Notes from the forest #4

DJ Crystl and the album that never was

Simon Reynolds, coiner of the term Hardcore Continuum and author of the highly recommended book Energy Flash, linked to a new interview Utilising The Transients with Jungle producer Dan Chapman aka DJ Crystl. His most famous and also my favorite tunes are Warp Drive and Let It Roll from the 90s. In the interview he talks about from what tune Warp Drive was inspired by and it feels like it's the spirit of drum and bass itself.

I learned two more fascinating bits: Despite his artist name, Chapman doesn’t relish DJing and he was signed to London (Warner Music) to make an album he admitted couldn't finish. I recommend the discussion in the comments of the blog post by Simon Reynolds about jungle albums on major labels being a disappointment in general and I disagree with Reynolds here: for example Photek - Modus Operandi and Source Direct - Exorcise the Demons are excellent albums despite being released on a major label.

DJ Crystl is active on Bandcamp, offering sample based production kits and a remix album in the merch section.

A timeless take from Sam Binga

Ten years ago the producer from Bristol gave In Reach Mag an interview "Cross-pollination at 160" that aged surprisingly well. Come to think of it I should have read it back then! Avoiding too much seriousness while embracing imperfection and realness is the gist of what Sam Binga is all about but there are more levels for fans and creators of all-tempo breakbeat music that still hold weight. Highly recommed read.

Muzak and artist remuneration

Last week I linked to a preview article of Liz Pelly's new book in which she says that Spotify paid other companies low budget fees to make 'Perfect Fit Content' so they wouldn't have to pay real artists more money. The cost-avoidance revelation was meant to cause solidarity to these musicians who not just make Muzak. Bristol based bass music producer Om Unit took his music off Spotify without much explanation, kudos to him.

But there is another perspective: I came recently across the comment section of The New Yorker on Facebook and it's basically void of empathy for artists although the article introduction is taking a side: "Unlike a record label, a tech company doesn’t care whether we’re hooked on the same hit on repeat or lost in a three-hour ambient loop, so long as we’re listening to something." Does that mean people don't like to demonize Spotify anymore and are willing to pay for whatever background noise supports their mood even it's not made by artists or humans? Not a good outlook.

It is against this depressing backdrop of decontextualisation of music that the Nintendo Music app has now been released. "An app for enjoying music from Nintendo games! Reliving your musical memories from across Nintendo's franchises, from Super Mario to Animal Crossing and beyond." And I get it, if you've played Zelda for hours and lost yourself in another world, listening to the soundtrack again might help you decompress. The app offers mood listening and an extended timer feature which allows you to listen game soundtracks in 15, 30 or 60 minute chunks. I wonder if the non-credited artists who originally composed and produced the music get paid from this new channel of licensed music.

Laundry TV

Can you imagine if Netflix executives were regularly telling screenwriters to “have characters announce what they’re doing so that viewers who have this program on in the background can follow along”? If not, then I recommend you get to know the bosses and how they are really seeing their customers in the excellent essay Casual Viewing by Will Tavlin for n+1.

What I'm working on

The release schedule for Defrostatica is up and I'm also putting together a concept for the website, which should be due in September when the label celebrates its 10th anniversary. What do you expect a label website to offer you?