SIRIUSMO – ENTHUSIAST

Only a fool could approach a piece of work by SIRIUSMO expecting a straightforward affair. A career packed with starkly contrasting collaborations – Scissor Sisters, Zombie Nation and labelmates Modeselektor, to name a few – is a reflection of his pick ‘n’ mix mindset. So not to stray from the abnormal, Enthusiast, is a high-speed pursuit through Spaghetti Junction, and a fitting bookend to what is reportedly his career finale.

The two openers present … SEE MORE

Michael Haneke – Hidden (Caché)

Haneke has numerously been described as the “conscience” of European cinema, and the master himself exceeds in exhibiting such praise, in the work-of-genius that is: Cache. What makes Cache so special in particular, is Haneke’s intentional irony. Labelled ‘Cache’ (French for hidden) the film has an obvious link to its title, its main focus: a hidden stalker whom is interrogating Georges Laurent’s and Anne Laurent’s household by obsessively filming their lifestyle. However, Haneke says that films should offer viewers more space for imagination and self reflection … SEE MORE

BOARDS OF CANADA – TOMORROW’S HARVEST

News of this arcane album dripped to the public via a series of perplexing ads. The first arrived on record store day: the day of reckoning for Tomorrow’s Harvest if you will. Stores received a basket of enigmatic, one-sided vinyl pressed with only a 30 second recording of a 6-digit number. The vinyl, dropped into the laps of a lucky few, ignited a viral frenzy, further fuelled by BORDS OF CANADA’s following campaign. Incognito … SEE MORE

PREVIEW – GOTTWOOD FESTIVAL

Nowadays, there is no shortage of festivals boasting lineup’s dedicated to alternative electronic music. But only a few are able to boast of dramatic site locations, and most of them are on the Adriatic coast. Outlook, Dimensions, Unknown et al are all sure to provide intense, memorable occasions for those involved, but Gottwood is a parallel option much closer to home. A creative, dance utopia, just down the road.

Gottwood’s site is a heartbeat to … SEE MORE

JAGWAR MA – HOWLIN’

Crafting electronically-laced guitar music you can [kind of] dance to has become a lacklustre affair, if the heady shtick of recent dance floor apostles has been anything to go by. Delphic’s ‘Acolyte’ paddled in the murky, serotonin depraved waters of the Hacienda – as did The Rapture’s ‘In The Grace Of Your Love’ – but the winning formula was ultimately evasive, as the outcome was more a derivative castration of the phenomenon, than a belated … SEE MORE

THE TURKISH REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

When Gill Scot-Heron penned the lyric ‘The revolution will not be televised’ I very much doubt the people of Istanbul were in his thoughts. However it is them who are now subjected to a media blackout as they fight for their right to peaceful protest.

A few days ago a group of people in Istanbul took to Gezi Park to protest against the demolishing of a green space to make way for another shopping mall … SEE MORE

BATHS – OBSIDIAN

Will Wiesenfeld is the single entity behind BATHS and May 28th saw the release of Obsidian, the adversary and polar opposite to Wiesenfeld’s first full length LP Cerulean. Obsidian’s a beast of hopelessness that explores the limits and mortality of the human body, desolation, cruelty, and a relinquishing of the present for a life in the past. It’s the result of Wiesenfeld’s ability to construct both remarkable melodic scores and well-crafted verse: … SEE MORE

GOLD PANDA – WE WORK NIGHTS

We Work Nights is the sophomore release from GOLD PANDA’s new album Half of Where You Live. In keeping with the record’s first release Brazil, it’s something of a sunny soundscape, pertaining to far-off exotic places where the drinks come in coconuts and everyone’s in shorts.

It’s an intricate composition of shimmering flourishes and stuttering, melodic rhythms laid over a semi-religious beat. With the release of We Work Nights it would seem … SEE MORE

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS – AT C&F

It was a low day for those LCD SOUNDSYSTEM fans, who took their music with a pinch of salt, when the group announced that they were hanging up their AC/DC power adapters for good. But a revered career, spanning nearly a decade, deserves to go out with a bang. So in the final death throws of LCD’s bleepin’ awesome career came Shut up and Play the Hits. A film that shadows front man James … SEE MORE

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Derek Cianfrance wastes no time in capturing Ryan Gosling’s mythic abs as he opens his latest film, ambitious and mythic in tone, with the image of a pacing stunt driver confined to his small trailer, the billowing sounds outside those belonging to a funfair. Cianfrance’s camera doesn’t cut. Instead, we see Gosling stab his flick-knife into a wall, pick up his red jacket, slip on a Metallica vest and make his away across the carnival … SEE MORE

UKIP: A POTTED HISTORY

A guide to the origins and beliefs of England’s party for closet racists.

