chance to get a limited edition bundle CD with the album preview mini mix I did alongside vinyl or CD album plus a poster too.

Posted in Music, Records. | 3 Comments |

SoundSci ‘Formula 99’ LP and limited package

I’ve written about SoundSci before, I even cut a video for them for a track called ‘The Illness’ from their ‘Dig For Victory’ EP  on Crate Escape the other year. I’m slightly biased in my opinion of the group being that two of my closest friends are in it (ex-Dynamic Syncopation producer Jonny Cuba and current part-Herbaliser DJ Ollie Teeba – alongside Audessey, ex-Mass Influence, U-George and Oxygen). As you may have guessed if you recognise any of the names present, they make Hip Hop, the great kind, the Boom-Bap kind, the kind you remember and wish people made more of. It’s solid, made with love and care, skills on the mic, the decks and the SP 1200, made with respect for the artform, an ear for a dope sample and an eye for a great sleeve design (here supplied by Mr Krum no less).

There are plenty of people making this kind of Hip Hop but, like the samples that form it’s foundations, you have to dig for it these days as it’s no longer the prominent kind. After an EP and a 45, their LP, ‘Formula 99’, is finally ready to be released on double vinyl with insert and CD on Crate Escape. An ultra limited deluxe package is up for order now as well (see image below). This set contains hand stamped test pressings, T-shirt, poster, sticker, badge and more.

Here’s a little snippets mix by Ollie Teeba to wet the taste buds…

[youtube width=”640″ height=”479″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKP0rmBUMp8&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

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Pepe Deluxé – Go Supersonic!

Out today, on Catskillz, lots of remixes, the Husky Rescue one actually holds a candle to the original (no mean feat)

Catmerch: http://tinyurl.com/bsj2qxx

iTunes – http://bit.ly/Lthm3I
Amazon – http://amzn.to/Ji3yY8
Play – http://bit.ly/KqUbSZ
Spotify – http://spoti.fi/Krxsnu
7 Digital – http://bit.ly/MzzKr7
HMV – http://bit.ly/Ji9qR7
Nokia – http://bit.ly/KKQ5F0
Deezer – http://bit.ly/MadRvP
Juno – http://bit.ly/LtrWrz
DJ Download – http://bit.ly/JxTeeY

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Death of Vinyl record store, Montreal

I spent yesterday afternoon with my friend Otis Fodder, tramping round record stores in north of Montreal. We went to Sonorama, Phonopolis and even found a guy selling records out of the back of his house. We finally ended up at Death of Vinyl – easily my favourite, a real USED store, ridiculously crammed with record of all shapes and sizes plus CDs, DVDs, cassettes and even 8 tracks. The prices are low, the quantity is high, they even have coffee plus monthly art installations.

Posted in Records. | 1 Comment |

DJ Format 10″ release

More gorgeous artwork from Mr Krum for the new DJ Format 10″ single featuring Edan & Mr Lif – available now from Slice of Spice but be quick! Lots of limited versions available, black vinyl, clear with black swirls, a postcard remix of an exclusive remix, test pressing versions of the album ‘Statement of Intent’. These are two of the best Hip Hop cuts I’ve heard in a long time and instrumentals are included too.

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Fracture – The Limit VIP limited 10″

This new series from Fracture & Neptune‘s Astrophonica label is going to go pretty fast I think. Three limited 300 copy 10″s from Om Unit, Machine Drum and Fracture based on footwork/juke rhythms, each with screen-printed sleeves.

I’m not the first person to sing the praises of juke and I find a lot of the shoehorning of old samples into new rhythms that’s going on with it a bit tedious. It’s not easy music to play out, audiences don’t respond particularly well to it as it’s not particularly dynamic in its arrangements but then the same could have been said for dubstep and look where we are now.

But, there are always exceptions and this is one of them, what starts out as straight dnb then drops and wrong foot(works) you into a juke rhythm that cuts it in the same way as Machine Drum, Africa Hi Tech or the Phillip D Kick boots of last year. ‘The Limit’ is going to be the first of 3 releases, each featuring the aforementioned producers, and this will be the transition track between the two generes in my box for a while I think.

It’s out on May 7th, preview and pre-order it here.

