A few of these tracks are off some albums that have come out recently. I like to feature just one track, or at most two; but really, I recommend grabbing the full albums from Brekage, Pacou, and Fluxion especially. The thought crossed my mind that I should also have some Autechre and Kyle Hall in here but, I think I’m going to review the Autechre album separately. Ramadanman also has a new album out but I haven’t had a listen yet. Too much good music, not enough time.

Lost Trax – The Sequel (Original Mix) / Lost Trax 2 / Scsi-Av
[audio:0410/01 The Sequel.mp3]

Dare & Haste – Sinister Transmission (2006 Version) / Sinister Remixes / Advanced
[audio:0410/07 Sinister Transmission.mp3]

Fluxion – Waves (Original Mix) / Perfused / Echochord
[audio:0410/fluxion - waves.mp3]

Cardopusher – It’s Yesterday Already (Original Mix) / Schematic Blocks / On The Edge
[audio:0410/02 Its Yesterday Already.mp3]

SBTRKT – Soundboy Shift (Original Mix) / Soundboy Shift bw Rundown / Young Turks
[audio:0410/01 Soundboy Shift.mp3]

The Parallel – Abyss (Original Mix) / The Parallel / Komisch
[audio:0410/01 Abyss.mp3]

Pacou – LL004 Part 3 / Acid Tracks / Cache
[audio:0410/08 LL004 Part 3.mp3]

Ortin Cam & Charles Bells – Pyramid (Original Mix) / Black / Roots Records
[audio:0410/03 Pyramid.mp3]

Breakage ft. Burial – Vial / Foundation / Digital Soundboy
[audio:0410/breakage - vial ft burial.mp3]

Apathesis – Wake Up (Original Mix) / Begin / Urban Scrumping
[audio:0410/03 Wake Up.mp3]

Flying Lotus is finished his acclaimed masterpiece and is ready to share it with the rest of us. This album is apparently one seamless piece of music, an opus, a journey through an astral landscape. It’s been described as a “space opera” amongst other things – an appropriate tittle that suggests the perplexing scale of this cosmic body of unearthly music. I’m not quite sure how he’s done it, one can only guess and make assumptions as to how he has crafted cosmogramma into a single entity, having also curated many guest appearances, including a collaboration with Thom York on the track “And The World Laughs With You.”

I have an inkling that there will be at least a few new surprises on this album in addition to the signature Dilla-inspired beat work we’ve come to associate with his music. 3×3 featured tracks from Lotus that didn’t even have beats, and personally, I found that refreshing. Lotus recently did an interview with Gilles Peterson on Radio One where he showcased some of the new materials from the album; unfortunately, that show is no longer up on the BBC player, but someone’s taken the time to edit the tracks from that broadcast into a mini cosmogramma preview. There are more rips floating about but I didn’t want to spoil all the fun.

Tracklist:

01. Clock Catcher
02. Pickled!
03. Nose Art
04. Intro//A Cosmic Drama
05. Zodiac Shit
06. Computer Face//Pure Being
07. And The World Laughs With You ft. Thom Yorke
08. Arkestry
09. Mmmhmm ft.Thundercat
10. Do The Astral Plane
11. Satelllliiiiiteee
12. German Haircut
13. Recoiled
14. Dance Of The Pseudo Nymph
15. Drips//Auntie’s Harp
16. Table Tennis ft. Laura Darlington
17. Galaxy In Janaki

Cosmogramma marks my second “must have” albums of 2010 and will be released in early May through Warp records. Speaking of which, Pre-orders for the first edition CD’s or gatefold vinyl are avaiable now through Bleep. These limited edition copies come with some extra fancy packaging and maybe some other stuff. Read more and order it here.

Flying Lotus – Quakes
[audio:0310/04 Quakes.mp3]
Gonjasufi – Ancestors (Produced by Flying Lotus)
[audio:0310/03 Ancestors.mp3]

Alright, so, I guess I am obviously a bit late sharing this, as the materials presented are a bit dated, but I’ve only recently acquired it myself. “Living Inside the Speaker” is a free short documentary filmed a couple years ago by friends “Mike and Mark”. Their project is a DIY independent effort that takes us a little closer into the heart of Bristol’s subculture; specifically, the Dubstep community, and the people involved there in the shops, the clubs, and on the streets.

For those of us who exist outside, living on the outskirts and fringes of this music, it can be sometimes hard to really get a sense of what is happening at ground zero. Of course, with the internet, forums, blogs, and social networking etc. it’s alot easier to stay in tuned with what’s going on – but you’re really getting all of your information online, after the fact, and in a sort of one dimensional perspective.

