On Rotation: Staff Picks, August 23

On Rotation: Staff Picks, August 23

23 August, 2011 | 2.44AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: d minds, lee brinx, loko, lukid, moritz ochsenbauer, on rotation, robert babicz, staff picks

This week, our staffers have rolled up an extra-wide selection of current faves, bordering on obsessions. For the dubsteppers, there’s heavy business from Loko and Koan Sound. Junglists, check in with D Minds. If you like it dark and purposeful, we pull out a classic Robert Babicz track. There’s house from Lee Brinx and Jay Haze, and if you like it slightly twisted, you’re gonna love Lukid.

Read on, and share your current picks in the comments.

Philip Sherburne

Beatportal Editor, Berlin / Professional Crank

Lukid, “Boxing Club” / “Blind Spot” [Glum]

Lukid, “Spitting Bile” EP [Glum]

Lukid has got to be one of the most criminally overlooked artists on the bass/beats/whathaveyou scene. His first two albums, 2007’s “Onandon” and 2008’s “Foma,” are gorgeous examples of stoned sampledelia in a Stones Throw or Brainfeeder style, soaked in piano and static. 2010’s “Chord” gets grittier, moving towards the style of his Werk Discs label-mate Actress. (He also did a beautiful ambient-house remix for BNJMN earlier this summer.) His EPs for Glum show a significantly different side. Last November’s “Boxing Club” / “Blind Spot” delved deeply into hazy underwater techno somewhere between Newworldaquarium and Oni Ayhun, and his new “Spitting Bile” EP scurries nervously into even more abstracted dimensions. “My Teeth in Your Neck” is the standout, flecked with voice and flickering guitar, while the other three are lumbering, lo-fi behemoths. Massive.

Further Listening:

Death on the Balcony, “Long Ago (Mark E Remix)” [Airdrop Records]

Objekt, “Objekt EP002” [Objekt]

Mosca, “Tilt Shift” (Swing Ting + Julio Bashmore remixes) [Fat City]

Roska, “Error Code” / “Abrupt” [Hotflush Recordings]

STL, “Nocturnal Mixdowns” [Something Records]

Miles, “Facets” [Modern Love]

Matt Ferry

Merchandising Manager, Denver / Laser Tag Enthusiast

Lee Brinx feat. Tina Geru “Over You” [Lower East]

Every time Lower East puts out a new release, it’s a guarantee it’ll be on repeat not only at work, but at my house, while bike riding, even when I manage to hijack someone else’s stereo at a house party. Lee Brinx and Tina Geru’s “Over You” is exactly what you’d hear Maya Jane Coles drop when the timing was right.

Further Listening:

Various, “F<*k Dance, Let's Art - Sounds From A New American Underground" [K7 Records]

Teebs, Ardour [Brainfeeder]

Fabian, Last Flight [Binary Records]

Dianne Deguzman

Marketing Production Manager, Denver / Laser Poker Enthusiast

Moritz Ochsenbauer, “Fuck Face (Jay Haze Remix)” [Blufin]

I like an artist with a diversified discography. So when I caught Jay Haze on the Blufin imprint, I had to check it out to see what sound route he took this time around. His remix of “Fuck Face” is my favorite from the bunch, even though I still clutched my pearls at the vocals. Don’t let the preview fool you, it’s not a clean version; but it is the most slick and stripped down, with a simple funky progression.

Further Listening:

Daniel Steinberg, “You Got It” [Arms & Legs]
Daniel Steinberg is consistent in my book.

Hot Natured, “Forward Motion feat. Ali Love” [Hot Creations]

Kazi, “A.V.E.R.A.G.E.” [Stones Throw]
Re-discovered this Stone’s Throw compilation! Totally worth the $10 if you want to hear some of hip-hop’s greatest producers.

Dan Cole

General Manager Berlin / Senior Manager of Merchandising / True English Gentleman

D Minds, “Stone River” [Critical Presents: Modulations]

Yes this is the same D Minds that brought you “Ho Bass” and that “Warface” remix. Yet since they dropped the liquid “Visions” roller on Hospital, there seems to have been a change of pace in the Bristol crew, with the production duo breaching into the intelligent drum & bass camp. Admittedly “Stone River” sounds a lot like Photek’s “Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu,” yet its subtle progressions make it more accessible for the contemporary lo-fi junglist. And if you weren’t able to actually get “Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu” on vinyl (time for a reissue, Rupert!), now’s your chance to have a killer weapon in your DJ arsenal.

Other Stuff:

Omar S, “Sarah” [FXHE]

XXXY vs Ike Release, XXXY vs. Ike Release [Infrasonics]

eLan, Alligator Snaps [Monkeytown]

Mike Chapman

Merchandising Manager, Berlin / Contemporary Badman

Robert Babicz, “Battlestar” [Babiczstyle]

This week, digging in the memory banks for some of my older favorites, of which I dearly miss my vinyl copies. With the majority of my wax stored away in my parents’ basement in USA, often times I long for some of my favorite older records which for some reason or another never make it to the digital marketplace. One such record is “Battlestar,” originally on Punkt Music. Without a doubt, this is my favorite Babicz track, and only last week did I realize it was now available digitally. This is one superbly produced cut and is a dangerous weapon when played at high volume.

Further Listening:

Wighnomy Brothers, “Pele Boss” [Freude Am Tanzen Recordings]

Maetrik, “Utilizame” [Treibstoff]

Richard Davis, “Bring Me Closer” [Kitty-Yo]

Sean Lewis

Merchandising Manager, Denver / Glitchhoppa

Loko, “Keep Rising (Koan Sound Remix)” [Screwloose Records]

There’s no doubt UK producer Loko handled his latest single “Keep Rising” with a ton of finesse, but to me, the Bristol group Koan Sound really took this track to another level. Adding detailed moments of beautiful acoustics and production expertise, they didn’t just put a donk on it and call it a day. They loaded this track with dark drums, breaks and complex layers, but it’s their attention to structure that really turns this one into a work of art.

Further Listening:

Evol Intent, “Raw Bass Material” [Evol Intent Records]

DLX, “Hologram” [SMOG]

Bastille, “Head Space” [Deceast]

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