pushbinlou (FMA Admin)

So are you down with some electro party music from France?  In my search for some on FMA I chanced upon these great tracks from Computer Truck (Julien Daigremont) which perfectly fit the bill. 

Rock the Boulevard, Reach the Bourgeois is Computer Truck's first full length which was released in 2006 by Da! Heard It Records and offered up here on the good old FMA.  This is a great release full of sweet lo-fi electro rave-ups with a touch of noise here and there.  Check out "Complimenti" and enjoy.

First new find for me for 2010!  It was not too long into the New Year when I stumbled upon this great new album by Pierlo.  Except for the fact that he is from Rome there is not a whole lot of info on this rather mysterious character.  Nonetheless, "Saturday Night Sleeper" is a solid and very interesting release.  It is kind of hard to pin down what genre Pierlo is shooting for so I'll just say electronica and let you come to your own conclusions.

If this release peaks your interest you might want to head over and check out the Upitup label which is the super cool netlabel that put out this album from Pierlo as well as tracks and full length releases from a ton of other artists.  Take a listen to the cut "cliverpool" and enjoy!

Well it has not taken long for dubstep to spread from the U.K. to just about every area around the world.  A good example would be this great E.P. from New Zealand DJ Dub Terminator.  In my quest to find more dubstep for the almighty FMA I happily stumbled upon some very cool tracks from what appears to be a very busy musician.

Dub Terminator (Christian McLay) also produces hip-hop under the pseudonym Madsickill and has a funk/dub/roots band called the Retainers.  He has a number of releases as Dub Terminator with this E.P. being his first.  There are also two full length releases as well (all of these releases are digital).  "Dub Steps" is a very good example of what this artist has to offer.  Take a listen.

Let's give some big props to LibreCommeLair a very cool net label out of Montpellier who were nice enough to upload some very tasty electonic/dubstep tracks from Volatil.  Volatil is an Argentina/UK project that started out as a solo project for Nicholas Hardmeier.  Nicholas soon added vocalist Frederico De Gennero and then made things really interesting by adding dubstep DJ Satta B.

LCL have provided tracks from two Volatil releases (Litalov and Refixed). Although the vocals can be light and airy at times there is always that dark bass sound underpinning everything.  El Muerto (Epic rework) is the perfect example of what these guys are out to acheive.  All of the tracks thrown up here by Volatil on FMA are total keepers but if you want to cut to the chase you should also check out "No bans" and "Flesh & Bones".  Here is hoping that LCL have more goodies in store for us.

Usually when I do the "ears wide open" post it's about an artist or group who is brand new to the scene.  The artists that comprise "Lebens" are another story.  Andrei B., Igor M. and Mamikon V. have been creating music and art in and around Moscow since 1999.  This is the first time that I'm hearing about them which is not surprising since they only play once a year in Russia and their recorded output up until this point has been very limited and rare.

The group changes their name frequently using different variations of Lebens (akin to Jim Thirwhill and his Foetus moniker).  They have recently uploaded their Lebensjunge release on FMA and have also put out a release as Lebenswelt.  A tad confusing but totally worth it if you are into any kind of good quality experimental electronic sounds.  It's hard to compare them to anybody since each release (and each track for that matter) has a different feel and sound to it. Their sound is sometimes harsh, sometimes pretty but always interesting. These fellows are definitely worth a listen.

Just when I think that I have run out of stuff to blog about for "Chip Tune Tuesdays" another good quality artist throws his hat in the ring with FMA.  Receptors (Jeremy Kolosine) is an incredibly busy 8-bit artist who is a founding member of both Futurisk and 8-Bit Operators (who put out a really great Kraftwerk tribute record).  Jeremy also performs live all over the world including pulling off the first ever circuit-bent performance with a full symphony orchestra.

I tend to gravitate to 8-bit artists who try to move the genre in different directions yet are still able to maintain that classis 8-bit sound. Jeremy's 2007 release groKwork has a very old school electro feel to it which really works for me and hopefully for you as well.  Check out the track PalinDrone and enjoy!

Although I don't go to as many live shows as I used to (I have a toddler who likes to get up at 5:00 AM) I do try to get out there every once and awhile.  Unfortunately I'm really jaded and I'm never as excited by seeing a live act as I used to back in the day.  So it was a pleasant surprise to be completely blown away by a band that I was only somewhat familar with at the time. 

Crystal Antlers played here in Cleveland a few moths back on the tail end of a really long bill of bands that I was only half interested to see.  I was just about to bail and go get my three hours of sleep before I had to watch a 5:30 AM viewing of Lazy Town when the band started up and just put that charge in my body that you get when you see a band fire on all cylinders.  Needless to say I was a very happy but tired boy the next day and I have been singing the praises of this band since.

Here is a taste of what they sound like from a live set on KEXP.  If that interests you maybe you should check out their homepage here on the FMA site and see if they are coming to your town.

Well the 8-bit music just keeps pouring in here at FMA and it keeps getting better and better.  I guess if you wanted to find a chip music artist that has been around for quite a while and has been growing right along with the scene then minusbaby (Richard Caraballo) would be a good pick.  With countless releases going back to 1999 minusbaby as a solo artist and as a member of 8bitpeoples has been pushing the genre hard.

Left Remixes, Pt. 1 is a handpicked collection of artists all taking stabs at remixing A Large Part of Your Mind Sliced from minusbaby's most recent release Left.  Below is an edit which was done by the man himself.  Enjoy!

How about a nice heavy psych track to wind up your Friday afternoon?  O.K.  Here is a great one from long time Canadian indie stalwarts Devolver.  They have been putting out amazing pop-psych records since the late 90's and have been nice enough to upload a number of tracks from some of their various albums.

"Sound is Leaking" is from Devolver's fifth release Sky of Holes.  One of their heavier cuts this one just grabs you by the throat and never lets go.  Although this is my favorite track the whole album is a keeper and worth checking out.  Enjoy