Chocolate Grinder Mix 10
"The Analog Dreams of Electric Sheep"
Some people don't like computer music. I know. I was once one of them. I was a classic rock guy who thought (and often said aloud) electronic music had no soul. Then something mystical, or probably chemical, happened. It was like I felt my own heart beating for the first time. All these wonderful build-ups, breakdowns, arpeggios, basslines, pads, bloops, and bleeps started swirling in my head like a tornado. Ever since, I've been addicted to pure electric sound and all of its various forms. If approached with an open mind, and preferably a touch of social lubrication, this mix should do the same for you. This journey gathers the finest producers from Canada, Venezuela, America, Germany, Australia, and the UK to guide you through vintage throwback, moody orchestral, nu-breaks, hip-hop, indie funk, progressive acid, and other wild variations of the electronic form. Jon Hopkins, fresh from co-producing Coldplay with Eno, delivers a sweeping mood piece as intricate in its bass tweaks as in its melodic piano progression. Edmonton's Shout Out Out Out Out finds hope in dark places with their two drummers, four bassists, and an army of synths. Both of those songs come from albums that will be making some year-end lists this year. Many selections here are rarer, but no less pivotal. Since the majority of these tracks were designed to be played at festivals and nightclubs with massive sound systems, this mix should be played at a high volume and in dim yet colorful lighting to get the maximum effect.
01. DJ Hell - "Germania" (Teufelswerk)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: International Deejay Gigolo - DJ Hell
02. Jon Hopkins - "Vessel" (Insides)
- Start time: 8:45; Links: Domino - Jon Hopkins
03. Seventh Swami - "Forever You Forever Me" (Here For Now)
- Start time: 13:00; Links: Muti Music - Seventh Swami
04. Spoonbill - "Wonkball" (Zoomorphic)
- Start time: 18:37; Links: Omelette - Spoonbill
05. Sole & The Skyrider Band - "Nothing Is Free (Subtitle Remix)" (Remix LP)
- Start time: 23:13; Links: Black Canyon - Sole & The Skyrider Band
06. EPROM - "64 Bytes (ill.gates Rmx feat. Meesha & Mat The Alien)" (64 Bytes Remixes)
- Start time: 25:58; Links: Addictech - EPROM
07. Yppah - "Gumball Machine Weekend" (Gumball Machine Weekend EP)
- Start time: 29:50; Links: Ninja Tune - Yppah
08. Jogger - "Nice Tights" (Friends of Friends Volume 1)
- Start time: 33:47; Links: FoF Music - Jogger
09. Shout Out Out Out Out - "Remind Me In Dark Times" (Reintegration Time)
- Start time: 38:34; Links: Normals Welcome - Shout Out Out Out Out
10. Kid606 - "Good Times" (Shout At The Döner)
- Start time: 47:20; Links: Tigerbeat6 - Kid606
Chocolate Grinder Mix 09
This mix is intended to take us somewhere, if not spiritually, then at least geographically. We start out in Philadelphia with Hermit Thrushes (new LP Slight due in June) and travel to various U.S. cities like Brooklyn with Dirty Projectors ("Stillness Is the Move" 12-inch single on Domino), New York with Headless Heroes, Oakland with Cryptacize, Atlanta with Deerhunter (Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP due in June on Kranky), and Williamsport with Akron/Family (new LP Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free due 5/5). After making a short but sweet stop with Yonlu in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, we head to Ethiopia to catch Mulatu Astake with UK-based The Heliocentrics. The mix ends in West Africa, first in Burkina Faso with Hermas Zopoula (whose Espoir will be released May 19 via Asthmatic Kitty) and then in Senegal with Mor Thiam, the latter of which takes us all the way back to 1972 (a reissue of Thiam's Spiritual Jazz will be released soon on Now-Again Records). In this age of globalization, it's refreshing to know that music can still overtly reflect a geographical bias.
