2econd Class Citizen album preview megamix

May I present for your delectation: a personally mixed, sliced and diced preview of 2econd Class Citizen‘s forthcoming album – ‘The Small Minority’.

I’ve been lucky enough to hear it in progress over the last 2 years and it’s changed and developed to a point where it really all holds together as a complete album rather than a collection of separate tracks.

This is definitely up there alongside DJ Format and Pepe Deluxé as one of my albums of 2012 already. It will get compared to DJ Shadow‘s older work but the folk stylings and Aaron’s violin playing set it apart. If you enjoyed 2009’s ‘A World Without’ album – available to listen to in full here – then this is the logical progression.

This mix is available to download from Bandcamp but it’s only streaming via Soundcloud at the moment. It was a real labour of love and I think I managed to get elements from all the tracks in there at some point including a remix of the single ‘Outside Your Doorway’ – see if you can untangle it all when you listen to the LP.

The full album is available on Equinox Records on May 25th, on CD and double vinyl with a gatefold sleeve plus digital download (Juno will have it a week early). The artwork you can see below is by label boss Gunter Stoppel, the man responsible for the overall look of the label as well as the day to day running of it.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Music. | 1 Comment |

Agents of Change – Megaro Hotel Project

[vimeo width=”640″ height=”370″]http://vimeo.com/41214166[/vimeo]

Amazing achievement by the Agents of Change on this mega project for a hotel in London’s Kings X. What you don’t see here is that they painted inside the building too, including murals and canvases that filter inside the hotel and restuarant and flesh out the experience.

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Fracture – The Limit VIP limited 10″

This new series from Fracture & Neptune‘s Astrophonica label is going to go pretty fast I think. Three limited 300 copy 10″s from Om Unit, Machine Drum and Fracture based on footwork/juke rhythms, each with screen-printed sleeves.

I’m not the first person to sing the praises of juke and I find a lot of the shoehorning of old samples into new rhythms that’s going on with it a bit tedious. It’s not easy music to play out, audiences don’t respond particularly well to it as it’s not particularly dynamic in its arrangements but then the same could have been said for dubstep and look where we are now.

But, there are always exceptions and this is one of them, what starts out as straight dnb then drops and wrong foot(works) you into a juke rhythm that cuts it in the same way as Machine Drum, Africa Hi Tech or the Phillip D Kick boots of last year. ‘The Limit’ is going to be the first of 3 releases, each featuring the aforementioned producers, and this will be the transition track between the two generes in my box for a while I think.

It’s out on May 7th, preview and pre-order it here.

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Perfecting Sound Forever – Greg Milner

I heartily recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of recording. No, no, don’t all run away, it’s actually very good and I say this as someone who literally falls asleep reading any sort of manual.

Starting with the Big Bang and progressing through Edison’s cylinders and tone tests Greg Milner knows his stuff and the stuff he doesn’t he’s gone out and researched. Histories of the birth of vinyl, cassettes, laser discs, synclaviers and fairlights, the New York radio amplification battles and the loudness wars are all covered.

The uneasy birth of the CD and the industries’ initial refusal to accept the medium features along with a step by step guide to what the air particles where doing when John Bonham hit his drums in a stairwell for ‘The Crunge’.

The analogue vs digital debate is also covered but with an even hand rather than the usual ‘vinyl is warmer’ stance adopted by most.

Posted in Books, Music. | 1 Comment |

2econd Class Citizen postcard set

I’ve had this for a while now but not had time to photograph it properly. Beautiful primer for the upcoming 2econd Class Citizen album – ‘The Small Minority’ – on Equinox Records out of Berlin.

They’ve put my postcard record to shame with this package and were sold out in a day sadly (very expensive to produce in large numbers, as I found out). Love the detail of the 2nd class stamps on the reverse when you remove the postcards from the backing board!

The album is out in May and I’ve just finished a 17 minute preview mini-mix of the whole record which will be online soon. Aaron has also put down the space-themed mix he assembled for my album launch party too and it will be appearing on Solid Steel soon.

 

Posted in Design, Records. | 1 Comment |

Remaining Secret 7″ records now up for sale online

[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WmjB3igMKo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

The remaining unsold Secret 7″ sleeves and records are now up for sale on the Teenage Cancer Trust’s eBay page, each is one of a kind, a unique artwork with a limited edition 7″ by one of 7 artists. They start at just a penny and all the money goes to TCT once the auction is over.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOaT6ar3Ww[/youtube]

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Solid Steel Record Store Day round up

Last night I did a Record Store Day round up on Solid Steel on Strongroom Alive radio, you can listen again here

or, if you prefer less chat, catch the non-vocal version with no RSD section here later on today.

