Analog Sessions

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[analogsessions]

Pále Mix & Interview

Pále // The Fat! Club Mix 046

Manchester based Pále, aka Leo Marcus, has made some serious waves this year, delicately blending spacious melodies with pounding low end to produce consistently forward thinking house music. After dropping his superb Why’d You Even Say? EP on Fat! Records back in January, along with the brilliant Silverstair on Four40 and his ridiculously huge remix of Mak & Pasteman’s Jungle Juice Pále has not only showcased his impressive variety but also genuinely established himself as one of the most exciting youngsters around at the moment. In anticipation of the release of his brilliant Catacombs EP on Fat! Records, which has already picked up support from the likes of Homework, Claude Vonstroke and Hackman, Pále put together this wicked mix for us, plus we caught up with the man himself for a chat about his influences, moving to London, and his dream party...

Pále - The Fat! Club Mix 046 by The Fat! Club on Mixcloud

For the uninitiated, who is Pále?

Pále is the first proper alias I set up to produce music under. I used to do some bits and bobs and put them on Soundcloud but it was never really that serious. I started Pále about 18 months ago from my bedroom with a few old keyboards, a guitar and my laptop.

Is there any deeper meaning to the name Pále?

Not at all. When I came up with the idea I just thought it was a nice sounding name. To be honest it was a big mistake to ever put an accent in my name, makes it very hard for people to google you. I'm happy to ride with it now but it does put me in some unfortunate situations, especially with MCs.

Haha! Tell us a bit about your Fat! Club mix...

The mix is a big jumble of some old favourites of mine, new tracks from some of my favourite producers, a few new tracks and wips from me and a couple little edits I've been doing. Pretty similar to the stuff I'd put in a set in a club, I don't like riding with one sound all night.

How did you first get into electronic music and DJing?

I've played a few different instruments since I started learning cello when I was around 6, but what really set me off was my mum bringing home a copy of Dance eJay 2 she found at her work. I'd come home everyday from school and jump straight on the computer to make these weird crappy trance tracks. At the same time I was using a 4-track Tascam tape recorder to capture the weird little ambient guitar and drum tracks that I was making. Then when I first discovered Garageband about 4 years ago I left the eJay loops and pre-sets behind and starting bringing the guitar and ambient sounds into electronic music production. Logic came fairly naturally from there and I've been using that for about 2 years now.

Who have been your biggest influences?

M83 have been a huge influence on me since I started recording any kind of music. Their first few albums have a big impact on the way that I shape and steer my tracks to their climactic stages. The Weeknd is probably the most influential artist for me overall though, both as a vocalist and a team of producers. There's not a single moment in those three mix-tapes that I can fault.

Your next release, the Catacombs EP is due out on Fat! Records on 22nd October, can you talk us through the tracks on the EP?

All three tracks started coming together in early summer, just as I had finished my exams. I had to really push production aside for a couple of months whilst I revised so these tracks came from a bunch of ideas that had built up. Orchidea was probably the first to be finished. It mainly came from cutting up a little vocal sample I recorded off my phone when I was in a coffee bar in Venice. I'd never normally start a track with a vocal, but everything just followed from there. Tracks normally take me a few weeks to complete but Orchidea was nearly done in a day. Oak Music came from experimenting a lot with a couple of Reaktor ensembles and me picking up the guitar more than I normally do. I love using guitar in electronic music but when its misplaced it can sound absolutely awful, so I'm always really careful when I use it. Catacombs felt appropriate to be the title track as its probably the 'biggest' sounding, but that was never really the aim with this release. I wanted to make an EP that covered a huge range of texture and sound, thats why the tracks have so many different sections. For my next release I'll probably be rolling out something thats a bit more structured and DJ friendly, but this time round it seemed a shame to tighten up the ideas I had just so I could be sure it would work well on a dancefloor.

What do the next 12 months have in store for you? I understand you're moving to London soon...?

Just moved down on Saturday. Probably going to be here till September next year and then I think I'm off to Brighton for uni. I can keep the bills at bay with bits of music on the side and gigs but I'm mostly looking forward to involving myself more in the scene and getting a lot more music out there. There's a lot of good music emerging back home in Manchester but its nice to have a change of scenery. I've got the basement of a big terrace so I'm slowly getting that fixed up into a little studio. At the moment though I'm pretty much working out of my bed, which isn't so productive as you can imagine.

What are the most memorable DJ sets you've ever seen/heard?

I saw Daphni/Caribou at Warehouse Project the other week. That was easily one of my favourites. Apparently someone measured the temperature in there and it was hitting 39° at some points. It was an absolute sweatbox but I've never heard so much good music in one night. Also saw DJ Q the night before when I was playing upstairs at Joshua Brooks. His set was a lot of fun, definitely got to catch him down here.

What records labels are you most into at the moment?

I'm really enjoying whats coming from French labels at the moment. ClekClekBoom, Marble and Sound Pellegrino all sound great. I find the output of these much more listenable than some of the big current UK labels. Lots of good stuff from over the Atlantic too, really into Friends Of Friends and Vase at the moment.

