With the unmistakable opening melodic flourish, Kinetic announces without a doubt that Phutureprimitive’s looooong awaited second album is finally here. And there was much rejoicing!

Where his first record, Sub Conscious—released on Waveform records in 2004—was a moody, Shpongle-influenced, psydub exploration, Kinetic shows how Rain has updated his sound in line with current musical trends and expertly fuses heavy doses of dubstep and West Coast womp with hints of big-room trance and his trademark melodic tendencies. And boy does this combination work! The distorted basslines ground the compositions and command your attention while the trance gates and arps keep it all from getting too heavy.

Check out “The Changeling” via the player below. It’s a free download until the official album release on March 15, 2011. This track is one of the mellower songs in the lineup, but perfectly illustrates Phutureprimitive’s new sound pallet. Though, most of the other tracks are vocal free, including the noticeable absence of Alyssa Palmer who appeared on Sub Conscious and the Luminous EP.

The whole album is smokin’ hot, but my personal faves are “Xotica” for its bassline so filthy you may need to check your undershorts, the perfect crunch-to-smooth ratio of “The Changeling”, “High Rez” for its perfectly balanced level of sunrise trance cheese, and “Predatory Instincts” which is just begging for a proper psytrance mix. Seriously, there is not a dud on the album… that is a rare thing to say indeed.

This album is going to be big, and with the extensive tour lined-up Rain will surely be destroying a mid-tempo dancefloor near you in the coming months.

Get Kinetic when it’s released on March 15 at phutureprimitive.bandcamp.com.

Here’s the official release blurb:

Esteemed Northwest producer Phutureprimitive is set to release his sophomore LP Kinetik this March via his own imprint, Native Harmonix. This long awaited album is his first full-length to follow up his iconic 2004 debut Sub Conscious. On Kinetik Phutureprimitive explores a heavier, bass-centric sound that adds raw energy to the meticulously detailed tracks this trusted producer is so well known for. In support of this release, Phutureprimitive embarks on a 24-show tour across North America with fellow sonic mastermind Ott.

Kinetik will be available for download through phutureprimitive.bandcamp.com, as well as at all major online retailers and limited physical copies will be available on the tour. See the dates below and be sure to get your copy of Kinetik when it is released on March 15th.

Here’s what Phutureprimitive has to say about the album:
“This album is a reflection of the times we are living in … hard and aggressive, lush and beautiful, kinetic, frenetic, distorted, ever changing … but with each passing moment, a chance to move through life and make it a better place than we found it.”

~Rain, Phutureprimitive

Tour dates and locations ::
March 10, 2011: Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
March 11, 2011: Agave – Avon, CO
March 12, 2011: three20touth – Breckenridge, CO
March 13, 2011: Ghost Ranch Saloon – Steamboat Springs, CO
March 15, 2011: George’s Majestic – Fayetteville, AR
March 16, 2011: Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS
March 17, 2011: 2720 – St Louis, MO
March 18, 2011: Majestic Live – Madison, WI
March 19, 2011: Kinetic Playground – Chicago, IL
March 20, 2011: The Loft @ Barfly – Minneapolis, MN
March 23, 2011: Soundlab – Buffalo, NY
March 24, 2011: Middle East Downstairs – Cambridge, MA
March 25, 2011: Canal Club – Richmond, VA
March 26, 2011: Public Assembly – Brooklyn, NY
March 27, 2011: Castaways – Ithaca, NY
March 30, 2011: Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
March 31, 2011: The Hookah – New Orleans, LA
April 1, 2011: Limelight – Nashville, TN
April 2, 2011: Newby’s – Memphis, TN
April 3, 2011: King Plow Arts Center – Atlanta, GA
April 6, 2011: Ukiah Brewing Co. – Ukiah, CA
April 7, 2011: Red Fox Tavern – Eureka, CA
April 8, 2011: 103 Harriet – San Francisco, CA
April 9, 2011: Refuge – Portland, OR

Finally! Some fresh new music from northwest psychill hero, Phutureprimitive. Out today is the Luminous EP, containing three new(ish) tracks. I say “newish” because it seems like Rain has been dropping these tracks in his sets for a while, and it’s nice to finally have my own copies to play out. Style-wise, fans of his first album and subsequent compilation contributions will recognize that signature Phutureprimitive moody atmosphere and delicious bass lines. What’s new is the addition of lyrical vocals in the forefront of the mix as the new driving force for each track. These lyrics, by Alyssa Palmer and Rain, have been tastefully edited and are seamless additions to the already lush Phutureprimitive soundscape. Vocals of this caliber seem to be tricky to find in this kind of electronica, and Rain pulls it off. My gut tells me that some old fans will not be so into this new lyrical direction, but it will most certainly open up his music to an even wider audience. With Phutureprimitive now performing as a full band, this new direction should be not much of a surprise, and thankfully, in Rain’s capable hands the vocals and music continue to push the mature downtempo vibe that first caught the world’s ear six years ago.

