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Falando em Nicolas Jaar, nova-iorquino-radicado-no-chile-de-volta-a-NY, a mixtape que ele fez pra XLR8R tá monstruosa.

Vale a pena conhecer o selo que ele comanda, Clown & Sunset.

CSP04 ∆ NICOLAS JAAR for XLR8R by Clown and Sunset

0:00 – love sick – bob dylan (sony)
0:25 – what my last girl put me through – nicolas jaar (unreleased)
4:22 – after laughter comes tears (nicolas jaar edit) – wendy kane (unreleased)
7:31 – materials (nico’s bluewave edit) – nicolas jaar (unreleased)
9:48 – thief (live set edit) – the enticers (unreleased)
11:03 – meeting john coltrane – pharoah sanders
11:54 – variations – nicolas jaar (circus company)
14:48 – hage chahine (featuring willl epstein) – nicolas jaar (wolf + lamb)
17:03 – dubliners – nicolas jaar (clown & sunset)
25:35 – colomb – nicolas jaar (circus company)
28:38 – avalanche (tribute to leonard cohen) – nicolas jaar (unreleased)
31:34 – russian dolls – nicolas jaar (clown & sunset)
35:52 – encore – nicolas jaar (unreleased)

Um dos mestres supremos do dub, Scientist se aventura pelo dubstep.

A revista americana de música eletônica XLR8R fez a sua lista. Seguindo os links dá pra baixar todas:

50 Raz Mesinai’s Badawi – “Kode9 vs. Badawi – Den of Drumz”
49 Reefer – “Let it Go (Flying Lotus Remix)”
48 Matty G – “West Coast Rocks (The Glitch Mob Remix)”
47 Rainbow Arabia – “Omar K”
46 Praveen & Benoit – “Embers”
45 Débruit – “Pointy”
44 M83 – “Graveyard Girl”
43 Daedelus – “Now’s the Time (Live)”
42 Jamie Lidell – “Little Bit of Feel Good (Mochipet Remix)”
41 Caspa – “Ohh R Ya?”
40 The Carps – “Heaven’s Gates & Hell Flames (Redux) feat. The Cool Kids”
39 Restiform Bodies – “Panic Shopper (Tobacco Remix)”
38 Pole – “Alles Klar”
37 FOOL – “Drama (Rustie Remix)”
36 Madlib the Beat Konducta – “The Ox (805) feat. MED and Poke”
35 Samiyam – “Track 20″
34 Deadbeat – “Night Stepping”
33 Mike Slott – “Knock Knock”
32 ANAVAN – “Boom”
31 The Pharcyde – “Runnin’ (Philippians Remix)”
30 Autechre – “Altibzz”
29 Marbert Rocel – “Tttictictac”
28 Z Man w/ Dnae Beats – “Shuddup”
27 Mochipet – “Hope Again feat. Mykah9 and Taiwankid”
26 Flying Lotus – “Robo Tussin feat. Lil Wayne”
25 Telefon Tel Aviv – “Helen of Troy”
24 Daedelus – “Make It So (XXXChange Remix)”
23 Meanest Man Contest – “We Wouldn’t Want it Any Other Way (Débruit Remix)”
22 Jay Haze – “90 Deep”
21 DJ J-Laini – “Fuck N Tell”
20 Rusko – “Get Ya Cock Out”
19 Flying Lotus – “Tea Leaf Dancers (Remix)”
18 Zomby – “The Lie”
17 Mochipet – “Hope Again (edIT Remix)”
16 Top Billin – “Willing”
15 Señor Coconut – “Around the World”
14 Headman – “Catch Me If You Can (Bag Raiders Remix)”
13 Ellen Allien – “Bim”
12 The Streets – “Everything Borrowed”
11 Benga – “Roller”
10 DJ KO – “Someday”
9 Daedelus – “Obama”
8 Skream – “Losing Control”
7 Sébastien Tellier – “L’amour et la Violence (Boys Noize Remix)”
6 The Kills “Cheap And Cheerful (SebastiAn Remix)”
5 Poni Hoax – “Antibodies”
4 Neon Neon – “I Lust You”
3 Hercules and Love Affair – “Blind”
2 Nalepa – “Monday (The Glitch Mob Remix)”
1 Lil Wayne – “Lollipop (Nasty Ways Remix)”

Nessa materinha da XLR8R TV, E*Rock fala sobre seu trabalho como produtor, VJ (entortando o Flash até onde dá), diretor de videoclipes e administrando dois selos. Figura interessante.

Matéria que escrevi sobre o Late of The Pier para a edição de maio de 2008 da revista XLR8R.

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Silver capes and sampler-mashing straight from Castle Donington’s fresh-faced upstarts.
words: Bruno Natal

Yes, Late of the Pier is another weirdly named band of British 20-somethings, totall hyped though they don’t even have a record out yet. Your first reaction might be just to ignore them. But praise from Digitalism, and Erol Alkan’s involvement in producing that yet-to-be-released album, might be enough to get you to one of their gigs. And that, my friend, may lead you to the center of a kaleidoscopic, psychedelic, noisy, stop-start dance-rock maelstrom, where you’ll find yourself surrounded by 18-year-olds and wearing a pair of band-distributed “rainbow trippy goggles”.

On stage, Late of the Pier has so much going on at the same time that it’s almost hard to describe: silver capes, metallic guitarr riffs and screams, frenetic, MPC-triggered 8-bit effects, post-punk drums, distorted disco basslines, and layers and textures from synthesizers that have been carefully placed in golden foil-wrapped boxes. And all of these elements are neatly rolled into recent singles on their Zarcorp label, including “Bears are coming” and “Bathroom Gurgle” (a remix of which shows up on the latest taste-making Kitsuné compilation).

