It has been awhile since I’ve made a post but Molly and Tara have been holding it down =)
Alright, now to business. Adam aka Ahab is someone I had to bring your attention too again. It has been awhile since I’ve moved back from Texas and Adam is one of those producers I got to connect with while there. People ask me all the time who I’ve been jamming too and figured that the next few post should be about those up and coming producers that I see a bright future ahead of them.
Ahab has had a few releases on his own and with Black Market Pharmacy.
I got a small taste of some freshies directly from him the other day. Now as I’m going through some music for some upcoming shows I’m playing, I thought to myself. Man, I need to make sure to hype this guys name out there because it’s only going to get better. If there’s a young new producer that is really standing out but making music that reminds me of the past lazer bass stuff, it’s Ahab.
I think we’ll be hearing the name Ahab a lot more as time progresses. He’s young and developing into an extremely talented producer. It’s always great to see a friend mature and develop their sound. Not to mention there’s the whole Black Market Pharmacy project that he is part of which consist of some other close friends.
Be sure to check out his Soundcloud to keep up with all his upcoming music! =D
Recently I’ve been obsessed with the cheesiest music. Think super colorful and vibrant and bright, or as me and my best friend call it, “Azn Baby Music” because of it’s total absolute freshness and cuteness. But when listening to Mumukshu’s music, which fits into none of the above, I find myself back in the grimey swamps of bass I once knew very well. And I could not be happier to be here. His deep and textural sound exudes a heavy, dark, and alien flavor. There’s some excellent appropriately murky sound design in there with some very well done and interesting tribal vibed melodies. I’m sure it will really speak to some of you cosmic drifters, whether your journey be internal, external, or somewhere in between. I especially love his collaboration work with Shwex, whom you should all be expecting a post on quite soon. Associated with the mighty Enig’matik Records, he fits in well with the atmospheric, cutting edge, and indefinable work we’ve all come to know and love from the label.
Mumukshu, pictured above with Plantrae on the violin in Tahoe, is Jake Penn from Minneapolis, who’s currently studying Music and Technology at CalArts in LA and is starting to pop up more and more on lineups in the area. He’s young, inspired, and has a ton of potential, so start following him now, because we’re expecting some really great work from him in the coming year!
Similar to my post on Rustie, I feel the need to write this because I am completely blown away that I’m still introducing these guys’ work to people. In my humble opinion, Lunice and Hudson Mohawke are two of the most important producers in all of electronic music and when I first heard they were teaming up to create a collaboration project, I was elated to say the least. TNGHT (pronounced “tonight”) is the result of these two musical mastermind’s coming together and oh my god, is it some successful teamwork.
I feel completely silly using the term “Trap” when I feel like I have been listening to music composed in that exact fashion for years now. Maybe I’m spoiled because I grew up in the thriving Bay Area music scene, but this type of music is nothing new and I wish we could just look at music as music instead of needing to create these specific genres that get obsessed over and then for the most part almost always fall off because of it. Hip hop and electronic music have always ran parallel to one another and the similarities of most contemporary hip hop beats and electronic dance music are too extreme for me to even consider there to be a difference. But if you have found the recent popularity of the slightly minimalist hip hop/bass music hybrid we as a community now call Trap to be your forte, then you are in for quite a treat, because nobody does it quite like TNGHT does. Both of these dudes are very talented producers and are at the forefront of freshness, so you can expect basically anything that comes from them to be epic.
They released the below track for a slew of U.S. tour dates that included both weekends at Coachella. I was lucky enough to see them perform live on a great sound system in San Francisco on 4/20 and their stage presence, energy, and sheer skill made it one of the better shows I’ve ever seen. So for you first time listeners, let me introduce you to what could be your new favorite group.
There’s truly no words for how I feel about this producer’s work. His last album revolutionized my taste in electronic music and despite it’s 2011 release date, is still getting plays on the daily. He is far from new, having made tracks with Joker a few years back, and is definitely way past the point of “up and coming”, but yet I still find myself having to introduce his music to the poor people who somehow missed his huge shoot in popularity after the release of the one and only, Glass Swords. The artist I am talking about is Russel Whyte, known by most as Rustie, and I believe it to be absolutely crucial for every fan of electronic music to give his work a chance.
