Filed under: Music | Tags: austra, electro-magnetism, emika, harmonia, jan hammer group, minimal synth, mix, podcast, severed heads, subway, synthpop, tara cross, taulard, the 6ths, thick pidgeon, units, xeno and oaklander
Well, here’s the yearly blog post. The yearly mix. This one doesn’t have any real specific theme, other than these are the artists I’ve been rocking out to over the past year. It’s been an intense year here in Stockholm, as I continue my rocky integration into Swedish culture, and a lot of these songs have been my soundtrack to that experience. Some of the bands are recent discoveries, and some are old favorites.
I recently went on a trip to Grenoble, and came back with a fantastic punk compilation called Sous Sol (thanks Raf!), a gorgeous handmade silkscreened CD made in the dreamy printing room at the 102 squat. I swear that everything they make in there looks like magic!
From this compilation I chose the song Fuir by Taulard, a snappy energetic blast of awesomeness. Xeno & Oaklander‘s latest album from 2011, Sets and Lights, had been on repeat for many a month. The song Blue is actually my second favorite track off that album, the first being Autumn’s Edge. Oh the glistening effervescing arpeggios! I am loving how polished their sound is becoming.
Always plundering the fast expanses of Stephin Merritt’s work, I came upon The 6ths’ last album Hyacinths and Thistles. I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, but the song Oahu made it all worth while.
“It wasn’t meant to be, she had no time for me cause she was writing a novel…”
Tracklisting
- Units – Cowboy
- Taulard – Fuir
- Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened (Remix Three)
- Xeno & Oaklander – Blue
- Subway – Lowlife
- Austra – Spellwork
- Emika – Count backwards
- Tara Cross/Unovidual – Touch Me Here, Touch Me There
- Thick Pidgeon – Subway
- Jan Hammer Group – Dont you know
- Harmonia – Kekse
- The 6ths – Oahu
Enjoy the mix!
Ps. Oh, and I’m now on Mixcloud! Come find me there.
Pps. I moved my old files so my old mixes no longer load anymore. Bummer. They were super old though. If you’d like a listen/download, don’t hesitate to post a comment in that mix’s post and I’ll re-up it!
Filed under: Music | Tags: electro-magnetism, italo disco, minimal synth, scandinavian synth
(You can download it as well by clicking the little down-arrow on the Soundcloud thingy above.)
It’s time for another mix! I lean towards cheerful music in winter for some reason (see Episode 2). Maybe just to keep my downtrodden sun-craving soul alive and kicking through the darkness.
You can download it above, or subscribe to the podcast using the following URL in iTunes:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
- Blondes- Synthesist
- Pete Shelley- Witness the Change
- Eleven Pond- Portugal
- Primadonna- Flashing on the Floor
- Schmaalhans Weltraum- Samovar
- Det Gylne Triangel- Maskindans
- Grimes- Oblivion
- Com Truise- Sundripped
- Heartsrevolution- Teenage Teardrops (Pyramid Remix)
- Plastic Mode- NY Life
- Alden Tyrell- Hills of Honolulu
- Clockwork Orange- Sensation Boys
- Moß Garten- Moderna Kvinnor
- The Arms of Someone New- Beacon
- Big Ben Tribe- Heroes
I recently moved to Sweden and have been exploring some Scandinavian minimal synth lately, so I included some of that in there as well. Originally I wanted to do an all-Scandinavian mix, but I didn’t quite have enough super duper awesome material. Hopefully by next year I’ll be ready!
One of my new favorite compilations is Maskindans: Norsk Synth from Hommage Records in Oslo, which you can buy here. I highly recommend it! From their description:
Tracks from Tromsø up North to Arendal in the South, tracks recorded as early as 1980 and up to 1988, tracks shorter than two minutes and longer than six, spanning dark wave, avant garde, synth pop and most genres in between; songs that were hits on Norwegian radio and songs that have been totally obscure for 20 years or more. Maskindans is an impressively broad and thorough presentation of the finest Norwegian ’80s electronics.
