Brainfeeder Archives

The Gaslamp Killer has a few ideas for your next nightmare

Electronic artist William Bensussen, better known as The Gaslamp Killer, drops an ominous beat for “In The Dark,” album closer for 2012’s Breakthrough and all-around solid choice for “night-terror soundtrack” material.

The Groove Seeker: Slugabed’s Sun Too Bright Turn it Off

On a biweekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Slugabed: Sun Too Bright Turn it Off EP (Ninja Tune, 11/8/11)

Slugabed: “Sun Too Bright Turn it Off”

[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/01-Sun-Too-Bright-Turn-It-Off.mp3|titles=Slugabed: Sun Too Bright Turn It Off]

It’s appropriate to say that London is a breeding ground of zeitgeist-changing musical talent when it comes to the instrumental beat scene. In the city, you’ll find dubstep, grime, and drum-‘n’-bass nights every day of the week. And like many other UK cities, including Brighton and Bristol, London is on the forefront of current styles and approaches to beat-making. It’s also the residence of DJ and producer Slugabed, whose new EP, Sun Too Bright Turn it Off, sounds like the East London and Los Angeles beat scenes coming into one.

The new release marks back-to-back EPs for Slugabed, a.k.a. Greg Feldwick, as he makes a strong and steady buildup to his debut album for Ninja Tune. Parallel to the Moonbeam Rider EP, Sun Too Bright Turn it Off builds a spacey, multi-dimensional soundscape filled with chopped-and-screwed break beats, wobbly bass drops, and wild 8-bit synths. But the two releases are unquestionably different in terms of spacing and pacing. Sun Too Bright is a substantially more down-tempo affair, which in fact better establishes Feldwick’s ability as a composer.

The Groove Seeker: Austin Peralta’s Endless Planets

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Austin Peralta: Endless Planets (Brainfeeder, 2/15/11)

Austin Peralta: “Capricornus”

[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/02-austin_peralta-capricornus.mp3|titles=Austin Peralta: “Capricornus”]

Austin Peralta is a 20-year-old jazz pianist. A former child prodigy, Peralta has already led two record releases abroad for Sony Japan. He recorded his first album, Maiden Voyage, at age 15 with a trio that included legendary bassist Ron Carter. And his sophomore effort, Mantra, was recorded mere months later with a quintet including Buster Williams. If that’s not enough to convince you of Peralta’s skill level, a stage shared with Chick Corea and Hank Jones at the 2007 Tokyo Jazz Festival will. Add in a number of prestigious awards and it’s clear that the young LA native has chops, to say the least.

For his third album, and first US release, Endless Planets, Peralta joined the Flying Lotus-run Brainfeeder label. It’s a progressive step forward in Brainfeeder’s legacy, one that seems natural, given Flying Lotus’ (a.k.a. Steven Ellison) great-nephew relation to jazz icon Alice Coltrane. It’s a label that’s home to artists who have been using jazz sounds and textures to create some of today’s most genre-forging music.