Onra on the Rise

September 2nd, 2010

How do you build an album? Well first you start with the basic “album” template. Guidelines include:

  • A track count totaling 12, three-minute songs
  • An opening track that’s better than most of the other tracks on the album
  • A track that really doesn’t take itself seriously. One where you can reasonably assume the artist/band members were struggling not to laugh while recording/producing it
  • A track that’s a little too short
  • A track that should have been left off and would have been, had the first guideline not existed

If an artist puts together an series of recordings that follow the above layout, it’s guaranteed to, well, be an album. But that’s about it. And the unfortunate truth is that most people who put out albums stop here. Ever wonder why when you go to a record store, neither you nor any of your friends have heard of 95% of everything on the shelves? Well now you know. Making an album is the easy part. Making it yours is where things tend to get a little more difficult.

There are a billion approaches to what comes next. Some people like to add longevity to the listening experience by designing “concept albums” that tell a continued story throughout, using the music to convey the emotion. Others make full length pieces in which all the tracks combine to form one master piece. But even those tactics have become a bit overplayed. After all, who the hell wants to hear even two consecutive Top 40 tracks, much less a full 12 track album?

Onra

France’s Onra has taken a fresh approach to adding flavor to his (gasp) 32 track epic, Chinoiseries. Instead of sitting down in a studio, he travelled to Vietnam (where his grandparents live and are from) to get in touch with his heritage, and returned to France with over 30 pieces of dusty vinyl, off which he built his entire album. It’s got a theme, it’s masterfully produced, and best of all the culture clash that fuels it allows him to present to us a lost sound that we would otherwise likely never have uncovered in a way that is still, somehow, astounding easy to approach.

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Onra – Introduction

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Onra – War

And a little something off his latest release. Different approach. Same genius.

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Onra – Long Distance ft. Oliver Daysoul

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If any of the tunes contained in this post happen to suit your taste, the artist would probably be thrilled if you considered buying them on iTunes, Beatport, or Amazon.

by Stephen Corwin

An Izm, If There Ever Was One

August 18th, 2010

Normally when an artist returns for a followup album, that album does one of two things: It either picks up where the debut album left off and sounds exactly the way you expected it to, or it branches off in an entirely new direction, and draws on a completely new set of influences. MSTRKRFT’s Fist of God sounded nothing like The Looks, both Simian Mobile Disco’s Temporary Pleasure and Boys Noize’s Power sounded more or less the same as Attack Decay Sustain Release and Oi Oi Oi respectively. Keep in mind, though, this applies only normally.

Skream’s followup to his 2005 self titled debut was released just shy of a week ago, and without even hearing it, I think we should all be able to agree that this Bristol-based producer is just about the farthest from normal one can get. Would you have thought to do what he did to La Roux’s “In For the Kill” vocal? Neither would I.

Had he been in compliance with the above pattern, there are two things we could have expected from Outside the Box. The first would have been twelve tracks of wobbling, abrasive, disgusting computer noise, and the second would have been something similar to the deep, minimalistic dub of Skream!, but like I mentioned, Skream didn’t get where he is today by simply meeting listeners’ expectations. After all, though it may never have occurred until now, one can assume the album is called Outside the Box for a reason.

To say the least Outside the Box surprised me. But I’m not going to say the least. I’m go to go all the way, and say that Outside the Box is the most innovative thing to come to the dubstep world since Fabric Live 37. Not only does Skream manage to cater to fans of both his heavy grime and his deeper, truer dub styles, but he simultaneously brings aboard an entirely new sound, perfectly crafted to nestle up close to the other two. What sound might that be? I’ve heard funky, I’ve heard poppy, and I’ve certainly heard 90’s ravey, but personally, I think it’s all that and more.

What do you think?

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Skream – Perforated

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Skream – How Real Ft. Freckles

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Skream – Reflections

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If any of the tunes contained in this post happen to suit your taste, the artist would probably be thrilled if you considered buying them on iTunes, Beatport, or Amazon.

by Stephen Corwin

Hook ‘Em Horns

August 10th, 2010









Ah, horns. What a wonderful group of instruments. What a wonder group of sounds.

The sound of the queen walking to her throne; the sound of the entire army base being lulled to sleep with Taps; the sound of a legendary jazzman just doing his thang.











But horns are really hard to sample. And they’re so loud & powerful that they often dominate a track. Good thing there are still a few artists are keeping the sound of horns alive. Let’s tip our hat to those producers whose songs include the overlooked, underused sound of the horn.











I declare today (inter?)national Horn Appreciation Day. Pause whatever you’re currently playing in iTunes and listen to these.






