Strange Musical Evolutions

I have been listening to, and enjoying thoroughly, some wicked Rockabilly compilations in the past few days/weeks such as the Rockabilly Dynamite [Disc’Az 1981] and the Rockabilly Shakedown [Ace records UK 1986] compilations. In doing so I began to realize that what I thought was Rockabilly may not have been so and perhaps I had confused Punk with Rockabilly (or was it the other way around?).

Some of what I thought was Rockabilly actually occurred well before Rockabilly was a thing. It is pre-Rockabilly goodness that could have easily been confused with (pre)Punk and at the same time, could easily have gone down the road of being R&B in the near future. There is a definite timeline issue here in my mind. But looking at some more modern Rockabilly bands, one can see that they are definitely also very, very closely related to and influced by Punk. If this is the case, why are so many House and Techno DJs into Punk and into Rockabilly?

I managed to track down a copy of The Cramps – Don’t Pummel & You Won’t Pogo. They Ooze & You’ll Throb from their live tour in 1976 (I think) and found myself even more confused as I tried to draw musical lines between the genres. But the answer (which question was I asking now?) is near at hand.

I use an example described to me on the fabulous Beats in Space podcast (big ups to Mr. Tim Sweeny for his show and Mr. Cowboy Mark for his excellent historical set) to help myself realize that sometimes, the strangest lines between genres are the best.

Punk > New Wave > No Wave > Disco

If you take a moment and look at some of the big New York bands and their influences (LCD Soundsystem, playing Special Disco Versions infused with their influences from Sexual Harassment one of my top 80s NYC bands I never knew about) you can see how Punk goes to Disco rather quickly.

So, do I like Disco because I like Punk? Or do I like Punk because deep down I’ve been a Rockabilly my whole life (and likely the few before this one)?

Hit me up with your own strange musical evolutions!

New Mix – Heavy Loins

Just finished uploading a nice mix to my Mixcloud

Heavy Loins by Friction on Mixcloud

Check it out!

Random Playlist Saturday

Here is a list of songs that magically, randomly appeared in my iTunes playlist this morning.

I have tried to add some youtube videos for the sonic experience for you while I sort out my bandwidth and hosting issues.

Paul Johnson – She Got Me On

This is the full vocal mix. I played it last night on my radio show (www.faderwave.net /shamless )to great success. I picked this one up in 2004 on Yellow Productions (a favorite record label of mine) and have been playing it ever since.

Beirut – No Dice

Definitely on the mellow tip when compared to the Paul Johnson track posted above but this song really sets the mood for me.

Chicken Lips – Sweet Cow

I couldn’t find the Lindstrom mix on youtube which is possibly my favorite mix of this song ever. The original is pretty stellar body music though, one of my first forays into downtempo grooves from my house days.

Le Tigre – Deceptacon

I think I played the DFA remix myself when I would play this one but today, up popped the original as if to remind me just how much I liked this stuff. Definitely a punked up version of a dowop song, if such a thing could ever exist… this is it.

FPU – Ocean Drive (Tiga’s White Linen Vox mix)

Some synthpop to round out the top 5 random tracks in my iTunes playlist today. This is not the 80s! Or so the album I first heard this on tells me. This is nu wave synthpop and makes me feel like I should have some leather on and not feel bad about it!

That is about it for now… next week more of this new feature.

My iTunes Knows my Mood

I was having a bit of a “gray” day recently. The weather wasn’t exactly pretty, it was cold and dark and damp and my mood pretty much matched that to a T. I wanted out of that funk. I decided what better way, for me, is there to get in a better mood then to listen to some really excellent music.

As you all know, I own nothing but excellent music. No, that isn’t subjective, that isn’t opinion, that is pure unadulterated fact. So I figured, turn on iTunes, select shuffle, turn up speakers, sit in comfy chair (perhaps bring a glass of scotch to said chair [perhaps a 1972 Glenrothes]) and let the better mood being! The first song that comes up is exactly what I don’t want to hear right then. It is a dark a moody cover of Bowie’s Sound & Vision (great tune, just not the right mood). I decide before getting up from my comfy chair to grab the remote I will see what comes up next. Nope, next is no better. It may well have even been darker then the first one.