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2econd Class Citizen postcard set

I’ve had this for a while now but not had time to photograph it properly. Beautiful primer for the upcoming 2econd Class Citizen album – ‘The Small Minority’ – on Equinox Records out of Berlin.

They’ve put my postcard record to shame with this package and were sold out in a day sadly (very expensive to produce in large numbers, as I found out). Love the detail of the 2nd class stamps on the reverse when you remove the postcards from the backing board!

The album is out in May and I’ve just finished a 17 minute preview mini-mix of the whole record which will be online soon. Aaron has also put down the space-themed mix he assembled for my album launch party too and it will be appearing on Solid Steel soon.

 

Posted in Design, Records. | 1 Comment |

Remaining Secret 7″ records now up for sale online

[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WmjB3igMKo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

The remaining unsold Secret 7″ sleeves and records are now up for sale on the Teenage Cancer Trust’s eBay page, each is one of a kind, a unique artwork with a limited edition 7″ by one of 7 artists. They start at just a penny and all the money goes to TCT once the auction is over.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOaT6ar3Ww[/youtube]

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DJ Food vs AA RSD 12″ Repress details

OK – due to high demand, a database cock up at Ninja Tune – meaning that the record looked like it was in stock when it wasn’t – and people putting them on eBay for silly money, Ninja are repressing another 500 copies of my 12″ – ON MULTI-COLOURED MARBLED VINYL.

The people who ordered it from the Ninjashop will get one, no black vinyl copies are being pressed, so if you are one of the ones who asked for a black vinyl copy you will get coloured.

This will be the last pressing on coloured vinyl though. It will be the same (or as near as can be) as the RSD one, once orders are fulfilled the rest of the pressing will go up on the Ninja shop.

This will take approx. 2 weeks, sorry for any cock ups, and thanks for your patience. If you still want a refund then contact the Ninja shop, otherwise hold tight and they will contact you when this is all sorted.

Photo above taken from Carl Schalck‘s Facebook page.

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Records. | 5 Comments |

and another… Michael Hansen vinyl cover & animation


Vinyl cover with analog light animation from Michael Hansen on Vimeo.

Another record employing the phenakistoscope animation technique just popped up – description below abbreviated from Michael Hansen‘s site.

“An album cover for the modern classical composer Allan Gravgaard Madsen . My idea was to translate Allan’s sensorial music into a visual experience with elements of sensuality. There is not an A- or B-side, each has its own front page. ‘Waves’ is a visualisation of the music performed by nine trumpets in a line, as simple as possible with nine circles on a line. ‘Crystal Tapestry’ is a pattern of crystals that has no front or back end, it refers to a crystal that merges into itself. Inside I made a visualisation that combines the two sides, a crystalized wave. On the record I created patterns that gives the design a visual sensuality. I made an analog animation with a 50 Hz strobe lamp and made it interact with the music.”

Beautiful, I wish I could buy a copy.

Posted in Design, Packaging, Records. | 1 Comment |

Another ‘Zoetrope’ record video

Theodore Ushev directed the above video for “Demoni” by Bulgarian band, Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs. I first saw this on the RokRiot blog which is always worth a visit.

It uses a Phenakistoscope, sometimes known as a zoopraxiscope, to animate a circular loop, something I’ve been experimenting with recently in video and also the planetarium show I did back in January. The method was invented by Eadweard Muybridge and also similar is the Sculpture picture discs I’ve posted about before several times on the blog. A lot of times this method is called a zoetrope, which is similar but not quite the same thing, but it’s easier to say and remember.

This method has been used as far back as the 1950’s on children’s records which played at 78 rpm, mostly on the Red Raven ‘movie records’ label which would release nursery rhymes with a mirrored device that sat on top of the record as it spun to view the animations. See below for an example from my collection, the records appeared on coloured vinyl too, which you can sometimes find although they rarely come with sleeves, the center viewing contraption or in good condition.

Posted in Film, Records. | 1 Comment |

The Electric Images In My Mind #16

Well, it’s out, as of Saturday, the new single is available in the shops, online and no doubt on eBay at an inflated price. Record Store Day was very exciting for me this year as I was lucky enough to be participating with Ninja Tune releasing this remix by The Amorphous Androgynous on multi-coloured vinyl. It’s not just for RSD though, you can buy it from the Ninjashop or FSOLDigital and all good record stores that reorder stock, Ninja will be repressing it too in the next week or so although that may be on a different colour vinyl. Please don’t pay crazy prices on eBay or Discogs like some of these flippers are asking, this is not a one time only limited edition, it should be available as long as there is demand. Remember also that there is a download available too with extra radio edits and an exclusive 2econd Class Citizen remix not on the 12″.