The whole thing is really quite good, and some of the tracks are really addictive. On my mix, the tracks by Clockwork Orange and Det Gylne Triangel were my favorites from this compilation. I found it quite adorable to read that more than half of the first pressings were snapped up by the Norwegian government for use in libraries, all the way from Oslo to the Russian border.
I’ve also been trying to find as much Swedish language music as I can that I actually like. I included these favorites by Schmaalhans Weltraum and Moß Garten, both Swedish bands from the 1980s.
Some of my favorite modern bands of the moment are also featured on here, including Com Truise (who has a really nice looking website, btw) who I see just recently played Stockholm unknown to me (will. now. kill. self.) and Grimes. I have also been getting into Emika, but her music is in no way perky enough to fit on this mix. Perhaps after my perky wears off and I start wearing sunglasses and black velvet in the darkest depths of winter, I’ll make another mix more suitable to her. (Sounds fun!) But for now, here’s a very nice remix of a song from her recent self-titled debut.
Filed under: Music | Tags: Carlos Peron, crass, D.A.F., dome, download, electro-magnetism, experimental products, grauzone, hell, human league, justin timberlake, mix, modeselektor, plaid, throbbing gristle, tuxedomoon
Is it merely a coincidence that the Berlin Fernsehturm (TV Tower) resembles a disco ball upon close inspection? Was it by mystical divination that the East German architects constructed such a monument to as-yet undiscovered dance-floor pleasures in 1969? The world will never know.
This mix has been a long time coming. I created it originally for my partner Jon as part of our ongoing music exchanges. From the beginning I felt like it would make a nice addition to the Electro-Magnetism family, so I asked him if it would be ok to make public and he said “hell yeah,” or some equivalent answer, so here it is. And nope, the Justin Timberlake track is not a typo. 🙂
This is a continuous mix, cut into separate tracks in the download link, for your pleasure.
Enjoy!
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
And! I finally validated my little rss feed, saying farewell to its jankness of the past few years. Celebrate!
Tracklist:
1. Human League – Interface
2. Throbbing Gristle – Convincing People
3. D.A.F. – Ich und die Wirklichkeit
4. X-Mal Deutschland – Stummes Kind
5. Crass – Sentiment
6. Harmonia – Walky Talky
7. Experimental Products – Golden Hours
8. Hell – The DJ Feat. P. Diddy
9. Modeselektor – 2000007 (Feat. TTC)
10. Plaid – Lat
11. Dome – Cancel Your Order
12. Carlos Peron – Oui, Oui
13. Human League – Morale… You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
14. Grauzone – Eisbär
15. Tuxedomoon – Incubus (Blue Suit)
16. Hell – Action Interlude
17. Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around…/…Comes Around Interlude
I recently got back from Europe and it was a bit of a life changing journey. I was reminded that the majority of the world are not Americans. I hadn’t left this country since Bush came into office and I think that I had just lost all hope in humanity since he showed up. But the rest of the world exists! And its beautiful and old and full of wonderful, kind, compassionate people who just get it. What a relief.
I ran into this wonderful man in Berlin named Inox Kapell. He showed my friend Camalo and I his Insekteum, a storefront space that had giant plastic insects everywhere, old analog synths, organs and a thrift store too. There was even a really cute music venue in the basement. As you can guess, I was pretty into the synths so I asked him about them and he told me he was a musician, loved the old electric organs dearly, and would I like his CD? Of course, I said, and thanked him. I carried it with me for the rest of the trip, through Sweden and back to Holland. When I got home to Brooklyn I popped it in the player, and oh my god I loved it! He’s got many projects but this one is called Puckstörn and I included one of my favorite tracks in this mix.
Tragically, I just read on his website that the Insekteum is closing!
“4 years of subculture art, music and insect discovery is over now.”
Wow, what a shame. I’m so glad I got to see it! If any of you live in Berlin and want some very very cool shit he’s putting all of it on clearance this month. Damn, I wish I was there. The Insekteum is located at Plügerstrasse 70 in Neu Kölln.
For those of you that can’t see the place for yourselves, there is a video on YouTube about the Insekteum and an interview with Inox in German.
