60th-Post-Fingers-Crossed-Second-Birthday-Bats!-Bats!-20th-Birthday-60th-Blog-Post EXTRAVAGANZA (Mixes, excuses, etc.)

If you're catching your breath after reading that title then spare a thought for my RSI riddled fingers. And as my birthday was over two months ago, you'd be right if you thought my fingers hadn't quite healed to normal typing speeds yet. It took me three hours to write that last sentence.

It was my 20th birthday and Fingers Crossed's 2nd birthday a little while ago. Put simply, I've been too busy for this space. I've still been buying plenty of music and stuff, so rest assured I'll have a bunch of new stuff coming soon. I've also been working on a mix series which you can find on Mixcloud for those who are so inclined.

It's mainly slo-mo disco and house, with a little bit of cosmic balearic in there as well. I'm back at university in a week but it won't slow me down too much.

You can find the mixes here

Vitamin A: For Good Eyesight by Health Supplements on Mixcloud

Vitamin B12: For Normal Brain Function by Health Supplements on Mixcloud

Vitamin C will be coming sometime this weekend or the next - in the meantime, enjoy this:

Satin Jackets - Everywhere I Go EP [.rar 320kb/s]

later (hopefully not too much),

SUGAR MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL

Coming up on April 30th at the Forum Theatre and a couple of other venues around my hometown of Melbourne is the inaugural Sugar Mountain Festival, featuring artists and music from Australia and round the globe. Curated and organized by cutting edge local indie-pop and electronica label Two Bright Lakes, it looks set to be a real fun time. Musicians (let's be honest, my main interest) include well known favourites like Canyons, Galapagoose, Qua, and Rat vs Possum, and newcomers like Oscar + Martin, Otouto, and some fancy out of towners, like Aa (say 'big a little a'), the Coolies (say 'coolies') from NZ, and Virgo Four. See below for a run-down of some of these, as well as some tunes.

Tickets are on sale now from the usual outlets (y'all can google, right?)

SUGAR MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL 2011

An interview with Hazel Brown from Otouto and Two Bright Lakes by my dear friend Jalen can be found HERE

And for coverage of the visual artists involved in the festival, go HERE

THE MUSIC:

CANYONS [HOLE IN THE SKY/DFA/MODULAR]

Regulars at eclectic Melbourne nightspot New Guernica and signed on with a couple of the downright coolest labels in the world, The Canyons make left of centre dance music. They've been remixed by such luminaries as Jacques Renault and their DJ sets are always chock full of unexpected cuts that traverse the distance between chicago house, funky disco, afrobeat, and other space-faring psychedelics that are guaranteed to induce motion in your feet.

Canyons - Dancing On Silk [.mp3 /// MF]

Canyons - Fire Eyes [.mp3 /// MF]

Canyons - Fire Eyes (Jacques Renault's Living In The Jungle Mix) [.mp3 /// MF]

Canyons - More Champagne [.mp3 /// MF]

Tame Impala - Skeleton Tiger (Retamed By Canyons) [.mp3 /// MF]


GALAPAGOOSE [INDEPENDENT/MELBOURNE]

Melbourne based multi-media performer/artist Trent Gill is Galapagoose, creating dense and murky instrumental hip hop/beats. Samples slither around and over each other while the bass ties everything together. He's featured on a number of recent compilations and put out a couple of EP's which you can grab for free from his tumblr HERE, and also a quick mix he's put together for the festival, which you can stream or grab for free HERE


AA [SENSORY PROJECTS/BROOKLYN, NY]

Aa are from Brooklyn, NY. They make gloriously fuzzy and distorted noise, tempered by a tangle of synths and 3 drum-kits, frantic shouts and sometimes whispers. If you like the 2-3 minute sections of Sonic Youth songs where the band abandons song structure and melody in favour of raw, unadulterated racket, or the works of fellow avant-garde experimentalists Health, then you'll dig this. The only info i could find on this little piece is that it was recorded live at a show in Brooklyn. It's 18 minutes long, and is a bit rough on the ears no doubt. Dig it.