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Bill Conti – Gonna Fly Now (DJ Barletta Remix)

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Per QX – Blow My Trumpet

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If any of the tunes contained in this post happen to suit your taste, the artist would probably be thrilled if you considered buying them on iTunes, Beatport, or Amazon.

by Nick DiLallo

Dial It Back

August 4th, 2010

Normally Uh Oh Disco’s blog posts are chock full of fire and passion towards ridiculous causes, endless rants, and miles worth of text, defending music that almost always speaks for itself, and doesn’t even need an explanation to back it up in the first place, but today, I’m unable to offer anything more than a comment on a subtly beautiful trend I’ve spotted as of late. What’s the trend? Everything’s going slower….

Is it good, is it bad? I personally think it adds a whole new realm of flavor and grove into the dance music scene that the driving beats of house music were never quite able to tap. It’s not often you’ll find a track that’ll please an entire crowd at once; All too frequently you’ll hear the complaints from hip hop fans that house moves too fast to dance to, and the house fans get upset that hip hop doesn’t move at all, but when you’re playing house rhythms down at 95-105 BPM, well, it’s enough to pry just about everyone’s eyes open a little wider.

The style has got to be something special, if only due to the fact that some of the scene’s greatest producers have quickly adopted it.

See for yourself, and let us know what you think!

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Aeroplane/Friendly Fires/Flight Facilities – I Crave Paris

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The Chemical Brothers – Swoon (Lindstrom and Prins Thomas Remix)

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Air – So Light Is Her Footfall (Breakbot Remix)

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Washed Out – Belong

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Jewel – Who Will Save Your Soul (Questions Reevaluated Edit)

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If any of the tunes contained in this post happen to suit your taste, the artist would probably be thrilled if you considered buying them on iTunes, Beatport, or Amazon.

by Stephen Corwin

Stop Thinking

July 23rd, 2010







A friend of mine from high school only listened to soundtracks from what he dubbed “epic movies”– Braveheart, Gladiator, Troy (basically any movie where the main character uses a sword instead of a gun). We all thought he was weird. But he defended his CD collection (remember those?) with a simple line of reasoning:

1: Music affects how I feel. Listening to sad music makes me sad; happy music makes me happy.

2: By listening to “epic movie soundtracks,” I’m able to vicariously experience the triumph of, say, fighting King Edward I or leading a Roman army.







The logic holds. The first point is definitely true: music does have an effect on our emotions. And the second point is really just an extension of the first, an application of the rule. So what’s the problem? The fact that my friend even has a line of reasoning behind what he listens to. His intense cathexis behind selecting music is, at best, misguided; at worst, it’s downright retarded.

I’m not sure it even counts as your “favorite” music if there’s so much logic behind it. If you defend your music choice with anything other than “I love the way it sounds,” then I feel bad for you. It’s hard to describe why we love the things we do–music, movies, art, people. So stop thinking about it. Listen to what you love; watch what you love; spend time with who you love. Life’s pretty simple.







Here are two songs that I love. I won’t explain how or why I love them. Just trust me on this one. They’re both from RuN RiOT, a rising London-based producer whose bass-laden remixes have been climbing Beatport charts for a few months now. He sent these over about a month ago. I should’ve posted them then; I’m posting them now. Better late than never, right? Turn that shit up.

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Audio Bullys – Kiss The Sky (RuN RiOT Remix)

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Double 99 – RIP Groove (RuN RiOT Remix)

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If any of the tunes contained in this post happen to suit your taste, the artist would probably be thrilled if you considered buying them on iTunes, Beatport, or Amazon.

by Nick DiLallo

How Is Anyone Supposed to Compete With This?

July 20th, 2010

I really didn’t think it possible that someone might ever match the bar that Modeselektor set in the field of all around ingeniously original and creative electronic dance music, but I stand corrected. Take a look at Siriusmo; This guy came straight out of nowhere, and in a matter of months, has managed to match climb to a point where there really is no credibility difference between him and any of the other big leaguers out there. In fact, I’d even argue that’s his production quality and overall mastery of the sonic spectrum exceeds that of most other signed and credible producers out there. So how did the guy find his sound so incredibly fast? I’ve got no idea. All I know is that about six months ago, he had a remix or two on the Hype Machine, five months ago, he had TWO of his tunes featured in Modeselektor’s Body Language Volume 8 mixtape, and that now he’s got FOUR EP’s out! All of which were released between 2008 and 2010. What!?

The only thing I do know is that I need to find whatever magic fountain Seriusmo is obtaining sustenance from, and I need to get me some of that juice!

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Siriusmo – EinmalIn Der Woche Schreien

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Siriusmo – Katharsis Impossible

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Siriusmo – Nights Off

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If any of the tunes contained in this post happen to suit your taste, the artist would probably be thrilled if you considered buying them on iTunes, Beatport, or Amazon.

by Stephen Corwin
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