As she stares into her laces, a bee buzzes and hums in her ear
is that a tune she remembers? or is it one she should?
Grampa used to ask her what she expected from music
whether she thought it would fulfill her
now as she waits for her ride, she wonders
if the color is enough to keep her going
whether things will change for the better or
if the volume will continue to dim.
Graffiti Warfare is the nom de guerre of Denver’s George Lattimore. Revolving Shores is his second album under that name. It’s an outright embrace of nostalgia, but broader in emotional scope than the work of some of his contemporaries. Nostalgia indeed, but not just for stoned teenage angst and romance, also for sharp-eyed grandparents, kite flying, and plastic cutlery.
From the opening song, “To Be It,” which features spoken word recordings by mid-twentieth century perennialist, Alan Watts, the album feels like it must have been a really personal process for Lattimore. I was quick to want to characterize the record as intimate and wooly, and at many moments, it is that. It’s certainly interpretive; some of its references feel like they must be Lattimore’s alone, or akin to the kinds of inside jokes siblings keep–almost indecipherable, but nonetheless totally charming to outsiders. It’s a largely instrumental album, only making sparse use of vocals on most songs, with greater focus on synthesis, pillowy drums, and pedal work. But where some of Lattimore’s nostalgia-seeking colleagues may opt to dive headfirst into fuzz, tape warble, and binaural synth washes, most of Revolving Shores maintains a sense of earnest clearheadedness, at times even bordering on the piercing.
What might seem at first like a weedy and cozy lay in grass (see early standouts like “Just Follow” or “DejaBlue“) pretty quickly turns into more of a healthy not-quite-micro-dose on a brisk autumn beach. There’s plenty of flirting with melancholia, but also an apparent attempt to tackle concrete family anxieties, grief, and insomnia. I’ll admit I’m usually more of a weedy lay in the grass type, but the album is probably strongest when it embraces the colder and more frenetic — the collage slap bass of “Volume” or the stop/start-synthesized-shrill meets soft underbelly of the album’s closers “Missing the War” and “Seashell.”
Revolving Shores is Lattimore’s own personal moment on a cold bright day in wet sand, but most listeners will find themselves feeling welcome to join him.
The album is out now for streaming on all major outlets.
Graffiti Warfare – “Just Follow” (sc)
Graffiti Warfare – “Volume” (sc)
Graffiti Warfare – “Seashell” (sc)
(Expand)
This review was written in support of the artist’s promotional campaign.
Mailbox: RIII – Kick
Bombastic steppy heavy bass from Tokyo’s RIII (those are three i’s). “Kick” is the B2 off of RIII’s newest Vibesy EP, out now on Aranck Collective. The other track I’m including here is from Aranck Collective’s 2.0 compilation that was released this past June; “Howl” is dubbier, and reminds me of the kind of quasi-DMZ we used to push hard on Palms Out. Those were the days. Glad to know people are still pursuing this sound, and doing it well.
RIII – “Kick”
RIII – “Howl” (sc)
Mailbox: Jasce – Send
JASCE (pronounced like the first syllable in the name Jason) is a producer, vocalist, and violinist based in Philly. She sent me the attached eerie number, and I’m into it. Sort of a little like if Tori Amos on one of her breathier days went to a rave full of goths and dnb kids. Maybe that’s a little reductive. Based on a quick scan through her catalog, JASCE is a really talented producer, and clearly her background as an instrumentalist brings the sort of musicality that’s not infrequently lacking in bass music. I respect her commitment to merging proper singer-songwriter stuff with monstrous bass. Some of her songs go a little too far into mainline dnb territory for my tastes, but on this one, the percussion is super sharp, and that bassline is just really well contained and tense.
Stream this at any of the usual places, or grab it on bandcamp.
JASCE – “Send” (sc)
Mailbox: Andrew Potterton – Break Out Park
I’m such a sucker for a good Burial homage. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the dude developed a genre and no one who works in the space can avoid the reference. But I say just own it.