Aa - Side A [.mp3 /// MF]


OSCAR + MARTIN [TWO BRIGHT LAKES/MELBOURNE]

I remember seeing these guys opening at the Caribou and Four Tet shows earlier in the year and thinking they were something pretty cool. They make summery electronica tinged with just the right amount of sadness to make indie girls hearts melt and congeal on the floor. They've got a new single coming out called 'Do The Right Thing', which hasn't been released yet but has been doing the rounds on local radio - it's all hand-claps and beautiful damaged harmonies, a great pop song. This version is just a promo copy, couldn't find a 320 for now. When it's out, look for it here.

Oscar + Martin - Do The Right Thing [.mp3/// MF]


RAT VS POSSUM [SENSORY PROJECTS/MELBOURNE]

Rat Vs Possum have gigged around Melbourne and Australia for a little while, and put out a record on Sensory Projects called Daughter Of Sunshine in early 2010 - it's raucous, densely packed summery tropical psychedelia and pop which showcases the band's aptitude for great hooks and memorable lyrics like 'I think I love you but it might just be the pills'. Their live shows are full of life and usually involve some rather raucous antics, so I definitely recommend catching these guys in the near future.

Rat Vs Possum - Temple [.mp3 /// MF]

Rat Vs Possum - Binti Jua (Faux Pas Remix) [.mp3 /// MF]

That's all from me for today, seeya there.

later,

PRINS THOMAS - LANG TUNG TING [2011]

Newie for absolute legend and personal favorite Prins Thomas, this time treating an oboe and a cello to get that great deep crunchy bassline. Dubbed out house for the first two tracks, on the flip he goes for a more warped disco number, adding waving arpeggios and a good dose of fuzzy guitar licks. The second B-side gets all LCD Soundsystem on us, Prins doing the dance-punk thing. I love it.

Prins Thomas - Lang Tung Ting (2011) [.zip /// MF]

later,

HOLY GHOST! - (S.T.) [2011]

Holy Ghost! have to be one of my favourite artists on the DFA roster, so you can understand that I was miiiighty excited when I heard they were putting out their debut album. Holy Ghost! have always been renowned for their unique take on modern house and disco styles, blended with tongue-in-cheek references to 80's and 90's electronic pop music - just listen to 'Say My Name' off their Static In The Wire EP - and their love for analog bass lines have always helped them settle well in DFA's catalog. Although they'd only put out a few singles on DFA since getting their start in 2007, they absolutely crashed onto the scene with 2008's single 'Hold On' which was a glorious slice of synthy, disco-pop-throwback. 

This new album has them sounding a little bit like Cut-Copy's latest effort, another favourite synth-pop/future disco LP of mine, although I'd have to say that the production is more straightforward and less lush than Cut Copy's. It definitely feels more tailored to the dancefloor, which is where Holy Ghost! have always won the most hearts. - look no further than final track 'Some Children' for evidence of that. 

A few previously released tracks make appearances on the full-length, which as a long-time fan I was a little disappointed about, but there's no doubt they're good songs and including them on the album is a smart move to introduce new fans to some of the duo's stronger previous work. As for the other tracks, they generally conform to the trail that the duo have been following thus far in their careers. Along with obvious first single 'Do It Again', 'Jam For Jerry' is probably the strongest new track on the release in my mind; it's a propulsive and danceable future-disco number which will probably be picked up by Triple J.

All in all I'm quite impressed by the release, but then, I probably wouldn't post anything I didn't like a lot on this blog. I'm probably going to start another blog where I just rip on stuff like Ke$ha and still take the time to provide a download. /joke. On a side note, didja hear about all the mothers dragging their tweens out of Ke$ha's run of concerts 'round Australia? You'd think they would have realized that they needed to do a bit more parenting (and/or research) before they took their kids along in the first place, IMO.

With any luck Holy Ghost! will tour down-under sometime soon off the back of this - looking forward to it immensely.


Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost! (2011) [.zip /// MF]

later,

ISOLEE - WELL SPENT YOUTH [2011]

Hate to begin a review with a cliché like this, but, well, Well Spent Youth, Isolée's third full length album has been a long time coming. 6 years since 2005's We Are Monster came out on Playhouse Records, and a few intermittent remixes and singles have been all fans of Rajko Müller's particular blend of micro-house and techno have had to hold them over. But no longer! Drenched deeply with jazzy chords and clicks, pops and other squelchy noises, Well Spent Youth is a record which precisely describes the track of modern techno. The album art is a soft and ethereal piece of photography, and perhaps this is a good way to describe the musical content.

The bass sits comfortably below the waterline and adds a beautiful warm buzz and thump to the accompanying keys and sizzling hats and drums, and musical elements float in and out of frame as quickly and as subtly as they arrive. It's not as warm and poppy as We Are Monster. The arrangements have a real sense of space, certainly not hurrying anywhere but still telling a story regardless; with nary a venture below the 5 minute mark, the length of the tracks reflect this.

Definitely vibing this release and I'm sure if you're inclined to attend nights of the deeper variety this will become mandatory listening.

Isolée - Well Spent Youth (2011) [.zip /// MF]


later,

ASTRO - LE DISC DE ASTROU [2010]

This is something I dug up on my regular record hunting expeditions: It's another one of those psych-surf-rock albums given a modern twist with healthy lashings of synthetic goodness and electronic weirdness. Astro are from Santiago, Chile, yet I don't hear too many Latin American influences in their music besides the language they sing in. It's always interesting to hear particularly western or anglophone pop music put through the filter of a different ethnicity - it usually results something utterly compelling, like Serge Gainsbourg's amazing early jazz experimentations.

I particularly enjoy Track Six on this album, entitled Rai Filter, for its house-influenced piano riff and fat drums - it references what can be a quite cliched dance music trope but pulls it off quite well. Another standout is the She's A Tease remix of Maestro Distorsion, the third last track on the album; the vocals twisted and reverbed, and a cheeky sample of Everybody Dance Now never fully revealed, just to live up to the 'She's A Tease' moniker.

I'm frequently reminded of The Mars Volta or the most recent MGMT output, not so much in song structure as the overall expansive sound of the album; there are times where the songs feel as though they were recorded in a massive ice cave or cold, expansive cathedral. the Volta are known widely for their lengthy and overbearing tangential experiments, but here Astro keep things concise, creating strange sonic landscapes within the structure of the 3 minute pop song - indeed, no song on the album is more than 4 minutes. Electronic pops and crackles and weird half-formed sounds punctuate, adding flourish and decadence to each tune.

By turns euphoric, despairing, camp and strange, the album is over fast, barely longer than half an hour. So all up, you're talking about 1/1238234th of your life - probably one of the better-spent half hours, really. Check it out, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Astro - Le Disc De Astrou (2010) - [.zip /// HF]

later,

HOLY GHOST! - DO IT AGAIN [2011]

Just a reeeal quickie from me - Holy Ghost are a duo that I absolutely adore, and they've released a new single to promote their new album (as yet unnamed) which will be released real early April on DFA according to the grapevine.
This is a big one.

Holy Ghost - Do It Again (2011) [.zip /// HF]

later,

ELECTRONICA MEGAPOST!: STAR SLINGER + JAMES PANTS + INCH-TIME REMIXES + HUDSON MOHAWKE + ARCHITEQ

Right, so this post is sort of a means of getting all the weird electronic shit I've been listening to out of my system. I can't do 5 or 6 separate posts for all these different amazing artists (because I'm a lazy arse), so I'm going to dump them all in one post like mongooses into a cobra-pit and you guys can rip them off each other before they rip each others throats and shit.

First up, seems like the kind of music Star Slinger (UK producer Darren Williams' instrumental hip-hop project, begun in April 2010) produces has really had a shot in the arm in recent times. Instrumental hip-hop and the beat underground has gone overground with albums from Gonjasufi and Flying Lotus, amongst a myriad of other re-mixers and producers who've popped up here and there.

Star Slinger's particular contribution (prolific, considering how recently he's popped onto the scene in less than a year), is whimsical, full of pop melodies and wistful lyric samples. The production is lush and warm, drawing on influences from the obvious like hip-hop to disco, Balearic and house, and classic soul and funk joints. He samples Pass The Dutchie, tongue firmly in cheek. The beats are inventive and tight, the songs shorter than I'd like, but then I've always been a fan of 10 minute techno epics and such. You're going to want to listen on a good set of speakers or some mad headphones because it's here that the true brilliance of Williams' composition comes out. Mornin' shimmers and hums with layers of warm and bright synths and samples. Bumpkin is a euphoric festival banger. For some reason I'm constantly reminded of the album Subiza by Delorean. This is summer music, deckchair music.

Without further ado then, here's quite a bit of Star Slinger's recent output.

Star Slinger - Volume One LP (2010) [.zip /// MF]

Star Slinger - May I Walk With You? [.mp3 /// MF]

Star Slinger - Slow N' Wet [.mp3 /// MF]

Star Slinger - Rogue Cho Pa EP (2011) [.zip /// MF]

Star Slinger - Remixes (2010) [.zip /// MF]

Moving right along...

Ever since getting signed to the Stones Throw record label after introducing himself to label head Peanut Butter Wolf whilst at a DJ gig in full prom attire with his date, James Pants' star has been rising. His is an alphabet-soup of beats; 80's, early rap, funk, soul, all stitched together in the most evil and sinister and amazing of ways. It's instrumental hip hop one minute, leaning way towards Ariel Pink the next, all wobble and bass after that.  

Seven Seals is a beautiful and densely packed album of strange percussion, soft and yet sometimes harsh synth elements and fuzzed out stoner melodies. I'm at a loss as to how to describe the album without going into a blow by blow description of every minute of every track, because it changes so rapidly and radically. Dark and brooding one second, light and airy the next; the album is full of contradictions. Somehow pop, somehow absurd. New wave and old soul sit comfortably side by side with hip-hop. James describes the sound as that of ''really cheap equipment, listening to a lot of records, and goofing off'' - clearly, he doesn't take himself too seriously. He exists somewhere in the nether regions of this whole newweird-America movement of music as someone who would pair thundering orchestral floor toms and a sinister, Nick-Cave-esque drawl of a voice with a rubbery, synthetic bass, and have it come off.

This is one weird dude - suss his blog here and check out the stuff of his I've been tripping to lately. And yeah, I know this shit is old. So's your mum.

James Pants - Seven Seals (2009) [.zip /// MF]

James Pants - Welcome (2008) [.zip /// MF]

James Pants - Kash (Trizzy & Xxxchange Remix) [.mp3 /// MF]

Architeq - Sleeping Bear Lament (James Pants Remix) [.mp3 /// MF]

Moving away from instrumental hip hop and unclassifiable genre-bending stuff for a second...

Inch-Time is a straight up electronica producer much more in the tradition of Caribou or Four Tet than in the vein of the previous two producers featured here. Soft kicks and beautiful, warm feathery synths permeate the sound, which ambles along, somnolent and circular. Looping elements are strongly featured here and he has a keen ear for cold, vacant melodies, mostly played on electric keyboards of various tone and timbre and informed by jazz, world and the eclectic modern electronic sound. This is cold-wave at it's most accessible but also its most modern sound in years.

I thought for Inch-Time I'd do something interesting, I'll be posting the original Floating World album, released November last year, side by side with the new Floating World Remixes album, featuring some really cool re-works which really push the boundaries of what can be done sonically with this shit. Remixes from Tunng, Benge and Lord Jim, amongst others. It's always fun to listen to two albums side by side and check out the ways different producers approached the tracks; so enjoy.

Inch-Time - The Floating World (2010) [.rar /// MF]
password is nodata.tv

Inch-Time - The Floating World Remixes (2011) [.zip /// MF] 

I don't know much about Hudson Mohawke save that he has an awesome name and produces awesome music, of the extremely weird variety. enjoy.

