Author: joseph

It sometimes comes up in conversation what my criteria is for the electronic music that is featured on solipsistic NATION. You might think my answer would be fairtly straight forward. “Why, electronic music, of course!” But what are we talking about when we’re talking about electronic music?

Take music made with synths and a drum machine. That’s clearly electronic music. But what happens when you add vocals? Is it still electronic music? See? Things immediately become murky. Take Depeche Mode. They used a lot of electronic gear so did they make electronic music? I would say no. They were a pop band that happened to make songs with electronic instruments. The Normal, on the other hand, were clearly an electronic music band.

What happens when you start adding guitars, bass and drums into the mix? Again, it depends. Kid Rock is a rock act that utilizes electronic equipment while Ministry is an electronic band that plays rock.

Ah, you say, but all music these days is played with instruments that are electronically amplified, and recorded digitally. And you are right. But I ultimately take the position that electronic music is whatever I point to and say “That’s electronic music.” It’s my show, after all, and I can make my own rules. I just ry and make the rules consistent.

And that brings us to today’s show, which is all about dub.

Dub is one of those grey areas because even in the earliest days of dub all the instruments were traditional instruments like guitars, bass and drums. And being reggae influenced that hardly qualifies as dub, right? But the difference is how a dub producer manipulates those instruments in a recording studio by dropping track in and out and adding reverb and echo. The studio itself becomes an instrument and, to my mind, makes it electronic music.

On this week’s show we’re joined by Bruno Natal, the director of the Dub Echoes. Dub Echoes is a documentary on the history of dub and its effect on music, from pop to punk and, of course, electronic music. Dub Echoes is full of great interviews and features legendary greats such as Lee “Scratch” Perry, Mad Professor and Sly & Robbie and many, many, many more!

If Dub Echoes is screening in your area, I highly recommend that you see it. If not, no worries, you soon will be able to purchase it on DVD from Soul Jazz Records.

Photo Credit: Federico Bebber

1. Dub Echoes (Trailer)
2. Dubmatix “Ain’t Got No Love Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
3. Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
4. Nucleus Roots “Meditation Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
5. Bloik “Lazy Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
6. Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
7. Random “Dubmage”
8. Spiral System “Different Light” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
9. Bluetech “Diaspora Dub”
10. Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
11. Suns of Arqa “All You Need is Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
12. Sympath “Zero Sum”
13. Interview with Bruno Natal, director of Dub Echoes
14. Dubosmium “All You Need is Dub” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
15. Adham Shaikh “Micro Dreams”

Have you heard of Bruce Sterling‘s Spime concept? No? Let me quote Cory Doctorow, one of Sterling’s peers, who can sum up the idea of Spime better than I can.

“A Spime is a location-aware, environment-aware, self-logging, self-documenting, uniquely identified object that flings off data about itself and its environment in great quantities. A universe of Spimes is an informational universe, and it is the use of this information that informs the most exciting part of Sterling’s argument.”

As the web becomes ever more interconnected and self-referential I’ve been thinking Spime more and more. But where, I think, Sterling refers to Spime as a physical object that, from cradle to grave, generates all sorts of tagged meta data, I think of Spime in terms of a podcasts.

Take solipsistic NATION, for example.

Nearly all the songs featured on solipsistic NATION were either emailed to me or I downloaded from various web sites and many of those songs were collaborations between many people done across the internet. Each show I select which songs to feature on solipsistic NATION and then release it as a podcast and at a later date, as a radio program.

The podcast is encoded as a MP3 and is tagged with various meta data. There’s the show’s artwork (often generously provided by folks who diplay their photography at Flickr). The MP3 also tells you the name of the show, when it was released, how large the file size is and how long the show is. In addition to the MP3, I also update my RSS feed which notifies various blogs, vendors, services and search engines whenever I release a new show.

Spime doesn’t actually exist. Yet. But if it did, I find myself wondering what a Spime-like show might be like? I imagine it would be a lot like solipsistic NATION, only more so.

Today’s show is kind of Spime-like. Here’s the data:

We’ll be talking with Bioradio about this year’s Oscillation Electronic Music Festival taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in Ocotber. Next, we’ll jump to Portugal to talk with Bruno Miguel to talk about his band, :papercutz. We’ll also talk with Ian White of Blip.fm, a new social media music service you really need to try. Finally, we’ll travel to San Diego and talk to Miller Puckette, author of The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music.

Speaking of social media, you can find me online on some of these social media services.

1. Distraub “Article 73”
2. Bioradio “Enter End” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
3. Interview with Brian Botkiller of the Oscillation Electronic Music Festival
4. Vertigo Venus “Vampire Hunter C”
5. :papercutz “Ultravioleta (Signer Remix)”
6. Interview with Bruno Miguel of :papercutz
7. :papercutz “Ultravioleta”
8. Roland M. Dill “The 8th Day”
9. Interview with Ian White of Blip.fm
10. Demons “Grey Lady”
11. Interview with Miller Puckette, author of the The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music
12. Yimino “Miagranov”

As a former Bostonian, living in San Diego can be difficult. Especially during the fall.

