video :: Bludwork - Awakening

Los Angeles based producer Bludwork follows his 100% Silk release with a brand new refreshing sound we have yet to hear from him. Out now on his very own Chainsaw Corp., check out Painkiller. Highly recommend.

VPN x Dearly Departure 11-6-18

SoCal based hardware musician Dearly Departure contributes a special guest mix blending some classics, originals, and points of inspiration ahead of his upcoming album "Genesis" to be released on 100% Silk Friday 11/09!

First Listen :: Dearly Departure - Fear of Losing You [100% Silk]

Residing about 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles, Daniel Crook makes sounds under the project Dearly Departure. With frequent treks to Los Angeles for underground nightlife with his fellow CalArts hardware buds, Daniel finds potent inspiration in the city's moody sleepless warehouse spaces/gatherings and its lingering "dark gothic energy". Harnessing these periodically loaded sensory experiences in the deepest corners of Downtown Los Angeles, Daniel delivers his debut release on 100% Silk titled, Genesis.

Clocking in around 40 minutes, the 8-track full-length explores his noir soaked dubbed-out hardware sound. 'Fear of Losing You', smoothly sings a pocketed hazy analog melody that looms the listener into a deep yet uplifting melancholic state. Take a listen to it below...



Genesis is out on digital & cassette on November 9 via bandcamp.

Tracklist ::
1. Serpent
2. Own Perceptions
3. Embrace
4. Fear Of Losing You
5. Move
6. Infrared [feat. Bludwork]
7. Words Unspoken [feat. Morticia My Angel]
8. Genesis

VPN x SOMA 10-23-18

Santiago/Chile based producer SOMA of Blankhaus, Traum, Monokrak, Von melt, & most recently the co-founder of Kerosene label - mixes in showcasing an almost hour of his tape-woven house and dubbed out IDM sound along with his most recent influences. Check out SOMA's most recent work on KRSN 1 - V​/​A.

VPN x MALT 9-18-18

LA producer/DJ/labelhead/curator MALT of Leisure Sports Records mixes in showcasing a "softer side" of sounds including his own and other points of current inspiration. Check out his most recent EP "Natural Intelligence".

New sounds from LIFAFA

Brand new music from New Delhi based producer LIFAFA. Coming soon on Peter Cat Recording Co. following his awesome 2014 EP, In Hi Ko.

Also :: Check out his Boiler Room BUDx set from last year if you haven't already...

VPN x Mesmé 7-24-18

Misfit curator & LA producer/DJ Mesmé mixes in with an all vinyl dubbed out special featuring "an hour of 114-116BPM stripped back, loopy, subby, and dark ambient house." Check out her weekly party, Misfit, in Los Angeles every Wednesday. Nod ya head and indulge...

VPN x Beggar 7-19-18

Forward Rhythm/LOW resident Beggar mixes in with his no nonsense house selections.

VPN x An Expresso 7-10-18

L.A./O.C. producer An Expresso serves up an hour long guest mix filled with undeniable deep cuts that make you bump. Check out his latest release on Skylax Records out now.

First Listen :: Pleasure Model & The Cyclist on 100% Silk

100% Silk celebrates the beginning of Spring with two new releases from two bright UK producers. Both being dropped on April 6th, we got a little tease for the heads from each release.

First up, hailing from Birmingham, UK; The Cyclist follows his premiere track featured on the Silk To Dry The Tears compilation last month, with a four track EP entitled, Alabaster Thrones. Formulating the "tape-throb" listening experience, The Cyclist consistently delivers those succulent lo-fi frequencies in each number of this record. Specifically the second track, 'Ivory', conjuring acid belched basslines with wavy ebm induced vocals and swifting synth melodies. It's safely one of Morrison's most promising compositions to date. The limited 12" also comes with a bonus tape, Beat At The Heart Of The City - you can listen to a track from it here. Take a listen to 'Ivory' below...



Alabaster Thrones is out on digital, limited 12" (+bonus tape) on April 6 via bandcamp.

Tracklist ::
1. Alabaster Thrones
2. Ivory
3. Aladdin Insane
4. Autochrome




Lastly - all the way from Bristol, UK - Pleasure Model follows his stellar album from last year, Kendo Dynamics on 100% Silk with a new 8-track excursion called, The Executive. Technical cyber-jack for the futurist dancefloor industrialist is a good way to explain this one. Maiovvi toys with hypnotizing synths and rhythmic hardware wirings to create a utopian virtual reality of sorts. 'Body Double' does that and more for the listener by way of its shifting matrix attitude. Check it out...



The Executive is out on digital and limited edition cassette April 6 via bandcamp.

Tracklist ::
1. Labelmouth
2. International Geographic
3. Body Double
4. Belinfurbellt
5. Elaborate Hoax Detector
6. Sound Investment
7. Wires 05:00
8. Alumni Precursor

First Listen :: Vidiian - '/am Spliff'

Oakland based producer Vidiian gears up for his upcoming EP on Michael Claus' new imprint Silva Electronics. With the label on suit to focus on the harsher sounds coming out of Northern California, Vidiian's four track release paints those hard-hitting techno rhythms in the most pristine for the label's vision. We got a fist listen exclusive into the closing track, '/am Spliff'; a beltering 303 cosmic groove that takes you on a ride whether late-night or early morning light. Mysterious and intriguing for the thrill seeking ears. Listen below...



