As you may have read in my final post for 2011, I really lovehate the EoY malarkey. It’s as necessary as it is impossible: to try to put a year in some kind of order, to give it good sense, to make it meaningful. I mean, fuck, I’m still trying to understand the past decade’s worth of musical statements and changes. So in a Pyhrric bird flip to timeliness, here, in February, are my final thoughts on 2011.

What can we say about 2011? The soufflé didn’t rise? Some did, some didn’t... It’s about time? Sure, but it always is. Things are never timeless. Nothing except God is outside of time, or so she tells me. Apparently that’s why we need saving, and why we’re so hard to redeem (like vouchers from a now-bankrupt department store). There are still important things about last year we won’t know for some time, such as whether the FBI’s crackdown on one-click download sites like megaupload will have any affect in people’s downloading habits. Dave the Silent Ssg suggested it’s a bit like Whack-a-Mole. I’m sceptical, given that, in my view, what most people want most of the time is convenience. The rest of us are content to listen to depleted music, provided the content is delivered conveniently. Dead Kennedys said it best. So then, what was it about? Doom/Gloom, retromania, and synths aside, I can see two things that, from my perspective, really set 2011 apart as an excellent vintage: collaborations, and mixtapes.


a) collaborations

Within the spectrum of music I gave my attention to (a mere sliver, but then, I only have two ears and one iffy brain), 2011 was a massive year for collaborations. More specifically, collaborations between veterans and/or masters (sorta 'super groups', though it's hardly The Travelling Wilburys), often working in pairs, sometimes in trios and the odd quartet. The following spring to mind immediately, leaving aside HTRK and Junior Boys (who, while notionally duos, are sorta/kinda bands, and don’t really seem to fit among the following): A Winged Victory for the Sullen; Noto + Sakamoto; Fennesz + Sakamoto; Burnt Friedman + Jaki Liebezeit (okay, they are a band); Ricardo Villalobos + Max Lodebauer; Pinch + Shackleton; Jonsson/Alter; Atom + tobias.; Roll the Dice; Moritz von Oswald Trio; Vladislav Delay Quartet (to say Sasu otherwise had an 'off year' would be an understatement... time for a 'year off'?), and Haino, O'Rourke & Ambarchi (which also wins best title of the year, I think... Leyland J Kirby will have to try even harder on this front now). I add in Peaking Lights' 936, because it was just such a fucking good album, probably my 'high rotation' favourite, and an album I listened to all year without getting at all sick of...

Several of these collaborations produced exceptional, if unsurprising results. A lot of them were my favourite records to actually listen to. Again, this is unsurprising, given that we’re dealing with well-established projects and, well, middle-aged dudes and dudettes who’ve really nutted out their approaches to sound. This is why, fundamentally, I think of the best of these as culmination records, recordings that cash out a bunch of ideas that have been kicking around for the past decade or more. But/so: not that exciting, really. And also, you know, I really hope that each is kind of the ‘last one’ in its sequence or series. For the sake of transformation. Culmination, then conclusion, then... rip it up, and start again. To continue on these trajectories would be to court the trage-comedy of true repetition. Add in more time, and you’ll end up with farce, if Woody A is to be believed. But being careful, culminating collaborations between people who really, really know their shit, these records are also very satisfying, if you give them your full attention. Repeat: they are amazing to actually listen to. Which I think you should, especially the following (strict three sentence summa applies):

Winged Victory: The compositions are magnificent, and the recording is astonishing. It breathes, it cries, it swoons and subsides. This is pure Kranky sigh music.

Noto/Sakamoto – Summvs: I was obsessed by Vrioon, and never quite loved Insen – but this one has the most consistent, subtle, and involving compositions. I feel like this recording needs to be ‘set’, like a table for dinner. My advice on perfect setting: play it at high volume around sunset after a long sunny day.

Friedman/Liebezeit – Secret Rhythms 4: Friedman and Liebezeit’s first collab is, for me, one of the great recordings of the 00s, while 2 and 3.... sounded like mere sequels. But here, the edge is back, and each of these ‘pistes’ pushes further than both have managed to go together into their amazing sound world. And: what fucking time signature is that?!

Portable/Portable – Into Infinity: This album is a pair collab. It's Abrahms vs himself (confronting himself with himself, singing over the top of himself, playing himself, ‘killing himself softly with his song’ &c). Until this release I was a Portable skeptic (well, I liked his Bodycode album), but here? The ‘high school existential’ mode of the lyrics (kinda naff, but in a soul-baring way that makes me love them), the harmonies, the arrangements... it took a decade of trying for him to get his formula just right, and here, perfectly, it is.



b) mixtapes

The medium is the message (and the massage!). But what is the medium for the mess age? And what kind of massages could it convey? The medium-quality medium that is mp3 manages to evoke a lot of thought and emotion in people, considering the necessarily depleted nature of the signals it carries. It’s not just that most of the message arrives in spite of the depletion. As Soullessness is going to point out to us for hours, it’s also that the medium enables different kinds of messages to be conveyed. In case you hadn’t noticed, mp3 actually has marvellous creative possibilities. And I see mixtapes as one set of these.

Okay, there’s nothing ‘2011 new’ about either mp3 or mixtapes, but nonetheless, several of recordings I was most obssessed by last year were mixtapes. Not albums. Not mp3s. Mixtapes... that were often denser, and more challenging and interesting than the published work of the artists who assembled them. And they’re free! You don't have to get whacked with the IP phallus of the angry sovereign, Mr Mole (see megaupload link). We really need to pause and appreciate this for what it is. A feast is in front of us. What follows are a few of the recent best:

Endless House Foundation - FACT 223: this is just such an engaging and wonderful listen. The track selection and programming is flawless. Proof of this is that I have played it end-to-end pretty much once a week since it was released.

Psychological Strategy Board - Industry, What Industry?: this one is deep and intense. If you haven't read Glister, by John Burnside (great review here by Irvine Welsh), you should. This mixtape takes me into that headspace (sort of 'mixed in' to The Memory Chalet, by Tony Judt), an English headspace, where things are old and falling apart... (sorry England, but that's cool, you've been falling apart for hundreds of years). Thank you Pontone!

Moon Wiring Club - FACT 310: I'm still digesting this one. The density, the care, the audacity! To me this is the clearest demonstration of the artistic superiorities of mp3 as a medium.

Mark Van Hoen - Pontone Synth Mix: Hands down, the best introduction to 'synth' I could give anyone. I especially like the carefully curated focus on earlier stuff. This is obviously by someone who knows their shit, and has been at it for a while. Wisdom, I think that's called. Yes, this mixtape is nothing but wise choices. And, well, you'd be wise to get your ears around it.

AnD - No UFOs mix: Still digesting this one, too, but it's awesome. Goes well with the recent Sandwell Where to Next? farewell mix. One look at the tracklist and you'll understand why...


c) some albums stand alone

Finally, one album - my undisputed favourite of the year on all counts, aforementioned others notwithstanding. Julia Holter’s Tragedy. There are some dodgy vinyl rips kicking around. Don't stick with them. Get FLAC at least, it’s worth it. 'Cos this is the most original, involving, challenging and rewarding album from 2011, without a doubt, one that could never have been a pair collaboration. This is one woman's musical vision, and, wow, she nailed it.

I've been meaning to do this for a while, here is a round up of some of what I have been listening to and enjoying over the last month or two:

A.P reworks Muslimgauze: The sheer size of Muslimgauze's discography makes even the thought of trying to tackle his ouvre too challenging. This EP, however, is an excellent point of entry, with A.P putting his signature on 4 tracks from the Muslimgauze library. The combination works perfectly, A.P adds a lovely ambience and tempo to it all.

