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09.   CLAMS CASINO’S INSTRUMENTAL MIXTAPE 2

Clammyclams dropped his second mix (see: album) about a month ago for free by way of a Zippyshare link in a Tweet he posted. Everyone’s favorite no-name New Jersey producer and beat maker has, in fact, made quite a name for himself setting the tone for tracks by such artists as A$AP Rocky and Lil’ B. While personally not a huge fan of straight up rap music, I love soulful vibes, exotic tones, and dark bass anthems, so I had to give this one a whirl. At fourteen tracks and featuring the instrumental version of Lil’ B’s “I’m God” and several remixes of chillwave staples like Washed Out and Lana Del Rey, Instrumental Mixtape 2 boasts more than just a few stunners. What really gave me whiplash upon my first listen and my second rumination was the abject desolation present in the first half of the mix, which is composed mostly of original compositions for A$AP Rocky. The underground hip-hop machine that is Clams Casino really gives peers like Mux Mool and Rimar a run for their money when it comes to the conveying the sound and feeling of sheer romantic doom. Smooth as they are, jams like “Wassup”, “Human”, and “One Last Thing” leave not a sliver of light with which to illuminate the waste that has been lain with slow coming, creeping, pounding beats that would cause even Holy Other to ejaculate prematurely. Adhering notably to the Tri Angle formula, the album conjures up sounds and images of disembodied voices materializing to breathe smokey voodoo hymns that waft throughout a dead, nameless land rife with fallout. The ragged production in this new full-length entry is immaculately fucked up beyond repair, and packs so much force behind its punch, that it’s impossible to recover from the blows it lands over, and over, and over. Just when you think the gun at the knife fight is out of bullets, “I’m God” comes on. Holy god. Do tha right thing, and enjoy the instrumental track for A$AP Rocky’s “Wassup” and then grab your absolutely free download of Clams Casino’s Instrumental Mixtape 2 right here right now. Take the day off of work, cancel all of your appointments, and turn the electricity way up, because I think this experimental doom-hop masterpiece may just unseat Jay-Z.

MP3 Download of “Wassup”, by Clams Casino

MP3 Download of “Human”, by Clams Casino

NIVA - “DIZZY EYES”

I finally caved and decided to make this track an integral part of my recent music collection after my girlfriend made me listen to it repeatedly. While electronic pop artist Niva’s music is typically just on the cusp for me, what with the warm, endearing synth and the sweeping pads, the vocals often come across to me as being a bit too mid-2000’s indie rock. Either way, track five from Feverish Dreams, the second most recent release by Stockholm’s Niva, is a worthwhile game-changer. Oh, and if you’re curious, the bit in “Dizzy Eyes” that pushed me over the edge into full-fledged fandom is the steady, yet subtle woodblock beat. Now you have to listen. Fans of chill indietronic music like Blackbird Blackbird and Passion Pit should enjoy this shining little gem, and the source of said scintillating light is POLY, a massive dump of legit tunes. Aren’t our significant others just wonderful? Do tha right thing as you gleefully download, and make sure that special someone knows just how lovely they are.

MP3 Download of “Dizzy Eyes”, by Niva

MP3 Download of “Boy from the Sun”, by Niva

STUMBLEINE’S ALL FOR YOUR SMILE

Whoa. Have you checked out Stumbleine’s older work yet? Right before the Rose Tinted EP, which has captivated me recently, a short album was released called All for Your Smile. It’s no secret that we up here at Tiananmen Square Dance are huge fans of the direction that chillwave has taken lately, veering away from the lo-fi surf psychedelia and into pitch-shifting experimental R&B territory. Stumbleine takes the oft-used formula popularized by the likes of Holy Other and Krusht and marries that with ambient white light in the form of atmospheric sheets of synth or guitar reverb. Wait—reverb? Yes, as evidenced by the tone and execution of the lion’s share of All for Your Smile, Stumbleine used to have a bit of shoegaze influence, not unlike what you might hear in the respective works of Keith Canisius or The Sight Below. Don’t think for a minute that this a far cry from the Stumbleine you know and love, though. If anything, what you’re hearing nowadays is stripped down in comparison. The general form and sound of All for Your Smile is that of muted, chopped and screwed vocals backed by plodding beats (à la Sun Glitters, but not as clumsy) and gentle, dark guitar loops. It’s serene and beautiful, equal parts dark and light, and in retrospect, I’m kind of surprised Stumbleine has since cast off the whole shoegaze vibe. I rather like it, and it turns the heads of people who don’t even like ambient music. Though the album is tragically short, it is surprising and refreshing to find that Stumbleine, albeit since blossomed, has roots that are well grounded in emotive music. Do tha right thing, and bust out the dimes for Stumbleine’s All for Your Smile. If I can support independent musicians, you can too, and this one is well-worth it.