Leeds-based music educator Andrew Potterton does that. He seems like the type of artist who just loves figuring out a genre. A quick scan through his soundcloud reveals a new genre almost every tune. It ranges from dusty house to mainline dnb to pure ambient synthscapes to rave to trap to phonk to lofi beats to study to–to just about everything else. Some might say that indicates a lack of focus, but from a pure skill standpoint, I find the versatility impressive, especially because it’s all pretty well executed. And I think putting it out under your government name indicates a real lack of pretension, which I totally respect. It makes sense coming from a music teacher. You’ve got to be able to approach lots of genres to effectively teach electronic music composition to students with wildly varied tastes. Plus, kids are brutal, so being pretentious isn’t going to get you far.
No bandcamp for Andrew, unfortunately, but check his soundcloud and spotify profiles.
Andrew Potterton – “Break Out Park” (sc)
Andrew Potterton – “Hope Restored Again” (sc)
Mailbox: Subfiction – twerkin’ aphex
Subfiction is one of those artists who wears a mask. A lot of the time, this makes me skeptical. But who knows, maybe the guy behind the mask has a job they need to protect, or maybe they’re the son of a couple of mysterious masked super villains, and they’re just keeping the family tradition alive. All credit due, the mask in question is kinda cool; it’s less of a mask, really, and more of a collection of lacey scarves, sometimes worn in conjunction with LEDs. In the case of the cover art above, I’d say the rest of the fit lends itself to my super villain theory.
In any case, the only other thing I know about the artist is that they’re operating out of the Netherlands (ideally in a secret mountain lair, but Holland doesn’t have any mountains). The music wears its influence on its [robot villain] sleeve, and track titles like “twerkin’ aphex” hammer the point home. But is that a bad thing? I don’t really think so. The aforementioned song is frenetic and NRG-etic and delivers on its title. The other featured track is no less ambitiously titled “killa4dafloor” — manifest what you want out of a track, I suppose! It’s a nice and simple breakbeat track with acidic 303s and ravey sampled vox. Not exactly groundbreaking, but still a solid shot at its stated purpose. Floors often thrive with familiar references as much or more than they do with newly broken ground.
Check the EP on bandcamp, or stream it wherever you listen these days.
Subfiction – “twerkin’ aphex” (sc)
Subfiction – “killa4dafloor” (sc)
Mailbox: LDN Monos – August in Winter
LDN Monos, real name Curtis Neil, is a producer from London who’s recently released his debut long player, August in Winter. It’s a nice amalgam of styles — not stuck in any particular genre, but still totally accessible and friendly on the ears. Mostly mild and easy to digest, but still evocative, and wholly unpretentious. I posted the video for the excellent first single from the album earlier this year. In general, the video treatments for the single have all been outstanding.
No bandcamp for this unfortunately, but stream the album on spotify or wherever, or if you don’t have that kind of thing, it’s also available for free streaming on soundcloud.
These two are my picks from the record.
LDN Monos – “Down At The Bos” (sc)
LDN Monos – “East Heath” (sc)
Mailbox: Mattr – Lex
Lightfooted cut of midtempo electronica from Birmingham-born, London-based Mattr, real name Matthew Clugston. The track he sent over, “Lex”, is a really lovely song, but perhaps most striking is what consistent and plentiful output Clugston has had over the past couple of years. This may be projecting, but he seems to be one of those producers who really took advantage of the 2 years indoors and decided to finish a few dozen of the tracks he had sitting in his draft folders. (And look, as a producer who didn’t do that, to each their own, pandemic was/is pandemic. But power to those who made the most of it creatively.)
In addition to the new one he sent over, I’ve picked out a couple of others from various releases he had this year. Grab them all on his bandcamp, or stream your dreams away.
