After relaunching for free this summer on the iPad, ALARM Magazine is back in print with more awesome shit. We’re psyched to have the mighty Soundgarden on the cover of our Nov/Dec issue, which includes interviews with and stories on Converge, Refused, Melvins, Dirty Projectors, Bloc Party, P.O.S, Squarepusher, Fang Island, and more.
Flying Lotus
Review: Flying Lotus’s Until the Quiet Comes
Flying Lotus: Until the Quiet Comes (Warp, 10/2/12)
“Putty Boy Strut”
Originally sharpening his teeth with bumper music for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, electronic producer Flying Lotus garnered notoriety that bolstered the success of his 2006 debut, 1983. Now with four full-length albums, seven EPs, and countless singles and collaborations, it’s clear that, in retrospect, Steven Ellison has skills that only can be inherited, not taught.
Eskmo: Hypnotic Electronics Guided by Intuition
Eskmo, a.k.a. San Francisco-based electronic musician Brendan Angelides, isn’t big on descriptions; he prefers to have his music speak for itself. And speak it does, with clear-eyed synth melodies and crunchy dubstep polyrhythms.
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.
The Groove Seeker: Mophono’s Cut Form Crush
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.
Mophono: Cut Form Crush 12″ (CB Records, 2/15/2011)
Mophono: “Be Human Part One”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/01-Be-Human-Part-One.mp3|titles=Mophono: “Be Human Part One”]San Francisco-based DJ/producer Mophono is releasing his debut Cut Form Crunch on his own CB Records, featuring guest spots by Flying Lotus and MC Subverse. Keeping good company, Mophono builds an instrumental soundscape inhabited by dusty glitch samples and old-school beats under the direction of dub-like bass lines. It’s a heavy sound where Moog bleeps meet hard hip-hop beats, jazzy fills, heavy funk cuts, and fanatical synth hooks.
Advancing a style crafted by luminaries such DJ Shadow and DJ Krush, Mophono’s highly textured instrumental compositions encompass a wide range of dense atmospherics. But whereas Krush stays inherently nocturnal making soundtracks for the midnight marauder, Mophono steps to a completely different vibe. From dirty club stompers and wild synthetic experiments to classic break-out-the-cardboard B-boy tracks, Mophono keeps a variety that is disparate, noisy, and always funky.
100 Unheralded Albums from 2010
Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.
Behind the Counter: Som Records (Washington, DC)
Each Tuesday, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.
This week, we spoke with Neal Becton, owner of Som Records in Washington, DC. The small, well-curated record store is a staple in the DC community, and Becton is the force behind a number of events like the annual DC Record Fair and the monthly Brazilian Rhythms party. Having made three trips to Brazil primarily for the purpose of digging crates, there’s no question that Becton is committed to his craft, and Som’s diverse selection reflects his unequaled passion for music.
What can someone expect when visiting Som for the first time?
A small but tight shop with the best selection of used vinyl in DC. Being fairly small forces me to curate instead of just throwing everything out in the bins. I dig for records four to five days a week, so there’s always new stuff in here. I do sell new releases and touch a few genres that the other local stores don’t touch.