Continuing its mission to bring together the best cutting edge electronic musicians in the world, the Red Bull Music Academy is mounting a triple-header tour that will bring a bass heavy three-pronged assault from Martyn, Illum Sphere and TOKiMONSTA to Brisbane’s The Family nightclub on Saturday September 18.

Each year since 1998, the Red Bull Music Academy has invited a class of 60 carefully selected beat heads from around the world to attend an intensive term of workshops with the leading exponents of electronic music. And each year, attendees and lecturers from previous terms travel the world to spread the RBMA gospel and share the music created and fostered at the Academy. The 2010 RBMA On The Floor tour brings the absolute bleeding edge of modern bass music to Brisbane’s best sound system for the first time ever.

Martyn is the senior artist of the trio. Steeped in a dubstep sound informed by a complex amalgam of techno, house, hip hop and drum and bass, it’s no surprise that the Dutch DJ, producer and label boss was drafted to mix the landmark 50th entry in Fabric London’s esteemed mix series. Check this haunting video inspired by his Great Lengths album and featuring Martyn himself.

2010-05-21 – Martyn @ La Boum de Luxe, FM4 Radio by 3024world

TOKiMONSTA is the first lady of Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder crew. With her standout performance at Barcelona’s Sonar 2010 festival, the fresh Midnight Menu LP on Art Union and a brand new intercontinental collaborative 10” with London maverick Blue Daisy, TOKiMONSTA has staked her claim as one of the most exciting producers of music today.

TOKiMONSTA – 2010 – Cosmic Intoxication EP Preview Mix by TOKiMONSTA

Young producer Illum Sphere exploded out of Manchester off the back of his EP “The Incoming” and his club night Hoya:Hoya. Championed by Thom Yorke, Mary-Anne Hobbs and the Brainfeeder crew, he is only the second English performer (after Mary-Anne) to be invited to play LA’s pivotal Low End Theory night.

Titan by Illum Sphere

Bringing the local heat to Family’s high pressure sound system are some of Brisbane’s brightest producers. Elroy 4.0 scored a position on the second Oscillations compilation released by Jus Like Music, alongside international heatmakers Slugabed, Alex B and 8Bitch.

As a DJ, Erther was a lynchpin of the long-running Brisbane junglist institution Rudebwoyz, but he also peddles a mean line in menacing production. He’s blessed more than one Morass party to devastating effect in the past, and we’re stoked to have him back.

Dubstep duo Science Project have incinerated dancefloors with their dubwise bangers, and the release of their debut EP Alchemystic has positioned them as one of Australia’s most promising bass groups.

Red Bull Music Academy On The Floor with Martyn, Illum Sphere & TokiMonsta
Date: 9pm to 5am, Saturday 18 September
Location: The Family [Top Floor], 8 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley
Support acts: Elroy 4.0, Science Project, Erther, Dank Morass
Cost: $15 on the door, $10+bf through OzTix

Samiyam’s colourful and raw grooves reference soul, funk, 70s Italian horror flick soundtracks, Nintendo bonus level music, 90s hip hop and the current upsurge of bass music. These myriad influences have positioned Sam at the crucial intersection of underground hip hop beats and left-leaning, bass-centric electronica.

Samiyam’s funk caught the ears and nose of Flying Lotus in 2005, resulting in the pair collaborating as FLYamSAM. This prompted Sam to move to LA where he became a regular collaborator and accelerator of the infamous LA beat scene and Brainfeeder massive.

Shortly, Sam’s music came to the attention of Hyperdub label boss   Kode 9, who issued Sam’s Return EP in 2009 and featured tracks on the trailblazing label’s 2010 compilation. The demand for Sam increased exponentially and he made several trips to London and Europe to spread the love imbued in his sound

Samiyam is frequently repped by BBC1 tastemakers Mary-Anne Hobbs and Benji B, and was included in Thom Yorke’s Top 10 on the Radiohead website earlier this year.

Despite the international acclaim, Samiyam remains true to his DYI ethos, hand drawing the covers of his releases and personally sending out copies of his breakthrough beat tape, Rap Beats Vol. 1. He’s remixed the likes of Daedalus, Flying Lotus and 2562 and has both a solo LP and a FLYamSAM album finished and awaiting release on Brainfeeder.

Backing up these brainfeeding beats is a live set of beats from Brisbane’s own Puzahki , bringing the crackle with tunes from his this years Candle Wax EP, a grip of moody tracks built from broken toys, discarded wax and field recordings.

The Morass is glad to finally present a DJ set from Milesago. Also known to the heads as seminal Brisbane MC and DJ LenOne (Brothers Stoney/Boney Stoney), Milesago will surprise with crates of classic funk and soul, and a keen eye for the newest beat experimentations.

