A new transmission from the nuclear wastelands. Is anybody receiving me?

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Post apocalyptic hits from Apiento, Peaking Lights, Roberto Auser, Innergaze, Pas De Deux, Ike Yard, The Fallout Club and many more..

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Today we kick off the week with a mix by a name that is probably pretty new to most of you: Jay Simon from Washington DC. I had the pleasure of meeting Jay earlier this year when he came up to Pittsburgh when Omar-S played here in January. I could tell that he knew what was up, and now he is proving it with his first release on vinyl! Kyle Hall’s Wild Oats label is dropping Jay’s track “Faith”, which is a funky low slung house jam featuring vocals borrowed from the r&b singer of that same name (which is included on his mix of course!), on limited edition 7″. Pretty heavy stuff for a debut record!

We did a little email interview with Jay to go along with the mix. As you will see, he rolls exactly how we like here at infinitestatemachine…

ISM: How did you originally get into deejaying? Production?

JS: I had always been into “beats” (more from a hip-hop perspective) for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t really get introduced to underground hip hop & electronic dance music stuff till I was about 14 or so. Once I figured out that there were entire genres that catered to the sounds I liked I was hooked. I couldn’t stop looking for new music & sounds…I’m still like that. So along the way I amassed a good collection of music, and really took an effort to educate myself on the roots of it, from there I realized other people I really respected (DJs and producers) had similar taste as me, so I decided to share my perspective of it. As far as production again from a young age I realized I really wanted to do it, but I always felt like I never could because I had no musical education, but recently I’m just trying to experiment and do things for myself, if other people like it that’s great too, but I’m really not trying to make stuff for other people specifically.

ISM: I know you’re a younger cat in this scene, are lots of your friends your age into this music?

JS: Definitely not, haha. Although with the internet there are more and more young kids really schooling themselves at a young age. Especially because you can basically make music with just a laptop now, and websites like discogs allow kids to know and hear almost everything an artist has done with just a few clicks on youtube or whatever. But even now nearly all of the “music people” I hang out with and regularly converse with online are an average of 5-10 years older than me. There are a few exceptions though…Kyle Hall obviously, Jay Daniel, SlikTimm, Floating Points, Funkineven and, Space Dimension Controller to name a few.

ISM: What is the dance music scene like in DC? Who are your partners in crime?

JS: The Future Times guys are definitely my closest friends in D.C. Dance music wise they are the only crew consistently pushing things forward while still having knowledge and respect of the past. I don’t really have any “partners in crime” musically, I’m just on my solo dolo as far as that’s concerned. Most parties here are dominated by your typical RA type stuff, most party goers’ & promoters’ knowledge doesn’t really run too much deeper than that. So you get a lot of bullshit hipster post-minimal faux “deep” house stuff which I hate, so I don’t really go to non Future Times related events much at all.

ISM: How would you describe your deejaying style?

JS: The style of no style I guess…I really love a lot of different types of music and really try to incorporate as much as possible, which is usually difficult/basically impossible to do in a 90 minute set… I prefer to play all night if that’s possible. Because of that, you might catch me playing completely different stuff from party to party or mix to mix…to me it’s all the same shit, music that hits me physically and emotionally, I’m not too caught up on sticking to one thing these days at all.

ISM: Does it affect the way you approach making tunes?

JS: Yes and no. I think unconsciously it definitely does, but it just comes out of my own taste I guess. I just try to make what I like to hear, not necessarily something specifically for DJing. A lot of my favorite stuff isn’t so DJ conscious from a production or arrangement point of view, in that sense I see it as a challenge to work it into my own sets, and I like to challenge myself.

ISM: How do you work you love for hip-hop and broken beat, two non 4 on the floor musics, into what you do?

JS: It’s definitely a challenge, but my favorite DJs are the ones who don’t just stick to the modern idea of one genre or style, and I try to approach things that way too. I tend to gravitate more towards warm sounds & groove oriented music… which can be anything from post-punk to techno. Recently more than ever I’m really trying to take my selections to the next level and show people a broader picture of where I come from, not only as a DJ but as a person.

ISM: How did you get hooked up with Kyle Hall?

JS: We originally started talking on Facebook a few years ago, I was into his music and knew he was a young dude with ears beyond his years (haha) so we initially connected on that. From there we started sharing tunes, and a lot of the stuff I was very into at the time (broken beat mainly) was mostly new to him. I knew from his music he was attracted to more abstract rhythms and had a respect for musicality, so the broken beat stuff was like a natural fit. A few months after we met online, he played his first show in D.C. and we met in person for the first time. After that we just kept in touch.

