One of Istanbul’s best kept secrets, the Sublime Porte netlabel has just released their 5th excursion into dubby minimal techno soundscapes. You tend to overlook the ones closest to you as the saying goes and we’re sorry to admit that we’ve been kind of lacking in support. Sublime Porte has grown from a local netlabel to releasing European talents like Mr. Bizz. Derivate is a new nick of Turkish producer Ismail Genc also known as Havantepe.

The title of the EP comes from the locations in space where gravitational forces and the orbital configuration of an object balance each other. There are five Lagrangian Points in the Sun-Earth system numbered from L1 to L5 and of the five points, three are unstable and two are stable. L1, L2 and L3 constitute unstable equilibrium points and the tracks on this first part of Lagrangian Points EP’s are named after them.

Solid dubby minimal techno, includes a Beto Narme remix who is another talented DJ from Istanbul, Tufan Demir. Free download.

Three big names to choose from, if you wanna rock out in Istanbul tonight.

First up is Joe Lovano Us Five @ CRR as part of the Akbank Jazz Festival. 57 year old Lovano has been one of the leading tenor sax players for the last twenty years. This year he even filled up for Zorn’s alto in the Masada Quintet. His Us Five quintet also has Esperanza Spalding playing the bass and pianist James Weidman. Bad news though, the concert is already sold out.

The next two are Friday night party acts. Italian producer Bottin rose to prominence after releasing stuff on Bear Funk and Italians do it Better. He’s part of the bearded space/italo disco/nudisco crew. Tonight at Indigo.

Also in Istanbul tonight is Brendan Moeller aka Beat Pharmacy. Moeller is famed for his spaced out dubby house productions. I’ve never heard him DJ though, but with Crystal you can’t go wrong. Previously on undomondo.

Sometimes, like every 50 years or so in the depths of Anatolia a minor weather event occurs. Originally called Kirkikindiler which means “40 afternoons” it’s a sure turn off for any sunny afternoon. A walk in the park or any other lovely plan may easily be ruined by this minor weather event as it gets dark and rainy without a seemingly reason. This may seem unpleasant for human beings but it’s a sure feast for the green pushing the concrete with the so bright sun afterwards. # 76 is for the crops that pushes the cold concrete.

My partner in crime for the last undomondo sets Can Ayverdi has sent you 3 tracks from 2009 ranging from dubby house to minimal house, with the following note:

“I don’t know how these ended up in our vaults, but they’ll surely satisfy any of you dubby melodic minimal leechers out there… enjoy responsibly, and don’t turn to the darkside.”

image cred

For most of the world living in Iceland is only indirectly experiencable through music. The volcanic island is populated by around 320K people, 1/50 of the population of Istanbul at any given time. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of what I’ve been through in all my life, so naturally I’d love to visit Iceland for the breathtaking scenery, yet this trip seems doomed after the crisis, enter Yagya as an alternative.

Aðalsteinn Guðmundsson has been making music for some time and I’m sure everyone interested in minimal / dubby techno music still remember his 2002 release “Rhythm on Snow” on Force Inc. His third album Rigning is once again inspired by weather, as it’s the Icelandic word for “rain”. It’s also the dominant theme in the album more evident especially on the beatless tracks.

Contrary to most dub inspired minimal techno, the beats are mixed very low in the tracks, thank God, as crisp minimal techno tracks tend to get boring very soon despite all the complex drum programming. Rigning’s rhythms never take the center stage and when they do, they are generally simple 4/4 beats. The real meat is on the subtle melodies and the harmony between different elements. It’s a dreamy journey from the start to finish and to make the most of this journey, you have to set your mood first and experience it from start to finish.

Here’s a quick recap of dubby releases I’ve enjoyed this year. I’ve limited this selection to dubstep andubstep, but there’s lots of roots Jamaican music I’ve shortlisted that I might post here.

All 2008 releases from Ikonika, Appleblim & Peverelist, hiphop queen Georgia Anne Muldrow’s newest project Pattie Blingh & The Akebulan 5 , Benga’s new one Diaries of an Afro Warrior, new single from Kode 9 and The Spaceape, and 2 releases from the end of 2007 namely Boxcutter’s Glyphic on Planet Mu and Skream’s massive Oskilatah on Skreamizm Vol. 4.