Remote in hand I begin to flick through the shuffled playlist and find that all of the sudden I hate all my music. iTunes must know I am in a bad mood and be playing only those songs that match it. How frustrating is it to have a significant amount of really good music (again, not subjective) but somehow not be able to play any of it. I take a moment to wonder just how iTunes is doing it, the knowing that is, before I shake off my tin foil hat and get back to the business of changing my mood.

I decide I need to play a larger role in my mood change, grab the bull by the horns as they say (they = same guys as the iTunes mood detectors?). I load up a Genius mix (it is an iTunes thing again, kind of like a Pandora radio for only your own music) inspired by Mo’Horizons (happy latin lounge) and Los Hermanos Latinos (cumbia) and more. It begins to work, my frustrations subside and my mood (enhanced by the scotch?) begins to change. That is, until the Genius mix decides that somehow, electrohouse, with that farty bassline, is supposed to be play after Los Corraleros De Majagual!

Frustrated once again, I see there is no winning against the good folks who monitor my mood. I tink happy tots and sleep.

Journeys Vol 1

This is volume 1 in a series of mixes designed to expand (my own) Musical Horizons. Volume 1 is a psychedelic journey through various countries with emphasis on Funk & Rock influences.

Journeys Vol 1 by Friction on Mixcloud

She Lights The Sky

One of my newer mixes just in time for some Autumnal weather as recently blogged about on the Gainvillians (awesome blog, check links and hit it up!).

Sit back and enjoy the slo-mo, sleazy funk and disco grooves. This is a mix, largely inspired by the Cosmic Balearic Beats Vol 2 release on Eskimo records (solid release fellas). I decided to throw in some funky bits and some of my favorite edits in this mix that starts off mellow (100 bpm sleazy chuggers), peaks with some Mid 120bpm Disco House (classic Cheek!) and then finishes off mellow again!

She Lights The Sky by Friction on Mixcloud

Warm Heart of Africa

Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa. 

From the Press Release at Phonicarecords.com: 

Back in 2007, a chance meeting at a second-hand furniture store led the Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya to team up with underground European DJ/producer duo Radioclit to form THE VERY BEST. Last year they dropped “Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit Are The Very Best”, a leftfield surprise of a mixtape that joyously smashed borders and gate-crashed numerous end-of-year lists. Without promotional assistance or financial support, the collection of well-known pop, dance, afro and indie tracks remixed by Radioclit featuring Mwamwaya’s singing charted more than 300,000 downloads and was hailed by tastemakers including Pitchfork, FADER, and Gorilla vs. Bear among many others. The good news is that that mixtape didn’t mark the end of this unique collaboration and this LP is the outcome, featuring guest appearances from M.I.A. and VAMPIRE WEEKEND frontman EZRA KOENIG, “Warm Heart of Africa” is a life-affirming triumph, embodying a without-borders approach to music-making and is one of the most joyous releases of 2009.

This new release had me tapping my toes the whole may home. Ultra embarrassing since, due to extreme anticipation, I immediately loaded this onto my iPod and was “tapping my toes” in the metro all the way home.

My understanding is that much of the album is sung in Chichewa. Since I speak none of it, I phonetically hum along in my very best, much to the chagrin of my fellow metro riders.

It must be the percussion that makes this album for me. Mostly upbeat and usually coupled with fat strings it needs only that amazing voice of Mwamwaya (of which I understand next to nothing). 

The album reminds of a trip to Malwai I haven’t taken (Kamphopo, with the chorus of children’s voices); of a hot summer day I likely won’t see again for a year or so(Chalo); of a rainy day in a desert climate somewhere (Rain Dance featuring M.I.A). 

The best thing by far, to me, is the fact that I have listening to this album now for a week straight. It has gone with me in my car, to my office, to my home system to my iPod and it never tires. The vocals of Esau Mwamwaya are what do it for sure, Radioclit is good, but each track is crafted to be sung over by Mwamwaya and that is definitely no bad thing.

There is just no way to be disappointed by this album. Buy it at your favorite music retailer!