When I lived in New England, for example, the seasons served as cue as to what I be drinking for the next several months. When summer came to Boston I would begin drinking rum and cokes or gin and tonics. They were light and effervescent. Just the sort of thing to keep you cool during the hot and humid summer months. When fall crept in I would switch over to Guinness, whiskey and scotch. They were comfort drinks to get you through the endless winter months.

In San Diego I lack those clues. On, there is a change in the seasons but it’s subtle and to my New England blood it might as well be spring all year round. So what to drink?

I also have a similar problem with music. In the spring and summer it makes perfect sense to listen to The Ramones but once fall kicks in The Ramones seem kind of dumb. In the winter months I can listen for hours on end to someone like Nick Drake but in the summer Nick Drake seems kind of melodramatic. Bit if it’s perpetually spring, what the hell do you listen to?

I don’t have that problem with the music from !K7 Records.

The driving music of, say, The Herbaliser is perfect for sunny days by the beach and I can wind down with their moodier songs in the evening. I find that almost all of the music !K7 Records can be played regardless of the season. All of it is wonderfully inventive, sexy and playful!

1. The Herbaliser “On Your Knees (featuring Jessica Darling)”
2. Boozoo Bajou “Killer (Featuring Top Cat)”
3. Trüby Trio “High Jazz”
4. Bomb the Bass “So Special (Radio Edit)”
5. Erlend Øye “Every Party (Has a Winner and a Loser)”
6. Tosca “John Lee Huber”
7. Stateless featuring Lateef the Truthspeaker “Bloodstream”
8. Swayzak “Quiet Life”
9. Kruder & Dorfmeister “Black Baby”
10. Interview with Stephen Bolles of !K7 Records
11. Carl Craig “Sandstorms”
12. Interview with Stephen Bolles of !K7 Records
13. Cobblestone Jazz “Change Your Apesuit”
14. Interview with Stephen Bolles of !K7 Records

Back in January I featured a recording of Steve Nalepa‘s Dub Beautiful Collective concert on solipsistic NATION. At the end of the show I played some studio projects from Steve’s side projects with The FMs and Bass Science. I asked Steve if he had any more live material he’s like to be heard on the show and he was kind enough to send me a recording of a Bass Science concert in Tokyo.

Steve has been singing the praises of Matt B (otherwise known as RaNDom and RND) and after playing Matt’s “Crystal Dub” on one of my dub mixes I understood why. I love dub and Matt has created some of the most beautiful electronic dub tracks I’ve ever heard. That Steve and Matt would collaborate together on Bass Science was no surprise. That they took Bass Science in the direction of dubstep, however, was a surprise.

Seems like everyone loves dubstep these days. Hell, I love dubstep and listen to quite a few dubstep podcasts. Unfortunately, dubstep is one of those genres of music that is difficult to well. All to often artists will make dubstep tracks that just plod along while others will will create songs that are mired in the conventions of the genre. Not so with Bass Science. Matt and Steve are consummate soundsmiths and are able to craft exquisite dub and glitch tracks. When they combine their musical talent they create dubstep tracks that are sublime. Or dublime, in this case. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

So crank up your subwoofer and prepare to have the top of your skull blasted off by the low-end frequencies of Bass Science!

1. Bass Science “Bass Science Live in Tokyo”
2. Interview with Steve Nalepa and Matt B of Bass Science

There was a time in my life where I’d start off each day by saying “hoka hey,” which means “it is a good day to die.”

I know that sounds morbid but for me it was actually a life affirming experience. I felt that in order for me to be able to say hoka hey each morning, that if I might actually die that day, that I needed to know that I was at peace with the world and that the affairs in my life were in order. Did I have a good relationship with my family and friends? If not, I better make sure they were. Had I accomplished the goals I had set out for myself? And were those goals important enough that it would not be a good day if they were not accomplished? And what goals would I not lose sleep over if they were left undone by my sudden death? It really put things in perspective on what was important and what was not important in my life by acknowledging my possible death each morning. And it also made me appreciate my life that much more.

I’ve felt my mortality more this year more than any other year in my life. I’ve had that unpleasant feeling that there are so many things in my life that I’ve left undone and so many things that will be unattainable. I’ve felt out of balance. But then the words hoka hey came to mind and gave me succor.

“Et in Arcadia ego” is a Latin phrase that acts as another touchstone with my death. Translated it means “Even in Arcadia I exist.” It’s an ambiguous phrase that some people interpret to mean that I, the person who is now dead, enjoyed the pleasures of life. It’s an ironic statement contrasts the grim spectre of death with the blithe joys of the living. But I choose to interpret “Et in Arcadia ego” the same way I use “hoka hey.”

