This morning we had something by Robjn. This afternoon Laserlong, which was recommended by Robjn. I know nothing about Laserlong other than they claim to be from London, UK. Free download.

At least my lack of knowledge allows us to focus on the music, where the word is synths. Here’s a remix of SoundRix (no idea) which is all built around and rests totally on the synth. An uncomplicated house backbeat allows the twisting synth line to take centre stage and to hog the limelight throughout, slightly in the way that one of my favourites Spooky’s Mono does. There’s an air of fizzy distortion to it all which may be intended or bad mastering – I really can’t be sure.

Do also check out Laserlong’s originals, like this one – Warp – which has more synths but edging into leftfield pop:

http://soundcloud.com/laserlong

And here’s the LP version of the track

http://soundcloud.com/robjn

http://www.robjn.co.uk/

More free stuff from Diametral. And back to Dub techno – the warm version rather than the colder digital version.

Matthias Springer (Diametral Records owner) did the first release on his label a couple of months ago. It’s not an EP that announces the label with a big bang. It’s more laid back than that. Fields of Nowhere strolls around the dub techno / deep house border, occasionally wandering into ambient territory. Lovely to wriggle your toes in your slippers (plaid) and nod your head whilst you reload your meerschaum. Return of the Aciddub does what it says on the tin. Perhaps a bit too laid back. Tranzendenz is a sort of stoner tech tune.

Blurb: Welcome to the first DRNET release … free to listen, free for download, free for share … enjoy the startup with “Nights of the 303″ by labelhead Matthias Springer. Already supported by Laurent Garnier, Brendon Moeller, Pascal F.E.O.S., Someone Else, Gabriel le Mar and many more …

Some deep house tuneage from Istanbul’s Gurhan. One to listen and one to download.

The listen only track is a preview of his new single Between Us. Having spent the night cleaning up vomit, not mine, I can’t handle techno’s hardness. This is a warm lush affair. It uses the gentle tolling synth to envelop you in a warm cuddle. But not so much that it becomes suffocating.  

The free download is Fireworks, which does indeed have the sound of fireworks going off and the requisite cheering. It bleeps along sedately. It’s ok but not as strong as Between Us.

Blurb: From Istanbul comes Deep House Proposal, an enterprise that organically evolved from a club night to a well-received podcast and then eventually an ambitious label focusing on the deeper side of the house music spectrum. The first Deep House Proposal release is the two track Between Us EP, helmed by up-and-coming DJ/producer Gurhan. “Between Us” starts things off with a melancholy synth pad soon giving way to a tight house music rhythm and repetitive bell-like melody line. A warm, throbbing bass fills the low end while distant pads hit with filtered sweeps to create an evocative sense of space. Reminiscent of Timewriter’s earlier works, “Between Us” can easily sit among the deepest of tracks in an after-hours DJ set. Up next, Gurhan raises the energy with “What You Say,” a driving cut that is characterized by its heavy, rolling bass line, and rhythmically chanted vocal hits. The cut builds nicely as well-placed breakdowns lead to dramatic crashes and airy sweeps. While still firmly in the deep house realm, “What You Say” has enough pump and groove to welcome it into the virtual crates of discerning tech-house jocks.

Release Date:
4th Feb 2012

Some House to start the week from Daniel Rockwell. This is quite austere House, even with the vocal and perhaps a bit Chicago in its approach. And despite the cheesy cover it’s a track that grows. It’s been out a while but have the EQ remix for free download.

Whole EP’s here (listen or buy only):

Blurb: New E.P. by Daniel Rockwell featuring the title “You”. This track is a moombahsoul styled ballet that takes you through the roller coaster of emotions that you feel for someone during a relationship. The E.P. also includes supporting remixes by Crystal Vision, and BCR members DJ EQ and Chaz Bizar. Now available on iTunes and Beatport.

A quiet way to end the weekend. This was recommended by Error Operator, which isn’t a recommendation to ignore. And a beautiful remix of Burial it is too, albeit one that’s been out a while. The remix leaves the tune hardly there. A ghostly whisper and a slight shiver. Glacially beautiful palimpsest. Free download.

Download: Burial – Shell of Light (Shlohmo Remix) mediafire

http://www.twitter.com/shlohmo

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shlohmo/215424843565

And if yesterday’s word was the onomatapeia of schedenfreude, today is the comforting sound of lambent. Don’t you feel better already?

lam·bent/ˈlambənt/

Sounds good doesn’t it? Ambient duo Walls (on Kompakt but never heard of them) remix Midnight Lion’s new single (original single here is overblown pop). This version is listen only I’m afraid. It’s a strangely disjointed, fractured remix, threatening to disappear completely at times. But having enough wheeziness to sustain it to the end.

