Kompakt's Rice Twins make glossy techno. They had a minor hit with The Signifier from the last Total installment from the German label. I love this tune and, as mentioned in my previous Radio Dept post, am looking forward to their remix of David.
The XX make slick throwback pop tunes. Crystalised grabs us with it's chugging guitars and hushed melodies that weave their way through the track. Very catchy, very cool. Check their Myspace for more info.
Thin White Duke aka Stuart Price, gives the somewhat cred-lacking Sneaky Sound System a boost with his silky synthethic remix of "It's Not My Problem". Very smooth.
Freebass is Suede (from permanent underdogs Camp-Lo) and up and coming producer Apple Juice Kid, coming together on some spaced out beats, that in all honestly is very hit and miss. But in the jumble of spacey beats is Sky Ocean. This bass-heavy funk roll, with Suede rhyming hard and fluid on these bouncy synths.
Not much to go on except their MySpace page, the awesomely named Joy Orbison seem to be two dudes from London making dub-step without the typical dark vibes that tend to dominate tracks from Kode-9 or Burial. They have four tracks streaming on their page, and they are all bangers. Complete with a couple of very well used Mobb Deep samples and some serious goddamn head-knock. Try these two or check all four on their site.
A recent viewing of Guy Ritchie's latest Rock n'Rolla led me to eighties group Flash and the Pan,*which contained some peripheral members of AC/DC . A one hit wonder from Australia, FATP's sound seems to have come full circle now, as the twinkling keys and synths from this 83 hit are back in full force from the likes of Whitest Boy Alive and countless other remixists. Guy Ritchie has a knack for buried gems on his soundtracks, most of them contain some overlookedtracks that deserve a second listen. Ritchie, who is a three time lucky one trick pony, directs a nice little scene,(perhaps winking at Pulp Fiction), and uses this track to great effect.
Berlin's KOMPAKT label is the highwater mark for ambient techno. Which is why this weird hanclapper funk'n'disorderly from Matias Aguayo has me puzzled as I hit repeat again and again. Weird and a creeper, but it's hooks are in..
