This article about genres is long overdue. First off, we’re tired of all the blanket genre labels that keep popping up. Take the genre “electro,” for example. Wikipedia lists so-called “electro” artists such as DMX Krew, Kraftwerk, Afrika Bambaataa, Cylob and even Cat Stevens as artists related to the genre. Electro isn’t listed under any of Cat Stevens’ main Wikipedia page genres, and rightfully so. Apparently he dropped some album called “Was Dog a Doughnut,” that was allegedly a precursor to the “electro music genre of the 1980′s.”

At the end of the day, what is electro? Just some bullshit (for lack of a better adjective) commercial term that was developed by record labels to try and put various artists in a box. When artists are nicely packaged in a box, it’s easier to say what kind of music you like, and therefore figure out what kind of music you’d purchase. However, does that mean it’s accurate to do so?

Ever ask someone, “Hey, what kind of music do you like?” Only to get a response like, “Oh, I listen to everything,” or “Oh, I listen to everything but country,” or everything “but rap,” etc. Everything but country. Why’s that, because country is “uncool,” in some circles? It could also be that country is extremely popular in the US, and was the number one genre of music before hip hop or “rap” took its throne. Calling hip hop “rap,” really is kind of inaccurate as well, because “rap” refers to “rapping,” which is a trend in hip hop music. Calling hip hop “rap,” is kind of a thing of the 90′s though, back when music stores were still brick-and-mortar and not overtaken by digital storefronts.

I actually designed the font for the “rap” genre header on the Universal Music Group page back in 2008, just with a handwritten then digitally edited font, because theirs was struggling. Don’t believe me? Here’s a screenshot of my font on their genre header:

Here’s what their previous genre headers were…

Yes, I took time away from studying for law school finals to work on a genre font for UMG. Why not?

Also, just because I’m a digital packrat and nerdy enough to save screenshots of my desktop, here’s the full shot of my desktop at the time as well as the rough font sketch.

Of course, UMG has since revamped their site–after all it has been four years–but graphic design bragging-rights tangent aside, the mainstream labels package music in genres for sales purposes, even if what genre a musician’s songs fit is debatable. It goes beyond that though, mainstream genres are not even correct or accurate anymore.

The genre “electro” is garbage, and referring to hip hop as “rap” is also lamely imprecise, but let’s take a look at the “chillwave” genre. Aside from being a terribly cheesy name for a genre, since any reference to music with the word “chill” in it has always made us cringe, even the musicians at the forefront of the alleged “chillwave” genre do not even classify their music as such. Back to Wikipedia,

The Wall Street Journal quoted Alan Palomo of Neon Indian on genre, “Whereas musical movements were once determined by a city or venue where the bands congregated, ‘now it’s just a blogger or some journalist that can find three or four random bands around the country and tie together a few commonalities between them and call it a genre,’.”[5] Despite the stylistic similarities listed above, Palomo and other artists have questioned whether chillwave actually constitutes a discrete genre.

So there you have it, now we have random people on the Internet trying to put music in boxes as well, and those genres can become “real,” in that people actually use them? Come on! It’s bad enough that genres are imprecise as it is, but now anyone with a web site that gets traffic can create them?

Human nature makes us want to put everything in a box, from music to gender, even though life can’t just all be lumped together. Trying to simplify the world this way is a terribly unintelligent idea. If someone sees a baby boy on a train dressed in pink clothes that are arguably “girly” it can frustrate them because they can’t tell if the kid is a boy or a girl. That’s straight from the professor of a graduate level anthropology class. The tendency to want to see things in black and white is because it’s just easier that way, aside from that fact that human nature is completely irrational.

People who don’t care about music very much don’t listen enough to actually be able to discern differences between different genres and I also cringe at the number of times I’ve heard people say “it all sounds the same,” about a genre when if you actually follow that type of music, you will notice differences that are substantial enough to split into all kinds of sub-genres. Even then though, with experimental music, and even new music that is more conventional, it is best to classify music with multiple genres and sub genres.

The only reason to use sweeping genres that lump together a bunch of pre-existing genres that truly are different is to dumb things down for people who don’t really listen to music, but just skim through it. That’s right. I’ve heard people refer to all electronic music as “house” or “trance.” Again, come on! Really? It’s those same lazy people with typically dull taste in music that use commercially created terms like “electro” and “chillwave.”

So IDM is a stylistic origin of chill wave? Really? As someone who has been listening to IDM since the 90′s, that sounds absurd to me. This Autechre track, “Gantz Graf,” is IDM. So then, shouldn’t we be able to hear some influence from it in Neon Indian’s music? I can’t.

