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phil and me

June 10, 2009 · by · in , , ,

Phil Dick talks about reality, world-building, and epiphanies.

I got some more music!
Alex Rize – Beyond The Dome [Proton]
Alex Rize – Beyond The Dome (Habersham Remix) [Proton]
Marc Mitchell – Souls On Board (Ambient Mix) [Proton]
Poni Hoax – Faces In The Water – (Ambient Edit) [Tigersushi]
Paul Ritch – Evil Laugh [Wagon Repair]
Porter & Blain – Surrounding Darkness [Source Of Gravity]
AFK – Emily’s China (Fractal Remix) [?Pacific Front?]
Limbo – Distant From Sealong [Tide Pool]
Limbo – Gazing At My Shoesteps [Tide Pool]

^^ Wise eyes will notice new Tide Pool jams there, and I’m delighted to tell you that they’ve already been released.   Liam . Limbo knocked this one out of the park – do check it out.

so tired of repeating myself

June 2, 2009 · by · in , ,

I went to see the very tall and very talented Appleblim last night – yes, on a Monday.  Ooof.  Today was tiring, to say the least.  His set was, however, well worth staying up for.  Spaacey, spacey bits, some lush detroit-ish house, pretty dubstep, crunk dubstep, and a dash of drum & bass.  Exceptional.  Big ups to Pacific Dubstep for taking a huge risk on a Monday night show.  (I also want to mention in passing that Appleblim is from Bristol…like Massive Attack and Nick Warren.  I don’t think that this is a coincidence.)

Continuing on the dubstep tip, this interview with Kode 9 about rhythm is just great so far.   It’s not short tho, be warned.

I also have a crush on www.inbflat.net, which is a sort of youtube-esq version of In C.  This may be the sort of thing that only I will like, but I intend to like it enough for both of us, so don’t you fret.

Further to the show tip, I went to Video Games Live a week or so ago, and it was pretty rad.  I was annoyed that the symphony was both small and miked…but the full house at the Royal was screaming at every recognizable riff and theme, so it was probably required.  I enjoyed it very much though.  There could have been less self-indulgent electric guitar from the MC / show organizer, and they could have picked a less overwhelmingly cliched closer than One-Winged Angel – but it was worth it to hear Metroid, Zelda, the surprisingly hep Halo 3 theme, and the like.  Well worth going to.

I now exist on twitter, as an experimental workblog.  twitter.com/djfractal, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Finally, I finally burned some CDs!

Exoplanet – Obivous Encephalus [Proton]
Exoplanet – My Circuits Are Fading [Proton]
Exoplanet – Afterlife [Proton]
Arthur Deep – Demonstraight [Proton]
Monojoke – Outrun [Proton]
Subfractal – You [Proton]
Marc Mitchell – Souls On Board [Proton]
Isotope – Colours [Back Home]
Booiamrudolf – Ally’s World [Elefant]
Booiamrudolf – Filuz [Elefant]
Booiamrudolf – It’s Deep In Here [Elefant]
Russian Linesman – Poor Runa [Manual]
Misstress Barbara – Dance Me To The End Of Love [Iturnem]
Elkin ‘Billie’ Longton – My Man [Tide Pool]
Kayne West – Love Lockdown (Limbo’s Anti-Edit) []
Robsounds – Hundreds & Thousands [Plasteline]
Blu Mar Ten – If I Could Tell You [Blu Mar Ten]
Elkin ‘Billie’ Longton – My Woman [Tide Pool]

the hobgoblin of little minds

May 13, 2009 · by · in , ,

Working a regular job makes me seethe and rage for the time to keep up with my own projects.  So, here are two more links in the chain.  From me:

Download here.

Hypnotic techno into post-progressive into a hark back to bigger, trancier days.

1: Four Tet – Swimmer [Domino]
2: John Kaito – Sapphire [Back Home]
3: Ryan Davis – Clouds Passing By – (Eelke Klejin Remix) [Back Home]
4: Umek – Center of Gravity (Soliquid Remix) [Proton]
5: Sasha – Who Killed Sparky? [Emfire]
6: Ferreyra & Favre – The Light Over The Darkness []
7: Max Graham – Sepia [Hope]
// Way Out West – Intensifty (PMT Remix) [Y4K]
8: Morgan & Shiu – 8 Feet Under (AFK Remix) [Powerplant]

And from Tide Pool: Rhythmicon – Rain Falls & Thunder Rolls.

Hyperdeep dubstep, downtempo & ambient.  Forward the foundation.

from the pick up

May 3, 2009 · by · in , , ,

I recorded a new set!  It sounds like acid:

Download here.

1: Sleezy D – I’ve Lost Control [Trax]
2: Phuture – Phuture Jacks [Trax]
3: Li’l Louis – Video Clash [Dance Mania]
4: Phantom Power – Acid Uber Alles [Clicktracks]
// Virgo – Go Wild Rhythm Track [Other Side]
5: Eddie Cointreau – Onchorhychuis [Tide Pool]
// James Zabiela – Down Here [Renaissance]
// Limbo – Maple Leaf Gave Me Lisertia []

In news unreleated to techno, here are two things that will blow your mind.  ACHRON is an RTS game in four dimensions – you can move backwards and forwards in time across an eight-minute window from the ‘present’.  If your head hurts, don’t worry.  Go to the site, watch all the videos, and it will start to make sense, mostly.

