A Made Up Sound - "The Plunge" EP

Upon listening to A Made Up Sound's title track off his the "The Plunge" EP one immediately encounters a completely fresh sound based on techno and broken beat but with a heavy dose of experimentation. His synth stabs almost sound like he's taken a drill to his synthesizer while his panning somehow sounds like it was done with surround sound. All this aside it is also remarkably suited for the dance floor. Listen to "The Plunge (beat mix)" below:

A Made Up Sound - 'Take The Plunge (beat mix)' by BOILER ROOM

Flying Lotus - "Mister Murky Socks (alt take mix2)"

A few hours ago, our favorite post-dilla experimental beatmaker and Brainfeeder labelhead Flying Lotus posted "Mister Murky Socks (alt take mix2)" on his soundcloud page, which is essentially an alternate version of his older track "Roberta Flack" off his 2008 Los Angeles LP.  While the actual beat is almost the same, the new element here is the catchy bassline that's as raw and organic as it is electronic and alien sounding.  Listen to it below:   

Flying Lotus - mister murky socks ///// LOS ANGELES ALT take mix2 by Flyinglotus

Red Cup Endorsement #4

Ghost Girls - "Natsumi & Haruki"

TheGhost Gilrs turn Geisha on their latest apparition "Natsumi & Haruki".  The song is a slow and woozy techno number that is a welcome departure from their harder tracks.  Head over to their site today and have a listen while you still can: http://ghostgirls.co.uk/.

NOTE: Due to the fact that the Ghost Girls tracks are posted for a day only and then replaced we will no longer be covering them through our blog but we'll posting them on our facebook page

Preview: Cio D'Or - "Magnetfluss" (The Remixes)

Cio D'Or released another phenomenal EP this time featuring the remixes by Silent Servant, Milton Bradley and Shifted on the Prologue Record label from the "Magnetfluss" release. Preview the hypnotic basslines and experimental sounds of the record below and check out the video by SynchDub for the "Magnetfluss" original EP:

PRG023 - Cio D´Or - Magnetfluss Remixe (Silent Servant, Shifted, Milton Bradley) by Prologue

James Blake and Mount Kimbie live at the Warehouse Project (Manchester, 26.11.11)

James Blake live

As previously announced, last Saturday Red Cup was in Manchester to witness and cover the R&S Records night at the Warehouse Project.  First off, let's get one thing out of the way: while last summer we also covered an R&S night here in Athens and we also recently travelled to Paris for the Pitchfork Festival and the We Love BoomBox event...this one night in Manchester was far superior in every way starting from the venue, the sound and the organization, all the way to the line-up, the crowd and the overall vibe.  The nostalgic aesthetic of the venue was reminiscent of spontaneous old skool raves while at the same time the organization of the Warehouse Project ensured a smooth night with almost no queues (except for the smoking section!).  The sound in both rooms was loud with thunderous trouser shaking low-ends and clear high-ends.  As for the crowd, one immediately had the sense that they were there for the music - a testament to Manchester's thriving music scene.

As for the line-up the obvious highlights were Mount Kimbie and James Blake who performed live one after the other, and even together for an all too brief moment.

Mount Kimbie live

Mount Kimbie are known for their engaging live shows mostly due to the fact that they actually perform their songs rather than making minor tweaks to a pre-sequenced set.  Usually a typical post-dubstep outfit would sit behind a laptop and bop their heads, leaving us struggling to catch a glimpse of a facial expression in the glow of their screens as the only form of crowd interaction.  This was not the case with this duo who were improvising their tracks on stage, looking to eachother for cues, banging away at all sorts of midi-controllers and even reconstructing textures and sounds on the fly through the unconventional use of an electric guitar. 

Mount Kimbie live

From the opening track "Carbonated" the show was as gripping to watch as it was to listen to.  The duo closed off their set in a typical manner with "Maybes" yet with the (expected) surprise appearance of James Blake on stage to add some vocals and have a go at the gear, who upon getting up exclaimed "this reminds me of old times" (watch the video below). 

