Fluxblog #152: Adrian Younge, XXXTENTACION, Space Invadas, Videotape Music, Peter Zummo
I didn't mean to do this, but every song I wrote about this week falls into the category of "stuff that I find very difficult to write about." They're all fantastic songs, and hey, it's good to get pushed a bit. But yeah, not my best writing!
March 23rd, 2018
The Moon Right Behind Me
Adrian Younge & Linear Labs “Silhouette Dreams”
“Silhouette Dreams” is lush but not gaudy, and indicates a luxurious vibe by varying slick, smooth tones and textures without letting them get cluttered in the mix. For the most part, he lets you focus on one at a time – a slow, gorgeous run of bass notes; a tight vocal harmony; a few moments of cymbals being hit so delicately they evoke light shimmering on crystals. I hear all of this in very visual terms – in some ways it’s deliberate cinematic, but in others it’s more like architecture or fashion design. A lot of the transitions in this sound to me like they’re cut diagonally, and the bass parts feel like bold, thick, elegantly curved lines.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 22nd, 2018
Make Me Feel Right
XXXTENTACION “Moonlight”
The overwhelming majority of XXXTENTACION’s second proper album ? is written and produced by a young producer named John Cunningham. Cunningham’s tracks are brilliant – very of the moment in some ways, but several steps ahead of the curve in others. His tonal palette is like contrasting ice and snow with neon lights, and while he’s firmly rooting his emcee in trap and Soundcloud rap, there’s a substantial amount of rock and IDM influences in the mix. “Moonlight” leans further to the latter end of things, with Cunningham playfully bending and smearing notes in a melodic keyboard hook that frames an XXXTENTACION vocal that’s casually catchy and nakedly emotional in a way that reminds me a lot of Lil Uzi Vert’s brilliant “XO Tour Llif3” from last year. It’s the sort of thing that’s technically a rap song, but sounds more like it’s pushing into some strange and ambiguous new space.
Buy it from Amazon.
March 21st, 2018
I Loved And I Lost
Space Invadas “Now That I Know”
It was not immediately obvious to me that the vocals in this song are not sampled and looped, but are live and unique to the record. That’s mostly because Katalyst’s production is so rooted in sample-based rap that this felt more like a DJ record to me, or like an early to mid-00s Kanye track where the rapping just never seems to happen. Steve Spacek’s vocal here is fabulous, and clearly authentically soulful enough for me to assume his performance was pulled from a vintage ’60s or ’70s release. But it’s not just about simulating an old vibe – his vocal is very moving, particularly in how wounded and lost he sounds.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 20th, 2018
Very Nice Very Nice
Videotapemusic “Hot Pants in the Summercamp”
I try to avoid describing artists’ work by saying it’s like another more famous act’s work as much as I can, mostly because I think it’s lazy and sorta insulting. So with that in mind, please understand that when I say that Videotapemusic reminds me a lot of The Avalanches, I don’t mean that in a vague “recommended if you like” way, or that I think “Hot Pants in the Summercamp” is just a cheap emulation of Since I Left You. But this certainly has the smooth and luxurious party vibe of that record, and it’s an elegantly composed collage of samples, so yes, The Avalanches. Honestly, I’m sure Videotapemusic would be flattered to be favorably compared to them. Anyway, if you’re planning some kind of fancy party near a swimming pool in Los Angeles or Miami, please consider putting this on your playlist.
Buy it from Amazon.
March 19th, 2018
To Be Lucky Once
Peter Zummo “Song II: Left; On The Beat—Variations”
This piece was recorded by Peter Zummo with Arthur Russell, Bill Ruyle and Mustafa Ahmed in 1984, but has been shelved and unreleased until now. The music was recorded live to tape, and is partially improvised – or “an exercise in spontaneous arrangement,” as Zummo put it. The music mostly moves around a bouncy melodic hook played on marimba, and the driving force in the track mainly comes from Russell’s amplified cello, which is just as expressive whether he’s playing rhythmic or lead parts. Zummo himself plays trombone, and his leads are particularly vibrant and sassy. I love the way this all comes together in a way that’s somehow both joyful and contemplative.