“Da Heard It” (Used 4 times)

Hello again free music fans! This week's chip music pick is from old friends Da! Heard it Records artist Tom Woxom. We mentioned him briefly in our label profile last year, but his previous release Kickstart was a really great up tempo ode to the lo-fi sample based sound of the Amiga. His follow-up, Robot, is a much different affair. An expanded soundset finds c64, Game Boys and vocoders in the mix, and the tracks have taken on a much mellower, almost dubby vibe. Take a listen to some of the following songs, and then check out his other FMA selections!

On a side note, TCTD is taking a hiatus from the FMA to focus on coverage of the Blip Festival! WFMU will be sponsoring the live stream, so expect some additional posts from us later in May, until then, see ya!

HADOPI is the French agency that handles the three-strikes anti-piracy law. 3rd strikes = you struck out of access to the Internet. And this week, Billboard revealed that French Internet Service Providers are sending out receiving 25,000 notices a day to alleged infringers from copyright holders. But the French government seems more than eager to invest in "anti-piracy" measures no matter the cost (monetarily or otherwise). Another interesting aspect of France's War On Piracy: they're subsidizing digital music sales to get young people (aged 12-25) into the habit of paying for mp3s (read more at Wired Epicenter / ars Technica).

I'm fascinated by all of this, and I'm hoping to find someone who can skype/call/stop-by to offer some insight during my WFMU-FM radio show & podcast (airs this Thursday morning NYC time). But France's HADOPI agency has not responded to my inquiry (they must be innundated with Outgoing mail), and neither has the author of La Bataille Hadopi. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions?

With France on the precipice of elimination from the very same world cup that but a few short years ago they sat atop, ruling with a near iron fist, I wanted to send a message to the players sitting this very moment in the stadiums tunnel. And the best way to send a message is via an example, an example set to music and provided by one of their french countrymen. Da! Heard It Record's own, Eat Rabbit.

His music has been mentioned here before, but the FMA has recently uploaded his senses shattering set from the 2009 Blip Festival. Full of grotesque sample mangling, screaming arpeggios and an disturbing lagomorphic front-man, the performance was a testament to an ideal this french football squadron has seemed to have forgotten, with a never say die attitude and a never give up assault on the audience. Good Luck, men of the 2010 French Football Team, you have one last chance to live up tot he example of heroic countrymen such as Eat Rabbit. You can do it (or not.. not like I care.. VIVA MEXICO), and Ill see you in seven.

This week's blog takes its title from a Cube-C song on a compilation I curated in 2004 for the Toilville Netlabel. The theme being political chiptunes (yea I know!) one of the surprises on it was a unknown to me at the time artist named Cube-C. His song on that comp would be just a hint of the electro-rock goodness that would come from his current project, a partnership with Emiglio Laser named Pocketmaster. Combining a shared love of the Game Boy, The Commodore 64, and lo0fi drums and off-kilter samples, the duo enhance and expand their individual talents, as all good duo-ships should.

Recently Pocketmaster has put out a 12 track LP named Residue. The release, out on Da! Heard It Records, and uploaded here on the FMA, is 12 tracks of hard hitting tracks that are equally at home in the club, your shitty bar, or cleaning that filthy hovel you call a room. Use it liberally as you salve you post SXSW hangover, and we will meet back here in seven.