Best of 2012: Citizen Insane's Top 5 EPs (So Far)

Last Friday, I began revealing my still-developing photograph of the year 2012 in music. While I listed my 15 favourite albums thus far, I feel it's important to highlight the little guys too, so below you'll find the five short-playing records I've consumed ad nausuem over the past six months, plus a highlight track from each release for weary downloaders.

Though liable to change come December, these brief snapshot lists offer a mid-semester evaluation of music so far and are as good an excuse as any to share, debate and listen...

5. Dog Shredder - Brass Tactics EP
4. Kwes - Meantime EP
3. Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour / Golden Mile EP
2. Shlohmo - Vacation EP
1. Burial - Kindred EP

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Burial - Kindred
Shlohmo - The Way U Do
Daniel Rossen - Golden Mile
Kwes - Bashful
Dog Shredder - Battle Toads

Like the list? Click on each EP title for its respective download link and get 'em while you can.

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Album of the Week - SBTRKT by SBTRKT

You know what's a trend I can totally get behind? Gentrified dubstep. Allow me to qualify that. Of course, I'm not referring to race, income, et al., but rather the mainstream re-modification of this rather specific genre of electronic music.

Dubstep has by now developed a relatively concrete template--it may be hard to describe to friends in one sentence, but you know it when you hear it--so much so that if one departs from its standards, they must be re-labeled "post-dubstep" or "witch-house" or some other genre that the collective press has yet to stupidly* name.

But as dubstep continues to grow up and out of the underground, artists like Jamie Woon and SBTRKT are co-opting its styles and praxes, stripping away all the warble, murkiness and grime and re-purposing said conventions for mass, pop appeal.

"Is 2011 turning out to be the year UK bass music goes semi-mainstream?" asked Pitchfork's Jess Harvell in an April review of Jamie Woon's Mirrorwriting. With the release of SBTRKT's self-titled debut right around the corner (June 28th), alongside Woon's output and the championing of James Blake, she may be onto something.

SBTRKT's record, which I've already spun several times between Sunday night and now, runs all over the place stylistically speaking; there's something for everyone. And while the LP is delivered in broad strokes, it's more than "generic UK garage."

Don't get me wrong, the lo-fi output of Burial, Zomby, Benga, Mount Kimbie or Kode9 define dubstep, but not everyone has an ear for a track like "Endorphin." Even if you do, do you always have the patience/appreciation for it? Wouldn't you rather just dance? Honestly, it's refreshing to hear London bass in a much more glossy, digestable form and SBTRKT delivers just that.

I could complicate things further by throwing around genre terms like funky, 2-step, drum & bass, four-on-the-floor, grime, ambient, or breakbeat, but the takeaway here is to cheers an album that captures UK electronic music in an easy-to-swallow 40 minutes, not to pick SBTRKT apart influence-by-influence; its originality exists in its straightforward delivery.

*Can we honestly not do any better than "Chillwave" or "Witch-house"?

MediaFire Link:

SBTRKT - SBTRKT

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SBTRKT - Wildfire
SBTRKT - Something Goes Right
SBTRKT - Right Thing to Do

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MP3: A New First Rate People Song In, Like, Forever

It's been a little under a year since I last blogged about First Rate People, the ambiguous indie-pop outfit out of Toronto.

From what I glean from their Bandcamp, the band's now short a few members and abandoned their New Wave sound for Burial-inspired samplings. No worries though, they're still as infectious as ever--I've listened to "Funny Games" over two dozen times now...

It's officially summer jam season, right? Because this definitely makes the playlist.

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First Rate People - Funny Games

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This Monday Mixtape - A Little Something for Everyone

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays...
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Cults - Abducted
Panda Bear - Afterburner
Metronomy - The Look
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Simple Girl
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home (RAC Remix)
Curren$y - Scottie Pippens (feat. Feddie Gibbs)
Japandroids - Younger Us
Charli XCX - Stay Away (Salem Remix)
Sade - When Am I Going to Make a Living
Burial - Moth

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MP3s: That New Burial 12" Doesn't Disappoint Whatsoever

Well, finally. After lying low* for four years, Burial has released some new solo material. Coming in the shape of a three-track 12", the Street Halo EP is everything you'd come to expect from the clandestine UK producer.

Burial's still playing with his usual pallet of fuzzy hi-hats, tinny snares, gooey bass and haunted vocal samples, but there's subtle evolution buried in each songs' hazy mix. The 4/4 thud of "Street Halo," anemic yearning of "NYC" and lung-heavy, house-vibes of "Stolen Dog" all showcase a delicate refinement to Burial's distinct formula; the latter being one of the strongest singular tracks he's ever produced.