Andy Stott - "Passed Me By / We Stay Together": The name of the first of these perfectly describes what happened with me, these albums really did pass me by last year. I am not sure what it is was, but all the praise for these actually turned me off checking them. It was only after a very trusted friend implored me to listen, combined with the appearance on this on a wide range of different EoY lists, that I ordered the double CD version. I am glad I got over my prejudices because these are really special. The praise is deserved. Stott is carving out his own universe, and it is one that is thoroughly captivating. 

Pulse Emitter - "Cosmic Images" and "Spiritual Vistas": Pulse Emitter has a sound that really appeals my tastes. The deep, meditative droning atmospheres are perfect for the sore, tired brain. This stuff is fantastic late at night, or the day after going to a club. This is music to soak up. Gorgeous stuff. Very excited about his forthcoming LP on Aguirre.

1958-2009 and Earn - "A Following Shadow": Beautiful shimming ambiance from Matthew Sullivan. The A1 on the 1958-2009 LP is particularly sublime. My wife also picked up a big batch of tapes from his label, Ekhein, and I have been enjoying making our way through them. Some excellent stuff. So far the stand out has probably been Greg Davis' "Schumann Resonances".

Prurient - "Bermuda Drain": Perhaps my most listened to release over the last 2 months. As I said before, the screaming in it definitely is a bit of a barrier, but if you can work through it, you will be rewarded. This album really reminds me from a scene in "Punch Drunk Love" where Adam Sandler says, "your face is so beautiful I just wanna smash it, just smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it...you're so pretty." Also"Time's Arrow" is a very good companion piece to the album, so I would suggest checking that too.



HTRK - "Work (Work, Work)": This has been getting a lot of love recently, seems like a lot of people (myself included) discovered it from some EoY lists. What I really like about this album is how complete it is. It fits together so well, there are no weak tracks, it is just the right length. It feels like something where the artists achieved their vision.

Craig Leon - "Nommos": Discovered this through Raime's EoY list. Looks like it is a sneaky repress and there are not many copies floating about. If you can, grab one, it is totally awesome. It is from 1981 and it very much feels of that time, but in the best possible way. There is a beautiful simplicity to the machines, the tracks have quite an open, expansive feel to them.

Sapphire Slows - "Melt" and "True Breath": Sapphire was a guest at our last chill out party, and I talked about her then, so not much to add here. I really love both of these EPs. Very impressive stuff considering she has only been making music for about a year. Her tracks are well balanced, they definitely have a pop element, but it is not overdone. Sweet, warm music.

Donnacha Costello – "12 Days": This is the special digital release project that Donnacha did over the Christmas / New Year period. 1 ambient track per day for 12 days. Of these I'd say there are 3 gems, which show Donnacha at his absolute best. These 3 tracks - "From Nowhere", "Losing Battle" and "Just Because" - I have been playing on a very regular basis. A great little project and excellent value (it was only 10 euro or something ridiculous).

Tim Hecker - "Dropped Pianos": I held off buying this for a while simply because I am not a big fan of piano based music. I am glad I got over that, though, as this is excellent. It has that powerful, arresting feel common to Hecker's work but is not as intense as "Ravedeath".

Pete Swanson - "Man With Potential": Bit abrasive at times, but still very listenable. It gets better as it develops too, the first track is the weakest, and the last one is my favourite. This strikes me as an excellent example of the kind of music Dave was talking about in his "post-techno' piece.

Pete Swanson & Rene Hell – "Waiting For The Ladies": The Swanson track is in a similar vein to the "Man With Potential" release, while the synths of Rene Hell are much warmer and more inviting. I had a really beautiful moment the other night walking through the snow listening to the tracks from Hell. Strong release.

"Orgelvärk: en stadig samling svensk synthmusik": The subtitle for this recent compilation on Minimal Wave translate as "a solid collection of Swedish synth music" but this is a big understatement. A really fantastic release. I want to buy a lot more from Minimal Wave than I end up doing because it feels like most of the releases have some killer tracks, but then quite a few that have not aged so well. There certainly isn't that problem here, lots of great '80s synth music from the Swedes to enjoy.

Joachim Nordwall – "Ignition": Dark, droning, pulsating ambient music. The digital version is just one track that goes for about 50 minutes, which works well, allowing Nordwall builds a captivating and immersive atmosphere. You can get the whole release in wav format for just £1.66 from Junodownload. This is ridiculously good value. Trust me, buy it.

Last of all are two collaborative debut albums from friends of ours: Voices from the Lake (Donato Dozzy and Neel) and Sendai (Peter Van Hoesen and Yves De Mey). Neither album are that surprising, each do roughly what you'd expect them to do: VFTL is diving ambient techno, while Sendai fuses their shared interest in sound design with some latent techno sensibilities. I am completely biased but I really like both of these releases and I think each have managed to successfully execute their respective visions. Looking forward to getting physical copies of both of these. From memory I think both albums are out in the next month or so.

Ok, that's it. All of these releases are recommended. Let us know if you have any tips on things to check.

This week we are very happy to welcome a new face to mnml ssgs, Vril. While he only has a few releases to his name, Vril has definitely be turning some heads, including ours. We came across Vril with his first EP on the Staub imprint on Giegling, one of our favourite labels. We weren't the only ones to notice this record: Marcel Dettmann licenced "V3" for his recent mix CD, while Marcel Fengler asked Vril to contribute an exclusive track for his Berghain mix CD, which was also featured on the sampler EP along with Peter Van Hoesen and Reagenz. And based on the livepa he has put together for mnml ssgs, we think he'll be getting lots more attention in the future...

In this studio session Vril has constructed sixty minutes of carefully building techno. Even if he is a relatively new artist, it is clear he already has a lot of strong material and has a tight liveset. There is real life and vitality to his music, it kicks! It kind of reminds us of the early Kompakt Speicher releases. It is, quite simply, some rather rocking techno.

Ssg special - Vril

Vril's first release "V1-V4" is not even on discogs anymore, but the good news is that there will be a repress at some point this year, so keep an eye out for that. You can also expect Vril's third EP, "V8-V10", which is on its way. Big thanks to Ulli for making this recording for us, and to Marcel and the Giegling boys for helping to organise it. Enjoy.

I’d intended this post as some final words on 2011. But then two things happened. First of all, I listened to LWE’s Smallville ‘talking shopcast’ mix. Then, in lieu of an abortive graveyard shift on RRR (another story), I trawled through my early catalogue Dial records. Doing these two things stirred up some very powerful mixed feelings. So the final 2011 post – dealing with positive tropes and things that are really worth chasing if you haven't/didn't – will have to wait until next week. For now, here's me clearing the decks with some things I'd kept on not saying, but that kept on repeating on me...

Time is precious, time hurts. Time gives you erosion, loss, destruction and death. But for precisely that reason, you also get hanami, kittens, sunrise, and spring. On balance, I'd say it's worth it (well, consider the alternative). In 2011, Lawrence released a CD mix for Cocoon called Timeless. Conceptually, timeless ‘rhymes’ with priceless; something taken out of circulation as above and beyond, over and outside the normal ebb and flow of things (especially things touched and alienated by the grubby processes of production, distribution, exchange, consumption, wasting, neglect, disposal &c). That which is timeless, like that which is priceless, is not for sale, cannot be exchanged, will not perish. Even Mastercard concedes that such things are outside its grubbying purview. Timelessness is no mean feat; timeless makes a play for eternity. (To complete this thought, please master the moment by clicking through to the following encrypted page in order to purchase your own copy of Timeless...)