The record came about just from me randomly showing him some of the stuff I did on Soundcloud, and he happened to be into a lot of it. I was never planning on putting that “Faith” track out, I just did it for my own DJ sets mainly, but he was really excited about it and wanted to release it.

ISM: You’re also starting your own label soon, right?

JS: Yeah…it’s called Must Have Records. The first release is a relatively under the radar Finnish producer named Saine. He mostly does hip hop & downtempo/jazz type stuff, but on his albums (he’s already released 2 full LPs) he would have 1 or 2 killer house jams. I contacted him on Soundcloud and he was down to do his first “dance music” oriented EP for Must Have. Stylistically its pretty unique, I call it “modern deep”, it’s definitely not your typical house record. It’s coming on vinyl before the end of the year…test presses sound excellent. The second release is going to be from a friend of mine named Julien Love, I included one of his unreleased tracks on the mix. His music has been heavily sought after by heads in the know for some time now, so its a real pleasure to be able to release some of it. 2012 will be a big year for Must Have Records so stay tuned…

ISM: Do you feel like you’re part of a bigger movement right now coming out of the US?

JS: I never really thought about it that way, but maybe? I’m just trying to do things with knowledge and respect of the founders of this dance music thing, while at the same time putting my own spin on it…anyone trying to do that I fuck with.

———–

Jay’s mix entitled “Swag Swag Woop Swag” can be downloaded HERE.

Tracklist:

1. Slum Village – Forth & Back Ft. Kurupt (Remix) [Ne'Astra]
2. The Shake Up Connection – Let’s Dance [Amplified]
3. Jay Simon – Faith [Wild Oats]
4. The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds (Cumulonimbus Mix) [Polygram]
5. Rondenion – The Beautiful Memory [Aesthetic Audio]
6. Hunee – Amiadar [Retreat]
7. Trio Zero – Twilight [Capitol]
8. James Mason – Nightgruv [Mighty Fine]
9. Julien Love – Touch [CDR]
10. Steve Arrington – Dancin’ In The Key of Life [Atlantic]
11. Burrell – I Really Like [Virgin]
12. E.S.P. – It’s You [Underground]
13. Theo Parrish & Marcellus Pittman – Night of the Sagittarius [Sound Signature]

You should also check Jay out on his Soundcloud page as well as his Podomatic page.

P.S. BOOTY

It’s been a while since Mr Rosa has graced our site with one of his deejay mixes and since that offering last Autumn he has, of course, released his 2nd album, Amanatto, to much (deserved) acclaim and fawning. Leo is not one to continue to mine the same path over and over be it with his productions or his dj mixes so this time around he delves into the world of techno, electro and bass music, showing that he can turn his skills to this bizness as much as anything. Have a gander…

tvo afanc – 2562 refix

Shed – Sweep Dreams

Dmz – Anti-War Dub

Psyan – The Norm

Om Unit – Prawn Cocktail

Tessela – Subway

Rustie – Jagz The Smack

Soul Oddity – Rhythm Box

Bitstream – The Bionic Hands of Dj Daddy Longlegs pt1

Anstam – Cree

Dmz – Walkin’ with Jah

Shed – The Lower Upside Down – Surgeon Remix

Jay O – Knock Knock

Ben Klock – Similarity

Instra:mental – Pyramid

Daphne 004 AA

Cosmin Trg – De Dans

EOG – Cim Shift

Bitstream – Anno Domini

Anstam – Brom

Download Here

Hey folks, just a quick heads up for anyone around Dublin on Saturday. Detroit techno legend and ISM favourite Anthony “Shake” Shakir is in town. Support comes from ISM’s Kenny Hanlon and Pogo resident Barry Redsetta. Proper!

There’s a short interview with the man over on mntothat
http://mntothat.com/shake-interview/

And here’s a mix I made of all Shake tracks a while back to get y’all in the mood.

I thought I would try and put out a record review as there are quite a lot of new records out there getting me a bit excited at the moment. It’s a little hard to know where to start as there are so many coming out at the moment that I’m into.

I came across Innergaze last year with the LP ‘We are strange loops’ on Touch Your Life Records. This album was ticking a lot of boxes for me, it had a kind of raw, lo-fi, recorded on a cassette kind of sound, some great synth work and beats, a bit experimental but in a way that you still want to dance to it, a bit like it was made for an early 80s sci-fi or zombie movie.