Hudson Mohawke - Butter (2009) [.rar /// MF]

Hudson Mohawke - Hudson's Heeters (mixtape, 2006) [.rar /// MF]

Hudson Mohawke - Polyfolk Dance EP (2009) [.zip /// MF]

Last one now; if you haven't already got more than enough to keep you occupied/amazed for the next few weeks then you're an insatiable music addict and I can't help you. Architeq is a British producer of dub heavy, big-beat instrumental hip-hop psychedelia, and that's as succinctly and shortly as I can put it. If you like your dub, then consider this music dub's weird uncle. That shows up at Christmas drunk and wearing odd socks. On his hands.

Architeq - Into The Cosmos EP (2010) [.rar /// MF]

Architeq - Birds Of Prey EP (2010) [.rar /// MF]

Architeq - Birds Of Prey Remix EP (2010) [.rar /// MF]


That just about wraps it up for my electronica megapost; it's a broad and extremely fulfilling genre to explore - I'll be back for more in a bit but for now I'm going to rest my ears and my fingers on some more easy listening.

later,

CUT COPY - ZONOSCOPE [2011]

big last 10 days for Fingers Crossed; Big Troubles' new album, leaked debut from Discodeine more than a month before it was due and now, an extra special treat for you. no more bullshit from me, this album's been hyped more than healthy (deservedly, i think), i've already posted a remix to whet your appetite. all i'll say is I find it less poppy than In Ghost Colours and Cut Copy have certainly matured in the intervening years. Dig it.

Cut Copy - Zonoscope (2011)  [.zip /// MF]

edit: link taken down, lucky if ya got it, sorry if ya didn't

later,

DISCODEINE - DISCODEINE [2011]

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It was supposed to be released on the 25th of February but yet again an album I've been looking forward to for months has leaked more than a month early. This is good news for you. And I. Discodeine's debut effort, after teasingly releasing a few singles and EP's over the last year or so, is good. Very good. It's disco flavoured as you might expect, with tribal elements and not a little bit of eccentricity. Sometimes scaling the depths to very deep and dark levels, Pilooski and Pentile have shown yet again that they're not your average bears.

Expect more dance flavoured stuff in the next few days as I work through a backlog of stuff from instrumental hip-hop to straight-up new-rave.

Discodeine - Discodeine (2011) [.zip /// MF]

Aaaand here's a link to the other Discodeine post I did a few weeks back with the Singular EP (ft. Matias Aguayo).

later,

BIG TROUBLES - WORRY [2011]

awesome new album from Big Troubles, a band featured a few months ago right here with a track called Freudian Slips. here's the new album in full, a blissful, fuzzed out pop record from the New Jersey boys. one of the best lo-fi albums of the year bar none.

Big Troubles - Worry (2010) [.rar /// MF]

later,

DISCODEINE

pilooski and pentile, and jarvis fucking cocker so you know it's good. full album drops feb 25th, expect it here.

Discodeine - Synchronise (ft. Jarvis Cocker) [.mp3 /// MF]

Discodeine - Singular EP (ft. Matias Aguayo) [.rar /// HF]


[edit: 50th Post!!]


later,

HOLY OTHER - WE OVER/YR LOVE 7'' EP [2010]

This is the latest EP from Londoner via Berlin ambient artist Holy Other, hopefully it blows your mind as much as it did mine. it's dark and lush ambient dance music, deep bass and thudding kicks. the vocal samples are twisted and affected to almost obscurity. epitomizing everything i love about electronic music.

[edit: people have been asking for the password to the 7'', I've forgotten it. So I've re-uploaded a password-free .zip version. Enjoy!]

Holy Other - We Over/Yr Love 7'' [.zip /// MF]

an older track, Blissters is darker and colder than the aforementioned EP but still has beautiful buzzing synths and crisp reverb delays; this is by no means a sparse sound.

Holy Other - Blissters [mp3 //// MF]

later,