Soundscapes

 

Mati Klarwein - Soundscape - 1982

 

n.
An atmosphere or environment created by or with sound: the raucous soundscape of a city street; a play with a haunting soundscape.

[Wiki] … The term “soundscape” can also refer to an audio recording or performance of sounds that create the sensation of experiencing a particular acoustic environment, or compositions created using the “found sounds” of an acoustic environment, either exclusively or in conjunction with musical performances.

Some time ago I developped a series of 12 CDs for a hair salon on a trade basis. They got awesome CDs, I got awesome hair. Sometimes I would mix these like I would mix a standard DJ mix and sometimes I would piece the music together with other environmental sounds that complemented both the music and the setting.

Each CD was custom made for that salon based on their idea of what they wanted to hear and my musical and sonic “creativity.” I use the term creativity loosely because I am not, by nature, a creative person.

I was recently approached by another 2 locations, who shall remain nameless for the time being, to create a similar experience for them and since I had so much fun the first time around I jumped at the opportunity.  Stay tuned as I launch this new opportunity officially and if all goes well I will have excellent hair and many other excellent trades and Montrealers (and abroad) will have much excellent music and sound to enjoy!

DJ Equipment

It has been a while since I wrote anything here so I decided that the next best thing (likely better even) would be to post up something from someone else.

Punky aka Justin Woo from DJ Forums has put together a really nice post about DJ Mixers. Read initially it is definitely something that mixer manufacturers should be keeping in mind, nay, heeding. Read again you can pick out things that purchasers of DJ Mixers should equally be paying attention to (rather then just complaining after the fact that their mixer doesn’t do what they thought it should).

Without Further Ado: Mixer Don’ts!!

So after lots of mucking about with lots of mixers, here is my totally biased set of opinions on what makes a good mixer!

Avoid the gap in expectation. If it looks like it should do something, make sure it does that thing, and does it well. When people first saw the Korg Zero line of mixers, they expected to be able to tweak MIDI parameters, switch back to Firewire Audio, trigger an effect, then go back to MIDI and tweak seamlessly. This was an entirely reasonable expectation, and one that was NOT borne out into reality. When you used the input knob to switch to MIDI you had to deal with significant audio drop outs. This is arguably what lead to the asskicking it got on the market. Leading to this…

Don’t layer your MIDI. There’s a reason why no one uses the DJM800′s MIDI functionality. You can’t use all four channels and get MIDI control at the same time, because twisting the Low EQ knob for MIDI also affects the actual sound. This is a bad look, and takes a neat feature and renders it useless. The Zero4 does this too, but over their effects knobs – but who wants to lose those effects? They’re basically the reason to show up for that mixer.

First impressions are important. Aesthetics matter to us. We’re simple creatures. We like metal, in black and silver. I don’t know why the marketing people don’t seem to understand this. Regardless of how well made something is, if it’s made out of plastic, people will freak out. See: Xponent.

I realize that there are price cuts that need to be made, but if you’re trying to make a mixer appeal to the hamhanded knob twisters and fader bashers also known as DJs, you’ve got to make things out of metal. There are some rare exceptions, like the Ecler line, but their line is (by all accounts – I’ve never used one) very tough. This is a reputation long-earned, and well-deserved, and if you’re introducing a new product, and you don’t have that rep, you better make that sucker out of metal. Numark is a good example of this. They don’t have a rep for reliability, but they do come out with really interesting concepts. But because they don’t package it in a sturdy, aesthetically appealing package, there isn’t a large buy-in of trust for the DJing public.

Remember the Technics factor. This is a theory I’ve been developing for a while. For decades, the DJ market has been dominated by the Technics 1200 and it’s various iterations. To a large degree, it still is. This is a turntable that can and has lasted decades. If it gets beat to shit, it can be fixed in your own home with a minimal amount of cash and effort. It is the gold standard for DJ gear as a whole, not just turntables. We desire the same performance endurance out of our mixers. This isn’t just an idle want, but a mindset regarding audio gear.