I thought I’d put up some pictures of the releases I was chatting about so here you go. Wicker Man 7″ photos nicked from Stuart Ford‘s blog. More on the Vinylmania film here.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Radio, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

Kofie at the Sesame Street Group show & Benefit, LA

Sesame Street System [2012] Complete shot + detail (20 x 30/5 x 2 inches)

Found record covers, pencil, ball point pen, acrylic and xerographic gel transfer on wood panel. Finished in a matte varnish. Framed in found yardsticks and mahogany lattice.

Augustine Kofie for Sesame Street presented by The Seventh Letter & Neff Headwear

Benefiting City of Hope’s Department of Pediatrics

Known Gallery: 441 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Show runs April 28 – April 29, 2012

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DJ Food vs AA RSD 12″ Repress details

OK – due to high demand, a database cock up at Ninja Tune – meaning that the record looked like it was in stock when it wasn’t – and people putting them on eBay for silly money, Ninja are repressing another 500 copies of my 12″ – ON MULTI-COLOURED MARBLED VINYL.

The people who ordered it from the Ninjashop will get one, no black vinyl copies are being pressed, so if you are one of the ones who asked for a black vinyl copy you will get coloured.

This will be the last pressing on coloured vinyl though. It will be the same (or as near as can be) as the RSD one, once orders are fulfilled the rest of the pressing will go up on the Ninja shop.

This will take approx. 2 weeks, sorry for any cock ups, and thanks for your patience. If you still want a refund then contact the Ninja shop, otherwise hold tight and they will contact you when this is all sorted.

Photo above taken from Carl Schalck‘s Facebook page.

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Records. | 5 Comments |

and another… Michael Hansen vinyl cover & animation


Vinyl cover with analog light animation from Michael Hansen on Vimeo.

Another record employing the phenakistoscope animation technique just popped up – description below abbreviated from Michael Hansen‘s site.

“An album cover for the modern classical composer Allan Gravgaard Madsen . My idea was to translate Allan’s sensorial music into a visual experience with elements of sensuality. There is not an A- or B-side, each has its own front page. ‘Waves’ is a visualisation of the music performed by nine trumpets in a line, as simple as possible with nine circles on a line. ‘Crystal Tapestry’ is a pattern of crystals that has no front or back end, it refers to a crystal that merges into itself. Inside I made a visualisation that combines the two sides, a crystalized wave. On the record I created patterns that gives the design a visual sensuality. I made an analog animation with a 50 Hz strobe lamp and made it interact with the music.”

Beautiful, I wish I could buy a copy.

Posted in Design, Packaging, Records. | 1 Comment |

Lone ‘Galaxy Garden’ LP trailer

[vimeo width=”640″ height=”370″]http://vimeo.com/38646066[/vimeo]

Lone – Galaxy Garden album on double LP (also includes CD inside) and limited edition art print. The art print is printed full colour on 265gsm pro photo gloss paper, and signed and numbered by Konx-om-Pax.

Out Monday on R&S Records

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Another ‘Zoetrope’ record video

Theodore Ushev directed the above video for “Demoni” by Bulgarian band, Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs. I first saw this on the RokRiot blog which is always worth a visit.

It uses a Phenakistoscope, sometimes known as a zoopraxiscope, to animate a circular loop, something I’ve been experimenting with recently in video and also the planetarium show I did back in January. The method was invented by Eadweard Muybridge and also similar is the Sculpture picture discs I’ve posted about before several times on the blog. A lot of times this method is called a zoetrope, which is similar but not quite the same thing, but it’s easier to say and remember.

This method has been used as far back as the 1950’s on children’s records which played at 78 rpm, mostly on the Red Raven ‘movie records’ label which would release nursery rhymes with a mirrored device that sat on top of the record as it spun to view the animations. See below for an example from my collection, the records appeared on coloured vinyl too, which you can sometimes find although they rarely come with sleeves, the center viewing contraption or in good condition.

Posted in Film, Records. | 1 Comment |

The Electric Images In My Mind #16

Well, it’s out, as of Saturday, the new single is available in the shops, online and no doubt on eBay at an inflated price. Record Store Day was very exciting for me this year as I was lucky enough to be participating with Ninja Tune releasing this remix by The Amorphous Androgynous on multi-coloured vinyl. It’s not just for RSD though, you can buy it from the Ninjashop or FSOLDigital and all good record stores that reorder stock, Ninja will be repressing it too in the next week or so although that may be on a different colour vinyl. Please don’t pay crazy prices on eBay or Discogs like some of these flippers are asking, this is not a one time only limited edition, it should be available as long as there is demand. Remember also that there is a download available too with extra radio edits and an exclusive 2econd Class Citizen remix not on the 12″.