James Blake live

Next up was James Blake.  We've said a lot on this blog about the this man's music and while we've been unabashedly praising a lot of his earlier work we've been slightly skeptical as to the vocal turn evident on his latest LP and EPs.  All these concerns were immediately cast aside once we witnessed the sheer power of his voice in combination with a stripped down live set-up (James on the synthesizers, a guitarist who also was triggering some samples and a drummer with an acoustic and electronic kit).  

James Blake live

Songs that we might have skipped over on the LP sounded immense, while he breathed further life into record highlights such as "Limit to Your Love" and "The Wilhelm Scream".  Older, vocal-less and more electronic tracks such as "CMYK" were also given the live treatment to astonishing results (watch the video below).  Needless to say this was one of those unique and memorable live music experiences that forced us to look back at the artist's work and convinced us of his vision. 

In sum, achieving a live performance that is comparable or even surpasses the recorded material is a rare accomplishment in the world of electronic music.  Nonetheless, Mount Kimbie and James Blake have managed to do just that.  

Admittedly, we spent the rest of the night going back and forth between the rest of the acts trying to get as much in, albeit in a more casual way.  Lone's set sounded interesting as always and James Blake's DJ set in the smaller room was based around some banging dubstep tunes, yet he also dropped Drake's "Headlines" which was a welcome surprise.  All in all we really couldn't have asked for more from a night like this.  We're looking forward both to another event at the Warehouse Project as well as another opportunity to see the R&S roster live again.


For more photos and videos head over to the relevant facebook photo album or our youtube channel.

Photos and footage by Vanessa Keen

Ghost Girls - "April"

After a week of repeats, the Ghost Girls are back with another heavy experimental techno track probably entitled "April" that starts off like a blobby industrial track but develops a lighter feel with the introduction of a speedy arpeggio and atmospheric pads.  Well worth a listen once more....head over to the site and click play before the track disappears tomorrow: http://ghostgirls.co.uk/

Red Cup Endorsement #3

Watch: Bloody Mary - Live Mix for Beatport

If you've kept up with this blog you'll already know that we're big fans of Dame Music labelhead Bloody Mary. Her productions aside, we're also paricularly fond of her mixes (check out her excellent mix for Wilde Agency here). This mix recorded live for Beatport (both video and audio) is no exception.  Watch and listen below:

Red Cup Endorsement #2

Red Cup goes to the Warehouse Project - R&S Records night

Red Cup are known fans of the R&S records roster and were thrilled to see a label dedicated event featuring Lone and Pariah here in Athens (see our coverage of the night here if you haven't already).  Now we are even more excited to announce that we will be travelling to Manchester this Saturday 26th of November to cover the R&S Records night under the auspices of the Warehouse Project. The line-up includes live and dj sets by such 'post-dubstep' Red Cup favorites as James Blake (live and DJ set), Mout Kimbie (live set), Lone, Pariah and Blawan (for the full line-up head here).  Surf in to see plenty of videos and photos, as well as a round-up of the event soon.

James Blake and Mount Kimbie Live

Red Cup Endorsement #1

Update: Falty DL - "Atlantis" EP (+ free title-track download)

In short, "Atlantis" the Falty DL EP releasing on Ninja Tune on November 14, sounds as colorful as its artwork.Combining elements of techno, bass and dubstep, New Yorker Drew Lustman has been dishing out similar bangers through the seminal Ninja Tune and Planet μ imprints.  Preview the EP below or pre-order it from the Ninja Tune store. We particularly liked the shuffly closing number "Sale Ends" as well as the driving title track - which you can now download for free over at Ninja Tune by entering your e-mail address here

Download: Drake - "Over My Dead Body" (Star Slinger Jetlag Edit)

Drake's "Take Care" LP is a bit of a guilty pleasure here at Red Cup but we won't go into that right now (though if you haven't heard it you should).  Our first impression when we heard opening track "Over My Dead Body" was 'this track is ill, shame it doesn't have a beat'....little did we know our favorite British post-dilla beatmaker would agree with us and rectify the matter by slinging his stardust all over it.  Star Slinger's efficient jetlag edit of the track turns this album opener into a pumping set opener.  Listen to our download this excellent remix for free below:

