some new mixes rammed into today, for my listening pleasure.

by Scott David Herman (from the Manual)

Your distance is a function of the space that falls
Between how far away you feel the need to stand

In some outlying place beyond the city walls
Of stone and steel engirded by the lightless land,

And just how far within the city's hollowed halls
And streaming streets that filled your mouth with dust and sand

You seem, by what your eye recalls; and this will weigh
In just proportion to how long you feel the deep

Imperative to move so many in the way
That you have traveled in such moments still as sleep;

And when this nearness is what you can give away,
Your distance then is yours to keep.

This week, I seem to have been able to streamline the inundation to the point where it is controlled and much less overwhelming. It wasn't so much that I didn't know I had mad work. It's more when you round that 2-3 week corner, that the deadlines start to stare you down with their beady eyes. I'm not much of the procrastinatorial type, at least not historically, but the prospect of disappointing myself, potential clients and audiences has a reality all of its own.

Nevertheless, I'm very looking forward to the week preceding the Ides of March for a little respite. How 'bout a weekend in a thermal spa in Reykjavík? Sounds quite yummy!! Aside from my Acoustica project and Umixx projects both going into beta in the next weeks, there is also the drain from trying to make mind-n-booty warbling basslines for my WMC gig. I've no beef admitting that it is draining, not so much from lack of inspiration or talent, but rather not getting revved up enough before I have to context-switch.

My cousin asked me this week if I don't have too much on my plate. Scarily enough, I hadn't thought of it that way, until I had to respond yay or nay! funny. I'm planning on gathering a little creative momentum this next week and then dropping all code-hashing to go buckwild on the bass in the first week of march. That's the plan.

Ouf!!

on heavy rotation in the proverbial boombox:

A tasty re-release of twentysome Channel One classic riddims. Easy to see many influences in recent music. My favourite “Hey that was borrowed!!!” moment came during track three, Herb Cutter, when during a mid-way riddim change, the riddim bassline is obviously the same one used by Blacky in his afropop-reggae hit “Rosie”.

After being blown away by Prefuse73's “the Love you bring” in the middle of a Mixmaster Morris set somewhere on Betalounge, I decided to check out more goodness at the source. The aptly titled “Uprock and Vocal Studies“ is a solid piece of work in the school of DJ Shadow, although no tracks quite reach the stratospheric levels of emotional foolery as “the Love you bring”.

A decent “microhouse” album mellow, introspective, deep, with some blissful moments of uber-chillage. It is almost exclusively instrumental with long and slow musical morphologies. All this fits the microhaus-minimal techno recipe quite well. I read a good review of this album somewhere in the blogosphere and decided to try it out. While I think the review was overly generous, there are two-three really tight tracks in the latter part of the album that push it above and beyond your run of the mill Kompakt compilation.

Another recommendation from my pal at Primitive Records. The first two tracks here are some of the best takes of dub I've heard in a while. Melodic, rumbling bassline riddims and exceptionally musical effect wickedness. If I was to hear this without knowing the title, there is nothing in the style that would really shout out “American dub flavour” .... so either I don't know my dub or the compilers just think UFOs look good over Babylon, um, I mean NYC.

So it looks like a 2-hour spot at the WMC with the chaps at zer0gsounds is gonna happen ... amazingly at the Indian Creek Art Deco Miami Beach Hotel. The pic looks quite interesting, especially the strategically placed yellow sports car. hehe. I'm surfing new turf here, I've not a clue what to expect to expect.

Nevertheless, the prospect of it all is thrilling, I haven't performed since July 2000 at the gallery opening for Andrew's The Electroplasmic Limb Deflector, and am definitely looking forward to getting out of the studio and in front of the massive wit' my juiciest morsels ....

submitted a link to my classichouseblend to blentwell, as a way to jump start some creative juices towards several other blends that I have in the works. Tracks are ripped, sorted, and ready to go. I just need to work out the sequencing and other thematic morsels that I like to weave in and out. That's always the most fun and time consuming part of making these things ... at the same time you gotta wonder how many people actually get the clin d'oeils ..... alas it's no fun having to spell everything out, neither is not communicating ...