3hive

Todd Osborn reflects all that is great about Detroit to me. Like many of his local influences (including legendary radio DJs The Electrifying Mojo and The Wizard), he’s a jack of all genres – producing techno, house, jungle, hip-hop, and dubstep records with equal aplomb. He’s also a restless tinkerer with many side interests including, as his latest EP on Ghostly indicates, hovercrafting. “Fire” – from that EP – is a silky smooth disco track, a synthetic blend of strings, stings, guitar, and vibraphone over a buoyant 4/4 beat. On the other hand, “The Count,” also on the EP, can only be shared in the context of its video, which lets his worldwide fans in on one of Detroit’s treasured secrets: “The New Dance Show,” a local late-night TV show that I, along with many other suburban Detroit kids, watched with great awe back in the late ’80s. Twenty years later, those moves sync up nice and tight to this exquisite slice of minimalist techno without any need for special effects magic…

(more…)

French wunderkind label Kitsuné is feeling lucky! The seventh incarnation of their stellar compilation series hits early next month, and they’ve sifted out this nugget o’ hard disco to share as an invitation to grab your sieve and join them in their search for more gold. autoKratz represents the electro side of Kitsuné’s electro-pop spectrum, but neither autoKratz, nor the label allow themselves to be held hostage to pithy genres. They’re explorers! Adventurers! Pop ‘n’ Lockers! Vocoders! They’re all good and Kitsuné Maison #7 will trip you out! (safely and naturally, naturally).

(more…)

A quick tip for the Coachella bound: Etienne De Crecy proves it’s dope to be square. De Crécy makes his U.S. debut this Sunday night at Coachella and he’s bringing his tricked out, larger than life Rubik’s Cube-Lite Brite. I won’t bore you with describing how the thing works. Watch the video to see this beautiful monster in action. The contraption was designed by fellow Frenchmen Exyst and when The Killers asked them to design a similar cube for their European MTV performance Exyst declined. The Killers ripped off the light show anyway. Of course, their version ended up looking like an, over-the-top, seizure inducing Hollywood Squares set. But that’s beside the point

Though not a household name, de Crécy was instrumental in developing the French house sound. He and Alex Gopher founded the Solid record label and he’s released a slew of singles and albums on his own and in collaboration with Cassius and Air. “Home” is an unreleased track that de Crécy plays during his live sets. Between the driving bass lines, the fuzzed out knob twiddles, and state-of-the-art light show, be sure to brace yourself for maximum tripping Sunday night in the Sahara Tent.

(more…)

Project Jenny, Project Jan soften the downtime since their debut album two years ago with this new collaborative EP. Considering the topic, their ode to unrequited love, “Pins and Needles,” featuring Fujiya & Miyagi, settles into a smooth club groove, while their work with percussion wunderkinds and fellow Brooklynites So Percussion and Mixel Pixel stirs up darker, primordial feelings. The emotional range on this EP seems to span eons and reminds me of Shriekback’s dark tone on Oil and Gold. It’s unexpected (but not unwelcomed) from the usually playful PJPJ, but they return with their usual pluck on the final tracks with Adam Matta and Clack Singles Club. No matter their mood, Project Jenny, Project Jan has left me with a bout of paresthesia, eagerly anticipating their next album, due before year’s end.

Pins and Needles Feat. Fujiya & Miyagi [MP3, 5.6MB, 160kbps]

Original Post 6/23/07:
Mapquest Project Jenny, Project Jan. Go ahead. I dare you. You’ll have a hard time pinpointing the Brooklyn duo because they’re all over the proverbial map. When their debut EP opens up with the marching band sound of “Fight Song,” you know you’re in for a treat. On their first full-length, XOXOXOXOXO, they start the party again with a nice brass section, giving way to a bright samba number. The freestyle-stylee vocals of Jeremy Haines keeps the tracks loose and the whole album will get you shake, shake, shaking your caboose, dancing the duck-duck-goose. Feeling down lately? These boys are sure to get you up and out of your seat with a little bit of banjo, a little bit of swing, a little bit of hip hop, a little bit of reggae and lots and lots of fun. Philly, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Cleveland brace yourselves for this Brooklyn brand of electro-karaoke coming your way live next month with Fujiya & Miyagi. A match made in dancefloor heaven.

320 [MP3, 4.4MB, 192kbps]
Train Track [MP3, 3.9MB, 192kbps]

(more…)

There’s something about 3hive’s hard drives and Coltrane Motion. Sam’s crashed three years ago shortly before posting about Chicago’s Coltrane Motion, and mine recently had to be replaced, too, shortly before posting about them. I had intended to also post some photos I took of Coltrane Motion when I saw them in May 2006 while in Chigaco, but I may have to blame a different hard drive crash from last summer for misplacing most of those. Which is rather unfortunate, as they played in an old church, and I got a sweet shot of Michael Bond bouncing under an enormous lighted cross while still trying to keep his mouth at microphone level and not tipping over his laptop stand. Michael, the driving force behind Coltrane Motion, is also a dead-ringer for 3hive’s Sam, but alas, that photographic evidence is also missing. I did find an poor quality shot I took with my phone inside the church, which is below. Sam’s description of Coltrane Motion still holds true, as further demonstrated by their first 7″ release “The Year Without A Summer b/w Maya Blue,” out tomorrow.

