Hi, I’m Angus and welcome to the first instalment of ‘All Gus No Fuss’, my monthly contribution to Mantissa where I peruse some of the latest electronic releases which have especially piqued my interest. In future instalments, I will also present my views on some wider issues surrounding the underground electronic music industry which so many artists and listeners encounter daily. Thanks to James and Tom for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this project for forward thinking music. 

Adam Pits – International Wafter – Costal Haze

Adam Pits is one of a handful of really impressive producers to emerge from the beautiful chasm that is Desert Sound Colony’s Holding Hands. Together with Lisene, Pits produced an exceptional record last year. The self-titled E.P Space Cadets was my first introduction to Pits, and blew me away. Combine this release on Seven Hills with two records on Holding Hands as well as a feature on German Outfit ‘Wex’; Pits already has an impressive catalogue of releases. So far, much of his music has been broken and bouncy, exciting and experimental.

His new release on Costal Haze shows a new side to Pits maybe not heard before. Any preconceptions of Pit’s production’s being aimed at peak time club focused tracks are quite subtly subverted.

Title track ‘International Wafter’ will be heard by most as the biggest tune, Pit’s relationship with Holding Hands has resulted in constant support from Desert Sound Colony. I particularly remember this going off in the early hours, room 2, Corsica Studios. Blends of deep, acid and spacey house throughout continuing to develop Adam Pit’s extraterrestrial reputation.

‘Push Around’ cements the record as one conveying some real emotion, continuing with a spacey sound and buried bass-line. I enjoy tracks that can bring real energy with a 4×4 beat, and also break down into a space potentially making a less enthused listener less comfortable and an interested one fascinate, only to eventually bring back in a confident, clear and pumping bass-line.

‘Motion Sensor’ is the most classical Pits sounding tune, a lot faster than the first two tracks, almost touching on the side of trance . The whole record feels simple and vastly complex, a combination young Pits seems to have mastered in his short and sweet career.

Concluded with ‘Magenta’, vibrant and even more minimalistic. This is a tune destined for those 6am euphoric moments. Twangy synths and lo-fi kicks galore, once more this song is packed with emotion and feeling, leaving me wanting more.

This is a beautiful record, not one I predicted to describe as beautiful. Pit’s is not the only component of this record who is developing quite the reputation. Seb Wildblood’s label Costal Haze has released some genuinely magical house music, and maybe I should have expected that this record would be as charming and elegant as it is.

Adam Pits with International Wafter has shown he is capable of far more than just breaks and big beats. That his music can find that perfect balance of suiting a club, but just as easily gracing your earphones.

https://coastalhaze.bandcamp.com/album/international-wafter

Alec Falconer – Art of Dark 005

Despite the immense disappointment of Houghton’s cancellation, many of those planning to attend had a juxtaposing blinder of a weekend. Irrespective of the potential downpour, I ended up in the depths of Norfolk, having my mind blown at Barnarellas. After this somewhat mini festival, organised by Tom Burton, Lukas Wigflex and Adam Curtain, I emerged battered and bruised, with a beamy smile across my face. One of the many memorably mysterious songs to emerge from a hazy couple of days was Alec Falconer’s Boaty Banger.

Almost seven months later, Falconer debuts on Art of Dark. Featuring what has to be one of the most notable and groovy garage tracks in recent memory. Falconers previous work with the alias Phone Traxx is immediately recognisable amongst the breaks and grooves. The title track features little to no build up with a long and muffled breakdown, not to its hinderance. I can safely say Boaty Banger is guaranteed to put a smile on your face regardless of one’s love for seafaring adventures.

Like so many of my favourite records, its most notable numbers are arguably not the ones with the most notoriety. The EP features two other fun and bubbly tunes. FFFF’s wobbly bassline and party ready vocal are guaranteed to move any dancefloor.

The B side’s Heck of a Neck perfectly blends Falconer’s robotic sounding garage with deep and slight acidy house elements. Resulting in my favourite track of the E.P. Climaxing with a wiggly, scratchy and thumping drop.

The final feature of this record is the most reflective. Yet superbly compliments what is a fast and fun collection with an extraterrestrial garage classic.

