Category: Listen

Today’s edition of solipsistic NATION is epic but it fought me every step of the way in it’s creation! Arranging and preparing for four interviews, waking up in the wee hours of the night to call Pitch Black‘s Michael Hodgson, endless hours of editing and mixing, two essential applications crashing constantly, etc. It is by sheer will alone that I was able to pipe today’s show into your tender and wanting ears. And what a show it is!

I’ve spent the last couple years off and on trying to showcase Waveform Records and that show finally came together earlier this month. Quite by coincidence, Bluetech, Phutureprimitive and Pitch Black had all recently released new albums, and all of them had releases on Waveform Records. I’m new to Ott but he’s somehow managed the trick of sounding at once utterly familiar and worn in but completely fresh and surprising at the same time.

Bluetech’s album, Rainforest Reverberation is classic Bluetech and 100% of the proceeds from all music sales go to end deforestation, species loss, and cultural upheaval in the Amazon. For more information visit criticalbeats.org and amazonvoice.org to stay tuned for regular updates and future releases. Evan has released over 20 albums, and he’s founded two really fantastic record labels, Native State and Somnia, where he’s released even more great music. You can listen to more music from Evan and his two record labels by downloading shows number 77 and 102.

I’ve been a fan of Phutureprimitive since the release of his first album, Sub Conscious. Phutureprimitive is another artist that took a few years to get on the show but the stars aligned and a window opened up for Rain to talk about his new album, Kinetic, and it was well worth the wait. From the music, to the albums, title, to the album cover, Kinetic is meant to convey one thing: movement. So get your booty moving!

While I was putting today’s show together I asked folks on Twitter and Facebook who they thought I should also include to round out the show and Pitch Black came up time and again and is an obvious choice if you give it a moment’s thought. Another happy coincidence: Pitch Black have also released a new album and it’s called Remixes & Rarities. Mitch was gracious enough to come on the show to talk about their new album and how much Pitch Black owes their sound to dub, so much so that it’s their “lead instrument.”

As I mentioned earlier, I’m new to Ott but I’m now a dedicated fan. I said that Ott’s music also feels very familiar. Earlier in his career Ott worked with such luminaries as Brian Eno, The Orb, Youth, African Head Charge, Steve Hillage, and On-U-Sound and I can’t help but think those experiences rubbed off on the young Ott. No wonder Ott’s music feels instantly beloved.

A bit of news…

This has been a banner month for solipsistic NATION and Junes’s not yet over!

As of today, solipsistic NATION has been downloaded over a whopping 33,000 times this month. That’s a record but it gets better still. This month’s live show featuring alka, merohedra, Alexei Borisov and 80(sun) has been downloaded over 11 thousand times! That’s more than the other show that was the most downloaded edition of solipsistic NATION. That was Amon Tobin‘s live set and that show took over two years to break 10,000 downloads!

Listen, I work hard on the show because I love the music and I want to share it with as many people as I can. If you like what you hear, you can help the artists by spending a buck or two on one of their songs, maybe buy an entire album. You can help me out by telling your friends and your net friends on Twitter and Facebook about solipsistic NATION if you want to share the music with them too.

Finally, and sadly, I don’t know if you’ve heard the news but Cheb I Sabbah has been diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer and that his cancer is spreading to his liver and left lung. Without immediate and proper treatment, the prognosis given is very grim. Cheb does not have health insurance. As you can imagine, the cost to treat his cancer is going to be astronomically expensive. To make matters worse, due to his weakened condition, Cheb has had to cancel many shows, bringing his income stream to a complete halt.

But you can help.

Indiegogo is crowd sourcing to raise money to help pay for Cheb’s medical expenses. Cheb is a sweetheart of a guy (just listen to my interview with him back in 2007) and if you’ve ever met the man or enjoy his music, I implore you to go to generously donate some of your money to help Cheb.

Join us again next week for a recording of a special live performance. I’m not sure who our guest will be but I’m hoping it will be Altus. He’s long over due to be on this show. See you then!

Photo Credit: ©ViaMoi

1. Bluetech “Inner Space Funk (feat. Katrina Blackstone)”
2. Bluetech & Mr. Bill “Unidentified Flying Octopus (Mr. Bill Remix)”
3. Interview with Bluetech
4. Phutureprimitive “Unidentified Flying Octopus (Mr. Bill Remix)”
5. Phutureprimitive “Rapid Cognition”
6. Interview with Phutureprimitive
7. Across Digital “Disarray (Pitch Black’s +13db@50Hz Remix)”
8. Pitch Black “Bird Soul”
9. Interview with Michael Hodgson of Pitch Black
10. Ott “Squirrel and Biscuits”
11. Ott “The Aubergine of The Sun”
12. Interview with Ott

I’ve got a great show for you today. Well, great if you like things that snap, crackle and hiss.

