New digital release from Texture - Synaesthesia EP

I have to admit to being down on some elements of Scottish hip-hop in the past - sometimes the guttural and clipped Scottish accent distracts rather than flows with the beats - but I felt ashamed after listening to Texture’s ‘Non-Sequitr’, debunking the idea that Scotland and hip-hop as married concepts do not follow. The track kicks off Texture’s new EP ‘Synaesthesia’, available for a donation (or free) on Black Lantern Music, a netlabel offering DRM-free mp3s from independent musicians.

It’s the second part of Texture’s trilogy of EPs, and follows January 2010’s ‘Asphasia’ release which tipped reviewers to declare him a “bookworm emcee” - a title which holds true on the chemical-compound, philosophical quipping ‘Synaesthesia’.

As Texture says: “Synaesthesia is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Synaesthetes may experience smells as colours, or sounds as flavours - they may mistake indie for house music, or rap for dubstep.”

The latter part sounds like a condition which can commonly effect reviewers - after the 30th release of the day beats start morph into other genres and the definitions become so blurred you do start to become hazy about what makes a genre.

Through this haze comes four tracks which have visited Earth in some format or another in previous months; ‘Non-Sequitr’, ‘Silver Age’, ‘Echo Boomers’ and ‘The Dawn View’. If you’re a listener to Vic Galloway’s Radio 1 show, you might have caught ‘Echo Boomers’ when Texture performed it live, and followers of Texture’s previous work may notice that ‘The Dawn View’ is a reincarnation of a track on Texture and Morphamish’s collaborative LP, ‘Future Proof’, released under the Double Helix alias.

But back to the creeping feeling of shame and ‘Non-Sequitr’! The track looks at not so much the ‘plight’ of Scottish hip-hop but of a realistic view that it’s sidelined in some way by the over-hyped US dominance and bling culture - something which very much does not exist in Scotland. He name-checks other Scottish artists who have helped carved the way for Scottish hip-hop, but there is a slightly sombre note to this when considering they have all yet to make breakthroughs on a multi-national scale. Texture’s lyrics make reference to the stark differences in US / Scottish culture; working night-shifts; spitting rhymes in over-crowded basements; being told by people like Kayne to dress in diamonds, “when all we can afford is costume jewellery”; and drinking cheap mind-numbing substances like Buckfast. It’s a slow swagger of hip-hop to a 6/8 beat, decorated by acoustic guitar - composed and produced by Salem Anders and will definitely hold appeal for Scottish hip-hop fans, but will the rest be ready for a rebuke at popular culture hip-hop, bling and all?

Kid Ritalin, co-manager of Glasgow’s Little Rock net-label and artist, joins Texture for ‘Silver Age’, featuring bassy glitch-hop, broken beat and sparks of wonk, and encompasses the ‘bookworm’ title with its digs at TV and ‘cultural’ distractions. The beats help to impose the feeling of urgency in the message, so the track works well in a holistic sense. Long-time Texture collaborator, Morphamish, steps in to do beats and production on this track and the following two.

Previously performed on Radio 1, ‘Echo Boomers (Generation Why)’, is warped electro hip-hop spitting you questions on Generation Y; questioning whether you’re “human or consumer”, just as I try to surreptitiously slide my new android phone under a cushion. The ironies of smoking cigarettes while driving through Bhopal (site of serious chemical disaster); bank balances growing and swelling like tumours; Starbucks authors; romanticised Woodstock; we are all “wikipediphiles”; and living out the carcinogenic inheritance of Baby Boomers - from chemical-laden technologies to surviving on celebrity gossip. This song has the potential to chip away at international boundaries given that it nails issues which stretch into lots of different cultures.

‘Synaesthesia’ closes with the revamped ‘The Dawn View’, taken from ‘Future Proof’, and taking an optimistic view of what I prefer to call ‘the walk of shame’ - that walk home from the club while still bedraggled from the night’s partying on MDMA, just as the milkmen appear. It’s an upbeat fusion of indie and jazzy cumbia tinges with added guitar by Richard Lindsay that would have you dancing home ‘Singing In the Rain’ style rather than the obligatory hood up, eyes down, shuffle quickly routine!

The trilogy will be completed with ‘Parasomnia’ due for release on Black Lantern in January 2011.


If you're stuck for a gift for your nearest and dearest hip-hop-lovin' friends, download the EP here and watch the video (filmed in Edinburgh) for ‘Non-Sequitr’ below:

Part 1: The Niallist - He came, He played, He conquered

In the run-up to the release of his new 12” - ‘I Came’ - on Monday 29th November (today), Lo-Quality delved into the mind - past, present and future - of The Niallist, an Irish-born and Manchester-based electronic producer, remixer and vocalist. And Scottish label owner, club resident, and music writer!

