My favorite remixes are those of which the characters of its creators shine through. There may be no greater character on the experimental electronic landscape than Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, who recently teamed with fellow Atoms for Peace producer Nigel Godrich to remix Four Tet‘s standout song, “Pyramid,” under his supergroup’s moniker.
The nearly eight-minute reinterpretation progresses from glitched out vocal snippets over a patient throbbing bass to an off-kilter doom jam with the addition of frenetic shuffling percussion in the “Idioteque” vein. Godrich’s haunting atmospherics lend the track the harmonic grounding it needs to allow Thom’s trademark eccentricities to take flight in the schizophrenic second half. This complementary creative interplay between two key members of the Radiohead braintrust is the fundamental reason why this remix is, as Four Tet took to Twitter to call it, “so f*cking good.”
The lush green grass of The Empire Polo Club grounds swelled with half-naked twenty-somethings, bustling and buzzing like tributaries of people cutting through the crowd, flowing forth to the each of Coachella‘s six stages. The massive tents provided little relief from the desert’s sweltering heat, but underneath the Yuma tent, where Luciano would close that evening, was an air-conditioned safe haven. For those daring enough to brave the heat, the Sahara tent presented a spread of talent, including Boys Noize and Skrillex as the tandem Dog Blood. Our first day spent in Indio was defined by the Sahara and Yuma tents – and they will likely define the rest of our stay here.
Sunday Morning Medicine is a feature from Dancing Astronaut dedicated to the mellower side of electronic music. We bring you our favorite therapeutic selections — old and new — in an attempt to alleviate the agonizing effects of a long weekend of partying.
To help get you through this Sunday we have a soft-flowing Maribou State remix of George Maple’s “Fixed,” a deep rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” by Four Tet, groovy nu disco track “Heartstrings” by Mickey featuring Jeremy Glenn, a Bixel Boys remix of Michael Jackson’s classic tune “P.Y.T,” and finally an Aeroplane take on Robbie William’s “Bodies.”
Kieran Hebden, the maestro behind the cryptic production outfit Four Tet, dabbles in percussive house on his latest release. “For These Times” is less conceptual than much of his previous work, leaning more in favor of creating a thick groove than a minimalist masterpiece. Staying in the murky waters that have come to define the Four Tet sound, Hebden weaves jazz elements with shuffling hi hats and ghostly vocal cuts. Devoid of soaring builds and cataclysmic drops, “For These Times” represents house in its purest form, with an undeniable groove and gripping drum fills.
The 2013 lineup for the infamous Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee has been announced and will feature a host of electronic artists including A-Trak, Boys Noize, Wolfgang Gartner, and Pretty Lights. In total, 2013′s cast of producers will nearly double from the five in 2012. From Porter Robinson to Four Tet, or Araabmuzik to Paper Diamond, Coachella’s less flashy cousin continues to welcome in the entire spectrum of electronica, pitting some of the genre’s top producers right alongside legendary artists like Tom Petty, Paul McCartney and the Beach Boys.
It’s always nice when an artist releases a free track or EP for a download, but it’s really an incredible thing when he or she is willing to give away an entire LP free of charge. Today, UK electronica producer Four Tet (Kieran Hebden), a man who has been making a more abstract form of electronic music for over a decade, uploaded the entirety of his most recent LP, 0181, to Soundcloud — with a free download. This is a grouping of compositions by Hedben from between the years of 1997 and 2001 — that means this is work that began up to two years before his debut release Dialogue in 1999. It’s basically in a mixtape format but, although the tracks do all flow together, it’s still easy to discern one piece from another. As is the case with much of his recent work, he integrates elements of hip hop, breakbeats, techno, grime, and jazz into his productions.
If you have ever questioned if they do it better in the UK, this video will probably clear up any doubt. Pitchfork recently released a mini-documentary on the now prodigious Warehouse Project club in Manchester. These people have been throwing parties in Warehouse Project form since 2006 and have been consistently known for pushing the limits of what is known, accepted, or cool in the dance music industry.
In turn, the producers and DJs lucky enough to perform for these discerning crowds only have multitudes of praise to give about the planning, atmosphere, and originality of the events. Hear what names like Skream, Diplo, Four Tet, Nicolas Jaar, AlunaGeorge, and Scuba have to say about the experience.
