Sentinels have a synth sound that is so now, it makes Future Garage as a genre moniker actually agreeable. Encompassing elements of Grime, Dubstep and that all important 2 Step swing the lads produce certified sonic gold of the black vinyl variety. Their upcoming release on "Car Crash Set" (featured here) is proof positive that 2011 is going to be a big year for these Future Sound Directors. Also clock their debut release on "LS2" featuring "Love Rhythm / Synaesthesia".

Une fleur à un coeur.

Since the release of Sepalcure's eponymous debut on Hotflush I have been wondering to myself just how will these two will manage to follow up, what in my opinion, was the best debut release of 2010. Well wonder no more because the boyz from N.Y.C. are set to release their second Hotflush 12" entitled Fleur.

Again with artwork from Sougwen this new 12" sounds very much of the same standard as the first release and stand out track "No Think" is highlighted below. Sepalcure's housey ethereal vocal step dream states are the perfect tonic for that new year hangover.

No Think by sepalcure

Over 6 months ago I put my last post up on this blog. It was the middle of summer 2010, we were in the process of throwing a party over at the house to celebrate my birthday and Gon's record being released. Things were looking sweet for the summer ahead with a trip to Italy all planned for the end of summer. But fate has a way of conspiring against the best of intentions and within a few weeks the shape of summer would change dramatically.

On returning from holidays the somber task of dismantling Studio Dudio was upon us. The world economy may have imploded a year and a half earlier, but things in Ireland were only starting to get really bleak. Gon & Halfdutch were on the move to London for pastures greener (well grayer actually but nonetheless), in hopes of finding work and escaping from the seemingly never ending Irish bitch & moan session that has become a national pastime round these parts. A sensible move and I would be remiss to say I wasn't in some ways envious of their departure.

Some of us though would have to stay behind. Man the sinking ship as it would be. And so, somethings fell by the wayside. Like this blog, and more importantly our internet connection. For the last 6 months we have embraced a relatively Luddite condition and have been living without ever since. It has been a tough experiment, but now with the start of a new year there looks to be a sliver of hope on the horizon. 30Mbps fibre power broadband has been on promise for a couple of years now and while living in a country that still doesn't use post codes provides little confidence that the future is about arrive any day soon, I still hold on to the dream and have resolved to continue on with this blog regardless. Come internet or be damned the show must go on. So stay tuned folks. Updates will be sporadic for a little while yet but 2011 will be a better year my friends, a better year indeed.

Gon on 12"

So the time has come. Summer is here, the weather is fine and June 21st saw the release of 2 tracks by Gon on 12" through Infrasonics. Studio Dudio has been a great home away from home these last couple of years and Gon has put in some serious work shaping his sounds and upping his production game. The results speak for themselves.

Gon's 2 tracks give an idea of the man's varied take on the underground UK dance sounds of the now and sit quite comfortably alongside the 2 tracks of the record's other introductee Jamie Grind. Infrasonics recent offerings of double A-Side 12"s continue to impress, so get yer skates on and pick up a copy at any of the following on line sources.

Juno



Boomkat



Phonica



Redeye

A few words with Milyoo.

I’ve read that your name Milyoo is meant as an homage to “milieu”, a French word hinting at a mixture of sorts (though actually defined as one’s surroundings, esp. of a social or cultural nature). With that in mind can you elaborate a little on the influences that are guiding the melange of sounds you are creating?

Milyoo: Piles of stuff really. Although I hesitate to reach back too far historically... mostly because I can't remember it as well as the present. But I try to reach back. Old mixtapes and the record collection.

Well you have a history in house music right?

Milyoo: Right, a history. I started DJing in about 97-98. Deep house mostly. My record collection definitely reflects this, but I listen to so much new music daily that my influences are a mess to be honest. I'm not trying to be intentionally evasive, I actually just find the whole thing very thick and without any definite point to grab onto.

So does that diversity of influences play a part in the way you build your tracks? I mean it wouldn’t be a stretch to call some of your tracks and demos, experimental.

Milyoo: Absolutely. Hearing something new (and good) compels me to get into the studio and sort it out. My musical 'training' however isn't sufficient to bite all the way, but I definitely riff off everything I hear. Almost all the time. Rarely do I find myself with a singular sound I want to push, though I am a fan of (re)imagining house music at the moment.

No doubt, that Sepalcure vibe is hitting me hard at the moment.