What 3 tracks sum you up best?

I take it this means tracks from other artists? Pretty difficult question really! There's a track at the end of the last Patrick Watson album which seems to really connect with me. Its instrumental unlike the rest of the album and has this weird particularly dream-like sound which really reminds me of the original music composed for Donnie Darko. I'm not saying I'm a weird and dream-like person or anything but its the sort of music that seems to really strike with your thoughts and memories. There's a track by Ólafur Arnalds from his Living Rooms Songs collection called Near Light which really connects with me also, definitely worth watching the live recording on Youtube. Lots of bits from the new Flying Lotus album that are striking me hard as well, me Yesterday//Corded in particular. I used to play a lot of bass guitar and when the bassline comes in on the second half it brings back a lot of memories from a few years ago.

Wow, great selection. And finally if you could put on your dream party, who would play, where would it be, and would there be a theme?

This is like the ultimate daydreamer question! I always thought it'd be cool to have a load of floating rafts in a big bay. All the rafts would have little soundsystems on and bars but the music would be quite mellow. You could swim from one to another and hear a little jazz trio on one, a house DJ on another and so on till it gets dark and you've heard music from all over the world. If any promoters want to capitalise on that idea then go ahead but make sure you send me a ticket.

http://soundcloud.com/thisispale // http://www.facebook.com/thisispale // http://twitter.com/thisispale

*Originally published at The Fat! Club in October 2012.

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Bobby Champs Mix & Interview

Photography credit James Clothier

Bobby Champs // Fat! Club Mix 045

“It’s time to register where your nearest fire extinguisher is, because this shit is blazing.” - Boiler Room “Expertly produced and darkly powerful” - XLR8R "Prepare to be charmed and overwhelmed in equal measure." - Resident Advisor "Dancefloor bombs which are certain to see Bobby Champs fly up from the UK underground in the coming months" - Mixmag

Signed to the eclectic Pictures Music, Brighton based Bobby Champs has really caught the eye this year. His debut release, the Moonlight EP gave us our first taste of Bobby's brand of peak time techno, and was followed up by the much acclaimed Drag Queen EP, a collection of upfront bombs that have found their way into the sets of  some of the biggest DJs in the scene. Bobby recently put this no nonsense mix together for us, and we caught up with him for a chat about his influences, Brighton, and Berlin...

Bobby Champs - The Fat! Club Mix 045 by The Fat! Club on Mixcloud

Hi Bobby, how has 2012 been for you?

A special one, my very first release at the beginning of the year and a lot of great experiences along the way

Can you tell us a bit about your Fat! Club mix?

I decided to go for a full on techno mix for this mix. I recorded it all live so there's no planning involved, just vibes

How did you first get into electronic music?

I'm going to have to be very cliché and say I've been into electronic music as far back as i can remember

And who have been the biggest influences on your sound?

Although I've always been into electronic music I've also dipped in and out of it throughout my life, I draw a lot of influence from the music I was into in my teens from the synth pop of Clor to the southern metal of Every Time I Die all the way to the avant-garde noise rock of bands like Health and Lightning Bolt.

  Your latest release on Picture Music, 'Drag Queen' has picked up some big support and excellent reviews. Can you tell us a bit about each of the tracks on the EP?

Each of the tracks are from a certain time where I was making music. I tend to group songs together in my head after making them and i found these songs work well together as a release. The most far reaching one is probably the digital only Mint 400 that I wanted to include as a bit of a bridge between my old stuff and some of my future tracks

Your music sounds very Berlin influenced. Is that a fair thing to say? Have you spent much time over there?

Believe it or not but I've never been to Germany

What do you do outside of music?

I spent too long thinking about this question, i need some new hobbies

What do the next 12 months have in store for you?

I have a new release coming out on Hypercolour in the next month and after that a collab release with A1 Bassline on his new label sourceunknwn. Some other things are being talked about but its early days

What are the most memorable DJ sets you've ever seen/heard?

Tough question, I've seen a lot of sets that have been pretty memorable but i suppose the most recent would probably be Martyn's set at Peckham Palais following the Bloc fiasco. Everyone was in such high spirits and Martyn's song selections were so on point, it was definitely special

Are you still based in Brighton? What's the scene like there at the moment?

I'm actually moving to London in November which should bring a lot of new inspiration  

Where is your favourite place you have played? And are there any clubs or cities you've never played in that you'd really like to?

I always have a lot of fun at LIFE in Brighton, maybe its the home-ground. Id love to play Sheffield again, that was a lot of fun and places like Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham. Playing Berlin would be a rite of passage for me

Apart from Pictures, what record labels are you most into at the moment?

I'm loving a lot of the stuff coming out on Aus and Simple, Sheworks is releasing some really power music and there's a few really decent releases coming out on West Norwood Cassette Library

  What 3 tracks sum you up best?

Health - Die Slow

D.S.R - Exhume

Head High - Its a Love Thing

And finally if you could put on your dream party, where would it be, who would play and would there be a theme?