Drake - Over My Dead Body (Star Slinger Jetlag Edit) by Star Slinger

Junior Boys - "You'll Improve Me" (Caribou Remix)

It seems like Daniel Victor Snaith is getting his techno on not only through his Daphni monicker.  On this remix of Junior Boys' "You'll Improve Me", he delivers a techno-meets-electro sound as...Caribou.  Yet another massive change in musical direction for the mulitfaceted artist.  Listen to this brilliant remix below:

Junior Boys - You'll Improve Me (Caribou Remix) by DominoRecordCo

Jamie xx remixes Radiohead's "Bloom"....again

Just when you thought this was over with the release of the comprehensive compilation of all the 12" remixes of tracks from Radiohead's "The King of Limbs", the band unveiled another 12" with new remixes from the artists who had already contributed remixes for the project: Jamie xx, Anstam and Nathan Fake).  Listen to the new remixes below, with Jamie xx's second take on the track "Bloom" being the obvious highlight:

Mathew Jonson - "Dayz" (dBridge cold blooded remix)

dBridge offers up another incredible track in the form of a 'cold blooded' remix for Mathew Jonson's  "Dayz" on Crosstown Rebels available here as an exclusive download.  dBridge engages his early Warp and d&b influences into that melodic slow cooked sound that was evident on "Decayed", one of our favorite tracks from this year. Listen below:   

Watch: ABADABAD - California Birds (Keep Shelly in Athens remix) Music Video

More Keep Shelly in Athens news, this time in the form of one of the cutest music videos since Jordy's "Dur Dur d' etre bebe".  The track is the brilliant remix of ABADABAD's "California Birds" by the Greek duo off their "Our Own Dream" EP, which is apparently is a crowd favorite during their current North American Tour. The video (by Brendan Canty) also manages to capture the visual equivalent of hazy memories of ones childhood.   Listen and watch below as 2 year old Lola Grainger takes an epic stroll to the tune of KSiA:

Keep Shelly in Athens VS ABADABAD // California Birds from Feel Good Lost on Vimeo.

Update: Darkside (Nicolas Jaar & D. Harrington) - self-titled EP

Early this month we posted our favorite Nicolas Jaar track yet featured in his free give away EP "Don't Break my Love" released on his own label Clown & Sunset (go to our post where you can still download it for free).  Darkside is Jaar's new collaborative side-project with guitarist Dave Harrington, which will be releasing a self-titled EP on the same label.  We're already impressed by the stripped back organic guitar licks combined with Jaar's minimal aesthetic evident on opening track "A1" which you can stream below. Stream the entire EP below:  

DARKSIDE - DARKSIDE EP by Clown & Sunset

Galapagos - "Feel Things Inside"

18 year old Galapagos is one of those young producers whose influences have yet to taint his personal style resulting in a sound achored in his time yet refreshingly different.  While he too samples an R&B diva and reaks havoc on her vocals (much like early James Blake, Lapalux and the Tri Angle crew all in their own respective ways), his subtle use of bit-crunching goes a long way in providing a harsher and brighter take on the technique.  The result is a Rustie-like take on R&B micro-sampling. Exciting stuff.  Listen below:

Feel Things Inside by Galapagos

Ghost Girls - "Justine"

Today's Ghost Girls' apparition seems to be a preview of another haunted techno track presumably "Justine".  After three posts involving nameless techno tracks and white-eyed & red lispsticked women, we're still none the wiser as to what this is all about (just try googling Ghost Girls).  For the moment all we can do is head over to the site and press play: http://ghostgirls.co.uk/

Download: Sepalcure - "See Me Feel Me"