Lawrence’s mix was as you’d expect, if, like me, you're a long-time listener: it was well-programmed and well mixed. It's very 'nice'. It's also truly, 'deeply' repetitive in that, in listening to it, I not only had the feeling that I’d ‘heard it all before’, I even feel like I’d heard Lawrence play it all before. Would this play for forever have been okay if it were ‘just another podcast mix’? I’m not sure. But as a published work there was an affronting pretence to Timeless, both content and title. It was as if all the changes I know and feel about house music and the world over the past decade had never happened. It’s said that ‘still waters run deep’. But they also tend toward stagnation. I’m not sure if audacity has a true antonym, but Lawrence’s mix suggests it is: Timeless. Either that, or ‘timeless’ is just a very conceited way of saying: complacent. I gave it three careful listens to check if I wasn’t missing anything, then, out of respect for house music, my memories, and Lawrence’s back catalogue, I deleted and ‘forgot’ about Timeless. Forgot about it in a way that was not even poignant, merely... nothing... In fact, I ‘forgot’ about it until this morning (which also tells you something very important that Papa Freud tried to remind us, repeatedly, about ‘forgetting’).

The Talking Shopcast mix with Smallville goes even further down this road. It's so lovely, so tasteful. But it could have been mixed 12 years ago and not sounded any different. In fact, if it *were* mixed 12 years ago, it would be very likely to sound exactly like it does. I've been thinking about this for some time, and I've decided that it really matters. Making a mix from 2000 in 2012... it matters. Well, it may not matter to you. But it matters to me.

Like Timeless, for me there is something unbearably complacent at work in the decision to make this mix in 2012, and I find it affronting in a way that actually makes me feel very angry. It’s an attempted violation of my time somehow...(but time we share, however abstractly, by living through these times together) It's a kind of complacency makes me want to set fire to my records (in a pathetic version of Mizoguchi setting fire to ginkakuji). As if to prove some pyrrhic point about evanescence, memory, or forgetting. This weird over-reverence that makes you want to desecrate things you love and care about... (gobbing and safety pins notwithstanding, is this how punks felt?)

In my initial notes for this post, I wrote the following as prospective subheadings:

a) confusing 'house' for 'home' (this house is *not* home, shut up): in most OECD countries the state will ‘house’ you, but if they want to enter, be in, or make a ‘home’ with you, this is the stuff of terror and nightmaresb) from 'comfort food' to 'comfort house': what do we want when we want to be comforted by food? And what happens to house music when it just becomes a matter of comfort?c) all the comforts of home: the interview with Smallville stresses ‘cosy’, ‘deep’, ‘nice’. Okay, they're adults, these are clear artistic decisions, but: goodbye, fellas. I can't follow you that way. There is far too much reverence here, but it is sort of self-reverential, like a person hugging themselves. If I want to respect your past (in perpetuity), I think I need to do us both a favour and ignore your immediate future projects...
d) cosy, timeless, complacent: the etymology of complacence is pleasing: mum tries to please with her cooking, and we return love by eating it. But you must 'clean your plate'. (if she's a traditional ‘homely’ mother, mine never made me finish my potatoes). Anything less is an affront to her ‘unconditional love’. This could make you feel angsty and aimlessly suffocated (like a teenager) but also wearied and resigned (like an old spouse), co-dependent but comfortable with their 'chosen' discomfort. ‘Don’t worry, mother, I’ll never leave you. Things will always be the same... feed me...’ Only: time is out of joint. There is a little of the placenta in this place and its complacency... And there is something awfully unheimlich about this home: actually, house and homes like this are uncannily like the home invasion nightmare scene from an American Werewolf in London (PS you need to leave home in order to have a chance with Jenny Agutter... NB: this also means risking becoming a werewolf).
Then I wrote this down in my notes:
If everything is broken, how come nothing appears to be falling apart?For me, the worst thing about the previous decade has been our inability to bury it: the GWOT has just turned in to ‘overseas contingency operations’, while the GFC has just rolled into what is not longer a crisis, but just chronic. The 10 year fucker is undead, monstrous, and keeps on rising, repetitively, to attack us - with a crate full of deep house records. For me, in spite/precisely because of their careful, crafted, reverent sounds, this was what I couldn't stand about Lawrence and the Smallville peepz decided to do with their 2011. At times it tempted me to go hide in my bongo closet, wait for sunrise, and hum the Talking Heads' Heaven to myself over and over. But no, that wouldn't be the right response to the times. The times is real. And the times is weird. Thank God John Maus gave me the strength to sing along to it in a way that meant something.

Glad everyone has been enjoying Finn's mix. The lesson I have taken from this is that we need some more electro mixes on ssgs. This is something we will have to work on... In the meantime, here is the tracklist:

Ssg special - Finn Johannsen electro mix

Erotek - Computer-Aided Poetic Funk (Afrosyntrix)
Urban Tribe – RNA World (Rephlex)
Spesimen – Angels In My Room (Pomelo)
Erotek – Safe Mode (Afrosyntrix)
DJ Godfather & Starski – Jits (D.E.T. Only)
B. Calloway – No Techno Like Mine (Electrofunk)
Fix – Shaftism (Electrofunk)
Urban Tribe – Her (Trust)
Hardfloor – The Life We Choose (E.R.P. Remix) (Hardfloor)
Bounce – Drop The Ball (Electrofunk)
Mr. De’ - By The Pound (Electrofunk)
DJ Godfather – First Contact (Breakdown Mix) (Twilight 76)
E8 – Micropacer 1 (Marguerita)
Nuel – Untitled (Aquaplano)
Stingray313 – Who’s Watching The Watchers
Clatterbox – Genetic Code (Frustrated Funk)
Aaron-Carl – Backslash (Afrosyntrix)
DJ Assault – U Can’t See Me (Mo Wax)
Erotek – FreqU.com (Afrosyntrix)
DJ Godfather & Starski – Another Freaks (D.E.T. Only)
Mr. De’ – Bass (Electrofunk)
DJ Godfather – Backwerdz (Twilight 76)
Erotek – DOS Foot (Afrosyntrix)
Jodey Kendrick – Untitled (Rephlex)
DJ Godfather & Starski – Moments (D.E.T. Only)
Art Of Noise – Moments In Love (ZTT)

And if you are in the mood for more electro, I would thoroughly recommend you pick up the excellent first part of the Drexciya reissue series on Clone. Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller is electro music at its very finest.

Thanks again to Finn for putting this together. Our next ssg mix will be up in a few days.

   

Without doubt one of our highlights in 2011 was Kangding Ray. Quality album, fantastic ssg mix, and a killer livepa. For those who haven't had the chance to catch him live, he recently did a excellent live studio session, which has now been archived. Unsurprisingly it is pretty awesome. There is a kind of controlled power in his sound that demands your attention. And the drums! I love this more beat-orientated direction Kangding has been taking recently and I hope he continues with it. Enjoy.

For our first mix of 2012 we are very happy to welcome back a good friend of the ssgs, Finn Johannsen. Some of you might know Finn for the pair of excellent mixes he did for us back in 2010. Some of you might know Finn because of the always interesting Macro label that he runs with Stefan Goldmann. Some of you might know Finn because of his quality journalism for a range of outlets (RA, de:bug and more). Some of you might know Finn because of trips to Hardwax, where he also works. And some of you might simply not know Finn. If that is the case, hopefully the mix he has put together for us will make you want to find out more about one of Berlin's true renaissance men.

The idea for this mix came from a visit to Hardwax last year. Finn was forcing records into my arms kindly making a few suggestions and we got talking about our mutual love of electro music. And then we worked out that Finn had never done an out and out electro mix, and mnml ssgs had never hosted one either. So it was time to change all of that. Finn has selected 90 minutes of red hot electro to share with you all, creating a mix that beautifully displays the timeless charm and energy of this genre. Not much more to say about it really, this is electro pure and simple baby. Enjoy!

Ssg special - Finn Johannsen electro mix



For all things Finn, check his homepage and follow his twitter. For upcoming DJ gigs there is his RA page. As always, we'll post the tracklist next week. Big thanks to Finn for this treat.

In March 2011 we planned our first club night at Module, but it had to be cancelled due to the tragic events of 3/11. Since then we have been waiting for the right moment to try again with the party. It has taken almost a year, but it is finally happening! For this event we have invited a pair of DJs that are very dear to our heart, and should be well known to many of our readers: natural/electronic.system.

natural/electronic.system. are Antonio Giova and Valerio Gomez de Ayala, a DJ/producer duo from Napoli, Italy. We have been following them closely for a couple of years now and we are huge fans of their distinctive take on the deeper, hypnotic side of techno. Antonio and Valerio have a real ability for building their sets, allowing the music to breathe and slowly develop. Moving from ambient to deep house and techno, their track selection is impeccable, as is the pacing of their sets. This will be their first time back in Japan since playing at Labyrinth in 2009.  Because of their talents at creating a story with their music, we have asked Antonio and Valerio to take control of the decks for the whole night. Upstairs we will be doing a 'Sound Garden' chill out room, with myself and Dave the silent ssg, plus fellow Sound Garden residents David Dicembre and Jelomu.

MNML SSGS PARTY
Saturday 3 March 2012
23:00 - late
Module
3,000 yen (door) 

B2F: Main Floor
natural/electronic.system. (Italy - all night set) 

B1F: 'Sound Garden' chill out
Chris (MNML SSGS)
Dave the silent ssg (MNML SSGS)
David Dicembre (Combine)
Jelomu (Drone)


natural/electronic.system. mixes on MNML SSGS:

mnml ssgs mx23 (March 2009)
mnml ssgs mx49 (February 2010)
ssg special - Antonio Giova (September 2011)
ssg special - Valerio Gomez de Ayala (October 2011)

We are very excited natural/electronic.system. are coming back to Japan and we hope you can join us on 3 March at Module!

Sorry it has been a bit quiet around here, this year has gotten off to a very busy start. We will have more on ssgs soon, including our first mix for 2012. In the meantime,  just a reminder that our first chill out party for the year is this Sunday evening. Our special guest is Sapphire Slows, who will be joining us to share some of her favourite music (you can check her best releases for 2011 here).  Details and timetable are:

Sound Garden - January party

Sunday 15 January 2012, 16:00 - 23:00
Bar Orbit, Sangenjaya
FREE

16:00 - 18:00 Chris
18:00 - 20:00 David Dicembre
20:00 - 21:00 Sapphire Slows
21:00 - 23:00 Jelomu

Hope to see you there! And if you can't make it, I would recommend checking Sapphire Slow's lovely "True Breath" EP on Not Not Fun.

Tonight in Tokyo Jeff Mills will be debuting his latest project, 'The Messenger', at club Air. Will I be going? No. It's not because I am not interested, quite the opposite: I would really love to be there. But... tomorrow is a normal working day for me (and for basically everyone else). The party tonight doesn't open until 11pm and there is a support DJ, so I am guessing Mills would start at midnight at the very earliest, but probably a bit later. In addition, they haven't listed set times, which makes it difficult to decide whether to try going for a short time. I am presuming it is on a Thursday night because of scheduling issues for Air and/or Mills, and that is fine, I am totally ok with mid-week gigs. But... I don't understand why they have to schedule it at such a prohibitive time. Given it is a weeknight, why do they have to run it like a normal club night? Why can't they have it starting at a more reasonable time - say opening at 9pm, with Jeff starting at 10pm or something similar? And especially given this is a more of a conceptual event, an earlier time slot shouldn't matter. This is just yet another example of how difficult it is for us to think differently about presenting techno / electronic music. Why must it only take place in the middle of the night? We listen to the music during the day and evening on our ipods and at our homes etc., surely we can go dance to it at these times too? This is one of the things I like most about a place like Berghain, the fact that you can sleep through the night, wake up and go there in the morning or at lunchtime and have a dance. You needn't stay up all night long (even though many do). Admittedly, this is hardly a new frustration, but the reason I raise it here is because I have read in interviews with Jeff Mills where he calls for different forms of electronic music events and different ways of collectively engaging with the music. Yet here we have a new project of his, but presented in the exact format (in the middle of the night) on a workday. I am disappointed Mills and the club could not have been a bit more flexible or creative. And while the club might have had a preference for it being an all night event, the pulling power of Jeff Mills in Japan is such that I am sure it could have been at a different/earlier time, should he have desired. With tonight, so be it, I am sure Jeff will be great, and I will miss it because I have an early start at work tomorrow. But on a larger scale, I feel until we collectively start becoming more creative about trying to push electronic music out of the singular context of all night clubbing, it will continue to unnecessarily limit the way we engage with the music.

Happy new year ssgs! On Sunday 15 January we will be having our first 'Sound Garden' chill out party for 2012. This month our special guest is Sapphire Slows. She is a relatively new Japanese artists, who has recently put out her first two records: a 7" on Big Love, and a 12" on Not Not Fun. These two releases have a dreamy, ethereal feeling to them, with the most obvious reference point for her sound being someone like Maria Minerva. And as with some the best material on NNF and 100% Silk, there is a kind of DIY charm to her music. To give you an idea, here is a video of one of the tracks from her NNF single:


Sapphire Slows - Animal Dreams from Not Not Fun on Vimeo.

If you want to check more about Sapphire Slows, she has a facebook page and soundcloud. And to see her on person, come down to Orbit on 15 January when she'll be joining us to spin some records. I am glad to see more artists like this appearing in Japan and we very happy to welcome her as our guest for the next edition of 'Sound Garden'. Details are:

Sound Garden - January party

Guest: Sapphire Slows (Not Not Fun)
Residents: David Dicembre (Combine) / Jelomu (Drone) / Chris (MNML SSGS)
Sunday 15 January 2012
16:00 - 23:00
Bar Orbit, Sangenjaya
FREE

So if you are free on the 15th, please come down and welcome 2012 with us in a relaxed and friendly style. We are looking forward to continuing these chill out parties throughout the year.

On behalf of PC and myself, I just wanted to thank everyone for their ongoing support during 2011. This year we have been a little bit less active here on the blog, which was partly a conscious choice, partly because we've been very busy with our day jobs, and partly because we've been expanding what we are trying to do with MNML SSGS. On the whole, it has been another productive and interesting year. It was good getting out into the 'real' world more through some parties in Tokyo and Melbourne, as well as collaborating with TodaysArt in the Hague and continuing to do some CD-Rs with Disk Union. I am looking forward to extending these kind of activities in 2012, with our next chill out party on 15 January, and then a MNML SSGS party in Tokyo with natural/electronic.system. playing all night at Module on 3 March (more info soon). And of course, we are thinking about what to do with the blog for the next year... We actually came very close to deciding to finish the blog a couple of months ago, but we found fresh energy and motivation to continue for the time being. In particular, I'd like to thank the various people we turned to for input and advice when we were considering how to proceed. And of course when I think about 2011, a defining moment was the March Tohoku disasters here in Japan. This was a very difficult time for us here, and the support shown by most of the techno community (I stress the word 'most', i.e. not RBMA) has been deeply valued by myself and others here in Japan. I'd actually like to write more about everything that happened outside of the world of music, because it has been an especially tumultuous year, but I am still processing it all and don't feel like I am in a position to say much right now. But 2012 is definitely shaping up to be another eventful year, to put it mildly...

Thank you for continuing to read and engage with us. Thanks to everyone that has contributed to MNML SSGS in 2011. We are looking forward to continuing this in 2012. Lets make it a good year.