I don't think I'm cut out for promoting, a lot of my friends are promoters and I don't think I'm cut out for it, you have to give your mind, body and soul to put on a good party but I suppose if I did put one on it would probably have a collection of old and new acts in house and techno. On the moon.

http://soundcloud.com/bobbychamps http://www.facebook.com/bobbychamps http://twitter.com/bobbychamps

*Originally published at The Fat! Club in October 2012.

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Boys Noize Interview

Boys Noize aka Alex Ridha is gearing up to release his highly anticipated third studio album on October 8th through his own label Boys Noize Records. Made almost entirely after dark, Out of The Black is a product of the night, an album that captures the raucous, schizophrenic sounds of Boys Noize to sublime effect. Check out this album preview below...

The album varies from trademark face-melting electro like 'What You Want' and 'XTC', to more melodic offerings such as 'Ich R U' and 'Reality'. It also features some brilliant collaborations, such as the albums final track 'Got It', featuring none other than Snoop Dogg. As a producer Ridha has carved out his own sound, amassing a formidable body of work in the process, including his two previous albums (2007's Oi Oi Oi and 2009's Power) as well as countless singles, and remixes for the likes of Depeche Mode, Feist, Daft Punk, David Lynch and Jarvis Cocker. He's produced tracks for artists ranging from Gonzales and Spank Rock, to Santigold and Scissor Sisters, as well as collaborating with the likes of Erol Alkan, Mr. Oizo and Skrillex, and has established himself as one of the most respected DJs in the world. Alex kindly took some time out of his chaotic schedule for an in depth chat with us about the new album, his massive live tour, and his thoughts on 'EDM'...

Hi Alex, how’s your summer been, what have you been up to? It’s been good, I took some time off from festivals, I didn't do any festivals really this year, I've been basically finishing up my album and working on my live show, but yeah it was good, I spent most of the time in Berlin, reconnecting with my friends.

Can you tell us a bit about the new album?

Sure yeah, it’s my third album, I'm really really happy with it I have to say, it’s exactly what I wanted, even though I couldn't really plan it! I think it’s a good mix of my first and my second albums as well.

How does it differ from your previous albums?

Good question, I mean basically I just wanted to get back to the feeling I had when I produced those two albums. I think from the attitude it's similar, but of course I always look out for new sounds, so there’s a lot of new sounds I'm into right now in there.

Is there anything specific you like about the album format? Does it allow you to experiment a bit more?

Yes for sure, for me it was really important to do the albums, especially in the time where you don’t really need an album. For me it’s always an exciting process to just, you know, spend a lot of time and effort putting everything together, and it really captures a time and a moment in my life as well. So it’s always good in that way, and it was cool because I was listening to my first albums and I still felt super great about them, and so it was very important for the new album to have that sort of vibe too for me personally as well.

Is there any deeper meaning behind the album name ‘Out Of The Black’? Or is it just a cool name?

Yeah it does just kind of sound cool. But I do produce when the sun goes down haha. Basically it does just sound cool, but I do like the twist on the saying ‘out of the blue’.

What was it like to work with Snoop Dogg for your track ‘Got It’? Was it a little bit surreal to be working with someone like him?

Yeah totally, I mean, I'm so far away from anything that he has done so yeah actually, it was pretty surreal. And it was exciting as well, I was so happy to meet him, and so nervous, because I've been listening to his music throughout my whole life, so it was really a dream come true to work with him. And then I was so surprised because he was so relaxed and down to earth, and I was playing him all this old school stuff and he was really into it, so it was really cool hanging out with him as well.

Yeah he seems like such a character. You said you've been DJing less over the last few months, focusing on your album, have you missed DJing out in clubs, or was it nice having a bit of a break?

Er yeah I missed it a little bit, because I'm always listening out for new music all the time, and I always get to hear a lot of new sounds from the guys  from my label, so I'm always thinking about playing that stuff out and putting it in my sets. But it was good to sleep at home for a while though!

You’re about to start a massive tour, playing nearly 60 shows in the coming months, you must be pretty excited about that?

Yeah! I'm a little bit nervous actually because I'm trying out something new, and it’s a new challenge for me.

What can we expect from the live show?

Well this time it’s going to be more like a concert where I only perform my own tracks, which is something I've never really done before. It’s a totally different approach, because obviously normally I play music from other people and this time I'm only playing my own tracks. Also there’s gonna be some special production around it which is really cool, but I can’t tell you much about it yet!

Do you have any favourite live shows from other artists, or are there any other live shows that have influenced yours?

Yeah.. I mean the last couple live shows I've seen were from like bands. But recently I saw Justice’s new show and I fucking loved it, I think they’re really able to bring their music alive. But apart from them I've seen a few bands, there’s a few people still playing real instruments which is getting rarer and rarer! My favourite live shows from bands are like Depeche Mode, The Cure and The Hives.

You’re playing a load of shows in America towards the end of the year, what are your thoughts on dance music in America and ‘EDM’?