We’ll hear a couple tracks off of the Clicks & Cuts 5.0 – Paradigm Shift compilation album. Clicks & Cuts was released by the newly relaunched Mille Plateaux label, and Clicks & Cuts caused a bit of stir in the electronic music community. Some feel the new owner, Marcus Gabler, is taking the label beyond it’s roots, while others think that Clicks & Cuts is simply derivative. Me, I don’t care. I think the album is pretty dope and I’m basing that solely on the music.

We’ll also hear a couple tracks from Electroton with artists Weiss, Thorsten Soltau and Kabutogani. I don’t know a lot about Electroton but so far everything I’ve heard from the label has been absolutely fantastic so I’ll be keeping my eye on them, and so should you.

I got a really nice email earlier this week from Lyman, who listens to the show from the UK. Lyman likes the show and he also turned me on to some really great music ranging from flamenco to French horn and Javanese Gamelan music to some Renaissance music. You can find videos of the music Lyman introduced me below.

Last week’s label showcase featuring Waveform Records got a lot of love. Macedonia from the always excellent Both Sides of the Surface podcast said that his wife still has her copy of the One A.D. compilation album along with releases from Higher Intelligence Agency and Sounds From The Ground.

Seven on Facebook told me that Waveform Records A.D. series helped him study while he was in med school and was excited to learn that he can now listen to more music from Waveform Records on the Musical Starstreams online radio show.

If you liked last week’s show featuring Waveform Records, then you’re really going to dig next week’s show. We’ll talk with Bluetech, Phutureprimitive, Ott and Pitch Black and hear tracks from their new albums.

See you then!

Photo Credit: ©nickphotos

1. kiyo “Bear In. Warm-Noiz”
2. Klive “Sweaty Palms”
3. Wyatt Keusch “Object 01”
4. Kabutogani “Ducts”
5. Weiss “rezykla” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
6. Yu Miyashita “Scrypt”
7. Pleq “Do You Ever Remember Your Dreams (from C&C 5.1 version)”
8. Nicolaus “Inner”
9. Sturqen “Nova Kenya”
10. Luca Nasciuti “Pan~” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
11. Thorsten Soltau “Rezykla7”

On today’s show we’re going to hear select tracks from artists on Waveform Records. We’ll also talk with Forest, who is the label’s co-founder.

Today’s show is kind of a big deal for me. Back in the early 90s there were a clutch of albums that came out at roughly the same time I was falling in love with electronic music. Beyond Records Ambient Dub, Astralwerks Excursions in Ambience and Waveform Records A.D. compilation albums were on heavy rotation on my show when I was spinning at WMFO. I still consider those albums essential listening and they introduced me to a wider world of electronic music beyond industrial and happy hardcore.

When I began solipsistic NATION I had a list of record labels I wanted to feature on the show and Waveform Records was always on the top of the list. It’s a real treat for me, and I hope for you as well, to have Forest on today’s show. Forest will flesh out the history of Waveform Records and it’s origins in Forest’s radio show, Musical Starstreams and it’s connections to Beyond Records. We’ll also get a look at how online reviews can unfairly dog an album for years. And we’ve got some really, really great music to listen to!

Next month, by listener demand, we’ll showcase Katabatik Records. Joins us again next week and we’ll do it all over again. But completely different!

1. Templeroy “Dubometer”
2. Human “Home (Home Grown Mix)”
3. Urchin “Shitewrecked”
4. Interview with Forest, co-founder of Waveform Records and host of Musical Starstreams
5. Coldcut “Autumn Leaves (Irresistable Force Mix Trip 2)”
6. Interview with Forest, co-founder of Waveform Records and host of Musical Starstreams
7. A Positive Life “The Calling (Ambient Mix)”
8. Interview with Forest, co-founder of Waveform Records and host of Musical Starstreams
9. Mystical Sun “Blue Magnetic Ocean”
10. Asura “XP Continuum”
11. Interview with Forest, co-founder of Waveform Records and host of Musical Starstreams
12. Edward Ka-Spel “Hey Rainman (Forest Friendly Mix)”
13. The Starseeds “Regina from the Future”
14. Interview with Forest, co-founder of Waveform Records and host of Musical Starstreams

It’s such a beautiful day here in San Diego that I decided to get out of the studio and record today’s introduction with you from my roof deck. There’s a light breeze and from where I’m standing I can see the Pacific Ocean. I wish you were here to see it with me. After living in Boston, San Diego feels like a slice of paradise.