MP3 Download of “Polaroid”, by Stumbleine

MP3 Download of “Lunar”, by Stumbleine

This video has been circulating for quite some time now, and it is high time to repost. Mux Mool’s Planet High School is due out in less than a week, and this short video was cut in celebration and anticipation. Featuring bits of the song “Raw Gore”, from said upcoming release, and giving the nod to several classic arcade and console games (including, but not limited to Contra, Mortal Kombat, and various games by Rare), this brief taste of Brian Lindgren (Mux Mool)’s soon-to-be-released sophomore full-length is electric, nostalgic, and straight up badass.


Recognize that anti-human underground hip-hop sound? It was featured in this Adult Swim bump. Keep an eye out for Mux’s bass-centric Planet High School, due out via Ghostly International on February 7th, 2012.

MP3 Download of “Raw Gore”, by Mux Mool

MP3 Download of “Palace Chalice”, by Mux Mool

PICTUREPLANE’S “DIMENSIONAL RIP 7: THEE PHYSICAL REMIXES”

Straight outta the Rhinoceropolis, my main man Pictureplane just dropped a remix album’s worth of great retouches to his most recent full length offering Thee Physical. Every artist featured on Dimensional Rip 7: Thee Physical Remixes was hand-picked by Travis Egedy, and it is available in its entirety for free via DIS Magazine. As is the norm for remix albums, there’s a lot of chaff to winnow out, namely a bunch of witch house and trance. That said, that may be right up your alley, so I’m sure there’s something for everybody here.

Some of the standouts, in my opinion, include Krusht’s chopped and screwed mod of “Body Mod”, Teams’ electrificied re-animation of the same jam, and a noisier remix by True Womanhood. New found faves include some stellar offerings by Fire for Effect and Little Star Dweller. The album is vast, expansive, and beautiful; so do tha right thing and grab it here, and then devote a reasonable amount of time to evaluating and re-evaluating the content yourself.

MP3 Download of “Post Physical (Little Star Dweller remix)”, by Pictureplane

MP3 Download of “Body Mod (Krusht remix)”, by Pictureplane

WHITE RAINBOW’S NEW CLOUDS

It has been at least a couple of years since post-rock has successfully held my attention. Pre-chillwave and electronic music explosion, I used to be a pretty die hard post-rock and post-metal fan, actually. My favorite scene was the incestual, Montreal-based Constellation Records/Alien8 Recordings squad, which boasts releases by Do Make Say Think, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band.



All post-apocalypses aside, however, I quickly came to notice that more shoegaze- and electronic-tinged acts like Keser, The Sight Below, and Sigur Rós held my attention for much longer and with greater power than the more experimental and analog works coming out of “Kanada”. I still hold my very first show ever, seeing A Silver Mt. Zion live in Lawrence, Kansas, very dear to my heart, but for the most part, I have moved on to more user-friendly sounds, at least for the most part.

Enter Adam Forkner (White Rainbow). Loosely grouped in with the token Wikipedia list of chillwave acts, Adam Forkner’s persona is akin to that of Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) or Chris D’eon, occupying that surreal, metaphysical space between worlds. He’s one of those characters that just tends to float on, living in a rural village outside of Portland (where the dream of the nineties is, of course, alive) making tapes and tapes, all the while venerated by a cult group of experimental music lovers. He has been involved with Landing, Surface of Eceon, and Yume Bitsu (which explains the post-rock influence) and has collaborated with Dirty Projectors, Devendra Banhart, and Atlas Sound. I had the pleasure of hearing White Rainbow’s “Thassssindid Pleasant Hazes” at a critical point in my musical odyssey, wherein the gears and cogs were slowly turning in my head, turning me on to this whole retro, psychedelic haze that Neon Indian started. I guess the largely ambient track was a demo that may or may not have been used to jumpstart the creation of New Clouds, but either way, it put this act on my personal radar. After snatching a copy of an excerpt of “Tuesday Rollers and Strollers” (since the song’s, like, eighteen goddamn minutes long) from RCRD LBL’s vault, I featured it on TSQ VOL NINE and filed it away in the back of my mind. Reviewing my musical twists and turns the day before yesterday, I figured it was time to entertain some more White Rainbow. His New Clouds is a collection of four rather lengthy studies on tribal beatmaking, vocal ululation, and synth euphoria, all the while gradually shifting the musical mood to and fro at whim. At its core, it is an experimental album, but don’t let that scare you, o Washed Out fans. New Clouds is a thousand times more enthralling and features far more replayability than, say, Animal Collective’s Here Comes the Indian (aka “There was an album before Sung Tongs?). If you like the psychedelic sounds of Ducktails, the electronic paranoia of Emeralds, or the layered wailing prevalent in Panda Bear’s art, do tha right thing and give White Rainbow’s New Clouds a spin. Don’t forget to pay to play, of course, via Amazon, iTunes, or Kranky Records.

MP3 Download of “Tuesday Rollers and Strollers (excerpt)”, by White Rainbow (from New Clouds)

MP3 Download of “Thassssindid Pleasant Hazes”, by White Rainbow (from New Clouds Demos)