Just because Autechre used a lot of editing in the sequencer and digital sound processing to make that track doesn’t really make it anything at all like Neon Indian’s music. Think back to that person who goes around telling people “Uh, yeah, I listen to a little bit of everything, except country.” For reals? So, we might find them in their car rocking out to the Autechre track above? Doubt it. They probably don’t listen to anything that’s experimental at all. Oh the things we say that are driven by our insecurities.

So in conclusion, the question we pose is this: are you a dumbed-down herd follower of a person when it comes to music? Do you actually have enough passion for music that you spend a reasonable amount of time seeking it out, listening to it without talking over it, and enjoying it? If so, maybe then you will hear enough differences from one musician to the next that it will feel completely wrong to throw a musician in a smorgasbord sack of shit genre. <3.

The third release from the Noisy Meditation label and we’re loving it! Within just a few weeks of release, it has already climbed to a #2 spot in the UK Funky Garage genre on digital-tunes.net, and with good reason. Listen for yourself!

The best place to buy this record is here on Juno.

Amberscape EP (NMD003) – Out Now by Noisy Meditation

Australia has been a little slow to catch on to the whole post-dubstep thing, with garage inspired bass with a broken beat yet to truly catch on in the Southern Hemisphere. However, with the release of Sydney artist Amberscape, it looks as if that may be changing. Although comparisons with Burial are likely to come thick and fast, mainly due to the EP’s rich atmospherics and haunted vocals, Sepalcure might be a more useful reference point: “Yuki-onna”, with its sun-drenched chords and bone dry snares, is a prime example. Elsewhere, “Howiloathe” stands out with its deep house-influenced bass and 2-step rhythm, while “Kino” combines pressure cooker atmospherics with mournful vocals and “Maerd” rounds off a fine EP with a shimmering exercise in tension with all the production mastery of his North American peers. Recommended.

MACHINEDRUM – SXLND by LuckyMe Music Art Parties

LuckyMe is proud to present SXLND, the new 5 track EP from Machinedrum.

It’s been a great 18 months for Travis Stewart. Since we released his Many Faces EP in 2010 we’ve seen a succession of new hip hop, juke & 2step projects on labels Hot Flush, Planet Mu and of course LuckyMe. In Summer 2011 we released his underground smash Alarmaa which featured as part of Jackmaster’s FABRICLIVE 57 CD and tore apart Sonar Festival, clubs and Boiler Rooms alike. But now Stewart is back with Lucky Us for a project 2 years in the making – a sparkling take on Deep Chicago and Modern UK House entitled SXLND.

12” EP comes with Digital Download Card with exclusive Scuba Remix and cut-out Geisha inner sleeve.

Head over to thisisluckyme.com to Pre-order the vinyl copy now!

Fall-Ladybugs-You (Fade Out) by praveensharma

Rapper A.B. Dadon is not waiting for the New Year. He has other plans and that’s staying out of The DA’s office and in the studios planning out his next moves. A.B. Dadon has been in the scene for 2 years collaborating with heavyweight producer Dame Grease , Max B and Uncle Murda on several tracks, so it’s no surprise Just a weak ago AB was at the infamous QUAD studio finishing the soon to be released street CD ‘Cold World2’. AB enlisted All Area Crew to shoot his Video SWAY. Cold World 2 is slated to drop 2012…but in the meantime enjoy the toast to the Good Life Swaaaaay. and join the movement www.abdadon.com. Follow AB on twitter @Abdadon.

Dame Grease recently revealed that he will be acting as executive producer for DMX next LP

New York, NY, December 28, 2011 – Vacant Lot Records is proud to announce that Multi-Platinum Selling Producer Dame Grease will be executive producing DMX next LP.

When DMX, made his mark in 1997, it was Dame Grease aggressive sound that provided the rapper with a podium to dominate the rap industry to the tunes of platinum records . Before becoming a stable on every mixtape, The LOX relied on the sounds of Grease in order to acquire the street buzz that landed them their deal on Bad Boy Records in 1996. Fellow Bad Boy Mase sought out Grease’s distinctive sound and gave him the opportunity to provide production on Mase’s triple platinum Harlem World. This led to Grease’s work as the primary producer on DMX’s classic debut It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, where Grease helped the Ruff Ryders mold both their image and their sound into what would become one of the most well-known Hip Hop crews. During this time Grease chose to create his own Vacant Lot production company.

In 2001 Grease made the accession from producer to composer by providing the score for the Steven Segal/DMX blockbuster Exit Wounds. In addition to his work on the film, Dame Grease also reunited with DMX on the soundtrack for X’s top-ten hit “Ain’t No Sunshine”, an updated, yet much darker remake to the Bill Withers 1972 classic of the same name. Grease continued his work as a composer in on the 2003 box-office hit Cradle 2 the Grave, starring Jet Li, DMX, Gabrielle Union, and Anthony Anderson, as well as 2004’s Never Die Alone.