Today’s show is going to be a bit different. Instead of featuring one or two live performances and an interview, I present to you four, count ’em, four live sets for your enjoyment!

During the last year or so I’ve been accumulating some recordings of live performances that on clock in at around 15 or 20 minutes. I’ve just been waiting until I had enough of these shorter sets to combine them into one show. Obviously, we’ve reached that point so let me tell you what you’ll hear on today’s live extravaganza.

First up, we’ll hear a live set from alka. I believe this set was recorded at the GATE in Philadelphia a year or two ago. Special thanks goes to Bryan Michael for providing me with alka’s live set.

Next, we’ll hear a live set from merohedra performing at Openmind stage back in 2010 at the Psycrowdelica Festival in Germany. merohedra is part of the Bak$hish Music collective and you can hear more music from the Bakshish Music on November 14th edition of solipsistic NATION.

From merohedra we’ll move on to Alexei Borisov show at Yaroslavl way back in 2003. I don’t know much about Alexei Borisov but I do know he’s somehow affiliated with Marcos Fenrandes of Accretions and that’s all the credentials I need (check out my interview with Marcos here).

We’re going to close today’s show with a live set from 80(sun). 80(sun) is the solo recording project of Jonathan Scherk. I’m not sure where this was recorded at except that it was recorded at a now closed art gallery to a room of dubstep punks. That’s all I know.

Speaking of live, I want to thank Daysha out in Texas for turning me on to Calvertron, Figure, Turbo Teen, Aversion and DJ Monkey who performed at the World Beat Center last night here in San Diego. Daysha is not only super nice but she’s also super talented and produces and promotes bass music.

Join us again next week when we’ll showcase Waveform Records, who are one of my favorite labels that also happen to be based here in San Diego. See you then!

1. alka “Live, GATE in Philadelphia”
2. merohedra “Live, Openmind stage at the Psycrowdelica Festival”
3. Alexei Borisov “Live, Yaroslavl”
4. 80(sun) “Live”

If you’re going to this year’s Mutek Festival in Montreal I’m envious. Sadly, I won’t be going but I’ve decided to bring the Mutek Festival to me by having Mutek’s founder, Alain Mongeau, chat with us about this year’s festival.

Mutek is an annual five-day event in Montreal which kicks of this year June 1st.

Each year, more than 100 artists, panelists, and industry professionals participate in what has become a leading event of its kind in North America. MUTEK also hosts numerous international versions of its festival in locations often under-represented in such places like Mexico City, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia.

Today’s show is a bit of a hodgepodge mix of acts I’d like to see at this year’s Mutek Festival. Amon Tobin has been on solipsistic NATION a couple times and his live set is actually the fist edition of solipsistic NATION to break 10,000 downloads but I’ve never actually seen Amon rock a show. I finally saw Badawi on Meat Beat Manifesto‘s Autoimmune tour and if I was going to this year’s Mutek Festival I’d definitely see Badawi again. I’ve also been a fan of Four Tet for years so I’d love to catch their show. And Plastikman? Are you kidding me? That guy’s been a part of the electronic music scene for what seem like forever. He’s an institution in the techno world. And that’s just some of the acts I wish I could see at this years Mutek Festival, let alone all the other other artists that are completely new to me.

If you happen to be going to this year’s Mutek Festival let me know what you though were this year’s highlights.

Join us again next week for a special live extravaganza featuring 80(sun), Alka, Alexei Borisov and Merohedra.

1. Amon Tobin “Journeyman”
2. Badawi & Seth Ayyaz “Bahr el Dumu’ Pt. 1”
3. Diane Labrosse “L’imprimante”
4. Interview with Alain Mongeau, founder of Mutek
5. Four Tet “Love Cry”
6. Horror Inc. “Crépuscule (Original)”
7. Interview with Alain Mongeau, founder of Mutek
8. Gold Panda “Fifth Ave”
9. Modeselektor “Edgar”
10. Deadbeat “Roots and Wire”
11. Emptyset “Beyond”
12. Interview with Alain Mongeau, founder of Mutek
13. Traversable Wormhole “Tachyon (Original)”
14. Plastikman “Slinky”

Today on solipsistic NATION we’re going to bring in the Rapture with a mix put together for us by Praketh, who is also the host of the blueOrb podcast.

