Tone Trove: 014
featuring music by Afrikan Sciences, Wobbly, + more
Hello again! Feel like I’m getting into a bit of a groove with these but still would like to hear any feedback from you! Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see on here or if you have any suggestions cause as much fun as it is for me to put these songs together, I want to make sure it’s an enjoyable experience for those reading/listening. Feel free to leave any comments below!
“Banana King” by CV Vision
For a nation of rather rigid individuals, Germans sure know how to make some funky electronic noises. This track is courtesy of Bayreuth native CV Vision, who concocts a fuzzed out sonic adventure that very much feels like an escape from the city of Berlin where he now resides. Listening to this song in particular brings to mind an acid-soaked joyride on one of those Cruis’n arcade games where the other cars gradually melt away and you’re left speeding through the desert with only this soundtrack to guide you to the promised land.
“Hindsight” by Afrikan Sciences
Eric Douglas Porter aka Afrikan Sciences has been on a real hot streak lately, releasing quite a few projects over the last couple years including his 2019 release Centered which I thoroughly enjoyed. This new album continues in the same experimental broken-beat style that he’s been perfecting. I’m a big fan of the aquatic, reverberant synths that seem to linger in the air on this one; a nice contrast to the rhythmic elements that are constantly shifting beneath you. Never in one place for too long yet hypnotizing in composition, the almost 9 minute track will be over before you know it.
“LAIKA” by Slikback
Kenyan producer Slikback is another artist who I have been watching recently after a great couple of EPs that he dropped on Hakuna Kulala, a sublabel of Nyege Nyege Tapes. Here he gives us a remix to a UK drill freestyle by Digga D x Sav’O x TY that apparently was taken down from YouTube by the Metropolitan Police because the group (formerly known as 1011, now known as CGM) was in trouble with the law at the time. You can still watch the original video here but big ups to Slikback for making sure this song is still able to get recognition cause the amount of rap songs unfairly targeted by law enforcement for their lyrics is absurd. It starts off almost sounding like it’ll be a modern Afrobeats song but when the first verse from Digga D hits, you know shit is about to go down. Slikback amplifies the menace in their bars with his update on the standard drill sound of the original and creates a beat to properly match their boisterous threats.
“Appalachian Gendy” by Wobbly
More wacky rhythms abound! This time from plunderphonics bossman Wobbly (aka Jon Leidecker), though he’s been taking his sound in a different direction recently. Rather than a sample-happy affair like his People Like Us collaboration with Matmos, this time he turns to technology to directly aid in the musicmaking process. Leidecker uses “mobile phones and tablets… running pitch trackers and synth apps” that then “convert the sounds they hear into error-prone melodies.” This new album is a followup to his last album Monitress, and features more composed works compared to the improvisational nature of Monitress. I guess “composed” is more accurate cause it gets very chaotic at times due to the sudden commotion that tends to erupt from notes being processed incorrectly. But it’s honestly a pleasant chaos, at least to me. It’s kind of like taking a bunch of puzzles and throwing the pieces together, some getting smashed into place to work but the end result maintaining a bit of the beauty from the numerous sources.
“No Focus” by Coma World
We got a couple of jokers here in Coma World cause despite what the name of the song implies, the grooves on this one are locked in. The duo is composed of Maxwell Hallett, aka Betamax, who drums for The Comet is Coming, and bassist Pat Bennie. Frankly, I always love hearing an actual drummer take on some drum n bass rhythms and Betamax proves his worth as a master of the breaks. Bennie isn’t one to turn your nose up at either though as his frantic basslines will surely be enjoyed by anyone who likes the work of someone like Thundercat. Things are already throttling ahead for the first two minutes but they use the last minute of the song to really show off their chops (Betamax especially) and almost steer this hurtling train right off the tracks before it quickly mellows out and the engine exhales the last puff of smoke at the end of the line.
Ye Oldie Goldies
“If I Had You” by Isabr’m
Reissue label Athens of the North doing God’s work right here by reissuing this extremely rare 80’s boogie track. According to the original record’s Discogs listing, the only copy to be sold on the site went for a whopping $1,200 this past year. Thankfully, buying a copy from AOTN is just a little bit cheaper which makes me real happy as this funky tune deserves to be shared with the world. It’s got all the makings of a hit for me: fantastically smooth vocals (and even more importantly, backup vocals), a dangerous slap bassline, and a squelchy synth tone that culminates in an unabashed good time.
Ha! Ha! Tarachine by Picky Picnic
Another instance where I have to post the whole album because A. I can’t find individual songs on YouTube and B. it’s most certainly worth the whole listen. Real demented children’s music but it rocks. Like Alice’s Wonderland but it all takes place in a Lite Brite. Idk you really just need to listen to truly understand this “Japan Pop” as advertised on the cover.
Hmm, maybe a cool feature could be a "best of" post. Potentially using the same format as the weekly posts, but occasionally gets updated to be a list of some of your favorite/best introductory tracks. Then, if I want to share the Trove with someone I can send them there as a starting point