I think the EDM term is a very commercial, mainstream term. I don’t really know if it’s a good word to put together everything from electronica to trance, all in one. I don’t know, it’s like putting Squarepusher and Tiesto in one sort of genre, which seems a bit stupid. But on the other hand, it makes things easier for people to communicate, which is kind of good, but overall I think it’s really a term for mainstream music. But I'm happy that it’s big over there, although it’s more the commercial music, but then for those kids who get into that, they might look for new stuff, and there’s a lot to discover in electronic music so it might help every one of us.

Do you notice any difference in the crowds in America, to say Europe or Asia?

Yeah, generally I think Europe is always a bit more up to date when it comes to new sounds, and it’s easier to communicate here because Europe is much more connected, and you know it’s always been like this, and there are a lot of styles created in different places, and it always takes one or two years for it to spread over the sea. So playing in a club in Europe can sometimes be more fun because you get to play a bit more underground stuff, just because people are more, you know, up to date with the music. But it’s so fun over there too, because I always feel like I'm kind of on a mission to play fresh stuff and kind of teach them new stuff as well haha! But yeah it’s a lot of fun over there.

Do you have any plans to be back in the studio anytime soon, or is that on hold for now?

Well right now it’s all about the album and everything around it, so I'm really concentrating on the live tour and I've got lots of stuff to do with that, so I'm too busy right now.

Your label Boys Noize Records is one of our favourites here at The Fat! Club, have you got anything coming out soon? Am I right in thinking SCNTST has got something on the way?

Haha thank you! Yeah SCNTST has a new EP which comes out I think in November, and yeah he’s so talented he sends me like 100 tracks every week, and a new album everyday almost! So it’s really cool to have him on board, and then we just released the new Peaches single.

Which you were involved in right?

Yeah co-produced it with XXXchange, he’s a friend of mine from New York, and this just came out. It’s more her going back to her punk-rock roots a little bit. Then we have a new EP from these guys LE1F and Boody, LE1F’s another guy from New York, and that’s quite experimental.

Do you have anything coming soon on BNR Trax?

Yes there’s gonna be a new release from Bs1, who are a couple from Italy, who are really talented. It’s a boy and a girl who are together, and they make music together which I think is pretty cool.

What do you think has been the key to the success of the label?

Well it’s funny because we never planned any of this success really! It’s basically really just us doing our thing and staying true to you know our roots, and the way I feel about music. For instance I've never signed music because I thought it would be a hit or anything, and we've never really done any crazy corporative stuff you know. I'm actually really lucky that it’s got big without planning it out or making the things that the industry wants, and I always try to come up with fresh music on the label and support young talented producers, and I think that’s the key really, just to keep releasing quality electronic music.

Aside from your own label, what other record labels do you really like at the moment?

Oh there’s a few I really like, I've just bought a couple of new records. There are so many good ones, Black Sun, Clone, Hotflush, Raster Noton, Night Slugs, and also Strut for their great compilations.

Which producers are you most into at the moment, or are there any up and comers we should keep our eye on?

Haha the ones I look out for I won’t tell you! But I really love the Jimmy Edgar stuff at the moment, he’s really hot, he actually just did a remix for me as well, for ‘What You Want’, and then there is people like Strip Steve, SCNTST, LE1F, Surtek Collective and BS1.

And finally, you’ve done quite a lot of collaborations throughout your career, I think one of our favourites has got to be the stuff you’ve made with Erol Alkan, do you have any more plans to work with him in the future?

Yeah of course, we’re very good friends, but obviously right now I've been focusing only on my new album, but we've still got a couple of ideas here and there, and there’s one or two tracks we've got, but I don’t know any dates or anything, but I'm sure we’ll make some new music again in the future.

*Originally published on The Fat! Club in October 2012.

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Millions Like Us Interview

Bristol based dance music crew Millions Like Us have been tearing it up over the last couple of years with their trademark blend of dubstep and drum & bass, and along the way they've picked up some big love from the likes of Skream, Benga and Mistajam. Having emerged from a background in live music the trio, made up of Tom, Ian and Chris, combined and transferred their musical prowess to the dancefloor destroying material they've come to be known for. Recent releases include their brilliant D&B remix of Clement Marfo's 'Champion' and the massively succesful equinox EP on D-Style Records, and with plenty more on the horizon Millions Like Us are without doubt one to keep your eye on! We caught up with the guys for an interview...

What’s been keeping you busy lately?

We've been locked away for a couple of months now working on new material. We're in the process of finishing off some new tunes and then we'll be releasing them. We've also done a couple of remixes of late. Clement Marfo's "Champion" and Bruno Barudi's "Like A Stone".

Tell us about your musical background, and how did you come together to form Millions Like Us?

We were all involved in music from an early age. Ian and I (Tom) are brothers, so played in a few covers/original bands together in our teens. I joined Chris' band in Brighton after replying to a gumtree ad and passing a rigorous audition process (!). At the time, Ian and I were producing drum and bass on the side. Once the band split, we decided to come together and write music. Millions Like Us was "born", so to speak!