01. Hermit Thrushes - "Snowflake Heart" (Slight Fountain)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Joyful Noise - Hermit Thrushes
02. Dirty Projectors - "Stillness Is the Move" (Bitte Orca)
- Start time: 2:04; Links: Domino - Dirty Projectors
03. Cryptacize - "Tail & Mane" (Mythomania)
- Start time: 7:18; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Cryptacize
04. Deerhunter - "Rainwater Cassette Exchange" (Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP)
- Start time: 10:33; Links: Kranky - Deerhunter
05. Akron/Family - "Everyone Is Guilty" (Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free)
- Start time: 12:50; Links: Dead Oceans - Akron/Family
06. Headless Heroes - "True Love Will Find You in the End" (The Silence of Love)
- Start time: 18:43; Links: Names - Headless Heroes
07. Yonlu - "Little Kids" (A Society in Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre)
- Start time: 22:00; Links: Luaka Bop>http://www.luakabop.com] - [Yonlu
08. Mulatu Astake & The Heliocentrics - "Addis Black Widow" (Inspiration Information)
- Start time: 23:16; Links: Strut - The Heliocentrics - Mulatu Astatke
09. Hermas Zopoula - "Alpha Et Omega" (Espoir)
- Start time: 26:53; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Hermas Zopoula
10. Mor Thiam - "Ayo Ayo Nene" (Spiritual Jazz)
- Start time: 29:20; Links: Now-Again Records - Mor Thiam
Chocolate Grinder Mix 08
I've been watching Ken Burns' Jazz documentary miniseries lately. Through all the talking head hyperbole, the earliest incarnations of the music -- "minstrel music" and ragtime -- expose steady rhythm and heavy syncopation as the broader genre's first massive innovation. A lot of people have trouble believing that jazz and swing were once America's form of popular music, but as the youth's first real exposure to driving rhythm, it's no wonder. Since then, harmony has become increasingly homogenized --losing its regional associations -- while rhythm has continued to be boiled down to basic elements. Popular music is still very much about the "beat." I put together this mix with that simple truth in mind.
01. The Cool Kids - "Pennies" (When Fish Ride Bicycles)
- Start time: 0:00; links: The Cool Kids -
Chocolate Ind.
02. Mr. Oizo - "Cut Dick" (Lambs Anger)
- Start Time: 3:00; links: [Mr. Oizo->www.myspace.com/oizo3000] - [Ed Banger->www.edbangerrecords.com]
03. CLP - "Superconfidential" (Supercontinental)
- Start Time: 5:48; links: CLP - Shitkatapult
04. DOOM feat. Ghostface Killah - "Chinatown Wars"
- Start time: 9:59; links: DOOM
05. DJ Signify feat. Aesop Rock - "Low Tide" (Of Cities)
- Start time: 13:28; links: DJ Signify - Bully Records
06. Cry Baby Genius - "Welcome to the Horror" (Patty Marcell's Big Shot Yard Sale)
- Start time: 17:43; links: Cry Baby Genius - [Squids Eye->www.squidseyerecords.com]
07. Myka 9 - "To the Sky" (1969)
- Start time: 20:57; links: Myka 9 - Fake Four
08. Kraddy - "Android Porn" (single)
- Start time: 23:37; links: Kraddy - Glitch Mob Unlimited
09. Busdriver feat. Flying Lotus - "Will He (inaugural tribute)"
- Start time: 30:30; links: Busdriver
10. Bizzart - "Android Hearts" (Future Stars and Small Wonders)
- Start time: 33:31; links: Bizzart - Joyful Noise
Chocolate Grinder Mix 07
When I first picked these tracks, I thought assembling them into a mix would be a breeze. Turns out the fidelity differences -- compare, for example, Stuart and Caan's "Holy Moment" with Hi-Red Center's "Symmetry Chameleon" or Andrew Broder's "All Automatic" with Felicia Atkinson's "Curir" -- proved more difficult than I thought. I ended staying up until the wee hours of the early morning, tinkering with transitions and adjusting levels, just so that you, dear reader, would have another mix to listen to. Basically, I'm whining, but I'm done now, so just enjoy the mix and don't say I never did nothing for you.