Coming Back into the game hard DMX is considered by many to be one of the greatest heavyweight rappers to still do it . Back in July Grease revealed to HipHop Dx that he’s currently working on DMX’s album, but it was announced recently DMX has appointed Grease to executive produce his next LP. as told to Hip Hop Dx Grease says: “First and foremost, I’m pretty sure the world know about it,” said Dame, who produced the bulk of X’s debut It’s Dark and Hell is Hot. “[DMX] came home two days ago, we’re working on a brand new album with [him] right now. Was in the studio last night, we back in the studio tonight. We’re working on a brand new album, good energy, the songs is phenomenal. It’s actually a good dose of what we need in Hip Hop right now.” Since the interview the album has been completed.

Grease is multi-tasking, currently he released 75 tracks for lease on soundcloud and continues to put his Signature on every Wave Mixtape Release on datpiff. Aside from releasing a slew of mixtapes Grease recently put his gritty beats on Jae Millz & Lil Waynes song “Forever Winning” and colloborated with the white girl Mob Kreayshawn on the track “Rum & Coke. In preparation for 2012 Grease is not only executive producing DMX LP but also putting out his own LP Martial Law with a soon to be released date.

Redefining the traditional definition of Harlem Renaissance Dame Grease cutting edge style marks him the musics brand ambassador.

Queensway – Biotic [CLIP] by QUEENSWAY

Solid track. Big up to Godfather Sage for the find.

We. Love. Phantogram.

Yeah, this already has 21 million views and is from October 15, but Mike Posner is still awesome and the song still rules. The best part about Posner is that he does the vast majority of his synthesizer melody work himself. In the case of “Please Don’t Go,” the synthesizer work pretty much made the song. We respect that Posner has that talent with melody.

So many musicians are just proper vocalists who don’t even write their own lyrics, so it’s always refreshing to see artists who know how to play instruments, use sequencers, digitally process their own sounds, etc. It’s indisputable that vocals are half the battle in most pop music, but why wouldn’t a song be more “yours” if you were involved in every process of its creation. Jack Conte is a great example of this. So is Owl City, even if it’s probable that he gets a lot of outside input on his music now that he’s signed with Universal Republic Records. Group efforts can result in good music as well, of course, but we’re fans of the all-in-one musician (to a reasonable extent).

Here’s a repost of a Jack Conte song we love that’s a mash-up of Aphex Twin’s “Flim” and Bright Eyes’ “First Day Of My Life.”

When we see the artwork above, we immediately think Super Metroid, but maybe that’s just us. It’s still cool though.

So it has always been a Ninja Tune shtick to have old school samples peppered throughout their jams, but this new release from DJ Food has a distinctive sound we’re used to. For instance, one of our favorite DJ Food tracks of all time is DJ Food fear. Ken Nordine – “The Ageing Young Rebel:” That came out over 11 years ago, and this release from DJ Food also incorporates new styles from the guys, of course, and they’re heading in a direction that we like. To be clear, the last DJ Food album, Kaleidoscope, and it’s also 11 years old. This is a pretty exciting release for any DJ Food fans. The Search Engine is set for release on February 7, 2012.

Press:

Eleven years after the last DJ Food album release (“Kaleidoscope”), Strictly Kev and various friends, associates and like-minded collaborators return with a new full-length. The Search Engine distills the bests parts from three EPs worth of material into a continuous 56 minute album of unbridled creativity.

Collaborations abound in the form of vocal appearances from Natural Self (aka Nathaniel Pearn), JG Thirlwell (Foetus, Streoid Maximus etc.) and The The’s Matt Johnson. The latter reprises his vocal on a cover of his own track “GIANT,” nearly thirty years after its first release. Musical hook-ups include 2econd Class Citizen, who trades sample-attacks with Strictly for the suite of nine tracks that make up the 11 minute “Magpie Music.” Dr. Rubberfunk lends his drumming skills to the opening track and old DJ food partner Solid Steel’s DJ add their own ingredients to the mix.

While there isn’t a single concept behind the record, certain themes twine their way through the music. In particular, the twin retro-future icons, astronauts and robots, float and bleep their way across the surface of the album, from the Henry Flint cover art onwards. Perhaps best known for his groundbreaking work on the 2000AD comic, Flint gave Kev access to a caché of his personal drawings to colour as well as a creating a new work specifically for the project.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to all those who associate the DJ Food name with the early 90′s “Jazz Brakes” records is just how heavy The Search Engine is. Styled as a kind of psychedelic rock album made with samplers, Strictly Kev has not been afraid to frug the fuck out, with thundering drum work and fuzz bass perhaps the central musical signature of his work.

Reflecting Strictly’s work as a designer as well as a musician (he had to take the whole of 2010 off from recording the record while he did all the design for Ninja’s 20th “XX” anniversary) the album comes in a number of formats: regulard CD digipak, download, comic book with CD and a 7″ flexi-disc of a bonus track with an exclusive remix 12″, comic and flexi-disc.

