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Oneohtrix Point Never – Ezra

/ David James / 2 Comments

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This is the final bit of Oneohtrix Point Never news before the new album, Garden Of Delete, drops tomorrow.

OPN, aka Daniel Lopatin, has finally released the first real song, Ezra, as a single on Soundcloud. I really want to share this with everyone because it’s not only a great introduction to the new sound; it’s a layered world of sound unto itself. Enjoy:

Please allow myself to quote… myself here:

“Ezra, the first proper track, leaps from the midi-fired dreams of the previous album, reaching speed behind sheets of Philip Glass-like shrill arpeggios. It appears to crest before the two minute mark, suddenly projecting the nanomachine-clogged cyberpunk future of 2000’s Deus Ex in silhouette. Maybe it’s a sample?”

I think it is a sample. Decide for yourself.

Speaking of this game, the original Deus Ex is both an action-RPG masterpiece, and a definitive work in the cyberpunk canon. It’s the precursor to modern games like Fallout. It’s got a great soundtrack too. Sounds like Lopatin might have played it, too. It’s about $7 on Steam if you’ve never played it.

So I’ve written a lot about Lopatin’s work lately, partly out of excitement for this work, and partly out of a desire to connect with what I see as the most forward-thinking, interesting music being made today. If this is the first piece on the site you’re reading, you might want to see these:

Review of Garden of Delete

First single: “I Bite Through It”

Oneohtrix Point Never “Mutant Standard”

Oneohtrix Point Never’s Mindbending “Sticky Drama” Video

Garden of Delete drops tomorrow! It’s his first full length in 2 years, so be sure to check the album out on Spotify or wherever, if you’ve been a good kid and ignored the leak. I’m just hoping that gorgeous 2LP vinyl arrives on time.

Soundcloud Is Dead

/ David James / 9 Comments

soundcloud-logo-o

So here we are, the moment I feared might arrive: Soundcloud has unceremoniously deleted one of my mixtapes under the grounds that it contains copyrighted content.

Of course it does; it’s a mixtape. We create mixes under the assumption that, since they’re noncommercial and constitute a radical reframing of the original work, they’re perfectly legal to share for free. This is not the case. At least, not if you’re an individual facing the wrath of a company like Sony or Universal. This is a guilty until proven innocent situation, and most people don’t have the time or money to prove that a free mixtape falls under fair use.

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Arca – Xen

/ David James / 3 Comments

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This sounds like towering columns of shattered light, the kind of futuristic timbres that I associate with crystalline sky cathedrals in some imagined Final Fantasy game.

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Aphex Twin’s new, free music: a pair of favorites so far

/ David James / 3 Comments

Basically, I feel like turning everything into craziness. It’s off, it won’t ever match, it’s.. what?

This is perfect.

I meant the music; this is one of the most perfect moments so far during my journey through all 110 freely shared Aphex Twin (as user48736353001 on Soundcloud) songs. The couplet of 4 Red Calx[slo] and luke vibert spiral staircase [future music competition] [afx remix] stands apart in a menagerie of music that already consists of some of the best stuff I’ve heard all year. Completely given away for free.

Red Calx is an aural lullaby in hushed, ambient tones. Ultra-minimal construction, with merely a small, undulating melody slowly evaporates into fog, it’s gorgeous in a highly specific way. Brian Eno would have sold his soul for this little riff. There’s nothing much to it, but what is there is undeniable.

The second track races through a laser forest over a wobbly synth rhythm and noodly ray gun melodies, a perfect counterpoint to the meditative calm before it.

Those words at the beginning? The remnants of trying to blog drunk from my phone, apparently. I found an unpublished post that I don’t remember starting. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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If you’re an Aphex fan and haven’t already done so, get to the user48736353001 page and click Download on everything. Absolutely everything. This is great music by one of the most important artists alive today, and it’s free. You can also simply listen to it streaming, but there’s no guarantee this music will remain in perpetuity.

Here’s a Reddit thread where people have been collecting the files into single downloads. And having Reddit discussions, so be careful.

Edit: Even cooler, here’s a direct link to an ever-updating single download! This may not remain live; I’ll update as needed.

Another new Zs track streaming right here: “Corps”

/ David James / Leave a comment

Yesterday I wrote about and shared the 18 minute title track for Zs’ upcoming album, Xe. You can listen here. I later realized that the band’s own Soundcloud page held a second lengthy piece, called Corps. It’s another fantastic slice of weird avant jazz that’s got my anticipation off the charts at this point.

The tune opens with a guitar riff marrying Dick Dale surf licks with Steve Reich minimalism, creating a line for the insistent percussion and tenor sax asteroids to dance over. Think Misirlou fucking with Electric Counterpoint and you’re on the right page. The rhythm loosens up, allowing the drums and saxophone to each billow up and take turns leading the sound. It’s a fantastic, tightly wound jam that ends in an effervescent free-jazz cloud.

Because the band absolutely thrives in a live setting, here’s a brief, energetic take on the song:

Now that I’ve fallen into a youtube hole and saved a load of Zs videos, you’ll likely see a handful more of these posts before the album drops on January 27th.

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Protip: you can order the album directly from Northern Spy Records for $17 on vinyl, right here: XE On Northern Spy.

Deepchord Presents Echospace – Liumin

/ David James / 4 Comments

liumin

This is one of the best dub techno releases of all time. It’s a nighttime ride through the sonic world of an imagined Neo-Tokyo, on the bleeding edge of an inevitable cyberpunk reality. It’s a propulsive dream.

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