Mixes

Shimotsukei – A Brief History Of Nomic

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 7, 2016
Posted in: Finnish, Mixes, USA. 1 comment

Thought you knew Nomic’s back catalogue pretty well, did you? A rude awakening awaits, as Shimotsukei has gone delving into the obscure and beautiful for another must-listen of a set.

This set very wisely takes a different approach than Nomic’s own live PAs and mixes, with older, experimental tracks heavily represented alongside some classics. With such a huge selection to choose from it’s a shame the set doesn’t go for as many melodic transitions as I was hoping for*, but the tracklist is fabulous and it most definitely has its quality combination moments.

With any other freeform artist you might complain at Leijonakuningas opening things and sticking around for a good 5 minutes or so, but for Nomic it sets the tone perfectly – you know that this is going to be something out of the ordinary. The excellent edit of Human Race follows, introducing a long sequence of trademark orchestral tracks that (utterly great though they are) don’t really have the power to be heard through club PAs very often these days.

Towards halfway is where the set comes into its own, I think – the combination of Etkö ymmärrä and Guardian Spirit is a real winner, before the bpm really starts picking up for the final third. The Black Cage is a fantastic track that I haven’t even heard before, while This Is The New Shit into Painajaiskarkoittaja is as good a use of two of my favourites as you’ll find anywhere (assuming you can find anyone else playing them, that is).

The final section from Battle of Dawn is the side of Nomic we rarely hear, but is a totally fitting finish for a top class set that manages something pretty special – covering all of Nomic’s trademark sounds but steering clear of too many anthems.

* I’ve since discovered that this was an improvised set streamed live, making it even more impressive.

In Praise of Shadows @GUHROOVY

Posted by PlasmaDancer on October 15, 2016
Posted in: Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, Releases, USA. Leave a Comment

Some news aimed at the based-in-Japan crowd here – as part of my efforts to broaden the audience for In Praise of Shadows I’m very pleased to say that the album has been on sale at Shibuya’s Guhroovy for a couple of days now.

TYFTH’s online store handling payments via PayPal is a bit of a problem in Japan, as it still doesn’t have much of a presence here. This has meant that the Japan crew have been at a disadvantage up to now and I’ve been hoping to give them some other options – it explains the very healthy sales on the first day at CODEX, but now anyone who missed that has this avenue.

It’s also a biggie for another reason, as having the label’s first release on the shelves of a music store is a pretty decent milestone – the fact that it’s Guhroovy makes it even better, as it comes almost exactly 10 years after I placed an order there (from the UK) for Khaotic Dimension. How far we’ve come, eh?

On that note, if you’re outside Japan then for goodness’ sake don’t order though Guhroovy, as the stock is fairly limited and getting the album from the TYFTH store is far cheaper thanks to the (in hindsight perhaps too generous) free postage worldwide.

DJ Midas – The Szahala Way

Posted by PlasmaDancer on October 8, 2016
Posted in: Finnish, Mixes, UK. Leave a Comment

There aren’t as many Alek Szahala-only sets kicking around as you’d expect, so this 80 minute mix from Midas was a very pleasant surprise. The tracklist is an especially interesting one that sets off from an unusual starting point, runs through some darker classics, and ends on some faster darker classics.

You could hardly ask for better, and that unusual opening (starting with Lagash 2012) features some really brilliant transitions – Astraia and Avalanche were made for each other at this bpm, and Heaven & Hell is a great choice. Very nice to see Noitavasara in there (a tune I’ve been trying to use for the past year or so), while Hydra is yet another excellent, surprising selection. After the bpm has crept up this high, then why not finish with the traditional Xochitlan?

This set came to soon for any chance of Enuma Elish, but that aside, a quality tracklist and rock-solid mixing in typical Midas style make it very highly recommended.

DJ Danny Stokes – Insane Nuttiness

Posted by PlasmaDancer on October 4, 2016
Posted in: Canadian, Finnish, Mixes, UK. Leave a Comment

An interesting take on the dark/melancholy formula here, in a set from DJ Danny Stokes. Recorded a few years ago, the set is anchored around a few heavily pitched up Lab 4 tracks – this might be a deal breaker for some, but it’s this and the surprising combo of Nu-Energy with darker tracks that are the noteable elements here.

Although personally I could do without tracks like Kevin Energy’s remix of Lumi, it’s tracklists like these that show the potential of coaxing more UK freeform-centric DJs towards the FINRG, EE, Kreatrix and (wait for it) TYFTH side of things. As an example, CLSM’s Revolution remix works brilliantly here as a link between Lab 4, with Adaption making perfect sense as a follow-up.