After last week's video for brilliant genre transcending track "Pencil Pimp", Travis Stewart  and Praveen Sharma aka Sepalcure offer up a free download of their second single from their self-titled LP releasing on Hotflush in just a few days.  "See Me Feel Me" has a lot of that clicky-loop repeat Gold Panda sound with a richer drum production akin to Flying Lotus' work.  Needless to say we're really looking forward to this LP. Enter your e-mail below and download "See Me Feel Me" for free:

Keep Shelly in Athens - "Our Own Dream" (Blackbird Blackbird Remix)

A while back we posted a rather excellent Keep Shelly in Athens track entitled "Our Own Dream" that showed the duo's darker side.  Now we spotted an equally excellent chillwave remix of the song by Bay Area producer Blackbird Blackbird. Listen to it or download it below: 

Keep Shelly in Athens - Our Own Dream (Blackbird Blackbird Remix) by BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD

Ghost Girls - a track a day ????

If you missed yesterday's "Scarlett"....tough luck.  Today's Ghost Girls track of the day (does it change on a daily basis?) is a mere conversation that's difficult to figure out with a photo featuring another red lipstick girl. Judging from their work so far, the photo file name always reveals some information about the song and this one is called "GG7".  More weirdness from the Ghost Girls...we for one are eager to hear more.  Head over to the site to listen for yourself: http://ghostgirls.co.uk/

The Black Dog - "Liber Chaos Remixes"

The Black Dog, one of Red Cup's favorite artists, will release the fifth installment of the 12" Liber series in the form of 300 limited edition six song double vinyl copies. Techno heavyweights such as Sandwell District, Richard H. Kirk, Perc, Sigha, Blawan and Shifted offer their remixings skills in this spectacular dance floor techno project. Listen below to the "Liber Chaos" teaser to get a sneak peak of the album which we're eagerly waiting for:

Dustv033 The Black Dog - Liber Chaos by The Black Dog

Ghost Girls ?????? (topless possessed Scarlett)

The mysterious Ghost Girls are back with a second 'apparition'.  Those of you lucky enough to visit their site last week after our relevant post heard the first installment (or so we assume) of the Ghost Girls' music. Today that track and photo disappeared only to be replaced by another old skool industrial techno track and a photo of a half naked and possessed Scarlett Johansson.  We have no idea where this whole thing is heading but we're definitely intrigued. Head over to the site and just press play: http://ghostgirls.co.uk/

Drexciya - "Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller" re-issue

Drexciya might need an introduction for some, yet to many they are known as one of the most influential early Detroit techno duo.  Red Cup has been long awaiting  the "Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller" released on Clone Records available finally as a re-issue. With underwater influences, early signs of dubstep (!) and retro spacey elements, it is already evident from this release that the pionneers made music like no one had ever made before.  Other characteristics of the duo are their elusive identity, an anti-mainstream ethic and their tendacy to play  instruments live. Below is "Hydro Theory" which has early signs of dubstep (footage from the BBC's outsanding Blue Planet documentary):

Stream: Muta - "Runner" LP

Philosophy and music student Cliff Harris, aka Muta's "Runner" LP makes up King Deluxe's 7th release thus far.  Straight from the opening track its is immediately evident that this man likes his circuits dusty and noisy, hence the 70s sci-fi feel of the album music and cover art (the latter illustrated by Laura Bifano).  On most of the tracks, Muta doesn't resort to superficial melodies or easy rhythms, but rather focuses on sound and texture providing a collage of various influences of electronic music including chip-tune, a lot of the Brainfeeder instrumental stuff and there's a little early Warp in there too but undoubtedly the end result is quite unique.  As an album "Runner" is also very cohesive and it almost feels like the artist is trying to tell a story. It isn't until the last two track of the album that the music winds down a bit in order to ponder on the experience as a whole, which adds to the conceptual feeling of the album.  Listen to the entire album or watch the video for the last track "Sleepshop" below:   

 

Runner by M u t a

Salva - "Yellowbone" (Shlomo and 2KWTVR remix)

Salva is a Californian producer whose music has been getting a whole lot of much deserved buzz for quite some time now.  His EP "Yellowbone" is releasing today and this remix of the title track by Shlomo and 2KWTVR is a definite highlight.  The track is a reverb drenched slab of electronic goodness filled with chopped vocals (a go-to technique these days) and catchy little synth hooks.  Listen to it below along with another track by Salva called "Komodo", which is also featured on the EP:

 

Salva - Komodo by FoFMusic

Download: Kuedo - "Shutter Light Girl" (FaltyDL Play Remix)

Kuedo

There is no doubt that Kuedo's debut solo LP "Severant" has pricked many ears.  It's one of the most cohesive electronic albums of the year that is at once conceptual and abstract - the original soundtrack to a futuristic film noir that was never shot.  