I have been wanting to write some kind of end of year wrap up post, but have not really known what to say. Putting together lists didn't feel appropriate, certainly not in 2011. I have some clear favourite releases and labels, but for the most part, the common thread of 2011 was exploration, education and digging, digging, digging. Much of this has taken me outside the bounds of what has been released this year, and much of what I did like this year (notably the creme of the synth scene owes a heavy debt to its kosmische forefathers). Also I am still finding amazing music - in the last week I have encountered two albums I have totally fallen for. The first is Prurient's 'Bermuda Drain'. If you can get past a bit of screaming (it took a few listens and being in the right headspace for me to do this), what you have is an incredibly powerful, arresting album, one that really takes a hold of your psyche. On the day I connected with, I listened to it 6 or 7 times. I think Kuedo's album is the only other one I had a similar response to. And care of Regis' EoY chart for Boomkat I have just picked up HTRK's seductive 'Work Work Work'. I am expecting this will be getting plenty of listens in the future. And there are quite a few other artists and releases I am still working my way through. So when it comes to thinking about the end of the year, I kind of feel like this time the ever arbitrary distinction between 31 December and 1 January feels particularly irrelevant. Then again, even if this break is abitrary it does not mean it is without meaning or significance. And EoY lists certainly do have their place. I am not sure the aggregated ones really add much value. When looking at RA's lists about all I could work out is they must have plenty of reviewers with shitty taste writing for them (not to mention quite a few with poor writing skills). But hell, given the quality of most of the reviews on that website, I cannot say I was particularly shocked. Where people have put serious time and thought into the EoY selections - such as with many of the Boomkat contributors - then you do have a treasure trove of potential winners. I have already made some exciting purchases and I am sure there will be more... Saying that, more often that not I kind of feel like the EoY lists can betray how superficially we listen to our music and how quickly we consume it. How many albums have stayed on your mp3 player for months? How many have you gone back to time and time again? I know my list would be pretty short. Kangding Ray, Tim Hecker, Kuedo, Nuel and Vatican Shadow are the ones that most easily come to my mind. There are some others, especially if I think about vinyls (primarily the LP from Imaginary Softwoods), but these tend to get played less, in part because most of my music listening is done at work, and also because they get put somewhere and after a few days my restless music brain forgets about them and moves onto something else. I could go back through my music library, flick through the vinyl, to work out which where the other releases that I really loved this year, but I guess I couldn't have loved them that much if I can't remember without checking (then again, as I write this I am heavily medicated because of headache problems so my memory is not exactly in top form right now). So no specific EoY lists from me, but I am going to go stream of consciousness style and see how successful that is. I'll focus on labels and this should also hopefully allow me cover most of my favourite releases too.

Rush Hour might have had a fantastic year, I got no idea, I didn't buy one of their records. What they have been doing is of no interest to me. Delsin put out some cool stuff (Morphosis), but I also got the nagging sense of it being a bit overly conservative - albums like Conforce and Dehnert might be fine on their own terms, but I barely even got through listening to them. They left my cold. I want some more daring in my music, well at least this year I dear. 100% Silk? Perhaps 80% over-rated would be more appropriate. A couple of good EPs / tracks does not make a stand out label, unless if you want to ride the cool wave, which as always, many people do. Nothing new about this, but what did frustrate me about the excessive attention on 100% Silk is that its parent label - Not Not Fun - was largely forgotten about, despite having a far more interesting and worthwhile year, at least in my books. They ended in fine form with a lovely record from a new Japanese artist, Sapphire Slows (who happens to be playing at our next chill out party on 15 January). And reflecting the way my tastes veered for much of this year, some of my other favourite labels were coming out of / related to the synth scene. Aguirre put out some very cool stuff, the J.D. Emmanuel re-release had some special moments, and the new split from MSOTT and Nova Scotian Arms is pretty cool, as is the one from Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier. The big find on this label, though, is Innercity. This dude is seriously fucked in the head, but that is fine when the results are so weird and wonderful. His releases on Aguirre were tops, as was his 7" on NNA tapes. That one was perfectly demented.

One label that had a really fantastic year (or two) but has been almost totally overlooked is M=minimal. Don't be put off by the name. This is updated krautrock, done so in a very caring and interesting way. They re-released some special stuff from Conrad Schnitzler, and Borngräber & Strüver's work has been brilliant. I asked them for a mix. They never replied. Shame, I would love to feature their sounds on ssgs. Kranky is another label that had an excellent 2011. Steve Hauschildt put out a pretty cool album of soothing synths, A Winged Victory For The Sullen was not really my thing but a lot of people - including PC - rated it very highly. 'Black Earth' by Implodes was a strong release on the dark wave tip, and then you had Tim Hecker making most of his peers sound a bit crap in comparison. On a side note, I found it rather odd seeing some of the EoY lists 'Ravedeath' turned up on. How did it make the RA list? If Nicholas Jaar was number 1 it suggests they like Jaaring music, not Hecker's jarring style (what a clever pun). I mean Hecker demands serious listening. But if you also listen seriously to Jaar, you should be able to work out it is a bit shit, no? Well there is the weighting system they use for the RA charts, but still... I guess once you get down to the 9th or 10th album you need to list (or the 19th or 20th), you just go with the flow.

Other labels? Spectrum Spools was a very welcome addition to the music landscape in 2011. To be honest, I have not been able to keep up with their releases - I think they pumped out 10 this year, which is too many for my liking, especially when these are weighty pieces of music, you need time with them. Of their releases, I liked 'Elegy for Beach Friday' from Bee Mask the most, with the Fabric, Mist and the first Bee Mask all having some great moments. Mordant Music continued to be one of the most interesting and worthwhile labels out there. While it was Ekoplekz who got the attention (which I don't really understand to be honest, he does little for me), the standout release from Mordant slipped past most people - the killer "Receiving Calls" by Thanet (who is supposedly Mr Maxted, even though I don't think we actually know who that is either). The Thanet album is ambient and downbeat with echoes of the 90s, amidst the roughly 3 hours of music there is at least 1 - 1.5 hours of top quality music. Definitely worth getting. Continuing along, Digitalis is another label strangely missing from most EoY lists. They put out some great stuff from MSOTT, Ricardo Donoso, Emuul, along with my favourite releease of theirs being 'Science of the Sea' by Jürgen Müller. It reminds me of that underwater movie with Bill Murray in it, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, that one. Another one is Amethyst Sunset. Ok, they didn't release much. But they deserve to be here simply for "The Path Of Spectrolite" by Imaginary Softwoods (which is John Elliott and maybe someone else). This is quite easily one of the best records of 2011. Stunningly beautiful record. I really hope John Elliott does some more work in this vein, he definitely has a talent for it. I also recently got the 1958-2009 LP and love the A1 on that.

Last, but certainly not least, is Hospital Productions, run by Prurient. As I have mentioned before, much of the stuff on it is too harsh for me, but this is probably one of the reasons I like the Vatican Shadow releases so much - it maintains some of that aesthetic but is a bit restrained and refined in its presentation, which makes it much more palatable for a soft listener like myself. I have talked about Vatican Shadow here before, so I won't repeat myself, suffice to say this is easily some of my favourite music from 2011. Another very promising example of an artist moving from power electronics into more techno territory is William Bennett with his Cut Hands project. 'Afro Noise 1' is a stand out release for 2011, as was his live version of it. I was lucky enough to see him play twice this year, and both times he delivered very impressive performances. If you have a chance, see Cut Hands, trust me. On a vaguely similar tip, there was a lot of praise for Haxan Cloak's album. On initial listen I liked it, but it didn't really stick with me, I am not completely sold. But his 'Observatory' EP is an absolute killer. Totally shits all over the album. I had the same feeling to Roly Porter's album as I did to Haxan Cloak's. Don't quite understand all the love for it. I'd rather just listen to Ben Frost, of which it sounds like a bit of a weak copy.