Having come from live music backgrounds, how did you first get into electronic music?

Well speaking personally, I was into dance music from about 13 years old. I sort of chopped and changed a bit and got really into rock/metal/punk when I started playing Bass Guitar at 15. Then when I went to college I discovered Drum and Bass due to going to clubs/parties etc. When I went to study music I ended up living with 3 DJS so it was inevitable that I'd learn to mix. It just went from there and I started wanting to produce, so I bought a computer and started picking up what I could from other producer friends.

In terms of your own musical style who have been your biggest influences?

Pendulum were a massive influence from back when "Vault" came out. Noisia are an influence too, they're just so inventive and they're mix downs are always top notch! Amon Tobin is crazy too, so experimental!

You've been moving varying your tempos a lot recently, what is it about that kind of variety that appeals to you?

It's just that - variety. We like so many different styles so get excited to try new things out. We never wanted to be known as just a "Dubstep Group" or anything like that, so mixing up tempos keeps things fresh for us and the listener.

How has your production style evolved?

Well hopefully it's ever improving! Our ears seem to change pretty much weekly. One week you think something is spot on and the next it's s**t!  As for the style, it hasn't varied that much - we still use Logic Pro on a Mac and various third party plug ins. Obviously we're always learning new tips and tricks so implement them where we see fit.

What does the rest of 2012 have in store for Millions Like Us?

More writing and more DJing! Check our social media for our dates.

What 3 tracks sum you up best?

Lovechild - Liberta (Moonman Remix)

NOFX - The Pharmacist's Daughter

Jonnie Hates Jazz - Shattered Dreams

Who, for you, is the most exciting DJ or producer in the world right now?

Hmmm, couldn't pick one! Right now we're into Disclosure, Maribou State, Harmonimix etc... But it'll change next week!

And finally, what can we expect from your set at Chew The Fat’s HENCH records takeover at Cable in September?

Dance floor music for sure, mainly 128bpm-140bpm I expect. And some exclusive new MLU music ;)

*Originally posted at The Fat! Club in August 2012.

DD

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Baraka / Samsara

In the lead up to the release of Ron Fricke’s Samsara (which opened in UK cinemas on Friday) we decided to watch his first film, Baraka (1992), to which Samsara is a continuation. I say continuation as the films are both plot-less, dialogue-less documentaries, with no beginning, middle or end. 

Baraka quietly captures scenes from all over the world, covering six continents, ranging from stunning natural phenomena, to the bee-hive like hum and bustle of an urban metropolis.

In this way all aspects of our world are presented, complimenting and contrasting each other, providing insight into the diversity and evolution of humanity alongside nature and within our own habitats. The film’s twenty chapters are split into three main sections, giving some idea of the focus and themes;

Nature untouched by man – indigenous peoples, their rituals as part of nature being integrated, 

Burglary of technology in nature – Uprooted human interaction with nature and with his kind – War and concentration camps, 

Old, still living cultures – The architectural remains of past civilizations – Transience and lasting of all human efforts.

Although shot twenty years ago, Baraka never looks dated. Filmed with an Todd-AO 70mm camera (ie. the most incredibly HD camera ever invented ) the images are ridiculously high quality, with each frame looking like a page from the National Geographic. 

If you are the kind of person who can occasionally be found monging on the sofa in front of whatever David Attenborough series is currently on TV, awestruck by the scenes of nature and David’s comforting voice, you should watch this film. The release of Samsara is very exciting as seeing this kind of documentary on the big screen is the only thing that could further improve such an amazing visual experience. Check out the trailer for Samsara - and come on guy get it in HD!

MT

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Jameson Whiskey presents 'The Ventriloquist' starring Kevin Spacey. Written and directed by Benjamin Leavitt.

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New EP / Free download from Lindstrom & Todd Terje

Fresh from his brilliantly ambitious Six Cups of Rebel LP released earlier this year, Norwegian space disco pioneer Lindstrøm returns with his new 12" entitled 'Rà-àkõ-st', which features two extended mixes from fellow Norwegian Todd Terje. The title track is a synth-heavy cut of late night disco, check it out below and download it here!

On the other side is the brilliant 'Ęg-gęd-ōsis', again an extended version from Todd Terje, reminiscent of some of Lindstrøm's earlier work like the seminal 'I Feel Space'. Check it out below, and grab it from iTunes!

Keep up with Lindstrøm on Facebook and Twitter. Keep up with Todd Terje on Facebook.

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Country Man at the Tate - The hilarious Adam Buxton at it again.

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TNGHT [Hudson Mohawke x Lunice] guest mix for Diplo's BBC Radio 1Xtra show!

Lunice and Hudson Mohawke originally met when Lunice booked Glasgow based HudMo for one of his Turbo Crunk party nights in Montreal. After a couple of successful years individually the duo then spent some time in the studio together in London last year, which resulted in their much acclaimed self-titled TNGHT EP.