Philip K. Dick would have loved Achron – and he would also have loved the AllloSphere – which is a 30-foot sphere that displays scientific data on the inside.  No, really.  It’s at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and it is pure science fiction.  Follow the link, watch the videos.

And I bought some music:

Jon Hopkins – Light Through The Veins (Ewan Pearson’s Downtown Lights Remix) [Domino]
Booiamrudolf – It’s Deep In Here [Elefant]
Booiamrudolf – Ally’s World [Elefant]
Booiamrudolf – Fliuz [Elefant]
Ane Brun – Headphone Silence (Henrik_Schwarz Remix – Dixon Edit) [Objektivity]
Paul Ritch – Evil Laff [Wagon Repair]
Garcia & Caro – Dead Souls (Radio Slave Long Distance Kiss Mix) [Buzzin Fly]
Ultraworld – Northern Piano (Hardcore Piano Mix) [Strictly Rhythm]

tdpl26: robsounds – high rollers ep

April 30, 2009 · by · in , ,

Tide Pool brings you the hotness.  Check it out.

You should also go and look at djhistory.com right now, because there’s some amazing stuff there – especially the interviews.

I was on a bus for 12 hours twice over the last weekend, so I got a lot of thinking done…assuming you call sitting exhausted in the Chilliwack bus depot thinking.  I can say for certain that out of all the Greyhound depots in BC, Chilliwack smells the worst.

But, to return to the point, I had some ideas for a little program that will morph two midi files together, like some sort of theme breeding system.  I’m going to try to do it quick and ugly first, which will probably lots of interesting non-musical results.  Then I’ll try to get a more musical interpretation going…which seems a lot harder.  It’s going to be called MORPHINE, in theory.  Probably a Python or Processing project, depending on what has better midi libraries.

I also had an epiphany about an alternative to standard dice-based RPG combat systems.  Randomness and I have had a bit of a falling out of late, and I’ve been after a system that won’t ruin your life on a single roll of a d20, or on 15 rolls of a d6, or what have you.  The concept I’ve dreamed up is a bit of MAGIC, a bit of SquareSoft styled card-puzzle games, and a bit of 4e-styled miniature tactics.  I think it’s way too complex, but I also think it’s very interesting.  We’ll see what happens and what I have time to do with it.

through-composed

April 16, 2009 · by · in ,

The best way to buy classical music, by the way, is on vinyl from thrift stores.  I picked up Debussy’s Nocturnes and La Mer, along with Tchaikovsky #6 and Sibelius #1…all for less than five bucks.  Look out for orchestra sampling hip-hop soon.

And, on the subject of classical music, all of my recorded compositions can be found here.  So far there’s one cunning tape piece, a recording of one of my improv maps, my string quartet, and my piece for the orchestra readings.  More will be added as they appear.

Finally, I’m working on some dubstep.  Loooook out.

oh, the huge manatee

April 13, 2009 · by · in , ,

I’ve been fighting with this really finicky acid house mix, so what do I do when I finally have time to DJ?  I put Ligeti and Richie Hawtin in a cage, and see what happens:

0: Gyorgy Ligeti – Lux Aeterna []
1: Gaiser – Chlorine [Minus]
// Richie Hawtin – DE9 Loops [Minus]
2: Heartthrob – Apprentice [Minus]
// Richie Hawtin – DE9 Loops [Minus]
3: Kyle Geiger – Glide [Drumcode]
// Richie Hawtin – DE9 Loops [Minus]
4: Rekorder – Rekorder 3.0 [Rekorder]

In non-techno news, I’m working on a string ensemble thing called SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST which should be hard enough to quiet all my viola-playing friends.  Also in the works are two simples pieces – one called TUNING and one called HEARTBEATS.  You can probably figure out what they are from the titles.

Finally, Braid is out for PC, and it’s diabolically amazing.  It calls itself a puzzle-platformer, but it’s at least 90% puzzle game, along the lines of Lolo or Solstice.  Highly, highly recommended.

oh right, music

April 11, 2009 · by · in ,

Marshall Jefferson – Mushrooms (Justin Martin Remix) [Troni Soundz]
Blu Mar Ten – If I Could Tell You [Blu Mar Ten]
Steve Porter – Rizer [PH]
Misstress Barbara – Dance Me To The End Of Love [Iturnem]

If someone told me last year that I would be listening to, and loving, a techno cover of a Leonard Cohen song, I would have laughed for daaaays.

Also worth pointing to is Bullion‘s 24-minute remix album / mashup / labour of love, Pet Sounds In The Key Of Dee, combining parts from the Beach Boys’ legendary album with beats from the late J. Dilla.  Google around and you’ll find a download link.  It’s very much a coherent, seamless whole, rather than a collection of remixes.  It’s also totally rad.

some things in the way

April 6, 2009 · by · in , ,


That need mentioning, as a way of restoring my internet-self to life:

NODAL:  A generative composition system, now available for PC.

And Yet It Moves:   A mind-bending puzzle-platformer.  Available at Greenhouse.

If you can find it, Grafite’s goal for Wolfsburg against Bayern is a thing of beauty.

(In retrospect, MYST was a really weird game, wasn’t it?)

fractal – oceanography

March 25, 2009 · by · in


…is out now, on Pacific Front.  You can buy it here and hear a longer clip of it here.  Remixes come from Rennie Foster, AFK, and Toby Emerson.  The original mix is a nine and a half minute jaunt through halftime breaks, minor-key counterpoint, huge bass riffs, and shimmering synths.  It is pretty rad, if I do say so myself.  I hope you think so too.