You may notice the lack of deep house and techno labels I have mentioned. Well I don't really see much point. The discussion online about these is so saturated, and there are plenty of other charts that can show the way to any releases you may have missed. I don't see much point in repeating the same things. Beyond that, the main reason for not really talking about techno and house is that I have simply not been particularly interested in it this year. Sure there were plenty of good releases in these genres, I am not denying that. But I just wasn't so interested in 2011. My head was elsewhere. Perhaps I have reached saturation point. Or perhaps some of the sounds have, especially what Hardwax has begun to aptly call 'droning blue techno' (like with so many of their one line descriptions, somehow this makes sense to me). Anyway, there is more I want to say on this, but I shall leave this for another post.

Ok, there were other things I wanted to talk about, the content monster, podcasts, techno, and some other things I cannnot think of now. But I have run out of juice. So this stream of thought post shall come to an end. Perhaps time and energy permitting there will be a part 2.

Hope everyone is having some good rest and time with loved ones, regardless of religious inclinations. The year isn't quite over yet, and I'm planning on penning some end of year thoughts, time and headspace permitting. But this is just a quick post to say that next Friday 30 December I am also going to be DJ'ing for 3 hours in the chill out room at the 'Sound Slugger' party at Tabloid in Tokyo. From what I have been told, this is a very cool event space, and it is great to see a chill out space being included in the party (the other rooms seem to be primarily dub, reggae and bass music. I'm looking forward to playing and hopefully opening a few people's minds to some different sound. Still working out exactly what I will be playing, but given that I have 3 hours, it should give me plenty of time to explore... For more info, check the Sound Slugger page.

After that, we have our next Sound Garden chill out party on Sunday 15 January. As always, it is 16:00 - 23:00 at Bar Orbit with free entry. We'll post more information soon, but our special guest this time will be Sapphire Slows, a new Japanese artist who has just released a lovely EP on Not Not Fun. Details for the party are here, put it in your diary!

For me, one of the most positive developments this year has been our Sound Garden parties and in 2012 we are going to be working hard to continue to try to develop a bigger space for ambient and downbeat music in the scene in Tokyo, and more generally through our online presence. Hopefully you'll be seeing more like this in the months ahead...

‘They were obliged to have him with them,’ the Mock Turtle said: ‘no wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.’

‘Wouldn’t it really?’ said Alice in a tone of great surprise.

‘Of course not,’ said the Mock Turtle: ‘why, if a fish came to me, and told me he was going a journey, I should say “With what porpoise?”’

‘Don’t you mean “purpose”?’ said Alice.

‘I mean what I say,’ the Mock Turtle replied in an offended tone.
After Chris and I decided on not doing EoY lists this year (at least until it was too late to matter), my first instinct was to do a list ranking all the published lists. But, like the much applauded James Ferraro album, it was probably best left in the concept stage. And might come off looking smug. So I gave myself three point five stars – then promptly forgot who I was (ie: what I was googling for). Because I was so distracted, you know, managing my downloads folder. I mean: you have to check out all those links your friends send you of ‘album of teh year, IMHO’, don’t you? Do you? Really? Why the urgency? Would you listen to any of them come January 1? As a friend emailed only this morning: ‘a bunch of shit people having shit conversations about shit records.’ The various number ones were mostly a bunch of number twos. Shit. I replied that I thought the lists were fascinating overall, and contained a staggering variety of titles: with almost no overlap! But yes, the number ones did seem marked by the cumulative blanding effect of a Keynesian beauty contest. We really have given ourselves the third degree:

‘where we devote our intelligences to anticipating what cool expects cool to be’.

But somehow, in spite of I See a Blandness, the re-release of Moby’s Play to rapt audiences (figuratively speaking), and the sound of a bunch of bad listeners ‘getting it wrong’ on nearly everything (which is what nearly everyone I’ve spoken to has accused everyone else of doing), the EoY lists were great this year, worth thinking about: for the tale they tell about us; the way we listen in 2011; the meaning music carries; and the power of stories.

1) our |virtually| common

What’s the context of music listening in 2011? The starting point has to be: not this.
“I believe that the way most of us experience music is not in a system of weights and measures and lists, but in a way that is red-blooded and vibrant and vital: we feel it in our bones and our bodies, in our hearts and our hips; we feel it dancing on a Friday night, charging right up from our stockinged feet.”It’s not just that I don’t wear stockings; it’s just that this is a romantic phantasm. I wish it were true. But it isn’t. But as Papa Freud would have told you: the wish tells you a lot. But the wish is not the truth. That would be wishful thinking. The truth, the everyday truth, is a downloaded truth. A streamed truth. A mediated truth. Why?

Overwhelmingly, most listening is done via the internet. Not just the streaming, downloading, podcasting, pirating, but also the sharing, discussing, and evaluating. I mean: it’s 2011, not 1911. Ah, the good old days. Ani: “People used to make records/ As in a record of an event/ The event of people playing music in a room/ Now everything is cross-marketing/ It’s about sunglasses and shoes/ Or guns and drugs.” It is nice to go out and have a dance on a Friday, but what makes this more authentic and meaningful than the internet, given that, overwhelmingly, this is where all the ‘community’ is present? Ours is an era in which, mostly, we make a musical home for ourselves from the recorded traces of what was, once, Ani DiFranco's nostalgic 'people in a room'. But the people are gone now, dispersed. A lesson of Occupy is: dispersed is just how the authorities want us to be. All there is, mostly, is simulacra. I’m not saying that we don’t go out dancing on a Friday night. Some of us do. And we should. Lesson from dispersal: we should assemble! And some of us travel around the world for festivals, hankering after presence. The difference is all the difference in the world, and in that sense, what Laura Barton says in the linked article is true. But the point is that it’s not what’s common, which is... virtual. What’s virtually common is that nearly everything is mediated. I can see why you’d have the nostalgic wish for ‘Dancing Pete’, but when was the last time any of you people saw him? Hint: his photo on the guardian website. This is how we know him. Baudrillard was... mostly right.

2) practice makes imperfect

We live in a world of names. This is how we hold a place for ourselves in the virtual common.

‘Have you heard of Porpoises into the Past?’
‘Yeah, but I’m more on the Slain Impala tip, you know?’
‘Oh yeah?’
'Yeah, it’s the synth project from the guy from Lambs Casino...’
‘Oh yeah, right...’ ‘
It’s based on Sokurov’s Power Tetralogy. He set up three old cathode ray TV screens, made degraded VHS copies of each, then looped them out of sync, like, all at different speeds and shit, and stayed up for days with his synth and a whole bunch of drugs – all the shit that Michael Jackson was on when he died.'
'Fuck, wow...'
'Yeah man... It took him eight months to set it up, mostly to find all the drugs, but in terms of the music, he reckons that it all came together in like, eight hours or something... he said the hardest bit was remembering to turn the cassette over... ’
‘Cool...’
‘Yeah, he’s doing it live at Saccharine Valley - are you going...?’
‘When’s it on again?’
‘Oh, it’s in April, but tickets have already sold out...’
‘I heard they were really hard to get and expensive?’
'Yeah, but I know someone, so...’

It’s true we listen because we’re curious, and we love music. But listening habits are also strongly driven by cool. Never mind if it’s good: is it cool? Weirdly, Top Gear’s cool wall has been telling us about the age we live in. Never mind that Top Gear isn’t cool and that Jeremy Clarkson is a fucker, as Stewart Lee captured perfectly. It’s a matter of social capital, social competence. Cool is a scarce resource. Accumulate, accumulate, then deploy, and destroy. Winner (cool) takes all. You can’t horde it though: cool has a definite shelf life. It's like milk... So there is a very special timing to ‘deploy and destroy’. Cool is a cow who must be milked, and a milk that must be ingested/squirted before it turns sour and makes you vomity sick. This is, of course, why the EoY lists must be deployed before the end of the year. None of this knowledge is worth anything – online – in January. It’s valueless and meaningless. This also means that people I know – and no doubt people you know – are currently in a Mr Creosote-level linkswapping and download binge. From a market perspective, the real winners of this pervasive binge are not the artists – though they will accumulate some cool, guaranteeing slots at festivals for the next few months – but google, the internet providers, touring and promotion companies, and the various one-click download sites. And probably those ambulance-chasing IP lawyers, if they catch up with you. You know it’s true. And all this, in part, because of our deep, deep need to be cool and stay cool. Apart from your curiosity, and love of music. Of course...

