solipsistic NATION No. 109: Echo and Reverberation
September 26, 2008 | 2 Comments
It sometimes comes up in conversation what my criteria is for the electronic music that is featured on solipsistic NATION. You might think my answer would be fairtly straight forward. “Why, electronic music, of course!” But what are we talking about when we’re talking about electronic music?
Take music made with synths and a drum machine. That’s clearly electronic music. But what happens when you add vocals? Is it still electronic music? See? Things immediately become murky. Take Depeche Mode. They used a lot of electronic gear so did they make electronic music? I would say no. They were a pop band that happened to make songs with electronic instruments. The Normal, on the other hand, were clearly an electronic music band.
What happens when you start adding guitars, bass and drums into the mix? Again, it depends. Kid Rock is a rock act that utilizes electronic equipment while Ministry is an electronic band that plays rock.
Ah, you say, but all music these days is played with instruments that are electronically amplified, and recorded digitally. And you are right. But I ultimately take the position that electronic music is whatever I point to and say “That’s electronic music.” It’s my show, after all, and I can make my own rules. I just ry and make the rules consistent.
And that brings us to today’s show, which is all about dub.
Dub is one of those grey areas because even in the earliest days of dub all the instruments were traditional instruments like guitars, bass and drums. And being reggae influenced that hardly qualifies as dub, right? But the difference is how a dub producer manipulates those instruments in a recording studio by dropping track in and out and adding reverb and echo. The studio itself becomes an instrument and, to my mind, makes it electronic music.
On this week’s show we’re joined by Bruno Natal, the director of the Dub Echoes. Dub Echoes is a documentary on the history of dub and its effect on music, from pop to punk and, of course, electronic music. Dub Echoes is full of great interviews and features legendary greats such as Lee “Scratch” Perry, Mad Professor and Sly & Robbie and many, many, many more!
If Dub Echoes is screening in your area, I highly recommend that you see it. If not, no worries, you soon will be able to purchase it on DVD from Soul Jazz Records.
Photo Credit: Federico Bebber
- Dub Echoes (Trailer)
- Dubmatix “Ain’t Got No Love Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
- Nucleus Roots “Meditation Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Bloik “Lazy Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
- Random “Dubmage”
- Spiral System “Different Light” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Bluetech “Diaspora Dub”
- Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
- Suns of Arqa “All You Need is Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Sympath “Zero Sum”
- Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
- Dubosmium “All You Need is Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Adham Shaikh “Micro Dreams”
Download episode.
56:10 | 51.51 MB
solipsistic NATION No. 108: Spime
September 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Have you heard of Bruce Sterling’s Spime concept? No? Let me quote Cory Doctorow, one of Sterling’s peers, who can sum up the idea of Spime better than I can.
“A Spime is a location-aware, environment-aware, self-logging, self-documenting, uniquely identified object that flings off data about itself and its environment in great quantities. A universe of Spimes is an informational universe, and it is the use of this information that informs the most exciting part of Sterling’s argument.”
As the web becomes ever more interconnected and self-referential I’ve been thinking Spime more and more. But where, I think, Sterling refers to Spime as a physical object that, from cradle to grave, generates all sorts of tagged meta data, I think of Spime in terms of a podcasts.
Take solipsistic NATION, for example.
Nearly all the songs featured on solipsistic NATION were either emailed to me or I downloaded from various web sites and many of those songs were collaborations between many people done across the internet. Each show I select which songs to feature on solipsistic NATION and then release it as a podcast and at a later date, as a radio program.
The podcast is encoded as a MP3 and is tagged with various meta data. There’s the show’s artwork (often generously provided by folks who diplay their photography at Flickr). The MP3 also tells you the name of the show, when it was released, how large the file size is and how long the show is. In addition to the MP3, I also update my RSS feed which notifies various blogs, vendors, services and search engines whenever I release a new show.
Spime doesn’t actually exist. Yet. But if it did, I find myself wondering what a Spime-like show might be like? I imagine it would be a lot like solipsistic NATION, only more so.
Today’s show is kind of Spime-like. Here’s the data:
We’ll be talking with Bioradio about this year’s Oscillation Electronic Music Festival taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in Ocotber. Next, we’ll jump to Portugal to talk with Bruno Miguel to talk about his band, :papercutz. We’ll also talk with Ian White of Blip.fm, a new social media music service you really need to try. Finally, we’ll travel to San Diego and talk to Miller Puckette, author of The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music.
