Tribilin Mind

On Monday 5th February, I posted the first of three StinkyJim-related purchases - a remix of Very by Strange Flesh - from the previous Bandcamp Friday's shopping haul, promising to come back to the other two in due course.

 

On Tuesday 6th February, in another of those synchronous blog moments, Walter over at a few good things in my life enthused about the second of these, Tribilin Sound's Love Lights, focusing on the original version rather than StinkyJim's dubbed up remix. And of course, Walter was spot on in describing it as a "downtempo balearic gem".

 

 

This led me to looking for more music by Tribilin Sound aka Alvaro Isla, a Portugeuse DJ and producer residing in California. I'm understating things massively by saying this guy is prolific.

 

Love Lights came out in January, the same month that Alvaro released an 11-track album, Nazca, which doesn't feature Love Lights at all but is packed with similar grooves and moves. 

 

Not content with that, this month saw the release of the 16-track Peru Bass compilation, which features three Tribilin Sound contributions. 

 

 

Both of these came hot on the heels of another 11-track Tribilin Sound album, Afronights, which dropped at the end of December and... well, I think you get the point.

 

  

Alvaro is also an in-demand remixer, a couple of examples from 2023 being Riddims by Lukrø and Sunpanther by M.Age.Project.

 

  

  

... and, coming full circle, the album that introduced me to Tribilin Sound in the first place, last July's Social Awareness: The Remixes by StinkyJim.

 

I've uncovered a ton of Tribilin Sound releases and remixes going back a decade, so there's lots to investigate with no sign that Alvaro is slowing down with the release schedule. Awe inspiring.

Metamodern Skank

Strange Flesh dubbed up by StinkyJim to get your week off to a rousing start.

Sometimes all you need is a mailshot to flag up something that you would otherwise have missed, hurtling down the music highway, pedal to the floor, eyes fixed on the horizon ahead.

 

StinkyJim's email on Bandcamp Friday resulted in a trio of purchases: Tibilin Sound's Love Light EP featuring a StinkyJim remix, the Boomarm Nation Family Album 2024 which includes a StinkyJim original; and then the Very EP by duo Strange Flesh, straight out of Brooklyn, New York.

 

More of the other two at a later date, this one warrants a post all of it's own.

 

Very is described as "the anthem of a woman on her own deliciously precarious path: the soundtrack to beloved but ill-paying employment, discount decadence, no children, and a healthy disregard for the future." Varrick Zed's sprechsang vocals bounce over a Ed Zed's wobbling synth lines and clattering percussion to great effect. 

 

The first of two remixes is by Digital Equipment Co., which a little internet digging reveals is Zerstorte Zelle, which in turn is unearthed as an alias of fellow Brooklynite (and co-producer of their EP) Arthur Fleischmann. The "Instruction Set Architecture Edit" is 3-minutes of stuttering, chopped up sounds, Varrick's vocals cut and pasted together but more or less intact.

The real treat is saved for last though, with StinkyJim aka James Needham's Scented Showcase Very-Fied Version offering up over eight minutes of perfectly pitched New Zealand skank, which frankly could go on for eight hours without overstaying its welcome. 

 

The Very EP came out in July 2023, a few days before StinkyJim's excellent Social Awareness remix album, which featured a reciprocal rework of On The Ag by Strange Flesh.

 

Strange Flesh have been releasing music since September 2020, though I've discovered that Varrick and Ed Zed were previously The Casual Sexists from 2015 to 2021, overlapping but presumably making way for Strange Flesh in the last few years. 

 

There's plenty to explore by The Casual Sexists at a later date, generally mining a similar vein of jerky electro pop with dubby B-sides (including a few sides by Tribilin Sound and Wrongtom) but I'll leave you with this unexpected cover version, available as a name your price/free download.

Social, Spacial, Special

StinkyJim aka Jim Pinckney was placed firmly on my radar by Swiss Adam's review of his albums, It's Not What It Sounds Like (2021) and Spacial Awareness (2022), over at the ever-rewarding Bagging Area.

The latter received a companion release, Social Awareness: The Remixes in July, with a similarly favourable review by Adam, and it's been on regular rotation at Casa K since.

 

All 12 of the original album's tracks get a makeover, a couple - Cry For The Ute and Owner Face - receive multiple reworks, making for a satisfying 16-step excursion into the version.

I'll admit that most of the artists involved were complete unknowns to me but the quality is high throughout and I've been inspired to investigate further. Here are a trio of highlights for me. 

 

My Dubhed selection In Love With The Light a month ago featured the remix of Steam Fish by Seekersinternational, and noted that this was one of the last vocals recorded (at Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica) by Nazamba aka George Scott, before his untimely passing in July 2022. 

 

The album closes in fine style with an epic ten and a half minute remix from Rude Audio aka Mark Ratcliff.  

 

Stinky Jim's dub-infused grooves are right up my strasse and all of the artists involved in the remix project have brought something new whilst respecting the character and shape of the original music. 

 

You can buy Social Awareness: The Remixes as a full 16-track digital album directly from Stinky Jim on Bandcamp. A 5-track vinyl EP is also available from Haymaker Records.

