Osborne

Todd Osborn reflects all that is great about Detroit to me. Like many of his local influences (including legendary radio DJs The Electrifying Mojo and The Wizard), he's a jack of all genres - producing techno, house, jungle, hip-hop, and dubstep records with equal aplomb. He's also a restless tinkerer with many side interests including, as his latest EP on Ghostly indicates, hovercrafting. "Fire" - from that EP - is a silky smooth disco track, a synthetic blend of strings, stings, guitar, and vibraphone over a buoyant 4/4 beat. On the other hand, "The Count," also on the EP, can only be shared in the context of its video, which lets his worldwide fans in on one of Detroit's treasured secrets: "The New Dance Show," a local late-night TV show that I, along with many other suburban Detroit kids, watched with great awe back in the late '80s. Twenty years later, those moves sync up nice and tight to this exquisite slice of minimalist techno without any need for special effects magic...

from Hovercrafting EP [2009]:
Fire [MP3, 8.8MB, 192kbps]

www.ghostly.com

Lymbyc Systym

We last left this dynamic duo after releasing their debut album on Mush Records. Since then, the Bell brothers, Jared and Michael, from Tempe, Arizona, have put out a remix album (featuring remixes by The Album Leaf, Daedelus, The One AM Radio and Bibio) and recently re-issued their first EP on their new label, Magic Bullet out of Virginia. The new tracks the band has added for the sharing encompass the wide range of instrumental rock you can expect from these fellows. "Narita" from their new split EP with This Will Destroy You starts out small and subtle with a three-key riff and then gradually grows into a sweeping epic as layers pile onto layers. "Fall Bicycle" from their first album exemplifies the duo's playful personality and showcases well Jared's keyboard playing and Michael's drumming. This summer you can enjoy the sites and sounds of this family roadtrip when they come strolling through your town.

Narita [MP3, 4.3MB, 128kbps]
Fall Bicycle [MP3, 8.0MB, 128kbps]
Truth Skull (Bibio Remix) [MP3, 12.4MB, 128kbps]

Original post: 04/18/2007:
If you'll notice our masthead we list the names of the cities in which each of our writers reside. Well, close enough. I don't actually live in Huntington Beach. I live in the small city that rests in the geographic elbow of Huntington Beach: Fountain Valley. There are no physical features distinguishing the city from Huntington Beach, with the exception of the mile square park smack in the middle of the city, and the great Vietnamese restaurants on the north end of town. How, you ask, does this have anything to do with Lymbyc Systym's instrumental, post-rock, debut album on Mush Records? When I first heard Lymbyc Systym it immediately brought to mind Fountain Valley's bland, generic motto: "A nice place to live." Simply put, Lymbyc Systym is nice music to listen to. Yet it's neither bland, nor generic. And unlike FV's relationship to the L.A. metropolis, Lymbyc Systym is anything but an insignificant blip on Mush Records' sprawling, musical landscape.

Truth Skull [MP3, 3.9MB, 128kbps]
Carved By Glaciers [MP3, 7.0MB, 128kbps]
Birds [live] [MP3, 8.8MB, 224kbps]

www.magicbulletrecords.com
www.mushrecords.com
www.lymbycsystym.com

autoKratz

French wunderkind label Kitsuné is feeling lucky! The seventh incarnation of their stellar compilation series hits early next month, and they've sifted out this nugget o' hard disco to share as an invitation to grab your sieve and join them in their search for more gold. autoKratz represents the electro side of Kitsuné's electro-pop spectrum, but neither autoKratz, nor the label allow themselves to be held hostage to pithy genres. They're explorers! Adventurers! Pop 'n' Lockers! Vocoders! They're all good and Kitsuné Maison #7 will trip you out! (safely and naturally, naturally).

Always More (Yuksek Remix) [MP3, 4.1MB, 128kbps]
Kitsuné Maison 7 Mini-mix [zip]

www.kitsune.fr
www.myspace.com/autokratz

Dan Deacon

Sean,

There is no way you haven't heard of Dan Deacon. And if you haven't, well, get on it! And if you have, well... get on it! For God's sake!

