Honey Dijon – DJ-Kicks: This entire mix is fantastic. It hits its stride on “Dear Father in Heaven” and kept my rapt attention to somewhere around “Bessie.” This is one of the best new house DJ sets I’ve heard in years. Andrew Ryce’s review at Pitchfork is better than anything I could write, but don’t let his 7.7 rating scare you off: This is the rare dance mix that absolutely warrants four-and-a-half stars (or a 9.0, in Pitchfork terms).
Ricardo Villalobos & Samuel Rohrer – Microgestures: Headphones are key to this record. I mostly can’t figure out where Villalobos ends and where Rohrer starts, but that’s not a bad thing because it forces me to put aside my preconceptions of what I expect a collaboration between a DJ and a drummer to sound like. In many ways, it sounds like what I always hoped industrial would sound like: These could easily be the repetitive drones of factory machinery relentlessly pounding away as they fill beer bottles or pound toys from plastic molds. Unlike factory rhythms, though, these tracks evolve, like when the snare (or whatever it is that my brain associates with a snare) drops out in the first track and the entire feel starts to wobble. It’s disorienting, but it’s powerful.
Ezio Bosso – Music for Weather Elements: You never know when or where you’re going to discover music that resonates with you. I was zoning out Thursday night watching figure skating when Mia Kalin’s music stopped me dead in my tracks. I’ve never heard of Bosso (he’s an Italian composer/bassist who died a few years ago) but apparently “Rain, in Your Black Eyes” is a staple in figure skating. After hearing the skater’s edited version, I streamed Bosso’s full 11-minute composition and I’m floored. The music sits at one of my favorite intersections, where film scores and ambient and classical meet. I don’t hear any electronic instruments, but Bosso’s work feels adjacent to Hollie Kenniff’s We All Have Places That We Miss or Hania Rani’s Ghosts, two of my favorite discoveries of the past year. I also love how Bosso put “Rain” in a 10/8 time signature yet made it sound fluid and cyclical, even when the time shifts near the end of the song.
Ela Minus and DJ Python – Corazón: After discovering DÍA last week, I ordered a couple of her 12” singles from Smuggler’s Way, which got to me ridiculously quickly. I’ve just started listening to Corazón but my initial response is very positive. It reminds me of some of the tracks on HAAi’s Baby We’re Ascending, which is a glowing compliment. I’ll definitely be spending more time with this in the coming weeks.
Bizarre Inc. Featuring Angie Brown – I’m Gonna Get You: So this 12” is like a rabbit hole into dance music history. Apparently, the guys in Bizarre Inc. wanted to sample Jocelyn Brown’s vocals from the 1985 song “Love’s Gonna Get You”, but they couldn’t afford it. Instead, they got a then-unknown UK soul singer, Angie Brown, to sing the line they wanted, and the result was a huge hit in the UK. Jocelyn Brown is arguably one of the greatest vocalists in the history of house music, and “Love’s Gonna Get You” is also the source of the vocal sample for Snap’s “I’ve Got the Power,” which is one of those ubiquitous songs that nearly everyone knows even if they think they don’t. In my opinion, Angie Brown’s vocals don’t hold a candle to Jocelyn Brown, but Angie is no slouch and had a few hits too. Finally, the B-side, “Playing with Fire,” was also a hit in the UK, and its remix might be the best thing on this 12”.
Grateful Dead – 10/17/72 (St. Louis, MO): The more I listen, the more it feels like a good rock show, nothing more and nothing less.
Record store finds this week: Ela Minus and DJ Python: Corazón, along with the Ricardo Villalobos remixes.