Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery
Soul Sedation
Soul, Dub, Hip Hop & Bottom-heavy Beats with Tony Edwards Soul Sedation goes live every Wednesday night on Bondi FM (88.0 or bondifm. com.au). Tune in 10pm 'til midnight to hear a deep and soulful selection of the tunes covered here, and plenty more that I don't have room for.
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Pantha du Prince antha du Prince (known to his true friends and close confidants as Hendrik Weber) and Stephan Abry will release a collaborative album under the name URSPRUNG in May on the esteemed Dial imprint, the label that released Weber’s first two albums Diamond Daze and This Bliss. The pair met ten years ago when Abry was part of the experimental Workshop outfit (not to be confused with the label of the same name run by Lowtec and Even Tuell), and Weber was in the band Stella; both released on the Ladomat 2000 label. Arby has, in fact, contributed to various Pantha du Prince productions in the past, so a full-length collaboration isn’t completely out of the blue. The duo’s eponymous debut LP took shape during a series of winter studio sessions in the Swiss Alps and is supposedly influenced by Krautrock, ambient producers such as Harold Budd and Brian Eno, as well as the minimalistic guitar of The Durutti Column (with guitar being the main instrument explored on the album). Given Weber’s knack for interesting melodies, this exploration of sonic terrain outside of the dancefloor seems like a natural progression, following his move to the traditionally indie stable Rough Trade for the release of his most recent album, Black Noise. I’m personally very intrigued by this release, and look forward to wrapping my ears around it – as I dare say you are too, dear reader.
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The US-born, Berlin-based artist Levon Vincent has announced details of his forthcoming Fabric 63 compilation, a 15-track mix comprised mostly of Vincent’s own productions – including certified bombs like ‘Double-Jointed Sex Freak II’ and ‘Polar Bear’ – alongside cuts from Underground Quality boss DJ Jus-Ed,
LOOKING DEEPER
tINI
FRIDAY MARCH 30 Efdemin One 22, 122 Pitt St
THURSDAY APRIL 5 tINI + Martin Buttrich The Civic Underground
Levon Vincent photo by JoJo
Moodymann The Spice Cellar
SATURDAY APRIL 28 Derrick May Chinese Laundry
Levon Vincent DJ Qu, Black Jazz Consortium, Anthony Parasole and Joey Anderson. Hailing from New York, Vincent made his name in the early '00s with tough-talking but remarkably well-arranged house singles, mostly released on his own More Music label. It was in the latter part of that decade, however, that Levon really hit his stride, with his 2008-2009 form particular worthy of accolades as he churned out cuts such as ‘Six Figures’ and the aforementioned monster, ‘Double Jointed Sex Freak’. Fabric 63 was apparently recorded on vinyl in Vincent’s Berlin cellar, with the man himself elucidating, “I wanted to use this opportunity to push my signature sound… I hope people say that I had a commercial opportunity and that I used it to do something artistic.” Vincent devotees will be excited to note that Fabric 63 will include a smattering of unreleased tracks from the man himself, including ‘Stereo Systems’, ‘Fear’ and ‘The End’, all of which are seemingly set for release on his own Novel Sound label. The press release concludes with a salacious provisio that’s worth repurposing here: however cosmic Fabric 63 gets, as in the heavenly ‘Rainstorm II’, or dubbed out, or even industrial, it’s always underpinned by one thing and one thing alone: the wellworn thud of an almighty kick. Fabric 63 will be released on April 23. Another upcoming release that will warrant a listen is Balance 021, which will be mixed by Saved Records main man Nic Fanciulli. The double CD release offers two contrasting discs, a characteristic it shares with its predecessor, Deetron’s Balance 020, where the CDs were distinguished by their analogue/digital theming. This time around, Fanciulli’s discs differ in that disc one has the selector in full flight as a DJ, traversing a broad range of tracks from the likes of Oscar Offerman, Anonym and Omar-S, while disc two is compiled exclusively of material from the Saved catalogue, and features productions from Philip Bader, Robert Dietz and Fanciulli himself. Balance 021 will be released in May through Balance Music. Last but certainly not least, this Friday, revered German producer Phillip Sollmann, aka Efdemin, one of the finest proponents of house and techno sounds, will make his Sydney debut, playing an extended set in the intimate confines of One22. The event has been covered in other sections of this week’s magazine, but given Deep Impressions’ close affiliation with the event, it would’ve been sacrilegious not to encourage all readers of the column to come down and join the revelry for what should be a special party.
