July 2012

Regular visitors to this blog will be fully aware of our quite justified excitement for Mia Dora. Over the past two years we’ve witnessed one of Glasgow’s most intriguing partnerships carve their own path into electronic music, taking a direct approach which should serve as inspiration to any aspiring artist. There have been no gimmicks, no reinterpretations and no pandering to what’s regarded as ‘hot’.

INTERVIEW W/ Mia Dora

So here’s a nice way to kick off your week then. As part of the Sub Club’s ongoing anniversary celebrations, the highly regarded venue is throwing a number of one-off parties which have already seen the likes of Martyn, Kode9 and Mia Dora grace the decks. Inviting some of the biggest names from the leftfield and centrefold you can expect to see both Erol Alkan and Lone in the coming months.

You’ve got to admire the generosity of some producers. Handing out free downloads which could very easily be released officially is always a pleasant surprise, and certainly a good way of showing appreciation for their fan’s support. One of the best candidates for this is slo-mo House producer AliOOFT! who has been responsible for some of our most played and popular tracks of the last few years.

We already reported on the massively damaging ‘You Can Bring’ EP from Sei A a couple weeks back, but having recently witnessed it work in a club, we felt it was only right to give its creator the title of ‘Local Hero’. What seems to truly resonate from a Sei A production is this visceral atmosphere which takes hold of the dancefloor, a primeval sense of complete submersion, and here on ‘Going Down’ that is completely resolute.

It’s been a full seven years since Killer Kitsch, Glasgow’s longest running midweeker launched at the Buff Club. Promoting an accessible music policy bolstered by an on-point foundation, the guys were some of the early few to offer a student alternative where punters could expect to hear the hottest new club music mixed in with certified classics and the odd inoffensive chart-topper. Now, with fresh competition and more choice available, we decided to see if Killer Kitsch still had that distinctive edge which originally made it so appealing.

When you talk about some of the most influential and prolific labels of the last ten years, you’ll find it difficult not to mention Hyperdub. A brief glance at their discography and you’ll notice such game-changing records as Burial’s eponymous debut, Terror Danjah ‘Undeniable’ and of course early efforts by label boss Kode9.

INTERVIEW W/ LV

There’s been no escaping the hype surrounding TNGHT this summer. From that mind-blowing performance at SXSW to guest mixes for Diplo and glimpses of riotous scenes at Village Underground, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice launched their debut EP this week amid ferocious expectation. And quite rightly so - it was fairly obvious from the various youtube rips and teasers that they were always going to deliver, but it wasn’t until hearing the EP in it’s entirety that we fully understood just what the duo were capable of.

It’s been just over a year since we launched Synth as a fully-functioning website, and last weekend we reached one of those annoyingly relevant (but nonetheless satisfying) 21^st century landmarks with 1000 of you now ‘liking’ us on Facebook. The last twelve months or so of supporting and documenting what’s going on in Glasgow has truly been a pleasure - we’ve seen new producers rise to prominence, good friends go on to get signed, fresh labels demand attention and exciting new club nights take things to another level.

10,000 plays on Soundcloud. Unless you’re David Guetta or someone else of equal dominance over impressionable ‘EDM’ fanatics then that’s quite an achievement, especially if your account consists almost completely of live recordings and mixes. Then again, it’s perhaps appropriate considering the soaring popularity of iAM in Glasgow.

New music from Koreless may be somewhat of a rarity, but when he does get in the studio the outcome is nothing short of exceptional. With a sound which refuses to succumb to standard labelling, our adopted Welshman is a master at straddling the boundaries between Bass, Dubstep and ethereal emotion, creating soundscapes which wander in new, unexplored directions. ‘Lost In Tokyo’ personifies that.

Having spent over ten years living in two of the world’s most influential and vibrant cities, it’s perhaps no wonder that M_nus’ Ambivalent has become one of the label’s most dynamic and feverishly productive artists. Flying in this Saturday to headline Bigfoot’s annual Riverside Party, as well as an official launch of his first mix compilation ‘_ground’ at Saint Judes, the American born producer has become a key player in Richie Hawtin’s extended family.