Mattr – “Lex” (sc)
Mattr – “Whol” (sc)
Mattr – “Lando” (sc)
Mailbox: ETDub – Tell Me
A couple of really fun jukes from UK-based ETDub.
No bandcamp for these, so check ’em out on streaming services, or on soundcloud.
ETDub – “Tell Me” (sc)
ETDub – “Something Wrong” (sc)
Mailbox: Wittyboy – My Fear
Growing up is scary. When you’re a kid, you probably have one of two generally misguided perspectives on getting older. (a) It’ll get easier to just be alive, and I’ll finally be self-determined, so I’ll be more able to do what I want. (b) I’ll be bored, and boring, stuck in a normie life forever, so I better let my light burn bright (or out) while I have the chance.
Neither is particularly accurate. For most, the just being alive part does get a little easier, but self-determination doesn’t usually truly mean the time or power to do what one wants, especially when time speeds up on an exponent. If you have a family, you probably won’t often be bored — though sadly you might seem boring — but at least for many, you’ll fucking treasure the moments when you get the chance to have a few normal boring hours. And sure, go ahead and let your light shine bright as a kid — I’m glad I did — but also leave yourself a little fuel for middle adulthood, because it can be legitimately exhausting to have babies and jobs and purpose, even as thrilling as all that can be.
London-via-Leeds hailing Wittyboy burned bright early — do you remember those niche/bassline Craig David remixes he did back in 2007ish? I think he’s still doing that banger sound for the most part — and power to him for it — but like many of our age group (he’s about a year younger than me, according to wikipedia), he’s at the least supplementing his speed wubs with some more “grownup” (or maybe just mild) sounds, and offering listeners a touch of introspection. “My Fear” is a sweet and simple song that exists in a space somewhere between that post-garage sound that I hate describing but like listening to, and something a bit more akin to straightforward dancefloor pop. It’s really listenable stuff, and hats off to a wubgawd for showing his softer side. We all gotta take a breather sometimes as we approach our 40s.
Wittyboy – “My Fear” (sc)
Mailbox: Osutin – Another Planet
Hard-as-nails electro meets g-tech from Osutin, real name Austin Crumpley. Osutin may hail from Phoenix, but this is the stuff that would make nearly any Michigander grimace and start moving their butt.
Osutin’s Bass Go EP is out now on LA label, Teethy. Grab it on bandcamp, or stream it all over.
Osutin – “Back to The” (sc)
Osutin – “Another Planet” (sc)
Osutin – “Twinz Dub” (sc)
Mailbox: Macro/micro – Things Will Never Be The Same Again
Sharp, clenched, grand electronica from LA-based Tommy Simpson, aka Macro/micro. Simpson recently stopped work as an engineer for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, where he assisted on the last two NIN albums and their recent film work, including that excellent score for Watchmen.
Simpson’s own work as Macro/micro definitely exists in a similar space as does that of Reznor and Ross, particularly in his use of tightly controlled distortion (see e.g., “Awe” and “He’ll Be With You Shortly”). But there’s also an evident generational divide. Despite its general darkness, this is not dour music, there’s plenty of optimism to be found here too (see e.g., the closer, “Gratitude” which is probably my choice from the record). As a much younger artist, Simpson seems more willing to open the blinds more often and let in some light.
Check out the whole album, released this past July. It’s out now on bandcamp, and streaming everywhere else.
Macro/micro – Things Will Never Be The Same Again (bc)
Mailbox: apob – having more fun v1
I’m slowly returning from paternity leave, and this kind of ditty from LA-based apob speaks well to my current mood. Having a little baby who smiles constantly and squeals in delight 100x/day makes it hard to have anything but fun, even though my wife and I are both wildly exhausted.
The sound of “having more fun v1” is true to its name, for sure, but it’s still got an artery of subtle seriousness running through it — maybe it’s that Twin Peaks-y secondary bass line. This song is the first solo release from apob, real name Aaron O’Brien, but he’s produced and written for some interesting names these past couple of years, including Dora Jar, Aiden Bissett, and JELEEL!. One to watch, this one.
