Clark, Clark, motherfuckin’ Clark. It’s surreal to say that just last year I played alongside this revolutionary producer for Decibel Festival 2012. Alongside Jimmy Edgar and Machinedrum, we represented the Warp Records Showcase. I tried with all my might to create a mix that would compliment these awe-inspiring artists, and the experience helped my art evolve to new heights in a very short period.
Fresh off the press, I was so excited to see Clark in charge of the latest XLR8R podcast. I’m always curious about what this dude is up to, and now I have new insight. It’s a bizarre, adventurous mix, demonstrating Clark’s wonderfully twisted perspective that I’ve come to love dearly.
If you’ve made it out to any of my recent shows, you’ll often notice Clark in the tracklistings. Ever since I opened for him atDecibel Festival‘s 2012 Warp Showcase, I’ve had his releases on constant rotation. If you were there, thank you! I heard very positive feedback from Machinedrum, Jimmy Edgar, Clark and the representatives from Warp Records. The vibes at that show were top-notch. Anyways, there’s so much diversity of sound and texture throughout Clark’s discography, and one release I want to focus on is Totems Flare. Describing his style is challenging; it’s dark, bizarre, meticulously crafted music that leaves me scratching my head in awe. Unexpected changes are a consistent characteristic of Clark’s music, with songs darting and mutating on a whim. The opening track for example, “Outside Plume”, bounces and morphs with ease. It also begins with this classic, Clark sounding synth melody that I absolutely love. Another gem on this release is “Look Into The Heart Now”, which seems to be one of his only happy-ish acid house tracks, complete with psychedelic, distorted vocals. “Rainbow Voodoo” is an unrelenting monster, sure to grab the attention of anyone within ear distance. I wouldn’t say this is Clark’s best release, but I keep coming back to it for inspiration.
Over the next few weeks, Disco Droppings will focus on each day of Decibel Festival 2012, choosing one showcase that you must see. My recommendation is that you buy a dB pass as opposed to purchasing individual showcases. The current price is $225 for a 5-day pass (45 per day is pretty damn cheap). With the pass you have access to 35 club showcases, 5 Optical showcases, 3 dB Films and the 3-day dB Conference. Now that I’ve gone through the entire list of dB artists performing this year, I’ll be doing my part to share their sounds here on Disco Droppings. Keep your eyes here over the next 2 months, for an in-depth look at several artists you’ll see at the end of September for Decibel Festival 2012 in Seattle.
Now, I’m all about Clark. Some of you may remember my recent post on his brilliant “Turning Dragon” album. When I found out he was playing this year for the Warp Showcase(Warp Records is the beyond legendary label who has released music from Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Broadcast, Flying Lotus, Gonjasufi, Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Mount Kimbie, Prefuse 73, Squarepusher and the 3 artists playing this showcase to name a few) I was sooooooooo hyped! With all the material Clark has, I can’t guess what this live set will sound like (I’ve been told he’s heavy). He’s the type artist you’d rarely see around these parts, and someone I thought I’d never experience live.
Joining Clark, we have Jimmy Edgar. Detroit-based techno artist influenced by funk, jazz and r&b. At 18 he was picked up by Warp Records, and has been putting out slick releases ever since. Sounds like this will be a sexy, sweaty set.
Raising the BPM to staggering levels at times, we have Machinedrum. I heard him last year at Decibel Festival with Ital Tek, witnessing a pounding 140-160 BPM collection of tunes. Dude is a genius with more output than I can keep track of. You may recognize “Fantastix” from Azealia Banks’ savage new mixtape, Fantasea (Machiendrum beats can be heard w/ Azealia on “Aquababe”, “NEEDSUMLUV”, “Van Vogue” and “Grand Scam”).
All I can say about thisreleaseis..DAMN. Enjoy a more in-depth analysis of the TNGHT EP viaLive For The Funk, and head over toPitchfork for an interview with Hudson Mohawke and Lunice; the duo behind these glorious hip-hop experiments. I’ve included TNGHT’s recent mix for BBC Radio 1Xtra’s “Diplo and Friends”. Warning, this set is not for the timid. It’s drugged up hood shit with more reverse bleep outs than you can shake a stick at.
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