Blurb: Midnight Lion release their new EP, ‘Sleeping In The Woods’, on the 13th February through Locks & Keys.
Following the release of their debut single, ‘All Greatness Stands Firm’, last Summer, Glasgow based two-piece Midnight Lion remain an enigmatic entity. Their music is at once full of the melodies and huge choruses found in the studio pop bands of the 80s, yet it maintains an art-house leaning that evokes the dark, subtle moments of artists akin to Talk Talk. It’s a sound that imbues the influence of living and creating music in the forward thinking city they call home. Similarly to their debut single, this ‘Sleeping In The Woods’ EP was penned in the East End of Glasgow, in Lewis Gardner’s bedroom. Gardner, as one half of the band, is the man responsible for the band’s production sound, reflecting Glasgow’s progressive musical present as much as it does its past. Stewart Brock, the lyricist and vocalist, resides in the less bohemian West End and heads over to Lewis’ studio to lay down his powerful vocals and bounce ideas around within their creative hub. Sleeping In The Woods is a dark, brooding and evocative pop tune, less bombastic than their debut but equally as assured and powerful. Synth-and-beats loaded, it quickly re-asserts the confidence in Gardner and Brock’s songwriting. The EP also features a remix of its lead track by Midnight Lion themselves, and an intensely simmering re-working of Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’.

Using Sunday for something a bit different. Vienna Ditto are a trio that claims to mix electronics and rockabilly - hardly your average. Free download of their new single, out next month.

In fact this is all electronic, downtempo pop. Bells rests on Hatty Taylor’s vocals and the background buzz of electronic bass. Really nice. Snowbound really reminds me of Mono or St Etienne’s whispier moments and suffers by comparison to the first track.

Blurb: Vienna Ditto jerked into life in April 2009 when a hastily-recorded demo from their second rehearsal was picked by Linda Serck on BBC Berks and ended up being played on Huw Stephen’s Radio One show. An appearance on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury Festival followed and the band have since been given a Maida Vale session for Tom Robinson on BBC6 and have appeared on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks Music Show. Their debut single Long Way Down gained airplay on Radio One, BBC6 Music and XFM and was given glowing reviews in Q Magazine, Artrocker and The Fly. They are currently working on their debut album, due for release Autumn 2012. Our new single, out 14 Feb 2012. Actually you can download it now if you like. Get a very limited edition, hand-crafted physical copy from here: viennaditto.bandcamp.com and go here cos it’s ace: www.viennaditto.com

Schadenfreude is such a wonderful word that English borrows from German. It’s one of those great composite words that the German language loves, with a literal translation of “damage joy”. But we use it to describe the malicious enjoyment derived from observing someone else’s misfortune. And the run of consonants gives it an onomatopoeia-like quality.

Quite what it has to do with a bright shiny synth pop tune is anyone’s guess. You might remember we had a track from PoP Campaign a couple of months ago with a free download – here. Well, the Scottish duo, now based in Berlin, have their Kraut Popping LP out on Valentine’s Day and to whet your appetite Schadenfreude is available as a download. It’s an analogue synth fest, reminding me of early Yazoo but instrumental.

Download: PoP Campaign – Schadenfreude (mediafire)

Blurb: Rarely do new artists rise above their hype, but there are a select few whose music is grounded enough in  influences to be considered credible and yet forward-thinking enough to cut through any false and fleeting accolades. The emerging Berlin duo PoP Campaign is such an artist, and the debut album, Kraut Popping, is a mix of the familiar (synth pop, krautrock, techno) and the youthful frontiers of the unknown (tracks like the lead off single “Herzlich Willkommen”). From top to bottom the album is stacked with pop music as filtered through analog soundscapes that defies simple comparisons to other contemporary artists. In addition to the wicked tunes, the duo also has killer stage presence, making PoP Campaign ones to watch in 2012.

Music:
www.soundcloud.com/popcampaign
www.soundcloud.com/carprecordings

More:
www.facebook.com/popcampaign
www.popcampaign.tumblr.com 

I’m wary of posting this one. For starters, I’ve never heard Lana Del Ray’s music before (not knowingly) although I’ve seen her picture in the papers and read about some of the furore about her as ‘internet sensation’ / ‘internet fake’. That makes me ill-equipped to compare this to the original. Anyhow, enough apologia. This track has a slow, bass-heavy charm. And the vocals are chopped into submission. Listen only.

And here’s a mix from her new single, also a downbeat number:

Lana Del Ray – Born To Die (Clams Casino Remix)

http://soundcloud.com/jlymn