It’s thought-provoking stuff, before the second half of the set switches into a nicely mixed selection of old favourites. I have my own thoughts on how the TYFTH flavour of NRG and freeform can reach wider audiences, but sets like these (and Thumpa’s, obviously) show a another possible, optimistic attack vector on the less grimdark corners of the freeform world.

Shimotsukei vs PlasmaDancer – Lucky Lotus Online Music Festival 6, 26th June 2016

Posted by PlasmaDancer on September 19, 2016
Posted in: Events, Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, USA. 4 comments

Slightly belated notice of a new(ish) set from me and Shimotsukei that went online recently and was part of Lucky Lotus 6 back in June. We decided to make things more interesting than the usual ‘one half each’ setup and try a more aunthentic back to back, alternating every few tracks. It all came together far easier than I was expecting, and there are a fair number of rarer/unreleased tunes amongst the classics.

Big thanks of course to Lucky Lotus and Shimotsukei for such a nice opportunity to take on something different, and I hope we’ll have a chance to give this another try in the future. Tracklist is below, and the set is downloadable on the FINRG SoundCloud.

[PD]
01. Tyranoid vs Strongstream – Spice／Epice
02. Epyx & Cyrez – Game Over (Tyranoid/Strongstream Remix)
03. Epilim – Rapid Fire
[Shimotsukei]
04. Carbon Based & DJ Rx – Reptile
05. Pain On Creation & Fea – Unconsciousness
06. Epyx & Cyrez vs Fea – Untitled 4 Evah (Unfinished edit)
[PD]
07. Nomic – Neptune
08. Alabaster – Galaxy
09. Re-form – Cyanide
[Shimotsukei]
10. Epyx & Cyrez – Neverlasting
11. Le Dos-on – Rising Sun
12. Proteus – Venla
[PD]
13. DJ RX – Hellfire
14. A+D+A+M Lab4 – Psychopath
15. GULD – Hannya 2
16. VICE TEK HEAVY INDUSTRY – 3M3SIS
[Shimotsukei]
17. Betwixt & Between – Matsukin (Remix)
18. Nomic – Mutantit

TYFTH: In Praise of Shadows, 10th September

Posted by PlasmaDancer on September 8, 2016
Posted in: Events, Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, Releases. 3 comments

In Praise of Shadows finally has a release date, and it’s the day after tomorrow – you will be able to order the compilation on Saturday, or head along to CODEX where you’ll be able to pick up a copy on the day. Orders placed online will be sent out asap – probably the following day, depending on the response.

The compilation will cost a fairly standard 1500 yen, but some good news is that postage will be free (or absorbed within the cost of the CD, whichever way you want to look at it) and will take 6-8 days to most countries via airmail. I’ll have a simple guide to the ordering process over on the Music page, but of course feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions. The online store side of things is another expedition into uncharted territory, but I’ll be doing my best to make things as smooth as possible.

I’ll be promoting the release in all the usual places, but as time always seems to be short these days some word-spreading from the Horsers would also be really appreciated. How about thoughts on music sites etc. that might be interested in reviewing the album? I have a couple of places in mind, but I’m open to suggestions.

Apologies again for the silence here lately, but it was for a good cause – and hopefully things will pick up again after this weekend.

Nomic – Lucky Lotus Online Music Festival 6 / Solvynt – Lucky Lotus Online Electronic Music Festival 6

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 13, 2016
Posted in: Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, UK, USA. Leave a Comment

Lucky Lotus 6 was very high on quality, and I’m still working my way through a few of the sets from the event. So far my favourites have been Nomic and Solvynt, two distinctive sets that did a fine job representing freeform.

Nomic’s hour won’t disappoint – it’s one of the nicest balances of melancholy and harder stuff that I’ve heard for a long while, while the WIPs and new tracks mean there’s plenty for Nomic veterans to check out, too. We have to mention the opening, of course, as the third part of Falling Star is an absolutely beautiful track that does more than enough to distinguish itself from the ’08 version. Watch out for new track Shattered, as it starts a very classy section from there to Black Lotus, before the traditional harder finale, this time of Leave Me Alone / Mad Man and Holocaust.

Solvynt’s set comes at things from a DJ angle, and so in my book the transitions, selections and ‘story’ of the set should take centre stage. Right from the start it’s clear that Solvynt has kept that in mind, as the Superstition – Purple – Tendrils of Reality combination is about as good as you’ll hear anywhere. There’s a lovely flow to it, from the psychedelic darkness to the way things build up to the harder stuff with Tendrils, and if things had maintained those standards for the entire set we’d be looking at an all-time classic.