Keen to keep numerous projects on the go, on top of his latest release, the electro-disco / house / techno / acid / quirky electronic producer has just finished a Metatron EP for Black Lantern Music, and contributed lead vocals to ‘Infinite Capacity (For Love)’, the debut single from Ben Butler & Mousepad on digital download from Loaf Recordings. In between his production work, he appears as resident for Glasgow’s Menergy club, which returns in February 2011 at the School of Art’s Vic Bar: he helpfully advises that you can always download guest mixes from the Menergy blog, such as the recently compiled Hi-NRG mix by Frenchbloke, of music he was hearing at Glasgow’s Bennets venue in 1985 and 1986.

To tie the many strands together, the Niallist has launched new blog NIALLISM, which now acts as a replacement for his Myspace, Muxtape, and Live Journal accounts, concentrating his music, event announcements and writings in one central space. One of his aliases is House Machine, and certainly the rate at which he likes to work suggests some sort of momentum apparatus at play. With that, we ask; who is the Niallist? Where does he come from, where is he going, and where does he buy his hats?

“The Niallist is me, and he is not me at the same time. I am from Ireland, but he is from outer space. In all honesty, I had been working on loads of different music projects and needed a good catch-all name for my stuff. I had been thinking of using that name, and when a friend brought it up in conversations independently, I decided to go with it. Over time it has developed and changed; right now it's going in an electro-disco direction. It's like a drag act I suppose really - the Niallist is an exaggeration of me and some of my traits. And if I told you where I get my hats I would have to kill you.”

"It's like a drag act I suppose really - the Niallist is an exaggeration of me and some of my traits."

When did you start DJing, and when did you start music production? What was the thing which made you say 'I want to do this'? Was there ever a moment when you thought, 'I can't do this'?

“Hah, every day I think "I can't do this"! Music is such a huge mountain to climb, and the peak is always out of reach. To overplay this metaphor, looking back can be really scary, but it's only then that you notice the milestones you have passed.

“I started DJing originally on my school's radio station back in the 90s when I was about 14 or 15. It only had a radius of about a mile or so, and the equipment wasn't great, but I would play alt rock and dance music of the day, and read out conspiracy theory material over the top. I still have the tapes somewhere. I'd always been obsessed with music, so I can't think of a particular time when I didn't want to make or be involved with it - I'd always been day dreaming about those things.

“I guess moving to Glasgow was a bit of a turning point, as I could now explore musical avenues that didn't exist in my home town, like deep house at the Sub Club. I remember finding a flyer for Subculture before I moved over, that featured both Basement Jaxx and Dimitri From Paris playing the club in the space of a fortnight. I knew I had to be there! Also, I bought a set of decks, like practically everyone else I knew, and I started hanging out with some burgeoning music producers. Then my mum won a small amount on the lottery, she gave me some money, and I decided to buy some music equipment with it. That was in 1999. When I first started it was a real bitch, because I was wanting to make these crazy epic disco productions with just an Akai S-20(!) an MC-303 and a four track. Thank God for Ableton, is all I can say now.”

"It's the main reason people go to clubs isn't it? To cop off. So I see my mission as being to help facilitate that."

Perhaps it's just my dirty mind, but there is sometimes a sexual undertone to your material, for example, your next release is entitled ‘I Came', but that could be a reference to Caeser - are you out to conquer or seduce the dancefloor?

“It's all in your head dear - now go and give yourself 50 lashes under a cold, cold shower! No, of course, there is a huge sexual element to my music. It's the main reason people go to clubs isn't it? To cop off. So I see my mission as being to help facilitate that. You don't get slow dances anymore in night clubs so there needs to be a moment where you can connect with someone on a dancefloor, and the music takes the place of words. And no matter what euphemisms those words are couched in, they generally express sexual attraction.

“There came a point about ten years ago when I was listening to ‘Parade’ by Prince, and I realised that ALL his songs are about sex, in one way or another. Even ‘When Doves Cry’. It suddenly validated sex as a topic in music for me, and also gave me something to sing about as I was really not wanting to do your standard romantic clichéd bullshit like you get in pop, or the whiny, moany ‘issues’ crap you get in rock. It chimed more with the kind of outré hip-hop I was listening to. Also, sexual desire is a universal thing - we may not all want the same kind of person, but we all want. And through certain universal feelings like that I can then explore other issues, either in or related to the field of sex. So think of me as like a cross between Prince and Dr. Ruth. Or more likely Dr Phil.”

The track itself is a crazy mix of beats with a few unexpected turns - juddery yet syncopated, with swaggering vocals; what kind of mood were you in when you made it?