What I got from viewing this is that with enough interest and some good people you can really take something and make it your own, build it from the ground up. I respect that mindset and implore all those who also share a similar work ethic.

I have to say I’m not entirely too surprised about the results from the poll we ran for last months chart. People aren’t usually keen to changes, but I understand it’s not exactly important to fix something that isn’t ”broken.” That being said, we’ll stick to the bit reduced chart for now, and I’ll throw in some clips here and there if I feel so inclined. Yes, I’m also aware that I haven’t been as active this month, but hey, that’s life. On a lighter note, this past weekend I had a great experience out at milkrun in TO. Kyle Hall headlined the event and it was high energy and movin’ bodies all night. I think he didn’t even start his set t’il after 5am? I haven’t done the after hours thing in time now…but it was fun filled night to say the least. This months chart is out to all the 5am after hour ravers, enjoy.

#chart#

Nuke – Try Again (Original Mix) / Reset .4 / Reset Music
[audio:2010/0310/01 Try Again (Original Mix).mp3]

Yasuharu Motomiya – Dark Brown (Original Mix) / Dark Brown / Grain Records
[audio:2010/0310/01 Dark Brown.mp3]

A Made Up Sound – Next (Original Mix) / Next bw Destiny / Subsolo
[audio:2010/0310/01 Next.mp3]

EQD – Untitled (A Side) / Equalized002 / Equalized
[audio:2010/0310/eqd - side a.mp3]

Oni Ayhun – Untitled (A Side) / OAR003 / Oni Ayhun Records
[audio:2010/0310/oni ayhun - oar03 - side a.mp3]

Found this on http://jekyllethyde.fr/ and decided to repost.

Yes yes, the academy is back once again, this time in London, UK. I can’t start to let our readers know how invaluable a resource their video archives have been for me. I’ve watched over 50 lectures from artists like – Theo Parish, Moritz Von Oswald (Basic Channel), Goldie, Steve Goodman (Kode9), D-Bridge, Mala, Derrick May, A Guy Called Gerald, … A stunning cast of some seriously innovative legendary artists. These video’s are a godsend for me, and in my opinion better than any classroom oriented instructions you could receive at a music technology college. Of course, the topics of discussion are never centered specifically around one area, like ‘production & techniques’ – instead, the focus is set to encompass a fuller span touching on all areas related to musicianship and the industry. The wealth of knowledge and experience to be had is absolutely unsurmountable.

The application process for the academy can be quite rigid because they’re selecting from a large pool of applicants all competing for a limited number of invitations. You can expect then that if you’re lucky enough to attend you’ll be surrounded by like minded aspiring artists, all with a common love for music and their craft. That being said, I have to pose the question: do you get to choose which lectures you attend? I always find it a bit funny (or frustrating) when audience members don’t know, or have never heard of these lecturers. I can’t help but think to myself “my god, don’t you realize how lucky you are? How the **** do you not know who’s sitting in front of you?” Gilles from Lost Art, a partner of the RMBA, has provided me with a little condensed clip of the lecture from Mala back in 2008.

*edit: just found this mix mala did a couple weeks back and thought i’d share it.
Mala – Live @ KiSS FM 06/02/2010

The academy not only hosts some of the biggest names from House, Techno, DnB, Dubstep, and all the other electronic musics, but also features a variety of artists and industry professionals involved with Jazz, Soul, Reggae, Pop, … Basically, regardless of your background and musical tastes there will be something here for you. Aside from the lecturers there is also been quite a few recent participants that have really launched themselves forward through the academy. Don’t quote me on this bit but I have an inkling that Jamie Woon and Subeena we’re both previous participants. I know at very least that they definitely collaborated on a track together titled “Solidify” featured on the RMBA compilation CD from 2008. Other participants include: Desto, Braiden (Rinse FM), Hudson Mohawke, (Steve Beckette, founder of Warp Records found and signed him here) as well as many other’s that are probably featured on the RMBA compilation CD’s.

This year’s line up is again, an all star back 2 back – But what else does the academy offer? Well, to start with, they host group workshops where the artists and participants together go in depth into the science of sound and music production. Throughout the runnings there is also some great parties to attend. I’m obviously a bit late announcing this but Mala and Goldie both did sets at Culture Clash, a recent showcase in conjunction with the academy. If you’re living in or around the London area, stay tuned on the Red Bull Music Academy website for any information on anymore up coming parties.