The group is made up of video artist Aurora Halal and Jason Letkiewicz who’s put a few well received records out in his own right under the guise of Steve Summers.

The pair’s new ‘Shadow Disco’ 12″ release on 100% Silk is really hitting the spot for me. It keeps the raw edge of the album but comes with a bit more of a polished disco tone added onto spaced sci-fi electro sound. The title track is a real winner for the dancefloor, a great groove from the live sounding drums and bass and the lead synth line is just perfect. You’ve also got a couple of smacked-out slow jams and a more uptempo percussive disco track on there. My pick is the deeper cut on the b-side ‘What’s Your Body Doing Tonight?’ with its low slung synth bass line and wonderful synthesised atmospherics, vocals sounding like a classic Baldelli wrong-speeder.

Following on from Tom, I’m gonna try and break off smaller, more frequent reviews instead of compiling lengthy posts that take forever to do. While in theory this will mean I’ll be a little bit fresher with the material, not so in this case. Ah well.

Optic Nerve – 3 Dimensional Ep (Diametric)

I got a heads up to this record a while back but I only got around to picking up a copy of it today, hence the lateness – it came out during the summer. Either way, it demands some attention, even now. Optic Nerve is one of the aliases of Keith Tucker and on this release he delivers some super deep electro/techno. It kicks off at breakneck pace with Virtual Depth Perception (Vocal) that even at -8 I’d probably struggle to fit in to a set, but it’s a pretty solid, if not groundbreaking piece of deep Detroit electro the likes of which Tucker has touched on many times before. For me the release steps up a gear with the following Illusionist Theme which goes a little bit deeper. Great pitch bending synths lead the way over a classic 313 pad pattern before some loose snare work outs shake  up the backbone of the track, turning it into a spine-tingling break beat motherfucker of  a track. I can’t wait to play this one out!

Retina Display Scan keeps up the futuristic sci-fi feel of the flip but again goes deeper still, taking a more abstract route through the type of electro Gerard Hanson delivers with his ERP alias, keeping it on a beatless tip for the most part, with Tucker infusing it with his own style at all times. He teases us at the very end with a rubberband bassline and sturdy kick, which comes to an end far too soon. The ep is rounded of with a few tiny snippets of loops that could be used to nice effect in a set if they weren’t so short. In a way the b-side is slightly frustrating in terms of how much you could use them when playing out but the A2 especially is just so good, I’ll forgive him for this.

Floorplan – Sanctified Ep

Rob Hood’s latest ep under his disco/house inspired Floorplan moniker is a 12 that has gotten a lot of coverage elsewhere in the last couple of months but I thought I’d give it a shout out too. While the B-side delivers some excellent straight up Hood action – especially the rush-inducing Baby, Baby, which reminds me quite a bit of the storming School cut from his Hood Music series a few years back – it’s We Sanctify His Name on the A that I find the most intriguing. Musically it’s a belter of a track and one sure to ignite some full on dancefloor nuttiness, but I’m interested to hear what readers have to say about the lyrical content of the song. Hood is, of course, one of the most outspoken religious peeps in the techno fraternity and while he often talks about the influence God plays in all aspects of his music this is his most blatant statement yet, within an actual cut.

The question is, do people feel uncomfortable playing a record that is an obvious religious statement? I don’t think you are gonna find many Djs with such a religious devotion as Hood who feel like this record is “speaking” for them. I put it to Twitter folk when the record came out and some admitted that they’d feel uncomfortable playing it. This also reminded me of another Twitter discussion from months ago where myself and Tom clogged up everyones feed argueing about how; as a Dj, can we play certain songs due to their lyrical content, be it religious pieces like this, overtly gay songs written for that crowd or songs with a heavily racial bent? Should they be played to Secular/Straight crowds etc, or do we even bother taking any of this into account and just worry about how much they get the floor moving…and do the dancers out there care at all?

I’ve turned a corner in my life, I’m no longer manically busy with shit, and no longer feeling bogged down by the man. I’m going to be posting regularly again and getting back into the groove after whats been a long hiatus.

For the last year or so I’ve been pretty busy with working, making music and playing some live gigs around the place. Recently, my brother and I played three dates over in Ireland including Lunar Disko, of which the lads there recorded the night. There’s an hours live set of my own shit and two and half hours of solid mixing from my bro, who manages to sift through all sorts of house, disco, italo, electro and what not.

As Infinitestatemachine’s ‘low-tempo agent in the field’ I feel it’s my duty to step back up and throw some low tempo shit into the mix. I’ll be doing some reviews soon on  new material from Brian Eno, Plague Recordings and Fax and for the first time in a long while, a new ambient mix.