The fifth entry from the London Based collective is an excellent and exciting blend of modern and aged garage elements, compiled by one of the most technical and interesting producers out there.

https://www.juno.co.uk/products/alec-falconer-the-boat-ep-reissue/761842-01/

Skin on Skin – Get Some Understanding – Stay on Sight 001

The Australian born London based label Steel City Dance Discs is close to my heart, I have followed their releases closely and consistency. Skin on Skin’s release last year was one of the labels most anticipated, head honcho Mall Grab playing it at almost every captured opportunity, creating a climactic sense of hype and excitement about the record, potentially to its detriment. I am a fan of every release on this label, but for whatever reason ‘Multiply’ just never stuck with me in the same way other releases on the label have. This is nothing to question the quality or skill on show by Skin on Skin, potentially more of the dangers surrounding placing so much significance and excitement on a record prior to its release.

Despite this, I can comfortably say that Skin on Skin’s latest E.P. on his very own label, “Get Some Understanding” I wasn’t even aware of until it was released and am utterly transfixed by. The record releases on his new label, Stay on Sight.

The 4 track E.P. takes many of the drexicyan and dystopian influences of his previous SCDD record, blending them with fresh and new ideas to create a very different overall feel. The title track is loopy, drums pounding, and yet never feels repetitive, jumping from chord to chord with a harsh yet fun tone.

‘Opps on Tha Block’ continues the loopy, harsh yet somehow jolly feel. This record does not really touch on many explicit, elements of electro, and yet I can’t help but feeling the record feels heavily influenced by the motor city and its founding fathers, this track in particular. The track splits off from a straight clean bass-line in its second half, and combined with the motorised vocal and spooky synth I’m hooked.

Not only do I feel elements of this release are Drexicyan influenced, but also heavily influenced by Skin on Skins close friend; Mall Grab. The snares, kicks and title of ;’I Understand BS Fluently But I Can’t Speak It’ are familiar to fans of Jordon Alexander, and for me that is wholly a positive thing.

Be Calm features Guardian tipped “One to Watch” Willaris K. Like so many of his Aussie counterparts, Willaris K’s music is raw and uncompromising; “His sound is more reminiscent of the early days of dance, when producers operated by fewer rules and the primitive tech meant there wasn’t a great distance between techno, ambient and progressive house.” This is a beautiful, trance filled slammer. Showing that both the producers involved have a huge amount to offer the scene besides thumping house or primitive tech.

This record took me by surprise. It is such a great shame the current climate of dance music means I probably will not hear these tracks in their appropriate setting for a little while. However, I have no doubt that when they are, they will move the dance floor, not only through pumping baselines and ghetto vocals, but sad boi synths and long, romantic build ups.

https://skin0nskin.bandcamp.com/album/get-some-understanding

Post Bar – Long Distance Relationship

In March Bandcamp waived its fees for one crazy, stressful and wonderful day, designed to put money into the pockets of artists most hit by the financial impacts of the Corona Virus. This saw hundreds of musicians release previously unheard, unreleased and new music. Over 4 million dollars were raised, all of that hopefully finding a way to support and spur on some of our most talented artists in this uncertain time.

My favourite purchase was ‘Long Distance Relationship’. A compilation by the Helsinki club, bar and venue; Post Bar. The 14 song journey is comprised by tracks from; ‘Post Bar residents and frequent guests’. The clubs outstanding credibility immediately drew excitement out of me and features from D.Tiffany, Roza Terenzi and EMMA DJ enticed me even further.

Despite having a relatively quiet online presence, Post Bar has developed an exceedingly strong reputation, and is a nightclub I am sure to try and visit later in the year, (travel permitting). The compilation is littered with brilliance from a beautifully curated collection of upcoming and established electronic musicians.

Katarina Andonov opens with eerie, enchanted ambience, whose melody would suit perfectly a magical movie about a graduate of Hogwarts. Katarina also features on the five year Rhythm Section celebration release, worth checking out.  Djrubio’s ‘Nausoleum’ swaps the spells for guitars. These are two of Finlands finest underground artists at the moment and this opening to the compilation gives you a real taste of the flavours they are capable of.

I love Roza Terenzi, and her contribution to this compilation swaps her usual throbbing baseline for a broken and dynamic electro track. ‘Fusion’ builds beautifully and would be a perfect addition to any DJ’s warmup playlist.

