Archive for May 2009
Colby Sparks – CiTR Radio Interview

photo from newformsfestival
Colby Sparks – Interview On The Rib, CiTR Radio
Colby was yesterday interviewed by Robyn Jacob on CiTR. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside the brain of this young lad definitely gives this one a listen.
Topics explored include Zelda samples, Giorgio Magnanensi, literally underground Vancouver venues, and rewiring barbie guitars. Colby curated much of the music that went on the show and it’s really cool to hear his musical influences played alongside tracks from his album Paper Forest. Shout out to Robyn for recognizing local talent you lovely girl you!
Robyn: And the album by the way is called Paper Forest. Um, if anyone wants to get their hands on one….
Colby: They can contact me on Myspace. My Myspace is www.myspace.com/colbysparks and… I usually have them on me so if anyone sees me and recognizes my huge mob of red hair…
Download the show podcast here (right click, save as)
Max Ulis / Colby Sparks

illustration by Naomi Austin
She & Him – You Really Got A Hold On Me (Max Ulis remix)
This addictive track by Vancouver’s Max Ulis has been traveling distances recently, even collecting plays by Joe Nice on Gourmet Beats Radio and at Dub War in New York. Max’s remix was inspired by his ’small difficult Asian girlfriend’ one afternoon in San Francisco. When this track goes down at Vancouver Lighta! shows, I’ve definitely caught myself and many others wholeheartedly screaming the lyrics at the speakers. Lovely tune.
Note: There are a few who seem to think the original-original was by The Beatles, but this isn’t true. It all started with You Really Got A Hold On Me by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

Colby Sparks – BeesKneesMan
I first met Colby Sparks at Red Gate and after catching whispers of his talent, quickly discovered a following in Vancouver around Colby’s unique style and promise – and it’s easy to see why. Colby is a producer with history in jazz saxophone whose influences vary from Venetian Snares to Mozart to Arvo Part. Somehow, it all works in this wonderful harmonious whole.
BeesKneesMan is off his debut album Paper Forest which he released at a house party no-one will forget too soon (it concluded with the cops barging in for noise complaints during a wicked set involving Colby on a sax and a beatboxer on a mic). Hopefully there is more to come from the gifted Mr. Sparks.
Some words on BeesKneesMan from Colby-
Made this track along with a few like it while experimenting with the idea of dubstep in 7/4. Beeskneesman is the only one that made the cut cause I didn’t really get a long with any of the other grooves that had surfaced. What made the difference for me is that the beat has way more to do with a asymmetric shuffle than an odd time interpretation of 2-step, and is way more fun to jam sax over-top than any other track I’ve made.
Culoe De Song / Martyn / Flying Lotus
Weminedeepering lots because my plane for a 5-day shoot in Toronto leaves in eight hours, so I’m just staying up all night to pack and edit photos.
Sleeping on planes = best.
My head is reeling because there’s one shoot in particular that is somewhat out of the norm. It stemmed from a phone conversation that included the line: ‘tell me honestly, are you comfortable with shooting photos from helicopters?’
I’m desperately hoping they’ll let me twitter from a helicopter, it would probably change my life forever.
Anyway, as a pre-travel ritual I look into my music library and pick out a few things I would like to listen to the most. My head cast its votes and out popped these three. If you haven’t heard them before, I hope you’d be intrigued enough to possibly give a listen:

Culoe De Song – Resident Advisor Podcast
Culoe De Song is an 18 year-old hailing from South Africa. Last year the Red Bull Music Academy flew him out to Spain to spend a month making music with like-minded emerging producers from all over. He returned home with an Innervision record deal and a slot to play at Sonar – one of the biggest music festivals in Europe. His mix for Resident Advisor is emotionally variant but refreshingly uplifting, a gorgeous, percussion-filled treat. All eyes are firmly set on this fairytale talent right now.

Martyn – Rob Da Bank & Friends on BBC Radio
Dubstep and BMX Street have come to mirror each other a bit – they now resemble ouroboros, a depressing thought giving their thriving explorative nature just not too long ago. But with every struggling genre there are the heroes, and Martyn is at the front of the pack with his fist firmly gripped around a guiding torch. In a recent interview, the French techno legend Laurent Garnier had this to say about Martyn’s latest effort:
“[it was] the last album I got that really blew me away….Straight after I heard that album, I sent him an email saying ‘you are the true genius of techno right now… He’s making the most forward-thinking techno at the moment, because he has understood and digested everything and put it into his music—dubstep, techno, everything. He’s not closing himself to any one style.”
Well worth the listen, and for extra excellentness he named one of his tracks after the city in which he created it – ‘Vancouver.’

Flying Lotus – BBC1 Essential Mix
Famously known as great-nephew of the late Alice Coltrane, FlyLo has been creating his own brand of playfully off-time organic music for years now (some will remember him from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim segues). The Warp Records signee is a media-magnet by this point so there’s no use in rambling on about who he is. On to this widely-lauded mix, it’s a brilliant adventure with a tracklist that should never have been possible. Judging from this video of his set at Sonar, his shows look like more fun than a Japadog (which is saying something). Absolutely cannot wait to see him live.
Animal Youth

seen on Andy Chung’s ffffound
this made me wonder who christina kim was



On Youtube
by discosean21
ArchDaily – Bastard Store
Italian practice studiometrico [on] how they converted an old cinema in Milan, into the new Bastard flagship store, which also includes a suspended bowl and offices for Comvert.
Wow.
The Wire – Kode 9 Interview Unedited Transcript

… it was people lost in the music as opposed to shouting about how lost they were in the music.
The Wire recently posted up the unedited transcript from their interview with dubstep demigod Kode 9. Been really excited to read this. Text consumption starts here.
Hawk, Alcantara, Rich in Spain

With a rider list like that hitting crazy Spanish spots, do you really need any more convincing to watch this video? Easily one of the best edits of 2009 so far. MOORRREE!!!!
via thecomeup
Twilight of Virginity

I only drink blood, and I can’t have that. But I also drink cum, can I have some of that?
omgwtfjules, who is part of the eccentric collective Charbee & Co (whom Priyah from the ‘die by the snatch’ post is also a proud member of), posted on her twitter the trailer to a porn video called Twilight of Virginity.
This being a weird porn link from Charbee & Co means it’s an instant watch in my books. See it here.
I really want to know the justification behind that baseball game at 1:35. The out-of-placeness is mindblowing. Maybe I’m gonna have to watch Twilight to understand it.
Wait.
I have to watch a teen romance fiction to get a reference in a porn flick? wtf…
Anyway, hit the jump for some fascinating history behind Twilight of Virginity. And if you want to buy it – in GLORIOUS BLU RAY no less – get it here. If you do buy a copy I think everyone will be so unbelievably psyched. First person to send a picture of it for proof will receive a photo print or something.