So don’t surface mount your faders. Give us space in the mixer to put in tough aftermarket faders like the Innofader and the Pro X Fade. Let us replace them at home. There’s really no excuse for crap faders anymore.

Build your pots tough, and make sure those damn stems are metal. Make sure those knobs feel good – metal or rubberization. Ridges are good too, to make the experience more tactile.

Don’t assume you know what we want. Talk to us. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched new mixers hit the market and heard us all bitch on the forums about the poor feature implementation or bad design decisions. The DDM4000′s headphone jack position and the DJM400′s lack of balanced outs spring to mind. And let’s not even get into the original Numark iDJ. There are just things that are face-palmingly stupid that could’ve been avoided by escaping the echo chamber of your own design white board or AutoCAD window.

Think outside of the box. Now this might seem contrary to the strictures I just laid down, but I believe that if this market is going to expand, gear manufacturers have to start re-conceiving what a DJ mixer might be used for. A strong, basic DJ mixer will still move units (see: Xone:22) but if you want to be the next big thing, you’ve got to start reconsidering where the market is going.

Live PA and live remixing are becoming bigger and bigger. What if DJ mixers included aspects of a production desk?

Laptops are now an indispensable part of many setups, mine included. How can the mixer assist in stabilizing and simplifying the laptop DJ workflow?

MIDI is an ancient protocol that was never meant to do what it’s doing now. How can we step beyond MIDI and introduce new software interfaces and push the market forward?

That’s all for now. Seeya next time, same Punky time, same Punky channel!

Superiority

My music knowledge is better then your music knowledge! The battle cry, no is that the troll cry?, of DJs everywhere is beginning to wear me down. I suffer from a bit of this myself and to those I have pushed my definitions of subsubsubgenres on, I sincerely apologize.

 

I recently listened to a mix by a DJ (not knocking him, it was a good mix) that was “Electrohouse, Disco & Pop.” When I listened I realized that there was absolutely no disco and all the pop was remixed into Electrohouse tunes. My initial reaction was to lambaste the DJ for his 1) inaccuracies, I mean, I only listened because I wanted my daily disco fix and 2) his lack of knowledge of musical genres. I then began to think, what would I do if my music wasn’t pre-categorized by iTunes? 

So I began to think about my response to this particular individual and then the internet as a whole as I listened to another mix where Baile Funk (Funk Carioca: Rio Funk, Favela Funk, Brazillian derivative of Miami Bass called simply “Funk” in Brazil though wildly different from Funk music everywhere else) was confused with Fidget, which was lumped in with Electrohouse… 

Do you see where I am going with this? 

Does it make any difference that a DJ is completely unaware of the roots of the music he/she is playing? To me, clearly. To the average club-goer or even music-listener, clearly not. I like to think that a certain amount of music knowledge is a prerequisite for the job. Like a career stepping stone, first you learn about the history of the craft, apprentice, trademan, master craftsman, etc the DJ should be able to tell the difference between styles of music. I think that today, with the ability to buy DJ equipment for a couple hundred dollars, the ability to download the world’s music in a matter of days and begin to play with little to no research required we have lost some of this. 

I’ll give you an example. I recently made a mix (to be posted here shortly, stay tuned) where I played a number of track from The Time and Space Machine (one half of Beyond the Wizards Sleeve, also featured in that mix). I called those particular tracks psychedelic rock because they did all sorts of fun things with FX and stereo separation… I was correct by a DJ more knowledgeable than even I (shocked? it happens) that I was actually playing “Glam Rock.” Know what the difference was? Me either… Know what I did? I played another Time and Space Machine track because it was still good music!

What has it done to the party? 

I don’t really know because my crotchety demeanour keeps me out of most clubs but I would be willing to hazard a guess that, recession and hard times aside, clubs are just as full as they have been and clubbers are just as happy as always.

In the end I did not say a thing (really) to the DJ in question. I have decided that I will continue to play music I like without genre (sub, subsub, subsubsub or otherwise) distinction I will also begin to push this mentality towards other DJs. 

• Know what you are playing;
• find out as much about the genre and artists as time will permit;
• play the junk out of good tunes;
• junk out the bad tunes;
• call it music.