This isn't Untrue.5, it's better.

* He released a 12" with Four Tet in 2009 and a 12" collaboration with Thom Yorke and Four Tet in March.

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Burial - Stolen Dog

Burial - NYC

Burial - Street Halo

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MP3s: Jamie xx's "Far Nearer" + His Adele Remix

A couple of weeks ago I posted my March mixtape, closing out the proceedings with Jamie xx's "Far Nearer." The tune's slick production deserves a post all on it's own, partly because it sounds like Burial in the Bahamas, sipping on a Kalik, and partly because I've been playing it (and Jamie's Adele remix) nonstop.

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Jamie xx - Far Nearer

Adele - Rolling In the Deep (Jamie xx Remix)

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Burial + Thom Yorke + Four Tet = Glorious

Look out King of Limbs, we have a new contender for the musicgasm event of 2011: A two song, 12" collaboration between Burial, Four Tet, and Thom Yorke. Does it get any better?

No, it does not.

"Ego" and "Mirror" are near-perfect distillations of the auteurs--you can hear three distinct contributions with no artist blowing out the others, striking a balance that comes off as collaborative kismet. More please.

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Burial & Four Tet & Thom Yorke - Ego

Burial & Four Tet & Thom Yorke - Mirror

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Now That's What I Call Dubstep! - Vol. 1

Last week, Diplo released Blow Your Head - Diplo Presents Dupstep, a compilation of his favourite purple tracks. The mixtape attempts to condense the zombie genre into 16 must-have cuts. Is it a success? Well, sure -- the mix touches on most of the genre's staple artists and has a decent amount of classics*, what it's lacking is more: Where's Burial? Where's "Purple City"? etc. etc. etc.

Regardless, it's a pretty good primer for anyone new to grimy jams and, more importantly, is a pretty great excuse to publish some solid dupstep myself. Crank your subwoofers and download 12 teeth-rattling tunes below.

* Rhetorical question: Does it get any better than "Sweet Shop" or "Archangel"?

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Purple City - Joker & Ginz
Sweet Shop - Doctor P
26 Basslines - Benga
Tears in the Rain - Zomby
Tron - Joker
Sunset (feat. Diplo) - Borgore
Burn (Stenchman Remix) - Jessica Mauboy
Stop What You're Doing (James Blake Remix) - Untold
Puzzled - Randomer
Boss - Ginz
Strange Fruit - Zomby
Archangel - Burial

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Artist Spotlight: James Blake Is All Sorts of Awesome

James Blake, London's 21-year-old wunderkind producer, has released four EPs since 2009 and his latest, Klavierwerke, is a micro-masterpiece. Blake is one of many UK exports touting skills in the dubstep/electronic genres, but while so many of his peers hover around four-on-the-floor rhythms, Blake's jams are much more challenging.

Let's start with the basics: Blake's music is normally rooted in R&B, soul, and avant-jazz. In only four releases, Blake's created his own recognizable style -- his songs are mid-tempo and cut between sampled/manipulated vocals (usually his own) and bass tics, stuttering cymbals, timid handclaps, and other nondescript electronics. The point being, Blake practices minimalism. His goal isn't to get you on the dance-floor; it's a exercise in digital subtly. The CMYK EP, released in May, is the most straigtforward take on Blake's warped R&B sound; think Autechre meets Burial.

His latest, the Klavierwerke EP, was released earlier this month. Each of its four tracks find Blake stripping down his slow-burn sound and relying more heavily on his piano. "Tell Her Safe" recalls the isolation of Bon Iver, while "I Only Know (What I Know Now)" turns electro-convention on its head, playing with silence and irrhythm more than sub-bass and snare-drum.

On top of all that, Blake just dropped "Limit to You Love," a Feist cover and the first we're hearing from his forthcoming debut LP. The track's interesting because A: It's a Feist cover by James Blake and B: We hear Blake's voice, free of any manipulation. The album cut is stirring in it's simplicity, shifting between Blake's voice and piano and skittering bass beats.

It's all headphones music for sure, but a little patience reveals an artist challenging what electronic music can be. Or maybe's he's just a overly-trained classical music major using Ableton as a pallet. That's for you to decide.

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CMYK - James Blake

I Only Know (What I Know Now) - James Blake

Tell Her Safe - James Blake

Limit to Your Love - James Blake

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