Not on bandcamp, but streaming all over, including on spotify.
apob – “having more fun v1” (sc)
Mailbox: Cando – Sting in the Tail
Cando is a Bristol-based production duo composed of Chad Leotaud and Owen Roberts. Roberts comes from the world of commercial pop and dance, working as a songwriter for the likes of BTS; Leotaud was raised in part in Trinidad, with a background in dancehall and early 2000s DMZ-era dubstep. The track these two sent over recently, “Sting in the Tail”, is the b-side from their most recent two-tracker, and crosses percussive dancehall stylings with touches of both that first-wave dubstep sound and some mainstream sheen. I’ve also included an older track, “Bleak Dub”, from 2019, which sits more firmly in Deep Medi territory, and burns nice and slow. Ones to watch.
Both tracks are available for streaming, or on the duo’s bandcamp.
Cando – “Sting in the Tail” (sc)
Cando – “Bleak Dub” (sc)
Mailbox: Lyrah – Sorry CVS
in response to the healthcare system feeling so criminal, my mom joked that we should just start stealing things. we went to cvs later that day, and I may or may not have stolen a pack of peanut m&ms for her.
“Sorry CVS” was written by Lyrah and her brother, shortly after his diagnosis with stage 4 cancer. It’s a song about a criminal and unjust healthcare system devoid of humanity, replaced instead with insensate cynicism. If a system like this bills itself as compassionate, but happily denies care to those unable to pay, what form of twisted ethics should ever protect that system from theft? Besides, CVS is the kind of place that’s just begging to be stolen from. Sending love to everyone out there unable to get adequate or appropriate care, and all of those forced to navigate a labyrinthine Medicaid system.
Lyrah – “Sorry CVS” (sc)
Mailbox: Digital Artifact – A Quantum Entanglement of the Mind
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the divisions of the autonomic nervous system, particularly the parasympathetic and enteric, and the ways in which the branches of the trigeminal nerve may be affected by changes in the rate and consistency of peristalsis. Could it be that the chronic migraines I’ve experienced since I was a teenager might be affected by finding a way to change the pace of peristalsis and/or attaining better conscious control over general parasympathetic function? No easy answers to questions like these.
Digital Artifact is an artist who clearly spends time trying to feel out the answers to difficult questions. Not only because he’s a computer engineering student, an experience which I can only imagine bears with it a fair share of challenges, but also through his music, which is distinctly explorative. Most of his music is iterative–as in, it’s made by applying the same set of rules a number of different times, and recording the outcome. That’s a heady endeavor, no doubt, but all of it manages to maintain touch with an emotional nerve. These are explorations worth following along with.
I’ve selected a couple of songs for you here, but he’s got a wealth of material available to stream on his soundcloud and spotify profiles, so I really recommend going there, hitting shuffle, and letting the material take you where it may.
Digital Artifact – “A Quantum Entanglement of the Mind” (Iteration One)
Digital Artifact – “A Hollow Blue Cube In The Sand” (Iteration Two)
Digital Artifact – “An Involuntary Hallucination” (Iteration One)
Mailbox: RamonPang – Hold Me Under
Twinkly brooding bass music from LA-based RamonPang. Consistent with the main lyric, the tension in this feels like being held underwater for a few seconds too long — just long enough for fight or flight to start setting in — until finally that tuned sub bass comes in with a great sigh of relief.
Out now for streaming or on bandcamp.
RamonPang – “Hold Me Under” (sc)
Mailbox: Full Monty – Aztec
Full-bodied and progressive, this track from Dutch producer Full Monty bridges some of the gaps between dembow-tech and trance. It’s Nokia ringtones on holiday in Tenochtitlan. Solid stuff.
Out now as part of Bleeps, Beats & Bass 3 celebrating 15 years of Dutch label Basserk. Stream it or grab the compilation on bandcamp.
