Misspent Music - ICR's New Home

Misspent Music is about freedom. Artistic freedom to be precise. Misspent Music is a digital label set up by hungarian drum & bass artist Zoltan Gal as known as ICR who has been a key figure in the country's thriving dnb scene, established it's online magazine and community site, ImpulseCreator.hu in 1999 and releasing on dozens of diverse labels worldwide such as Offshore, Covert Operations (incl. debut album 'Daytrip'), Good Looking, Nerve, Fokuz, Counter Intelligence, Flatline Audio and X-Tinction Agenda. His creativity forced it's way to write and self-release his personal musical diaries ('The Public Diary', 'Empty Pages') which are both acclaimed as beautiful and unique work noted from the likes of Tony Colman (London Elektricity) to Elhornet (Pendulum). This kind of deep and leftfield drum & bass barely find it's way to proper label releases but truly represents his musicality which he beleives is worth to showcase. From now on, Misspent Music is here to cater this sound and make ICR's unreleased tunes available in digital format for all of his fans worldwide! Despite his off-key sound, some of his music has lately been featured on major leauge DJ's shows like DJ Flight, Fabio and Grooverider and Marcus Intalex and thus his priority is to give his music a wider audience, focusing on vinyl and CD releases aswell. Keep your eyes peeled on both and don't miss out on his music!

Misspent Music 001
A. ICR - Misspent
B. ICR - Long For You
cat nr: MISSPENT001
release date: 2007/??/??

Shying away from the blueprint of techy liquid rollers or formulated drumfunk, ICR goes for leftfield sonic aesthetics to express his own take on progressive, positive music. 'Misspent' is a moody piece of drumandbass that sets off with an incredibly physical and epic soundscape that brings complex architecture to mind. The drumwork reclaims his Offshore affiliation with a driving yet understated b-line and sub stabs that punctuate the tune's discourse. Misspent is cinematic and emotional, a Mihalkov movie set to music of a higher form and function. 'Long For You' follows the same aesthetics but in a more optimistic, liquidy manner over a straight 2-step pattern, with instrumental elements that make this one for the sunrise crowd.

-Words by TRG

Nike Training - Summer Shift

Here's the latest Nike Training commercial that's doing the rounds here in Canada, featuring memebers of the Gold Medal Winning World Junior Team ( Sam Gagne, Brad Marchand, Karl Alzner, and First Round Picks' Keaton Ellerby and Claude Girroux) I'm posting about this because not only is it my current favorite commerical, but I was involved with it. Half of the commercial was filmed at York University, where I work. For those who don't know, I take care of the sports feilds and stadium on campus. Cutting grass, fertilizing, irragation, seeding, line painting, etc.. and in the commercial, you can clearly see the football feild lines I painted for them. Cool eh?! 8)

Noisia @ Loaded Review

Noisia played a special last minute gig at Inside last night, put on by the good people from Loaded. A mini tour set up because of a festival booking in Edmonton, Alberta on the 14th, other cities included Los Angeles, Chicago and of course, Toronto. (NICE!)

Anyways, it's been 3 years since Thijs was last here. Back in July of 2004, Earwaks threw a killer jam at Starlight in Waterloo that featured Noisia & Pacific for the first time in Ontario. (Neither were booked in Toronto for that tour) At the time, they were just starting to make a name for themselves and this was their first ever tour on North American soil. (Thijs was djing that tour) Now, as the years have past, they've gone on to achieve massive success and are in constant demand to tour all over the world for one-off gigs and summer festivals. With Martijn already booked in Holland and Hungary for the weekend, Thijs got the call. It was great to see him, catch up on things, share some drinks, and watch him kill it..Toronto dead.













Now let's get into the set. Stepped up about 1am. First 3 tracks sounded like some signature Noisia and Phace collabs along the lines of 'The Feed', baring some strong resemmblences to Tech Itch's Diagnostics LP. Heavy experimental drum and bass, borderline industrial. I was loving it! From there, moved into some hot hits of now, Teebee & Calyx - Confession, Phace - Hot Rock Remix, Spor's Toxic Shock Remix all killed the floor and T and Calyx's Submerged Remix got the rewind! Then into the breaks and the crowd was loving it! Total dancefloor smack job. 'Gutterpump' ' Yellow Brick' 'Lekker' 'Raar' and some sick new Upbeats housey/breaks thing. Slick and slippery grooves! About 20-30 minutes left, started to finish things off with some classic Noisia bits, 'Facade VIP' 'The Tide' 'Subdue' 'Bad Dreams' 'Messiah Remix' and 'Block Control VIP' (Fight Music Intro) all before 'Exodus' brought the house down. FIN. But the crowd called for more and they would not be disappointed. That long lost Noisia Remix of Pendulum's 'Masochist' was the final nail in the coffin and Toronto was layed to rest.