Falty DL

At the same time, Falty DL's EP "Atlantis", which released yesterday, consists of 4 brilliant tracks that are all very different from each other but each serve as worthy ambassadors for the genre they dabble in, be it old skool hip-hop instrumentals à la Ninja Tune, dubstep or techno.  

We can now hear what those two dynamic forces combined would sound like on Falty DL's remix of Kuedo's "Severant" track "Shutter Light Girl".  The result, as you might expect, is as exciting on paper as it is on your speakers....listen to it or download it below for free: 

Kuedo - Shutter Light Girl (FaltyDL Play Remix) by Planet Mu Records

Stream: Author - self titled LP

Leeds based Jack Sparrow and Ruckspin join forces on the collaborative Author project with the release of a self titled LP on Pinch's Tectonic Records.  This is perhaps the most organic, definitely the jazziest, post we've hosted on Red Cup, yet the electronic foundation is there in the shuffly dubstep rhythms and dilla-esque compression techniques we've grown to love.  According the Author themselves, the duo shedded their previous monickers to participate in a project free of dancefloor pressures and open to further collaborations - the LP was inspired by Kruder & Dorfmeister, early Mo Wax and Cinematic Orchestra yet intepreted for a dubstep context.  We would add an evident influence from the jazzier side of mid-90s d&b as exemplified by the now classic Moving Shadow compilation Trans Central Connection II. This is not to say that some of the LP tracks are not straight up dark dubstep (see Mothership) or even broken beat (see Fix) but all in all it is really refreshing to hear an album characterized by such free and open thinking...another welcome installment to the genre transcending tendency of a lot of electronic music these days. Listen to big clips from each track below:

Ghost Girls ??????

We came across a very mysterious site with just a play button, a volume control and the above photo.  We're assuming this a British project (from the co.uk link) under the name of Ghost Girls.  That, and the fact that the above picture is entitled "Jasmin" (song title perhaps?) are the only things we know about the people behind this track, but once you head over to http://www.ghostgirls.co.uk/ and press play you'll hear why this whole thing is as odd as it is good.  After the announcement that "this is a Ghost Girls apparition" the track plays like  a haunted 4/4 techno take on old skool d&b atmopsherics...just the kind of things we're getting more and more into these days (witch-techno anyone?).  The track ends with the words "the Jasmin twins" - spooky.  Head over to the site and listen for yourself (there's no embed link available...of course).

Essáy & Stumbleine - "Rhiannon"

A while back we expressed our fondness for Heidelberg's very own producer of emotional electronic music aka Essáy and specifically for his ethereal track "Morning Mountain".  Now he's back alongside the British Stumbleine (whose music is also pretty emotional) with a Fleetwood Mac sampling tune (here's another one we love) and a slower tempo.  Along with the original, there's two equally amazing reverb drenched ambient remixes that are also available to listen to below, which could soften the coldest of winter mornings:
 

Daft Punk - "Something About Us" (Cherokee Remix)

There's a lot of these Daft Punk bootleg remixes floating around with hit or miss results.  This one by fellow Frenchmen Cherokee does a good job of singling out and slightly reworking the funkiest elements of "Something About Us" one of the slower jams on the robotic duo's 2001 Discovery LP.  With a "don't fix it if it's not broken" ethic, Cherokee add a subtle Braxe/Falke air to the track and get rid of most of the original's vocals makings this a welcome addition to a world where Daft Punk have yet to release new original material that's not Disney related since the mid 00s. Listen to or download it below:
 

