tiananmen square dance //

Add Fortune Howl to your ever-growing list of solo electronic artists to follow. His most recent full-length release, May’s oddly named Buy Your Mom a Sweater, is a collection of B-sides that are awash with lush, experimental vibes along the lines of Rimar’s newest project, Ballet. Utilizing those little noticed micro-sounds that populate the empty spaces between beats and leads, Fortune Howl’s “The Quiet Earth” makes do with very little, a masterpiece with minimalism. Glitches and heavily edited atmospherics combine with trip-hop digital beats to create a dim, but sensuous moment of déjà entendu, a very intricate meta-experience. Towards the end of the short entry, a pitch-shifted vocal sample briefly bubbles to the surface, sealing the deal on our favorite jam by Bryce Linde (Fortune Howl) so far. Fans of deep house greats like Holy Other and Synkro will enjoy this little-known artist’s output just as much as the Flying Lotus/Shigeto trip-hop fans will, so we highly recommend you do tha right thing. Grab a free MP3 download of Fortune Howl’s “The Quiet Earth”, and peruse the rest of Buy Your Mom a Sweater afterwards for whatever price you feel it’s worth. Spoiler alert: we think you’ll find that it’s pretty valuable. He’s also got a relatively extensive discography through Relief in Abstract Records, so we highly recommend you check it.

MP3 Download of “The Quiet Earth”, by Fortune Howl (from Buy Your Mom a Sweater)

VEKTROID - “TAHITI TV”

Yesterday, I found this playa’s music on a last.fm list of artists similar to Teams. We’re huge suckers for that retro lo-fi synthwave sound perpetuated by greats such as 18 Carat Affair, Com Truise, and Rimar, so we naturally found that Vektroid’s work is nothing to sneeze at. Looping warbled VHS samples together with bass heavy kicks and grainy, on-point percussion, this guy weaves together some of the best mind-melding throwback tunes we have ever had the pleasure of discovering. The prevailing tone alive in “Tahiti TV” is that of a digital safari vacation inside one’s UHF/VHF television, dodging static beasts and marveling at the wonders of cathode tube and magnetic head technology. Do tha right thing, and grab yourself a free MP3 of Vektroid’s “Tahiti TV” below. If you like it, spend some time checking out his vintage vibes and campy early 90’s CGI art at his Bandcamp, Soundcloud, or Tumblr.

MP3 Download of “Tahiti TV”, by Vektroid

04.   RIMAR’S HIGHER GROUND

Beginning with the opening strains of this refreshing record, it’s clear that Rimar (or RIM4R, as I guess he prefers to be called) knows how to jam. Higher Ground is modern-day funk at its apex, dripping with romance and shining with inner light. Standout opener and title track “Higher Ground” was all abuzz among the hipster blogosphere a couple of months ago when the 12” was released, and it kicked so much cracker ass that I’m a little ashamed that it took me this long to hop on the hip bandwagon. Rimar is an electronic jack of all trades, it seems. He uses all of the tools of the trade to effect a super-slick, energizing product. Several of the first few songs on the 12” showcase much loved lo-fi editing techniques (à la 18 Carat Affair, Teams) along with the twangy Balearic guitar that you might recognize from bass-heavy artists like Toro y Moi and Star Slinger. The artist then rounds out the picture with the conservative application of samples of chill androgynous vocals (think Southern Shores with Chad Bundick as the vocalist). Rimar is synth-funk with some serious tropicalia influences, and Higher Ground is seriously not to be missed.

This Guardian UK article says it quite well, I think:

“On Higher Ground Rimar has created a monument to ancient R&B (though not quite as ancient as the 60s variety), the slick, smooth, sumptuous electro-funk that preceded New Jack Swing. He takes the beats and the basslines from original, long-forgotten hits from that era, then coats them in memory goo. You’ve perhaps read about chillrave (and we believe we used the term first here); this is chillfunk.

The above embedded video for the eponymous opener features our leading man in his adventures in Hipsterlandia, breathing out the sultriest of styles, among with liberal swathes of soft focus and tilt-shift techniques. Fantastically edited and bursting with color and style, the official video for “Higher Ground” couldn’t better communicate the degree of heart and soul that this young new artist pours into his retro reinterpretations. Do tha right thing, kids, and get your copy of the full-length for only $5 via Rimar’s Bandcamp. You get a free digital download, so you can jam it at stressful intersections, and a vinyl copy, so you can make love to ya bitch wit style!

