faking it.

i know i know. corny title.

but, border community artist, nathan fake's newest album hard islands has left me quite speechless.

as border community is a label that really generally does not disappoint -fake's newest release kept with the label's trend of interesting and distinct sounds. not only a departure from the comfortable and fun listener@home type of album, this album begs for listeners with an ear -and a will- for a night out. that is, it begs if you can sit down for a touch longer than half an hour (around 33 minutes to be more exact) to hear some delightfully dark beats/tunes/whistles from fake's second "mini" lp. fake has clearly changed gears a bit since his last release drowning in a sea of love, which was much prettier, lighter and playful. drowning gets played from my tunes when i need something in the category of 'play for a good time with a small-ish group of folks' -electronic lovers or otherwise.

however, hard islands is more unique, less non-electronic music lover friendly and a fantastic experiment in blips, drums, and loops (or to borrow from a friend: bleeps, bloops, and thuds). the inclusion of a little flitting (keyword) break-up in the form of 1:17 minute long "the curlew" is an interesting move due to the intense buildup formation of the following track "narrier." essentially, i'm in love with the structure, sound, and synthesis of this album from fake. i wish it was longer only for selfishly personal listening desires...the album is compact and well done as is.

personally, half an hour of fresh sounds played whilst running errands, unpacking lives, or just internet researching-out makes each of my most recent day-to-day tasks more akin to those delightful listening nights out that i'm currently missing here at home. i've been pumping hard islands at all hours for a jostle of energy, a reminisce of bygone nights, and everything else it could possibly inspire...

to check out a quick interview with nathan fake on beatportal, direct yourself here.

to listen to hard islands on juno download, direct yourself here.

fun-for-all.

just before the recent -interesting but over my inexperienced head- Resident Advisor article "machine love: john tejada" was released, i squealed and immediately pressed the purchase button at the good life website.

john tejada coming to boston on the heels of a set at london's legendary fabric club to celebrate the latest release on fabric records, his Fabric 44 mix?

yes, please. how very fortunate.

tejada is an impressive dj and musician whose melodies and beats are complex and simple and seemingly constructed with thought, effort, and personal choice. most of his tunes seem crafted rather than simply pumped out to cause people to "move for them".....



Move For Me - Kaskade & deadmau5

saturday night was a perfect night for a good set and enjoyment out of all attending. having no sunday shift at work, i knew i could dance as hard as possible and get sleep enough to make up for it the next day. so, the hope was that the set + crowd would not disappoint either. *a warning to anyone who has yet to attend an electronic music event in boston:::

the crowds are not so overly interested in the enjoyment of the dj and the having fun while hearing great music and sometimes talk throughout a set, don't dance, and even block the speakers.

luckily, last saturday was not an example of this type of experience and the hopes of the night were perfectly granted. randy deshaies and sergio santos, the latter being an integral part of the midweek techno night [a fun time in its own right], really warmed up the decks for tejada who calmly and collectedly took the set from blasting to stellar in a few short loops and flicks of the wrist.

the set proceeded to get awkward for a moment when tejada was prolonging a trebly, very simple beat with little beat and the crowd seemed ready for something heavy to drop. other than that the one difference between dancing crowd and performer...the night was a pleasant success for all. the only complaint being the one that stands for interesting fun times had while going out in boston::: the ever-present 2am curfew.

furthermore, the venue -to which i have never ventured- was marvelous. the good life was an interestingly constructed space. its downstairs lounge [where the beats happen] is a small space with a bar running the length of the room down one wall and cavernous booth spaces along the other wall. with no coat check, i was a bit unnerved at first, but after finding a stash spot for our outerwear, my companions and i felt fine about where we had left our exoskeletons against the cold.

and for the two best things about the lounge: there were fans at the front of the room for sweaty dancing masses [to which subset of attendees at shows i absolutely always belong, no excuses] and NO LINES in the bathrooms. really, john tejada, whether you picked the good life or they sought you for saturday night...it was a wonderful decision. that show is easily one of the best in enjoyment and most importantly musically, that i have attended since perhaps booka shade this summer.

heavy sigh and high hopes for the midweek techno on february 25th::: tiefschwarz the legendary electro pop/house fraternal duo from berlin.

til then.

whirly.

in an attempt to calm down
from this past rapid weekend in new york city
the bus ride home was spent winding down to the soundtrack of Orchestra of Bubbles by Ellen Allien and Apparat.

driving from the herald square/madison square garden area [thanks to boltbus...a new love of mine] uptown by morningside park [a beautiful past haunt of my brother's in his bygone Columbia days] and cathedral parkway and emerging out of Harlem, then seemingly out of the city. the music prodded me along with the journey rather than dwelling of thoughts on the long weekend just spent.