Music is a social thing, and being social means being stuck in sticky situations (which makes mp3 make you incredibly sluttly and glutty). Social competence also creates social adherence. Which creates the semblance of coherence. Cool only works if the others you talk to – the ones who count, the cool ones and the loved ones – either know the name in question, or know that they should no the name in question and are deficient for not doing so. Nobody bothered to ask granddad what he thought of Ravedeath, 1972.

It's all about the ~herence: friends stick together. The glue of friendship is trust, loyalty, love and gifts. As a teenager, liking a band could be grounds for a whole romance. At the time I never would have admitted that I had crushes on girls because they liked Nine Inch Nails or the Pixies (showing my age!). But... now that the bulldust and hormonally-induced stupidity has (hopefully) settled, I must concede: it couldn’t have been their looks, personality, or wisdom. Love runs the gauntlet of friendship’s gamut of juicy, squeezy crushes and globs: sex and money are social glue-brication. The milk of human kindness is... viscous... We are more about the social contractions than the social contract... But so is music. This is so essential, and we know it, but are constantly forgetting. We exchange. We crush. We squeeze, hold tightly to, clench against: disseminating our favourites all over our others, and excreting all the rest. The lists are an artefect of this form of juicy symbolic exchange, presented as an evaluative hierarchy. This year, most of them provoked in me a bemused, low-level alienation. Because, you know, I was off in my little globular bubble. Dirty Harry rule. Peering out, but mostly feeling cosy. It’s a matter of degrees between snug and smug. And even happy cosy can turn smothery claustrophobic.

And then: what do we use music for? Ssg readers will know my thoughts on this: for work. While commuting. While doing desk work. While at the gym. While friends are over. While seducing someone. While coming down, after a whole night dancing... maybe with Dancing Pete. To dull the pain and boredom of existence. This really, really affects the names we nominate. In my view, a lot of the best recordings this year were demanding, exhausting – they were not do-while accompanists. I hear more stories from friends (re)discovering the joys of undivided attention and close listening, but really (and me too! mea culpa!) most of the time, music is merely there, in the background. It’s not only that Kompakt were the Ikea of techno; most music, to most people, most of the time – it is just lifestyle equipment. It's all Eno, really. This is the only way I can fathom the massive popularity of Nicholas Jaar. You put it on – for mother or lover or other – and (I guess), people say, ‘oh, this is niiice – what’s this?’ Actually, Jaar, Bon Iver and James Ferraro (the respective number ones of RA, Pitchfork and the Wire) have more in common than you might think on first listen... the difference would merely be the relation to shallowness and ‘niceness’ being expressed. It’s enough to make you smash your face with an iPad, while listening to Cut Hands or Prurient. Dirty Harry rules.

3) ‘A man could lose his bearings in weather like this.’ (what is the meaning of this)?

Practice tells you a lot about the lists. But more than anything, the lists make meaning. ‘What is meaning?’ ‘What is the meaning of meaning?’ You tell me, Derriger! I mean it. But I’d also have to be listening to hear it, or even get a sense of what you're trying to say. Which makes all the difference. In English? Telling stories is one way of making things meaningful. Friendship gives us glue-brication, which helps the ~herence to go along and get along, which, potentially, opens our ears to listening to one another. As one of my favourite storytellers said: stories have no point if they don’t absorb our terror. And our fascination. We have to suspend our disbelief (analyse the grammar of that phrase, it’ll do your head in). A world told as a story is a world rendered meaningful via a beginning, a middle, and an end. There are agents, there are actions, there are intentions. There is a point. Which is not a bit like ‘reality’, such as it is. But that is the point. Reality is terrifying - and boring. Hence why we need stories, to absorb that terror.

But stories are not information. Arrangement aside, the sheer fucking genius of the Beatles’ Day in the Life is the way it tracks that: ‘10,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire...’ before turning to the other truth (I’d love to tuuuuuuuuuurn yoooooooooou oooon). Shudder to think. Whenever I log out of my webmail, I’m confronted by the psychotic juxtapositions inherent to the online presentation of information in 2011:
‘Sex Fiend Killer Loose’ ‘Britney Spears to Wed’, ‘30,000 feared dead’, ‘Justin Bieber: what has he been doing?’ ‘Man Attacks Baby with Hammer’ ‘Panda baby walks on hind legs’. And so on, and so on, and so on. So fucking meaningless. So fucking much. So fucking endless. In the same year as the Arab Spring, and Fukushima, and the London Riots, and Occupy... I feel like Thom Yorke, singing ‘It wears me out...’. And you know, like most things Radiohead: that’s depressing. Actually, it's really nice to have a year without 'a serious discussion of the substantial merit of the new Radiohead album'.

So: stories give us a way of ordering the incoherence, the mad fucking babble of this incessant information. As I said at the begining (bringing us to the end of the story, after the baggy middle) what’s was striking about the End of Year lists this year, in an amazing vintage for music, was their diversity – there were virtually no consensus albums. Perhaps Kanye wrote the last one in 2010. Good riddance to bad narcissists (yes, the beats were amazing, I still don't care). Perhaps 2010 was the last year that any kind of consensus was possible; maybe the EU is set to ‘prove’ that theory on a much more consequential stage. Lou Reed, who charted this year with Metallica (WTF?!) once wrote:
‘oh common ground/ is common ground a word, or just a sound?’ One from the other, Lou - ground from sound. We will build the ground from the sound. Because the craving – for music, for love and friendship, for stories, for meaning – that never goes away. Not while we're still contracting, at least. All of which is why, strange as they seem, annoying and alienating as they may appear, the End of Year lists can tell us the story of who we are, as music lovers, music friends, in 2011. True story. Happy Birthday, Jesus, Happy Birthday, ssgs. Thank you for listening.

.

Below you'll find the tracklist for the 'Some Strings Attached' mix by Ancient Methods. We are really happy with the response to this one, and looking forward to the Disk Union promo CD-R coming out soon. This will be our final mix for 2011, so we would like to thank all the artists who contributed this year, and to all of you for downloading, listening and encouraging us to keep the mixes going. And special thanks to official.fm for their ongoing support; it is absolutely crucial for what we do and we really appreciate their hosting of all our mixes.

Ssg Special - Ancient Methods 'Some Strings Attached'



    •    Reformed Faction – Hollerei (Soleilmoon)
    •    Northern Structures – Powertools (Sonic Groove)
    •    Gigi Galaxy – Interview with an alien (Teknotika vs. Eye Q UK edit)
    •    Orphx vs. Ancient Methods – unreleased
    •    Pan Sonic – Lähetys/Transmission (Blast First Petite)
    •    NHK – Entire Set (Raster-Noton)
    •    Sawf – Zelo Radial Rmx (Perc Trax)
    •    Karl O’Connor & Peter Sutton – Under Skin (Tresor)
    •    Silent Servant – El Mar Svreca Remix Two (Semantica)
    •    Carl Michael von Hausswolff – The North is protected (Sähkö)
    •    Edge of Motion – Del Motimiento (Djax Up)
    •    Monolith – Tribal Globe (Daft)
    •    Waldteufel – Das wilde Heer vom Hörselberg (Percht)
    •    Space DJ’s – Statistical Mechanics (Perc Trax)
    •    Robert Hood – Minus (Tresor)
    •    Mike Parker – Untitled (Geophone)
    •    Instincts – The Mystery Visions track 2 (Cyclic Law)
    •    Ugandan Methods – unreleased
    •    Frown – Untitled (Clip)
    •    Trans Am – I’m coming down (Thrill Jockey)
    •    Go Hiyama – Quibble (HueHelix)
    •    Regis – Blinding Horses (Blackest Ever Black)
    •    Makai – Beneath the mask (Prescription)
    •    Rory St. John – Noughtsmith (Singularity)
    •    Back Pack Poets – Objective G (Electric Deluxe)
    •    Siamgda – Andrumeda/Caravan Celebration Loop (Mind Plug)
    •    Surgeon – Radiance (Dynamic Tension)
    •    Mordant Music – Symptoms (Mordant Music)
    •    Forward Strategy Group – Code 02 (Perc Trax)
    •    Hecate & Kareem – Medusal (Zhark)
    •    Steve Stoll – Machine Riot (Earwiggle)
    •    Death in June/Iesope Drift – Fields/People Drift Loop (Leprosy Discs/E-Com)

That's it. More mixes in 2012...

