The Soundtrack of:
Having your faith restored
Utopia’s National Anthem
Relieved Exhalation
Reaching the Cloud at the top of Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Tree
Smiling on the Inside
A session in a massage chair if you’re that way inclined/reclined
Peace
A 21st Century Badlands
A Beautiful Order
A ‘Wish You Were Here’ Postcard
Soma
Midday in a Perfect World
A Bright Future
Everything You Ever Wanted
‘Startin’ a band? Don’t know why you’ld bother, everything is shite since Joy Orbison died…’
Hold on there son, slight mix up/error in the script there. Joy Orbison, rather than Roy Orbison, is alive and well. And lavishing his influence all over like an over zealous garnish of seasoning. Give us a bit more ground pepper there please. And everything is good and tastes better in the two years or so since that little pup brought a general seachange to the fore in his dubby house template… And with it brings a plethora of whippersnapper followers. If Joy Orbison is the Pied Piper of Hamlin, than maybe Julio Bashmore is head of the posse of the kids, mesmerised by the music and leading the rest of the kids forth in a melodic foray away from Hamlin (aka Bristol/South London) and towards, well, wherever your imagination will take you…Dalston perhaps? 20 years old, Bristolian Bashmore, is also known as Matthew Walker, and is leading the brashful charge and carrying on the baton from the equally youthful Joy Orbison (Give it up, we’re all over the hill, leave it to the kids, they’re very good at the music and computers these days). Stealing a lead from those who influenced him in Bristol, a cocktail of bass, house and dubstep has led Walker to something quite refreshing indeed, and universally acceptable as an undoubted floor filler, and dare I say, potential summer anthem.
I’m clearly not Mr Current Affairs, as this particular stomper has been available since January and is rising towards the 90, 000 views mark on YouTube, and cuddling up cosily besides universally certified bona fide genius Rebecca Black in terms of widespread popularity. BUT, despite all that, its resonance and popularity grows and grows by the day, as we veer more headlong into the peak of summer season and prime time for euphoric anthems. I may be a bit behind, but if you haven’t jumped on the band wagon yet, I’m giving you the opportunity to do so now. Go for it. What a tune. I’m talking about Julio Bashmore by the way. Not Rebecca Black. (She’s overrated)
John Talabot’s Remix of Teengirl Fantasy’s Cheaters. A producer to be watched from a label to be watched.
Spain. Hotbed of much. Beautiful people, beautiful place, charisma that affects both. A country with passion coursing through its veins. Finest purveyors of the beautiful game these days too of course. They’ve got a certain World Cup trophy and El Clasico’s to illustrate that. It boasts Madrid, Barcelona, countless other mesmerising places… Great place to live, great place to experience. Home of festivals galore, Sonar and Primavera to name but a few, while Barcelona boasts Razmatazz, a venue that is appropriately named by all accounts. With such venues and festivals etc, and what some maight call, ‘quality of life’, it is brimming with vibrancy, and a perennial go to destination. An epicentre of festivity? To say the least.
Indeed, while occasions like Sonar and holiday destinations like Ibiza have long proven to be meccas for dance and electronica lovers, Spain hasn’t really boasted the plethora of high end musical output that would be fitting for what the country offers in abundance. Despite a few minimal producers peeping their head above the parapet, there’s nothing of note that really springs to mind in comparison to its more illustrious European neighbours… It certainly doesn’t have anything that you could namely nail its colours to the mast for, or a signature scene to go with what we all associate with Barcelona, and the rest of the country.
That could be all about to change though. One sterling label seems to be intent on giving Barcelona a dance music identity that is as classy, cool and generally as brilliant as the city itself. The array of influences Barcelona has is evoking itself in the music that Hivern Discs, a Barcelona based label of passionate Spaniards, and the music they are producing and releasing. Indeed, Hivern seem to be quickly developing a reputation as a label that pick the best bits of every genre, stays faithful, mixes them in together to emerge with some extremely exciting and rich material thats palatable everywhere from club environs to dinner parties.
The folks at Hivern seem to have a strictly DIY ethic which lends itself to a passionate push to get their labour of love out there, and also show off what is simmering away nicely in the Barcelona scene at the moment. A nice combo. Its working well thus far, the way its going, Hivern may well become an important footnote in the development and further pronunciation of both Barcelona and Spain’s electronic/dance identity.
If this is going to be the case, they will need an ambassador, a sort of Dixon type representative of Innervisions equivalent. At the moment, there is one man who definitely fits that bill, and thats the richly promising John Talabot. As we veer headlong towards the summer, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hedge a few bets on Talabot emerging as big name come August. An even better idea would be to dive into his range of sterling remixes first hand and discover just how top notch he is. He’s a producer who is already proving to be extremely consistent, and with an ear for the most emotive of floor fillers. He’s also probably the most impressive intro to see what Hivern are all about. Check out his link above, or indeed the extra one I’ve included here, a remix of Glasser’s ‘Learn’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA9qTtLQJ1U
Its a captivating rework and shows off the emotional capacity Talabot is capable of garnishing his work with, alluded to above. Serious Animal Collective - My Girls buzz going on too, just to get you motivated for the click through…!
The showcase mix is a fine mix in itself, let alone an intriguing introduction to the stable of various Hivern acts. They won’t reveal the actual DJ who mixed it due to the collaborative ethic they boast, but I’m fully sure it was John Talabot, so he can clearly put a set together too! Might have to prioritise checking him out during the Primavera jaunt, if at all possible! Enjoy:
http://ra4.residentadvisor.net/audio/lotm/1104-ra-lotm-hiverndiscs.mp3
Four Tet is back, and with a bang, and seemingly with a more momentous sound than the melodious and tenderness drenched ‘There Is Love In You’. ‘Pinnacles’ is bristling with brawn, and has the driving rhythm of a battered, old school indestructible American road car ploughing onward relentlessly towards its destination. There’s some nice jazzy touches garnished on top, and the song has a deceptively refreshing variety, but its unquestionably all about the bass and unrepentant power of this one. Welcome back to the dancefloor.
Space Dimension Controller’s enchanting, beautiful YET impossibly slick ‘The Love Quadrant’.
‘Yeah I’ll take you baby, where you wanna go? You wanna go there? Well, I’ll tell you baby, Once you go there you don’t come back, Because once you go to the Love Quadrant, you stay in the Love Quadrant, you dig?’
Space Dimension Controller, aka Jack Hamill, working his prodigious midas touch to a Detroit classic
B E A U T I F U L /
An excellent and relatively recent release from Morgan Geist’s latest project, Storm Queen. Pretty far removed from any Metro Area material, this track definitely embraces the vocal it is built around, and just keeps on giving. Bear with the ropey opening minute before the vocal kicks in, thats just mixing territory as you well know, and you’ll probably grow to love it anyway. An instant hit and indeed, even better as a grower as I say, could end up being one of the house releases of the year… ;-)
