Session Victim – ‘Random Blues’

If you cast you mind back to last year, you might remember there was quite a bit of fuss on here about Session Victim‘s album, The Haunted House of House. And rightfully so. It is slick, classy and neat deep house record.

Session Victim are at it again. The German duo of Hauke Freer and Matthias Reiling have teamed up with Brighton house label, Wolf Music for a new EP, WOLF EP018. Sharing the wax with Medlar, Squarehead (not our Squarehead) and Ishmael, Session Victim’s inclusion is ’Random Blues’; a is a slow-burner, gently building, deep house jam which blends touches of disco and soul, nicely and neatly polished off with an undeniable dance groove.

The 12″ EP is out on May 6th through Wolf Music with a digital release date TBA.

Shit Robot – ‘Feels Real’ featuring Jenr (Luke Jenner of The Rapture)

Marcus Lambkin’s Shit Robot is back with a brand new single ‘Feels Good’, which features the vocals of Jenr, aka Luke Jenner of The Rapture.

It’s seven-minutes plus of swaggering disco synths topped off perfectly by Luke Jenner of The Rapture’s fantastic falsetto vocals. ‘Feel Good’ is out now on a 12″ through DFA with remixes by Luke Solomon and Larse. It’s always good news to hear new tunes from Shit Robot, consequently if you haven’t checked out his 2010 album From The Cradle To The Rave, I wholeheartedly recommend that you do at the nearest opportunity. You can stream the radio edit of ‘Feels Real’ below or check the video too and get the full seven odd minute version. 

Also this week will see Shit Robot playing a number of shows across Ireland; Cypress Ave, Cork on May 3rd, Roisin Dubh, Galway on May 4th and Button Factory, Dublin on May 5th.

Swall – Bright//Moon//Light (CL Moons Remix)

If you’re a regular on this blog, you will probably already know SertOne is held in rather high esteem around this neck of the woods.

Well, not just content with knocking our sock off with his hip-hop influenced electronics, the ever prolific Liverpool based Irish producer has an equally impressive body of work under his other pseudonym CL Moons. CL Moons is his a footwork/juke sideline and as an introduction to this alter-alter ego, is his reworking of Swall’s ‘Bright//Moon//Light’. It sees Swall’s soft wandering pop recast in a different light, with Moons kicking in with sharp, snappy beats at a BPM up there with the national debt (that’s high in case you were wondering). 

This tune has been on constant rotation along with CL Moons’ edit of DJ Fresh ‘Gatekeeper’ for the past month. You can listen to them both below. See also, Sweekers Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, where by Mr. Moons has teamed up with fellow Irish producer Lemonada. 

Attaque – ‘Warble’

Attaque has been making waves over the past two years, impressing at every given opportunity with his heads-down, brain-crumpling kinetic electro.  

Attaque has proven himself quite prolific too, with a string of singles, EPs and an album in relatively short space of time. Ahead of some new EPs, he has returned with a new track, ‘Warble’. While this name is slightly misleading, as the track does anything but warble, it is yet another great track from the Colchester boy. ‘Warble is in fact a pretty brutal assault of thumping  electro / techno, pitted with some ragga style vocals. 

No dates as of yet for the release of the aforementioned EPs but for now you can download ‘Warble’ for free below. 

Adultrock – ‘Chants’

It has been quite some time since Adultrock, fellow Newbridge compañero Gav Elsted, featured on the blog but that’s not to say he hasn’t been busy.

While neglected here, he’s been receiving plenty of attention further afield, including Annie Mac, who posted ‘In The Shade’ as part of her Free Music Mondays series last month. We have dropped in on Adultrock at a very opportune time. He is in inspired form with brand new track ‘Chants’, a dancefloor-ready, hypnotic and repetitive house tune. This is an absolute gem & I just can’t get enough of it right now. Magnifique!

Check out ‘Chants’ below, you will not  be disappointed. There’s two dates for your diary also; Adultrock will play Camden Crawl Dublin in May & Body & Soul in June

Introducing: Total Normal

Total Normal is the solo project of Thierry Vaudor, a Canadian-born producer now residing in Paris. The name is pretty misleading as it’s anything but normal, as is the title of his debut album, Tales of the Expected which is anything but expected. This playful disregard for convention is a cornerstone of the artist’s charm. 

Vaudor is overflowing ideas and creativity, plundering a selection of samples, bass lines, random bits of dialogue, beats and melody; he has cut and paste them, then chopped and changed them, all to suit his need. The album is inherently a lot of fun, a mix of cool, colourful and jazzy sounds leaving a sense of cheery nostalgia. On listening, you will suspect you have heard it before, even if you haven’t. It’s probably not for everyone given it’s slight oddity, variety of experimentation and dearth of samples but there should be something for everyone  among the 19 tracks.

There’s a couple of choice cuts for your listening pleasure below and if they tickle your fancy, Tales of the Expected is available via bandcamp.

Imploded View – ‘Slo Mo Disco’

Since releasing his debut album Picnics With Pylons last September, which is excellent in case you’re wondering, Imploded View has kept busy working on, and releasing new tracks. 

