electronica
theartsdesk Q&A: DJ Annie NightingaleSaturday, 26 February 2011
In 1970, Annie Nightingale became Radio 1’s first female DJ. The appointment was made somewhat grudgingly - DJs, believe it or not (and we’re talking about the likes of Ed “Stewpot” Stewart and Tony Blackburn here), were perceived to be “husband... Read more... |
CD: Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only NoiseWednesday, 23 February 2011
Of all the multiple micro-genres that make up the obsessively over-defined world of electronica and dance music, perhaps the dullest has always been deep house. The very words conjur up images of soul boy oldsters who misrecall rave as a jazzual... Read more... |
Opinion: Can we please kill off the guitar as cultural icon now?Tuesday, 15 February 2011
There's been a lot of waffle lately about rock'n'roll being dead. This is down to mainstream radio turning its back on guitar music in favour of a stew of electro-pop and R&B, and the fact that just three spots in the Top 100 UK bestselling... Read more... |
CD: Zwischenwelt - Paranormale AktivitatSunday, 13 February 2011
The Detroit electro-techno duo of James Stinson and Gerald Donald aka Drexciya never gave away their secrets easily. Almost completely anonymous and never photographed during their 10-year existence – which ended with Stinson's 2002 death after a... Read more... |
Mordant Mass, The VortexSunday, 13 February 2011
Avant-garde art, by its very nature, always treads a fine line between the sublime and the ridiculous, and between entertainment and alienation. Thankfully this is something understood very well by the joint curators of Friday night's show at the... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Producer/DJ Carl CraigSaturday, 05 February 2011
Carl Craig is extraordinarily easygoing. Most dance producers of his seniority and level of achievement would come with at least a publicist in tow, but when we meet him in his London hotel, his only entourage is his nine-year-old son, playing... Read more... |
CD: James Blake - James BlakeWednesday, 02 February 2011
James Blake's "Limit to Your Love" was a bolt out of the blue at the end of last year, perhaps even a quantum leap in soul'n'bass culture in the same way that Massive Attack or Roni Size once were. This fact was swiftly acknowledged in various New... Read more... |
Singles & Downloads 9Tuesday, 25 January 2011
This month we have some unjustly hyped rubbish electro-pop, some unjustly ignored brilliant eletcro-pop, some postmodern retro-disco, some dubstep, some grime, some sampledelic New York punk, and, at the top of the pile, one of Britain's brightest... Read more... |
Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards 2011, KokoMonday, 24 January 2011
Club music has always been hard to keep track of, and never more so than in the current climate of constant genre meltdown and cross-fertilisation. Which is why the DJ's art is more important than ever, particularly in the case of scene... Read more... |
RIP Trish Keenan of BroadcastFriday, 14 January 2011
I'm absolutely horrified to hear of the death this morning from pneumonia, following a swine-flu infection, of Trish Keenan of the band Broadcast. I had only ever spoken to her on the telephone, but many friends knew her well and she was one of... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Simon RaymondeSaturday, 08 January 2011
Simon Raymonde's Bella Union label occupies an enviable position within the music world. Successfully (although, as you'll see below, only just) weathering the travails of an industry beset by downloading and market fragmentation, it enters the 14th... Read more... |
Year Out/Year In: Electronic Music Digs In and Spreads OutMonday, 03 January 2011
2010 saw some major shifts stirring up the UK club music ecosystem and unleashing some fascinating hybrids and variants of existing sounds out into the wild. As the hefty bass of dubstep muscled its way firmly into the heart of the mainstream,... Read more... |