First thing on Saturday I asked people to tweet pictures of their purchases and I’ve featured the best here. That’s Frederic Toye below, waving a copy outside Music Mania in Ghent, Belgium and I had photos from all over Europe as well as one from the US as well.

Thanks to Alex Koenig, Cheetahbreaks, Dan Doughty, DJ Hombre, Dobshizzle and his united colours of RSD, Frederic, Hang The DJ, Kidavenger, Lemonmeringuesy, Lukestereo, Phil Clarkson, pipeandslippers and Toby Whitebread for posting these and making my day. This is my absolute favourite of the bunch though, sent by David Gorrod, with a little help from Arthur.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Openmind designs, Records. | 1 Comment |

Secret 7’s exhibition for Record Store Day

The Secret 7″s concept is something that ticks a number of boxes for me: vinyl, art and limited edition collectables. Set up by Kevin King from Universal Records, the idea is to take 7 different bands and ask hundreds of artists to design one-off sleeves for a 100 copy limited edition 7″ record by them. These are then displayed at the Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch and each is made available for sale on Record Store Day for a minimum price of £40 – all of which goes to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The 7 artists participating this year were The Cure, Florence & The Machine, Bombay Bicycle Club, DJ Shadow, CSS, Noah & The Whale and Ben Howard with artists designing covers ranged from David Shrigley, Central Station and Stylorouge through to Luke Insect, Felt Mistress and Nigel Peake as well as complete unknowns. All of the musicians involved also contributed designs, sometimes not for their own releases, but each record was completely anonymous. No info was anywhere to be seen, either of the artist, track title or cover designer – hence the name Secret 7″. Here’s a gallery of the ones that caught my eye when I visited the preview although there were a few I couldn’t fit in as I’d completely filled up my camera by the time I reached the end.

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The range of designs was completely across the board, lots of recurring themes popped up though: animals, stars, flies, hearts and Florence Welch featured repeatedly with her flowing red locks, presumably for her release. Not all of the sleeves illustrated the contents so literally though, one release was a three dimensional, playable guitar (see gallery above) and other sleeves were knitted, collaged, embroidered or cut to reach their final state. I didn’t make it on the morning of the 21st as I was playing in Rat Records in Camberwell, but finally managing to get there at 4pm and they’d sold around half already as you can see from the panorama below.

Several of the ones I wanted had obviously long gone by 4pm and I was looking to pick up a copy of DJ Shadow‘s ‘Come On Riding (Through The Cosmos)’ so a space theme was the first to search out. I grabbed one with a collage featuring an astronaut first of all but another, with a Victorian-style elevator in the sky I’d spotted as I walked in, had mysteriously vanished. Another I’d liked at the preview I spied in the hands of a guy ‘um-ing’ and ‘ah-ing’ over several sleeves and then suddenly I located the sky elevator sleeve again, maybe someone had put it back? I was pretty sure I had at least one Shadow in those two but then I noticed the guy had put the other sleeve back. After making sure he definitely didn’t want it I snagged that too. He thought it would be a Florence one due to the shock of pink that could have been hair but for some reason it reminded me of the guy from CSS, not sure why.

Taking three £40 7″s to the counter isn’t something I regularly do, in fact I can categorically say that I’ve never spent that much on a 45 ever, but knowing that I was getting bona fide one-off items and that the money was going to charity actually erased any quibbles about it being too much. I’ve not been that excited about buying a record in a long while, the ‘lucky dip’ aspect of it as the sales assistant went to the box to retrieve the particular single for each sleeve (each was stickered with a number) was a genuine thrill. Even better was when she came back with the first 7″ – I’d guessed right, the collage with the astronaut, by Robin Antiga, was the DJ Shadow single!

The second 7″ came back, this time by Sebas & Clim – the last one I’d chosen, and it was for CSS, not Florence.

The third choice – the sky elevator sleeve, by Domonic Arroyo – arrived and it was another DJ Shadow, result!