Anyway, ‘Slo Mo Disco’ is the latest jam from the Longford based producer and it is a simply wonderful piece of downtempo electronica, the man’s forte after all. ‘Slo Mo Disco’ finds a gentle balance between melodic warmth and ambient minimalism; one listen to this and it will be bouncing around your head all day. In other Imploded View related news, he will performing an A/V show in cinema space at this years Phase One Festival in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Hopefully we get another release from Imploded View this year, maybe another EP or perhaps even album, any road, ‘Slo Mo Disco’ is fine company for now.  

Introducing: Benjamin Damage

Swansea born / Berlin based producer Benjamin Damage has stepped out on his own with his excellent debut solo album Heliosphere. Although this is a first album under his own name, Damage is no novice, having already released a tidy body of work in collaboration with Venom and Doc Daneeka.

Loosely speaking what we’ve got here is techno, damn fine techno at that. He does however, delve into a textural depth that goes far beyond the constraints of the genre taking in touches of dubstep, garage and rave. In doing so he’s found a cloudy space between pile-driving techno, the more minimalist delicacy of the genre and an almost ambient slumber. Although this more drowsy side to his sound is maintained throughout, these atmospheric spurts are by no means the pulse of his sound. The music is propulsive and can be dark, mysterious, yet never brutal. Even when in full flight, with rhythms twisting and turning, the momentum is never lost.

An assured and focused sound that packs as much punch as it does intrigue, Heliosphere is out  now on Modeselktor’s very own 50Weapons label.

Robin Snow – ‘Daydreamer’

Remember Sad Soul Circus, right? Either way, the 20 year old Dublin based producer (aka Finn Yowell) has put Sad Soul Circus moniker on the back burner in favour of his new project, ‘Robin Snow‘.

Whereas SSC was down-tempo chilled out tranquil sounds, Robin Snow is an entirely different proposition. The first offering from his new alias is ’Daydreamer’, an upbeat funky house tune with a jazzy swing and more than a nod or two to hip hop, demonstrating the transition from the laid back late night vibe to the feel-good party tune.

Hopefully this doesn’t spell the end for Sad Soul Circus on a whole but whatever the case, it will be interesting to hear more from Robin Snow in future.

Applescal – ‘Spring and Life’

Dutch producer Applescal released his brand new album Dreaming in Key a few weeks back. Comprised of 11 tracks, the album finds itself in an ambiguous hinterland between electronica & techno. More on the album itself later, suffice to say it’s very, very good.

For now feast your ears on ‘Spring and Life’, one of Dreaming in Key‘s sneak previews. It is a dark and bubbling slow-burner, building from these murky origins it transforms toward an illuminating but spacey climax with exuberance and punch. One can imagine it, like the rest of the record, working ever so well in a club as it does on headphones.

Dreaming in Key is out now via Atomnation and you could do a lot worse things than spending your weekend listen in its company.

King Kong Company – ‘BagPuss’

Some may remember King Kong Club from their admirable attempt to release a brand new track a month in 2011, after reforming following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.  

To celebrate their latest Irish tour, of which began with a sell out performance in their hometown of Waterford, King Kong Company have released their latest track ‘Bagpuss’. What it’s got to do with ’70s UK children’s television series is beyond me but it is yet another no nonsense club track and dance floor filler, aided by Sue O’Neill on vocals.

You can catch King Kong Company live next month when they play Cyprus Avenue, Cork on Saturday, March 2nd & Pogo at The Twisted Pepper, Dublin, Saturday, March 16th.

Album of the Week: The Pictish Trail – Secret Soundz, Volume 2

Ever wondered what the greatest album to be recorded in a caravan was? Didn’t think so, but the latest effort from The Pictish Trail, Secret Soundz, Volume 2 has to be the front runner for this, the most unlikely of accolades (if there are others, answers on a postcard please).

Touted as the follow up to 2008′s Secret Soundz, we find The Pictish Trail, the alter ego of Scottish musician Johnny Lynch, in a contemplative, often meloncholic mood, concerned with life’s ups and downs. In contrast, musically Secret Sounds is rather chipper, spurred on by a glorious melange of oddball sounds, sparks of frazzled electronics and instrumental breaks.

Opening with the bright and bouncy, instrumental electro ‘Secret Sounds #6′, this introduction is a bit misleading, it’s with ‘Sequels’ that the album kicks into gear. The oddball sounds and electronics remain but what’s clear is, they are not the focus here. They are but a platform, with Lynch’s wonderful singing voice firmly in the foreground. The premise firmly established, the album gently cascades through folk-influenced balladry and warm electronics of ‘Of Course You Exist’, ’The Handstand Crowd’ and ‘Michael Rocket’. It is a real bag of tricks but never losing of the balance between curiosity and melancholic it is interspersed with equal doses of both.

Although a sequel, one doesn’t need to need to be acquainted with it’s earlier sibling. As a stand alone record it is magnificent record; warm, inviting and full of charming quirks from an artist of genuine exceptional talent.