December 31, 2009

Happy 2010!

Well, a couple weeks ago I thought I would write up some sort of Best of 2009 list, but I realized that this whole blog is basically my Best of '09 list, and I'm too tired now to come up with a proper list before midnight anyway! But anyway....

What an amazing, intense, crazy year! I got a record deal, got into graduate school, visited Amsterdam and Rome, ended a major long-term relationship, bought some gear, went completely broke several times, sold some gear, got really excited about DJing with Ableton Live, played some live Ethernet shows, put out my first full-length CD, got over 30 reviews, all positive, including some proper print magazines like The Wire, and moved from Northern California to Portland, Oregon, two weeks ago as of tomorrow! And probably a number of other things, as well!

In 2010 I will be playing lots of Ethernet shows, as soon and as many as possible, basically, at least around the Portland/Eugene/Vancouver area. I have several hours of new material that I’m really happy with, but that I have been feeling like is not suited for Kranky, more like it has been improving my “chops” and production skills. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do with this past year’s worth of new tracks… I would love to put out a proper techno 12″, as I’ve made some dub techno and IDM-tinged tracks that I’m finally pleased with (and just because I love vinyl!). For Kranky, I will be working on something very deep and special, and I’m looking forward to exploring the brand new Native Instruments Absynth 5 synthesis engine, as Absynth 4 was the main compositional tool behind “144 Pulsations”.

So, my best wishes to all in 2010, I have a feeling its going to be a good one!

If you haven’t yet, please check out my Myspace page, where I’ve been posting all of the reviews of my Ethernet CD, as well as a brand new interview for The Offline People!

Happy New Year!

December 15, 2009

FREE DOWNLOADS: Rush Hour Recordings broadcasts & mixes

OK, obviously I have been getting busier and busier the past couple months, and this blog has slowed down! Since I started the blog earlier this year, I've written reviews of about 70 of my favorite albums, as well as several record label and artist profiles, and a smattering of bonus links to interesting articles or free downloads. Since this Summer, I've been taking online classes in a new masters degree program, and have been preparing to move to a new state since November... currently, my move-out date is this coming Saturday! This month I have mainly been listening to misc. new techno and classic acid house tracks, especially since I discovered the excellent selection of WAVs available for purchase from Juno Download, which seems to offer the best prices I've found. Besides brand new releases from Delsin, Ann Aimee, M>O>S and Rush Hour, Juno is also offering much of the Chicago Trax Records back-catalogue from the '80s; an awesome selection of classic acid house, a sound I've really gotten into in the last couple years. Its nice to see the classic material being released online in full, lossless quality, as the original vinyl is either stupefyingly expensive in the collectors' market, or just old and worn out-sounding! I also got a 25th Anniversary promotional shirt to celebrate and represent.
So, this month I may not actually find any time to review any music, until I'm done with my move around Xmas. In the meantime, I will be listening to the huge collection of mixes, audio specials and video reports available from Rush Hour Recordings' Broadcast webpage, which I somehow didn't notice when I wrote the label profile about them back in May. Rush Hour is one of my favorite labels promoting the sound of Amsterdam, and this year saw some great new 12" and CD releases, including Daniel Wang's Balihu collection, and re-releases of some early Rick Wilhite/KDJ 12"s and old '80s Chicago Trax 12"s too! Once again, there are literally tens of hours of free listening enjoyment here, so check it out and catch the A'dam vibe! Keep checking back on this blog, too, as I will be posting some sort of Best Of 2009 list in the next week or so!