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. Oskar Sala – Concertando Rubato
2. Puckstörn – Basura Del Mundo
3. Antena – To Climb the Cliff
4. Elisa Waut – Russia
5. Can – Oh Yeah
6. Tuxedomoon – Desire
7. Soft Cell – Persuasion
8. The Actor – Inside Out
9. Hypnobeat – Can God Rewind?
10. Klein & M.B.O. – Wonderful (instrumental)
11. Rex The Dog – Gecko
12. Crystal Castles – Vanished
13. Hypnotic Samba – Hypnotic Samba
Filed under: Music | Tags: download, electro-magnetism, Faceless Mind, Geinoh Yamashirogumi, Ghentlon, in trance 95, Judgement of Paris, Jupiter Black Ft. Fred Ventura, Kano, mp3, new beat, Nightmoves, resurrection, Rygar, Shakti, Silvia, Visage, Vita Noctis
And you thought Electro-Magnetism was dead, buried in the ground after so many months. But nay, she has been resurrected from the depths. Magic incantations and all, this time through the help of my (trusty?) laptop.
Yes indeed I have completely switched to laptop mixing, and oh how bad I am at it! I don’t find it particularly fun yet so I haven’t been practicing and I’m sad to say it shows. Hopefully the content will make up for it…
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. Geinoh Yamashirogumi – Winds Over Neo-Tokyo
2. Judgement of Paris – Answer
3. Silvia – Zuerst Ich
4. Vita Noctis – Alone
5. Nightmoves – Nightdrive
6. Visage – Move Up
7. Jupiter Black Ft. Fred Ventura – Hold Me (Vocal Extended Version)
8. Rygar – Sonic Mission
9. Kano – Ikeya-Seki
10. Faceless Mind – Slowcat
11. Ghentlon – Cheebala
12. Shakti – The Awakening
13. In Trance 95 – Warm Nights Driving on Wet Streets
Filed under: Music | Tags: a certain ratio, ADN' Ckrystall, alphaville, bergheim 34, chris carter, download, electro-magnetism, epee du bois, experimental products, Goudron, in trance 95, minimal synth, mix, mndr, modeselektor, mp3, n.o.i.a., schleimer k, weltklang, xeno and staccato
This month I am going to make the jump to laptop DJing, I swear. Though every month I say that. And every month it doesn’t happen. But hopefully this will be the last mix with CDs and such. I have so much awesome music on my laptop that at this rate will never make it onto these mixes unless I use software to access them. I am attempting to admit to myself that iTunes has completley taken over the way I access and browse music and that I need to embrace it or be eternally frustrated by how archaic browsing physical music has started to feel to me.
I don’t want this to be the case, but it just is.
So there are a bunch of bands I’ve been really loving lately that I just couldn’t play on this mix because they were trapped inside my laptop and couldn’t get out. And that is a crime.
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. Experimental Products – Dreamworld (Live City Gardens 6/12/1983)
2. Alphaville – Romeos (Demo 1)
3. In Trance 95 – Brazilia
4. Epee du Bois – Exits
5. ADN’ Ckrystall – Ovanescent Nocturne
6. Chris Carter – Electrodub 2
7. Xeno and Staccato – Cara’s Kiss
8. Bergheim 34 – Oscillations
9. Schleimer K – On the Odd Again
10. A Certain Ratio – Back to the Start
11. Weltklang- VEB Heimat
12.Modeselektor – Sucker Pin
13.Goudron – Basmatine
14. MDNR – C.L.U.B. (Instrumental)
15. N.O.I.A. – True Love
Filed under: Music | Tags: cabaret voltaire, Ceramic Hello, Cormac mcCarthy, de fabriek, download, electro-magnetism, electro-pop, ensemble pittoresque, Guyer's Connection, Men Without Hats, mp3, Music, Neeva, noise, OMD, oppenheimer analysis, podcast, Ruth, Shanghai Au Go Go, skinny puppy, soft cell, synthesizer tunes, The Hafler Trio, The Petshop Boys, the road
Alright, this mix was:
1. a backlash against the non-stop dreary rain we’ve been suffering through.