INTERVIEW W/ Ambivalent

Just how long have we been waiting for the return of The XX? Their self-titled debut rocked our very foundation back in 2009, and with the recent announcement and now release of new single ‘Angels’ it seems like they’ve never been away. Drifting in on familiar chords and Romy’s delicate vocals, their new offering very much maintains the ghostly beauty of ‘XX’, shattering hearts while simultaneously healing them.

Oh shiiiit. And you thought ‘Bugg’n’ was a banger? As we patiently wait for TNGHT’s debut EP to drop next week, the turbo-crunk pairing of Glasgow’s own Hudson Mohawke and supercharged Canadian Lunice have leaked (perhaps somewhat strategically) a hot remix on stateside trap player, Waka Flocka Flame.

We’re all over this one. It’s been circulating for sometime as a promo, but this week it finally had its full digital release on Glasgow Underground. With the vinyl selling out even before the wax had been cut, its no surprise that Mash’s eccentric vocal roller has claimed support from the likes of Groove Armada, Diplo and Rob Da Bank (who swiftly played it on his Radio 1 show). Sampling a hugely memorable spoken-word sample, the track builds with an unshakable swagger, reflecting the cinematic monologue it supports.

As you’ll probably be fully aware, we are in complete admiration of Glasgow’s own Bunty Beats. Consistency, quality and a work ethic which is nothing short of extraordinary make him one of the hottest Hip Hop producers in Britain, and we’re certainly willing to ‘co-sign that’. Unsurprisingly, his talents have been recognised stateside, with recent collaborations with Chox ‘Chose’ Mak and remixes on Nutso standing toe to toe with the big players of boom-bap 90s throwback.

Three years, ten releases – you might almost accuse Instruments Of Rapture of being a bit sluggish. But as with most things in life, quantity doesn’t equal quality, and with each perfectly pressed vinyl from the Glasgow-based label came the knowledge that you were buying something with real longevity, a piece of music which had been laboured over and delivered with absolute passion, not rush released to fit a deadline or pushed simply to maintain consistency.

INTERVIEW W/ Graeme Clark aka The Revenge

After the unfortunate demise of last weekend’s Bloc festival in which Numbers were due to take on a monumental soundclash with Swamp81, it’s perhaps a blessing that only one week later they can return to their rightful home, forget about the dissapointment and celebrate being yet another year closer to that landmark decade. Yes, tonight one of the world’s most consistently on-point and productive labels will mark nine years since they launched, and with Jackmaster, Oneman and Ben UFO set to go back to back all night long, this will undoubtedly be one of the biggest events of the summer.

It’s been a fairly exciting couple of weeks for Martyn Henderson aka Mash. His new single ‘Style Is The Answer’ has already sold out on vinyl, and fans of the quirky Deep House roller include everyone from Seth Troxler to Shlomi Aber, all giving glowing feedback of what is quickly becoming a summer sensation. Away from the studio, he’s also just landed the roll of House Editor at Mixmag and recently helped raise over £2000 for Yorkhill Children’s Foundation via a hugely successful night at the Sub Club.

INTERVIEW W/ Mash

Without exaggerating whatsoever, Mia Dora’s ‘Romanticise EP’ was probably our most anticipated release of the year so far. Having first blogged ‘Random Romantics’ back in December 2010, the delight at seeing it included as part of an exceptional four track EP is truly gratifying. Any one of the tracks could have grabbed the title, but we’re sticking to our guns as the completely immersive ‘Random Romantics’ skips to an entirely different beat.

Instruments of Rapture may have just released their final offering, but that certainly doesn’t mean they’ve gone quiet. Still very much causing a stir on the first Sunday of every month at the Sub Club, their flagship night of the same name is becoming increasingly popular with those who like to end their weekend on a high note.

When you were at school, the arrival of a guest speaker was always a particular highlight. Usually it was someone exceptionally boring, but if you were lucky it could be an enthusiastic police or fireman, on hand to teach you about the Green Cross Code or rescuing a stricken cat from a drainpipe. At Andy Jackson's school however, they went one better and got the local hardware fanatic to present some of his more impressive kit – a collection which included the likes of a Roland CR-78 and Yamaha DX7 - something which immediately resonated with Andy and would perhaps shape the path of his career.