Milyoo: Gah. Yeah I love that album. I'm also feeling West Norwood Cassette Library and Oriol for similar reasons. The house vibe is great. The best I think. It’s about dancing and sex. Win/Win. Oh, and love I guess. A holy trinity of sorts.

I noticed very early on in your tracks a real soulful house feeling backed up with the use of some vocals. Is that something that you think about when you are making tracks?

Milyoo: Yeah I kinda feel obligated to have vocals. I dunno. I like to sing along? That and my wife shrugs her shoulders at anything without vocals, so I toss them in to keep the household stable Seriously though, vocals, I like them.

Speaking of households, you live in Kentucky right?

Milyoo: For now yeah.

Is there much of a scene locally for the kind of music you are producing?

Milyoo: The 'scene' from my recent survey is a mixture of brostep and straight up house. That said, there are some very talented producers around here. A kid named Amtrak, Company Processing and a duo called Refinery are all quite good. So the answer is... no Not at the moment.

A kind of splendid isolation then?

Milyoo: That's an amazing euphemism. Consider it stolen. Ha.

Does the lack of a real vibrant local scene help keep you glued to the studio then? Because you have been posting tracks up to the cloud at a serious pace?

Milyoo: Yup. A little. I'm really obsessive too. If I'm not out rock climbing I'm glued to reason/record.

Give us a little run down on Love Studios then for the tech heads out there.

Milyoo: Regular Macbook, MPD 32, Novation remote SL, Launchpad, EMU E4XT sampler, Korg Elecribe A, tons of percussion bits, decks, tape deck... and an extra widescreen monitor, totally essential. Reason/Record and Ableton 8.

You fairly recently started using Ableton 8 right? Was that switch for arranging purposes?

Milyoo: Well for the live show mostly, and sometimes I'll do an effects pass/master on a track. But for the most part I'm still working in the Propellerheads environ.

So your first 12" has just dropped on the OPIT records. Have you been happy with the reception so far?

Milyoo: Happy would be an incredible understatement. I'm thrilled. Overjoyed. Ecstatic. Etc. The list of people who like the release is uber-humbling. Having a pile of artists you adore, like your music, is really really really awesome.

Astro awesome?

Milyoo: Double astro awesome. I'm sometimes hyperbolic. Obviously. No, it's really cool. But odd if only because things here (my house/studio/city) are completely the same. The whole thing seems very virtual from where I'm sitting. I mean, I'm having a release party tonight at my house. I invited 9 people, but I'm thinking it will top out at 8:) Guest listed all of them.

It's funny you say that though, because it was through the virtual world of the net and Soundcloud that you hooked up with Subeena who is behind OPIT records.

Milyoo: Yeah well my entire musical being is virtual interwebbage, which is a shame because I'm way more charming in person

Well you must have made some in roads, other than just on the net, considering the BBC1 Mary Anne Hobbs guestmix and all.

Milyoo: Basically everything hinged on the Opit release. People liked it and I happen to have enough tracks sitting on my hardrive and enough time to reach out to people i like to form useful and inspiring musical relationships. I'm definitely not a spammer, but if someone is doing something i like i don't hesitate to fire up a virtual conversation with them.

Well, any plans to take the Milyoo live experience on the road? The U.K.? or even a visit here to the emerald isle to hook up with Shatterfreak?

Milyoo: Yes, yes and definitely yes. I'm slowly working out a regional gig thing in the States, but it’s really difficult to make inroads here. And i'm totally planning to head your way next spring or sooner if demand/money allows. I talk to Aidan (Shatterfreak) dozens of times a day, and I feel like I need to get over to Dublin to see if he's really as cool as he says he is, and if he's not.... I'm going to have to torch the entire country. Ethics.

Songs in the key of love?

Oh where oh where to begin? Perhaps due to the hilarity of MTV's Brostep Vs. Joystep parlava, when I first stumbled across the Sepalcure website and before actually pressing play on any of their tracks, I thought just for a fleeting moment that I was witness to the most sublime troll ever perpetrated on the aul tubes. Lovestep? Are they for real? Four minutes and forty two seconds later I was sure I had just heard the redefining of the undefinable.

Words simply do not suffice describing the beauty to be found in these sonic revelations. It literally needs to be heard to be believed, it's just that good. While resisting the urge to indulge in the kind of micro-generification that has irked many dubstep commentators and aficionados lately, I do however believe that these tracks represent a moment of definition similar to that described in Blackdown's "where do you call it" missive. But this is no line in the sand kind of moment. For me this is the Nuum coming full circle, back to one of its four constituent elements. House. Plain and simple.

