COSMIC OCEAN JAMS

I wish there were beaches in iowa, so I could sit back in a folding chair, pop some klonopin, and watch the ocean. Instead I must remain content with some spacy seaside jams. All this beach music is undoubtedly a response to the giant dick in the ass that is february in the midwest (its been below zero every day for maybe a week). So if you're looking for something warm that's got more bounce than a bowl of chicken noodle, hit up some of this cosmic maritime music.

The Emperor Machine - Tropical Waste [alt link]
The Emperor Machine - Seka Wants Your VCS3 [alt link]
Recording primarily on vintage 70's electronics, the emperor machine (Andy Meecham) makes music for cosmic banging. Undeniably influenced by prog/electrock/kraut (shades of Can lurk in every crevice of these tracks) but also colored by a (perhaps begrudging) exposure to dance sounds, Emperor Machine tracks careen forward on the propulsive force of the beat, the sky, the ocean, and the mecha. A distinct departure from his work with Chicken Lips and well worth your ears, Meecham's emperor machine music can be found on DC recordings.

Air - Mer Du Japon [alt link] (from the forthcoming Pocket Symphony)

My first exposure to a lot of styles of chillectro and cosmic disco was thru Air's Premier Symptones and Moon Safari records; I owe them a lot for this. With age, some of the fire and most of the cheez has dissipated from Air's music. Their new LP Pocket Symphony (due out in March) is a laid-back affair, like sitting on the beach on the far side of the Pacific and watching the moon crest atop the crashing waves. Their is a noticable lack of beats and "Airesque" effects, expanding on ideas hinted at with recent work like Alone in Kyoto. Mer Du Japon follows along the same theme as that track but brings in a driving kraut beat to make it the immediate standout on the new record, a cosmic jam like few others can conjure.

Cajuan - Raven (Joakim's Antwerp Remix) [alt link]
This track is blowing up in the clubs and with good reason. All three versions on the vinyl are indisputable in their bump. Though the much-blogged metro rave mix is certainly the choice for clubplay, this Joakim mix is just the kind of slow-building ten minute disco acceleration that colors my brain-tan the perfect shade of deep magenta.