2. part train-wreck noise explosion, part synthpop daydreams.
3. some sort of bewildering response to reading half of The Road by Cormac McCarthy in one sitting.
4. a bunch of other stuff.
5. I have to get out of town.
6. and finish reading The Road as soon as possible.
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. De Fabriek – Launch My Olive
2. Cabaret Voltaire – Automotivation
3. Ceramic Hello – Footsteps In The Fog
4. OMD – The Messerschmitt Twins
5. Oppenheimer Analysis – Men in White Coats
6. Men Without Hats – Moonbeam
7. The Petshop Boys – Where The Streets Have No Name
8. Neeva – Walking on Air
9. Ensemble Pittoresque – Urban Catastrophe
10. Guyer’s Connection – Arabia
11. Soft Cell – Facility Girls
12. Shanghai Au Go Go – I Cried All Winter
13. Ruth – Polaroid Roman Photo (Instrumental)
14. The Hafler Trio – A Thirsty Fish
15. Skinny Puppy – Unovis on a Stick
16. The Hafler Trio – The Dirty Fire
17. Skinny Puppy – Film
Filed under: Music | Tags: bakterielle infektion, Beirut, Black Turtleneck, electro-magnetism, experimental products, Goudron, I Satellite, Jeunesse Fantôme, lowfish, minimal, mp3, NYC, podcast, Reducer, robot music, skanfrom, sleeparchive, solvent, Stephan Bodzin, synth-pop, wierd
Is it really here? After so many false starts? The trees say yes, but I’m pessimistic. It’ll never come! Ever!
Well it’s sunny out, though I haven’t felt it on my skin yet since I’ve been trollishly indoors all day. I am heading out in a minute after I post this. I swear.
My original intention with this mix was to incorporate a theme. I wanted to celebrate the fact that one of my all time favorite musicians, Solvent, is performing April 29th at Wierd at 131 Christie. What a treat! Based in Toronto, Solvent (aka Jason Amm) has been hugely influential on my tastes in music and my attempts to make my own. Its unique even within the realm of synthesizer pop and after exhausting all his material I struggled to find other bands similar enough to him to fulfill my analog bleep-filled desires. There really weren’t any others that quite hit the spot! What to do? I explored a little and discovered his label Suction Records which is now kaput but offered me Lowfish, his other project Black Turtleneck and the Snow Robots compilations (though most of the tracks I love on the comps are side projects of his).
Shortly thereafter I came across the music of Roger Semsroth, aka Skanfrom and now Sleeparchive. He was also the synth mastermind behind Bakterielle Infektion. His music in B.I. and Skanfrom, melancholy and dark synthetic pop sometimes verging on noise, has really grown on me as has his new minimal material. Lovely.
So my choices for this mix today all stem from my fascination in some way with the instrumental-meticulous-analog-synth-warm-yet-chilly music of Solvent. I think. Well, a lot of it does anyway. And some of it I just thought was pretty and threw in for good measure. Like “Who is Kip Jones?” by Experimental Products. I am totally obsessed right now! That song has become a daily ritual….
Enjoy!
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. Stephan Bodzin – Bremen Ost
2. Sleeparchive – QCD
3. Bakterielle Infektion – Verbindung
4. Jeunesse Fantôme – Księżyc
5. Solvent – Operating Ease
6. Lowfish – Fric Frac
7. Goudron – Art School Fuckheads
8. Skanfrom – My New 7″
9. Black Turtleneck – Step Sequencer
10. Reducers – Airways
11. Solvent – Wish
12. I Satellite – Bubbleboy (Instrumental)
13. Skanfrom – In 17
14. Beirut – No Dice
15. Experimental Products – Who is Kip Jones?
Filed under: Music | Tags: chris & cosey, download, duet emmo, electro-magnetism, electro-pop, i start counting, james figurine, linear movement, medio mutante, minimal synth, mix, mp3, opera, perspects, podcast, synth-pop, the future
Hello my beloved listeners where ever you may be. It’s been a minute here with the podcasts/mixes…Thanks for holding out! I have come through at last with a new little mix. It’s rather short, but I was running low on time so, well, there it is. I hope you enjoy it. I’ve had some awesome positive responses about the mixes and I really appreciate it! It makes me feel like someone is actually listening to them. And not only just listening to them, but enjoying them, hearing new things, old things, loved things. Thank you!