Original Post by Sam on 14 Jan 2006:
My hard drive crashed this week which, as reliant as I am on my PowerBook, is like suffering short-term memory loss. One of the few artists I remember having on tap for 3hive is Coltrane Motion, who are members of a Midwest artist-run collective/label called, irony of ironies, datawaslost. These tracks are a good representation of Coltrane Motion’s “sound” — in quotes because they seem to have as many “sounds” as they have songs, due in part to their habit of making their own software and instruments. This makes remembering what I wanted to say about Coltrane Motion even more difficult. Was I pogoing to the urgent dance-punk of “I Guess the Kids Are OK” or singing along to the sizzling crooner pop of “Pi Is Exactly Three”? Cutting rug to the cheeky Beck send-up “Supersexy ’67″ or stroking my chin to the backmasked glitch ‘n’ beats of “The End of Every Movie”? Couldn’t tell ya. So I guess I’ll own up to liking all four. And, please, before you start downloading: a moment of silence for my hard drive…

(more…)

What can you expect from Dan the Automator and Russell Simins? Everything and more! After shelving the album last year in order to record material and bring it up to their collective high standards, the two are reportedly releasing Naturally next month. Dan’s manning the programming and electronics while Simins is once again ripping apart the drums, guitars and vocals. Of course this dynamic duo knows how to throw a party, so they’ve invited Sean Lennon, Cibo Matto (my best guest as to who’s singing on “My Balloon”), The Mooney Suzuki, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song title that best represents the sound on this album is “Rock Party,” because, well, that’s exactly what this album is. Overall the album is a gritty, rhythm and blues attack with the Automator’s beats and programming ratcheted up something fierce. Then there’s “My Balloon,” this airy, psychedelic treat in between the sound and fury. The album slowly mellows and concludes with a few reflective indie-rock slow jams. Fans of the Blues Explosion will probably dig this more than the Gorillaz gang, but all y’all should give it a spin!

(more…)

Asking me to pick my favorite track off Magic Monday is like asking me which child I love the most, or which food I love the most. Ask me on any particular day and I’ll have a favorite, sushi for instance, in fact I’ll be enjoying my favorite faux-sushi of all time, the Bungee Roll, this evening. Actually I wouldn’t do the same with my children. My favorite quote from Michna himself comes when his label’s owner asks him to list the samples he’ll need to clear, to which Michna responds, “What samples?” I’d like to hope Michna’s reply represents a new, knowing artistic naïvety in which a new generation moves past the plundering of hip-hop’s history and forges on with their own original beats and breaks (not that there’s anything wrong with samples!). He’s been paying his dues DJing parties in New York with tapes (yes!) and cutting remixes for Diplo (with his previous Secret Frequency Crew), Bonde Do Role, and surprisingly Jandek. Made playful by his trombone playing and use of found sounds (especially the answering machines, air hockey, and skateboards) his bass heavy pastiche work remind me of our old friend Alan Sutherland aka Land of the Loops (where ya at Al?). If you’re in the market for a good slow and steady, fun groove: Michna’s your man.

(more…)

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I’m still thinking about eating. Even the music I’m listening to reminds me of eating. Enter Boy Eats Drum Machine. It’s somewhat of a misnomer because Jon Ragel the multi-instrumentalist behind the moniker is all grown up and no, he didn’t eat a drum machine. Instead, he joined forces with a who’s who line-up of Portland indie rock drummers via a local drum break series called Bridgetown Breaks. Drum credits go to the drummers of Viva Voce, Talkdemonic, and Menomena among others. Ragel adds everything else and it’s a plateful: turntables, synths, tenor sax, guitar, organ, and yes, bravely, vocals. RJd2 didn’t even step behind the mic until his second album. From record one (Booomboxxx is his third) Ragel’s armed with one turntable, one microphone and all the goodies mentioned above. The result is a scratchy, earnest pastiche of jazz, breaks, spaghetti western soundtracks, and soulful crooning. A delicious mix of sounds for the whole family to feast on this holiday season!

(more…)

The opening track on Skew’s debut album is a bit of an understatement. Stadiums are more than just OK. Stadiums are where things first got skewed for Skew. I’m assuming as much. At six, a young Skew got turned onto the rock ‘n’ roll at an Iron Maiden concert. Afterwards, his grandfather financed guitar lessons, he ended up at Berklee College of music, and the rest is history. Skew sludges out ethereal rock riffs and then lays down hip hop beats to keep the party moving. The result is a grittier Ratatat with a raw, bone-rattling low-end. You can hear his progression on the baskets of tracks on his site. There are plenty of originals along with his under the radar remixes—Radiohead, M.I.A., Yeah Yeah Yeahs—and his mash ups of Nirvana and The Beatles against themselves. Get Skew today (the album’s fresh on sale) and expect plenty more from him in the future.

(more…)

Bless Sean West’s (Dealmaker Studios in Nottingham) email earnestness and his consistant harping on us all summer, trying to open our eyes and ears to Lone. We’re listening! and loving it! Lone is one Matt Cutler, beat-maker, audio-cut-and-paster, and all-around sonic-magician. Cutler lays down hip-hop beats then layers the tracks with illusory flourishes, broken chords, and dream-inducing 8-bit melodies. This is the music I heard in my head when I read the Chronicles of Narnia (before current literature to screen trends began destroying young imaginations). This is the music I imagined the band of lizards playing in Daniel Pinkwater’s Lizard Music. Give it a try. Do your own mini mash-up of Pinkwater Vs. Lone to see what I mean. Youthful, imaginative, and sweetly psychedelic Lone will likely conjure up visions of rainbows, sparkly unicorns, Mozart playing lizards, magic wardrobes or any other mystical apparitions floating around in your subconscious.

(more…)