MP3 Download of “Higher Ground”, by Rimar

MP3 Download of “We Play Games”, by Rimar

DIGITS - “BECAUSE IT’S WRONG (NITE JEWEL REMIX)”

Indpendent California chillwaver Ramona Gonzalez (Nite Jewel) just dropped a sweet, little teardrop of a remix of Digits’ “Because It’s Wrong”. Warm, soft, and muted, this track is bedroom R&B at its most refined. It reeks of lazy afternoons spent alone just loving yourself, whiling the day away at nothing but comfort, introspection, and self-indulgence. The minimalist beats hit so gently, the vocals delivered so moodily, and of course, there’s a twinge of chopped and screwed goodness peppered throughout. It’s like a splendid mashup of Dntel’s downtempo pop basics and Rimar’s smoove sensibilities, with some 16-bit nostalgia tossed in there and an emphasis on restfulness. Besides, I’d like to meet the man who can say no to that Ramona Gonzalez and her beguiling gaze. Damn.

MP3 Download of “Because It’s Wrong (Nite Jewel remix), by Digits

MP3 Download of “Am I Real?”, by Nite Jewel (from Am I Real? EP)

RIMAR’S CLOSER

Everybody enjoying the legit new layout? I caught whatever’s been going around these parts lately, so I feel like utter shit today and will probably not be as verbose as I would like to be. That said, in violation of a personal policy to not spam about one artist too much in one period of time, I revisited Rimar’s Bandcamp like the creeper that I am and noticed that he has a new mini-album up available for free digital download! After hearing Higher Ground, girl, you know I was all ova dat shit. Closer is just a hair longer than Higher Ground, and is much darker and more abstract. While not abandoning his method of refurbishing and reusing classic R&B tropes, Rimar’s new work draws more this time from the manufactured emotion of early 90’s soft rock. Closer is just as smooth and emotional as Rimar’s previous effort but in less of a sunny, uptown way and in more of a desperate, claustrophobic way. At just under a half-hour, it feels like it could be the soundtrack to a romantic haunting, a montage of love in desperation, like two lovers who’ve been abandoned by everyone else but each other. It’s dusky and shrouded, much like a fever dream or an all-nighter. It fits the chillwave-meets-R&B formula, but it’s less Thundercat meets Toro y Moi and more Kuhrye-oo meets 18 Carat Affair. Definitely worth the download. Do tha right thing, and get Rimar’s Closer via his Bandcamp page and check out his website for more insider info, including an eerie collection of hipster photography and vintage art.

MP3 Download of “As Time Moves Into This Home”, by Rimar (from Closer)

MP3 Download of “We Play Games”, by Rimar (from Higher Ground)

RIMAR’S HIGHER GROUND 12”

Beginning with the opening strains of this refreshing record, it’s clear that Rimar (or RIM4R, as I guess he prefers to be called) knows how to jam. The Higher Ground 12” is modern-day funk at its apex, dripping with romance and shining with inner light.





Standout opener and title track “Higher Ground” was all abuzz among the hipster blogosphere a couple of months ago when the 12” was released, and it kicked so much cracker ass that I’m a little ashamed that it took me this long to hop on the hip bandwagon. Rimar is an electronic jack of all trades, it seems. He uses all of the tools of the trade to effect a super-slick, energizing product. Several of the first few songs on the 12” showcase much loved lo-fi editing techniques (à la 18 Carat Affair, Onra) along with the twangy Balearic guitar that you might recognize from bass-heavy artists like Toro y Moi and Star Slinger. The artist then rounds out the picture with the conservative application of samples of chill androgynous vocals (think Southern Shores with Chad Bundick as the vocalist). Rimar is synth-funk with some serious tropicalia influences, and the Higher Ground 12” is seriously not to be missed.

This Guardian UK article says it quite well, I think:

“On Higher Ground Rimar has created a monument to ancient R&B (though not quite as ancient as the 60s variety), the slick, smooth, sumptuous electro-funk that preceded New Jack Swing. He takes the beats and the basslines from original, long-forgotten hits from that era, then coats them in memory goo. You’ve perhaps read about chillrave (and we believe we used the term first here); this is chillfunk.

The above embedded track, “R U Happy?” is built with samples from 80’s group Surface’s “Happy”, and was probably re-sampled for the opening portion of Small Black’s recent Moon Killer Mixtape, which is really cool because Rimar is also from Brooklyn. That alone should speak volumes. Do tha right thing, kids, and get your copy for only $5-$10 via Rimar’s Bandcamp. You get a free digital download, so you can jam it at stressful intersections, and a vinyl copy, so you can make love to ya bitch wit style!

MP3 Download of “R U Happy?”, by Rimar

MP3 Download of “Higher Ground”, by Rimar