Even though I had a hole in my wallet the size of a 7″ I left the gallery as pleased as punch knowing that the money had gone to a good cause whilst I had three unique pieces of art and vinyl to add to my collection. Much praise to Kevin King for coming up with such a unique way to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust on Record Store Day, I’m hoping to submit designs for next years round and you can hear a short interview I did with him at the gallery on the Record Store Day special broadcast on Strongroom Alive on April 21st.

 

Posted in Art, Records. | 10 Comments |

The Electric Images In My Mind #15


Here’s the link to the release page for the DJ Food vs The Amorphous Androgynous 12″ remix of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ for Record Store Day 2012. There won’t be any ‘buy’ links until Monday because it’s against RSD rules to advertise a release with a pre-order option before the day. The ‘Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble’ mix is 17 minutes long and comprises 3 ‘tracks’:

DJ Food – ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ feat. Natural Self (The Amorphous Androgynous Remix)
DJ Food & The Amorphous Androgynous – ‘Don’t Pray, Don’t Bother (We’re Evil)’
DJ Food & The Amorphous Androgynous – ‘The Electric Images (In My Mind Never Die)’

Phew – pretty complicated huh? I’m going to be making tracks with one word titles from now on… There are now 1500 copies on multi-coloured, marbled vinyl, pressed at MPO in France, and the three tracks are split across two sides, cut at 45rpm.

There’s also a 4-track download too with the full 17 minute Amorphous Androgynous mix plus radio edits of ‘The Electric Images (In My Mind Never Die)’ featuring Natural Self and ‘GIANT’ featuring Matt Johnson. Exclusive to the download is the remix by 2econd Class Citizen of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ as premiered at the Planetarium shows in January.

To say I’m pleased with this release is an understatement, everything about it, from the remixes to the artwork to the actual vinyl discs, I’m 100% happy with. For it to be part of Record Store Day too makes it even better. Don’t worry if you can’t/don’t get one on RSD, Ninja will have 70 copies in the Ninja shop for sale on Monday 23rd and they plan to keep it in print as long as there is demand.

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Openmind designs, Records. | 17 Comments |

Rat Records instore for RSD this Saturday

I’m playing at Rat Records in Camberwell between 12-2pm this Saturday for Record Store Day, alongside Andy Smith and others. This is my local record shop, selling used vinyl and CDs and they have a regular weekly turnover of goodies at affordable prices. Even though they won’t be stacked to the gills with all the other RSD releases I’ve got a box of my DJ Food vs The Amorphous Androgynous 12″s to sell there, possibly even some limited copies of ‘The Search Engine’ with the flexi disc too.

So, if you can’t make it into town or don’t want to battle the masses for the 1 copy of the release that the shop decided to order and just want to browse in a fully stocked used store, listening to great music, then come on down. The nearest tubes are Oval or Elephant & Castle and then it’s a bus to Camberwell Green and you can see it from the main crossroads.

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Moebius record sleeve for Guy Beart

I just spent the weekend gigging in France and found this in one of the record shops in Montpelier – from 1977, a gatefold LP cover by Moebius. According to those who I showed it to, Guy Beart was a very cheesy singer who played guitar and was the kind of un-hip singer your parents’ liked (if they were very un-hip) and they were surprised such a record existed.
Well he must have had a late flowering moment of inspiration for this release with what looks and sounds like a concept album based on a future civilisation, no doubt cashing in on the craze for all things sci-fi in 1977 once Star Wars opened. The music has its moments, there’s plenty of synth and space noises in there amongst the whimsical songs but the gem here is the cover, click for a larger version.

Posted in Art, Comics, Records. | 4 Comments |

The Electric Images In My Mind #13


In the in-box today: a 30 minute ‘Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble’ mix for Solid Steel by The Amorphous Androgynous including a reworking of a Gil Scott Heron track. This will be broadcast live on Solid Steel on April 19th via Strongroom Alive and then out on the web the day after via the usual Solid Steel channels. On the 19th there will be a chance to win a copy of one of these beauties too so tune in: 7-9pm. Also in the mail was an unreleased ‘basement jam’ version of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’, an abandoned version of the remix before they went in the direction you’ll hear on this disc.

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Openmind designs, Records. | 7 Comments |