I’m on a music kick this Saturday afternoon! Spent a lazy afternoon feeling uplifted since music has a way of creeping into my spirit like that. Started by tuning in to the sounds of one of my favourite radio selectors, Gilles Peterson (amazing show today, featuring Lonnie Liston Smith and plenty of spiritual jazz and cosmic funk), then on to this free stream of Future Foundations (courtesy of FACT Magazine), a fine UK bass compilation put out by London imprint, 2nd Drop. Check out the nice packaging for the vinyl! The comp features tracks by the likes of Djrum, Pedestrian, Alex Coulton, South London Ordnance, and more.

Got a bit sidetracked there (music can do that to ya!).. this is the main reason for my post today:

On more of that industrial techno tip that has me happy these days, here are a few live mixes from November of last year when oldies Surgeon and Regis, and newbies Karenn (aka: a project of Pariah and Blawan) graced the Boiler Room one evening with their magic. That slow, tense build that starts the last mix by Surgeon is devastating (my friend Earl Grey likes to use that very appropriate word to describe amazing musical things, so imma steal it from him!)…

Enjoy!

(View the Regis video here)

(View the Karenn video here)

(View the Surgeon video here)

Untold‘s brilliant Change In A Dynamic Environment trilogy is one of my favourite releases of 2012 (like a marriage of my punk past with my electronic present), and his label Hemlock Recordings has put out releases by some of our favourite bass artists here at Hot Sauce HQ. Now he’s announced the launch of another label, Pennyroyal, which will feature releases on the more abrasive side of techno (loving this kind of stuff right now!).

Check out the head banging and fist pumping intro mix for the new label here.

Is it just because I have been gravitating more towards techno lately, or is it because we have entered an(other) age of techno in electronic music? I mean, look at all those (formerly?) UK bass guys producing more and more techno-inflected or full-on (industrial-ish) techno tracks. No complaints from me, though I do love my bass too.

Thanks to local party promoters, Mansion, Toronto electronic music heads will be graced in March with a month’s worth of “showcases dedicated to forward-thinking global talent in non-traditional spaces,” with each night curated by different local promoters. Lots of techno in there, but not all (like Shlohmo and Andres, for example).  I’ll see you at Martyn, Omar S. with Reference (a project of Luke Hess & Brian Kage), and Andy Stott.. plus maybe some others if I don’t feel too partied out and still have some hearing left! Lots of local DJs and often up-and-coming producers from our fair city are also representing, such as Nautiluss and Alixander III (from Azari & III).

More info about all of the events here.

See you on the dancefloor!

More info on our event page here.

25. Konkoma
Konkoma
[Soundway}
London-based Ghanaian Afro Funk band produced by reggae producer Prince Fatty.
Top Tracks: "Sibashaya Woza", "Handkerchief", "Me-Kyin-Kyin".

24. Wiley
Evolve or Be Extinct
[Big Dada]
Now that Dizzee Rascal is all pop electro-annoying, Wiley remains my veteran polished Grime-ster of choice.
Top tracks: “Immigration”, “Life at Sea”, “Weirdo”.

23. Eight And A Half
Eight And A Half
[Arts and Crafts]
Two members of The Stills and the drummer from Broken Social Scene made a great indie/ part electronic pop album. Go Toronto! Go Montreal!
Top tracks: “The Turn Around”, “Go Ego”.

22. Terror Danjah
Night Crawler
[Hyperdub]
Chaotic and rough yet smooth and flowing. There is danjah in dis terrah.
Top tracks: “Rum Punch”, “Delicately”.

21. Kone
Legend Days ep
[Alpha Pup]
Apparently drawing influence from American Indian, Polish psyche and folk music of Uzbekistan – it is a celebration of all things indigenous – but more crackly, dusted and experimental.
Top tracks: “Power Came to Them”, “In the Wind”

20. Lone
Galaxy Garden
[R&S]
Celestial, whimsical vibes. Kinda like a comet flying overhead with trees, grass and water coming out of its tail. Sounds like how you’d expect an album called “Galaxy Garden” to sound. Reminds me of an LTJ Bukem Earth/Logical Progression vibe with different beats.
Top tracks: “Lying in the Reeds”, “Crystal Caverns 1991″.