I selected tracks for today’s show in that spirit. It’s a celebration of the seasons and life but with the knowledge that some day we all will die.

1. I Awake “Complete Garden (Eternal Forest Edit)”
2. Dubosmium “Tuvadelic Odyssey (7Heavens rmx by Rafiralfiro)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
3. Aes Dana “Shouting Valley”
4. bubblegone “sometimes i lay in fields at night” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
5. Taylor Deupree “6 A.M.”
6. Krill.Minima “Submarine Poetry”
7. Annea Lockwood “floating World: Part 1”
8. Janek Schaefer “Alone At Last”
9. Akira Kosemura “A Park”
10. Keiichi Sugimoto “Tum”
11. OTI “Large Open Spaces”
12. Maju “Achromatic” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
13. Mathieu Ruhlmann “Rest”
14. Brakhage “Early Morning Frost” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
15. Unit 21 “October, 16th” [FREE DOWNLOAD]

A few week’s back I released the 100th episode of solipsistic NATION and naturally I took stock of where the show has been. Almost right from the start I’ve been interviewing musicians and record labels or having guest DJs on the show. At first it happened once or twice a month but at some point that became the focus of the show. I’m not complaining, mind you, but it did mean that I was more of a host than a DJ, and I like being a DJ.

Another consequence is that all the new music that comes my way piles up because I can only play so much of it each month. That’s frustrating because while I like the interview aspect of the show I feel like I’m doing you a disservice by not keeping you up to date on what’s new in the electronic music scene. I’ve decided to try and strike a balance and get back to being a DJ more than I have in the last year.

This August is pretty cool because there are five Friday’s in the month, giving me even more opportunities to spin you some new tunes.

On today’s show I’ve got some…hell, I don’t what to call it. Is it Bitpop? Electro? House? Disco? All of the above? Whatever the case, it’s a genre I don’t listen to or play a lot of. But I don’t know why not because it’s a lot of fun and makes me want to dance. And I’m one of those guy’s who doesn’t dance.

Anyway, I’m glad I’m making an effort to actively be more of a DJ on the show because there’s a lot of genres of electronic music I haven’t even got around to yet. So enjoy this week’s show!

Photo Credit: Roberto Rizzato

1. Boys Noize “1 & Down (Siriusmo Vs. Boys Noize Mix)”
2. Headman “Running Into Time (LeLe Remix)”
3. Rouge Element “Dead Drummers”
4. Feadz “Edwrecker”
5. Justice “New Jack”
6. DJ DLG “XESS”
7. LeRon, Yves Eaux & Luke Star “Whatever This May Be (Jalebee Cartel Remix)”
8. Busy P “Rainbow Man”
9. Stargroove “Rise Up”
10. Toy Boy “Belle & Sebastian” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
11. 2MB vs Dr Bit “8 bit Music” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
12. edIT “If You Crump Stand Up”
13. Dark Machines “Organus”

On this week’s solipsistic NATION I’ve got some mind blowing drum and bass that’ll be good to your ear hole.

A few things you should know about today’s show:

First, I love drum and bass and I love drum and bass that’s really hard, the kind that bludgeons you senseless with it’s unrelenting beats and that’s what I wanted to play for you today. But try as I might, I kept selecting tracks that were more atmospheric and jazzier so I figured, why fight it.

Secondly, most of the music you’ll hear on today’s show comes from the Zardonic Recordings and Plain Audio netlabels, which means that if you like what you hear, you can download nearly all the tracks on today’s edition of solipsistic NATION.

Zardonic Recordings is a netlabel that releases top notch quality drum ‘n’ bass dancefloor smashers.

Plain Audio was founded in 2001 and featured vinyl-releases and quickly evolved to one of Germany’s most break-dominant drum ‘n’ bass labels. Plain Audio has since expanded it’s horizons to techno, experimental music and other styles of electronic music.

1. Hek187 “Blue Haze” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. Kubiks & Lomax “Systematic”
3. Soul Delay “Float” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
4. Hek187 “Twizter” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
5. Alpha Omega “Shades Of The Past” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
6. Panda “Baghdad”
7. Soulie “Walking Home” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
8. Fushara “Irrational Act” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
9. Ijo “Frequa Gembh” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
10. Cartridge “No Data” [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Back in February I had Evan Bartholomew, otherwise known as Evan Marc and Bluetech, on the show to talk about his label, Native State Records.

Native State is a label the features artists who specialize in mixed genres such as dub, ambient and glitch. I’ve played many artists from Native State on the show in the past such as Nalepa, Rena Jones as well as Bluetech.