Full Monty – “Aztec” (sc)
Mailbox: Baalti – Aame
Baalti is San Francisco-based duo Mihir Chauhan and Jaiveer Singh. They recently sent me a couple of songs from their 2021 self-titled record, and it’s perfect music for beginning the summer. Chauhan and Singh describe Baalti as an expression of their love of sample-based music, and a forum for recontextualizing the sounds they grew up hearing as kids. It does just that. Reimagining old Bengali disco and Gujarati funk records as straightforward organic house music, Baalti does well not to over-process these precious samples — if the ingredients are great, why mess with them too much?
“Aame” turns Gujarati funk into effective modern house; “Kolkata ’78” flips a classic Rupa Biswas record into shuffling percussive disco-house. The whole EP is worth checking out, and will work as well on a dancefloor as it will soundtracking your next summer cookout. Available now for streaming, or on bandcamp.
Baalti – “Aame” (sc)
Baalti – “Kolkata ’78” (sc)
Mailbox: The Fear Ratio – Spinning Globe
Unexpected submission from the legendary techno label Tresor. This is not what you’d expect from Tresor — it is not techno, it’s glitch hop. But in context, this makes a lot of sense. First of all, The Fear Ratio is composed of UK techno heavyweights Mark Broom and James Ruskin, so it’s not surprising they’d have the attention of Tresor (Ruskin released two seminal albums on the label). And second, Tresor is not just a label — it’s club in Berlin that has been open in various incarnations and at various locations around the city since 1991. Berlin is not a city unfamiliar to this glitchy branch of hip hop — after all, the godfathers of this sound, Modeselektor, came up in the city, and have undoubtedly played plenty at Tresor. I’m just glad to see Tresor championing stuff like this.
Featuring fellow Brit King Kashmere, “Spinning Globe” sounds a bit like what I imagine we might be hearing if Company Flow had never broken up and had instead moved across the pond at the turn of the century (and maybe El-P’s EPS-16 had been lost on the way, forcing him to start using a cracked version of Acid Pro and whatever thrift shop drum machines he could get his hands on). It’s sci-fi hip-hop for a new decade; and the production is sharp as nails.
The song is the first single from the upcoming album Slinky out on June 24th. Pre-order the album now on bandcamp and get the first two singles straight away.
The Fear Ratio – “Spinning Globe” (ft. King Kashmere) (sc)
Mailbox: 44 Ardent – nomoreheat
I have a thing for melodies that have a naive quality to them. Maybe it’s the eternal teenager in me, but I love when a song manages to capture the feeling of early teenage melancholia through the use of a sort-of miniaturized and humble melodic loop. This song, sent over by Australian producer 44 Ardent, does just that. Mellow modern house rhythms right for a ride to the forest on a spring day, “nomoreheat” relies largely on this kind of sweet child-like and comforting melody–to great effect.
Out now for streaming, but unfortunately no bandcamp.
44 Ardent – “nomoreheat” (sc)
Mailbox: Justin Martin – Let’s
Back in the earlier days of Palms Out, we were emphatic champions of a breed of house music that was coming out of the Bay Area. It seems quaint to say now given the ubiquity of what became known as the Dirtybird sound, but at the time, it was cutting edge stuff. Claude VonStroke was the torchbearer, and pockets of the sound sprung up all over, including in the UK (where artists often framed themselves more as an evolution of the fidget sound). But behind VonStroke, Justin Martin and his brother Christian were probably the most visible names of the pack.
I lost touch with that scene as the blog wound down in the early 2010s, but I’ve come to find that Justin Martin never let up, eventually starting his own What To Do imprint, and realizing impressive levels of main room success. His work got deeper, as is demonstrated on the track his label sent over recently, but it’s still got that characteristic Bay Area mixture of sharp percussion and big bottom end. The track comes with a nice remix pack, including the ace 2-step version below by British phenom lau.ra. But definitely check the whole pack, it also includes a really lovely mellow breakbeat rendition by Tom Jarney and one from old Palms Out favorite DJ Sliink, among others.
