Author: Jim Allen

Premiere: Alge – “Devoted”

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Jon Weinman

Have you ever had a dream that took place underwater? If so, then “Devoted,” the latest track from Alge, may stir some subconscious memories for you. Jon Weinman, a.k.a. Alge, describes his song as a “nautical bounce” with synths that “bubble up to the surface from the ocean depths.” And by the time the tune is over, you might feel like your head is swimming. “Devoted” will be released on May 13, the first track from a three-song EP, The Bluebird Triptych, due later this summer.

With a mix of sultry R&B, dreamy pop and trippy electronics, ALGE offers up a hypnotic, intoxicating tune full of slow-burning beats, ethereal vocals and carefully layered electronic atmospheres. It’s the kind of thing you could get lost in if you aren’t careful. But hopefully not so lost that you can’t find your way to the record release show taking place on June 17 at Friends and Lovers in Brooklyn. In the meantime, you can avail yourself of an exclusive advance stream of “Devoted” right here.

Opinion: DJ Mag’s 25th Anniversary Cover Has No Room For Women

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dj mag 25th anniversary issue

When you find your DJ cred questioned by New York magazine, whose writer openly admits knowing next to nothing about the DJ realm, you know you’ve crossed a line. DJ Mag got itself into this fix by celebrating 25 musical pioneers on the cover of its 25th anniversary issue without including a single female face. New York wasn’t the only publication that took New York to task over this faux pas, though. The Fader called them out about it too, and they’ve presumably got people on staff who can name more than five DJs off the top of their head.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t even an oversight. An editorial statement read, “The main issue we came across was the inclusion (or lack of inclusion) of any women (something mentioned in the editor’s letter). Eventually, after a painstaking process, we concluded that of the 25 we have chosen none can be refuted and made a conscious decision to avoid tokenism.” Obviously there’s no denying the talents of Richard D. James, Goldie, Jeff Mills, et al. But really, no room for Ellen Allien, Anja Schneider, Nina Kraviz, etc.?

To make matters worse, the statement goes on to say “We’re wholly aware that — sadly — the dance music industry is — even today — male-dominated and we’ve continually sought to address this balance in the pages of our magazine and via our online channels. In February, we ran a Women In Dance Music special to spur debate around the issue. We never have and will not shy away from supporting female DJs in our pages.”

Um, guys…did you ever think maybe this male domination you seem so sad and helpless about might be perpetuated by disincluding women from features like this? Just throwing it out there…

Prolific Kenneth James Gibson Unleashes New [a]pendics.shuffle LP

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kennethjamesgibson_Aware Sequence Found Life

Some artists simply seem to have a different kind of creative metabolism than others. Take Kenneth James Gibson for example. If his heartbeat was as accelerated as his creative output he’d undoubtedly have been in a hospital by now. After all, Gibson has worked under a slew of different names, including Reverse Commuter, Bell Gardens, dubLoner and more, making records for high-profile labels like Warp, Mille Plateaux and Planet Mu, to name just a few. When all is said and done, the man has made more than 200 records. And now he’s getting set for a new one, under yet another of his artistic aliases, [a]pendics.shuffle.

Aware Sequence Found Life, which is due out July 8 on Gibson’s own Adunct Audio label, will be his second under the aforementioned moniker, and the first of those in 11 years. With assists from Kinsey Dulcet Moore and Gibson’s wife Kelly Johnston, the record brings together a disparate batch of influences. techno, ambient, deep house, minimal, avant-garde and other flavors are brought together under one roof on Aware Sequence Found Life, and those who scarf up the vinyl version will get a bonus remix of “Dark Outlines” from Sender Records honcho Benno Blome, while the bonus track on the digital version is a continuous mix with extra material.

Premiere: Thornato – Things Will Change EP

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thornato

Global bass is nothing if not a syncretic style, grabbing influences from all over the planet, but nobody in the global bass realm is more of an international musical magpie than Thor Partridge, better known by his sonic sobriquet, Thornato. Sweden-born producer Thornato grew up in Queens, New York, where he soaked up sounds from around the world while also absorbing everything from classical piano to bluegrass banjo. Along the way, he also happened to tap into a gift for electronic music, which leads us to the present moment and the arrival of the new Thornato EP, Things Will Change.

Partridge did some serious globe-hopping in order to keep the international influences on these tracks sounding authentic, recording on location everywhere from Colombia to Cape Town. From Middle Eastern modalities to African melodies, Thornato blends his beats and production skills with such a broad range of styles that “world music” doesn’t even do justice to Things Will Change. It should probably be adopted by the United Nations as their official soundtrack for 2016. The EP is due out April 29 on Nickodemus’ Wonderwheel Recordings, but you can get in on the action early by streaming the whole damn thing right here.