19. Sigur Ros
Valtari
[XL Recordings]
Delicate. Beautiful. Repeat. Hey man, it’s Sigur Ros. This one isn’t as noisy though.
Top Tracks: Sounds like one long-ass delicate beautiful song. In fact, their whole discography sounds like one long-ass delicate, beautiful somg.

18. Santigold
Master of My Make-Believe
[Atlantic]
Yup, I like catchy pop songs with chant out loud choruses. Your move, M.I.A.
Top tracks: “This Isn’t our Parade”, “The Keepers”, “Go!”

17. Barker and Baumecker
Transsektoral
[Ostgut Ton]
Techno with a slight melody and off-kilter stutter. Fantastic.

16. D’Marc Cantu
A New World
[M>O>S>]
Slow building, spacey jackin’ techno tracks with some nice squelchy acid lines from this underrated Michigan producer. Fans of Basic Soul Unit would approve.
Top tracks: “The First Planet”, “The Other Side of House”.

15. Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras Meets the Congos
Icon Give Thank
[Frkwys]
Trippy, chants and tings with the legendary Congos. Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras put their mad psychedelic, dubby imprint on it. I hear different sounds everytime I play this.
Top tracks: “Happy Song”, “Invocation”.

14. Ondatropica
Ondatropica
[Soundway]
Colombian musician Mario Galeano and British producer Quantic put together an exceptional all-star band of musicians to pay tribute to the classic and modern styles of Colombian music. Elements of rap, beatbox, ska, rock and electronic are all over this triple vinyl release. As I write and listen to this, I realize i should have ranked this higher, but reformatting is a bitch.
Top tracks: “Tiene Sabor, Tiene Sazon”, “I Ron Man” (cover of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man!!)

13. Chromatics
Kill For Love
[Italians Do it Better]
Damn! The opening cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” is an amazingly bold way to start a great album. I only heard this album in December, so i’m gonna be rocking it well into 2013.
Top tracks: “Into the Black”, “Kill For Love”.

12. My Dry Wet Mess
Stereo Typing
[Brainfeeder]
Interesting, intricate beats and other weirdness for the Brainfeeder headz. My Dry Wet Mess- bad moniker, bad-ass beats.
Top track: “Berlin Stereo Hands”

11. Hannah Georgas
Hannah Georgas
[Dine Alone]
Well-crafted, sincere songs from…Newmarket, Ontario! Thanks for the intro, Michelle MK!
Top Tracks: “Elephant”, “Enemies”.

10. Grimes
Visions
[Arbutus]
Grimes is like the little sister you had who asked you for help setting up her first mini synthesizer then ended up making tracks insanely more memorable and better than you ever could.
Top tracks: “Oblivion”, “Genesis”, “Open Up”.

9. Dirty Projectors
Swing Lo Magellan
[Domino]
Dirty Projectors remind me of the band Of Montreal – but I hate Of Montreal and love Dirty Projectors. What’s up with that?
Top tracks: “Gun Has No Trigger”, “Dance For You”, “Offspring are Blank”.

8. Mala
Mala in Cuba
[Brownswood]
Mala (as Digital Mystikz with Coki) was my gateway into the dubstep world long before it became a dirty embarassing word to utter. New readers: dubstep wasn’t always heavy bro-step aggro lame sauce. Mala continues to advance bass music with a truly beautiful piece of work recorded while visiting Cuba with Gilles Peterson. He recorded Cuban musicians and fused them with his always interesting beats. Mala in Cuba reminds me of a New Forms-era Roni Size- a fresh injection of vitality into a stale genre.
Top tracks: “Cuba Electronic”, “Calle F”.