Praketh has only released a handful of shows on blueOrb but when he does, well, they’re just breath taking!

I first came across Praketh’s blueOrb podcast back in 2006 when he released his Down The Rabbit Hole (Electronic Chillout Mix). I still remember the first time I listened to it.

It was an early morning in San Diego. I had just pulled an all-nighter and was walking down the street to get some coffee. I had Praketh’s mix playing over my headphones and I was hearing things that I wasn’t sure was part of his mix or sounds of my city. They blended together so seamlessly I couldn’t tell one from the other. but they made that morning a magical experience.

And then there was the music, the beautiful music! With tracks from the likes of Tycho, Boards of Canada and Nalepa it’s hard to go wrong, but in Praketh’s hands he turned those songs into a narrative and an emotional journey.

I was so touched by Praketh’s mix I asked him if I could feature it on the show, and you can find it here.

Last month, Praketh emailed me with a link to another mix he had put together and asked if I would consider playing it on the show. I said yes before I had even downloaded his mix.

Praketh is an Indian based electronic music DJ who also performs as buffaPirate.

As blueOrb he plays music that’s emotional and rich in texture. As buffaPirate he spins bass heavy electronic music like Dubstep, drum and bass and Glitch-Hop.

In 2008 he moved from Bombay to New Delhi to work as the A&R/Label Manager for Audio Aashram and Programming Head for Radio79.com. As of 2011 he has focused more on his own music productions, which I am really looking forward to hearing more of.

Go to soundcloud.com/praketh to learn more about Praketh and hear more of his wonderful mixes.

Join us next week when we’ll talk with Alain Mongeau, the founder the Mutek Festival taking place in Montreal next month.

Photo credit: ©goblinqueen

1. Subreachers “Memories Of A Better Times” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. king slaFF “Within (Substep Infrabass Sonar Remix)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
3. Agalactica “Aloe Vera”
4. Liquid Stranger “We Meet At Last”
5. Zi “Blue Home”
6. Ishq “Ankh (Samothraki RMX)”
7. king slaFF “Sacrifice” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
8. I Wannabe “Erased”
9. Vaccine “Wishful Thinking”
10. Altair “Outsider Looking In”
11. Hybrid Leisureland “Strawberry Planetarium”

Once a month on solipsistic NATION I showcase a record label that is putting out such amazing releases that I am compelled to share them with you. I like to think of it as a form of public service.

On today’s show we’re going to hear select tracks from Herb Recordings. We’ll also chat with Craig Murphy, the man behind Herb Recordings.

Herb Recordings is is an independent record label based in Scotland and while they’re not an electronic record label per se, they release enough of it that I feel like I can claim them as one of our own.

I first took note of Herb Recordings when I would I listen to music from the likes of Skytree, Kingbastard and Shamanic Technology and I would think to myself, “this is great stuff!” And then I run off and quickly Google them and the trail always lead back to Herb Recordings.

Last December, Solipsism came on the show with his live set that was recorded at Nice n Sleazy in Glasgow. Craig Murphy is Solipsism and he’s also the man behind Herb Recordings and I asked if he’d be interested coming on the show. He joins us today from his home in Glasgow to talk with us about his label and the release of Herb Recordings excellent compilation album, Verdant.

Next month we’ll showcase Waveform Records. They put out all those great ambient dub and trance compilation albums we love so much and they also happen to be based in my backyard here in San Diego.

Join us again next week for a special mix from Praketh of the blueOrb podcast.

1. Engine7 “Nichts”
2. Skytree “Pulsae Referunt Ad Sidera Valles”
3. Interview with Craig Murphy of Herb Recordings
4. Jack Marchment “Countach Sound”
5. Shamanic Technology “Temple of Mind”
6. Engine7 & The Lotus Project “All That I Wanted”
7. Kingbastard “Hapus A Ddaeth I Ben (Croesi Bysedd)”
8. Interview with Craig Murphy of Herb Recordings
9. Shamanic Technology “Electronic Therapy”
10. Small Radio “Leaf Shaped Feelings”
11. Ulle Kamelle “Stamm”
12. Kingbastard “Boombox”
13. Megamegaman “Tron”

Looks like we picked up a lot of new listeners thanks to last week’s show featuring Karsh Kale, Tim Sköld, Ogre and Hoodoo Engine. If that’s you, welcome aboard!

