Indie Shuffle » Seams

Gold Panda – Brazil

Elizabeth Walker — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:29:30 +0000

Sounds like: Seams, Four Tet

Song: Gold Panda - Brazil [download here]

What's so good?

Gold Panda, electronic music magician, released a new single from a newly announced album last week with the simple title “Brazil.”

It’s easy to understand why the London-bred, Berlin-based producer named the single “Brazil” about 30 seconds in; the one and only word is laid over insanely complex beat debuts and frolics about for most of the track.

I imagine that the inspiration for “Brazil” comes with the inherent nature of the layered melody — it’s hedonistic, wild, and floral all at once, characteristics which could easily be applied to the country itself. There may very well be another explanation floating through the interwebs, but I will live in this self-fabricated explanation if you don’t mind.

The album, Half Of Where You Live, will release June 10, 2013 via NOTOWN/Ghostly International.

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1. Original post: Gold Panda – Brazil

2. Posted in: four tet, gold panda, teebs, electronica, baths

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Gold Panda – Trust

Elizabeth Walker — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:53:37 +0000

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Sounds like: Four Tet, Seams

Song: Gold Panda - Trust [download here]

What's so good?

It’s always a fantastic day when new Gold Panda shows up in the blogosphere. The artist we’ve grown to know and love since his well-received single “You” has just dropped a four track EP entitled Trust out officially 3/5 via the ever-amazing Ghostly label.

The title track is ethereal and deep, pulling in many different elements a la fellow UK electronic artist Four Tet. With the only vocals being a few drops of “trust” by a deep seeded voice, this tune is nothing other than downtempo and mellow. Horns, percussions, symbols, and many other instrumentals come together to form a stunning amalgamation of noise. And did I mention the album artwork? Brilliant as well.

The EP is streaming on SoundCloud here, track listing below.

01 Trust Intro
02 Trust
03 Burnt-Out Car in a Forest
04 Casyam_59#02

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1. Original post: Gold Panda – Trust

2. Posted in: Electronic, chillwave, downtempo, minimal electronica, four tet

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

SCNTST – Future Love

Elizabeth Walker — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 18:57:28 +0000

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Sounds like: Gold Panda, Seams

Song: SCNTST - Future Love [download here]

What's so good?

SCNTST is an electronic producer out of the beer and sausage country that is Germany. Having taught himself Abelton as a young teen, this now slightly older adult has enough experience under his belt to craft some heavy, mature tracks as SCNTST.

Via Boys Noize’s label, “Future Love” is a tune filled with some forcefully hitting percussion and just a spot of diffused vocals about halfway in. Reminiscent of Gold Panda’s sound after his time in Germany, “Future Love” is dense and danceable all at once.

I’ll leave you with this fun fact: although SCNTST holes up in some German Hobbit hole producing techo music, he’s only been to one club in his entire life. TRUTH.

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1. Original post: SCNTST – Future Love

2. Posted in: Electronic, electro, techno, gold panda, Seams

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Seams – Punch

Elizabeth Walker — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:31:20 +0000

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Sounds like: Boy 8 Bit, Dam Mantle

Song: Seams - Punch [download here]

What's so good?

A warning: you are about to dive into some straight-up sensory overload. Listening to this track by UK producer Seams may leave you with a dash schizophrenia… or maybe ADD. But whatever, it sure tastes good going down.

“Punch” is the title, and it for sure is packing one. Cranking up the BPM, this tune is hyper-charged with a crying vocal sample, loop upon loop, and some crisp, quickly climbing synths for a righteously intense experience. Although it’s more chaotic than one of Pinky and The Brain’s plans to take over the world, there is a calm and order around the arrangement that balances everything out nicely.

“Punch” was released via Full Time Hobby earlier this year.

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1. Original post: Seams – Punch

2. Posted in: Electronic, UK, idm, Seams, cepia

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Four Tet – 128 Harps

Elizabeth Walker — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:55:35 +0000

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Sounds like: Burial, Seams, Caribou

Song: Four Tet - 128 Harps [download here]

What's so good?

Yet again, Kieran Hebden – better known to most as Four Tet – has released a new single on his label, TEXT. Just coming off another TEXT release last month called “Jupiters,” it is not preposterous to think (hope) that he’s making plans for a new full-length album soon. Being that his last LP was released in the beginning of 2010, I’d say it’s about time.