7. Andy Stott
Luxury Problems
[Modern Love]

Andy Stott hypnotizes again with his crushing sloth-like beats and haunting processed vocals of his old piano teacher, Alison Skidmore. He even sneaks in a slow drum and bass beat (“Up the Box”) to great effect.
Top tracks: “Numb”, “Luxury Problems”

6. Batida
Batida
[Soundway]
Man, Soundway Records was on fire this year! Batida, or Angolan / Portuguese DJ Mpula aka Pedro Coquenão put out a distinctly modern and vibrant project with its feet firmly rooted in the past. Batida combined samples from old 1970s Angolan tracks with modern electronic dance music. Like Buraka Som Sistema minus the annoying kids stepping on your feet when dancing to it.
Top tracks: “Algeria”, “Tieri O Chapeau”

5. Pallbearer
Sorrow and Extinction
[Profound Lore]
Where the hell did these guys come from? Reminds me of a doom-metal version of Explosions in the Sky with lyrics. I described it to my friend Laurie as being oddly uplifting music- to which she said, “Sorrow and Extinction by PALLBEARER…ya what an uplifting title”. hahaha. They are playing a show in Toronto February 19, 2013.
Top Tracks: All five of them!

4. Daphni
Jiaolong
[Merge]
Dan Snaith is a better Daphni than a Caribou. Well for the dance floor, at least.
Top tracks: “Yes I Know”, “Ahora”

3. Delta Funktionen
Traces
[Delsin]
Proper Detroit Electro (from Holland). Icy cold techno soundscapes that warm my heart and stimulate my cerebrum..or is it my cerebellum?
Top tracks: “On a Distant Journey” (such Kraftwerkian synth lines), “Frozen Land”.

2. Tame Impala
Lonerism
[Modular]
Psychy, warm, fuzzy songs that capture my life in Super 8 film and vintage photographs. Kinda like Instagram/Hipstamatic but waaaaay better.
Top tracks: “Elephant”, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”, “Music To Walk Home By”.

1. Robert Hood
Motor: Nighttime World 3
[Music Man]
I did a review of this album on this site here. This release harkened back the days of Hood’s Minimal Nation album (1994) which set the techno blueprint for me. Each track on Motor: Nighttime World 3 perfectly crafts and captures a mood that soars to new heights. I recently saw Robert Hood DJ in Toronto for the first time in years. He played a bangin’, mostly old school set that sounded as relevant and powerfully urgent as ever. Glad to hear and see techno innovators like Robert Hood (along with Richie Hawtin and Jeff Mills) continuously elevating their game for 20 + years.
Top tracks: “Black Technician”, “Hate Transmissions”, “Motor City”, “The Exodos”

Honourable Mentions
These albums had some wicked standout tracks, but as whole “proper”-flowing albums, they fell just below the top 25 cut-off mark on the urbansteve-o-meter of sonic enjoyment.

Claro Intelecto – Reform Club [Delsin]

Four Tet – Pink [Text Records]

The Orb and Lee Scratch Perry – The ORBSERVER in the Star House [Cooking Vinyl]

Elos – Scenes of Life/Electricity [Alpha Pup]

Addison Groove – Transistor Rhythm [50 Weapons]

LV – Sebenza [Hyperdub]

Saint Vitus – Lillie: F-65 [Season of Mist]

Aside from my junior high school years (Bel Biv Devoe, Boyz II Men, and TLC anyone?), I never liked most modern R&B, whether it’s slow jams or the kind of stuff that you’re allowed to like and still have some “street cred,” like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. With the latter, I respect them as artists but their music still just never struck a chord with me. In the past few years, there’s been an upsurge of artists using R&B in ways that resonate much more with my weird taste in music.