As for the title, Kev explains that, “the way we live every day is helped by search engines of many shapes and sizes. Some people think they control and influence how we work and play. In this case though, the Search Engine could be something waiting to be found out in the vastness of space…” Thrusters on full…

There’s a pretty cool DJ Food website. Check it out.

FreQ Nasty — 1000 Buddhas Of The Pureland Of Bass by URB.com

Tracklisting
1 – Warm Dark Place (Original Mix)
2 – 1000 Buddhas of the Pureland of Bass
3 – The Heart of Definitive Meaning

Receiving a perfect score of 10 and named the “money shot release” in the new issue of Mixmag, “The Low FreQuency Pureland EP” marks DJ/Producer FreQ Nasty’s re-entry – with a vengeance – into the world of boundary-pushing music.

“I specifically avoided making dubstep on this EP as my modus operandi has always been –“look which way the crowd is moving and run in the opposite direction,” FreQ Nasty says. “Having said that, the crunkstep vibe of “1000 Buddha’s…” was made with that 100 BPM-808-Hyphy Hip-Hop sound in mind, but then other influences snuck in there too. And in the end my tunes never turn out quite how I imagine them to. So I don’t know what genre you would put these tracks in specifically. Not dubstep? Post dubstep? It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day as new genre’s often start in one physical location but very soon spread to anywhere you can get a half way solid link to the internet. This EP dropped out of AT&T’s broadband network somewhere between London and California. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed getting back in the studio.”

Digging into the tracks, “Warm Dark Place” is a glitch-hop and drumstep hybrid of equal parts West Coast glitch hop and UK tear-out. The influence of FreQ Nasty’s time in the US Bass heaven of California is obvious with a haunting melodic refrain offsetting the hefty bass pressure. “1000 Buddhas of the Pureland of Bass” is a crunkstep roller that takes the uptempo Hip-Hop beats of the Northern Californian Hyphy movement and welds them to seismic 808 bassline. FreQ Nasty played this across the summer of 2011 and the 808 bass solo in the middle gets them screaming every time. “The Heart of Definitive Meaning” is a journey into the more reflective side of bass music. Swathes of guitar over a backdrop of distant chimes and revolving chords all served on a bed of deep sub bass. It evolves slowly with an almost subliminal drop into angular stabs of low frequency voltage.

Born in Fiji, raised in New Zealand and formed musically in the dance music revolution of London in the late 90’s, FreQ Nasty started his career on the seminal UK label Botchit & Scarper, moving to SKINT Records in 2003. He went on to release a slew of cutting-edge records, collaborating with and remixing a diverse range of artists including Fatboy Slim, Kelis, KRS One, Roots Manuva, Rodney P, and Reggae legend Junior Delgado. 2008 saw the release of ‘Creator’, his crossover hit collaboration with MIA producer Switch and NYC hipster Santogold, and the ground breaking FABRICLIVE 42 mix CD, which was picked as DJ Magazine’s compilation of the month. He is one of Burning Man festival’s most loved DJs, where he brings his signature mix of drumstep, glitch-hop, dubstep and all things Bass heavy every year. 2011 saw the release of “Dread at the Controls” on California’s Muti Music, which launched the 17-city Monsters of Bass tour with Marty Party and Opiuo. With the cutting-edge re-design of his website, launch of his new label, FreQ Nasty Recordings, and worldwide release of his new EP, supported by online, blog, and international press coverage, FreQ is making a powerful entry into 2012.

This Posner jam is easily about to make it to commercial radio rotation. The Rebecca & Fiona is terrific too.

Rebecca & Fiona – “Dance:”

Jamie xx – Far Nearer (limited vinyl & download out now – http://farnearer.com) by Numbers

This forthcoming two track EP from Deru on Mush Records is pretty great. Now we’ve got Deru’s music with vocals. Heard vocals in Deru’s stuff before, but usually pretty chopped up. Loved that too, but this is interesting to hear. Deru’s beats have always had a hip hop feel / influence to them, so it just makes sense that we’d get some new jams from him with rappers on them.

On the Mini-Mini-Me 7″, Deru collaborates with rappers for the first time, turning in sides featuring two Bay Area giants whose work has inspired the downtempo instrumentalist: Casual (Hieroglyphics) and Gift of Gab (Blackalicious). Casual turns “Spliff” into a celebration of his preferred method of getting high while on “Bad Bad Man” Gift of Gab drops his characteristic deep-voiced tongue-twisters over a vicious beat. Without vocals, these tracks wouldn’t be out of place on Deru’s albums. With verses by these two legends, however, Mini-Mini-Me stands apart from the rest of the producer’s catalog.

Deru Feat. Casual – Spliff by MushRecords