The French influence in this compilation is as expected light and dramatic. Toma Kami instils a real natural and ambient mood with his track ‘Not Listening’. EMMA DJ brings the chug with his first of two additions to the compilation; ’SYNC’.

Brooklyn based Beta Librae’s track ‘Urge Suffering’ feels abstract, distorted and beautifully crunchy.

‘Going Postal’ is the first track of the compilation you feel destined for a dance-floor, awesomely elegant electro from mysterious T-Signal.

This compilation beautifully showcases some of the finest talent involved with Post Bar, and further supports the argument that as a community we must do more to nurture and support local talent.

Helsinki bloomer Sansibar was responsible for one of the biggest ghetto, electro songs of 2019; ‘Used to Live In Detroit’ brought my attention along with many others too Sainsibar. He brings a really different almost computerised feel with his addition to the compilation ‘Geldwelt’, I loved this track despite its reasonably short length, more next time Sansibar!

When you talk about the most exciting places in Europe for electronic music, most would think London, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Berlin. After listening to this compilation and doing some further digging, we really should all take a long hard look at what’s going on in Helsinki. Along with Post Bar there are a number of really interesting looking festivals happening in the region, those include Flow Festival, Solstice Festival and Visio Festival.

Nikolajev’s ‘Inklamento’ is elegant and equally awesome. Chugging to its peak with an almost Middle Eastern vibe.

Another underground underdog, Canada has exported some fine talent over to European clubs in the last few years. Potentially most important of which D.Tiffany, whose track ‘cbd303’ is a beautifully acidic trance journey. Perfect for those moments when things return to normal and dance floors are going berserk once more.

This compilation perfectly represents the small nightclub, and really smoothly raises awareness for Post Bar. In this challenging time, hopefully it also raises some much needed financial support for this special little venue.

https://postbar.bandcamp.com/releases

https://mesenaatti.me/1617/korona-aid-pelasta-post-bar/?fbclid=IwAR0t9tv6eDCmMR1vWEHJvp6ZVxDcx2JYcD0oeoiro8TuaYonuJ2eMRheric

Four Tet – Sixteen Ocean’s

I was first exposed to the magic of Kieran Hebden at Best Kept Secret Festival. It was Saturday night, about 10pm and me and my friends had settled wonderfully into the lakeside retreat near Hilvarenbeek. Having never heard Four Tet’s music before I was quite frankly left feeling utterly bewildered and speechless. Which those who know me well is a pretty rare occurrence. Dance music is often so big and brass. With thousands of lights on stage and a boring, dull repetitive beat to match the drones of ‘fans’ standing there filming and not dancing. In this tent, on this specific evening there was one light, a lamp. The simplicity of the production was so essential to match and compliment the ludicrously complicated music being created. It was a night that I will never forget.

There’s a collection of artists who regardless of my current listening habits are always floating around my ears and playlists. Four Tet is one of those artists and is someone who I think will always remain close to my heart. New Energy touched me in a way few albums have, and when Four Tet’s new album Sixteen Oceans was announced I was excited but also a little apprehensive. How would Four Tet manage to top or build upon in my eyes what was a near faultless album? Since New Energy; Four Tet has released two records “Only Human” has sent festival crowds wild, and his collaboration with Anna Liber Lewis was simply stunning.

Three years has felt like a lifetime and any nerves I had as to whether the album would live up to my expectations were eventually extinguished on release day. From the outset this album feels dance focused, there are some ambient and eclectic songs here, particularly in the later half, but the majority feel club ready and this for me personally is amazing. Four Tet’s music can often be categorised into the dance tunes, the experimental Fridge type stuff and the pure ambient, afters tracks. There are sprinkles of experimental and ambience here, but ‘School’ sets the tone with fun, minimal and house elements. 

The collaboration with Ellie Goulding; ‘Baby’ is truly Four Tet at his very, very best. Ellie Goulding and her voice aren’t celebrated by all, especially by those pop purists who won’t listen to anything that appears within a shoulder width of any chart. I however appreciate some of her music and feel this collaboration works wonderfully for both parties. Four Tet has magically chopped up her vocal and combined it into a deep house tune, breaking down into a beautiful, eclectic space. Only two songs in but I already love this record. There is a joyous familiarity to it, having never heard it before I feel like I have heard it a million times.