The dance stage in the side room looked and sounded amazing this year, and I applaud the decision to only place on sound system in there. I know it was tough to whittle down the list of 40 some DJs that wanted to play to the 10 or so that got slots, but it was a better party because of that effort.

The only real knock against the night I had was that due to the new extra stringent fire code mandates, the space did feel significantly sparser than past Seacomps. Not being able cover canopies in flowy fabrics and wacky art made for a colder, less inviting space. I know everyone did what they could under the new rules, but it did make a notable impact on the decor of a typically sensory overloading event.

I have some photos still on my camera, so until I upload them to the cloud, please enjoy this awesome set from Yonderboy.

Another fantastic Chillography come and gone. Music-wise, this may have been one of my favorites yet, with Eckoe opening with his perfect blend of psychill, followed by Kalpataru Tree’s siiiiiick dubby goodness, Manahan’s midtempo romp and finally Scott Sunn’s deeeeeep techno shplunking. Add that to Jenna and team’s beautiful makeover of the Church of Bass, Cupcake or Dies baked goodness, and the projected Entranced game, and we had all the right ingredients for a superb party.

The entire night was recorded and I’ll be posting the sets to the Chillography site, once I get around to processing the recording. I’m still working on the recordings from 201, but both shows will be available very soon. I promise!

My photos:

And check out this great little Chillography montage from Lara.

You can always count on reviews full of personality and honesty from Psyreviews. Definitely worthy of a few minutes of your time and a slot in your RSS reader.

More soon….

I hope you all will join us in the fall for Chillography 202.

The entire show was recorded, so I’ll have those sets up for download in a bit.

Here are a couple of great photo sets of the day:
by ECityBlues
by +Russ

Here are some photos and videos snapped by Lara. I’ll update with my own once I get them up on the net.

Sending Orbs, purveyors of the highest quality chilltronica, have released another stunning gem of an album, Yagya’s Rigning. “Rigning” is Icelandic for ”rain”, and as the name suggests, this 10-track masterpiece takes the rain theme and runs with it through its entirety. This album is drenched in rain samples around which all other elements are placed. Keeping close to the formula of dubby minimal techno, but certainly presenting a new vision of it, the basic recipe used here is a subtly mixed 4-on-the-floor kick drum to provide some structure as the heady, dub bass lines add just a touch of groove. Meanwhile, rain samples and beautiful pads provide space and atmosphere as gentle sprinkles of tinkling melodies really take you on a smooth emotional journey. There is nothing heavy handed about this release. Each track is delicate and mellow and yet so easily captures your mind and washes it clean of stress and worry.

I’ve listened to the album daily since I received it. Not many albums in my collection can make that same claim, but there is just something so lovely about Rigning that when it ends, starting it all over again is my instant reaction. You don’t have to just take my word for it, though. There are plenty of others that have had equal praise, and have said it all much more eloquently than I can. Or better yet, be your own judge. Listen to the clips found here and buy the album here to add this instant classic to your collection.

What a fantastic night! When we started the Chillography series, we were chasing a vision that very much resembled the reality that was 103. Thanks to everyone that came out to be a part of something that’s attempting to a bit different than the typical electronic music event. It was a real pleasure to see and meet tons of new people. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and will join us again at Chillography 104, sometime in the Spring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for some specific shout outs:

Geminitrix, Lara, Coral and Jenna:: You all spun beautiful sets that created one of the largest chillout dancefloors I’ve ever seen. Nicely done. I recorded the whole night, so in the near future we’ll be able to share your sets with those that couldn’t make it or would like to hear is all again.

Julirama:: Your three screens of visuals, plus the Buddha Tank, significantly added to the beauty of the night. It was a pleasure to collaborate with you on this event.

Hendrik and Adrian:: Chillography would not exist at all without you. Best partners in chill ever.

Isaac and your Elixir Bar:: Your tasty and refreshing elixirs were a delicious hit.

The door, set-up, and clean-up volunteers:: I didn’t get to meet you all, but you provided some much needed and truly appreciated help that was vital to the success of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photos and recorded sets will be posted here and at chillography.net when I’ve had a chance to process them.

Until I get my photos up, here is Lara’s great photo set of the night.

Here’s some great Solar Fields performance footage featuring the track Discovering. This must have been an incredible musical experience for those in attendance.