Just a quick post about a few good parties coming up:

This Thursday 22 December there is a Hessle Audio party at Unit featuring Pearson Sound and Pangaea. I am really looking forward to this night, as it is a sound I don't spend much time with, but what I've heard I've liked. The Pearson Sound Fabric and Essential mixes are excellent, and the sound system at Unit is great for music like this. And for those in the mood for an adventure, they are playing the night before in Hakuba!

On Christmas eve, Dave Twomey is back in town for another one of his Mariana parties at Warehouse702. PVH is playing live. Not much more I need to say about this one. Anyone who reads this blog, should know I kind of like PVH...

And it has just been announced that Mindgames is hosting a special charity party on Saturday 7 January at Unit. Donato Dozzy will be playing the whole night, with Labyrinth residents Hiyoshi and So downstairs. All the DJs are playing for free, and all money raised will be will be donated to "Smiles & Dreams: Tohoku Kids Project". Not only will this be a great party, it is for a great cause, so kudos to all in involved for making it happen. More details about the party can be found at the Mindgames page.

Also for those wondering, the "Composure: Ambient Techno for Japan" compilation will be available soon in digital format through bandcamp. So please hang on, you'll be able to buy a digital copy soon!

Our next "Sound Garden" party at Orbit will be on Sunday 15 January, so that is another date to put in your diary. Ok, that's about it. Tonight I'm off to see Traversable Wormhole at Module.

Here is the tracklist for my 'Uncover' mix for Smoke Machine. We will post the tracklist for the new Ancient Methods mix in a couple of days.
   UN #09 Chris (MNML SSGS) by SMOKE MACHINE
Thomas Koner - "Teimo"Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer - "Rekondakion"Audela - "Zonked" The Haxan Cloak - "Parting Chant"Demdike stare - "Matilda's Dream"Eleh - "Pulsing Study of Sine Waves Part 2" with excerpt from "The Diane Tapes"Anduin - "The Voyeur's Wall of Glass"Thanet - "Sand Plant"Vatican Shadow - "Bin Laden's Corpse"Anduin - "The Number Twenty Seven"Coil - "Tainted Love"
I'd recommend checking the Anduin, Audela, Eleh, Thanet and Vatican Shadow releases. All are very strong. Anduin is a relatively new name for me, but I really like what he is doing. Slightly dark and introspective. The Audela compilation is some captivating dark ambient. If you can connect with the extreme minimalism of Eleh, you'll find it amazing, at least that has been my response. And despite Mordant Music getting more press this year, most people slept on the Thanet. Their loss. For me it is pretty easily one of the best ambient releases of 2011. And I've talked about Vatican Shadow before, so no need to repeat myself. So hopefully this mix might introduce a few new names/sounds to some of you... 

One noticeable trend over the last year or so is that people are becoming more aware of some very creative and inspiring music emerging out of the synth / experimental / drone (tape) scene. Spectrum Spools - a sublabel of Editions Mego - has been central to this process by introducing some of the best of this music to a bigger audience. And one artist it brought to our attention is Bee Mask, who has had two standout releases on the new label: "Canzoni Dal Laboratorio Del Silenzio Cosmico" and "Elegy For Beach Friday". His sounds are expansive, wandering and totally captivating. When listening to the music you are quickly transported away to the weird and wonderful world of Bee Mask. I strongly recommend checking both of these releases, and I am really looking forward to the next one on Spectrum Spools in 2012. The mix that Bee Mask has put together for us creates a similar feel as much of his music - there is plenty going on here, but not in an overly messy way. Ordered confusion. Or perhaps confused order. Something like that. And much like the Motion Sickness of Time Travel mix we had earlier this year, Bee Mask introduces us to a wide range of artists and sounds that many of us might not be aware of. The mix is a captivating trip...

This is what Bee Mask had to say about the mix:

"There are few things I enjoy more than hearing my tracks in other peoples' mixes (a pleasure which mnml ssgs has already afforded me on a couple occasions) perhaps because it offers the furtive thrill of coming as close as one can to knowing how the work sounds to someone else, or at least what sort of sense they make of it and where it sits in their internal taxonomies. Making a mix like this one, then, seems to me to be about pulling back the proverbial curtain and showing off a bit of the infrastructure -- the dream architecture of half-baked theories about how all these tracks fit together and form preposterous, impossible objects in the mind.

Insofar as this mix has a theme, it's that nearly all of the material came my way through trades with other artists and labels, either in person or through the mail. I love having this sort of exchange in my life for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that it makes legible a unique and wonderful set of aesthetic connections that do not necessarily appear in any other way. The records that show up on one's doorstep unannounced or are handed off by old friends at shows and parties form an enormous, intricate, and ongoing potlach -- a parallel universe alongside the universes of, say, fifty cent water damaged electro 12"s from West Philly sidewalk sales, bootleg disco singles purchased on the upper levels of head shops, improbably horrendous demos discovered while auditioning every unlabeled cassette in a thrift store, etc, etc, etc.
It's very common now for people who care about the culture of records to express dismay at the sense of being overwhelmed by unmanageable abundance, and while I sympathize with this sort of frustration, I'd maintain that we've been overwhelmed by an unmanageable abundance of records for almost as long as people have been making them, and that what's changed in the last ten years or so is more that we've been forced to reckon with the underlying fantasy that we might somehow ultimately be able to hear them all. The real challenge is still what it always was: how do we create ways of living with records that allow us to experience that abundance as a source of joy rather than one of grim obligation? This mix, like every other one, is a snapshot of one among an infinite number of possible answers."
Ssg special - Bee Mask



As usual, we will post the tracklist for this later on. For more on Bee Mask, check his hompage and soundcloud. If you are interested, there was a great interview with him recently on Digitalis. And for anyone in or near New York, I would strongly suggest you check out the "No Way Back" night at the Bunker on this Friday 2 December. The front room looks to be one of the biggest and best attempts at bringing these sounds into the context of a techno club night. Bee Mask is playing, along with Outer Space, Container, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Mountains and Ricardo Donoso. This really is an insane lineup. Definitely make sure to check it if you are in NYC. And for the rest of us, enjoy this trip from Bee Mask...

Pulse Emitter is an artist I've only discovered relatively recently, but I have quickly been getting obsessed. "Meditative music", as this series is called, is a very appropriate description of his sound. He has recently made available these four releases for free download. Each is one, 60 minute, track. Beautiful and hypnotic droning synth music. Perfect for drifting on a Sunday.

Pulse Emitter - Meditative Music 1

Pulse Emitter - Meditative Music 2

Pulse Emitter - Meditative Music 3

Pulse Emitter - Meditative Music 4

If you like these, I strongly recommend checking some of his other releases, especially "Over Clouds" and "Spiritual Vistas". And for more info, check his homepage. Have a good Sunday...