There seems to be no let-up in the the surge of popularity that has surrounded Nigel Farage and his boys in purple of late. Earlier this month the UK Independence Party, a party so right wing that even David Cameron described them as ‘A Bunch Of Fruitcakes, Loonies And Closet Racists’ forced the political establishment to pay them more serious attention when … SEE MORE

DAFT PUNK – RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES

It was through snippets of half-truths and an unending trail of pseudo breadcrumbs that the initial speculation that French duo, Daft Punk were to record their generation transcending fourth LP came to the fore. It was then through drip-fed teasers at Coachella, shortly followed by a massive facepalm-of-a-leak that we heard the first product of this pledge: prickly disco primer ‘Get Lucky’. But some monolithic records are just not destined to be embargoed – shackled … SEE MORE

PALEMAN AT HAUS LIVERPOOL

If you haven’t heard of PALEMAN yet, get to know. One of the most exciting young producers to emerge from the UK underground over the last year or so, he has gained the support and recognition of scene luminaries such as Mary Anne Hobbs, Loefah and Zed Bias; an impressive pool of references for a lad who is still only nineteen. Though his DJ sets have people talking, his productions alone are the reason why … SEE MORE

THE MOUSE OUTFIT – ESCAPE MUSIC

De La Soul’s Maseo recently branded current hip hop “redundant” in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, arguing that everyone’s “just doing business” and “not really creating.” However, unbeknown to the ageing hip hop veteran, there’s a forward thinking Manchester collective going by the name of THE MOUSE OUTFIT, who are about to drop an LP which will directly contradict this audacious claim.

Often described as the UK’s answer to Breakestra, their explosive live … SEE MORE

GHOSTFACE KILLAH – TWELVE REASONS TO DIE

Ghostface Killah always seemed at home weaving his intricate mafioso rap amidst obscure 70s soul samples, and with ‘Twelve Reasons to Die’, he seems to have taken his approach to it’s logical conclusion. This time though, Ghost seems considerably more focused, and nowhere is that more evident than his smart decision to work with producer Adrian Younge. On previous efforts, Ghost has been content to divvy up his album production credits between hip-hop’s big names; … SEE MORE

QUASIMOTO – PLANNED ATTACK

The frighteningly prolific Madlib has been worryingly silent as of late, seeming to opt for production credits over recording original material under any of his many alter egos. That is until a recent leaked photograph of a test pressing of supposedly new album, Yessir, Whatever surfaced on the net, announcing its imminent release on June 18th, nearly 8 years since Further Adventures. Working under the guise of Quasimoto, his bizarre, helium pitch-shifted, 1 foot … SEE MORE

THE INTELLECTUAL GHETTO

ART BY ROB FINNEN

In higher education we indulge ourselves in an outrageous luxury. It’s a delicate lynchpin in any enviable society; the final mind-blowing episode in a process aiming to enlighten. So why, when evaluating my time at university do I feel somewhat unsatisfied? I recently learned that the word education derives from the verb ‘educe’, meaning ‘to draw from within’. What a beautiful notion. A process that exposes something you didn’t know you … SEE MORE

DAFT PUNK, UNLUCKY

The inevitable leak of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’

Daft Punk were always playing a dangerous game with the Random Access Memories slow-drip marketing campaign. Now they’ve finally come unstuck. The duo’s incessant distribution of Get Lucky mini-bites has wound up in a big fat leak.

Allegedly unmastered, the 4-minute radio edit (two minutes shorter than the album version) is a safe extension of the video teaser that tickled the Cochella masses a few days … SEE MORE

JAMES BLAKE – OVERGROWN

James Blake’s appreciation of dubstep pioneers is well-publicised, and those who caught his DJ set at Abandon Silence in December will know that concrete-heavy tunes like Mala’s ‘Earth a Run Red’ are a key element in his selections. Digital Mystikz once invited people to ‘Meditate on Bass Weight’ and opener Overgrown does just that, easing listeners in with a metronomic, rumbling bassline. Make no mistake though, there are no tear-out moments on this record, indeed, … SEE MORE

IS THATCHER DEAD?

THE IRON LADY DIES AGED 87:

A nation mourns/ celebrates/ admits to knowing little of the politics surrounding the debate, but condemns celebration of the death of an elderly lady from a stroke via social media anyway.

