Archives for the month of: April, 2013

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Back to back Daft Punk posts? Why not. As I was posting my feature on Random Access Memories collaborator Giorgio Moroder, this Todd Edwards feature was released. I forgot that Edwards provided vocals and co-wrote my favorite Daft Punk song, “Face to Face” for the Discovery album. Everything about this track connects with me on a deep level, especially the lyrics…”I must admit it’s my pride that made me distant, all because I hoped that you’d be someone different..”

 

Todd Edwards substantially influenced house music beginning in the early 90’s. His work is unique melding of garage, house and 2-step with his signature spliced vocal snippets. He has stayed consistent over many years as a producer, and is known as a very kind-hearted and spiritual individual.

Edwards confirms what I already know, and what should be obvious to all by now..when Daft Punk does something, it affects everything.

 

It’s easy for many to forget that when Homework was released, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo were 22 and 21 years old respectively. To have tracks like “Revolution 909”, “Da Funk” and “Around The World” in their debut album demonstrated two highly advanced artists, already changing the landscape of dance music. This has been their mission, and they have accomplished just about everything imaginable in many mediums of expression. With an attitude of passion, perfectionism and experimentation they have consistently set and raised the bar for what’s possible. Instead of depending on artists like Daft Punk to make all the change, take influence from them and realize they are just two dudes. I’m sure they hope their work inspires the rest of us to go out into the world and create something memorable. 

Todd Edwards – Soundcloud Facebook Twitter 

daftpunk.com

– Jimi Jaxon

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Let’s dive into Random Access Memories, the upcoming new album from Daft Punk. There is no artist on my mind more often than them. It’s always very centering and sobering for me to step back from my work as an artist and think, WWDPD? (what would Daft Punk do?). There is so much that I can say about this new record, even though I haven’t heard anything besides a few seconds of music. I’ll do several features leading up to the release date, focusing on specific individuals who collaborated with the robots this time. 

 

Up first is Giorgio Moroder. The Italian producer, songwriter and performer has worked with Donna Summer, David Bowie, Blondie, The Three Degrees and Sparks to name a few. His current discography is comprised of 13 studio albums and ten soundtracks, going back to 1969! This is not including all the tracks he has helped produce for other artists. Incredible. Looks like he’ll help Daft Punk channel some disco/italo disco/synth pop energy. 

 

Random Access Memories will be released on May 21st, 2013 via Columbia.

daftpunk.com 

– Jimi Jaxon 

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Distal has a wonderful ability to mine through the world of sounds and find those gems. As head honcho of Embassy Recordings, you can see his filtering aesthetic in the artists he works with, and the crisp quality of the tracks released. I’ve mentioned that savage Wheez-ie release Keep Yer Chin Up in my past Distal interview, also really enjoying Thefft’s Name Shame / No Want That, which came out on Embassy late last year.

Not only does Distal kill it with his crew on Embassy Recordings, his own productions and DJ sets are high quality presentations. Tectonic put out his Civilization album in April 2012, the track “Not Cool” was included in my Decibel Festival 2012 Warp Records Showcase set.  His past Boiler Room set is one of my favorites, and I’m hyped to see him work out Q tonight. He pulls from a wide variety of BPM’s and styles, so you’ll just have to come and see what he showcases. He will be joined by Tony Goods (Top Billin, Sounds of Sumo, Car Crash Set, Damn Son), whose Hopscotch / Space Jam release comes out on C/C/S April 9th. Residents Nordic Soul and Recess will also be playin’.

Flash Fridays are brought to you by Decibel and Shameless. Presale TIX, FB event

Distal – Facebook Soundcloud Twitter

official.fm/distal

– Jimi Jaxon 

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If you’re unaware, I have joined the Bottom Forty DJ collective, based in Seattle. Run by Nark, this crew acts as a resource for lovers of underground music. Via the newly released Bottom Forty site, each of the members (Nark, Riff-Raff, Spaceotter, Pavone, Tony Radovich and myself) will post about music every week. In addition, we have a podcast series, featuring exclusive mixes and interviews. Each B40 member is requesting mixes from people we like, and working on mixes ourselves to debut. I’ve asked some of my friends to create podcast mixes, so keep an eye out for those, along with mine which will hopefully be up in the next few weeks. 

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You’ll notice my Bottom Forty posts often piggybacking Disco Droppings features, giving additional support to artists I’m fond of. So far I’ve written about Rubix, Misun, Dreams, Sleepyhead, Karma Kid, Velour, Boston Bun, Qween Beat, Nacey and most recently, Mirror State. Almost all of those have links to free downloads. 

“Bottom Forty is a mirror ball in New York, a basement in Chicago, a cruise in L.A. and a night in the desert.”

– Jimi Jaxon

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It’s difficult to not get excited, or at the very least intrigued when Zomby appears with new music. While being mostly a recluse in 2012, he did put out a sparse couple of tracks, including the much discussed “Devils and a characteristically dark untitled track used for French design house En Noir’s presentation of their Fall/Winter 2013 collection.

With a new 4AD album on the way, rumors of an EP and collaborations abound over the last few months, his announcement today via his Twitter account comes as his first official release in some time. The tweet simply reads  w-i-t-h-l-o-v-e.com.

 

This track is eerie and spacious. The fidelity of the synth pads and syncopation of the distant toms alludes to something just out of reach. In many ways this seems to foreshadow his forthcoming long player (It could be the introduction or an interlude), said to be out summer of 2013. We will just have to wait and see. 

Zomby – Facebook Twitter

– Tremel