Glass Swords, his 2011 debut album, was by far my favorite release of that year and is without a doubt one of my favorite albums of all time. The release was massive and received rave reviews from listeners and critics alike. At that point in time, I hadn’t heard anything like it before. His shiny fresh synth work creates an otherworldy experience and it is the exact kind of musical world I want to always be in – lush and epic with heavily retro, hip hop, and science fiction influences. It is truly the music of my dreams and it so freaking well done. The two times I have seen Rustie perform, first in the desert at Symbiosis and then in a tiny, grimy basement club at SXSW, have been beyond phenomenal and incredibly fun, so I highly advise to do your best to not miss the chance to see him when he’s in the states. Basically all I’m trying to say is that I LOVE THIS MAN!
His most recent release,Triadzz/Slasherr definitely reflects the current state of electronic music, while still keeping a strongly unique Rustie style. Both of the tracks are absolutely amazing pieces that will straight kick your ass on the dancefloor. I anxiously await the announcement of a second album from him, but for now the perfection that is Triadzz and Slasherr will definitely keep me somewhat satisfied. Happy listening!
The last few days, the soulful and smooth beats of Penthouse Penthouse have been gracefully playing on repeat in the background of my life. I originally thought I didn’t know much about the two dudes behind this collaboration project , Preston James and Mike Parvizi (Papi), but I recently figured out that Preston James is Preston Walker from the excellent live electronic duo, Virtual Boy, a group I really loved after first seeing them perform live in 2010 but haven’t heard much from the last couple years.
Their name fits perfectly with their style of music, alluding to long nights that turn into early mornings on a top floor penthouse suite, Moët in hand, silk sheets, and booty all around. Penthouse Penthouse is part of the always impressive Team Supreme, a collective of top notch producers that take part in what’s basically a weekly beat competition, in which each producer is given an artist chosen BPM, two samples, one transition sound, and one remix and then creates a one minute track that is put together with everyone else’s into a podcast. I love the idea, it’s super fun, but not only that, the execution is amazing, for every producer involved in the project as well as the guests they choose are incredible. I was introduced to Penthouse Penthouse through their Team Supreme entries, but have now fallen in love with the work they’ve already put out on their soundcloud and can’t wait to hear more from the two.
Bird of Prey is the featured producer for this week’s Fire Friday Mix. Whenever someone asks me or mentions the most technical and skillful producer’s Bird of Prey comes to mind. I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time around Torin and get his take on a few things. He’s one of those people who take his craft very seriously. He comes from a psytrance background which usually consists of incredible sound design and a level of quality that you rarely find.
This mix is a live recording from Boom Festival. I’ve listened to this mix about 3 times today already. The mix consists of beautiful psychedelic music the whole way through. It also features plenty of Bird of Paradise music which Torin let me know is coming out soon. The complexity of the sound and textures is unmatched. There are not many producers that can capture my attention with the psy chill sound mixed with the dance floor flow that Bird of Prey puts together.
I spent a decent amount of time with Torin this past summer at Sonic Bloom and was enlightened that he has helped influence some of the biggest names in bass music that I’m sure you’ve heard of. It so happens that Seven Lions was his roommate for awhile and helped him develop his production skill set. Another big name he helped out was Nit Grit which has had great success. I won’t lie it’s a bit disappointing to see such a talented producer get so unnoticed compared to some of his apprentices. It’s crazy how the world works sometimes. He also informed me that his tracks under the Birds of Paradise project have gone as upwards of 140+ tracks in a single tune. That’s just straight dedication.
Sit back and enjoy this hypnotic journey Bird of Prey has created with this glorious mix. Also be sure to make it a point to see him play out live. There aren’t many artists out there that can provide such a beautiful soundscapes for early morning sets or late night vibes. He should definitely be recognized a lot more and worth a listen. I consider him to be up there with Tipper when it comes to sound design and production value.