01. Humcrush - "Bullfight" (Rest at Worlds End)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Humcrush - Rune Grammofon
02. Hi Red Center - "Symmetry Chameleon" (Assemble)
- Start time: 0:51; Links: Hi Red Center - Joyful Noise
03. DM Stith - "Pity Dance" (Heavy Ghost)
- Start time: 5:24; Links: DM Stith - Asthmatic Kitty
04. Andrew Broder - "All Automatic" (We Had to Eat the Owl)
- Start time: 9:40; Links: Andrew Broder
05. Stuart and Caan - "Holy Moment" (The Mayfly Dance)
- Start time: 14:25; Links: Stuart and Caan - Knw-Yr-Own
06. Swan Lake - "Spanish Gold" (Enemy Mine)
- Start time: 18:17; Links: Swan Lake - Jagjaguwar
07. Crystal Antlers - "Andrew" (Tentacles)
- Start time: 23:28; Links: Crystal Antlers - Touch and Go
08. Felicia Atkinson - "Curir" (La La La)
- Start time: 26:53; Links: Felicia Atkinson - SPEKK
09. Emeralds - "Up in The Air" (What Happened)
- Start time: 28:58; Links: Emeralds - No Fun Productions
10. Animal Hospital - "...and ever" (Memory)
- Start time: 32:31; Links: Animal Hospital - Barge
Chocolate Grinder Mix 06
This mix is more of a trip than my last installment, less post-coital and more absinthe freebase. The bizarre "future primitive" vocal loop stylings of Scotland's Wounded Knee and the prickly acoustic guitar of Washington's legendary Kelly Joe Phelps sandwich a selection of hypnotic tracks that struggle to fall easily into a genre classification. With the possible exception of the upbeat Brazilian MPC house excursion of Azaxx (generously provided by Tru Thoughts), I feel all the tracks more or less build off each other like a proper mix should, rather than as the random collection of exciting new tracks it basically is. The birds from Balky Mule's Syd Barrett-meets-Damon Albarn mesh with Bibio's nostalgic wilderness, which leads to Shuttle (one of the electronic tracks to hear this year) going down a cave, and so forth. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
01. Wounded Knee - "My Wooden Cupboard" (Shimmering New Vistas)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Benbecula - Wounded Knee
02. The Balky Mule - "Dust Bird Baths" (The Length Of The Rail)
- Start time: 4:12; Links: FatCat - The Balky Mule
03. Bibio - "Weekend Wildfire" (Vignetting The Compost)
- Start time: 8:08; Links: Mush - Bibio
04. Shuttle - "Tunnel" (Tunnel EP)
- Start time: 13:15; Links: Ninja Tune - Shuttle
05. Tycho - "Cascade (Live Version)" (Ghostly Swim)
- Start time: 17:49; Links: Ghostly International - Tycho
06. Gui Boratto - "Colors" (Take My Breath Away)
- Start time: 21:41; Links: Kompakt-> http://www.kompakt.fm/] - [Gui Boratto
07. The Show Is The Rainbow - "Who He Says He Is" (Wet Fist)
- Start time: 25:39; Links: Retard Disco - The Show Is The Rainbow
08. Azaxx - "Wild Strawberry Jelly" (The Exotic Delight Bay)
- Start time: 29:28; Links: Tru Thoughts - Azaxx
09. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - "München" (Mutations EP)
- Start time: 33:45; Links: Ad Noiseam - The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble
10. Kelly Joe Phelps - "Blowing Dust 40 Miles" (Western Bell)
- Start time: 39:44; Links: Black Hen - Kelly Joe Phelps
Chocolate Grinder Mix 05
This was originally supposed to be my "indie rock" mix. I don't listen to a whole lot of it and thought it'd be a nice challenge to create a mix that would, in my mind, place more emphasis on the form rather than the content -- trying to examine the recurring characteristics of my mixes through a style I'm admittedly very picky about. However, my predilection towards the more adventurous quickly seeped its way in. Consequently, what results is a mix that I feel unfairly makes some of the "noisier" sounds -- Alva Noto, Anthony Pateras & Robin Fox, Giuseppe Ielasi -- function as "transition" tracks (so if you find these tracks interesting, seek out the albums!). I suppose the assumption is that melodic music is more befitting of a mix -- but, oddly enough, what originally started out as an "indie rock" mix now has me thinking about how I can turn this assumption on its head. Are you pumped to hear this mix now??