Easier said than done (and I certainly don’t think I’ve ever managed it either), but even when the flow is interrupted slightly the tracks themselves are high quality choices. It’s from Brionac, though, where things get back into top-level territory and the kind of twisted atmosphere that’s so hard to get right with freeform – that move into The Ghost of Jupiter is great, followed by some superb use of Nomic and Pain on Creation. Unicorn Grove signals a classic Alek/Betwixt finish, a nice way to end a very impressive hour.

Shimotsukei – The Techno Shark Guest Mix: Freeform Showcase

Posted by PlasmaDancer on July 30, 2016
Posted in: Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, USA. Leave a Comment

Time for a respectful tip of the hat to Shimotsukei for one of the finest sets so far this year. As you’d expect, Shimotsukei covers all the TYFTH bases from twisted synths to melancholy, moving between Japanese and Finnish sounds with some very high quality mixing.

The set fits a huge amount into two hours, but the careful arrangement of Hase and Pain on Creation tracks was what first caught my ear – the two of them really are leagues ahead when it comes to the filters we all love. The problem then becomes how to blend their tracks with the rest, and the first third of the set does a superb job of running through NRGetic Romancer friendly NRG in as smooth a style as you’ve ever heard. I often wince when I hear promos being shoehorned into a set for reputation’s sake, but well played Shimotsukei on the use of Disintegration – that combo with Eternal Cannon is one of the moments of the set, and more than worth waiting for.

In some ways it’s a shame the set isn’t shorter/split in two for these sections to be completely self-contained, as the move into the second half features some great old and new selections but lacks some of the smoothness of the opening. Often comes with the territory when mixing freeform, but there are still some very nice moments, like an especially ferocious combination between Freeform Mercury and Silver Cube.

A look at the tracklist should be enough for most TYFTH readers, but as in all the best sets, the transitions add a lot to the atmosphere and make this far more than just a roll call of classics and promos.

In Praise of Shadows CD 2 Mixed Tracks 1-12

Posted by PlasmaDancer on July 9, 2016
Posted in: Japanese, Mixes, Releases. 1 comment

No preview going online today (there’ll be another tomorrow, mind), as the majority of CD 2 is taken up by my own mixed set. Probably sounds a bit disingenuous, but the decision to include a mix in the compilation was initially for completeness, to support other labels, and to introduce the kind of atmosphere that TYFTH should (and indeed is) all about. It was only later that I started realising what fine self-promotion this could be, too.

With those initial thoughts in mind, I put together a set from a variety of labels and years that hopefully demonstrates that while the spirit of the older tracks is harder to find these days, it’s still there, and TYFTH will be doing its best to keep it alive.

The set has been bubbling away now for more than a year, and is probably one of my smoothest since the Betwixt & Between tribute. Despite the lack of Alek I’m also happy with how representative it is, with plenty of NRG, melancholy sections and a dark, psychedelic final third. I’d like to think that Betwixt would have been a big supporter of the release, and I’ve included two tracks to make sure that his sound is still heard. Enormous thanks to Hardcore Tano*C for their help in making that possible, but thanks too to all the other labels I’ve licensed tracks from – it was a long process, but well worth it in the end.

Something that might catch your eye is Nomic’s remix of Steve Morley’s Sacred City – I liked the transitions I found (and the track itself, obviously) so much that I sought out Steve re. officially giving it his blessing. We very quickly settled on a license, and it’s now a fully authorised remix, released in this set by TYFTH.

You’ll find the tracklist below – do feel free to let me know what you think and whether it’s a good continuation from the unmixed CD 1.

01. Blender – Illogical [Smiling Corpse, 2015]
02. Pain on Creation – Shine [FINRG, 2007]
03. Proteus – Get Fire! [Watchtower, 2012]
04. Proteus – Illuminati [UHOtrax, 2008]
05. Carbon Based & DJ Rx – Biomechanoid [FINRG, 2005]
06. Steve Morley – Sacred City (Nomic remix) [TYFTH, 2016]
07. Nomic – Falling Star 08 [FINRG, 2008]
08. Re-form – Pure Evil [Electronica Exposed 2005]
09. Epyx & Cyrez – The Most Masochist [FINRG, 2009]
10. Betwixt & Between – Phaedra [TYFTH, 2010]
11. Qygen – Birth Within The Cosmic Storm [Electronica Exposed, 2013]
12. Betwixt & Between – Hydra (Long Edit) [Hardcore Tano*C, 2010]