The Hotflush vinyl release "Love Pressure" is due very soon and has been beautifully enhanced by Sougwen's hauntingly ethereal artistry. As far as first impressions go, it was love at first listen.

Munchi's moombahton madness going global?

I first spotted this producer on Soundcloud peddling some rather excellent ambient and spaced out dubstep in the form of "Madre, No Llores". But soon after hearing his first uploaded productions I came across the track you find below, "Sandungueo". A melange of Baltimore repetition, Lazer bass rave sounds, Latin tinged rhythms and Baile percussion with the single and solitary intent to induce dance. What ever Moombahton is, it's music that will get the peeps on the floor. Visit Rotterdam's Munchi @ his blog and download yourself his spankin fresh Moombahton promo.

Down under and delivering the goods.

Next up is the Slap & Dash edit of "Fried Toy Moombahton". Hailing from Melbourne, the duo of Mu-Gen and Scattermish have embraced the Moombahton sound and their production below delivers dance groves in spades. Set up as a blog / night / label / soundsystem and art vehicle the Scattermusic blog boys are hammering out the tunes with reckless abandon. Check the links for downloads and get ready to bounce!!!

The red resistance?

Never shy of courting controversy, M.I.A. has made a career out of speaking her mind through her music. Though not personally a huge fan of her sounds, her ethic and this video for the first single off her new album is a hell of a declaration. While the majors continue to pump out the bile and women like GaGa are lauded by the delusional media of the mainstream, it is at least nice to see someone stir the pot once in a while.

I'm all for music with meaning, however the theme of the video is rather quaint. None the less the whole production is extremely well done. French Director Romain Gavras, who made some waves with his "Stress" video for Jus†ice, is rumored to be developing a movie based on the premise of "Born Free". La Haine en Rouge anyone?

Looking forward, looking back.

It's over a year now since this animated video for "Humber" (Applepips) debuted and Hessle Audio co-conspirator, producer and DJ magnifique David Kennedy hasn't been resting on his laurels since. 2009 saw a steady stream of top quality release and remixes on a diverse platform of labels including the likes of Tempa, Soul Jazz, 2nd Drop and 7even along side the rise of the Hessle Audio empire. A year in the ascendancy without a doubt.

Having firmly cemented his place as a producer at the vanguard of the Dubtech / 2step / Garage / House crossover, so far in 2010 Ramadanman seems incapable of putting a foot wrong on the dance floor. His sublime refix of James Fox's "Put It Back" kicked January off in tremendous style. Now only weeks since the release of the Ramadanman E.P., his recent effort making the rounds is pure sweet black plastic gold. A collab with Midland out on Aus Music in the near future, for now here is the preview.

The one they call Gon takes control of the 1s&2s for the new installment of the IDS mix series. Check out irishdubstep.com for download and interview.

01: Darkstar - Dead To Me (2010)
02: Darkstar - Squeeze My Lime (Hyperdub)
03: James Blake - Give A Man A Rod (Hessle Audio)
04: Lewis B - Take (Smokin' Sessions)
05: Major Grave - Dilettantism (Forthcoming Standard)
06: Hyetal & Shortstuff - Ice Cream (Punch Drunk)
07: Jamie Grind - Balloon (Forthcoming Infrasonics)
08: Spatial - 100319 (Dub)
09: Chesus - Me N You (Dub)
10: Gon - Gotta Have You (Forthcoming Standard)
11: Major Grave - Memories A-Force Rmx (Dub)
12: Colz - Pleasure Control (Demo)
13: Major Grave - Lights Colz Rmx (Standard)
14: Gon - Chaka Mad (Forthcoming Infrasonics)
15: Deadboy - If You Want Me (Numbers)
16: Cassius - Feeling 4 U (Dragon Rmx)
17: Once Was Nice - What Could I Do Wideboys Rmx (Dubz For Klubz)
18: Tivannagh - Live & Learn (Dub)
19: Myd - Noria Dubbel Dutch Rmx (Dub)
20: Monkey Steak - Harlem Drift (Steakhouse)
21: DVA - Natty (Hyperdub)
22: Pier - Six Million Dollar Man (Dub)
23: T-Woc - The Window (Forthcoming Alphabet Set)
24: Gon - The Rythm (Carbon Logic)