Justin Martin – “Let’s” (ft. Claire George) (bc)
Justin Martin – “Let’s” (ft. Claire George) (lau.ra Remix) (bc)
Mailbox: ooo_k – WDYK
Parisian producer ooo_k sent me this shimmering club cut a couple of weeks ago. People love to talk about the distinct sound of French house music, but often overlook how well that pillowy aesthetic translates on French takes on the genres championed by the likes of HudMo and Rustie in the early and mid 2010s.
“WDYK” is a perfect example of this — it’s not as weeded as purple music from Joker or JKamata, or as orchestrally grand as Taz or early Girl Unit, or as glitchy as the catchall vapor twitch term, but it’s got the ingredients that tend to tie all of those references together, plus a bit of something else. I find that extra something distinctly French, though I’m struggling how else to say why. In any case, this is supremely enjoyable music.
I’ve also included a couple of previous releases from ooo_k for a little context. These are all out now for streaming, but no bandcamp unfortunately.
ooo_k – “WDYK” (sc)
ooo_k – “Way Back” (sc)
ooo_k – “Aaa” (sc)
And if you’re looking for more quasi-purple, we’ve got a new playlist for just that.
Mailbox: Heroicgenius – Humans
As inspired by house and techno as she is by the likes of classic Missy and Timbaland, Heroicgenius (real name Tranée Pope) is making really compelling music. She recently sent me her debut song, “Humans”, and I’m hooked. Near-operatic vocals over tight M1 organs and modern house shuffle, the song is catchy as fuck without ever veering into the saccharine. Though it’s her first proper release, Pope clearly has the chops of a seasoned producer. Without doubt one to watch.
Out now for streaming, or on bandcamp.
Heroicgenius – “Humans” (sc)
Mailbox: Picpoul – The Feeling
Can acid be summery? Sure, I used to love to drop it lying under the sun in the fields in Central Park. Same goes for the music, why can’t squelchy resonant filters be used in the context fun uplifting breakbeat happiness? They surely can.
Picpoul, an artist from the UK, sent me these two tracks recently. Picpoul is the name of a variety of grape that literally means “sting the lip” — named as a result of the grapes’s high acidity. So it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Picpoul (the artist, not the grape) is going to have a knack for the acidic.
The first track I got is a remix for fellow Londoner Hardt Antoine–all dark swirling acid psychedelia over tight JB yelps. Perfect acid breakbeat workout, if you ask me. Out now for streaming, or on bandcamp.
Hardt Antoine – “Awa Power” (Picpoul’s Awa Acid Remix) (sc)
The second, “The Feeling”, is from the recently released maxi-single of the same name. It takes those acidy basslines and pairs them with the kind of go-lucky unfiltered breakbeat looping and piano stabs you might hear on a Dusky record, then layers that with the intermittent use of a low in the mix robot telling the listener to keep up the search for that feeling (which I’ve interpreted to mean that feeling I used to get in the fields of Central Park). Also out now for streaming, or on bandcamp. (And be sure to also check the B-side for more of these lip stinging summertime vibes.)
Picpoul – “The Feeling” (Extended Mix) (sc)
Mailbox: Ben Ohr – Rave on Almore
Ben Ohr is a 20-year-old Canadian producer who’s been sending me music for the past couple of months. His style is really tricky to pin down, which readers of this site know is a big plus for me. Given his youth, his volume of output has been really impressive–it seems like he’s got a new song every couple of weeks. The two songs I’ve selected today are fast; rhythmically, they’re probably best placed somewhere in the universe of juke, but that’s definitely not particularly descriptive. Notwithstanding their speed and emphasis on aligned triplet kick+bass hits, these are dreamy songs. Ohr wouldn’t be the first producer to make “dreamy juke” (is there some obscure subgenre tag I don’t know of yet?), but he’s doing so really effectively. One to watch for sure.
