The Bristol duo will release their first collaborative EP on in November.
Berghain’s Sub:stance event will bow out with a vinyl boxset to commemorate its final party after five years.
After years of impressive collaborations Bristolian Appleblim will release his first solo output.
Plenty of music is still to come from Bloc’s London series and we have a double pass to see Shackleton and Appleblim.
Appleblim will return with his first original material in nearly two years, collaborating with fellow Bristolian Komon on a forthcoming Apple Pips release.
Swedish producer Axel Boman is set to release a four track EP on Hypercolour offshoot Glass Table, with the Lucky Tiger 12″ serving as a teaser for a full length album due later this year.
Schmorsgabord is a new label, and it launches in style with this collaboration between Laurie ‘Appleblim’ Osborne and Julian ‘October’ Smith. The release sounds like a perfect meeting of the former’s DJ-friendly bass excursions and the latter’s tendency towards deep, dubby techno. Indeed, lead track “NY Fizzzzz” perfectly encapsulates this meeting of minds: the beats are tough yet contain a swinging, Applepips-esque feeling that will ensure the track gets noticed amid the deluge of straighter techno and tech-house releases. Allied to this backing track are more traditional dancefloor elements. The kettle drums are pure Chicago, the progression into the break down, precipitated by a combination of gradually building filters and ponderous chords are inspired by October’s back catalogue on Caravan, but this combination of the new and the familiar sets “NY Fizzzzz” apart. On the flip, the duo focus on a more experimental approach; “Fountains of Paradise” eschews the dancefloor, but the deep, brooding chord soundscape is lent some urgency by the shuddering waves of abstract percussion that occasionally break through the ponderous surface. That the label has decided to put its weight behind two different facets of this collaboration ensures that the end product is very tasty.
Richard Brophy
April 2, 2011 @ The Drake Underground, Toronto, Canada.
MUTEK, North America’s most respected festival of digital creativity and electronic music, takes place annually in Montreal. The Avant_MUTEK series serves as an appetite whetting prelude to the main event, giving other lucky cities on the continent – namely Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago and New York – a glimpse of what the MUTEK vibe is all about.
Another string to add to Bristol’s thriving bass music bow, Orphan101 has been stirring a melting pot of sound, bridging house, techno and dubstep since he started producing around 2005. Nothing new there, you may think. But the man otherwise known as Rob Davies has really captured the attention of fellow Bristol producers Appleblim, Headhunter et al, releasing on Saigon Recordings and his own label DECA Rhythm last year and now ‘blim’s Apple Pips imprint. Despite a limited number of releases – of which this is only his third, we may add – it’s fair to say that Davies brings something altogether rather fresh to the table, specialising in a dubbed out blend of dubstep and techno, which is really quite something to behold.
It’s impossible to mention Orphan101’s name without mentioning his incredible “Tribtek Part 1 & 2” – his debut release, originally fifteen minutes long, which he subsequently split into two halves on either side of the record, but which, apparently, he still plays as a whole. His next release was a collab with the aforementioned Headhunter – “V.7.01” and it is this short, but oh so sweet, back catalogue which has got the blogosphere talking, the naturally ahead of the curve Sonic Router pinned him down for an interview way back last summer and RA are amongst those who have picked up on this two tracker, the fourteenth release on Appleblim’s label.
“Propa” kicks things off with a flurry of clicks, alarm style bleeps and midnight chimes like the cinematic soundtrack to a psychological thriller. This is soon swept away by a bone-crushingly heavy, deep DMZ style bassline, which quivers away squid bass style with light, ticking percussion sketched over the top. Juddering chords create a sense of unease, like a light flickering in the gloom or a moth’s wings pattering against a bulb. Much like a Mike Leigh film, it’s all rather situational and not a lot happens or progresses as such, but it’s simultaneously got the uncomfortable, cryptic element of a David Lynch narrative.