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love love love this book. It’s got all the elements that really tickle my imagination bone. Strange creatures, robots, steampunk technology, pandimensional beings, bioengineered monstrosities, and truly likable characters that inhabit a fully realized city, saturated with history, untold tales and a thick layer of grime.

This is a difficult book to classify. It’s fantasy without the wizards and sci-fi without the spaceships, but that is much of its charm. Quite unlike anything I’ve ever read and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Intricate, even exquisite – but never immaculate, Theo Ellsworth’s Capacity is a mind turned inside out. Ellsworth’s careful line gives shape to profound and profoundly silly thoughts alike, bringing a visionary, startling new life to the doubts and hopes that are so familiar to everyone.

Fans of visionary/psychedelic art, the creative process, imaginative creatures, dream worlds, and unique stories should do what they can to buy this book. It has easily became one of my favorite graphic novels in my collection.

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Woah….. what a ride. I’m quite happy to be done with this behemoth, so I don’t have to lug it with me on my bus ride each day. That aside, I really enjoyed the rich cultural tapestry Stephenson wove and the thought provoking discussions heavily peppered throughout. At times it felt like a slow read, as the first half (two-thirds?) of the book were filled with many multi-page “dialogs” about logic, philosophy, quantum mechanics, and a number of other related topics, but the presentation of these discussions and the plot movements (though very slight at first) connecting them were intriguing and easily kept me coming back for more. The final third was a major and welcome shift to a more traditional space opera tale, but with the hard-science twist Stephenson had set up from page one. And good news, the completely satisfying end is totally worth the 900+ page journey.

This book covers a lot of ground and was easily one of the more thought provoking fictions I’ve read in quite a while. Anyone looking for some reality and depth in your sci-fi, Anathem will be hard to beat.

Now I’m onto China Miéville‘s Perdido Street Station. I’m only on page 60 and I can already tell that I’m going to love this book. I’m so glad to have stumbled upon this author.

Live/ Dj set featuring live guitar, synth, and sampling. The mix is comprised of the latest tracks by Defib. A concoction of funky beats and driving synth lines meant to give your head a space to journey through while leaving your feet behind to dance.

In short, this is some serious speaker pumping, sweat inducing, dance floor thrashing, full-on trance dance tunage. While my tastes have moved away from full-on, banging psytrance, there’s still a place in my heart for the sound. It’s rarely the music I put on to listen to, but I still pepper it into my trance sets when the time and dancefloor energy level are right.

This CD contains all of the elements you’ve come to expect in full-on psytrance, and it does them well. Trashing guitar riffs mingle with tinkling melodies, dugga dugga basslines, and ripping leads. There are even some proggy touches in the mix. In the end, that may actually be my biggest knock against it. It sounds like lots of stuff I’ve heard before, though it recreates that sound expertly. The energy level is kept pretty high throughout and will work great on any psytrance-minded dancefloor. In a complaint related to my opinion of full-on psy, I wish there was a little more breathing room in the tracks. See Gus Till for the master of track dynamics and contrast. By breaking a track all the way down to it’s most basic elements and then rebuilding, the crescendo highs seem that much higher than if you maintain that rocking intensity for the duration of the track (or whole set for that matter).

Thankfully, there are plenty of hints at an original take on the genre, sprinkled amidst the clichés, to keep this album interesting. I can’t wait to watch/hear Defib continue to develop his sound and really focus more on his sound, not just what is expected of the genre. There is a lot of promise here and if he keeps it up, he has bright future in our local and national scene. It’ll take a bit more originality to stand out in the global quagmire that is psytrance, but I’m sure he has it in him.

Genre complaints aside, Defib brings that touch of intensity that Seattle needs to balance out it’s proggy tendencies. Promoters, please book this man for your events. Your dancefloors will thank you!

Here are a few of my favorites from the album. You can dowload all of this material plus the entire mixed album from his site.

Crunchmonkey
[See post to listen to audio]

Squeltch
[See post to listen to audio]

Pectin Partical
[See post to listen to audio]

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dark, gritty and thoroughly enjoyable. All comparisons with Neil Gaiman are spot on, and that’s perfectly okay with me. The prominent Drum and Bass soundtrack weaved throughout the story was a fun and unique element. Miéville obviously had some insider knowledge of genre that he wanted to show off. I’ve never read a fiction book with so much to say about music, let alone the very specific genre of Jungle.

London + Urban Fairytale + Drum and Bass = A very fun read!

There are some particulars about the story that a little off, but this being Miéville’s first novel, they can easily be excused. After reading this and his wonderful Un Lun Dun, I’m really excited to dive into the rest of his material.

Now I’m onto Neal Stephenson‘s Anathem.