it always seems unfortunate to leave new york, especially now when i would be there over living here in boston if the choice was offered. however, this option has not yet presented itself and to ease my mind from the lovely, exciting, vanishing scenery of the city listtening to a favorite travelling album of mine was really the only way to go.

the album is really a perfect listen for travel in all forms:::
train
bus
car
subway
plane...

perhaps only hang gliding would not mesh with a listen.
the music itself is light enough to allow for multiple thoughts and introspection processes...if that's what you want. OR just a good listen. Allien's voice is entrancing in a way that keeps the listener focused introvertedly on the music. however, the industrial pumping sounds fueled by allien's aesthetic paired with what can only be described as pretty embellishments so characteristic of apparat maintain this thought process, which generally happens when travelling.

my personal thoughts when travelling are ever only focused on where i've just been and where my compass is currently pointed.

in this case, New York...was a success in part due to being avle to just be comfortable around some old/good friends that have been sorely missed in the past few months, like my very talented friend alex [who has been making some excellent music that i will be blogging about in the very near future] and new friends, like the guys and gal that are "the slowest runner in all the world." Listening to the cello, violin, and keys of a song they were recording in the brooklyn apartment/studio where i was staying was a rare treat. so nice and relaxing it all was.

did i mention modeselektor?

to continue from my last post:::

YES.

the show on 24 january at the bowery ballroom was one of the most exciting [and excited] shows I have ever enjoyed. the venue was cool and classy though the sound system clearly was not intended for techno shows but rock shows instead. the lack of good volume and thumping bass was actually noticeably a drawback to the bowery for a show like this.

example::: i could hear myself talking throughout the night...

yet, the berliners of modeselektor knew how to make up for that fact in intensity and -in a word- showmanship? let me say i've seen some crazy stage additions to Dj's like fairies on stilts and spiky headed gas mask monsters on stilts. but, at some point during the crazy dancing and hard beats, the audence was treated to dancers of a different sort. two guys dressed up, one as a butcher and the other in a proper silly chicken costume began to shake it on stage. about that time a...real pig's head, no joke, was beginning to be passed around among the crowd at the front of the stage: 44% more meaningful?, in this case, yes. All of a suddent, modeselektor are announcing their love and desire for champagne which was then opened and sprayed on the crowd, supplemented by bags of tiny white feathers.

vielen dank for that, germany. really.

needless to say my shoes and shirt from that night happen to still be covered in white feathery remnants.

on that note, its time for some delicious/free food from the boy at his job and then a bit of a workout conducted to Hello Mom!

good day and good luck.

a very minimal fix.

though not so much minimal but techno...the make it new @ middlesex lounge this past thursday 9 january was a spectacular treat.

showing up around 10:30 might have been a mistake...

as a friend, the boy, and i walked in to the small but satisfying space, the music was pumping. and the pumping was good. in the mood for dance, local dj, volvox, definitely played to those needs better than your average run of the mill freshwater alga [excuse the silly reference]. i've definitely been around to hear while she's in the booth but this thursday was something special. she really put together a fantastic set for thursday night that made my little group forget about the cold and

dancedancedancedancedancedance

she did a bang up job and has definitely improved to my liking from the past nights i've seen her. the friendies agreed.

however it was berlin dj, marcel dettmann [MDR, Ostgut Ton] that really drew us in [and got us there on a cold night in the first place].

it is a really hard thing to live in boston and have a musical taste that centers on electronic music. there is a very very small scene here whose appetite is rarely fulfilled by touring djs...really ever. however, when we do receive special guest appearances they are interesting and wonderful and all that they need to be. in november, paco osuna and ewan pearson both played at little old phoenix landing for midweek techno nights which were fantastic. this marcel dettmann set was so wonderfully wonderfully wonderful.

techno is really fun to listen to alone or on the train or cleaning your room or hanging out
but
it is even better blaring out of nicer than home speakers
[unless of course you happen to be my friend alex who has delightful monitors for his own musical makings]
^that is the way techno is best heard:::
loud, entrancing, and hard to resist
because. it. makes. you. dance.

at the beginning of his set i was wondering how he was going to follow up the energetic volvox set, but dettmann, resident at the infamous berghain club in berlin, took that energy from the previous set and went with it. the set started off with one attention catching, pumping beat that melded so well in to the next that it was hard to tell if he was even spinning at all. at times he would drop a few easily recognizable samples, but the set was more berlin sounds and feeling than this town has danced to in a while.

thanks. so. much.

ps...if you want a nice hour long taste of marcel dettmann's sound...download the resident advisor podcast from 29 december that he mixed.