Right Down To The Kore

You know I'm not having a great idea day when I resort to a bad pun for the post title... Anyhoo, had to give y'all a few days to recover from that multiple Funk-gasm I laid on ya last week. So here's something to sit down and trip out to...



It's some brand-stinkin' new Ambient-ish goodness from a young Welsh producer who goes by the name of Koreless. But it's definitely not yoga music. This stuff is an exercise in building tension... in a good way! Dig it...

Koreless - Sun (ysi)

SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THAT BUILDING TENSION?!?!? HOLYSHITINEEDABEER!

Music To Go "Aaaaahhhhhhhh" To

Gonna take a break from beats today. Hope you don't mind...



Everyone knows Germany's Kompakt label as the go-to for the latest in Zee Teknomuzik, but once a year they switch gears and release the latest in their Pop Ambient compilation series. I don't know where they get the "Pop" part from, but they're not fucking around about being "Ambient". We're talking mostly beatless whooshy-ness of the non-scheisse-eating variety. Now, I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Tone, can you possibly just once write about German music without making a scheisse-eating reference? Maybe just one time?". Well, the answer is no. No, I cannot. I mean, the one I just made doesn't even make any sense but BAM... there it is. Can't do anything about it now. Anyhoo, Mr. Jens-Uwe Beyer, aka Popnoname is a regular contributor to the series, and here's one of his, um... jams?

Popnoname - Wandel (ysi)

Funky, eh? But seriously, I love stuff like this when I have a hangover sometimes, and so should you. MAN CANNOT LIVE ON TECHNO ALONE! Or so I've heard...

Music to just wanna crawl back in bed to

After a 40th birthday celebration involving shots of tequila, this here is about as hard as I can rock it today...



So, turns out there are actually two different Ambient artists out there who go by the name Gas. Did you know that? I did not know that. One of the Gasses is the dude who runs Kompakt Records. This is not him. This is a guy named Mat Jarvis and this is the only record he put out under the Gas alias. He's got a few of those, as is the fashion of the day. But yeah, this Gas is a pretty highly sought-after and highly fucking good record. And it's making my head not hurt, which is kinda awesome in it's own right...

Gas - Microscopic (ysi)

If that tune sounds vaguely familiar (which I doubt), it may be because you've seen this video before. It has, as they say, made the rounds. It, also, is kinda awesome...



Okay, made it through. I'm going to put this album on and go to bed...

Pasty Brits or Smokin' Japanese Babes?

Today, another group that shockingly has never gotten love at Tonegents...



... which is really odd because Future Sound of London are definitely high-ranking deities of the Electronica pantheon. Well, except for the fact that nowadays all they make is dirty hippie music. But then again, despite their great tunes they've always been cocks. At least that's what I've been lead to believe. They couldn't even be arsed to leave their studios to play shows back in the day... they just sat in their studio in their underwear and beamed shit out to venues via ISDN lines. They probably just hit play and cruised the web for porn. I mean... that's what I would do...

Future Sound Of London - Smokin' Japanese Babe (ysi)

Rumor has it they might play actual real live shows next year, but I'll believe that when I see it. Now for the gratuitious girlie shot you knew was coming with a song title like that...


"Tonegents is SuperHappy Fun Blog Time!"

What, you'd rather see a picture of the band? I doubt that entirely...

Does Tonegent gots ta choke a bitch?

After a year and a half and over five hundred posts, I'm happy to say I finally got my first DMCA notice! And by happy, I mean enraged... Actually got two in one day yesterday... one apparently from Ludacris' people for posting "Area Codes" and one having something to do with the sample source mix I posted last month. Pretty lame. Instead of just requesting I remove the links, Blogger actually went in and deleted my posts without warning, the fuckwaffles. I would have been happy to take the songs down, you know... but nothing enrages a Virgo more that having the completeness of my blog fucked with. So now I have to do what any real gangsta like myself would do and start beef with Ludacris... so... Ludacris, you can eat a syphilitic dick on a moldy French roll smothered in ass relish, punk. I don't know why your little bitch-ass has to mess with my blog when I even provided a link for the readers to go buy your shitty album... how come it's the artists who are already rich that fuck with bloggers? Much better musicians than you see blogs as what they are... good publicity! But you're to stupid to see that, so maybe you should just go get run over by a Hyundai on dubs after being ass-raped by Clay Aiken. Oh, and it's "mouth", dipshit... not "mouf". English! Learn it! Bam! Anyhoo, now how 'bout some mellow sounds to calm my seething bile...



... and those sounds come from the latest iteration of The Black Dog, which consists of the one original member who is not in Plaid and a couple of other guys. And after that rant up there, you've probably heard enough from me today, so let's just get to it...

The Black Dog - Train By The Autobahn (Part 1) (ysi)

Really good album, goes from ambience like that right up to some dancefloor-tempo numbers... not exactly what you might expect from The Black Dog, but I guess it's called evolution, homes...

Just take a break already... sheesh...

I guess you would call today's blog subject an unknown legend of music. I like the way that sounds... unknown legend... of course, it's a total oxymoron, but then again so am I...




Anyhoo, I'm talking about Bill Laswell, a guy who's been smashing together different kinds of music for years, and definitely was doing so way before it was cool. Ambient, World Music, Dub, Techno, blah, blah, blah all the way to Heavy Metal. Dude produced "Rockit", yo! And he's also ridiculously prolific... I believe he has released something like 80 million albums, I shit you not... and if you don't believe me, check the discography. Now, I certainly would not claim to know about even a fraction of those releases, but I do have several Laswell joints in my collection, and here are tracks from two of my favorites... the first is sort of a Dub Techno thing, and the other is a Middle Eastern Trip-Hop thing...

