From the beautiful artwork to the last note of the final track this is an essential album for your collection, timeless, un-categorizable, just plain great…
Step into the hazy musical minds of Glenn Echo and Daniel Meinecke on Partly Cloudy, their debut full-length on Motor City Wine Recordings. Mr. Echo, repping the Sol Power family out of Washington, DC, reached back to his 90s downtempo, acid jazz, and golden era beat-making roots to create 11 psychedelic, breakbeat-and-space-echo-infused tracks that serve as the perfect dreamy backdrop for Mr. Meinecke’s commanding and virtuosic New Orleans gospel funk.
Mr. Meinecke, an accomplished jazz keyboardist based in New Orleans (by way of Detroit), composed a dense, trippy, soundscape using nearly all the tools in his arsenal: Hohner D6 Clavinet, Moog Sub 37, Moog DFAM, Moog Mother 32, Dave Smith Prophet ’08, Nord C1 Combo Organ, and Nord Stage 2.
Woven together with Glenn Echo’s production, arranging, and engineering, the end result is a rich tapestry of heady sounds with one foot firmly planted in the now and the other harkening back to the days of early Nightmares on Wax, Thievery Corporation, AIR, Ninja Tune, and the Native Tongues sound. Housed in a beautiful LP package with artwork by the legendary Michal Rafaj, printed on reverse cardboard to display proudly at your turntable while you spin it on those partly cloudy days.
We’re reallly happy to have Norwegian electronic artist Third Attempt join us to discuss his excellent new remix package; ‘Quarantine / Remixes’
Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Hello, my name is Torje aka Third Attempt. Nice to meet you and thanks for reading!
Where are you from, where are you now?
I grew up in Asker, Norway. About half an hour’s drive away from the main capital Oslo which is where I am living now.
What are you up to today?
Buying extra warm clothes for my trip to Svalbard this weekend! Going to be playing / attending a program through ArtEx, talent Norway. Heading to the studio to prepare for the gig after all that.
Talk us through your new release.
On this new remix album, I’ve invited some of my favorite DJs & producers to rework the Beats From The Quarantine project that came out earlier this year. Mostly Norwegian based, people from all over the country. Tromsø, Trondheim, Bergen & Oslo. A great get together, and a perfect chance to show both sides of the Third Attempt project. To show that listening-based music is important, but at the same time not forgetting the dancefloor!
Is there a process of production that you follow when making a new track?
Most of the time I start with the bassline or the drums. Either that or I build everything around an irresistible sample. Most important thing is the groove. I spend most of my time nagging over small details. Making the process a bit tedious. It’s so worth it though!
Who would you love to see playing this track?
Nightmares on Wax if I had to pick a name. One of my favorite DJs!
Where is the best place to listen to it?
The club!
What was the last piece of music that you bought?
Re-mastered LP of 9980 by connect ohm. Ambient stuff
If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?
Floating points – Shadows
Tell us who you think is one of the most important producers of all time to you?
It’s a tough one. But I’ll have to go with Quincy Jones
What advice would you give to other producers in the studio?
Stop procrastinating and just do it!
What have you got the pipeline?
Album coming out may of next year. It’s finished and I can’t wait!
Ramrock Red Records are incredibly proud to present the fabulous new release ‘Blow the House Down’ by Active Ingredients a.k.a the prodigious Antipodean beatsmith, Inkswel and his partner in rhymes, the formidable Atlanta emcee, Stan Smith. Their new 7 track EP gets the party started from the get-go. The original version has Stan bouncing his flow over the beats, giving the track Sugarhill vibes mixed in with that classic NY hip hop sound from back in the day with a sprinkling of Atlanta Funk and an incessant rhythm. The North Street West Crew’s production nods towards a Philadelphia groove, with a smattering of inspiration from Pete Rock, Cold Crush Brothers and the Jungle Brothers as well as your very own label mistress Jo, aka Lady Kaos, elbowing her way onto backing vocals.
Ahead of the EP we ask them a few questions..
Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Inkswel aka Jules Habib – one half of Active Ingredients with the mighty Stan Smith
Where are you from, where are you now?
Adelaide Australia… back there now due to COVID but have spent the last ten years living in Melbourne, Amsterdam, Gold Coast, Berlin, London and beyond.
What are you up to today?
Working on a guest DJ mix and finishing the final mixes for my new album coming next year and the debut album from Neo Soul vocalist Erin Buku.
Talk us through your new release a little.