“I think a lot of people that hear us are interested because it just sounds a little bit odd; familiar but… just slightly odd,” explains bassist Andrew Faley. “That confuses them into listening to us a bit more. And that’s when we sink our musical claws into them.”

The foursome’s live set-up — guitar, bass, drums, two synths, and one MPC — came naturally, says Faley. “We originally played just straight bass, drums and guitar. We all listened to a lot of electronic music, from Prodigy and Daft Punk to Lamb, Chris Clark, and Autechre, but never really thought about playing it as a band. Sam [Eastgate, the guitarist and lead vocalist] was sequencing, sampling, and producing electronic music himself and eventually the two collided.”

The Midlands-based band finally decided to add electronic elements into its sound after a group outing to Cut Copy’s first U.K. gig. “They were using a MPC-1000 sampler live. Next week, Sam bought one off eBay and [keyboardist Sam] Potter went from playing one key on a keyboard in one song to mashing a sampler [into everything we do," says Faley.

If it all falls apart, there is a plan B. "Ross [Dawson, the drummer], is going to be a gravedigger after LOTP, and Potter wants to be a glass blower,” explains Faley, who’s obviously been given the task of remembering the band’s retirement plans after some drunken night.

“Sam’s going to collect glass that Potter’s blow. We’ll all still be connected though — I’ll make a film about Ross’ grave-digging, for which I’ll use special glass lenses in the camera. These I’ll buy of Sam, who’ll have collected them from Potter. And the band played on…

Matéria que escrevi sobre o Sany Pitbull para a revista XLR8R de março.

A capa é sobre dubstep (a terceira da revista!) e a edição está inteiramente disponível para baixar, em PDF, no próprio saite.

Hoje, sexta, Sany Pitbull toca na Fabric, com Switch, Sinden e Digital Mystikz. Frenético.

foto:Gustavo Godinho

Matéria sobre tecnobrega que escrevi para revista XLR8R.

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Brega, in Portuguese, means something of bad taste; it also refers to a genre of Brazilian popular music whose songs are usually about heartache, and include questionable use of synths and strings. Despite being virtually ignored by the media of Rio and São Paulo, brega has been hugely popular for decades with the favela dwellers of Northern Brazil, particularly in Belém do Para. Eventually, brega met electronic music, birthing the rudimentary dance music known as tecnobrega (roughly translated: “cheesy techno”).

Tecnobrega revolves around various soundsystems (aparelhagem), like Treme Terra Tupinambá (Tupinambá Ground Shaker) and Poderoso Rubi (Mighty Ruby); despite hailing from Brazili’s poorest regions, these soundsystems operate complex networks of computers, lights, special effects, and speakers.

The distribution of tecnobrega is similar to the hip-hop mixtape game in the U.S.. CDs are only sold in big, open-air markets; all copies are “pirated,” but getting music for free isn’t problem–it’s the solution. Selling mixtapes at the market is an artistic boon for the DJs, allowing them to increase their popularity and get more gigs.

To get more airplay, artists make special tracks praising radio stations and soundsystems. When you go to a concert, not only can you buy a copy of the gig as soon as it is over, but you can buy a copy beforehand, then give them your name and pay to have it shouted out during the show–the ultimate in customization. CD-Rs are so yesterday in this scene; even MP3 compilations with 10 albums on one disc are being replaced by DVD-Rs that hold multiple gigabytes’ worth of information.

Ronaldo Lemos, head of Creative Commons Brazil and professor at FGV Law School, believes tecnobrega is evidence of a new music-industry model. “In this scene, the ‘pirates’ are incorporated in the music business chain,” he says. “Nobody distributes music as cheap and as fast as they do. The appropriation of technology by the ghetto is happening globally. What’s cool is that they have created an environment where intellectual property is not an important factor in their business model.”

Belém native Vladimir Cunha–who’s directing upcoming documentary, Brega S/A­–disagrees. “The only people who make money out of tecnobrega are the soundsystem owners,” he retorts. “Artists get paid really badly. On average, a six-piece band gets 150 dollars a gig. At first, piracy could be perceived as a good thing, because it’s spreading the artist’s work, but in fact they have to rely solely on live concerts to survive.”

Resenha da coletânea “Made in Brasil que escrevi para revista XLR8R.

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The recent baile funk fever might lead to the conclusion that that’s all Brazilian music has to offer. Nothing could be further from the truth, and that‘s what WordSound’s head scout Skiz Fernando found out when he spent a couple of months in Rio. Remember that this is Brasil with an “s,” and all types of the country’s music are pushed forward. The swinging acoustic guitar on BNegão’s “No Hay,” Dom Negrone’s mix of hip-hop and samba (“O Povo Que Vibra”), Mamelo Sound System riding the Stalag riddim on the dub-hop “Liri Sista,” and Digitaldubs’ mixture of dancehall and Afro drums on “Arrego” all add up to future visits to the favela from Diplo and friends.

Resenha do disco “Sauna: um, dois, três”, do São Paulo Underground, que escrevi para revista XLR8R.

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Rob Mazurek (Chicago Underground Duo/Trio, Isotope 217) teams up with Brazilian drummer/trumpeter/programmer Mauricio Takara (from the jazzy instrumental rock band Hurtmold) for this noisy, experimental project. The title track doesn’t divulge the duo’s post-rock leanings, but they’re slightly hinted at on the “Afrobeat-fueled Afrihouse” and “Pombaral,” telling pieces of this landscape soundtrack that translate the sounds of the tumultuous metropolis into music.