Modulations (New Electronic Music Column)

Posted on 22nd Dec 11 by Skirmish | 1

Hello and welcome to my first column for Drop-d. My name is Ken and I run the electronic music blog Skirmish, a site that’s dedicated to promoting quality underground electronic music from both home and abroad.

This is something that I also hope to do with this column every fortnight. As well as talking about what’s going on in the scene overseas, I also will be showcasing Irish talent. There is a wealth of Irish producers and DJ’s that are more than  capable of holding their own amongst their international counterparts and this is something that I hope to prove through this column. Feel free to email me at skirmishcork@gmail.com if your a producer yourself or have any music you’d think I’d be interested in or just want to chit chat.

Right for the first post, since it’s almost the end of the year, I’m going to list my favourite tunes of 2011. There’s been loads of excellent releases that have come out this year and these are some of my favourites.

10.  Ital Tek –Cobalt (Planet Mu)

Ital Tek is a producer that’s been hammering out great tunes for years. I first heard his stuff when he played in Cork in Electric Underground a few years back and have been listening to his stuff ever since. Cobalt  is from the Brighton producers latest E.P. Gonga for  the excellent Planet Mu label. Taking the obvious influence of Footwork, the latest genre heralded by Planet Mu boss Mike Paradinas, Ital Tek provides nice bass drops over a well executed rhythm  proving that he can push his productions in different directions without sounding forced.

9. Rockwell-Aria (Critical Recordings)

This is yet another Rockwell tune where his drum synthesis sets him apart from his peers. I have yet to hear a release by him that I dislike and since his set at Bump 2010, I’ve been hooked on his stuff. The rhythmic  precision that flows underneath the haunting vocal line on Aria gets me every time and with the tinge of bass infecting the speakers every so often  I can never help but smile. It must be such a pleasure being able to make what he does.

8. Vaethx –Mass (King Deluxe)

Mass is one of those tunes that is beyond explanation. Trying to describe it in terms of genre is impossible because really it’s beyond any genre – Face melting glitch step is the closest I can come to pinning it down.  Vaetxh is the pseudonym of young Bristol producer Rob Clouth, a technological maestro whose productions highlight his love for technology and glitch. On all his tunes,  the 4/4/ structure is completely thrown out the window and instead replaced with off kilter rhythms. This is especially prevalent on Mass, which is full of melody and disorder, flowing from one to the other effortlessly that will leave your speakers exhausted.

7. Brian Dillion –Foglights (Unreleased)

The first time that I heard Foglights, I knew that it’d be a tune I’d listen to on repeat. From the infectious lead line flying over the frantic drum and bass rhythm, I can’t get it out of my head and have listened to it almost every week since it first warped my brain .What’s even more remarkable is that the tune is by 21 year old Limerick producer Brian Diolun. 2011 have seen him really be noticed and after receiving label interest from Acidburp’s Them records after only his first gig, things are only looking up for the young producer . While every tune he does offers something different, I feel it’s on Foglights where the maturity of his sound really shines through and this will only next year he looks set to make even bigger headway.

Foglights by Brian Diolún

6. Rrritalin –Do It Now (Mutant Bass Records)

This tune has livened up many’s a house party throughout the year with its stomping bassline and catchy as hell synths. With more than a nod to old school rave, Rrritalin has managed to set himself apart from others in the bassline scene. As one of the first releases on Kanji Kinetic’s Mutant Bass imprint, he helped define that Mutant Bass sound and every time I hear this track it just makes me want to dance. His Z Shed Mix is without doubt the best mix of the year as well.

rrritalin – Do It Now [MUTANTBASS001] by Mutant Bass Records

5. Loops Haunt –Ark (Black Acre)

Every so often there’s an artist that comes about so original that it’s impossible not to pay attention to them.  Loops Haunt is the perfect example of this. The Scottish producer has craved such a fierce sound for himself that blows many of his contemporaries out of the water and leaves them looking for a paddle. Just as he did with Hurache and Rubber Sun Grenade in 2010, on Ark Loops Haunt has managed to take an array of influences to create something unique. From the almost metal like riff at the start right through to the apocalyptic ending, it delivers a sonic crunch that will leave your brain wondering what happened.

4. Subhead – That Track (Don’t Records)

The aptly entitled That Track is a tune that has been doing the rounds on a few Jerome Hill mixes for a year or two. Listening on my iPod, I’d always wonder ‘’What’s that track?’’ and finally this year, thanks to Jerome Hill releasing it on his Don’t label, I finally found out that it’s Wonky techno legends Subhead. Released on a split with Boner M, it’s insanely catchy bassline is layered over some funky ass drum beat. It’s positively techno tastic and should be played loud all the time.

DON’T 019 Teaser.. Tracks by SUBHEAD & BONER M by JeromeHill

DON’T 019 Teaser.. Tracks by SUBHEAD & BONER M by JeromeHill

3. Blawan – Getting Me Down (White Label)

2011 has most definitely been Blawan’s year and Getting Me Down has a hell of a lot to do with that. Having been ripped onto youtube from a Ben UFO mix on Rinse FM, the track exploded and it’s easy to see why. With it’s insanely catchy vocal line (a sample of none other than ninties R& B/TV star Brandi) and superb percussion, I couldn’t imagine a dancefloor empty  as it was playing. Championed by blogs and sites all over the net, the future only looks brighter for the London producer and I can’t wait to hear what next he has in store.

2. Death Grips – Guillotine (Third Worlds)

Without doubt the most extreme, in your face, hip hop tune that’s ever existed. When Death Grips released their Military Mixtape in April this year, few could believe what they were hearing and when word surfaced that Zac Hill, the drummer from post rock heroes Hella was involved, it made the project all the more interesting. The album goes through genres like Kiss do merchandising all the time with the fearsome rapper  spitting over it. It’s on Guillotine however where Death Grips really come into their own, from the visceral roar through to the nausea of the sub bass and video, it takes the listener to a very dark place but one that you want to return to again and again.

1. Bjork –Crystalline (One Little Indian)

It was between Crystalline and Guillotine for the top spot but in the end it had to go to Bjork.  The simple reason being that this song struck the biggest chord with me this year. With the Crystalline album, I feel that Bjork once again proved why she’s such an innovator. When you strip away all the extras such as the apps and stuff, your still left with a release that is completely different to anything else happening.  Each track offering a different experience bit it was Crystalline that left the biggest impression on me.  When the tune reaches four minutes and eighteen seconds and that break happens, a drop so good and unexpected that it makes you want to erase your memory and repeatedly experience it again for the first time. There’s no greater reason to be alive. She’s got her haters and people who don’t get her and I can understand that but I’m so delighted I do get her and long may she continue to still blow my mind with tracks like this.

Electronic Eire

One Irish producer that has done extremely well this year is Cork based Limerick producer Deadlybuzz. From Djing in clubs since a young age through to now, he’s not only made a name for himself on the Irish scene but also further afield with his latest Bass Maggots EP being released by none other than Kanji Kinetic’s Mutant Bass imprint in the UK. It’s a label that has been receiving loads of praise and releasing absolute quality throughout 2011 and the Deadlybuzz EP is no different with four tracks of quality dark techno influenced bassline.

You can download it for free or by naming your price through bandcamp.

Tags: 2011 Lists, electronic, Skirmish