‘Harpsichord’ ditches the dance for ambience. Like any Four Tet harmony, I am amazed at the sounds he is able to not only create but compose in such an organised array of chaos. This phenomena becomes even more fascinating when you realise all he used to make the entire album, (like his last), was Ableton plus one tiny midi keyboard.

“Teenage Birdsong” was the first of two singles from the album, which I remember blissfully echoing through Alexandra Palace. What at first, I thought was a fan made video of two girls going to this show, is in fact the ‘official’ music video and definitely worth a watch. Hebden stated in his latest interview with Tiga that he would rather play a DJ set to a young, excited and inexperienced crowd as opposed to a more experienced audience that had been to hundreds of raves before.  Potentially explaining his attempts to capture the journey of these girls not only in the video for “Teenage Birdsong” but also for “Baby”.

For those fans of Four Tet’s experimental side, ‘Romantics’ is the most interesting track of the album.

‘Love Salad’ echoes the minimal and fun elements that make ‘School’ such a great opener. The longer length of ‘Love Salad’ allows for the journey to be deeper and more defined than that of ‘School’. An honest and raw triumph, ‘Love Salad’ is nothing short of a joy to listen to.

‘Insect Near Piha Beach’ begins with a distorted and echoed kick, which quickly thuds into life. This seems to be the favourite of some of my friends, particularly highlighting its complexity amongst a collection of differing minimalistic tracks.

‘Something in the Sadness’ is that song from the album that I have had on repeat. Particularly poignant I feel for the current challenges the world faces. Four Tet tweeted when the album was released discussing the strange circumstances surrounding releasing an album at such a time, and that he hoped that putting this piece of music out into the world may provide some relief to those facing certain hardships.

This track perfectly epitomises the way I feel about the world right now and all its seemingly endless problems. Amongst all the dark and depressing things facing the human race, there is still a huge amount to be optimistic, excited and grateful for, music being one of the most useful and effective antidotes for those struggling.

Sandwiched between ‘Something In The Sadness’ and ‘Insect Near Piha Beach’ are two short interludes, further satisfying the needs of those Four Tet fans who appreciate his experimental side. “Hi Hello” and “ISTM”.

 The whole album feels heavily influenced by natural sounds. Whether that is the bubbles, the birds or even the silence, each element feels perfectly placed. The electronic elements of the record, when so beautifully combined with the vast array of natural sounds, make these electronic notes feel perfectly absolute. So much so that it becomes hard to recognise what is a sampled noise from Hebden’s back garden, and a simple electronic loop.

What at first feels like a dance-focused record, mellows out as it draws to a close, further elemental sounds bring ‘Green’ to life. The last six tracks are all amazingly ambient each in their own way.

Four Tet has received almost pop star levels of acclaim. He is known all across the globe for his wobbly baseline productions, goofily brilliant remixes and edits and his own genre that he has created and moulded over so many years. To have acclaimed so much commercial success and remained true to himself and his sound is such a beautiful, applaudable and commendable thing. I have no doubt he has been offered ridiculous fees to play large festivals and clubs, as well as to remix tracks of artists he just doesn’t appreciate. His persistence with what he knows and loves make him a genuine inspiration to any sized musician trying to spread their music far and wide. He is a shining example of why sticking to your own sound and style is so important. If he had succumbed to the pressures surrounding popular music in the world today, we wouldn’t be able to listen and appreciate such a ridiculously obscure and strange record.

 It is a great shame that the Corona virus outbreak has cancelled so many festivals, club nights and concerts. I’m sure in the coming months we would have heard some of the best DJ’s in the world start, end and build their sets with any number from this stunning album.  Maybe in that great shame, the true brilliance of Four Tet comes to the forefront. As we sit at home, at our desks, in our garden or on the sofa, bopping along to this record, it shows us so clearly that the music Kieran Hebden makes shines and sparkles, in these now strangely unfamiliar settings. We could be in a dark, dingy and delightful basement, or a sunlit, raucous festival, but we aren’t. I would love to be in the Norfolk broads hearing Floating Points play ‘Baby’ as the sun rises at Houghton, but listening to it sat in my bedroom as the world stands still feels pretty amazing. Only Four Tet would be able to make a dance focused and ambient record that is just as mesmerising in the discomfort of your own home as it will be in its rightful place of a dancefloor.

https://fourtet.bandcamp.com/album/sixteen-oceans