P.S. attn. RMBA, please fix the videos for Carl Craig, MJ Cole, and Kieran Hebden. I’m dying here….

I’d like to get an idea of how many of our readers would support a few changes to our chart system. I’ve spoken with Tim about this and we’re gonna run a poll to get a better idea. As it stands, there is a kind of legal “grey area” when it comes to sharing mixes online. As a promotional tool, it’s become the preferred platform to share music on the Internet without disrespecting the artists, their labels, or infringing copyright laws.

The function of this blog is also to promote the music we love; however, there are many people – including some artists, label owners, lawyers, and industry professionals that disagree with file sharing. Personally, I don’t believe 10 downloads = 10 lost sales. There is sufficient evidence on both sides to support either claim. The argument becomes more of a debate centered around the ethics of file sharing as opposed to which approach is a more effective promotional tool. Without delving further into this tiring endless debate, I’d like to disregard the ethics and look at something more tangible. Let’s see if we can’t find an even playing field for the end user, the consumer, and the producer.

Re-encoding tracks to low bitrate mp3s, and honoring our promise to the labels, to have any offending content removed on request, has been our approach. Although this does nothing to stop piracy on a larger scale, it’s our own way of expressing our concerns for the artists, and their property. This has proved to be fairly effective for us, and we haven’t received many complaints; However, the main issue for me in regards to the monthly charts is that many of those tunes are usually brand new, and much of the revenue generated from sales are within the initial period of their release.

This has been very stressful for me because there are loads of tunes I purchase that are omitted because I believe artists deserve a fair chance at maximizing revenue generated in that crucial initial period of it’s release. The most important factor in deciding which tunes are going into the charts is how available they are elsewhere on the net. My efforts have been to keep the focus on sharing new quality tunes that aren’t already propagated throughout the blogosphere.

A couple of idea’s dawned on me while I was listening to my favourite radio shows and podcasts on how I could maintain my principles, without changing the way I’ve done the charts in the past. I realized that in the mixes I was listening to that I was hearing large unmixed portions of new tunes. This is obviously how many rips of unreleased material pop up on the net. No one fusses about bloggers sharing radio rips, and no one (hopefully) is stupid enough to use a radio rip in their mixes. It was finally clear to me how I could overcome the negative connotations and inevitable guilt associated with file sharing, and still share and promote the music I love. This isn’t an absolute truth or final solution, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

I’d like to present two different idea’s to the way we can approach this. The first option would be the tried and tested mix format. This seems to be the most popular and accepted way to go about it. My second idea is approach it more like a radio rip. The changes would be made to the lengths of the tracks, shortening them to 2-3 minute preview clips. This would be easier for us than making mixes, but who knows, maybe we should just try both and see which works best. We’ll start with the clips just cause it’s easiest.

#chart#

Exodub – It’s Alright (Original Mix) / Breath Out / Rest In Beats
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/02 It's Alright.mp3]

Martyn – Seventy Four (Redshape Remix) / Hear Me bw Seventy Four / 3024 Records
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/02 Seventy Four (Redshape Mix).mp3]

Binary Sequence – Arc (Original Mix) (streaming only) / 66/31 / Dark Arx
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/02 Arc.mp3]

Smokin Jo – Simsime (Original Mix) / Umona / Area Remote
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/01 Simsime (Original).mp3]

Frozen Border – 4.01 (Original Mix) / Frozen Border 04 / Frozen Border Records
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/01 4.01.mp3]

Loops Haunt – Joplin (Original Mix) / Impact Omnihammer bw Joplin / Black Acre
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/02 Joplin.mp3]

Planetary Assault Systems – X Speaks To X (Al Tourettes & Appleblim Remix) / Planetary Assault System Remixes / Ostgut Ton
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/01 X Speaks To X (Al Tourettes & App.mp3]

James Fox – Put It Back (Ramadanman Refix) / Put It Back / Take Records
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/02 Put It Back (Ramadanman Refix).mp3]

i3i3 – Rock & Groove It (Original Mix) / Explosion Mind bw Rock & Groove It / Eight:FX
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/02 Rock & Groove It.mp3]

Tickles – Fallout (Mentalic’s Edit) / Freirausch / Ipoly Music
[audio:2010/0110/Clips/03 Fallout (Mentalic's Edit).mp3]

P.S. Please do comment and share your thoughts. These charts usually take me a fair bit of time to compile – It takes you about 5 seconds to simply say “thank you” and show appreciation.