"Brained By Falling Masonry" tracklist:
01. Alva Noto - "Xerrox Teion" (Xerrox Vol. 2)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: raster-noton - Alva Noto
02. Banjo Or Freakout - "Mr No" (single)
- Start time: 1:55; Links: No Pain in Pop - Banjo or Freakout
03. Anthony Pateras & Robin Fox - "You're All Answers" (End of Daze)
- Start time: 6:40; Links: Editions Mego - Anthony Pateras & Robin Fox
04. Cryptacize/C. Spencer Yeh - "Mini-Mythomania" (remix of Mythomania)
- Start time: 12:17; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Cryptacize- C. Spencer Yeh
05. Shearing Pinx - "Smarts" (Ultra Snake)
- Start time: 15:35; Links: Endless Latino - Shearing Pinx
06. Antony and the Johnsons - "The Crying Light" (The Crying Light)
- Start time: 18:01; Links: Secretly Canadian - Antony and the Johnsons
07. Giuseppe Ielasi - [Untitled - Track 1] (Aix)
- Start time: 21:09; Links: 12k - Giuseppe Ielasi
08. Blackout Beach - "Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982" (Skin of Evil)
- Start time: 24:27; Links: Soft Abuse - Blackout Beach
09. Mirah - "Gone Are the Days" ((a)spera)
- Start time: 29:21; Links: K - Mirah
10. Lotus Plaza - "Whiteout" (The Floodlight Collective)
- Start time: 32:59; Links: Kranky - Lotus Plaza
Chocolate Grinder Mix 04
When I sit down to make a mix, I do my best to include a little something for everybody, but also united by some intangible common thread. Despite working within a limited range of only new songs, I believe I achieved this here. Running the gamut from circuit-bent indie to instrumental hip-hop and breaks, the tone lends itself to a post-coital chill, getting a bit restless and ready for pancakes by the end. Hints toward my leftist politics and my use of humor as a coping mechanism arise throughout, especially the whistling in the Odd Nosdam track, the ranting and duck calls in the Filastine, and whatever Fol Chen is. It's a trip you can return to often, one that may reveal more about me than you ever cared to know.
"The Space Bud Fuzz Lounge Revolt" tracklist:
01. The Long Lost - "Amiss" (The Long Lost)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Ninja Tune - The Long Lost
02. Skyrider - "Everyday Of Their Lives" (Skyrider)
- Start time: 2:56; Links: Sticks & Stones - Skyrider
03. Baja - "Kitten (Chaos & Numerology)" (Aether Obelisk)
- Start time: 6:50; Links: Other Electricities - Baja
04. Broadway Project - "Keats" (One Divided Soul)
- Start time: 10:40; Links: ODS - Broadway Project
05. Fol Chen - "You And Your Sister In Jericho" (Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made)
- Start time: 14:55; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Fol Chen
06. Odd Nosdam - "Fly Mode" (T.I.M.E)
- Start time: 20:51; Links: Anticon-> http://www.anticon.com/] - [Odd Nosdam
07. Sleeper - "Condition OR Effect" (Behind Every Mask)
- Start time: 23:39; Links: Mush - Sleeper
08. Filastine - "Bitrate Sneers" (Dirty Bomb)
- Start time: 28:33; Links: Soot - Filastine
09. Nanda - "Caveman" (Constant Change)
- Start time: 32:09; Links: Multi Music - Nanda
10. Qua - "The Magnificent Mister" (Q&A)
- Start time: 36:50; Links: Mush - Qua
Chocolate Grinder Mix 03
This is our first 2009 mix, and I've already managed to contaminate the temporal purity by including a 2008 song, Ryland Bouchard's "Woke Up Alone" (which didn't quite fit my first mix). The rest of the tracks, however, are so fresh and new that most of them have yet to be officially released, including a track from Dan Deacon's much-anticipated new album, Bromst, another from the hyped-up WAVVVES LP (which has been bumped to March), and one from Tim Hecker's An Imaginary Country, which sounds significantly better in its original context. Anyway, I'm sorta in love with my transition from the Psychic Ills track to the Dent May track, so take note and prepare yourself to be in awe of my mixing skills.
"Pumpkin Gets a Snakebite" tracklist:
01. Dirty Projectors + David Byrne - "Knotty Pine" (Dark Was The Night)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: 4AD - Dirty Projectors - David Byrne
02. Rose For Bohdan - "Boy Heaven" (There it is, The Creeping Moral Decay of the Past Thousand Years)
- Start time: 2:18; Links: Realicide Youth - Rose For Bohdan
03. Death Sentence: PANDA! - "New China Blazers" (Insects Awaken)
- Start time: 3:28; Links: Upset the Rhythm - Death Sentence: PANDA!
