Smells like drum and bass?

Nonex

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" MP3
"The Saw" MP3

Five years ago in Madison I picked up a cd by an artist I had never heard of. The cover said, "Ethereal Drum 'N' Bass", which jumped out at me so I checked it out. I had no idea know what ethereal dnb meant, but it sounded like something I would like. Nonex consists of keyboardists/programmers El Topo and Volker Bertelmann, drummer/programmer Piid and vocalists La Trek and Sam Leigh Brown. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1999 by Shadow Records.

The album is darker than the majority of "atmospheric dnb" releases of the late '90's/ early '00's. Some of the tracks have a glitchy, IDM feel which at times resembles Squarepusher or Amon Tobin. I used the song "Something For Your Mind" on a downtempo DJ mix I made and I decided to put up two more for you to check out. I couldn't pass on their Nirvana cover with the female vocalist but I don't feel it is a good representation of what the LP is like so I chose two.

Phazz-A-Delic

De-Phazz- "Detunized Gravity" MP3

Jazzy, electronic, downtempo, trip hop....whatever you want to call it, De-Phazz is quality. German musician Pit Baumgartner is the center of De-Phazz and Pit has done it all. Started off Dj'ing, has done remixes for everyone from Kool & the Gang feat. Lauryn Hill, Boy George, Kurtis Blow, A-ha, to Ella Fitzgerald (Verve USA). He owns record labels including Phazz-A-Delic records and he has been releasing great music with De-Phazz for years. De-Phazz is a proper balance of live instruments, dubby production techniques, and always features great guest musicians. All of their albums are worth checking out and there also is a "best of" out.

Buy De-Phazz from eMusic

Words Like Weapons

So the members of the Orchard Lounge crew are very excited because we are booked to play at Camp Bisco which is a summer festival with many bands and DJ's. The stars of the show are a band that we have had many amazing experiences with, The Disco Biscuits, who will headline each night with their patented sound of techno-rock trance-fusion.

Here is the announcement

The band Brothers Past is also on the bill and they are not just a great band but are great people as well. I was lucky enough to be able to grace the decks in between their sets on NYE in Philly and they blew the roof off the sucka! Brothers Past has been touring relentlessly promoting their phenomenal new studio album, "This Feeling's Called Goodbye."


Brothers Past- "Words Like Weapons" MP3

I am completely blown away by what these guys can do in the studio. I am a sucker for a quality studio album because when you lock great musicians in a room with a bunch of toys and let them experiment you see what they are truly capable of. The album is not filled with long, noodly jams like some jamband albums. Instead it is packed with emotional lyrics and vocals, great melodies, and cool sounds. It is a very mature album and I think fans of many different styles of music, from indie rock to electronic, would find something they like.

Brothers Past's site says:

Some more information about This Feeling's Called Goodbye: It was produced and mixed by Jon Altschiller, who has worked with many great artists on numerous projects, including Lenny Kravitz (Live DVD), the Dave Matthews Band (Live at Red Rocks), Phish (Picture of Nectar and Rift), John Mayer (Any Given Thursday), Ben Folds Five (Naked Baby Photos) and the coming Simon and Garfunkel release. Mastered by the renown Fred Kevorkian with everyone present at his studio at Absolute Audio.

BUY the album from their site and check the tourdates because they will be coming to your town.

TONS of old school videos

OLD SCHOOL

Go nuts! Schooly D,UTFO, Eric B and Rakim, Planet Rock, LL, and way more.

BBC History of Hip Hop 1984

This site has the amazing 1984 BBC documentary History of Hip Hop. The footage is amazing and I would love to find this on DVD. If anyone knows where to find a copy or can figure out a way to download the clips let me know.

Conquering The Sun

Sieg Uber Die Sonne- +1 (Multicolor)

"Cleaning Windows" MP3

These days any time a sound emerges in the world of house music there is a new name for the genre. Tech house, tribal house, deep house, vocal house, blah blah blah. Now the choice word (for me to POOP on!) is "telectro" which is a fusion of tech house and electro. I love both styles but I don't see the need for another genre of house music. So just to challenge the labelers I chose a track that could be considered just about anything. It has funky guitars, a minimal beat, and quirky German electro-pop vocals.

German producers Sieg Uber Die Sonne have released some very interesting albums with a wide range of sounds. I used their slamming track "Hot" from the 2001 album, (-)x(-)=(+), on my most recent DJ mix, Warp Zone. You can download the mix from Orchardlounge.com In 2004 they released another mathematical themed album, +1, which is a nice blend of electro-pop vocal tracks and instrumental tech house songs. "You Better Send Me Home" is another solid track from the album that I was going to upload but the "cleaning windows" track is so bizarre that I had to use it. "Stop The Plug-ins" is a dark, driving techy track with a bassline that doesn't quit. The harder edged tracks they produce are a nice contrast to some of the lighter songs on the album

Forced Exposure said:
"Amazing, how clever Sieg Über Die Sonne arrange the sounds on their fourth album -- nearly 10 years after their debut. As if it is the most self-evident innovation in the musical world, +1 compresses the most moving dancefloor styles and renovates the greyed coating of Electrofunk almost in passing. Meanwhile both musicians Pink Elln and Dandy Jack (formerly with homebase Frankfurt) reside in Berlin, which one may notice by the first-class production of +1. The contact to Chilean Jorge González who wrote, sang and arranged all vocals on +1 -- partly live in the Sun Electric studio Berlin, partly via digital media, exists since the mid-Nineties and he already had given his voice to the club hits 'You'll Never Come Back' & 'I'm Not A Sound' (among others) from their third album = (+) (multiColor). Jorge's professional approach to melody lines is remarkable, as well as his charming handling of language."

L'usine vs. Snoop

L'usine and Snoop Dogg Mash-up
"It's Hot Like The Sun" MP3

"Drop it like it's hot" has been tired for a while but when layered over a track by Ghostly International's finest, L'usine, it sounds fresher than ever. This will be used in the next downtempo set I play for sure.