Check out their recent guest mix for Diplo's BBC Radio 1Xtra show - Aside from bookending the hour-long set with the clanging horror score keys of John Carpenter—always a good thing—the duo included exclusives from their next co-release between Hudson Mohawke’s Warp home and Lunice’s LuckyMe crew. Stream and download the mix below... 

TNGHT – BBC Radio 1 Mixtape:

1 John Carpenter – Back to the pod (version 2) 2 SpaceGhostPurrp – Get Yah Head Bust 3 Dj Zirk – Lock Em In Da Trunk (Chopped & Screwed Tommy Kruise Remix) 4 Lil Ugly Mane feat. Denzel Curry – Twistin 5 Jackie Chain feat. Bun B & Big K.R.I.T. – Parked Outside 6 Lady Bee – Hard Like A Criminal 7 Dj Squeeky & Tha Family – Death To You Playa Hata 8 Snoop Dogg feat. Master P – Snoop World 9 Lunice – Youngin (Paper) (forthcoming LuckyMe) 10 TNGHT – Bugg’N (forthcoming Warp X LuckyMe) 11 2Chainz feat. Drake – No Lie 12 Lunice – Believe Dat (forthcoming LuckyMe) 13 TNGHT – Ridin Up 14 Chief Keef feat. Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean & Jadakiss – I Don’t Like (Remix) 15 TNGHT – Goooo (forthcoming Warp X LuckyMe) 16 GOOD Music – Mercy x Furnace 17 Hudson Mo – Chimes 18 Sasha Go Hard – I’m Hotta 19 Zebra Katz x Boyfriend – Winter Titty 20 Decibel – GAP 21 TNGHT – Bounce Hitum 22 Waka Flocka Flame – Rooster in my Rari (TNGHT official remix) 23 TNGHT – Higher Ground (forthcoming Warp X LuckyMe) 24 Stabber – Torsion Force 25 S-Type – Billboard (forthcoming LuckyMe) 26 TNGHT – Go Get Busy (forthcoming Warp X LuckyMe) 27 Zodiac – Girlgirlgirl 28 John Carpenter – Over the Wall

Keep up with TNGHT over on Facebook.

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Jessie Ware x Julio Bashmore - Sweet Talk

The lovely Jessie Ware is back with another single from her forthcoming album Devotion, which is set to be one of the years best releases. Julio Bashmore is once again on the buttons with a lush 80's electro funk inspired groove which excellently compliments Ware's soulful croon. Check out Sweet Talk below and you can pre-order signed copies of Devotion over at Play before the iTunes release on August 20th.

Keep up with Jessie Ware over on Facebook and Twitter / Keep up with Julio Basmore on Facebook and Twitter.

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Free Downloads from Wolf Cub & Pale

We've got two great free tracks for you to download from a couple of very exciting emerging producers, Wolf Cub & Pále. First up is Wolf Cub, a member of music and art crew The Transmission Collective, based in Leeds, whose track Forste is a smart blend of deep rolling bass and vocal stabs, with a heavy dose of late night atmosphere. With some further releases in the pipeline Wolf Cub is without doubt someone to keep your eye on! Check out the track below and download it from here. 

Forste - Wolf Cub (Re-Mastered Free Download) by WOLFCUB

On a similarly deep vibe is Pále's sublime Orchidea, a sepia tinted slow jam from the man behind that monster of a remix of Mak & Pasteman's Jungle Juice [listen below]. Equally adept at bringing us dancefloor smashers as he is mellow slow jams, Pále is set for big things, so remember the name! And follow Pále on Twitter here. Check out Orchidea below and download it here. 

Orchidea by Pále

And get your ears round this banging remix of Mak & Pasteman's Jungle Juice! 

Mak & Pasteman - Jungle Juice (Pále Remix) by Pále

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BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is once again hosting the BP Portrait Award and, once again, it showcases some really outstanding work from a selection of some of the best artists around today.

One of the most striking things about the exhibition, and a fact that also makes portraiture such a fascinating and accessible genre, is the incredible variety that can be present under the same umbrella. The portrait award has always had universal appeal and there's no doubt that everyone, from contemporary art cynics to regular exhibition goers, will see something that appeals to them.

This year, there were two categories that most of the pieces in the exhibition seemed to fall in to: photorealist works and those drawing inspiration from the Old Masters.

These types of work, although visually at opposite ends of the spectrum, both suggest something similar: that the traditional technical skills learnt by artists for centuries are still just as prevalent and present today as they have ever been. Many of the pieces on display demonstrate this by replicating the revered artists of the past, or by recreating life as truthfully as a camera. The painterliness across the board is welcome in today’s artistic climate, where too many works seem to prompt the ‘I could have done that’ reaction.

Of course, there are many pieces that fall into a category of their own and the exhibition is definitely worth visiting, especially as admission is free, simply for the artistic skill and sheer talent on display.

Here are just a few standout pieces:

Richie Culver Alan Coulson

This portrait, used on the exhibition flyers, stands out both for aesthetic reasons and for the subject matter itself. The juxtaposition of the classical portraiture style and the thoroughly modern subject relate back to Courbet and Manet, and the subject's individuality is portrayed in a particularly easy-going manner. If nothing else, there’s just something about this portrait, possibly the clean lines and depth of detail, that will keep you standing in front of it for hours.