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. Perspects – The Accumulators
2. James Figurine – Stop
3. Opera – Emotion
4. I Start Counting – Still Smiling
5. Duet Emmo – Or So It Seems
6. The Future – Blank Clocks
7. Medio Mutante – Another Land
8. Chris & Cosey – Talk to Me
9. Duet Emmo – Friano
10. Linear Movement – The Linear Way
(Title explanation– I mentioned I was low on time. And then Audacity decided to get all buggy on my ass and cost me another hour. Me wants to smashy smashy with annoyance!)
Filed under: Music | Tags: a blaze colour, A.B.B.O., Abberline, absolute body control, analysis, Assisted.Brain.By.O., automelodi, basking sharks, daily fauli, die krupps, download, EBM, electro-magnetism, electronic music, ensemble pittoresque, experimental products, front 242, home sweet home, metro pakt, mix, mp3, Music, NYC, opera, podcast, remiggi 5000, Rock Machine Records, skanfrom, sudeten creche, synth-pop, throbbing gristle, velodrome, wierd
I’ve had a long break with the mixes- but this one will make up for it! Totally rockin dark-as-all-get-out proto-EBM tunes, plus a wonderful track off of the new Vinyl-On-Demand re-release from Experimental Product’s Prototype and Garage Tracks- which, by the way, you should snag as soon as possible because it is really a gem! I bought mine through Michael Gross of EP and he clarified the back cover photo for me (see above) and signed it. Sweet! It’s been on the turntable for about a solid 48 hours…Joy. You can pick up a copy for yourself through their Myspace page (save on shipping if you’re in the US!), Germany’s Vinyl-On-Demand or Anna Logue Records.
In addition to Experimental Products and proto-EBM, I’ve been scouring the web for all projects involving the man who calls himself Abberline or Francois Remigi of Toulouse France. He’s done a few different projects- namely defunct Opera (so good), current Remiggi 5000 and Abberline. With his lovely hot vocals I want them all! I included one track off the Rock Machine compilation from Remiggi 5000. Unfortunately very little is available from them but hopefully there will some sort of full release in the future. He also works with a man who calls himself Assisted.Brain.By.O., also from Toulouse, who does a minimal synth project of the same name, A.B.B.O., that I love right now. If I could get some not-shitty quality MP3’s I would play some…Another darker synth project of his, Le Moine, has a track on the new Enfant Terrible comp Radio Resistencia…
Speaking of hot french vocals, I also included a track (also off the Rock Machine comp) from Quebec’s Automelodi aka Xavier Paradis aka Arnaud Lazlaud. The man is talented! Everything he does is golden, I swear. And silky and highly danceable.
…….And! he’s going to be performing at NYC’s Wierd on April 8th next month at Home Sweet Home (at 131 Chrystie St.). Not to be missed!
There ends my spiel. Enjoy the mix!
Wanna get the podcast? Use this URL to subscribe:
http://www.larkisadora.com/electro-magnetism.rss
Tracklist:
1. Basking Sharks – Croatia
2. Experimental Products – Aviation
3. Automelodi – Schema Corporel
4. Remiggi 5000 – Ultra-sensitive
5. Electronome – S.I.A.S.G. (remix)
6. Skanfrom – Earth 11
7. Throbbing Gristle – AB/7A
8. Analysis – Connections
9. Sudeten Creche – Dance (Instrumental)
10. Front 242 – U-men (Instrumental)
11. Velodrome – Glasfabrik
12. Die Krupps – … Denn Du Lebst Nur Einmal
13. Metro Pakt – C.T.I.
14. Absolute Body Control – What is the Disease?
15. Daily Fauli – Speed
16. A Blaze Colour – Follow the Signs
17. Ensemble Pittoresque – Auratorium
bleeps & bloops 