“Well, the track itself is directly inspired by Rio favela funk, which is quite obvious from the stabby horn riff and the 808 beats. I was given a compilation CD of that stuff by Craig from Mungo's Hi Fi and it blew me away, especially as it was something I could quite easily make myself with my set-up. It helps that I couldn't understand what they were rapping about, as it seems pretty base. To add to that I thought "what would Timbaland do?" - well he'd put a sultry, sexy female vocal over the top to appeal to his R&B/pop market. Then he would lay down some ad libs and grunts in the background through a headphone.

“For the vocal I already had the melody, and I remember it clearly - our studio in the Chateau, on one of the rare occasions I was tidying up, and the phrase just popped into my head. Initially I was nervous of using it because of the double entendre, but at the same time it was just too strong to ignore. And also with the double entendre, it is very easy to deny the second meaning. That was the clincher, as it's only a rude phrase if you read that into it - there's no cursing in there, it could be taken completely at face value, so technically there is no reason not to play it on the radio. But it had to have a woman singing it to soften that blow, that is why I got Ms Mac D involved. She brings a restrained, classy vibe to the whole thing too. In a nutshell; I guess I was feeling cheeky and ambitious!”

How did you hook up with Miss Mac D, and is that a collaboration you would like to do again?

“Ms Mac D is an old friend of mine - I've known her since I started going to Glasgow Uni, and we bonded quickly over a love of disco and R&B / soul. Everyone has always known she has a great voice, it really seems to touch people, and even though she has sung in bands over the years singing is not her main focus. I knew she would be good choice to sing ‘I Came’ and even though we had like two hours in a studio to get it done, working with her was easy and straight forward. And yes, I would absolutely love to work with her again - ‘I Came’ was a bit of a challenge for her as it is not in her natural range, but some of the newer material I have been writing is, so I would love to hear her take a crack at that.”

You've done remixes with DFRNT and Brassica for the release - are there any plans to join them in a live context in the future?

“There's not really been any plans in that direction - to be honest my live show is on the back burner at the moment anyway, as I have moved city and am concentrating more on writing and recording rather than playing live. Having said that, I did perform ‘Infinite Capacity (For Love)’ live with Ben Butler & Mousepad a couple of months ago and that was great! That's just come out as a single, and he's up for doing more live spots with me involved, it's just a matter of when and where.”

It's all very well to talk influences, but rather than reeling off a list, what is the music which has touched your heart; the kind that has stayed with you for years? The kind which still sends a spine tingle no matter how naffly it is regarded!

“Well, again back when I was in school in the mid-90s I watched Saturday Night Fever and it had a huge impact on me. I loved it and the music straight away, even though it was seen as the height of naffness. Since then I have been obsessed with disco; it's my primary musical love affair, and I have seen the genre be rehabilitated from complete cheese to the height of cool. Also, the definition of disco has expanded too. That's something we aimed to do when we started the Discopia website, to explore the bits of dance music which are heavily influenced by disco but are not it, such as post-punk, electro, house, boogie and hip-hop.

"Disco is my primary musical love affair, and I have seen the genre be rehabilitated from complete cheese to the height of cool."

“At some point around the year 2001 I went back to my mate Dave's flat after a party and he put on a CD set of old school Chicago house classics. It blew me away - especially because I remembered owning some of the tracks on cassette when I was about 8 or 9. I had asked my family for some ‘house music’ for Christmas one year and my brother and sister got me a 2 tape collection called ‘Hitmasters of House’ or something. There were tracks like ‘House Nation’ by the House Master Boys and ‘Six Gun’ by Decadent Dub Team on there. Looking back now that's some pretty heavy shit to be laying on a child! But it's ok guys, I turned out just fine.

“Also, the Pet Shop Boys were a huge band for me as a kid - I remember two girls in my primary school class setting up a fan club for them, and I joined, being rewarded handsomely with home made PSB posters and badges. My mum even joined it!”

Tell us about your involvement with Little Rock Records and how you met the crew?

“Well, folk would come round to our studio in the Chateau (art and music space) to jam or to just hang out, so it progressed from there really. Also some folks were working at The Skinny at the time, so that's got a bit to do with it. It has been quite an organic process really, there's not been any kind of strict masterplan behind it. I started the label out of necessity, to get my music out there as quickly, directly and cheaply as possible. Originally it was going to be a physical label, but all that changed when I discovered Jahtari.org. Since then loads of independent net labels have sprung up, forming their own net-labels network, and this is a good thing.”

What have been your proudest achievements with the label?

“Well, I can't speak for the other guys, but I'd say our greatest achievement has been the NORAVE and FUCKNO compilation albums, which have given exposure to some pretty awesome Scottish leftfield acts, like Tayside Mental Health, Fox Gut Daata & Gatr.”