 

I'd also support Adam's previous recommendation of Stinky Jim's weekly show, Stinky Grooves, broadcast every Tuesday via 95bFM out of New Zealand. It's a real treat.

In Love With The Light

More gems from this year's releases to distract from the drawing in of the sunsets and the drop in temperature as autumn beds in.

Richard Norris appears twice, firstly remixing Katy J Pearson's cover of Willow's Song from the classic film The Wicker Man then with Lightning Version, a 10-minute dub extravaganza from his Oracle Sound project. As a subscriber to Richard's music, which is worth every penny as it is, I was also recently the beneficiary of a free Oracle Sound T-shirt, which I'm happily modelling for today's selection.

A couple of purchases recommended this year by Swiss Adam at Bagging Area, who is always on the mark. Trotting the globe, New Zealand's Stinky Jim is remixed by British Columbia's Seekersinternational, featuring vocals by Nazamba aka George Scott, who sadly passed in July 2022. From there, it's a trip from Oxford to London via Mozambique as Steve Queralt and Michael Smith are remixed by Nandele Maguni.

 

Róisín Murphy's excellent Hit Parade album has been unfortunately overshadowed by her recent comments on social media, follow up response and what seems to have been a pulling back of promotion and support by record label Ninja Tune. The album, created in collaboration with DJ Koze, isn't quite as immediate as predecessor Róisín Machine but repeated listens reward.  

Dub Pistols have been around forever it seems though this is the first album of theirs that I've bought. Lots of dub and dancehall influences, unsurprisingly, with a great vocal turn from Natty Campbell, I can imagine this would go down a storm in a live setting. 

Jason Buckle's releases as JP Buckle have been a relatively recent discovery, including his quirky Covers mini-album/EP. The selections are quite heavily rooted in 1980s popular culture - Prince & The Revolution, Wham!, U2, Bruce Springsteen - with a few surprises such as a cover of Into The Garden, a 1981 song by post-punk Artery. Perhaps less of a surprise when you know that Jason Buckle is member of JARV Is... and Jarvis Cocker convinced Artery to reform and perform at the Meltdown Festival which he curated in 2007.

Pye Corner Audio possibly need no introduction if you've frequented these pages before. As I wrote last month, Martin Jenkins has released several superb pieces of music this year and the brilliantly-titled Cabaret Sauvage is just one example. I said at the time that the song "immediately strikes as lost Pink Industry outtake, with a striking bass line and synth effects that call to mind 1980s arcade games". 'Nuff said.

 

1) Willow's Song (Richard Norris Ritual Mix) (Cover of Magnet): Katy J Pearson (Willow's Song EP)

2) Steam Fish (Steam Veg Dub) (Remix By Seekersinternational): StinkyJim ft. Nazamba (Social Awareness: The Remixes)

3) Arabiklan (Högt I Tak Remix By Janne Berglund): James Rod (Synthetic Glory EP)

4) Can't Replicate (Album Version By DJ Koze aka Stefan Kozalla): Róisín Murphy (Hit Parade)

5) Moving On: Dub Pistols ft. Natty Campbell (Frontline)

6) Lightning Version: Richard Norris (Oracle Sound Volume One)

7) Cabaret Sauvage: Pye Corner Audio (Cabaret Sauvage EP)

8) Into The Garden (Cover of Artery): JP Buckle (Covers)

9) Vespertina (Nandele Remix By Nandele Maguni): Steve Queralt & Michael Smith (Sun Moon Town Versions)

In Love With The Light (57:49) (KF) (Mega)

Fly Away

I probably say this every year but this year has been a really good year for top notch electronic music. To prove my point, here's an (almost) hour-long selection of absolute corkers that I have purchased since 2023 emerged blinking into the daylight through to the arse end of what's proved to be, in the UK at least, a washed-out summer.

Stick this on and fly away from it all for a while.

 

1) Facciamo L'Amore (Pete Blaker Remix): Rheinzand

2) The Girl With A Hole In Her Heart (Album Version): A Man Called Adam 

3) Brasiliana: Bárbara Boeing

4) Trinity (Original Version): Pim Secle & Orchid

5) Quiet Spillage (The Long Champs Remix By Lloyd Jones): StinkyJim

6) Synthetic Glory (MAN2.0 Remix By Mark Bailey): James Rod

7) Golden Dirt (Hereldeduke Remix By Linton Brown): Hello Cosmos

8) Look At The Stars Now, Mama (Hardway Brothers Meet Monkton Uptown Deep Dive) (Remix By Sean Johnston & Duncan Gray): D:Ream

9) Lack Of Sleep (Album Version): Maps

 

Bandcamp links below. Purchase of the full EP/album is strongly recommended for all.

 

Facciamo L'Amore EP: 1

The Girl With A Hole In Her Heart: 2

Brasiliana EP: 3

'90's Kids EP: 4

Social Awareness: The Remixes: 5

Synthetic Glory EP: 6

Hard Dirt: Hello Cosmos Remixed: 7

Broken Hearts & Messed Up Minds: The Remix Album: 8

Counter Melodies: 9

 

Fly Away (57:38) (KF) (Mega)