The first weekend of each and every month I feature a live performance with a quick interview with the artist. Recent shows have included concerts from Igorrr, :papercutz and Atari Teenage Riot.

On today’s show we’re going to listen to a live set from James and Andy of Matta. I think you’re going to dig it. I’ve already played it enough times over my headphones that I think it’s worn a permanent groove in my brain.

James and Andy have remixed everyone from Hecq to Haters and they recently released their album, Prototype, on everyone’s favorite label, Ad Noiseam Records. Prototyope is definitely worth your money, but listen to today’s show first before you run off to download it.

Join us again next week when we’ll showcase the music of Herb Recordings!

1. Interview with James and Andy of Matta
2. Hecq “Sura (Matta Remix)”
3. Matta “Puncture”
4. Matta “Chest Rocker (Dub)”
5. Matta “UFO”
6. Matta “Inquisition pt2”
7. Matta “Monster”
8. Skism “Back Off (Matta Remix)”
9. Matta “Empire vs Turning Tricks (Dub)”
10. Haters “Anthem (Matta Remix)”
11. Matta “Bullet Screams”
12. Matta “Release The Freq”
13. Matta ft MC Coppa “Eyes”
14. Matta “Chaos Reigns”
15. Matta “Fade”
16. Matta “Chamber”
17. Roel Funcken “Skarm Sfias (Matta Remix)”
18. Bong Ra “Megasaurus (Matta Remix)”
19. Matta “Mass”
20. Tomandandy “Tokyo (Prohabit Remix)”
21. Matta “Feed (Dub)”
22. Black Lung “Succulent Bruises & Bruised Roses (Matta Remix)”
23. Matta “Freefall”
24. Matta “Hit The Switch”
25. Matta “Turning Tricks”
26. LDZ “Faith (Prod by Matta)”

I’m still astonished how quickly this week’s show came together. And what a great show it is!

Hey, I’m like you. I’ve got a job, I’ve got a life. I’m a busy guy. But I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm and every day I chip away at it. A quick email here, a phone call here, and slowly but surely things get done. But when I’m in this mode I don’t often see the forest for the trees. Or is it the trees for the forest? I can never remember how that goes. Anyway, my point is that sometimes I’m so caught up in the minutea of producing a show that I lose sight of the big picture.

In the last couple of weeks I learned that Karsh Kale, Tim Sköld, Ogre and HoodooEngine had released or were about to release new albums. I dig them all so I do what I do sent out the emails and made the phone calls. There were other musicians, labels and festivals I wanted to feature on the show as well but they didn’t happen due to availability and time constraints and before I knew it, this week’s show had been distilled into a gem of greatness.

I discovered Karsh Kale right about the same time I discovered the Asian Massive (or Asian Underground) scene. Over the years I watched the careers of Karsh Kale, Asian Dub Foundation and others grow over the years and it’s a wonder that I haven’t had someone like Karsh on the show earlier. Karsh has released six albums and recorded and performed with everyone from Zakir Hussain to Yoko Ono. Karsh’s latest album, Cinema, is his most ambitious album to date. It’s big, bold and melodramatic, and Karsh’s experience scoring films has had an impact on the scope of Cinema.

Tim Sköld was another surprise! Before I knew it, one night after work I found myself in front of a microphone talking to Tim about his long career, from his rock roots in bands like Kingpin and Shotgun Messiah and then later playing with the likes of KMFDM and Marilyn Manson. Tim also released a solo album back in 1996 and 15 years later he’s followed it up with Anomie, due out May 10th. Tim was great to talk with and I found that he’s as much an agent provocateur in person as he is in his music. I also had some great questions to ask him from folks like Jeremy and Royb0t from Twitter and Facebook.

Ogre’s is set to release a second album with ohGr called unDeveloped that also due to be released May 10th. Ogre and Skinny Puppy have scored the post apocalyptic soundtrack to our lives for nearly 30 years. While Skinny Puppy was my introduction into industrial music, there’s industrial music and then there’s Skinny Puppy. They’re in their own category and to call them industrial is kind of limiting. I was curious to see what directions Ogre would explore through ohGr and to be honest, I didn’t like unDeveloped at first. As Ogre mentions during our chat, people rarely give music full attention because they’re usually multitasking while they’re listening to music. I was doing the same thing with unDeveloped but one night while I was going out for a run I listened to unDeveloped and without being aware of it I found myself lost in the album and now I think it’s one of my favorite album of 2011.