“128 Harps” is a positively stunning piece, starting with some solid, tribalistic drums. There is an air of elegance and class when Hedben dusts the harps over the earthy bassline. Hebden does what he does best with this song – making complex connections and leaps while maintaining an air of beauty and confidence hard to replicate. Being one of the most experiential producers in the electronic world today, his tracks are always surprising in the most captivating way and this production is absolutely no exception.

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1. Original post: Four Tet – 128 Harps

2. Posted in: Electronic, four tet, Burial, gold panda, caribou

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Luke Abbott – Brazil (Gold Panda Remix)

Elizabeth Walker — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:52:49 +0000

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Sounds like: Mount Kimbie, Four Tet, Seams, Luke Abbott

Song: Luke Abbott - Brazil (Gold Panda Remix) [download here]

What's so good?

The UK’s Gold Panda has some serious talent. Considering he was working in a porn shop when he started making music, and was able to churn out quite the amazing caliber of original tracks and remixes consistently since he signed with Ghostly in 2010, I’d say he’s doing alright.

His latest release is a remix of Luke Abbott’s “Brazil.” Gold Panda turned his slightly glitchy production into an angelic, almost religious experience. Sounds likening to a cacophony of xylophonic doorbells simmer over a basic bass line and snare for a atypically beautiful Gold Panda-style release. It’s firm, infinite, and caring all in the same moment. After listening to his remix about 7 times, I’ve about lost my mind in its raw beauty.

Since Gold Panda has been a little quiet of late, I’m hoping this is indicative of some action to come, whether in the form of tours or a new LP. Neither would make me unhappy.

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1. Original post: Luke Abbott – Brazil (Gold Panda Remix)

2. Posted in: Electronic, remixes, experimental, electronic remixes, four tet

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Seams – Focus Energy/Motive Order

Elizabeth Walker — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:30:35 +0000

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Sounds like: Boy 8 Bit, Gold Panda, Tensnake

Song: Seams - Focus Energy [download here]

What's so good?

Awwwwww yeeeeah. Seams is back, and holy crapola, this is some good shit. Focus Energy/Motive Order is a two-track EP due for release July 18 on London-based Pictures Music label. Personally, I am slightly infatuated with James Welch’s (Seams’ given name) last EP Tourist from November of last year. This release further proves the young producer’s exponentially refining talent; Welch is def someone to watch for in the upcoming months.

Although this new release is half the length of Tourist, the sound is far from lacking — there are BPMs rivaling a hummingbird’s wing speed and feminine ghostly vocal snippets meld together in perfect, intense harmony. The tracks still have Seams’ familiar dark and harrowing quality about them, but precipitate more of a dance vibe than the melodies found on his previous release.

Seams is currently on tour in Europe, so let’s all cross out fingers for a US tour sometime soon…since he’s toured with the likes of Gold Panda and Dam Mantle who toured here earlier this year, it’s (hopefully) not such a pipe dream.

Click here to preorder Focus Energy/Motive Order or stream it gratis on Seams’ soundcloud page.

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1. Original post: Seams – Focus Energy/Motive Order

2. Posted in: Electronic, experimental, dance, gold panda, teebs

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Vox Mod – HAZMAT

Elizabeth Walker — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:44:32 +0000

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Sounds like: Gold Panda, Seams

Song: Vox Mod - The Moebius [download here]

What's so good?

Enter Scot Porter, aka Voicechanger, aka Vox Mod. This is a man with three names, rising from the harrowing depths of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, who has bequeathed some seriously fat beats. Last month marked the release of his first album under the name Vox Mod, titled HAZMAT.

Upon first listen I was pretty much blown away. The past few weeks my puny human brain has been muddling around as to how to put HAZMAT into words, and to be honest, it’s damn hard. How does one depict the immensity of Mt. Rainer or Macchu Pichu? The answer is that you simply can’t; experience alone enables one to transcend from researcher to participant.

HAZMAT may not be a physical mountain, but the shear enormity of noise, layers, ingenuity and complexity Vox Mod reaches on each track is astounding. To compare Vox Mod’s style, the only analysis coming to mind is this: Boy 8-Bit meets Gold Panda in a blender with a bottle of Jameson, and the musical party of HAZMAT begins.