Until you get your hands on the official 'I Came' release, you can check out a special mixtape featuring guest MCs Shunda K, Cindy Wonderful and Rel$ for that favela funk fix. Check back on Lo-Quality for the second parter in this feature, published this week.

www.niallism.com
www.menergy.tv
www.shallowrave.com

Have you got the Urge?

Urge Mode is a new Scottish net-label, assembled as part of the "single unifying outlet" Black Lantern Music; artists from all walks of life and different scenes have the opportunity to release their music - think of a mall for goods, divided into different stores. Indeed browsing round the Black Lantern site is like rifling the rails of dance, and the remit is so broad that head of sub-label Urge Mode, Morphamish is not sure if there is one at all - "there's room for any interesting music."

The website is a three channel collaboration, and he explains that each channel can be considered as different points on the same map; Neverzone, Weaponizer and Urge Mode "fulfill overlapping functions within Black Lantern Music." Neverzone looks after the experimental hip-hop and electronic side of things; Weaponizer holds the trip-hop and art-rock slant, and Urge Mode keeps a keen eye on the dancefloor. "Again it does overlap a fair bit - we don't want to be majorly strict with ourselves. Weaponizer puts out some dubstep and Neverzone some electronica, but it's always in keeping with its identity. It's just nice to have faith in each other's choices, and not entirely needing to confer about decisions regarding what to release, while still collaborating with each other taking the label as a whole forward," says Morphamish.


Three channels are up and running (Urge Mode the most recent of these), outputting 18 releases to date and enabling the team to "get a diverse output that still hangs together as a label." Urge Mode itself was "born out of a love of all bass music, and not feeling the need to stick to a style; to draw from anywhere and everywhere, as long as it's compelling."

To date the label has had three releases, described by Morphamish as "hard-edged and dark", a style Urge Mode dearly loves, but insists that another side will be shown over the next few EPs, sporting melodic, deep and warm tracks based around the experimental dubstep, breakbeat and techno scenes. Pencil in these forthcoming beats in your diaries now, and note the names of Drokkr, Shatterfreak, Tactus, Boondock and Supasub, the latter of which is Morphamish's own collaboration with Club Volume! resident Paranoise. "Overall there will be mellowness, grooviness and outright mentalism in equal measure - many diverse, weird and wonderful releases, plus some special super deluxe guerilla events", he tells Lo-Quality.


How do Urge Mode select these artists? "Natural selection - if they can survive seven death-defying tasks to bring me an exquisitely flavoured delicacy from the very edge of the world - providing it sounds good we'll put it out!"

One thing you will immediately notice about the site is a lack of pound signs or 'add to cart' labels: indeed the music is free download, and it's difficult to see where the money-making element comes into it. "The ethos is just to put out great music without compromise, to as many people as possible," he explains, "It's all free download. These days unless you are pretty big you are only going to make money from from live shows anyway, so why not give people the music, we want it to be heard." And with that, Lo-Quality is astonished at how easy and uncomplicated it almost seems; in the battle for distribution rights and peer-to-peer clashes here is a division of labels who will let you access music for free, on the reasoning that it if you dig it you'll probably make the effort to see the artist live. As a portion of illegal downloaders will agree, downloading is similar to Fopp Record Shop's 'Suck it and See' policy - why spend money on a track you'll detest, when you can make a decision prior to purchase and spend your money in the right places; like on a gig you actually want to see, than a CD you may end up using as an indoor frisbee.

So what urges will we feel when we hear the new Urge Mode releases? "Whatever feels natural at the time, you'll know when you feel it. Most often it's to frolic naked, grinning, skipping and shouting for joy into the great beyond for a bright and beautiful tomorrow/tonight."

Grab live Urge Mode action when Morphamish and Texture perform at the Wickerman festival's poetry stage this month.



Urge Mode Artists and Releases

• The Crooked One A.K.A. Blackmass Plastics (Rag and Bone, Combat) - 'The Spinal Conflict EP'
• Drokkr (Stupid Fly, Crossroads)
• Paranoise (Volume, Nerve, Apparition)
• Stick 430 (Irridium, Cube) - 'Don't Forget The Mixer'
• Tactus (Jungledub, Abaga records)
• Leith Weapon A.K.A. Operator (Scandinavia, Mighty Robot)
• Morphamish+Texture (previously Double Helix) (Audiodacity, Labrat) - 'The Urge Mode EP'
• Boondock A.K.A. The Coldharbour Crackhead (Confusion)
• Shatterfreak (Subversus/Stomp) - 'A Stitch In Sine'
• More TBA