Cassette Records – The World Is Spinning At 33 1/3 RPM

A phoenix rising…

A varied release, to say the least. Many different well known techno artists from Japan’s techno-scene, featuring DJ Tmykisb, Yebisu303, Doremimate and 909 State to name just a few. Ranging from acid bleepery to danceable and deep to surprising. The release demonstrates a love for the original techno sound lost in the days of minimal unimaginativism and dubstep repetition.

DJ Tmykisb opens the album with the filter-happy ‘Chrono Kitten’, an uplifting track that makes the waist wiggle. Even if seated it’s hard not to move to this sliced madness slightly reminiscent of ‘Tokyo Disco’. 909 State gives a distorted slammer likes he does so well, after which Beel’s ‘RTF_SHT’ takes over with a surprisingly deep track not unlike Richie Hawtin’s better (Plastikman) tracks. The compilation wouldn’t be complete without a good acid track! And that’s where Pulse2Pulse comes in. I should say the same for dub, and the compilation also satisfies those needs with Yebisu303′s ‘Blueprint’, a last-minute favorite of mine. In the track’s layered background there’s a loop playing which stimulates the imagination while the recognizable dub synth does it’s work of playing with your sense of rhythm. (Watch out for a very groovy break followed by a drop like we haven’t heard since at least 2005.) Yes, there’s even a melodic techno track like Carl Craig is good at producing, Choochoogatagoto is the one responsible.

The CD supplies well to the techno loving people out there that are missing the original vibe. We need kickdrums, not plops. We want acid, not just a simple sine-wave. Minimal and tech-house have their place, on this album too. But playing the same sounds over and over is what kills a genre, a scene. This album bravely steps-up where even the hardest techno DJ’s have sold-out to simple bloops and over-used samples. It’s been enough!

A CD release is rare these days, especially for electronic music (Techno). But it does give a sense of nostalgia to open-up a sealed CD box. Welcome to the post-digital age where physical releases are becoming a rarity and more of a promotional tool than an actual selling point. That’s why I appreciate Cassette Records effort to put this out there, no matter what the market is doing. To step-up and say, nay shout: Techno isn’t dead yet! I haven’t even finished listening to the CD yet, and this is what the music is telling me. The CD holds even more surprises towards the end, but I’m not gonna spoil anymore for you. You should go out and check this out for yourself.

Track List

1. dj tmykisb / Chrono Kitten
2. POP STORE JUNK / ZTN
3. iserobin / 7420247
4. Limited toss / Gus
5. 909state / Armed poker
6. BEEL / RTM_SHT
7. Pulse2Pulse / Bouncer
8. Yebisu303 / Blueprint
9. jackmaster YOSHIKI / PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM
10. choochoogatagoto / Hat Season
11. doremimate / Gymnopedia
12. Sakoo / Heartbeat
13. tofubeats / technoizer X
14. SOL / One More Thing…

The album’s liner notes were written by Bibinba. I’m proud of you, 友達!

Youtube Channel Update

The design of the official JordyVision Youtube Channel has been updated

It was in desperate need of a brush-up and Youtube supplied just the thing; Channels 2.0.

Subscribe, befriend, comment or just watch. To make things even easier for you, there’s a small subscribe button up to the right, and one below. Thanks!

Review: Unmarked Noise – First And Last

Unmarked and perhaps unknown. Does the first noise remain the last?

It’s been a while since I heard a new IDM album. In fact, with the Board Of Canada spending time with their families and Aphex Twin remaining silent since Druqs (except for the AFX series and The Tuss), good IDM, also known as Braindance, is hard to come by these days. (If you know something I don’t feel free to leave a comment!)