A thought-provoking piece, no question, which is duly complimented by “Disemble” – its counterpart on the flip. Here, Orphan101 tunes into his techno sensibility much more palpably and the rippling undercurrent is rather like the patterns and textures of Rockwell’s remarkable “Reverse Engineering”. Fractured SFX, bubbling bass and bewildering sonics build gradually on top of one other and seem to ebb and flow like organic structures before the track finishes abruptly but masterfully with an artistic musical flourish. A fascinating 12” from Orphan101 which we urge you to test out.
Belinda Rowse
Everything Ramadanman touches at the moment invariably becomes a must have for DJs, be it a remix – his Burial beating Woon effort for example – or original production such as the recent contribution to Soul Jazz’s Future Bass compilation. Simply put the (still very) young man is a genius, constantly pulling from various genres to keep his work new and exciting yet somehow retains a large amount of consistency and class. This release sees the Leeds based producer return to Will Saul’s classy Aus imprint for a second time, on a collaborative effort with Skull Disco founder and Apple Pips head honcho Appleblim.
Together, Ram and Blim deliver a monster of a track in “Void 23”, which carries your senses on a journey down a deep dark tunnel of thumping basslines pressured against snares that collapse on top of the galloping percussion. It’s pitch black, 4am techno. It’s also heavily full of vibes and clocks in at a little over nine minutes. This alone is reason enough to purchase the 12” but Aus deliver a real treat in securing the services of golden era techno don Carl Craig to provide an edited version on the flip.
On his re-edit, the Detroit producer gives the track just the right amount of tweaks, using all his knowledge of how to build a groove and maintain the vibe. The little changes Craig implements in the rhythmic structure succeed in embellishing the overall feel with more urgency. This is yet another chapter in the bulging scrapbook of brilliance that has documented Craig’s career as a producer and demonstrates his consistent importance amongst the DJ community. The release marks another A+ outing from Aus Music as well as Ramadanman and Appleblim, which effortlessly joins the canon of music that will be played in clubs for many years to come.
Markus Garcia
The upcoming Appleblim & Ramadanman single on Aus Music will feature a re-edit from venerable Detroit producer Carl Craig.
Ministry Of Sound have called on journalist Joe Muggs to document the current world of dubstep and its ever expanding hybrid sounds on a double CD mix entitled Adventures In Dubstep & Beyond.
As long-standing friends from the days when Bristol was a city in musical transition, it was probably inevitable that Lawrie Appleblim and Al Tourettes would join forces at some point. That they have now is, perhaps, less predictable – though the results are pleasing. As you’d expect, this collaborative EP – featuring two originals and a pair of fine remixes – fuses elements garage, techno, dubstep and glitchy electronica, and there’s even a sly nod to UK funky amongst the beats.
Lead cut “Lipsmacker” most clearly shows the benefits of this Bristolian meeting of minds, most comfortably blending the two producers’ individual styles. On one hand, there’s Appleblim’s smoky atmospherics and ear for a bassbin-bothering groove. On the other, there’s Al Tourettes’ love of glitchy electronica, alien melodies and intense vocal cut-ups. What emerges out of this fusion is a claustrophobic tech-garage groove tightly wrapped in a blanket of unnerving late night paranoia. “Mr Swishy” continues the darkroom flavour, peppering a snare-heavy steppas beat with darting electronics, swirling chords and a bubbling bassline. It’s good, but pales in comparison to the A – not to mention the excellent flipside remixes.
Deadboy leads the way with a rolling 2-step take on “Lipsmacker” that plays down the original’s darker elements in favour of something halfway between the intense futurisms of early Maddslinky and the eyes-wide-shut blissfulness of Joy Orbison. A strong package is rounded off by a sublime Linkwood rework of “Mr Swishy” – all yearning trumpets, slick Rhodes chords and intergalactic melodies. With its air of stargazing beauty and luscious deep house groove, it’s the EPs stand-out moment. Perhaps Lawrie and Al should get together more often. Certainly, this EP shows definite promise.
Review: Matt Anniss