Bass music producers have been stealing from R&B, sampling vocals, changing the pitch, and using it in interesting ways. Montreal’s Jacques Greene is a classic example (although he frequently steps into the realm of other 4/4 goodness), with many others now emulating this style (a quick listen through Juno Download‘s bass music section will quickly make you realize how formulaic it’s becoming lately). When it’s done well though, it’s good:

 
Perennial Hot Sauce fave, Falty DL does it right:

 
And of course, Joy Orbison in both his and this genre of music’s early years:

 
A la The Weeknd (Scarborough represent, says urbansteve!), there are a lot more artists lately making that kind of interesting wonky electronic meets R&B sound. Was recently at a friend’s art event with a local Toronto band playing some of this kind of sound (I forget the name of the band now!).. laptop met drums met filtered vocals.

Frank Ocean does this kind of thang:

 
Listen up to this track by THEESatisfaction, an interesting duo from Seattle (although not all their music takes hints from R&B):

 
Hamdan Al Abri hails from Dubai and is pretty popular over there:

 
I caught How To Dress Well live a few years ago.. dark and moody:

 
And you already know I love Onra whose beat-heavy ode to R&B, Long Distance, was one of my favourite albums of 2010:

 
Comment on this post if you wanna share other artists that you think I might be down with! And yes, I fully acknowledge and embrace my music snobbery. Thank you and good night.

20 finely crafted dreamscapes from the slight underground.

recorded: November 20, 2012 length: 1:10:27

Hannah Georgas – Enemies
Fancy Mike – Mary B James
Of Monsters and Men – Dirty Paws
Eight and a Half – Go Ego
Picture – Everything Time
The XX – Fiction (Druid Cloak Blood Magick remix)
Rumtum – Bird Eyes
Panama – It’s Not Over (Ejeca’s Rave to the Grave remix)
Submotion Orchestra – Blindspot (Maribou State remix)
Myths – Horizon (Grimes & Majical Cloudz remix)
Freeze-Tag – Twice (Little Dragon Cover)
Visions of Trees – Sirens
New Edition – A Little Bit of Love (Brenmar remix)
Long Walk Short Dock – You Berg (Knowing Looks remix)
Brogan Bentley – Ask When I’m Night
Graintable – April O’Neill
Ambassadeurs – My World
Halls – Roses For The Dead
Burial – Shell of Light (Shlohmo remix)
Hannah Georgas – Elephant

to download, click here and scroll down until you see “download episode”

Detroit Techno was my gateway into the techno world during the mid-nineties. Underground Resistance, Jeff Mills and Robert Hood shaped my 4/4 world and educated me all about what proper underground minimal music should sound and feel like. Forward thinking labels like UR, Red Planet, Axis, Purposemaker, 430 West, Direct Beat and M-Plant had me excitedly anticipating each new release where i would get lost in the pure tonal joy of that real Detroit Tech and electro sound. Wait a minute…this post is giving me shivers just reminiscing about those formative tracks and releases from my past. It deserves and will get its own dedicated entry on this site at a later date. Sorry for the tease all you “D”-headz. The purpose of this post was merely to tell you about the minimal master, Robert Hood’s latest album, Motor: Nighttime World 3 (Music Man Records).

With “Motor: Nighttime World 3″ Robert Hood returns to the project he first started on Austria’s Cheap label back in 1995 and subsequently continued in 2000 on his own M-Plant imprint. Fusing his trademark minimal techno into jazz inspired moods and inflections, Hood emerges from the smoke-lit shadows of a downbeat, but not beaten, Motor City metropolis. Inspired by Julien Temple’s documentary ‘Requiem For Detroit?’ Robert Hood examines the life, history and future of Detroit’s motor industry and its workforce, set against a backdrop of decay, despair, hope and re-birth.

While nothing touches the sacred Minimal Nation, Hood’s genre defining masterpiece from 1994, the tonal madness of tracks like Black Technician and the vintage acid squelches of Hate Transmissions and Motor City literally give me goose bumps when i play it loud!
Damn, i’m having major amazing Detroit flashbacks now. Ok, so check back soon for my article on Detroit Techno sounds.