The album starts with Barbaguda, the track you’ll hear in the above video. From what I’ve heard, Unmarked Noise searched the archives by himself to find old video-material and edited the whole thing by himself too! But I could be wrong, see, just as vague as the opening track kicks-off the album, the same applies to how much is known about Unmarked Noise. (Next to nothing!) Which is the real shame, cause once you’ve entered the realm, and the second tracks kicks in…

You’re lost! Lost in sound, lost in beats and you’re unwillingly scanning your brain for anything recognizable to hold on to. There are many familiarities, many sounds which you might have heard before, but, you have no clue where, when, or by who. Don’t get me wrong, this is not some “abstract, just for the sake of abstract” kind of album. Not some weird stuff played at weird intervals “just to be original”. Heck, Unmarked Noise’s album is probably all written in the most used annotation of all, 4/4, quarter-notes. And that’s where it gets interesting, cause how many IDM tracks can be heard at an average minimal-techno party? Sure, Windowlicker managed to infiltrate, and James Holden manages to mix the most obscure stuff very well, but did you ever hear Squarepusher or Venetian Snares anywhere else besides Breakcore parties? Probably not. But this album can do just that; Add a little freak to your Jack.

I must say I’m impressed by the album. Having that twisted IDM feel that Aphex Twin did very well in his AFX series and under his other, other alias; The Tuss. While retaining a danceable beat reminiscent of Acid-Techno and experimental 80′s electro like Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force. There’s even a hint of Future Sound Of London to be found in there, and some cool Minimal breaks and climaxes. This album offers a lot a lot of replay value: See what hints, parts, influences (and perhaps Easter eggs?) are to be found.

The official press-release can be found on Mi2n. To download the opening track Barbaguda for free, visit the Prowess Records releases page. Subscribe to the Prowess Records Newsletter and get a 2nd songs for free!

Detune Ltd. KORG M01 Music Workstation

Click to buy at Play-Asia.com

Detune Ltd. unleashes it’s newest and first creation onto the masses.

Although it’s a follow-up to the Famous KORG DS-10 and KORG DS-10 Plus, the KORG M01 Music Workstation is the first under the Detune flag. So, how does the software turn out?

A lot of fun, as expected. Great for everyone who wants to make music on the go, wants a bit of lo-fi in his or her set-up or wants an emulation of the real M1. It sounds like you expect it too, a little lo-fi (because of the NDS’s 22050Hz sound-card.) But the sound is crisp with a dash of 16-bit crush in the form of anti-aliasing in the low-end and a bit of stutter in the lowest part of the dynamics. (A sounds low-volume tail will blink in- and out- of existence.) The layout of the app is easy to use and will have you writing all kinds of music in no time. No matter if you want to make something electronic like techno or Dubstep or want to try and throw in a real composition. This app can do it with the quite large collection of samples built into the application. These samples include the original sounds of the KORG M1 and some bonus sounds to broaden the spectrum and give you some modern sounds to play with. Sometimes modern means Roland 808 or an Amen snare though. As a whole, it’s perfect for re-creating an end 80′s/begin 90′s vibe. Chicago house, Tears for Fears, Detroit Acid here we go!

But there are three small things that I think should and could have been included. It features two effects: Delay and reverb. But you can only choose 1 for the whole track. I would have liked me some delayed beats and reverberated melody. The second thing is that I would have preferred a DSi mode in the app. A little bit more memory and CPU so the app can do a little but more like DS-10 Plus has double mode on the DSi. (I could surely use 2 effects if it featured DSi mode!) And finally, linking with the KORG DS-10 is impossible. There’s is no link mode in the game at all, so syncing two M01′s is also out of the question. But yeah, that’s revenue management for ya, it will probably be featured in a new version called M01 Plus…

At the end of the day, the software is great fun and a recommended buy. But it’s probably going to be sold out for a while.. Keep an eye on the following link to see when it will hit the stores again.

Buy KORG M01 Music Workstation [Amazon.co.jp Limited Edition] (Nintendo DS™) at Play-Asia.com

EDIT: Preview of a track I’m working on.

EDIT 2: Finished version! (Released on the EP: Y.A.M.A)

Hiroshima castle as seen from my rental bike