Margaret Thatcher left office some four months before I was born, yet the changes that she inflicted upon society remain – like it or not, my generation are Thatcher’s children. For many (White, Middle Class, Southern, Straight, not … SEE MORE

THE PIANO TEACHER

Erika’s a sex pest: it’s west but only the best from Haneke

In celebration of Haneke’s most recent oscar win, foreign tragedy Amour, I decided to shed light on another innovative masterpiece that similarly showcases his versatile, genius direction: The Piano Teacher (2001). Through the title alone, Haneke hints at the films intent: to portray human restraint: the pressures of being made to perform under a ‘label’ whilst under oppressive social norms and expectation.… SEE MORE

BILAL – A LOVE SURREAL

R&B has been dominated by some notable fresh faces of late. Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Miguel have between them accumulated enough commercial and critical success to transform the genre for good. Into this brave new world steps Bilal, a veteren of the late-90s neo-soul wave and apparently a man of diverse influence. A Love Surreal opens with West Side Girl, a track which perfectly captures the dry, raw groove of Riot Goin’ … SEE MORE

GENERATION FUCKED

I’m definitely not a fiscal expert or an authority on the causes or remedies for youth unemployment, but the discovery that media and commentators alike had tarried the youth of today as the ‘Lost Generation’ struck me as slightly harrowing- they might as well of referred to us as ‘Generation Fucked’.

 The term ‘Lost Generation’ was originally coined by Gertrude Stein and was used in an epigraph for Ernest Hemingway’s first novel The Sun Also … SEE MORE

JOHN GRANT – PALE GREEN GHOSTS

John Grant is an unlikely but entirely appropriate American hero for our times. Openly gay, fiercely resentful and deleteriously self loathing, Grant is a crooning storm of forthright expression, and the antithesis of a marketable solo artist. Despite the odds against him, Grant’s debut solo album, Queen of Denmark, found a sizeable audience, propelling him into the realms of moderate success following his ten year stint as frontman for the miserably under-appreciated The Czars.

The … SEE MORE

AUTECHRE – EXAI

Autechre are not a group known for their broad appeal, nor are they known for doing things by half. Exai, the band’s 11^th studio album (a dot in a career splattered with equally essential EPs and remix albums) is a perfect realisation of their oddly isolationist philosophy.

7 seconds of silence precedes opener, Fleure, which immediately gets down to the tricky business of building an acceptable piece of music from nothing more … SEE MORE

REVIEW: WAXXX IMPROMPTU #1

It’s 6pm on a Tuesday evening and I’m submerged in my dull and perpetual workload, when a vibration on the desk alerts me to a Facebook invite on my iPhone, suddenly arousing my interest, in an otherwise uneventful day at the office.

It’s an invite to Waxxx Impromptu.

Now I know it’s a Tuesday and yes, I’ve got a million things to do tomorrow, but there’s two things I like; Waxxx and parties. And the … SEE MORE

THE GARDEN FESTIVAL IS BACK

As 2013 continues to race along, The Garden Festival is proud to announce its next wave of guest names gracing the idyllic Dalmatian coastline this summer. There’s also further exciting news as the Argonaughty and Barbarellas Discotheque crews are revealed too. The Garden Tisno, nestled along the azure Adriatic, is a truly beautiful site which will host global Gardeners seeking a week of fun and adventure, dancing under the sun and star-speckled skies, part of … SEE MORE

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST AT WIRELESS

Wireless festival gained another big act yesterday, in the form of legendary New York hip-hop crew, A Tribe Called Quest. The news has delighted UK fans of the group, who make it their first appearance on these shores for nearly 20 years. Tribe are probably best known, along with fellow Native Tongues members De La Soul & Black Sheep, for their positive message, which frequently eschewed that typical 90′s gangsta rap sentiment for a more … SEE MORE

LIFT-OFF FILM FESTIVAL

Entering its third year, Lift-Off Film Festival has grown from a small screening of independent films into a transatlantic exhibition, showcasing the talents of student and professional filmmakers alike to audiences in London, LA, Las Vegas and Liverpool. Conceived in May 2011 by James Alexander and Ben Pohlman, the festival provides a much needed alternative to the constant stream of mindless cheese spewed from the Hollywood gullet and from the hollow, over-stylised nonsense that dominates the … SEE MORE

THE ASPHODELLS – RULED BY PASSION, DESTROYED BY LUST

Ever since the prolific Shoom DJ, Andrew Weatherall took to the studio he has blessed countless musicians with his Midas touch. Though being more than able to work alone, his bass-driven chef-d’oeuvre Feathers attests to this, he works best alongside others. The man’s unrivalled understanding of music’s basic elements has allowed him to refine and master the talent of countless artists over the years. However, the Lord Sabre always infects the production with his own distinct sound … SEE MORE

WAXXX FAIR

The first WAXXX FAIR is going to be something of an extravaganza. We found some people willing to loan us some funfair stuff, we have a number of amazing fair stalls including a really shitty coconut shy, food stalls and some secret stuff that we want to surprise you with.