As i have written before on here, Delsin Records continues to put out quality deep techno and deep house music that stimulates the deep techno and deep house part of my brain. Featured here are three of my favourites from this year – two albums and one ep.

Delta Funktionen – Traces
After four years of techno EPs for Delsin and Ann Aimee, Niels Luinenburg aka Delta Funktionen released his debut full length, Traces in July of 2012.

Though still very much couched in techno, the album sees Dutchman Delta – who recently mixed it up for Ann Aimee on their Inertia compilation – explore plenty of new sonic territory, as he often does in his long ranging DJ sets. It’s adventurous, basically, and is an album that doesn’t lose itself in intricate sound design, but instead pairs a raw, machine made aesthetic with plenty of real human soul and palpable earthly emotion.

Says the man himself… “Traces is about my long time research into electronic music. It covers tracks that make reference to my favourite subgenres within electronic music: techno, house, electro and (Italo)-disco. There was no specific idea behind it because the album contains tracks made over a long time. Some are 3 years old, others were made this year, but in the end I think it sounds like a coherent piece of work.”
From the atmospheric openings of blissful electro joint “Frozen Land” through the sultry and searching acid of “Enter” and on to more forceful cuts like “Redemption”, this is an album for listening to as much as it is for dancing. Mood driven landscapes like “Onkalo” prove that, but you’ll have to check it out for yourself to get a real appreciation of the story Delta Funktionen is telling.

Claro Intelecto – Reform Club
After something of a hiatus, Manchester’s Claro Intelecto is back to release his third full-length album, ‘Reform Club’. Throughout his career, the man known as Mark Stewart has always created lush deep house and techno soundscapes awash with dubby undercurrents. ‘Reform Club’ is an album that deals with all the usual moods and textures you’d expect from Claro Intelecto: it’s warm and cuddly, comforting and inviting right from the first track, despite the rough edges and well defined analogue details which pervade throughout.
Though the whole album is dreamy and sounds deeply submersed in some foggy subterranean world, it stays dynamic and lucid with plenty of serene melodies and celestial emotions offsetting the gentle churning beat tumbles below. Like all the full length works of Stewart, ‘Reform Club’ makes most sense when listened to from start to finish – a lost art unfamiliar with today’s ADD generation.

Low Jack – Free Pyjamas EP

Delsin’s house series is back once again, this time with mysterious producer Low Jack about who very little is known. He has released but one EP so far, an EP that was both ballsy and techno and deeper and mid tempo. His Free Pyjamas EP is house, but thick, dense, gauzy textures fill every inch of the airwaves throughout.

The title track is a big barreling loop of warehouse music that has rattling drum fills, muffled r&b vocals and plenty of noise in its heart. The bside, ‘LJs Jam’ is even more fucked up, with harsh, raw drums hidden under layers of dust, static and hiss. Various synths add some ethereal light to the backdrop and a vocal struggles to be heard in the midst of all the chaos. Release date: December 2012.

Gentle electronic pop and warped vocals served cold with bass

recorded Oct.30 2012 length: 1:13:17

Billow Observatory – Pankalia
Sleep∞Over – Romantic Dreams (Balam Acab rmx)
Doctor Jeep – Broken Heart
Air France – It Feels Good To Be Around You
Kuhn – Even Bears
Rainbow Arabia – Boys and Diamonds (Altropolis rmx)
Lymbyc Systym – Prairie School
Martina and the Diamonds – Radioactive (How To Dress Well rmx)
Slow Magic – Corvette Cassette
Karma Kid – Lust Love
Cassie – Me & U (Mak & Pasteman Bootleg)
Pixelford – Freeze The Star
Kuhrye-oo – Give in (For The Fame DJ Sliink rmx)
Jacques Greene – Tell Me (Kingdom Edit)
Doshy – DCU
Tifa – Champion Bubbler
Gappy Ranks – Stinkin’ Rich
A$AP Rocky – Peso
The Weeknd – The Morning
Aaliyah feat, Drake – Enough Said (Shlohmo Rmx)
Pursuit Grooves – Got The Power
Krueger – Nou
HGLDT – Mo(ve)ments in Time
Vadoimmesico – Pepita, Queen of the Animals (Lapalux rmx)
Lapalux – Forgetting and Learning Again (feat. Kerry Leatham)

*To download, click on the “Dreamy Tings” podomatic page, scroll down to the left and “Download Episode”

Good People!