INTERVIEW W/ JFunc

There’s something very winning about Sara-Abdel-Hamid aka Ikonika. Her refusal to be swept up by the all-encompassing ‘Bass Music’ tag has left her free to experiment with different tempos, styles and structures without feeling the need to adhere to or acknowledge current trends. Her complete devotion to her own uncompromising sound is refreshing to say the least, and while others may claim to produce with the same unrestricted freedom, we sense that Ikonika is one of the few who genuinely doesn’t take notice of what other people are doing.

INTERVIEW W/ Ikonika

Monday may be universally acknowledged as the most depressing day of the week, but when you get a collection of releases like we’ve seen today, it’s not so bad. With an exceptional debut EP from Mia Dora on High Sheen, a hot new single from the aforementioned Illyus, and now an astonishing three-tracker from Sei A, this is definitely a good day.

The best thing about this job is that you never know what is waiting just around the corner. Last night we were alerted to the new release from Illyus who we featured earlier in the year with an incredible guest mix and a perhaps somewhat premature ‘Local Hero Award’ (only from the label’s perspective of course). Things are still hotting up however, and with the advent of ‘Lovers’ out today on Dash Deep Records, we suspect that you’re going to be hearing a lot more from Illyus over the coming months.

Considering we’re over half way through the year already, it would be fairly safe to say that 2012 is shaping up to be quite remarkable. We’re sticking by our prediction that this will be the year when Glasgow really makes itself heard, and with new labels, new projects and new artists all rising to prominence, that prediction is becoming ever more realistic. So, following on from our highly popular ‘Top 20 Tunes of 2011’, we decided it would be a nice idea to take stock and look back over the year so far....

Sometimes a tune just resonates. It’s hard to describe, but when you hear certain songs there is an instant connection which is hard to put into words. Emotionally charged, overwhelmingly reflective and shimmering with outstanding beauty, Julius Funkhouser’s ‘Mist’ is one such tune. Stretched over nearly nine minutes of glorious tranquillity, this is one to save for that elusive sunset.

We’ve always got time for Floyd. Apart from being impossibly nice, she’s also got a skill set which is seemingly inexhaustible. Ever consistent with her mixes, we were extremely happy to find her latest vinyl assault uploaded late last week. Representing the less strident slice of the bass music spectrum, ‘Short & Sweet’ winds effortlessly through House, Garage and Funky to deliver a comprehensive and compelling listen from start to finish.

It’s been a while since we last heard from them, but the ever-inventive Heartbeats collective are still doing big things for new electronic music in Glasgow, and this week they released their sixth themed compilation, the cleverly named ‘Soul To Sole’. Featuring music from the likes of Dirty Basement, Heartbeats head-honcho Megamegaman and Mirrors' side project, Will Da Beast, the sixth instalment is all about turning Mo-Town on its head with samples galore and some very interesting interpretations of a classic sound.

Rarely does a label capture the imagination so completely than the multi-national and constantly innovating Comeme Records. Having spent some time researching the imprint for this very preview, we found ourselves whole-heartedly absorbed by a collective who channel global inspiration through one delirious dancefloor. Pinpointing their sound is impossible. Forget the clichés. Comeme Records have their own identity and will never conform, they don’t need to.

INTERVIEW W/ Matias Aguayo

Well, as we continue to slowly drown in what has to be the most miserable summer since last year, there is at least plenty of sunshine to be found in the pool of incredible mixes doing the rounds at the moment. Following on from a recent contribution to the Slow It Down series and a swift change of name, our resident Alex Caslano has delivered the third instalment of his ever-consistent Can’t Resist compilation.

We suspect there may have been some anxiety surrounding Mixed Bizness’ final event. Summing up almost nine years of parties in one night was never going to be easy, and certainly the pressure of giving one of Glasgow’s most highly revered club brands the send off it truly deserved must have been quite significant. But with a turnout that reflected their quite justified popularity, a line up which represented the very essence of what they tirelessly promoted, and an atmosphere which overflowed with an impossibly positive energy, The Last Dance was one which is unlikely to ever be forgotten.