Speaking of social media, you can find me online on some of these social media services.
- Distraub “Article 73″
- Bioradio “Enter End” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Interview with Brian Botkiller of the Oscillation Electronic Music Festival
- Vertigo Venus “Vampire Hunter C”
- :papercutz “Ultravioleta (Signer Remix)”
- Interview with Bruno Miguel of :papercutz
- :papercutz “Ultravioleta”
- Roland M. Dill “The 8th Day”
- Interview with Ian White of Blip.fm
- Demons “Grey Lady”
- Interview with Miller Puckette, author of the The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music
- Yimino “Miagranov”
Download episode.
1:03:42 | 58.43 MB
solipsistic NATION No. 107: !K7 Records
September 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment
As a former Bostonian, living in San Diego can be difficult. Especially during the fall.
When I lived in New England, for example, the seasons served as cue as to what I be drinking for the next several months. When summer came to Boston I would begin drinking rum and cokes or gin and tonics. They were light and effervescent. Just the sort of thing to keep you cool during the hot and humid summer months. When fall crept in I would switch over to Guinness, whiskey and scotch. They were comfort drinks to get you through the endless winter months.
In San Diego I lack those clues. On, there is a change in the seasons but it’s subtle and to my New England blood it might as well be spring all year round. So what to drink?
I also have a similar problem with music. In the spring and summer it makes perfect sense to listen to The Ramones but once fall kicks in The Ramones seem kind of dumb. In the winter months I can listen for hours on end to someone like Nick Drake but in the summer Nick Drake seems kind of melodramatic. Bit if it’s perpetually spring, what the hell do you listen to?
I don’t have that problem with the music from !K7 Records.
The driving music of, say, The Herbaliser is perfect for sunny days by the beach and I can wind down with their moodier songs in the evening. I find that almost all of the music !K7 Records can be played regardless of the season. All of it is wonderfully inventive, sexy and playful!
- The Herbaliser “On Your Knees (featuring Jessica Darling)”
- Boozoo Bajou “Killer (Featuring Top Cat)”
- Trüby Trio “High Jazz”
- Bomb the Bass “So Special (Radio Edit)”
- Erlend Øye “Every Party (Has a Winner and a Loser)”
- Tosca “John Lee Huber”
- Stateless featuring Lateef the Truthspeaker “Bloodstream”
- Swayzak “Quiet Life”
- Kruder & Dorfmeister “Black Baby”
- Interview with Stephen Bolles of !K7 Records
- Carl Craig “Sandstorms”
- Interview with Stephen Bolles of !K7 Records
- Cobblestone Jazz “Change Your Apesuit”
- Interview with Stephen Bolles of !K7 Records
Download episode.
1:03:48 | 58.49 MB
solipsistic NATION No. 106: Bass Science, Live
September 5, 2008 | 2 Comments
Back in January I featured a recording of Steve Nalepa’s Dub Beautiful Collective concert on solipsistic NATION. At the end of the show I played some studio projects from Steve’s side projects with The FMs and Bass Science. I asked Steve if he had any more live material he’s like to be heard on the show and he was kind enough to send me a recording of a Bass Science concert in Tokyo.
Steve has been singing the praises of Matt B (otherwise known as RaNDom and RND) and after playing Matt’s “Crystal Dub” on one of my dub mixes I understood why. I love dub and Matt has created some of the most beautiful electronic dub tracks I’ve ever heard. That Steve and Matt would collaborate together on Bass Science was no surprise. That they took Bass Science in the direction of dubstep, however, was a surprise.
Seems like everyone loves dubstep these days. Hell, I love dubstep and listen to quite a few dubstep podcasts. Unfortunately, dubstep is one of those genres of music that is difficult to well. All to often artists will make dubstep tracks that just plod along while others will will create songs that are mired in the conventions of the genre. Not so with Bass Science. Matt and Steve are consummate soundsmiths and are able to craft exquisite dub and glitch tracks. When they combine their musical talent they create dubstep tracks that are sublime. Or dublime, in this case. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
So crank up your subwoofer and prepare to have the top of your skull blasted off by the low-end frequencies of Bass Science!
- Bass Science “Bass Science Live in Tokyo”
- Interview with Steve Nalepa and Matt B of Bass Science
Download episode.
55:33 | 50.99 MB