Me and Stan initially linked in 2019 via our mutual friend Daz-I-kue, of Bugz in the Attic, and we formed like Voltron as Active Ingredients. Our first EP was on French label, Cosmocities and we have since worked on a lot of music together. This jam came about around the same time as the initial one, but we sat on it until we found the right home for it with Jo Wallace’s Ramrock Records!
Is there a process of production that you follow when making a new track?
I usually pick a stack of records to listen to. I start with inspiration, and this usually connects me to the Universe’s vibrations. The process from there is something divine and beyond this ether. I just let it flow.
Who would you love to see playing this music?
Anyone who listens for the love ..
Where is the best place to listen to it?
Digital services … and Bandcamp
What was the last piece of music that you bought?
Re issue of ‘Madvillain’ (RIP DOOM) from my friends store, Cold Krush Records, and Hiatus Kaiyote ‘Get Sun’ single on Brainfeeder Records.
If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?
Platinum Pied Pipers – Triple P Wajeed is an absolute don! Or DJ SPINNA – intergalactic soul.
What advice would you give to other producers in the studio?
Know your approach inside out – what you use is irrelevant. Your intention and vibration is what matters.
What have you got the pipeline?
New album start of 2022, lots of remixes and production for other vocalists and rappers.. And loads more!
Inkswel is an eclectic DJ, producer and tastemaker with a long and extensive history of blending the boundaries of genre with a strong B-Boy foundation and forever evolving outlook. He has recently launched his own label, Inner Tribe Records, released his second album on Atjazz Records as well as a boogie EP for Kraak and Smaak’s label, Boogie Angst. Plus, there are several forthcoming Active Ingredients projects in his collaborative musical pipeline.
Stan “Steam” Smith has earnt an international reputation as a versatile emcee, having worked with the likes of Daz-I-Kue, Soulparlor and Rahgroove on their Tokyo Dawn Records release “Get Up Movement” and recently showcased his superb mike techniques on Japanese beat maker MFP’s “Busy Work” and he is constantly in the studio.
Releases November 26, 2021 – Bandcamp here or via player above…
My name is Uzu Moon and I’m a Dutch/Japanese American composer and DJ.
Where are you from, where are you now?
I was born and raised in a small village in the South of The Netherlands, but currently based in Amsterdam.
What are you up to today?
I just woke up and it’s still early in the morning. Just finished my morning routine. It’s still dark outside but the city is slowly waking up. I’ll be in the studio later today, but first I’m finishing up some work on my laptop.
Talk us through your new release a little…
‘Paradise, Forever’ is my first label EP as Uzu Moon, releasing on Fluid Funk. It features three tracks that take influence from (acid) house, jazz, electronica, Japanese ambient and hip-hop/R&B. There’s also a very groovy samba-influenced remix by Cody Currie.
Is there a process of production that you follow when making a new track?
There isn’t really a set process that I follow when I’m creating music, it is always very intuitive and fluid. I’m always working on multiple tracks and projects at a time, which keeps me from getting a creative block. Whenever I start a new project, I’ll usually begin with going through my database of demo’s and see if anything in there sparks my interest. Sometimes I’ll take a tiny element from a random demo and create a new track from it, or sometimes I’ll just start completely anew. In the end it really depends on whatever ignites my creativity and gets the juices flowing.
Who would you love to see playing this music?
I’d probably die overjoyed if someone like Madlib or Four Tet would play this. Then again, I’m just happy to have anyone play it who really resonates with the music.
Where is the best place to listen to it?
Driving down a neon-lit street in the dead of night during summer.
What was the last piece of music that you bought?
Promises by Floating Points & Pharaoh Sanders on vinyl. Such a beauty.
If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?
This is a really tough question, because I’m into a lot of very opposing styles of music. I’d say perhaps Toro y Moi’s Anything In Return because it effortlessly blends elements of dance, jazz, R&B & hip-hop.
What advice would you give to other producers in the studio?
Forget the rules and try to rely on your intuition as much as possible.
What have you got the pipeline?
I’m currently working on a short film for Uzu Moon, which I co-wrote. It will feature some new music, a bit more cinematic. I’m also working on a new EP and writing the score for a documentary. There will be a lot of new music in 2022.