Divination - Agrippa (ysi)

Material - Mantra (ysi)

Yep, you could do a whole blog on this guy and not run out of material for years, no pun intended... explore...

Also, allow me to quickly mention a new project I'm involved with. It's called the Fuzzy Tube, brought to you by the great folks at Totally Fuzzy, and eventually it will be the greatest place to watch music videos on the entire Interwebnets. I'm one of the selectors, and I'm bringin' nothin' but heat, folks... go check it out...

This is getting kinda random...

Today, we have another pretty ambient tune... plus a special bonus sure to confuse and appall you...



So, we have our second straight French artist today (I think), Mr. Jay Alansky (not the most French sounding name ever, but again information on this dude is somewhat scarce), aka A Reminiscent Drive, maker of relatively unheralded but very nice chillout biznezz. The album is called Mercy Street, but I don't think that has anything to do with the Peter Gabriel song. Why you'd want to name your album the same as a popular song by another musician is beyond me, but I'm not here to judge. Oh, wait a minute... this is a blog... I am here to judge! What a freakin' idiot!

A Reminiscent Drive - Life Is Beautiful (ysi)

And since (once again) I don't have a lot of material today... here, in honor of Indiana Jones 4, coming out tomorrow and I'm gonna see the shit out of that shit, is Harrison Ford getting his chest waxed...



Now, I get the sentiment, but WTF? I would have liked to have been in the pitch meeting for that one...

"So, we got Harrison Ford. He's a big supporter of the cause... I say we rip all of his chest hair out... symbolism, bitches!"

"I like it... Quick! Call him before he sobers up!"

Plus, I think it would have been much funnier if he yelled out "ArarraghKellyClarkson!"... but maybe that's just me...

One weird dude

Mondays are a very good day to be mellow...



Mixmaster Morris, aka The Irresistible Force, is one weird dude. The kind of weird that only a couple of decades of taking enough psychedelics to render an elephant retarded will make you. Pleasant guy to chat with though... good stories as you'd imagine. Heck, he even autographed one of my CD decks for me after he used it for a gig. But if you don't know the name (and many don't... I'd often show off my autographed deck only to hear, "who's that?"), he's definitely one of the larger figures of ambient electronica, right up there with Dr. Alex and Rick James, Bitch! (how I will now forever refer to Aphex Twin), and this album, Global Chillage, is one of the essentials of the genre. Just check out this trip...

The Irresistible Force - Moonrise (ysi)

Mixy, as his friends call him (ok, not really), has also been a fixture at The Big Chill Festival, which has an awesome lineup planned this year... if only I lived in England... sigh...

Post #300 = This! Is! Sparta! Okay! Not! Really!

Since I'm so gay for posting something special when I hit a milestone, and this is post #300 at Tonegents, here is a mini-mix I put together recently for another project... but now share with you. Not a beat in sight here, folks. So put on your headphones and tune out the annoying bastards you work with...

Tonegent presents "Level 1: Ambient"

(Continuous Mix - 24:46 - 43.75Mb @ 224kps VBR)


1) Global Communication - 4 14
2) Klimek - Milk (Klimek Remix)
3) Manual - Azure Vista
4) Alice Coltrane - The Ankh of Amen-Ra


Enjoy!

Publicize this, Bpitch!

Perfect music for a rainy day here...



So this gal Damero, aka Marit Posch, is/was an employee at Ellen Allien's Bpitch Control label, a publicist, no less... who just happened to have years of classical training in voice and piano. Then she made some tunes and gave 'em to the boss, and Ellen was like, "Dang, this is good! I'm especially impressed with the singing, seeing as you have no mouth and all..." And I gotta say, I agree. That's a hell of a trick, that... I guess it's called talent! Plus, you gotta think that if this whole music thing doesn't work out, she'd be a kick-ass ventriloquist. But that might be a few years down the line, because the debut album, Happy In Grey, is real nice, kind of like a moodier Imogen Heap...

Damero - Okay, Okay (ysi)

You gotta love girls who can make beats, even if they are weird, mouthless freaks... I'll bet Scott Bakula is down...

Japambience

Today, proof that the iTunes on shuffle can be very (perhaps maddenlingly, if you're expecting any certain kind of music to pop up on this blog on any given day) eclectic...



Yup, we're going from vintage electric blues to guitar and synth ambience, courtesy of one of the three discs of the most excellent Kyoto Jazz Massive 10th anniversary collection. The RE: KJM disc features reworks of KJM tunes, and this one comes from a group called Aurora. Not the cheesy Euro-dance Aurora who recorded that Duran Duran cover, thankfully, but a Japanese combo consisting of this guy and this guy. And, um... well I don't have too much more to add, so just close your eyes, lean back and enjoy...

Aurora - Nacel Do Sol (ysi)

That's purdy...

Your Monday blog post

Just a cold, gloomy Monday morning, so here's some audio hot cocoa...



An ambient artist that I have become quite the fan of in the last few months is Mr. Jonas Munk, aka Manual, from Denmark. He's got a bunch of releases out, and this one, called Until Tomorrow is on the Morr Music label, which these days is certainly a stamp of quality if you're into the relaxed side of things. And who doesn't like to relax? The terrorists, that's who. They should just put this music on and maybe they won't be wanting to blow shit up all the time...

Manual - It'll Be Fine (ysi)

... see what I mean? I have no desire to strap on a vest of dynamite right this second. Thanks, Manual!

Lavaggio

How about a little ambient soundscape for a Sunday afternoon?

Tonegent - Lavaggio

As always I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who likes it! And if you're into this kind of music, be sure to check out the record label Spekk. Really good stuff...

Peace.