Ikonika – Please
Appleblim and Peverelist – Circling
Pattie Blingh & The Akebulan 5 – Brother: The Point (2562 Remix)
Kode9 & The Spaceape – Konfusion
Benga – Zero M2
Boxcutter – Skream – Oskilatah

The best thing about netlabels is that netlabel artists are totally (at least theoretically) free from the constraints of the music industry and they can do all kinds of off kilter experimentations. Here’s one of ‘em from one of our netlabel faves Radio Scotvoid. His latest EP on Earth Monkey “Fae Ecosse” sees the Scottie make a few genreless wanderings from electronica to 4/4 beats. From the sax lead “C’mon Let’s Go! (Bitzblitz Mix)” to the minimal headbopper “I’m a Groover, Not A Raver” this 5 track EP is pretty strange from start to finish. Best track for me is the dubby stylings of “They’re A’ Happy (Chai Tea Mix)”, with a long speech with Scottish accent. This would make a great dubstep remix!.

Another EP on Earth Monkey is by London’s Halal Kabab Hut. Halal Kebab Hut is a band of improviseurs de junk, and by junk we mean real junk, like tin cans, balloons, electric toothbrush, bubble wrap, whoopee cushion, food mixer, vacuum cleaner, hack saw, kazoos etc. Composer Simon Katan gives rules as in game pieces that bind the performers actions together. It’s like 15 kids making noise in a structure only known by the performers, funny improvisations which last about 5 minutes each. Not possible to release on a conventional label for sure!.

Radio Scotvoid – They’re A’ Happy (Chai Tea Mix)
Radio Scotvoid – A’ Don’t Care (Hinges Mix)
Halal Kebab Hut – The Freemasons
Halal Kebab Hut – Variazioni con Shish

I, Horsemouth

I grew a little tired of jazzy-go-lucky shows which i always do and go for a little something different this time. Since summer is here and we’d spent the previous weekend watching Rockers and trying to sound Jamaican, i started things off with a little dub-ska-reggae icing from Skatalites & King dubby, Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace who’s also the star of the movie Rockers and the Junior Murvin piece i re-heard in the movie and remembered i had it in my archive somewhere. Then we head off to a nice little mesh of elektro-dub, idm and various blip-bleep, 8-bit and what-not. Among them there’s one Flvxxvm Florvm stuff which i found from mister Jeff Robertson’s blog who is a NES enthusiast and an 8-bit whore:) salutes.

cylob – majorette
the skatalites meet king tubby – heaven’s gate
leroy horsemouth wallace – herb vendor
junior murvin – police & thieves
prince jammy – megabyte
hey-o-hansen – shining commas
antibalas – hilo
tomboy – flamingo
copy – could you like her
flvxxvm florvm – annies alibi
underwood – leonardo dicaprio game
soundcard – thula
wagon christ – kwikwidetrax
tussle – pow
boomish – 17 kitsch of the day

Ok now this is some serious shit! Some ppl prefer 2 call this dubstep but this really is something else!. Does not matter if you are into ambient, electronica, dub or dubstep – it has all the right and best elements of all these genres. This is easily one of the best albums i’ve heard in 2006! The music itself has an absolute beauty, very simple and inspirational, makes you wonder about many things. It is so deep that u may drown in the sound or float with it. This massive debut album from Burial came out on Kode 9’s label “Hyperdub”. Solid production skillz ,a masterpiece! Check it out if you’re into minimal dub stuff like Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound or Pole.

Burial – Gutted
Burial – You hurt me

After yesterday’s covers post, and seeing one of my favourite house producers and remixers/re-editers name mentioned, I decided to dedicate a post to him once more. If there’s one guy who should be permitted to do reedits, it’s mr Todd Terje aka Tangoterje. Starting with his infamous “Can’t help it” re-edit featured on the last post down then with “Woman of the World” and now with 3 priceless reedits on his latest EP on Supreme Records, his choice of tracks are always perfect, and his subtle touches really let the songs shine in a different light to newer audiences.

On his new Diamonds Dub EP, The A-side is the Paul Simon classic “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes” dubbified with the percussions very upfront as the song takes a dance orientation, while on the other side is an extended dub of Curtis Mayfield “Give Me Your Love”, with wah guitars & strings and laidback percussion. But the song I chose is the last track, which is Astrud Gilberto’s “Black Magic”, with the unforgettable hook “You got me turnin’ you got me spinnin’ around“, the song has a great happy disco feeling now and if doesn’t move you what will?

The second tune is a remix of Isabela Antena’s 1983 Electro Samba classic Camino del Sol on Permanent Vacation (now isn’t permanent vacation the nicest label name?), which is an almost balearic chilly remix with shakers and reverbs, Mr. Terje chose to keep the lovely vocals and add some synths on top, while on the flipside Joakim has a no vocals dancefloor anthem with hard synth leads, which is a must for every DJ, but you’ve got to buy the record to check that out!

Todd Terje’s Top Charts on Raw Fusion.