Francesco Messina
Reflex

Following his compelling comment on the modern-day culture of call centres, Disruptive Muzak – awarded Album of the Year 2016 by Boomkat – Sam Kidel turns his analytical artistry towards the ominous gatekeepers of online communication with a rave-inspired rebel spirit to match his scientific methodology.First exhibited at EBM(T) in Tokyo, Live @ Google Data Center trespasses in Google’s data centre in Council Bluffs, Iowa to perform electronic music amongst the humming banks of servers and endless cable runs, without actually breaking in. In a process he describes as “mimetic hacking,” Kidel used architectural plans based on photos of the data centre to acoustically model the sonic qualities of the space.The resulting acoustics on Live @ Google Data Center simulate the sound of Kidel’s algorithmically-generated notes, rhythms and melodies reverberating through the space, as though a bold illegal party was being held in the maximum security location. Kidel’s manipulation of his generative direction of the music, all inspired by images of the data centre.

NOTTE BRIGANTE is back in the longplayer spheres, unearthing for mother earth nine tracks by French producer, musician and PMR label runner ASSID, that spellbind under the entitlement “Connaissance des Lois Cosmiques“.An utterly surprising, dark-ish fever dance of many styles, synth-ages, tribal zones, and cosmic flashes! Ingredients, that ASSID sucked up from his many musical adventures. As Trackmark he is active since 1998 and self-released four longplayers that glitch abstract through the electronic galaxies. He is also part of the Strasbourg, France based band The John Merricks, living the psychedelic dream in unity with lo-fi swing, dub, electronic, Acid rock and all that noise. When he feels like going fully electric, he joins his buddy Doudouboy and invents as Electric Muezzin abstract dub, that thrills all delays and echoes of creation.With “Connaissance des Lois Cosmiques “, the man from the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France distributes an amalgamation of all his different artistic avenues. You get dubbed. You get cosmic. You get waved into a darkness, that is illuminated by psychedelic drifts, but at the end it’s just a trip!

For the last decade, Argentina has become the epicenter of a musical explosion that characteristically blends folk music from the surrounding Andes and electronic beats. The artist arguably responsible for its emergence on a global platform is one named Chancha Via Circuito- a Buenos Aires native named Pedro Canale whose first album Rodante (2008) opened the floodgates by pushing the borders of Cumbia listeners weren't even aware existed. He's gone on to release other highly acclaimed albums such as Rio Arriba (2010), which Resident Advisor described as 'aural magical realism', and Amansara (2014), which catapulted him onto acclaimed international stages and received praises from Pitchfork to the New York Times.Four years later, in the midst of some very notable global turbulence, Chancha Via Circuito brings us his highly anticipated new album Bienaventuranza- a word that essentially means bliss. Replete with his signature touches of Andean instruments (think lots of flute and charango), the folkloric elements on this album blend fluidly with danceable and digestible electronic beats. He's been cooking this record slowly, with unprecedented amounts of care and in a much more collaborative manner than his past albums.Appearing on the album are heavy hitters in the digital cumbia scene, including Mateo Kingman, Kaleema, and Lido Pimienta, all of whom contribute their highly distinguishable sounds to the natural flow of the album. Most of these collaborations came about almost effortlessly. La Victoria is a track that blends cumbia, dancehall, and a bit of mysticism- carried by Lido Pimienta's luminous voice, Colombian Dancehall wizard Manu Ranks happened to be in town and slipped into the song naturally. Kawa Kawa came from an improv jam during rehearsal one day with Kaleema (Heidi Lewandowski) and Federico Estevez (percussionist in Chancha Via Circuito). Niño Hermoso, which is lyrically a fable, sounds the way it does because Pedro saw a video of Gianluz (Gianluca Zonzini), who he knows from dance classes, singing a Pocahontas song on Youtube.As dancefloor-friendly as it is mystical, Bienaventuranza is as Chancha as it gets- with elements from Cumbia to Dancehall to Andean Folk to Global house, crystal clear production, and collaborations that are evidently natural and genuine, the record holds true to the sound that Canale has played such a huge part in creating. Since the release of his last album, the digital folk scene has also grown exponentially. From a new generation of producers to more listeners in unassuming parts of the globe, Pedro has been humbled to see the sound develop- and proves with this album that he's grown swiftly alongside it.

Great co-production between arthur baker & dave clarke !!! huge one !!!When Jackmaster opened his Mixmag covermount mix with Arthur Baker & Dave Clarke's collaboration from 2001 it shone a new light on this Southern Fried classic. It demanded a re-release and two new remixers were entasked. First up Man Power, whose recent releases on Futureboogie and DFA are turning heads, and also rising star Cody Currie whose output on Pusic & Razor 'n' Tape make him an ideal fit.