During my younger, more freewheelin' days at college, when "responsibility" was more of an idea than actual practice, a friend of mine passed along this great electronic music DJ mix by a man named Aaron Robinson. Smooth transitions abound and filled with killer electronic tunes, this mix is another perfect complement to a hot summer day. Full mix below!
Aaron Robinson - March 2006 DJ set [don't let the title fool you - it's pure summer!]
I don't know how this got to the bargain bin, but it's a crime it did. July 4 weekend I was out In San Francisco with Dan, and as is customary with a trip out to California, I went to Amoeba Records. When skimming through the electronic music section, I came across a little gem of a group called Cicada, which produces some poptastic electronic similar to contemporaries Mylo and Spektrum.
Now, when I first moved to NYC I constantly hit up this great dance music store called Satellite Records, which tragically shut down this passed Winter (vinyl is even less profitable than CDs these days). While shopping there, I came across this record by Cicada called "Cut Right Through", which though was pretty standard fare, had a phenomenal remix that I would constantly spin on my tables at home.
Flash forward to this past Sunday. Cicada's debut album, which includes "Cut Right Through", is sitting in the electronic music section at Amoeba for a mere $5 (markdown from $18, and this is an import, for crying out loud!). I had to buy it, and so I did. While there are some duds, there are fair amount of absolute electronic pop screamers, including "Electric Blue", and a track with moderate fame, "The Things You Say", which are posted below for your listening pleasure.
Cicada - The Things You Say [Cicada LP, 2006]
Cicada - Electric Blue [Cicada LP, 2006]
Steve Reich, more than any other minimalist composer of the 20th century, had a profound impact on popular music. In particular, several prominent electronic music and rock music acts, such as the Orb, DJ Spooky, Tortoise, Spirtualized and Oval, cite Reich as a major influence. It's no secret why: minimalist music, much like the works of dance music, post-rock and, to a lesser extent, space rock, are wrapped in repetition, progressing via minimal change, requiring the listener to pay closer attention to the music at hand.
Though many of Reich's work are seminal, particularly 1976's ethereal Music for 18 Musicians, Electric Counterpoint (1987) is Reich's most sampled work in popular music. Broken down into three movements, "Fast," "Slow" and "Fast," the piece is a blend of Reich's early tape recording works and melodic beauty of works like Music for 18 Musicians. The technique of the piece is simple: a soloist records an electric guitar riff, loops it, and repeats the process. Ultimately, the piece has up to 10 guitar loops playing against the one live guitarist.
From personal listening experience, I know that the work has been sampled by three popular music artists: the Orb ("Little Fluffy Clouds"), RJD2 ("the Proxy") and Bullinuts ("Pizzle Road Rhapsody"). Here's the first movement of Electric Counterpoint, "Fast," followed by "Little Fluffy Clouds" and "the Proxy." Enjoy.
Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint (Fast) [Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint LP, 1988]
The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds [Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld LP, 1991]
RJD2 - The Proxy [Dead Ringer LP, 2002]
