JANUARY+FEBRUARY ’16 MIX.
As I sit writing this post, I remind myself that this has been a long time coming.
As slight changes emerge within my day to day life both with this site, new silly ventures, and PhD and work life, I remind myself that all of this has been a long time coming. As I finish off with Hayden Calnin’s masterpiece of a track ‘Cut Love’, I steady myself. Feet firmly on the floor and the words flowing steadily from my hands, appearing on the screen in front of me.
All of this. Everything leading up to this very point in time.
As I sit with old favourites like Arthur Wimble, LANKS, and Ciggie Witch, I mark out my territory. And as I sit and be floored again by Marcus Whale, Luke Howard, and LUCIANBLOMKAMP, I wipe away those old tears. And then with those new infatuations – Alice Ivy, Isabel, and the almighty Dogood, I slowly fall back into a feeling of warmth and knowing and remind myself.
This has been a long time coming.
For some time now I’ve made it a habit to talk around the music. This was how you write. The story on Catalyst the other night about music being used to elicit memories for people living with dementia as they sit, still in those old people’s homes I became convinced that fuck it. What’s the point. If music can do that then it’s indescribable. You’re always going to do it a disservice.
But then I read those others who also do music writing. Those others who write about the music itself. None of it’s perfect, but that’s the fuckin’ beauty of it. This game is about getting close, slowly scraping away at the surface and finding some through line, no matter how long/short/narrow/wide and having that one person sit back and think, ‘fuck, that’s it. that’s what I hear.’
As I start afresh, I see that I’m here. This is where I was heading.
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Miks
FISHING.
So this is me breaking a rule.
I had a silent agreement with myself that I would not post any productions (at least for a few months) that featured synths or samples approximating steel drums, marimba’s, kalimbas or frankly any mallet-use instrument potentially associated with notions of tropical islands.
I know that’s shallow and I love the summer breeze as much as anyone, but if one attempts to listen to a lot of Aus electronic these little things can hit one’s own private limits in 2014.
But then Fishing.
I choose to make public my shallow inconsistency just to highlight how endearing the stuff is from these two gentlemen – up to and including this new ‘Chi Glow‘.
This one is all full of their best strengths – nostalgic sample cuts, dreamy beats and unique rhymes put together with organic feels and interesting friends – like Marcus Whale from Collarbones. That doesn’t really capture it though. I always find that the more I listen the more I hear their different approach in all the little details. It sounds familiar, but many of the micro-ideas are actually quite new to my ears.
This is of course the opposite of a copycat, in fact I’d I consider them ‘producer’s producers’, quietly making their own thing in their own space. So the steel drum sounds are overruled and here we are – me looking a bit silly, you a bit confused, them winning. Just hit play and all will resolve. I posted the video, as the visuals continue the casual haze just so.
Oh – full disclosure, I did catch their live set supporting Elizabeth Rose recently and that’s probably further tainting my opinions. Great risky set with nailed vocals and crazy amounts of manually triggered groove. Whether that is a conflict of interest or a legitimate track-feature-factor, Sydney dwellers may want to claim a spot at the vivid launch for the album due in June.
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Adam
MAAMF: an australian music blog 