Feature: From Russia with Fuzz, Moscow Gets its Own L.A.-Inspired Beat Scene

Russia gets fly, thanks to Error Broadcast and Alpha Pup.

A testament to the wide reach of Los Angeles’ thriving instrumental hip-hop movement, a group of electronic artists based in Moscow has begun its own beat scene and, bringing things full circle, has found a friend in downtown L.A. label Alpha Pup. This is a quick read and a mere introduction to their world, by yours truly, published in L.A. Weekly.

Pitchfork did an in-depth followup (we assume), which you can and should read too, called “Beg, Steal, or Borrow.” Also, check the tunes.

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L.A. Beat Scene’s TAKE Announces Alpha Pup LP, Gives Out Free ‘Incredibright’ MP3

TAKE on the titular mount?

Today, Alpha Pup Records — the Downtown L.A. label behind the Low End Theory club and numerous worthwhile beat scene releases — announced the long-awaited next full-length record from TAKE. Only Mountain will be released on April 20, and judging from the free MP3 the label’s sharing, it’ll be a roiling pot of old school IDM, ’90s R&B percussive elements, Dubstep bass-derived doom, and ethereal melodies. Download “Incredibright” below.

Free music: TAKE – “Incredibright” [MP3]

Review: Fuck Buttons, ‘Tarot Sport’

As part of The A.V. Club’s annual “stuff we missed” roundup:

Fuck Buttons, Tarot Sport (ATP)

Fuck Buttons, 'Tarot Sport'

If the duo’s 2008 debut, Street Horrrsing, represents the uncontainable results of the group’s exploratory atom- smashing, the follow-up, Tarot Sport, is an attempt to capture that unwieldy energy and bend it into recognizable shapes.

Grade: A- (via The Onion / A.V. Club)

If the duo’s 2008 debut, Street Horrrsing, represents the uncontainable results of the group’s exploratory atom-smashing, the follow-up, Tarot Sport, is an attempt to capture that unwieldy energy and bend it into recognizable shapes.

Q&A: The Incaluable Black of Fever Ray (+ vids)

Fever Ray, the solo project of The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson, really does seem otherworldly. Or perhaps “underworldly” might be more appropriate, considering the pagan themes and strange ritual that accompanies Andersson’s live show, which has grown to include a full band, “expensive high-tech lasers,” and loads of terrifying makeup. If you’re not familiar with the album, Fever Ray, refresh yourself here, then read this interview with Miss Andersson on the occasion of her debut U.S. tour.

Also, watch these videos (three more after the jump).

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Feature: A Decade Of Dublab – Celebrating L.A.’s Most Inspiring and Intuitive Music Collective

It was a true honor to collaborate with LA Weekly Music Editor Randall Roberts on a piece honoring one of this city’s most exceptional audio organizations, Dublab. What began as an Internet radio collective 10 years ago has grown into a veritable small universe of music-making, education, and events-throwing (and then some) — Dublab is a creative engine operating at full bore with no signs of slowing its roll. Read my article on how it happened, or skip straight to Roberts’ piece on the 10 days of incredible celebration Dublab’s got planned.

Watch Lucky Dragons perform at the Dublab studios.

Wallpaper Lands Fantastic SF Weekly Cover Story By Music Editor Jennifer Maerz

Apologies for an excessive amount of Wallpaper coverage, but what’s a blog for if you can’t get personal from time to time? Eric Frederic, the main brain at the center of the Wallpaper duo (as well as the Facing New York project), is one of my dearest friends. I’m not positive about this, but I do believe I was at his first band’s first ever show, at a small Pinole bakery down the street from our high school. He’s been an incredible writer of music since before we met, and as often happens with true talent, success by a grand societal scale has always just eluded his work. But there’s change in the air, and hard work does yield results, and those results taste all the sweeter if they had to age a little bit along the way. Please click here to read an exceptionally spot-on piece written by SF Weekly‘s music editor, Jennifer Maerz, on the occasion of the release of Wallpaper’s debut LP, the lovingly titled Doodoo Face.

Check out previous entries on Wallpaper here.

INCHES003: New wax from Flying Lotus, Dublab, Triorganico and Adam Payne (+ MP3s, chart)

Ladies and gentlemen: INCHES003. By journalistic law, this column now qualifies as a trend. Installment number three is actually the first “regular” edition, an unthemed collection of just-released L.A.-relevant vinyl reviewed (with original photos and free MP3s, of course), accompanied by a top ten vinyl sales chart from one of our local record shops. This week, you’ll find a new Flying Lotus EP, some incredible throwback bossa nova by Triorganico, seven inches of Adam Payne jamitude, and a killer Dublab release compiling work from the best of this city’s beat music scene. Plus, see what Vacation Vinyl’s been selling (hint: rhymes with “meth kettle”).

Flying Lotus, L.A. 3 X 3 EP

Flying Lotus, "L.A. 3 X 3 EP"

Stay tuned for much, much more, and if you’ve got ideas, reach out.