But for now, here’s the recordings of the Lunar Disko party from last weekend.

Meschi [Lunar Disko Records] – Live at Lunar Disko 23.09.11

The Textbook Lover’s Two and a Half Hours Mix at Lunar Disko 23/09/11

The VIA festival was a really good time last year in its initial incarnation. Pittsburgh was clearly ready for something big, and people responded to many different types of music and visual art combined over the course of the festival. The monthly events the VIA folks have done since then (including Omar-S and many more) have really helped build up the energy in the city, along with some of the other stalwart promoters in the city stepping up their games.

This year, the festival is going to be even crazier. Featuring ISM-relevent acts such as Underground Resistance live as Interstellar Fugitives, Blondes, Protect-U, Donato Dozzy, Tim Sweeney, East Liberty Quarters, Dam-Funk, and more, there honestly isn’t even anything in Pittsburgh’s history that can compare to this.

It’s crazy to think about UR playing live in my city. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them twice before, both times in Detroit, in 2004 and 2005. Each was amongst the best live electronic music shows I’ve ever seen. They rarely play live anywhere, much less in the US, so this should be an insanely special night.

It also makes me happy to see Blondes and Protect-U return, as their first appearances here at the Altered States party I do with my man Matt McDermott were amongst the wildest things I’ve seen go down here, in a tiny house party setting no less. Seeing these guys kill it on a biggest stage should be really sweet! Also, the sick video artist Aurora Halal (whom you might recognize from doing videos for Beautiful Swimmers and more) will be doing projections during both of their sets.

In a departure from the one location with many rooms approach of last year, this year a decentralized approach is being taken, with parties taking place in various locations spread across the east end of town. Some parties will be 18+, some end early, some go till very late.

While the bulk of the festivities go down from next Thursday October 6 thru Saturday October 8th, the Sunday after that (October 16th) will be a special one. The Wrap Party for VIA takes place at Shadow Lounge in East Liberty and it features Dam-Funk headlining with support by Smooth Tutors as well as debut live performances by my homies East Liberty Quarters and my group Pittsburgh Track Authority! We’ve been working and practicing to bring the tunes we’ve crafted in the studio to life in an interesting and interactive way, and I’m really looking forward to being able to bang it out!

So this promises to be a very special couple weeks for me in many ways. I will report back on how things go, but if you’re in the region, this is certainly one of the best opportunities you’ll have to check out the kind of things we’re doing here in Pittsburgh. We’ve been working hard at building shit up for a long, long time, and seeing shit like this go down makes it all worthwhile! See you on the dancefloor!

I’ve put some of the classic mixes I’ve accumulated over the years in an archive on my site. There’s some classic US disco, Italian afro/cosmic disco & some Belgian new beat so far. There’s plenty more on various hard drives so it will grow a bit over the coming months.

Discomix

The brilliant new Regis single I mentioned in my last records post got me in a techno mood of late so I went digging through the shelves to come up with this latest mix. There are a few new tracks in there but in general I don’t find a lot of new techno of the more abrasive style to be worth buying, too much of it tends to be too drab and sludgy for me (Berlin white label imprints, I’m looking straight at you) – techno needs to be played with a bit of pace. Even though I had to do 2 attempts at this after an idiotic technical fault of my own, I really enjoyed making this one; after all, techno was where I started out.

T/L

Scuba – Poppies (Substance Dub Version)
Substance and Vainqeuer – Immersion
Basic Channel – Octaedre
Oscar Mulero – Ceres
Nick Wilson – A2
Robert Hood – Chase
Robert Hood – Satellite
Floorplan – Baby, Baby
Dj Funk – Fuk-U-Later (69 Mix)
Bam Bam – Where’s Your Child
China/L.I.A.M. – Do You Love Me
Claude Young – Chance 1
X-102 – Ground Zero (The Planet)
The Vision – Perpetual Motion
Chris McCormack – Saturation Point
Regis – Blood Witness
Instra:mental – Delta Zone (Advanced)
Lightman – Friend or Foe?
The Blunted Boy Wonder – On Point
James Ruskin – Work (Steve Rachmad Remix)
James Ruskin – Take Control (Surgeon Remake)
Surgeon – Radiance
Drexciya – Mission to Ociya Syndor And Back
Model 500 – Outer Space
Alexander Kowalski – Emtec (British Murder Boys Deconstruction)
Oneohtrix Point Never – Nil Amirari

Download here