Sideshows at the fair include:

Boddika (Nonplus Records) … http://soundcloud.com/boddika

Levon Vincent (Novel Sound) http://boilerroom.tv/levon-vincent-60-min-mix/

Church Presents: https://www.facebook.com/churchofficial

Loefah (Swamp 81) http://soundcloud.com/… SEE MORE

WAXXXIN’ LYRICAL – A BAD LYRICS GUIDE

One Direction – “The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed”

These lyrics are indicative of One Direction’s fetishistic obsession with ‘hair-flipping’. Like the rest of the song, this line is covertly expressive of One Direction’s ravenous sexual appetite for stalking women. By listing the attributes of the victim which make them most randy, they hope to in some way justify the kidnap and torture that inevitably follows.

Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars… SEE MORE

ATOMS FOR PEACE – AMOK

With the 2 year dust barely settling on King of Limbs, Thom Yorke’s latest offering Amok is a confused and broken listen, yet it feels all the more enjoyable because of it. Atoms for Peace (featuring super producer Nigel Godrich and, perhaps oddly, Flea) are the new guise Yorke is using to release music, initially, it may seem unnecessary for him to have created a new moniker for this, but it’s a decision that … SEE MORE

KERLI – UTOPIA

A vision in pastels and platforms, Kerli, an Estonian singer living in America, is becoming something of a sensation. Well, that’s one way to say it. A self-proclaimed ‘Bubble Goth”, she looks like a cross between an angry teenager from about ten years ago and My Little Pony. My fourteen-year-old self would have adored her.

There was a debate on Facebook over the Goth-credibility of Kerli, “Goth isn’t a fashion statement/it’s a state of mind” … SEE MORE

LAPALUX – NOSTALCHIC

Hailing from humble beginnings straight out of Essex and still only in his twenties, Stuart Howard- also known as Lapalux- is the only British signing to co-exist alongside the likes of heavyweights to the genre Martyn and Thundercat, upon the impressive roster of FlyLo’s Brainfeeder label.

Having remixed Bonobo to melodic levels and turned Lianne La Havas’s ‘Lost & Found’ into a smooth, chopped ‘n’ screwed number whilst still retaining sentiment, Howard finally releases his … SEE MORE

MY BLOODY VALENTINE – M B V

In the digital age, writing, recording, mastering and releasing music is quicker and easier than ever before. The pop landscape is overrun with exciting new producers and writers, releasing content independently, bypassing major labels and establishing fanbases on the back of their own diligence. So why the hell did it take My Bloody Valentine, and more precisely, their talismanic leader, Kevin Shields, 22 years to write, record, master and release a follow up to their … SEE MORE

PRO ERA – PEEP THE APROCALYPSE

2012 has undeniably been an incredible year for hip-hop, and at the forefront are New Yorkers Pro-Era. The group (consisting of Joey Bada$$, Nyck Caution, Rokamouth, Dyemond Lewis, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight and Capital Steez, amongst others) gained popularity, FAST, culminating in the release of their free mixtape last December, Peep – The Aprocalypse. Make no mistake, this is dirty, gritty New York hip hop, self referential (opener ‘Like Water’ samples Nas’ Illmatic classic, It Ain’t … SEE MORE

BOLD ST BELL ENDZ

Bold Street. The bohemian string in Liverpool’s…cello? Yeah, I think to myself; Cello. I pause by the bookshop and light a cigarette. I inhale my first drag of the day deeply and then blow smoke plumes into the blue sky above. The nicotine rush makes my legs shiver slightly. I take off my leather stetson and feel the breeze ruffling my warm damp hair. People are looking at me. I pretend not to notice. I … SEE MORE

ALLEN&HUTCH

Here’s our resisdent DJ’s, Jimmy Allen & Mr Paul laying down a mix for our good friends over at Sessions Faction. Enjoy. xxx

 … SEE MORE

A TOR OF THE UNDERGROUND WEB

In the deep, dark depths of the Internet, hidden from Google’s all-seeing eye, lies the Silk Road: It’s a black-market-Amazon, within which normal ideas of an internet marketplace disappear into a murk of encrypted currency and illegal contraband.

The website has perhaps brought more attention to the existence of ‘the Deep Web’ than anything else before or after it. The Deep Web, though it sounds menacing, is essentially an umbrella term for the online content … SEE MORE