04. Psychic Ills - "Sub Synth" (Mirror Eye)
- Start time: 4:43; Links: The Social Registry - Psychic Ills
05. Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - "Meet Me in the Garden" (The Good Feeling Music)
- Start time: 6:39; Links: Paw Tracks - Dent May
06. Dan Deacon - "Get Older" (Bromst)
- Start time: 10:01; Links: Carpark - Dan Deacon
07. Ryland Bouchard - "Woke Up Alone" (Seeds)
- Start time: 16:33; Links: Swim Slowly - Ryland Bouchard
08. Tim Hecker - "Sea of Pulses" (An Imaginary Country)
- Start time: 19:23; Links: Kranky - Tim Hecker
09. Bosque Brown - "Went Walking" (Baby)
- Start time: 23:59; Links: Burnt Toast Vinyl - Bosque Brown
10. WAVVES - "So Bored" (WAVVVES)
- Start time: 27:43; Links: Fat Possum - WAVVES
Chocolate Grinder Mix 02
I always go into music reviews with heavy skepticism. My mood turns wary and cynical after reading someone pontificate at length over a new rock album; I sneer when a writer tries to creatively describe in words the sounds bouncing around their headphones. Such translation usually doesn't make sense to anyone other than the writer, because music tends to elicit such personal reactions that aren't easily conveyed. Sometimes a poorly written review will sway my view of an album before I've heard a note, because when we read music criticism, our reaction, whether positive or negative, is to an author, not a musician. Then, other times, something magical happens. I finally get to hear the music that so many words have been spent on. And sometimes it's good, real good. I'm not discounting all criticism (or else I wouldn't be here), but I am saying that sometimes the music just has to speak for itself.
"Single Ladies (Put a Thing On It)" tracklist:
01. Dj Scotch Egg - "Drumized" (Drumized)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Load - Dj Scotch Egg
02. MoHa! - "Karibcore" (One-Way Ticket to Candyland)
- Start time: 3:03; Links: Rune Grammofon - MoHa!
03. edIT (feat. J-Dilla, Phat Kat & Dabrye) - "The Game Is Not Over" (single)
- Start time: 5:21; Links: Alpha Pup - edIT
04. YMCK - "Major Swing" (Family Genesis)
- Start time: 11:02; Links: Avex Trax - YMCK
05. Femi Kuti - "One Two" (Day By Day)
- Start time: 14:01; Links: Mercer Street - Femi Kuti
06. DJ/rupture - "Plays John Cassavettes pt. 2: Ekkehard Ehlers" (Uproot)
- Start time: 16:16; Links: Agriculture - DJ/Rupture
07. Food For Animals - "Virgogo" (Belly)
- Start time: 18:28; Links: Cock Rock Disco - Food For Animals
08. Ponytail - "Small Wevs" (Ice Cream Spiritual)
- Start time: 20:35; Links: We Are Free - Ponytail
09. of Montreal - "Touched Something's Hollow" (Skeletal Lamping)
- Start time: 23:58; Links: Polyvinyl - of Montreal
10. Zazen Boys - "Sabaku" (Zazen Boys 4)
- Start time: 25:23; Links: Matsuri Studio - Zazen Boys
Chocolate Grinder Mix 01
Welcome to Chocolate Grinder, our new multimedia section! To kick things off, we'll post a couple 2008 mixes to get in the groove and then start posting 2009 mixes on a regular basis, including tracks from albums that haven't been released yet. These mixes aren't necessarily intended to be promotional -- there's a reason we're sequencing them into one continuous track -- but we do encourage you to seek out the albums from which they're culled, if only to compare how their respective contexts shape our valuation of them. The first 2008 mix, "Rise of the Common Woodpile," compiles some of my favorite tracks of last year. If you scan through the tracklist, it's obvious I'm not aiming for comprehensiveness or popularity -- they're just simply songs that hit me in that warm, fuzzy spot.
"Rise of the Common Woodpile" tracklist:
01. YMCK - "Sabita Tobira no Dai 8 Tengoku" (Family Genesis)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Avex Trax - YMCK
02. Kurt Weisman - "Mother Daughter Day" (Spiritual Sci-Fi)
- Start time: 3:03; Links: Important - Kurt Weisman
03. Foot Village - "Materialistic Crap" (Friendship Nation)
- Start time: 6:26; Links: Tome - Gilgongo - Foot Village
04. KrÃa Brekkan - "Skywinnowing" (Apotropaiosong Armor)
- Start time: 8:22; Links: KrÃa Brekkan
05. The Music Tapes - "Freeing Song for Reindeer" (Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes)
- Start time: 10:01; Links: Merge - The Music Tapes
06. Matmos - "Rainbow Flag" (Supreme Balloon)
- Start time: 12:57; Links: Matador - Matmos
07. Max Tundra - "Gum Chimes" (Parallax Error Beheads You)
- Start time: 16:37; Links: Domino - Max Tundra
08. Evangelista - "For the L'il Dudes" (Hello, Voyager)
- Start time: 20:05; Links: Constellation - Evangelista
09. Sun City Girls - "Mr. Lonely Viola" (Mister Lonely OST)
- Start time: 22:53; Links: Drag City - Sun City Girls
10. Karl Blau - "Noah Richards' Sun" (AM)
- Start time: 26:47; Links: Whistler - Karl Blau
