Vladislav Delay has released Isoviha – you can buy it here, on bandcamp.
Vladislav Delay has also released Delay/Aarset – Singles. You can buy that one here, also on bandcamp.
I bought both, because I’m cool as fuck. If you want to be cool as fuck, you’ll need to buy both too. You don’t want people thinking you’re not cool as fuck. Yes, that’s what I thought.
I bought some old Russian (read Soviet) synths recently – a LELL UDS and a Formanta Polivoks, if anyone is remotely interested. I wanted to make something that really showcased both of these lovely synths. Then I drank some Strega. I am not a complex man.
I am pleased to say that the Lucchesi Burro EP is now available for preorder at various online record stores. I hasten to add that it will also be available at multiple brick and mortar stores – if you’re fortunate enough to still have one near you.
The official blurb: “The second release for Glasgow label Full Dose features two dancehall laced productions from Ayrshire via Kingston by Lucchesi. The Lucchesi Burro EP is uncompromising in approach & heavyweight in sound, reminiscent of The Bug on Rephlex, circa 2003. Vinyl only. Single sided 12” with insert.”
From the horse’s mouth: “Chopped the vocal from an old Dancehall LP I bought this week, sounds a lot like Burro Banton to me but I’m not 100% on that. Burro Banton is the fucking man, so I’ve got no issue crediting him with it regardless of his involvement.
Everything was sequenced on an old, tired MPC4000. Drums are Vermona DRM MK1 through a Voodoo Octave guitar pedal. Percussion is a Roland M-DC 1 processed through a JomoX T-Resonator II and couple of other guitar pedals. Synth pad is the Waldorf MicroWave XT with a Boss RV-1000 on top. Outro synth was Novation Super BassStation and a T.C. Electronics Fireworx. Master channel; Art Pro VLA II compressor and an old Akai PEQ. All recorded to tape for the dancehall feel (and hiss, mainly).”
This is some mad shit right here. I told you I’d run from those triad chord progressions. I’m so much happier making this sort of thing than continually trying to shoehorn beats into productions all the time – it’s really not my thing it turns out.
Sprawling, decayed, rumbling mess, almost resembling music. This is my shit.
Technical details: Vermona DRM1 MK III, Waldorf MicroWave XT, Yamaha X81Z w/ Stereoping Controller, modded Kawai K4R, Novation SuperBassStation, Ibanez Harmonizer, a load of old guitar pedals, and a home-made reverb which sounds more like a delay. Oh, and an old tube compressor, you know, for the ‘vibe’.
“Explorer” from Explorer by Tony Bernardo. Released: 2017. Track 1 of 1. Genre: Experimental.
Here’s some techno I wrote this weekend. I think it’s pretty good. I’ve posted the unmastered as well as a mastered version. It’s interesting I think because the unmastered version retains all of the subsonics, and sounds great on the correct system. The mastered version kills some of these in order to make it a little more friendly on low end systems.
Some of you may recognise this – coming soon to the Glasgow techno label ‘Full Dose’. Video, I think takes it to another level. I’ll keep everyone posted, but the test pressing has already been approved. In the mean time, please enjoy the video and audio clips.
I woke up feeling pissed off this morning for no real reason, so I made some angry, horrible techno and drank some red wine.
The synths are BLAH BLAH BLAH. Drums done entirely on a BLAH BLAH BLAH. Mastered using FUCK OFF compressor and a SUCK MY BALLS EQ. As always, it was mixed into the mastering chain.
I told you I would finish when I got back from Italy. Amazingly, and in one in a million odds, everything in the studio worked today, so it all went quite smoothly. Of course, the Roland RE-201 did chew its tape but that’s what it does. It’s endearing I tell myself. It is.
Having some free time today I opened up the Eminent 1600 organ that my good lady bought me (she’s an enabler) and decided to fuck around with the spring reverb. It’s noisy as hell, but sounds lovely. I can see myself weeding some more sounds out of this one. Oh, and the drum sounds! Oh man, I’ll need to make some recordings of them because they are so lovely. Completely analogue of course, but deep and grainy. I’ll use those soon too.
The recording is very dense and disorganised. I really like this one. There’s not a lot of dynamics either, and what there is only exists through cutting instrumentation. It’s kind of mastered – and by that I mean I ran it through my ART Pro VLA II compressor a bit. This stuff doesn’t really need mastering now, and when it does I tend to mix into the mastering bus. You know, like a pro. A lazy pro.
BassDress Studio, after a messy session. Wooden spoon for percussion is irie.
I don’t have a title for it yet, but I’ll think of something soon enough. Listen below, I’ll put up some download link later on.
My Roland RE-201 chewed it’s tape for the millionth fucking time. I can’t and won’t sell it, it cost me too much money and I’ll never find one again in such nice condition. Since I cleverly put it under all my rack mount gear, it’s an absolute bitch to pull out and fix so I decided to write something without it. To continue in spite of my lazy ass RE-201.
I’ve not thought of a name for this thing yet, and it’s not entirely mixed either but I thought it would be interesting to share. It may pop up in a more complete form in something later in the year, it may disappear entirely but for the moment there’s something I quite enjoy about this piece. Milli-Plateaux vibe shit.
Have a listen. Again, mastered to the K-12 scale, so crank the volume.
Well, it’s been a long and expensive journey, but I have finally secured a copy of DeepChord vs. Octal Industries “Arrival / Departure”. I’ve been searching high and low for any pressing of this record for about ten years. A decade of looking, of searching record shops in mainland Europe and the UK, of hassling dudes on Discogs.com, of fruitlessly searching GEMM every week until they pulled it down (RIP my old friend).
DeepChord vs. Octal Industries “Arrival / Departure”
So after all those years (and all that money) was it worth it? Well, maybe. The music is beautiful, especially the Octal Industries cut. My copy is absolutely immaculate, both visually and audibly, so I’m very pleased. But I can’t help but feel I’ve lost more than I’ve gained. I no longer have a white whale that I’m searching for, I no longer have a reason to email random guys on Discogs to see if they’re finally looking to sell. I don’t think anything will replace this, I just can’t see anything being this sought after for such a long time. It’s not the most expensive record I own, it’s not musically the best nor my favourite, but it is for some reason or another, the most magic.
Octal Industries “Arrival” is a poppin’ repetitive electro techno masterpiece. Deep, rhythmic and just a wonderful five minutes of perfect techno. Octal Industries has never been close to equalling this level of quality again, and I can’t blame him. Perfect magic, pressed to bright orange PVC.
DeepChord “Departure” is the minimal essence of modern Detroit techno. Pulsing PWM minor chords bounce in amongst a hazy background and locked beat. You know who DeepChord is, this is his best work.
Any disc containing “Arrival” would have been highly sought after, but the fact that it’s backed with another almost master-piece makes it something very special.