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com
kay disco heads, here’s a heads up: one of the genre’s first and finest is in Sydney this weekend. The scene-shaping New York producer/ DJ John Morales will be flying in for a Sunday gig. Morales is known as a predigital pioneer, who would splice reelto-reel tapes together, quite literally, to achieve the dancefloor effects he was after. As part of M&M Productions – along with Sergio Munzibai – he was pivotal in the culture of the extended mix and reedit. Indeed he’s quite a special character in his scene, having worked with or remixed everyone from Marvin Gaye to Inner Life, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin, War, Candi Staton, Loleatta Holloway, and Salsoul Orchestra. Soul Sedation has been lucky enough to catch Morales’s contemporary Nicky Siano a couple of times, and if his pedigree is anything to go by I wouldn’t want to miss out on seeing Morales do his thing live in the flesh. The gig goes down this Sunday April 1 at The Loft and tickets are only $15 if you jump on Resident Advisor early. Local supports from Gian Arpino, Phil Toke, Alex Dimitriades, Phil Hudson and the Soul of Sydney DJs. If the name Morales means anything to you, you may also want to get involved in this new release from BBE: The Best Of Perception and Today Records (both US labels) takes in early combinations of soul, proto-disco, funk and jazz with beat poetry and many more line blurring types of sound. Compiled by DJ Spinna and the BBE team, there’s a lot of music contained in this 2CD collection. You should also check out the new juice from Nickodemus’s label Wonderwheel. The Janxta Funk! Remix EP release sees J.Bless, Captain Planet, Navegante and Juno What? all pull apart and rearrange tracks from Brooklyn funk/dub band The Pimps Of Joytime. Some edits take it towards the dancefloor in an electro sense, whilst others keep it strictly to soulful hip hop. Wonderwheel remains an interesting independent label to keep your eyes on. This year’s Vivid LIVE lineup is out, on sale and starting to sell out, and us beatheads will get a chance to catch Janelle Monae & The Archandroid Orchestra as well as Amon Tobin and Seekae. Danny Brown and MED are performing at a night curated by the Niche Productions family, and local emcee Ellesquire, whose tune ‘Chasing The Pay’ is still receiving high rotation on triple j, is also on the bill. The Future Classic collective will be programming an event for the festival as well. This year’s festival will close with a screening of LCD Soundsystem’s farewell concert in Madison Square Garden, Shut Up & Play The Hits… so don’t sleep on those tickets!
ON THE ROAD SUNDAY APRIL 1 John Morales The Loft, UTS
THURSDAY APRIL 5 KRS-One, Def Wish Cast Enmore Theatre
SATURDAY APRIL 28 Electric Empire The Standard
SATURDAY MAY 12 Atmosphere, Evidence The Hi-Fi
SUNDAY JUNE 10
The Robert Glasper Experiment Oxford Art Factory Okay electronic jazz and soulsters, one of your defining days is imminent. When the June long weekend hits, you’ll need a ticket to Oxford Art Factory to see The Robert Glasper Experiment, Jose James and Taylor McFerrin. To see what the Glasper Experiment are all about, check out the new record Black Radio, which features none other than Mos Def, Erykah Badu and Bilal plus some other less familiar names. Jose James you’ll know from Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label. And Taylor McFerrin you may well have seen recently with Shabazz Palaces at Sydney Festival; he’s a mean beatboxer and an incredible producer (debut album in the works). This should be a night for anyone with sensibilities for jazz, soul, hip hop, electronic, and all the interesting blurry bits in between. Still on a jazz tip, the UK’s Part Time Heroes' new record, Lightfalls, is out now. Anyone into the confluence of detailed production and musicianship will be into this record, which introduces Sarah Scott on vocals, and sees more from Colonel Red, who appeared on PTH’s debut record, Meanwhile, from 2008. In Aus hip hop news, Obese Records is due to release a 10th anniversary compilation, Obesecity 2. The album will showcase both established Obese artists alongside up-andcoming emcees from across the country. That’s due out in June/July this year. And Aus hip hop heads will no doubt be keenly awaiting Chasm’s new LP This Is How We Never Die. Lead single ‘The Truth’, your first taste of that record, is available online now. US hip hop monsters Atmosphere are headed back to see us once again. Their last show, as part of the Days Like This! tour, was truly a standout spectacle. The Minnesota troupe will appear with a full live band, and Evidence from Dilated Peoples will also be on the same incoming plane. That one goes down on Saturday May 12 at the Hi-Fi (previously The Forum), Entertainment Quarter. And finally, this column recommends that you get yourselves along to the KRS-One show that’s taking over the Enmore Theatre next Thursday April 5. Have you got your tickets yet?!
Janelle Monae
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