-Geena (via email), College Station, TX

P.S. This video brings me so much joy I can't comprehend it.

Geena,

Yes, I am familiar with Dan Deacon. We are failing in our mission to share the sharing for not having reviewed him sooner. Thanks for the swift kick to the head. A tragic wrong finally made right.

-Sean

My Name is Robert [MP3, MB, kbps]
I Will Always Have Juice Today [MP3, MB, kbps]
Hey Let's Go For a Ride [MP3, MB, kbps]
Mister Big Stuff Cover [MP3, MB, kbps]

www.carparkrecords.com
www.dandeacon.com

Etienne de Crécy

A quick tip for the Coachella bound: Etienne De Crecy proves it's dope to be square. De Crécy makes his U.S. debut this Sunday night at Coachella and he's bringing his tricked out, larger than life Rubik's Cube-Lite Brite. I won't bore you with describing how the thing works. Watch the video to see this beautiful monster in action. The contraption was designed by fellow Frenchmen Exyst and when The Killers asked them to design a similar cube for their European MTV performance Exyst declined. The Killers ripped off the light show anyway. Of course, their version ended up looking like an, over-the-top, seizure inducing Hollywood Squares set. But that's beside the point

Though not a household name, de Crécy was instrumental in developing the French house sound. He and Alex Gopher founded the Solid record label and he's released a slew of singles and albums on his own and in collaboration with Cassius and Air. "Home" is an unreleased track that de Crécy plays during his live sets. Between the driving bass lines, the fuzzed out knob twiddles, and state-of-the-art light show, be sure to brace yourself for maximum tripping Sunday night in the Sahara Tent.

Hope [MP3, 6.3MB, 128kbps]

Etienne De Crecy Live 2007 Transmusicales de Rennes from Clement bournat on Vimeo.

www.myspace.com/etiennedecrecy

Project Jenny, Project Jan

Project Jenny, Project Jan soften the downtime since their debut album two years ago with this new collaborative EP. Considering the topic, their ode to unrequited love, "Pins and Needles," featuring Fujiya & Miyagi, settles into a smooth club groove, while their work with percussion wunderkinds and fellow Brooklynites So Percussion and Mixel Pixel stirs up darker, primordial feelings. The emotional range on this EP seems to span eons and reminds me of Shriekback's dark tone on Oil and Gold. It's unexpected (but not unwelcomed) from the usually playful PJPJ, but they return with their usual pluck on the final tracks with Adam Matta and Clack Singles Club. No matter their mood, Project Jenny, Project Jan has left me with a bout of paresthesia, eagerly anticipating their next album, due before year's end.

Pins and Needles Feat. Fujiya & Miyagi [MP3, 5.6MB, 160kbps]

Original Post 6/23/07:
Mapquest Project Jenny, Project Jan. Go ahead. I dare you. You'll have a hard time pinpointing the Brooklyn duo because they're all over the proverbial map. When their debut EP opens up with the marching band sound of "Fight Song," you know you're in for a treat. On their first full-length, XOXOXOXOXO, they start the party again with a nice brass section, giving way to a bright samba number. The freestyle-stylee vocals of Jeremy Haines keeps the tracks loose and the whole album will get you shake, shake, shaking your caboose, dancing the duck-duck-goose. Feeling down lately? These boys are sure to get you up and out of your seat with a little bit of banjo, a little bit of swing, a little bit of hip hop, a little bit of reggae and lots and lots of fun. Philly, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Cleveland brace yourselves for this Brooklyn brand of electro-karaoke coming your way live next month with Fujiya & Miyagi. A match made in dancefloor heaven.

320 [MP3, 4.4MB, 192kbps]
Train Track [MP3, 3.9MB, 192kbps]

www.mightrecords.com
www.projectjennyprojectjan.com