Naturally, Dank Morass DJs Swob, Walrii and Danck drop the latest bass science to keep it all moving in one of Brisbane’s best new venues.

Dank Morass presents SAMIYAM (Live – USA, Hyperdub/Brainfeeder)
When: 7pm til the break of dawn, Sunday 12 September
Where: x&y Bar, 648 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Support: Puzahki, Milesago, Walrii, Swob, Danck
Cost: $15 on the door
……

Vivandière is spinning as well – check out her latest mix here on Soundcloud.

Now, it is time for part two of the Archive series, a homage to essential albums that you may have dearly missed in your life.

This week is the “Live” LP, released in 1972 by seminal American soul artist Donny Hathaway on Atlantic Recordings. Download at end of post.

Donny Hathaway started out as a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, the Staple Singers and Jerry Butler, among others. He released a slew of albums during the 70s, however “Live” LP, shines out as the gem in Hathaway’s discography.

“Live” is made up of recordings from two different concerts performed in 1972. Side one, on the West coast of America in the Troubadour, Hollywood and side two, on the East coast in the Bitter End, Greenwich Village NYC.

America-wide, people’s heart-felt reaction to Hathaway’s music is heard clearly on this album, as the kinetic static of the audience swarms around the warm soul at its core. In an intimate 4-piece live setting (bass, keys/organs/vocals, guitar, drums), Donny imparts both echoes of gospel and jazz and a social conscience, presenting an extremely relevant LP/concert for black people living in 1970s America.

The remarkable thing about “Live” is that it has an overriding (or under riding) textural energy which allows the album to extend a unique connection to human souls across the globe.

This energy is made up of Hathaway’s consistent audience involvement and the crowds instinctive responses to his crooning requests, which are well captured on the recordings. Also, integral to this “feel”, is the band’s effortless musicianship and jazz improvisation. Many of the tracks begin with a 3 minute soul workout, morphing into extended musical discussions, each player allowing each other time to express the spontaneity which makes this album so special.

Donny Hathaway is the king of the band (and crowd); his vocal and keyboard chops colouring the album’s original and covered tunes, with a very personal touch. His voice, indicative of Stevie Wonder’s vocal control and tone, expresses an earnst which turns Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On” (released within a year of this album), into a personal, less orchestrated affair, maintaining an innate understanding of the social angst at the heart of the original.

The raw spontaneity, jazz chops and a specific yet all encompassing relevancy that keeps renewing itself each generation, makes “Live” a seminal, often overlooked release. The concerts that make up the album were very special times and places in history, and have been captured perfectly and pressed on wax.

Donny Hathaway obviously had some demons in his life, which eventually got the better of him, when he was found dead on the sidewalk below the window of his 15th-floor room in New York’s Essex House hotel in 1979. The musical legacy he left behind indicated however, that Donny was full of a love that he could project with elegance and power.

This album is good for the soul. Peep it.

Walrus

Donny Hathaway – Live (1972 Atlantic) (Download)
1. What’s Goin’ On
2. The Ghetto
3. Hey Girl
4. You’ve Got A Friend
5. Little Ghetto Boy
6. We’re Still Friends
7. Jealous Guy
8. Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)

We’d be surprised if this show didn’t sell out, but you can still grab tickets via OzTix if you haven’t already.

Lorn – ‘Tomorrow’ (Brainfeeder) – The B-side wins again with the Brainfeeder alumni’s crackling dirge from the (digital) flip of ‘Cherry Moon’. (Buy Nothing Else LP at Bleep or Boomkat)

Still Philosophy & Qman1 – ‘Rollin In My…’ (Planet? remix) (CDR) – Aqueous bass and mermaid whispers make this the jam to bump in your Lowrider submarine. Up periscope! (Free EP download via Bandcamp)

Robot Koch – ‘Gorom Sen’ (Loops Haunt remix) (Project Mooncircle) – Two android samurai size each other up and tersely draw swords in Mr Haunt’s  fearsome mechanical take on Robot’s original. (Buy Death Star Droid remix EP at Bleep)

Soul Litchfield – ‘Dice Toss’ (Saturn Never Sleeps) – Philly mainstay  (and former Digable Planets member) King Britt turns two decades of experience to new school beat business with a sprinkling of old school soul. (Buy Headnod Acrobatics Vol 1 from Saturn Never Sleeps)

Downliners Sekt – ‘U Gumbu’ (Disboot) – Did you ever wonder what early Autechre being slowly and tenderly suffocated by Burial in a damp closet would sound like? Us neither, but turns out it’s pretty dope. (Buy Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation on Boomkat).

BONUS BEAT: Justin Bieber – ‘Baby’ (El-P Death mix) (CDR) – This actually exists.