Socials:
Website: uzumoon.com
IG: instagram.com/uzu.moon
FB: facebook.com/uzumoon
SC: soundcloud.com/uzumoon
Debuting on Fluid Funk with a lush and lax voyage dreamy coastal scapes, Dutch artist with Japanese / American heritage Uzu Moon dishes out feel-good, Cali-funk-informed vibes by the dozen over the course of four delectably smooth tracks, infused with elements of LA beat, soulful house and post-balearic elevation – including a rework from Cody Currie.
A bespoke late-summer joint to bump out loud in your open-top, “Asa” gets the ball rolling slo-mo style, brittle piano stabs chiming alongside mangled rap samples, playful acid spurts and a languid jazzy shuffle to drive it all. Funky synth hooks blazing, “Sunder, Love” lets off washed-out RnB vibrations over beds of 303-emulating squelch, topped off with a guitar solo a la Santana like you’re chilling out in Venice Beach.
“When I Get Home, I’ll Know It’s Over” then heads for the opposite side of the Pacific with its koto-esque resonances, soft tapping drums and rugged acid loops weaving a melancholia-laced, loungey narrative for the dance floor and not. “Sunder, Love” as reshaped by Shall Not Fade affiliate Cody Currie revs things up two notches further, turning the original into a doped-up chugger, primed for sustained hustlin’ n bustlin’ in the ballroom with its convulsive congas and vaporous melody fluttering like a groovy butterfly.
Beautiful new release from Chris Coco today – ‘CaliforniAmbient‘ is a dreamy beatless remix of ‘California White Sage‘ from his superb recent album ‘Jamu‘ out with a suitably transcendent video. Chris says it’s ‘a breathy ambient piece perfect for contemplation, meditation or yoga’ – we say; leave it on repeat and prepare for an out of body experience, sublime…
Bruise are back with another slab of timeless Detroit inspired deepness in ‘When Pianos Attack’ (Listen & buy via Bandcamp link below). We got a chance to talk to Christian from Bruise about his story in music and the development of his sound:
Please tell our readers about Bruise
Bruise originally started in 2015, as a collaboration with Diesel (from Xpress-2) and with a remix of a track for James Kumo’s label. The project has evolved from there and I would describe Bruise now as an ever-evolving musical collective. The sound to date is heavily influenced by early Detroit, 90s house and techno but the intention is that future releases will explore many electronic genres.
Where are you from, where are you now?
Originally from Birmingham now living in Enfield North London.
What are you up to today?
Currently working my day job at PRS for Music which involves making sure writers get paid for when their music is used. So, if any of your readers make music make sure they join PRS!
Talk us through your new single.
‘When Pianos Attack’ was written at the end of last year and it’s a big old piano house stomper. Whilst it clearly has a nod to ‘that 90s piano sound’ with hints of ‘Masters of Work’ and ‘Kerri Chandler’, I feel it throws in a bit of a modern Bruise twist with arpeggiated piano rifts, dramatic operatic choirs and, as always, a shed load of strings. It’s a bit of a banger.
Christian Campbell aka Bruise
Is there a process of production that you follow in the Bruise studio?
All productions evolve from initial jam sessions in Ableton and unless I’m working on a remix, I never start with any idea of what I want to create. I just try and enjoy the process and then when a good idea starts to develop, I work quickly to get the bare bones of an arrangement down. Then I build on that idea until its finished. I tend to have many tracks on the go and usually work on an idea for no more than 1-2 hrs to maintain the energy and try and avoid creative fatigue. I think when you jump between tracks and work quickly you tend to make more honest decisions. It’s when you’ve listened to something too many times and for too long that the brain starts to hear the track in a non-constructive way.
Who would you love to see playing this track?
Anyone as it’s such a buzz and honour to have a DJ choose to play a track you’ve created.
It’s always amazing to hear a track played on radio so if any of the specialist show DJs on Radio 1 gave it a spin, which would be ace.
What’s the best time in the night to enjoy it?
I reckon it’s built for peak time or end of night business
What was the last piece of music that you bought?
Bad with Phones – Marinade
If someone wanted to get to know your taste, what album should they listen to?
Going to go for an oldy but Future Sound of London – Accelerator
Tell me what you think is one of the most important records of all time to you?
Well, there is a big bag of records that could fulfil that criterion but a record that absolutely blew my mind at the time was Future Sound of London – Papa New Guinea
What advice would you give to young producers in the studio?
Try to find time to create music every day. When you listen back to your own productions, do so away from screens and other distractions. Share your music with your mates and other producers, listen to their feedback but also take time to find your own identify and carve out your own sound. Most of all just enjoy the process.
What have you got the pipeline?