Salvaged Systems EP is out on digital Monday March 26th via bandcamp.

Tracklist ::
1. Day Before
2. Mining Camp Survival
3. Virus Incubation Chamber
4. /am Spliff

First Listen :: Kosmik - 'The Kraken'

The Black Lodge has been having a great year so far, with the debut of their first record, Spirits of The Black Lodge Vol.1, to throwing some epic one-off warehouse parties with legends such as Billy Nightmare aka Mystic Bill, Bill Converse, JTC, & Justin Aulis Long; it's super exciting to see and hear what party and record they will put out next.

Kicking off 2018 with a bang The Black Lodge will release its second 12" on Black Lodge Recordings conjuring some more spirits for, Spirits of the Black Lodge Vol.2. Featuring four tracks from BL residents, Kosmik and Simonowsky as well as BL veterans TX Connect, Jasen Loveland, and One Child Policy - this release is a force to be reckoned with to say the least.

We got a first listen into the last track on the B-side which is from BL co-founder Kosmik with 'The Kraken'. The six minute sultry club tool embarks on a journey of the legendary sea monster unearthing from the depths of the murky waters. Making jackin' rhythmic waves and echoing her orgasms throughout the seven seas, 'The Kraken' eats you up and spits you back out in its mesmerizing duration. Take a listen below...



Spirits of The Black Lodge Vol.2 will be available on vinyl and digital, January 2018.

Tracklist ::
A1. TX Connect - Enhanced Fujita Scale
A2 . Belligerents [One Child Policy + Simonowsky] - CRACK99
B1. Jasen Loveland - When Memory Fades
B2. Kosmik - The Kraken

Also :: This Saturday at Hyperion Tavern in L.A. The Black Lodge will close out their monthly residency with a final gathering of the year. B2B sessions all night with some undeniable L.A. talent and east-coast debuts. Find out more info here.


_________________________________________________________________________________
Previously :: BL001 - Spirits of the Black Lodge Vol.1

DECKast #68 x Solotape

SF's Solotape linked together a raw cassette mix for this issue of the DECKast. When I approached Solotape regarding a mix he was hesitant and explained he needed sometime to curate and muster up some inspiration. After a couple months he sent over this loose almost hour long tape mix that's as innovative as his avant-garde productions. Read what he had to say about it below...

"Each little plastic tape casing carries its own history with it, and being limited to seeking through FF and REW reminds you that the individual tracks are unavoidably linked together in sequence. With this mix I wanted to share some of the tapes I have a history listening to and maintain that feeling of one song coming after another, sometimes smoothly and sometimes abrupt. While some of them I cued up to specific points I had in mind, others I just popped into my Walkman and played from the last random spot I stopped listening to them at. Through this I hoped to simulate the experience of grabbing an old tape and not knowing exactly where you will end up -- beyond the fact that wherever you pick up is where you or someone else left it off before."



Also :: Solotape contributed a heavy tune to Seagrave's newest compilation, Hospital Corners, check out it out below...



_________________________________________________________________________________
Previously :: video :: Solotape - 'Jamie'

Thought Tempo - ¶¶¶

Thought Tempo just put out a new release on Zoom Lens featuring three new tracks. The OC/LA based producer has always had a knack for showcasing the best of ethereal synths consistently throughout his work. This new release is no exception. Ever so chilled and rightfully noir, ¶¶¶ is a short and sweet combo of tracks suited for the wind-down or healing mediation. Like the Blade Runner soundtrack in ways, the spatial textures and elongated synth progressions in all the three tracks are easily sedating and pleasing to the mind's eye.

100% of the proceeds made on bandcamp from the release will be donated to the Michael Douglas Foundation. There is also a limited run of dope tee's you can buy with the digital tracks. Album art created by Brian Vu.

¶¶¶ is available now on digital via Zoom Lens bandcamp.



_________________________________________________________________________________
Previously :: Thought Tempo - I Can Fila

heavy rotation :: One Child Policy - Cultural Transmissions

With an extensive background in classical music, electrical engineering, and sound design - Los Angeles based producer One Child Policy finally unearths his debut release, Cultural Transmissions on Droid Behavior's sister label VRV. Conjuring up a tasteful array of five productions, 1CP channels a unique narrative being a Chinese American, transmitting his experience into a cultural electronic playing field.

Introducing this field is 'Yin || 阴' a mysteriously ominous arpeggio number setting the tone for the story to be told ahead. Leading the listener to a stellar collaboration with Harrison Holt on the track 'Red Coast Base Surveillance' further accentuates the transmittive arpeggio instrumentation in a hypnotic 303 bassline that relentlessly hits the soul with all the right emotions and feels.

'Only Me || 孝' reflects as a call and response regurgitating 'I' and 'Only Me' repeatedly in a mantra manner. Through the echoing vocals and reverberating thought-pondering melodies - this is an easy one to have on loop. Closing out the tape, 'Chase The Dragon' & title track 'Cultural Transmissions' make nods to a hybrid mystical breakbeat UK garage vibe, sifting through the chillest of 4 by 4 rhythmic patterns.

Cultural Transmissions is available now on tape and digital via VRV bandcamp.



Tracklist ::
1. Yin || 阴
2. Red Coast Base Surveillance
3. Only Me || 孝
4. Chase The Dragon
5. Cultural Transmissions

Also :: Check out 1CP's recent hybrid live DJ set recording at The Black Lodge earlier this month!