Selectors urbansteve & Kevin Reigh are back, and are bringing you the finest Reggae, Dancehall, Bashment & Future Bass.
For those who came to our first party, you know how booming the sound was up inna da place!

This session promises a heavy dose of classic Jamaican sounds alongside progressive and adventurous future styles!
Strictly heavyweight tunes. All killers and floor fillers.

Special Guests:

Pursuit Grooves (Tectonic, Deep Blak)
Lord Foundry

NO COVER

KITCH
229 Geary Avenue (at Dufferin, North of Dupont)
late night eats and beats

Check out our radio show at:
www.studiofeed.com and also www.supportindependentmusic.org

*************BIO – PURSUIT GROOVES****************

Originally from the Washington, DC area, Pursuit Grooves (born Vanese Smith) started producing music as a teenager to accompany the lyrics/rhymes she was writing. She’s been obsessed with
sound ever since.

Pursuit Grooves started turning heads and pulsating ears when she was featured on Rush Hour’s Beat Dimensions compilation in 2007. The following year she earned a spot at the prestigious Red Bu
ll Music Academy in Barcelona. Soon after she released the “Fox Trot Mannerisms” EP and “Frantically Hopeful” full length on UK label Tectonic Recordings, all highlighting her knack for delivering varying tempos, warm melodies, and equally great abilities to sing and rap. She has also been featured
on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Bubblers compilation series and albums for Swede:art and Portformat on Tokyo Dawn Records. Recently she produced two remixes for award winning Argentinian
pop/electronic band Altocamet.

Never one for staying in a box, she creates her own path and describes her sound as “Electronic Travels through Soul, Bass, House and Hip Hop.” Over the last few years she has performed Live PAs (with her trusty hardware sampler) internationally including performances at Sonar Festival in Spain, Elevate Festival in Austria and Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit to name a few. Smith also creates abstract video art as Wifihifiscifi which sometimes accompanies her performance. Forthcoming is a “cinematic dub “project on the California based Deepblak Recordings label under the alias 91 Fellows which is a tribute to her grandfather who passed away last year.

urbansteve (Hot Sauce) and Kevin Reigh bring you the finest Reggae, Dancehall, Bashment & Bass sounds. Combining the old shots with the adventerous future styles!

Strictly heavyweight tunes. All killers and floor fillers.

Special Guests:

Lord Foundry (aka Roland Gonzales)
Earl Grey

NO COVER

229 Geary Avenue (at Dufferin, North of Dupont)
late night eats and beats

Check out Bass Kultcha’s radio show at Studiofeed.com. Episode# 6 is here
Click here for the Bass Kultcha event page on facebook

Check out this new short film by Kahlil Joseph, with music by Flying Lotus from his highly anticipated new album, Until The Quiet Comes, due out on October 1st/2nd on Warp Records. The album features collaborations with artists such as Erykah Badu and Thom Yorke.

Go here for film credits, more info on the album, and live tour dates.

In other news, FlyLo will also be releasing a non-album single in which he collaborates with Beck…

We’ll be joining the Uptown crew this Saturday for a fundraising event and soundclash for the ages. Click here for more info.

Love the idea of the Adult Swim Singles Program! Feeling this new Flying Lotus track, feat. Earl Sweatshirt and Captain Murphy. Download it + other singles in the series for free here… then look for the new FlyLo album due out in October on Warp, and catch him with us in Toronto at The Hoxton on October 15th Danforth Music Hall on October 13th (first time we ever saw him live, he blew our minds).