Sissy Ross is one those hidden gems that I believe deserve more attention. I became familiar with her when I was living in Dallas for awhile. She played a few Silent Discos that I was at and never really gave much attention too for some reason. I had added her on Facebook and started to see her make really inspirational post as well as posting AMAZING music. I finally took the time to check out one of her mixes online and totally was blown away. I’m not a huge fan of hip-hop if you believe it or not but I decided to check out a few of her mixes and realized how wrong I was assuming what it would sound like.
Sissy has a way of incorporating so many different genres and styles together. This is the reason I had to post something about her. She blends jazz, swing, funk, hip-hop, etc… all into her sets. It really disappoints me that I didn’t really get to connect with her while in Dallas. She recently started a new weekly event on Thursdays that I’d love to have down here in Miami. The mix below is actually a promo mix she put together for it.
All in all Sissy is someone who inspires me greatly as a DJ and human being. She is always post things on Facebook that I have to Like and listen too. Not to mention she has also caught the Electro Swing bug and posting songs I adore. It’s not very often you find people who constantly post new music that impressed with. I HIGHLY recommend you check out her mixes on Mixcloud!
I wish her the best of luck with everything. Hoping she continues to put out fresh new mixes on a regular basis even if she does run off to law school. She’s definitely my DJ crush right now. She’s cute, smart, plays great music… What more could you ask for?! Ha.
Definitely check her out and follow her!
NastyNasty aka Jasper is a BOSS. I’m one of the biggest fanboys of his music. The span of diversity in his music is incredible yet always has that signature NastyNasty texture.
He just posted up this professionally done video from What the Festival and it really showcases what Jasper is all about getting “weird in the paint”.
I highly recommend checking this guy out. I got to kick it with him a bunch over the summer at different festivals and he let me know that there will be a Frite Nite release and a Quitter release. He also gave me insight that he generally produces one new track a week. I’m dying to peak at his collection but something tells me we’ll be hearing a lot more from him soon.
He also put out a mix not too long ago called LAZERBRAIN. It’s a collection of unreleased material and man does it satisfy the weird receptors. I encourage you all to find his Twitter because he’s one of the coolest cats around.
Nothing but love out to you Jasper!
You are a true inspiration.
Mint is a new artist I came across by random. I figured this would be a good follow up to the G Jones post. There aren’t that many trap artist who catch my attention but these 3 tracks are money. They shall prove useful this week for a set I’m playing. I figured many of you might want to play this. I’m sure they haven’t been rinsed out like all the others.
The one thing I want to bring up is the name of trap artist. The hot new thing right now is trap music and it’s trending hard. The funny part about it is that tons of artist are coming up with alter egos. There are tons of them like UZ, Trill Murray, etc… all appearing. The emergence of producers now is so great that why not have some fun and see what happens when you appear out of no where with a whole new name and sound. It’s all sort of silly too me but what counts is that the music is enjoyable. These three tracks that are on Mint’s soundcloud are great! Whoever this guy might be or not it’s nice to see that there’s so many new names and/or producers emerging that it’s good for everyone. Now my only concern is that something develops where it leaving a lasting mark. Fame can be found and lost in moments.
Ahab is 1/3 of Black Market Pharmacy. They recently put out an EP on Simplify Recordings featuring a few solo tunes from Ahab and a few as Black Market Pharmacy. Last year I moved to Dallas, Texas due to the company I was working for relocating. The people who welcomed me into the city with open arms and becoming my best friends in Texas was the Black Market Pharmacy crew. The group consist of Ahab (Adam), Randy (Panacea), and Eric. Their setup reminds me a lot of early The Glitch Mob. They have a handful of controllers in their setup and always tweaking out tracks with crazy glitch efx. Randy put together his own monome that glows bright green and one of my favorite customs I’ve seen. Eric is the developer behind the project. He is the person who actually customized a lot of the DJ template that I use.
They are a great group of talented artist and happy to finally do a proper write up for them. I really miss those guys and hope to visit Texas soon. Expect a lot more from these guys as they are starting to gain lots of momentum in Dallas, Texas.
Afro Monk
May 7th by John-Michael 
Tags: ahab, black market pharmacy
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