Audioccult Vol. 8

Light a candle. Draw the required sigils. Now, raise your arms above your head and slowly, gently, exhale your soul. You won’t need it here. This is Audioccult, and it’s time to get low.

The last week has been a pretty good one. Spending time busting on gothstumes at a giant German festival made me realize that subcultures died in 1990 and everyone is just playing socialized dressup. But so what, it’s fun! It’s even more fun to dance onstage with Grimes and take off your pants. Now it’s time to roll out all the great sounds that drove me through these times. Get in, no seatbelt. We ride dirty.

First on the plate are the obvious choices. SALEM finally dropped that Rotterdam Terror Corps remix they teased a while back. I heard the instrumental version and ran into the street and shrieked “BIG TUNE!” in a dog’s face. Then I heard the vocal version and started giggling. Pretty sure that was the intended reaction but I’ve been wrong before. White Ring delivered a stunning remix of their own recently, of a Deadmau5 collab of all things. Keine angst: this is hardly bro territory. Gossamer vocals are wrapped around chugging beats, evoking ache and yearning for another night out.

It’s hard to forget seeing How To Dress Well live (especially when you’re co-promoting the show) simply because he does something totally unexpected: he sounds really good. I love his studio tracks, but I walked into the show expecting what you usually get with this kind of stuff: a lot of effects pedals masking a white dude warbling. But when Krell got onstage, he brought the fucking power. Dude’s got a golden voice, no doubt; he did an acapella track that swept me off my feet and made a hardcore fan out of a casual listener. Take note, bands: strong live shows MATTER. The first preview of his upcoming LP Total Loss is the haunting ‘Ocean Floor For Everything’, and knowing that those high notes are 100% natural make me love it even more. Diplo, on the other hand, has about a 50/50 chance of making me happy or bored. His thumping remix for Sleigh Bells‘ ‘Demons’ not only makes me happy, it also makes me ache for a chance to throw a party so I can hear those thick rolling snares and bubbling synths on a proper setup. Cruise with this one down the street on a hot summer day, windows down, blunted out and g’d up. Neukölln boys don’t give a fuck.

A few Audioccults ago I mentioned Funerals upcoming Hypermotion split with Ritualz. But did you know you can shove it in your virtual pocket and walk out the door with no hassle from grownups or pigs? That’s wight, wabbit: Hypermotion X & B drops today for free on ????? Records. I highly recommend picking it up; it’ll put the rave in your grave. Juke goblin Lil Jabba also has a new release, the primal rumblr PAiNT. Get your eyes soft-focused and stream the whole thing here, and if you find that your brain is too ghettobanged, I have a pill for that as well. Longtime noisemaker Ritalin Wardance has a 12″ vinyl split due with Neurosis Orchestra, a doom/dub/drone delight that I’ve recently been using to soundtrack my weekly Sabbat ritval (dye hair, smoke, watch X-Files, mess around on tumblr.) The 12″ comes out a few days after my collaborative PURGE party, which coincidentally also features a set by Neurosis Orchestra…*whistles nonchalantly*. If you’re in Berlin you should come, but only if you’re into stuff that owns.

If you don’t have anywhere to sweat out your binges, try using this video to keep yourself in shape. Not just for your loved ones, but for yourself and for the future. The revolution will not be jazzercised.

When he’s not writing and editing for Electronic Beats, Daniel Jones is a music promoter and creator of the subculture reconceptualization & aesthetics tumblr Gucci Goth.

Published May 29, 2012.