Self-Portrait as an Unknown Gentleman Claire Kerr 

The influence of Titian's Portrait of an Englishman is clear here, but the minimal background and composition provide a modern twist, as do Kerr's themes of self-identity in contemporary life.

Silent Eyes Antonios Titakis 

This portrait definitely has the wow factor simply in its scale and incredible detail. Up close, you can see literally every pore, every hair, every tiny freckle and slight inflection of light on the subject's face. It is almost unbelievable that a human hand painted this stroke by stroke and that it is not a digitally created image.

The BP Portrait Award 2012 21st June – 23rd September at the National Portrait Gallery London

  MT

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James Zabiela RA.319

It's no secret that at Analog Sessions we're huge fans of James Zabiela. For the last decade he's cemented his place as one of the worlds most technically gifted, forward thinking DJs, and having got his break back in 2000 after winning the Bedroom Bedlam mix competition in Muzik magazine, he really knows how to put together a mixtape. As we've seen in his Renaissance mix CDs he's not afraid to experiment, often diverting from the traditional track follows track formula we're all used to. He's taken to layering and breaking up his mixes with field recordings from his life as a continuously travelling DJ and manipulated spoken word interludes, which give them a real depth and allow the music more breathing space. 

His sublime RA Podcast is no different, a thoughtfully introspective showcase of his perpetually evolving tastes in melodic, delicate house music, along with some trademark bassier club sounds.

RA Interview with James Zabiela

Tracklist:

Synkro & Indigo - Guidance - Exit Recordings Beaumont - Uptown - Hotflush * Hope is dangerous Pedram - My Boo  Bonobo - The Keeper feat. Andreya Triana (Banks remix) - Ninja Tune * RMXing Falty DL - Anxiety - Planet Mu A1 Bassline - Falsehood - Dirtybird Addison Groove - Entropy - 50 Weapons * RMXing Modeselektor - This feat. Thom Yorke - Monkeytown +  Cliff Martinez - Where's the Deluxe Version - Lakeshore Records * I got the driver Unknown Hardfloor - Mesmerizing Liquids - No Respect Patrice Baumel - Chase - Systematic * What am I doing here? Joe Stawarz - Bee Bear - Soma John Talabot - So Will Be Now... feat. Pional - Permanent Vacation Ben Westbeech - Stronger - Strictly Rhythm * I wasn't myself James Zabiela - The Healing - Born Electric * Thats just what I enjoy doing the most Martyn - We Are You In The Future - Brainfeeder Beaumont - Never Love Me - Hotflush The Naked & Famous - The Ends - Somewhat Damaged * Breaking Bad Apparat - Goodbye - Instrumental + Vocal version  Mute / The Naked & Famous - The Ends * What do I want with eternity? Clark - Black Stone - Warp

DD

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Your Sister's Sister // Humpday

I have recently had my first taste of the work of director Lynn Shelton in the form of the films Humpday, released in 2009, and Your Sister’s Sister, currently charming cinema goers around the country.

Although the titles suggest the kind of inane Rom-Coms that flood our screens every summer, where a lack of substance seems to be as mandatory as the presence of Jennifer Aniston, Your Sister’s Sister in fact has so much more to offer.

Emily Blunt is the biggest name here in her role as Iris, who sends her best friend Jack (Mark Duplass) off to her family’s remote but stunning cabin in the woods for some alone time after the death of his brother. He encounters her older sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) who is unexpectedly using the cabin for some alone time herself. The two have a tequila-fuelled bitching session over their equally mournful situations, and end up drunkenly sleeping together. Hilarity ensues.

Pretty standard plot line and in the beginning you find yourself wondering whether the film will go down the same paint-by-numbers formula we have all seen, and endured, hundreds of time before. In some ways, it does. But with this film, the magic is in the detail and it proves itself to be engrossing and completely charming. 

The setting itself is almost enough to win you over, the cabin and its surroundings are quietly beautiful and the minimal soundtrack is a perfect accompaniment. In fact, this understated and subtle style runs throughout the film, including the dialogue between the characters. This, for me, is the deciding factor in the evaluation of this film. In an industry where natural sounding dialogue is something that seems to constantly evade directors and screen writers and where we are bombarded with actors talking at high speed in an attempt to give the impression of wit and banter between characters, this film is a breath of fresh air and the slower, more normal paced conversations are a much needed breath of fresh air.

Shelton’s answer to the problem of the static restraints of a line by line script is to do away with it all together and the dialogue here is mostly improvised. All credit to the actors, it totally works and their chemistry and relationships as a result are far more believable and engrossing. In fact, the emotional truth which is portrayed and the relatability of the conversations is unparalleled; sisters lying in bed talking like two sisters really do talk to each other, conversation between two people that have just met becoming steadily less awkward and halting under the influence of booze, in a way that we have all seen in real life! Shelton’s films are often classified in the ‘mumblecore’ genre but you can certainly hear the characters loud and clear, in a way that makes you question why we don’t question the absurdly unrealistic nature of many Hollywood scripts.

