Heat you up, melt you down

Music has been all around us for the past three months and rightly so. There's been some right heat being let out of the traps. Check these for pure bliss and ting...

We're pretending to be avoiding talking about Daft Punk

While the world collectively shits itself in anticipation of new Daft Punk music and YouTube drowns in the fakers claiming to be the original French duo, there's a shed load of other stuff that's kept us popping round our way. Ooof there's almost too much. What a time to be alive... This is the shit that's been ensuring my booty continues to shake around our small, unhinged little breakfast bar...

This Hudmo bomb sounds like victory itself...

TNGHT was the night

If you've got your finger anywhere near the pulse of contemporary dance, then your ears will be well familiar with the electronic thump of TNGHT, the new(ish) collaboration from Scotland's Hudson Mohawke and Canadian dude Lunice. The pair are the hype men of the moment and we went along to their recent London show in Bethnal Green to see what the freaking fuss was all about.

It's not surprising that these two are held in high esteem. Their live sets is a big look - the duo managed to steer nimbly around the more masculine moments of 'thugstep' and ensure they kept it low for the ladies but without losing any oomph. The pair pack a right old musical punch and we had a right old time - the only slight dampener was the fact it was a school night. Oofff...

Check out the lunch I had to counter the day after's hang...

And do it while listening to TNGHT - this is what all the fuss is about...

Read my review of TNGHT's live show for Hyponik here

 

Numbers turn a car park over

If you've taken just a small amount of notice of the sort of shit going down in electronic circles over the last 12 months, then your ears should be well familiar with the work of Glaswegian label Numbers.

Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Jackmaster, Spencers and Goodhand are the men at its core but their releases and dances have incorporated sonic action from the likes of cohorts Deadboy, DJ Pierre, Redinho, Jamie XX and other key electronicy, wonky players.

To celebrate what has been a mammoth year for the crew, they hosted a huge party in a central London car park for their dedicated followers, who turned out in their droves to pay their respects via the rave. The bill was a wet dream for any fucker who reckons their fingers are wrapped around the pulse with much of the aforementioned Numbers team representing heavy stylez.

We arrived already in a half mangled state to witness Deadboy and Spencer sparring over a snarly mixture of fresh fire and older electronic classics before Hudmo sent the place totally upside down. The oddly shaped gent played a crunchingly heavy mixture of r'n'b and classic hip hop as well as many of his own big 'uns to send the car park spiralling into overdrive. It culminated in R.Kelly's Bump'n'Grind, which was a fittingly daft conclusion to a sweaty, party hard set of b.a.n.g.e.r.s.

Our collective sense began to deteriote rapidly at this point. One of our number was lost down the front out of his box on two bottles of cheap plonk while the rest of us were baying hard and boogieing strong. Rustie carried on where Hudmo left off with a large locker of hyper-real tackle whereas Jamie XX and Jackmaster were slightly less garish with a more standard selection of house. Although this was how it looked from where we were standing. Which was near the back. We left before the dawn close to go back round our ends and sing-along to Coldplay albums for an hour before straddling the hay. Big business from a big, young team. Do your maths 2012. Numbers are coming for you...

Hudson Mohawke @XOYO

If you were to put the majority of the fresh new players in contemporary electronic squelches together in a line up, you’d be hard pressed to distinguish one from the other. Baseball caps, hoods, buttoned up shirt, skinny pantaloons, Vans, attitude - stand to attention.

So props to Glaswegian Hudson Mohawke for doing his bit for the less immaculately turned out - he’s a big fella with lumps and bumps a plenty but somewhere within that frame is an ever burgeoning electronic hero on the brink of exploding. His biggest headline gig to date in the smoke showed just why the great and good of US r’n’b are getting their expensive knickers in a twist over his sonics - and why everyone else should be soggy with anticipation for his new album - the man has skillzzzzz.

After dining extravagantly at the nearby Wetherspoons (the Masque Haunt - the verdict? Great. What else?), and being greeted by an erstwhile blogger at the door looking for a spare ticket (Key ‘modest’ quote; ‘It’s pretty successful’) we entered XOYO’s interiors. And what did we find? Surprisingly, a ginger haired dude ripping up some serious funk on keys and a talk box to about 3 punters, one with a terrible tache doing his best to throw some serious dad-shaped moves. But bibbles aside, Redinho was the name of the man reeling around the stage, and one of the much feted new breed doing his business for the Numbers staple. Numbers has been one of the key platforms to elevate the likes of Hudmo and fellow Scots Rustie and Jackmaster to the big league. And although the talk box may be Redinho’s one trick, it’s definitely one worth keeping your ears peeled for.

Canadian producer and DJ Jacques Greene was up next with a sound closer to the r’n’b proffered by Hudmo - his latest mix for Allez Allez is a good indication of where this 20 year’s old musical head is at - somewhere between the syrupy chart hop of Drake and the heads down tech of Martyn. Although his mixing skills were, in some ways, refreshingly awry, his tune selection was bang on the money and had the now full room moving with him.

Jacques Greene Allez Allez Mix by DummyMag

So to the finale and Hudmo’s many layered, purple take on all things thunderous and electronic - He's definitely not one for much for visual pea cocking. With the exception of a light show and big screen featuring a raging Incredible Hulk, he spent the gig swaying behind his control panels but his music packs a powerful and seering punch.

Beginning with a swirling take on Bjork’s Crystalline, Hudmo spent the next hour or so conjuring up a bass heavy storm from his numerous knobs and buttons. Imagine a white Timbaland for a new generation which, in both physical shape and sound, the Scot bares more than a little resemblance to. Satin Panthers, the name of his latest EP, is a neat encapsulation of the electronica he’s pushing, it's heavy enough to feel it in your guts but with enough delicacy and decency to rely on more than just brute force. He led us by the hand through a set of mostly new materials before coming to a juddering climax with his first release, the bootleg of Tweet’s Oops. Rustie’s debut record may have just dropped to much acclaim but Hudmo is a few steps ahead. This maverick playa’s got plenty of play left him in. Play on…



Rider?

Thunder Bay

Hudson Mohawke makes music bent all out of shape - he changed the game last time and this ain't no different. FEELING THIS ONE. MASSIVE STYLEZ...

Hudson Mohawe paints Jamie Woon all purple

Jamie Woon is one of these names which was spewed up during all the hubble and bubble which musique critics get themselves into at the start of a new year. I've yet to listen to him on his own as a result. But this new remix by the ever oddly shaped Hudson Mohawke has pricked my fancy. It's purple, it's got drums and it's as catchy as fook although it's Hudmo's skills on the choral rave chorus which make this for us. Out in April. Oomph.

Lady Luck (Hudson Mohawke's Schmink Wolf Re-fix) by woon

Hudson Mohawke

Talking of Warp, I've been heavily vibing off the new Hudson Mohawke album. Entitled Butter, it's been the soundtrack to a week of sorting shit. Ended up listening to it in bed while crafting a review for the In the News website. Here are some thoughts - I was well into it at half one on Tuesday night.

Check the review in it's inexplicably wank template here

Someone has whacked ZooO00oOm on YouTube - this is the sort of doomy madness you can expect from the big man...



And this cheeky Tweet bootleg got us all wet in the first place...