New Bruise originals, some more Bruise remixes and even a Bruise edit.
UK based Balearic maestro James Bright returns to release action with his new ‘One Wish’ EP Featuring Danish vocalist MALO out now on Sveva music. We got the chance to have a word with JB about this cracking new four tracker:
Please introduce yourself to our readers
I guess I started making music in my early teens when I took up the guitar. I bought myself a Shure SM58 mic and a Tascam 4-Track and was constantly writing little hooks. I tried the whole teen band thing but unfortunately, I always fell to pieces when it came time to play on stage. I started producing around 1999 when a mutual friend introduced me to Steve Miller (AFTERLIFE). We went on to form the downbeat act LUX. Northern Lights, the first track we wrote together was picked up as the opening track for Café Del Mar Volume 7. We released a couple of albums as Lux. As a solo artist I released the album Little Things in 2010 which has been followed by string of eps on various different labels.
Tell us where you’re from and where you are now?
I was born in Kent, but my family moved to Macclesfield in Cheshire when I was 2 years old, so I think I can claim to be a Northerner these days. I’m still based there now.
Talk us through the ‘One Wish EP ft. Malo.’
It started with the track that would eventually become ONE WISH. I wrote the backing track to send to MALO after being introduced to her by Mark Lusty from SVEVA MUSIC. I’d recently heard Malo’s vocals on a couple of THE SWAN & THE LAKE tracks that she features on. I wanted to write something for her that was a little more up tempo (up tempo for me at least) with quite tough drum sounds but that was still quite soft and gentle, something that I thought would really compliment her voice. I was really happy when I got her vocal back. The other three songs on the EP came together quite quickly after that and I thought they all worked well together as an EP.
Tell us a little about Malo
Malo is a Danish singer- songwriter. She released the album “WHO AM I” in 2019 through Hans Zimmer’s music company EXTREME MUSIC, with a follow up Ep again with Hans Zimmer currently being set for release. Early this year saw her feature on tracks by fellow Dane THE SWAN & THE LAKE released on MUSIC FOR DREAMS.
Do you have particular process you follow when you make a record?
The production process for this Ep was the same as all my previous productions really. I very rarely go into the studio these days with any pre conceived ideas. When writing I just like to sit with a blank canvas and see what comes out. It could start with a beat or bassline or even just a sound I find inspiring. As you can imagine writing like this, I have hard drives full of sketches of songs that at the time didn’t go anywhere. I guess the good thing about that is I have to hand a library of sounds that at some point I found inspiring to delve through. Once the Ep was finished, I handed it over to Steve Miller (Afterlife) for mastering. As you can hear from his extensive library of top releases over the years Steve is the man to go to, he gets such a full and complete sound.
Who would you like to see playing it?
Hopefully, anybody that likes it. Though I guess it’s always nice to know that other producers and DJs are playing your music. When getting back the PR reactions it’s always a massive buzz and privilege to not only see some legends of the scene (Don Carlos) have received your music but to have review and really like it.
Where’s the best place to enjoy it?
I like to think the tracks on this EP would work equally well on the dancefloor or watching the sunset with a cocktail in hand.
What was the last piece of music you bought?
Just the other day I bought the beautiful new PROJECTIONS EP ‘Original Cell.’
Tell us, what do you think is one of the most important Balearic record of our time?
That’s a tough question……Even though I’ve been producing and releasing “Balearic” music for over 20 years now, compared to a lot of people I suppose I’m still a newcomer to the scene and my depth of knowledge isn’t as great as others. But some important records for me personally are….
Cantoma – Pandajero
Afterlife – Dub in ya Mind
Nightmares on Wax – Les Nuits
Penguin Café Orchestra – Air a Danser
Sabres of Paradise – Smoke Belch II (Beatless)
The Grid ‘Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix)
What is the best musical advice you’ve been given?
“Use your ears and don’t rush” There’s no big secret to producing apart from learning to use the gear you have and listen, in fact spend hours and hours listening don’t be in a rush to finish something and “Find your style” don’t try and be the next big thing by copying what you think will sell.
What else do you have in the pipeline?
I’ve got an Ep coming out next year on Phil Coopers NUNORTHERN SOUL label which I’m very excited about and I’ve just started a collaboration with Joe Morris which is still in the early stages but is sounding great so far. Also, I’m just discussing the release of another Ep on a label that’s starting up again after a break, which fingers crossed I’ll have some news about very soon.
The Nearest Faraway Place 