Out now for streaming, no bandcamp.
Ben Ohr – “RAVE On ALMORE” (sc)
Ben Ohr – “luv4” (sc)
Mailbox: DeLaye – Time Tunnel
Auckland, NZ-based DeLaye sent this track over last week — from his 2021 EP, BLANKSPACE . — psychedelic vapor twitch intended to explore the notion that we construct our own past and future using pieces of our present selves. In this spirit, DeLaye constructed “TIME TUNNEL” using pieces of prior compositions. Heady ideas, but it’s still really fun digestible stuff.
The whole EP is indeed worth some time (pun, sorry). It’s out now for streaming or on bandcamp.
Delaye – “TIME TUNNEL” (sc)
If you like this sort of hyper-psych broken beat stuff, we’ve got a playlist for that.
Mailbox: Taut – Prime
Berlin-based Taut, real name Jacob Bergson, is not a new name, though you may never have heard of him. Prior to his move to Berlin, he was a longtime fixture in New York, having toured with the likes of Kimbra and Rubblebucket, among others. But now he’s struck out on his own, and the results are kind of spectacular. Balancing free experimentation with easy-on-the-ears emotion, the music he’s making solo is fabulous.
The song he sent over is just a peach. It’s delicate and minimalist in structure, but almost overwhelming in its melodic weight. The way a simple arpeggiated melody can sometimes burst with feeling is evident on this one. Not many words necessary here, it’s just lovely music.
It’s out now for streaming, or on bandcamp.
Taut – “Prime” (sc)
Want to hear more of this breed of delicate minimalism? We’ve got a playlist for that.
Mailbox: Patros15 & Apolo//Apolo – Purpose
Burial essentially birthed a whole generation of producers pursuing a [found sound + 2-step drums + ambient pads + maybe some vocal samples] formula. And I don’t say formula as a bad thing; I’m not against formulaic music, as long as it’s evocative and not boring. Honestly, I’m not sure how anyone who loves dance music can really be totally against formulas; after all, what would most dance floors be without the tropes that pervade so intensely in house and techno (or really, most club genres)? Call this post-dubstep, future garage, or whatever the fuck else, but if it makes you feel something, it’s good, right?
Patros15 and Apolo//Apolo appear to be two such producers. Patros15 is from Slovakia, Apolo//Apolo appears to be from Burlington, VT. The first song featured below, “Purpose”, is the one they sent me. A collaboration full of detailed shuffled drum programming and thoughtful sound design, it should stand up strong for any fan of the genre. Out now for streaming as a single, or for purchase as part of the excellent Shared Quarters Vol.4 on Special Species, a bandcamp-only compilation that features four songs each from four different artists (shared quarters, right?). The second, “Drowning”, is also by Apolo/Apolo — from the same compilation — and loosely follows the same formula, but leans harder into house music territory, also really strong.
And the third is a solo from Patros15. This time abandoning the shuffle, and the drums altogether for that matter–as has the godfather himself–in favor of more complete focus on streetscape ambience. Out now for streaming, or on bandcamp as part of the Street Echos compilation on Dark Heart.
Patros15 & Apolo//Apolo – “Purpose” (bc)
Apolo//Apolo – “Drowning” (bc)
Patros15 – “Forgive” (bc)
Mailbox: The Galactic Effect – Chandeliers
Clarity and cacophony battle on this piece of cinematic organic house from Miami-based producer The Galactic Effect. This is the kind of thing I listen to while staring at the little herb garden my mom set up for me on the fire escape, past a set of Tibetan prayer bells that hang in my kitchen window, while my cat bats at my heels asking for food. Peaceful sound design, but enough electricity to keep my sympathetic nervous system dominant.
The Galactic Effect – “Chandeliers” (bc)
And if you like this breed of organic house stuff, we’ve got a playlist for that.