First thing on Saturday I asked people to tweet pictures of their purchases and I’ve featured the best here. That’s Frederic Toye below, waving a copy outside Music Mania in Ghent, Belgium and I had photos from all over Europe as well as one from the US as well.

Thanks to Alex Koenig, Cheetahbreaks, Dan Doughty, DJ Hombre, Dobshizzle and his united colours of RSD, Frederic, Hang The DJ, Kidavenger, Lemonmeringuesy, Lukestereo, Phil Clarkson, pipeandslippers and Toby Whitebread for posting these and making my day. This is my absolute favourite of the bunch though, sent by David Gorrod, with a little help from Arthur.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Ninja Tune, Openmind designs, Records. | 1 Comment |

Secret 7’s exhibition for Record Store Day

The Secret 7″s concept is something that ticks a number of boxes for me: vinyl, art and limited edition collectables. Set up by Kevin King from Universal Records, the idea is to take 7 different bands and ask hundreds of artists to design one-off sleeves for a 100 copy limited edition 7″ record by them. These are then displayed at the Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch and each is made available for sale on Record Store Day for a minimum price of £40 – all of which goes to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The 7 artists participating this year were The Cure, Florence & The Machine, Bombay Bicycle Club, DJ Shadow, CSS, Noah & The Whale and Ben Howard with artists designing covers ranged from David Shrigley, Central Station and Stylorouge through to Luke Insect, Felt Mistress and Nigel Peake as well as complete unknowns. All of the musicians involved also contributed designs, sometimes not for their own releases, but each record was completely anonymous. No info was anywhere to be seen, either of the artist, track title or cover designer – hence the name Secret 7″. Here’s a gallery of the ones that caught my eye when I visited the preview although there were a few I couldn’t fit in as I’d completely filled up my camera by the time I reached the end.

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The range of designs was completely across the board, lots of recurring themes popped up though: animals, stars, flies, hearts and Florence Welch featured repeatedly with her flowing red locks, presumably for her release. Not all of the sleeves illustrated the contents so literally though, one release was a three dimensional, playable guitar (see gallery above) and other sleeves were knitted, collaged, embroidered or cut to reach their final state. I didn’t make it on the morning of the 21st as I was playing in Rat Records in Camberwell, but finally managing to get there at 4pm and they’d sold around half already as you can see from the panorama below.

Several of the ones I wanted had obviously long gone by 4pm and I was looking to pick up a copy of DJ Shadow‘s ‘Come On Riding (Through The Cosmos)’ so a space theme was the first to search out. I grabbed one with a collage featuring an astronaut first of all but another, with a Victorian-style elevator in the sky I’d spotted as I walked in, had mysteriously vanished. Another I’d liked at the preview I spied in the hands of a guy ‘um-ing’ and ‘ah-ing’ over several sleeves and then suddenly I located the sky elevator sleeve again, maybe someone had put it back? I was pretty sure I had at least one Shadow in those two but then I noticed the guy had put the other sleeve back. After making sure he definitely didn’t want it I snagged that too. He thought it would be a Florence one due to the shock of pink that could have been hair but for some reason it reminded me of the guy from CSS, not sure why.

Taking three £40 7″s to the counter isn’t something I regularly do, in fact I can categorically say that I’ve never spent that much on a 45 ever, but knowing that I was getting bona fide one-off items and that the money was going to charity actually erased any quibbles about it being too much. I’ve not been that excited about buying a record in a long while, the ‘lucky dip’ aspect of it as the sales assistant went to the box to retrieve the particular single for each sleeve (each was stickered with a number) was a genuine thrill. Even better was when she came back with the first 7″ – I’d guessed right, the collage with the astronaut, by Robin Antiga, was the DJ Shadow single!

The second 7″ came back, this time by Sebas & Clim – the last one I’d chosen, and it was for CSS, not Florence.

The third choice – the sky elevator sleeve, by Domonic Arroyo – arrived and it was another DJ Shadow, result!

Even though I had a hole in my wallet the size of a 7″ I left the gallery as pleased as punch knowing that the money had gone to a good cause whilst I had three unique pieces of art and vinyl to add to my collection. Much praise to Kevin King for coming up with such a unique way to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust on Record Store Day, I’m hoping to submit designs for next years round and you can hear a short interview I did with him at the gallery on the Record Store Day special broadcast on Strongroom Alive on April 21st.

 

Posted in Art, Records. | 10 Comments |