Once I finally realized that Tim and Ogre were going to be guests on this week’s show I knew I had to include Hoodoo Engine. I’ve wanted to play tracks from their EgoWhore album since it was released in 2010 but it was just one of those scheduling things. Hoodoo Engine would be perfect for today’s show and to top it off, they’re gearing up to release their new album, Murder the World, and it’s more wretched and evil than EgoWhore, if such a thing is even possible. The core of Hoodoo Engine is Marz233, James Curcio and Johann Ess. Just to be above board, both James and I are on the Alterati Network, but I’ve known James long before Alterati when I interviewed him about his book, Join My Cult. While you anxiously wait for the release of Murder the World you can watch Clark, a gonzo mockumentary reality show art film surrounding the struggles of an independent artist in a capitalist world.

Oh, special thanks to tricil for providing the incidental music during my interviews with Tim and Hoodoo Engine. While I was putting together today’s show I realized that I didn’t have any instrumental music from either of them and went on Twitter and asked if anyone had some tracks I could use for music beds. tricil stepped responded in minutes and generously let me use his tracks “rcc3” and “conserve destroy.” There are links to download those two tracks below.

Enjoy the show. I’m going to shut up and go outside and get some sunshine. But I’ll still be listening to today’s show on my earbuds. Joins us again next week for a live set from the lads from Matta. Or will they be our guest DJs? See you then!

Photo Credit: ©Aqua Libra

1. Karsh Kale “Man on Fire”
2. Karsh Kale “Malika Jam”
3. Karsh Kale “Cinema”
4. Interview with Karsh Kale
5. SKOLD “Suck”
6. tricil “rcc3” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
7. Interview with Tim Sköld
8. ohGr “Collidoskope”
9. ohGr “typer”
10. Interview with Ogre
11. HoodooEngine “ControlFreak”
12. tricil “conserve destroy” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
13. Interview with HoodooEngine‘s James Curcio and Johan Ess

Whew, just barely got this week’s show out and I owe it all to Potion Factory‘s Tangerine! software. Tangerine lets you easily create playlists by analyzing the beats per minute and the beat intensity of your music.

Between work and interviewing people for next weeks big show featuring the likes of Skinny Puppy‘s Ogre, Marilyn Manson‘s Tim Skold, Hoodoo Engine and Karsh Kale I just never had time to put together a mix for today’s show. But I did have a card up my sleeve: Tangerine!

I told Tangerine! to randomly pull from a playlist I had created in iTunes of tracks that I had listened to and had given a three to five star rating. I also told Tangerine! to to choose songs that had both mid to high BPMs and beat intestity.

Tangerine! did a pretty good job. I was surprised by some of the tracks it selected, but overall I was pleased with the results. I just had to soften the edges here and there. While Tangerine! would never replace a DJ but it does a pretty damn good job. Tangerine! is $24.95 and runs only on Macs. Sorry, PC guys. Potion Factory isn’t sponsoring this week’s show, I just happen to like their product.

Before I get out of Dodge, I just have to say that I love my Apple Magic Mouse and wireless keyboard.

The keyboard may be a touch on the small side but it’s a tight little device and really well designed. The keys have a matte finish feel to them, giving them a slight sand papery feel, which pleases. The keys also make a satisfying clacking sound when you type, enough to make you feel like you’re accomplishing something, but not distracting.

It took me a few weeks to warm up to my wireless mouse but now I love it. What really helped was installing MagicPrefs, which cleared up the default settings lousy cursor tracking. MagicPrefs also gave me the options to customize my mouse clicks to perform specific functions. Very cool stuff.

Okay, I’m done geeking out on gear. Come back again next week’s big show. See you then!

Photo Credit: ©gordonsl

1. Shift “Koji” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. Tremor “Caracol (Chancha Via Circuito Remix)”
3. Tremor “Lombriz”
4. Lou Rhodes “One Good Thing (The Cinematic Orchestra’s New York Quartet Version)”
5. Mike Dunkley “Rap Career”
6. Mr Scruff vs Kirsty Almeida “Pickled Spider”
7. Perfect Blind “Coming Home” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
8. Stateless “Ariel (Midland’s Inflight Remix)”
9. Manathol “Iwaki”
10. Semiomime “Parade”
11. Monolyth & Cobalt “Land of Strategy Horizon” [FREE DOWNLOAD]