At the time Evan had just launched a new label called Somnia. The first album released on Somnia was Caverns of Time by Evan and I was immediately struck by it’s emotional depth. I was impressed. If Caverns of Time represented the direction that Evan wanted to explore through Somnia, then I was along for the ride. Since then, Somnia has released music from Emanuele Errante, juxta phona & offthesky and an album by both Evan Marc and Steve Hillage. Each album is different from the last and each album is astonishingly great. Or maybe not so astonishing if you know anything about Evan.

I’ve invited Evan to join us again on today’s show to talk about his new venture and to play select tracks from artists on Somnia. Kick back and kiss the sky.

1. Evan Marc + Steve Hillage “Hypnagogue”
2. Interview with Evan Bartholomew of Somnia
3. juxta phona & offthesky “escape kit…”
4. Interview with Evan Bartholomew of Somnia
5. juxta phona & offthesky “low spark of high squealed toys”
6. Emanuele Errante “Humi”
7. Interview with Evan Bartholomew of Somnia
8. Emanuele Errante “Fecunda”
9. Evan Bartholomew “We Set Out Into The Caverns Of Time”
10. Interview with Evan Bartholomew of Somnia
11. Evan Bartholomew “Cracks In The Fabric Of The Known”

There is so much electronic music coming out these days that more and more I’ve come to rely on blogs. Just as solipsistic NATION acts as a filter to what is the best of all genres of electronic music so to do the blogs I frequent. And what blogs do I read?

Pitchfork is a great source for music news but Pitchfork’s reporting is broad in scope and I find myself having to sift through a lot of articles to find information useful to me. XLR8R is more in line with the kind of music I’m interested in but I don’t rely on XLR8R alone. Neural.it is a fantastic site for reviews of experimental electronic music. Igloo Magazine is a great site for reviews of electronic music, although I wish they would have more in-depth articles and reviews. More recently I’ve begun following the Headphone Commute and Phlow Magazine. Headphone Commute posts articles featuring music that I really enjoy as well as interesting and concise interviews with electronic musicians. Phlow Magazine extensively covers free MP3 music culture, which is great because you can download the music they review as you read their articles.

I’m a big fan of Travis Nobles hiddenplace music blog. I respect Travis’s thoughts on music so much that I had him on solipsistic NATION as a guest DJ back in February. One of the artists he featured in his mix was Planet Boelex. I was so taken with Planet Boelex that I contacted Ossi, the man who is Planet Boelex, to arrange an interview and to feature his release, Live At Virus Festival 2007, Lithuania, on today’s show.

The music of Planet Boelex is a sonic soundscape that envelopes you like gossamer but is rooted in driving beats and an emotionally complex structure, giving his music a depth and force that belies it’s tenuous first impressions. Just as Ossi’s music metamorphasizes so to does his performances. Live At Virus Festival 2007, Lithuania is a document of Ossi’s development as an artist at a specific time in his life. Ossi is constantly honing his craft and his next live release will significantly different from his previous release. Today’s show represents a snapshot of where Planet Boelex was in 2007. I can’t even begin to imagine where he is now.

1. Planet Boelex “Forever and Always”
2. Interview with Planet Boelex
3. Planet Boelex “Untitled”
4. Interview with Planet Boelex
5. Planet Boelex “Shower Curtain”
6. Interview with Planet Boelex
7. Planet Boelex “Seagull Scene”
8. Interview with Planet Boelex
9. Planet Boelex “Untitled”
10. Planet Boelex “Suunta”
11. Interview with Planet Boelex
12. Planet Boelex “Blinded Of You”
13. Interview with Planet Boelex
14. Planet Boelex “Sim Ten”
15. Planet Boelex “Direction Backwards”
16. Planet Boelex “100kn”
17. Interview with Planet Boelex

We kick off each month with a live performance from an electronic artist and today’s solipsistic NATION features Aes Dana‘s set recorded at the Gaian Mind Summer Festival in Pennsylvania in June.

The Gaian Mind is a psytrance collective has been producing Goa-styled events in nightclubs and at outdoor locations throughout North America since 1996.

Aes Dana is an ambient trance project who’s two members are Vince Villuis and Sunbeam who also run Ultimae Records.

Ultimae puts out some of the most breathtaking music you’ll find and Vince and Sunny are wonderful people. Every time I talk to them they put a smile on my face.

Sunny has been on the show twice so far. Once back in October when she played select tracks by artists on Ultimae and once in December when she acted as translator for my interview with Hol Baumann. If you enjoy this week’s show then you’ll definitely want to download those shows as well.

I’m pleased to have both Sunny and Vince on this week’s solipsistic NATION.

Photo Credit: Eileen Togher

1. Aes Dana “Live at the Gaian Mind Summer Festival (Four Quarters, PA 2008)”
2. Interview with Vincent Villuis and Sunny of Aes Dana
3. Aes Dana “O Adonaï, Live at at Les Dominicains de Guebwiller (France, 2008)”