Like I said before, the film has an entirely understated quality to it and Blunt, Duplass and DeWitt also fit this – they are young and attractive but they are not the shiny Hollywood-version of regular people we are so used to seeing on our screens.

The film has its flaws of course, however small, one of which being Blunt’s accent, but this again is treated in such a casual way (she remains pretty much English save for the odd random inflection) that it’s not glaringly obvious or offensive (see Anne Hathaway in One Day for an accent so bad you can barely remember what the film is about or, in fact, hear it over the sniggers of literally everyone in the cinema.)

Your Sister's Sister 4/5

Humpday is similarly, a flawed film that nevertheless packs a punch, drawing its strength from fantastic casting and chemistry between the improvising actors. Duplass stars again alongside a cast of relatively unknown faces, including a cameo from Shelton herself. Humpday focuses on what I guess we would now call a bromance, but which a few years ago pre-Scrubs etc, would have just been a friendship between two guys, one happily married, the other a content but directionless hipster. A drunken joke spirals out of control and in a fit of one-upmanship, they decide to do the dirty. With each other. Ok, so my problem with this is – why? Throughout the film Duplass’s character, Ben, has increasingly honest conversations with his wife Anna, played in an outstanding performance by Alycia Delmore, about why it is he wants to do this but these conversations only produce very vague answers.  Although Ben opens up to his cohort Andrew about his one very slightly semi-gay experience, the conclusion is that for both of them it’s a ‘need to prove my manliness’ situation, but really when one of them is completely content in his marriage to a woman who is described regularly in the film as ‘awesome’ and the other is somewhat of a lothario, you find yourself unsatisfied with this explanation.

Despite these minor criticisms Shelton’s subtle and understated films, lacking in big star names and a Hollywood budget, leave more of a long lasting impression than anything else you’ll see in the cinema this summer, possibly this year.

Humpday 3.5/5

MT

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Solomun - Kackvogel

Solomun is absolutely killing it at the moment, so many great tracks and remixes from him over the last year and this new one, Kackvogel, is surely the best of the lot. And the video is brilliant too, this guys got some seriously good variations on the classic walking dance. Kackvogel is out now on Watergate Records, available on 12" and from  Beatport.

[analogsessions]

A Separation

Directed by Asghar Farhadi

Starring Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi

One of the stand out films of 2011, Asghar Farhadi's A Separation not only tells a story of the disintegration of a marriage, but also creates a complex portrait of modern Iran. 

The film opens with wife Simin pleading to a judge to be divorced from her husband Nader, her grounds being that she wants to leave Iran, taking Termeh, their daughter with her. Nader refuses, wanting to stay put to take care of his elderly father who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Simin decides to move out, however Termeh stays with her father, motivated partly by the belief that her mother won't leave the country without her. Meanwhile Nader hires a lower class carer named Razieh to look after his father whilst he works, but she has domestic problems of her own. Her temperamental husband disapproves of her working and her devout faith leaves her fretting over her actions. What follows is a disastrous incident that brings the characters together with affecting consequences. 

A Separation is tense and engaging, twisting and turning as its characters and their relationships unravel. As the film develops its moral compass swings this way and that, and our sympathies for each of the perfectly rounded characters constantly evolve. We are democratically shown the good and the bad of each individual, and see a clear picture of their personal virtues and motivations.

There are many themes in the film, but at its core it is about honesty. The circumstances that arrive consistently lead back to various moments where characters lie to each other, and one of the prominent questions in the film is raised by the daughter; 'are you telling the truth'? The naturalist qualities of the film, visually, as well as in its script and superb acting create an utterly engrossing realist story of human interaction, whilst at the same time managing to talk very coherently about issues in contemporary Iran, such as gender, class and religion.

It is reminiscent of Michael Haneke's Caché in its intimate yet neutral cinematography, as well as in its exploration of the parent-child relationship, and cleverly separates characters symbolically with glass throughout the film, be it the windows within the family home, the window behind which Nader works at the bank, the smashed windscreen of his car, or the glasses sitting on Termeh's nose through which she views her parents. Ultimately it is Termeh who quietly emerges as the central figure amidst the petty stubbornness of the adults around her in this excellent contemporary tragedy.

4.5/5

A Separation is available now on Blu-Ray & DVD.

[analogsessions]

Tuesday Trailer Round-Up

Only the one trailer to show you this week after last weeks bumper round-up, but it's a goodun - the first trailer for Baz Luhrmann's much anticipated adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Now I'll come clean and admit I haven't read the book (I haven't ready many) and to be honest I don't really know anything about the story, but I do know that Baz likes to do things differently, as we saw in Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge. And judging from the trailer The Great Gatsby promises to be just as visually impressive. The cast is a little hit and miss, I'm not sure how much more of Carey Mulligan I can take, and hopefully Leo might show a bit of much needed variety, but it has the potential to be one of the years biggest films when released this Christmas.