Fuckin baaaaaaaad!

And check this short video recorded half way through the set. No idea on the track ID, but god damn it was sick!

Mistaken For Strangers

You have to do it running but you do everything that they ask you to
cause you don’t mind seeing yourself in a picture
as long as you look faraway, as long as you look removed
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

Make up something to believe in your heart of hearts
so you have something to wear on your sleeve of sleeves
so you swear you just saw a feathery woman
carry a blindfolded man through the trees
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults



So after a strong recommendation from EHL, The National are a new favorite band of mine. Their second album, Boxer, came out back in May and I recently picked it up. Some amazing stuff, bit of a resemblance to Interpol noted, and that's definitely not a bad thing. The first single, 'Mistaken For Strangers' has been on repeat for the last half hour here and will probably be for another 10 minutes until I retire to bed.
Check them out.



And holy shit!$$^!!@#$ does the drummer ever bare a shocking resemblance to Graham March!?!?@#$! Kelly, are you seeing this?!

WTF Is This?

This, looks interesting.

An unknown trailer with only this date, 1-18-08, has recently popped up on the web. Discussion on DOA has already hit the ground running and led to various speculation as to what film it exactly is. (see Gamet's post on page 2 for more proof.)

Whatever it is, it's already got audiences on the edge of their seats and diggin for info like moles, trying to figure the pre-release puzzle.

Full Force Write Ups

Finished up the press for the next 2 releases on Full Force Recordings. Originally pegged to be the imprint's first EP, it has been split into two 12'' singles. A sad fact as it would have been a nice mark in the catalogue (to celebrate the label's 10th release with a stormin EP like this one) but alas, shops and distributors do have a say in the matter. So two singles up next, and a substitution (plus massive addition!) to the flip of 011. Not sure I can announce details at this time, but it might slip out sooner than later.

Anyways,

FF010
A. Mayhem & Phace - LoveSexPain
AA. State Of Mind - Quantum Leap

Mayhem & Phace - Love Sex Pain
A space age intro with an aggressively uncomfortable atmosphere starts things off, setting the stage for what will become a bad trip to the moon.When that skin crawling mid line drops, the descent into the filth begins. Hard, relentless pressure, face grinding beats and twisted ideas, rock the speaker box til only splinters and cones are left. As the grime chugs along, knock off warped notes concuss reality and remind you of your twisted journey (just in case you might have forgot) Take it down to the break, the pause, the melt. The brain is on overload and the sludge begins to drain. But not for long, as you're forcefully thrust head first into the descent again. Like a scum tunnel that gets deeper and darker, straight to the core of the gutter, this is one punishing filth cleansing you'll wish to take again!

State Of Mind - Quantum Leap
Twisted horns lay the foundation with a dream to enter into madness. Over time and creation, a steady influx in basslines, punchy stabs and funky midlines band together as the mighty machine assembles. The drop is almost concealed within the build, a careful constructive design, making the mix ride smooth and effortlessly into the break, which is a "break down" in itself. Seems the machine malfunctioned and deconstructed it's own circuitry. With time ticking and the unknown lurking, your attention is then surprisingly commanded. The horns revive, summoning life to the beast as the Resurrection initiates. Ultimately setting the stage for jump to begin again, as the drums key the lift, the the funk snaps back and rolls on. Forward, into the future.

FF011
A. Chook - Sound Of Time
AA. TBA

Chook - Sound Of Time
Hazy eyes awake to a dark, mysterious setting. Suspense lingers as the introduction begins. Static invades and mutates the airwaves, opposing a major threat to recovery. Sharp, skin cutting percussion sets the senses on high alert, preparing the body for the breaks. Thick, grungy midlines shiver feverishly in cold textures, while an edgy rolling bassline coats the walls of the chamber. The white noise regains control of the vessel, paralyzing all running systems and thus forbidding any chance of outside contact. The signal is set, the fate is sealed. The rugged, minimal funk has polluted another mind and executes it's venomous destiny.

So yeah, unfortunately for Nate, his scheduled vinyl debut has been bumped and will now be an mp3 release only. Look for it on Beatport in the next month or so.

Aqua-tek - Shades Of Orange
A warm, delectable intro leads in with elegant atmospheric harmonies, easing the senses for the awakening. Like the anticipation of sunrise on the horizon, color is eminent. A devilish bassline appears and warps maliciously inside itself before the synths screech in to distort, exposing a bold, radiant vision of the future. Tidy drum lines, warped bass and scorched midlines, embrace the essence of the color and set off an auditory onslaught that affects nations worldwide. Deep progression and uplifting vibes own the airwaves, as 'Shades Of Orange' proves to be both a dynamic and stunning debut from this future production force, Aqua-tek.