Listen: Massive Attack - "3D & Vermona Demo "

Massive Attack have been keeping active as of late with another bit of music they released via their Facebook yesterday in celebration of 11/11/11. Check out the 3D & Vermona Demo in the player below… 

3D & VERMONA DEMO by Euan Me

Marc Miroir - "Black Amber"

Released on Bondage Records, Marc Miroir's "Black Amber" is a minimal techno track with a variety of influences. With cacophonous distorted brass swipes, spacey effects and a single note arpeggio bassline that would fit well in an old school electro track Mark Miroir creates a unique soundscape that takes the genre to another direction. Listen to "Black Amber" below:

Marc Miroir - Black Amber - (BOND12019-Snippet) by Bondage-Music

D/R/U/G/S - "Mila"

This is one of those tracks that doesn't break any ground but is instantly gratifying and at the same time difficult to pigeonhole.  On "Mila", D/R/U/G/S' delay drenched buzzing synths set a melancholy ambience that is pierced by the vocal male and female vocal snippets seemingly addressing eachother playfully yet non-sensically.  The track will not be featured on the Brits upcoming "Connected" EP on Moshi Moshi but we hope it gets a proper vinyl release at some point - until then you can listen to it below. You should also check out the balearic tinged Keep Shelly in Athens remix of the Brit's older track "Love/Lust" which we also posted for your convenience below.

D/R/U/G/S - Love Lust (Keep Shelly in Athens remix) by Keep Shelly in Athens

Elite Gymnastics - "So Close to Paradise 3 (Physical Therapy Remix)"

Drum & Bass has been getting quite a beating since the 'invention' of dubstep in the mid-00s.  "It's too fast" or "it's macho music" are the usual accusations and to some extent they're warranted...it's difficult too play with space, composition and melody at such tempos and, yes, anyone whose been clubbing to d&b knows that the guy/girl ratio leans heavily toward one side.  This being said d&b was one of the most innovative scenes in electronic music and is responsible for a lot for the sounds we hear today, especially in dusbtep circles (basslines and drum sounds from the dark era of d&b - the whole "who has the roughest bassline" competition isn't a dubstep novelty after all) and even in techno (atmospherics from the lates 90s and the Metalheadz era - just check out this hommage mix by techno masterminds Raime).  However, having just heard this Physical Therapy  remix of Elite Gymnastics' "So Close to Paradise 3",  we're tempted  to raise a 'new sub-genre alert'...is this the return of d&b in a romanticised retro lo-fi packaging?  The sound of the 90s is coming back in many ways: balearic Ibiza nostalgia with Air France, instrumental hip-hop with Clams Casino or, more recently, Chicago house.  This track even features a carefully selected slice of the  Faithless spoken word vocal sample from their decade defining "Insomnia" hit, taking the track to 90s cult-classic levels.  Regardless of the potential wider significance of this track (we might be reading to much into this but  once u hear it, you'll understand what we mean), we highly suggest you give it an objective listen below (or download it for free via the Fader):

Elite Gymnastics, "So Close To Paradise 3 (Physical Therapy Remix)" MP3 by The FADER

Watch: Sepalcure - "Pencil Pimp" Music Video

It's an exciting time for underground electronic music.  Genre boundaries are becoming more and more obsolete as many artists are consciously transceding their niche scenes and combining elements from various fields of electronic music.  This seems to be happening at all levels, be it the more obvious macro level of wider genres such as dubstep and techno (see artists such as Martyn, Guy Andrews and Scuba) or micro levels of sub-genres rapidly bouncing influences back and forth.  Sepalcure's "Pencil Pimp" (aka Travis Stewart of Machinedrume and Praveen Sharma of Braille) belongs to the latter category.  The track is a interesting combination of stripped back high-treble bass music with a Mount Kimbie shuffle with vocal snippets treated in a ghost-hop witchy kinda way, similar to Holy Other's work.  Watch their video for "Pencil Pimp", which also works on multiple levels visually, below: