Friday, June 1, 2007

MATH IS NUMBERS FOR YOU TO EAT

"In general, I’d say techno is really almost not happening at all there. I feel very sorry for them."-Michael Mayer on America



"Post new shit, post old shit, but whatever you do, avoid that oldish-newish shit."

Ahhh, the unspoken rules of 'tastemaking' (barf). Being retro (re:nostalgic) and being cutting-edge is a-ok, but diddle-daddling around the middle of the current decade will earn you no luv in the hellosphere. Well folks, it's a funny thing being a music fan from Ohio cuz sometimes I just can't help exemplifying the qualities that the guy with the moldy faux-hawk decried in LeBron James's freethrow attempts last night: 'ignant,' 'fagtastic,' and 'stupid.' I'm sure Mikey Mayer would utter similar epithets, especially after hearing Barak Obama's Techno Remix. Yep, it's the cross I and America carry and the silver nails we keep polished by the bedside: telling you shit you should already know about. We all just ignant so let's get ignant togetha...





"Do they know what the sublime is in America?" No, young Belgian boi, they do not (with the glorious exception of Michael Heizer, son). Last Summer I saw a hilariously lame photography show called "The American Sublime" where an LA gallery was filled to the brim with prosaic pics of the sides of buildings and parking lots. Excuse me Sir Photographer, but shit like that does not send my understanding on a 24-hour trip down The Maverick of aesthetic ecstasy. But you know what does? (and yes, you probably do) Motherfuckin' Efdemin does, in buckets. Ambient boi finds the 4 to the doors of perception on his foray into techno; the (cough) sublime sounds of Efdemin's self-titled full-length debut will plunge you, the listener, into cerbral caverns undiscovered. Admittedly, it took me at least a dozen listens to truly start exploring the black forest that Efdemin has erected here, but once I got lost, I've yet to emerge. Here's the album version of the banger "Acid Bells" (vinyl single out on Belgium's Curle Recordings) and his tasty contribution to a split he did with Dial Records head Carsten Jost last year. With the Efdemin and Pantha Du Prince full-lengths, 2007 is already in the hands of Dial (and big papa Kompakt). Check out the Pantha and Pigon live sets at Beta Lounge and make sure to support these shining stars of leaden-ethereal-techno.

Efdemin-Acid Bells [alt link]
Efdemin-Just a Track



Okay, now to get to the real old-new shit. I only got luv for techno's grand wizards of the umlaut, Jürgen Paape and Roman Flügel, but it's a developing luv, one that I'm constantly trying to catch up with. That said, here are two sides of the same 'fucking-techno' coin. Paape's "Mit Dir" off of 2003's Total 4 has been rocking me gently all week long, making the past 4 years of my life seem unbelievably lame (I mean, I can think of about 1,000 life episodes that would have been 1,000x better if "Mit Dir" had been playing in the background). Sun-kissed paradise disco techno for people who just want to cuddle. For those who just want to bone, we have the bonestorm acid house of Roman Flügel presents Soylent Green. Hang up those condom balloons, put these suckers on, and invite all the best swingers from your 'hood cuz it's going to be a long nite.

Jürgen Paape-Mit Dir [alt link]
Roman Flügel presents Soylent Green-La Forza Del Destino



And to end on an idiosyncratic note, let's move away from that BOOM-BOOM-BOOM to the tight terrain of the CHIKA-CHIKA-YEAH. Two olde thyme jawns ripe for the Summer season.
Recently I discovered that my dad was playing "The Horse" in 1976 when Madlib was pillaging that shit in 2006, suckaface. Dads are the best! Time is the worst...

Cliff Noble&Co.-The Horse
Cymande-Anthracite

PS-Super sorries to everyone for my recent abstentia. After graduating college, I swore off books and blogging while preparing my move to The Silent Barn in Queens. But in that time I've gotten a bajillion new tasties to share with you, so expect more from this guy in the near future. Also, for those in and around NY, be sure to check this blog for info about the many baller shows we'll be throwing up this summer. You gotta get down to get up!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

yo homie

good to meet you last night.

i too am a big fan of "mit dir" by the way.

peace
cole