Pulsating, space-age tracks are the obvious theme of this release (this could seem apparent to me because I’m on a Battlestar Galactica kick again, but it just feels right, people). “La Fractillina” is a dark, vociferous track, a pounding xylophone-esque melody leading chaotically organized white noise. “The Moebius” — my personal favorite — kicks off with some lightly moaning vocals zestfully layered over a stratified melody, reminiscent of a the feelings of autonomy and invincibility on the first day of summer; it is light hearted yet strong with short, masterful build ups guiding the way through the track. The final track, “An Awakening,” snaps back to reality with a screeching noise met by deep baritone notes eventually melting away to an uplifting finale.

Each track on HAZMAT has a different flavor, but one thing in common: some awesomely compelling big, fat noise. It’s almost as if everything Vox Mod put together was by a strange cosmic accident, but somehow ends up perfectly balanced.

Can’t get enough Vox Mod? Well, it’s your lucky day. Scot Porter is also a part of Wild Orchid Children and Lazer Kitty, amongst others. Also, he has some prior releases under his other alias Voicechanger. Oh, and lest I forget, you can download the album in it’s entirety on Vox Mod’s bandcamp site.

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1. Original post: Vox Mod – HAZMAT

2. Posted in: Electronic, gold panda, Seams, Vox Mod

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Chairman Kato – Wildfire EP

Elizabeth Walker — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:40:16 +0000

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Sounds like: Seams, Dam Mantle, Pantha Du Prince, Flying Lotus

Song: Chairman Kato - Streets of Rage [download here]

What's so good?

As a reported semi-recluse, Chairman Kato has successfully transferred a life of solace and self-reflecting into a five track EP, Wildfire. Apparently, Kato skulks about in the daytime, only to utilize the night for diligent music making.

Pictures Music, which also houses Seams and Dark Sky, picked up Chairman Kato last year. I can’t say for sure since I wasn’t there, but I imagine there was a whole lot of fist pumping when they heard Chairman Kato’s gritty electro bliss. Kato is pretty indicative of the atmosphere he’s in, living and producing in London; this electronic sound laced with pulsating synths and wispy vocals is not at all unheard of (quickly thinking of Gold Panda, Dam Mantle, Four Tet, and others out of the UK).

The release starts out with “Fighting Fires,” an aggressively apathetic pathway into the depths of Wildfire. The sound is grimy, callous, and raw. My personal go-to is “Streets of Rage,” although the end cap “Thudd” has been getting a lot of press.

Basically, you likely won’t be blasting this at your uber-corporate office, or with your friends who complain when you put on something considered palatable to the masses. Chairman Kato is seriously intense and fervently deep — not for the faint of heart. This is the sort of music you listen to late at night while defending your half of an insoluble dichotomy, which is perfect because that’s how Kato conceived it.

Wildfire is quintessentially the most apt name for Kato’s EP. As you listen through, it’s not hard to imagine you are in the midst of one. You are instantly mesmerized by it’s zealous destruction, yet can’t turn away. Go grab your copy today, and please, try not to burn anything down.

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1. Original post: Chairman Kato – Wildfire EP

2. Posted in: Electronic, experimental, synth-pop, Flying Lotus, london

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Seams – Tourist EP

Elizabeth Walker — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:52:18 +0000

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Sounds like: Pantha Du Prince, Gold Panda, Four Tet

Song: Seams - Hung Markets [download here]

What's so good?

James Welch, aka Seams, just came off a stint in Germany and a tour with Gold Panda. Sounds like an excellent end to 2010 if you ask me – brats, beers, and bangin beats. One really can’t wish for more.

Seams’ EP Tourist certainly points towards a strong future for this Englishman. Not only do the tracks drop like they’re hot, but they can’t be bothered to notice; Mr. Welch actually found the time to make his own cassette tapes (yes, I said cassettes, and no, you didn’t travel back to the 90s). Twenty of them were recorded, each yellow and blue sleeve lovingly printed by Seams himself. That’s called dedication, folks.

The highlights of this EP are definitely the escalating “Hung Markets” and ominous “Natchmusik.” Traces of Pantha Du Prince aromatically swirl throughout, and don’t worry, Gold Panda – your intensely chill sound is not forgotten either. Listening to Tourist, I am taken from the sea to the mountains, from lust to anguish. My suggestion: turn the lights off, the music up, and take a ethereal ride with Seams. You won’t regret it.

For more music by Seams, check out his SoundCloud.

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1. Original post: Seams – Tourist EP

2. Posted in: Electronic, four tet, gold panda, Seams, eletronic

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.