New Music: Yuksek, Distance, Lovepump United 7" Series Vol. One

Yuksek - Little Dirty Trip (Relish 2007)

Yuksek - Composer EP - Relish

MySpace used to be an exciting place. In those heady post-Friendster days, each new friend request held promise; people were people, not spambots, and the musical universe was seemingly free of towny bar bands looking to tally another hipster so that by osmosis they would seem more with it. So it was refreshing to be added the other day by this industrious young Frenchman, Yuksek, obviously out there grinding hard on the internet. About halfway through "Little Dirty Trip," I clicked "open new tab" so that I could add the song to my profile and STILL KEEP LISTENING. Turns out that Yuksek is a member of France's new foreign legion, a fresh breed of producer looking to make the waters fun once again, clearing out all the debris that for too long has littered the dance music scene with boring ten-minute debris and "take you on a journey" pretension. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for Villalobosian psychedelia but if you want to really get me up then stop that five-minute build and give it to me now now now. Yuksek does just that on this four-song EP featuring two originals and two remixes. "Composer" is muscular and sleek, definitely springing from Justice's heavy metal mentality, but it takes Institubes soldier, Surkin, to fully articulate the song's potential to grate and scrape its way into your heart. "Little Dirty Trip" is a real burner and could be polarizing in the way that "Mandarine Girl" and "Waters of Nazareth" have either created converts or birthed enemies, changing minds or sending purists running back to their stale, cheezball anthems or minimal wanking. Check the remix, too, from yet another Frenchman, Vicarious Bliss; it has more tricks than the original and really is like rubbing shoulders with sunshine. Imagine Rick James jamming with New Order, taking any sterility out of new wave and infusing it with cocaine-fueled fierceness. So there it is, Mr. Smooth House Man. The line has been drawn. Do you want to rock crowds or bore them into submission? Yuksek and his kind are coming up from behind.





Distance - Traffic (Planet Mu 2007)

Distance - My Demons - Planet Mu

The future is bleak, my friends. Global warming and Islamic fundamentalism are threatening humanity's ascension to a Type One Civilization. Theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku, gives us a 50/50 chance to escape the dark ages, but is a dystopian future all we can hope for? Take your pick: Mad Max's future-primitive existence, Snow Crash's hyper-commercialized suburban sprawl, Orwellian totalitarianism; it's all about pessimism. The church of dubstep is equally insistent on blowing out humanity's barely burning flame. Like fellow scientists Burial and Kode9, Distance creates an aural cyberpunk aesthetic. "Night Vision" is a fitting opener, dropping you trapdoor-style into murky sewers teeming with failed biological experiments. "Traffic" roars like a biomechanical mutant charging at full speed, and I really wish I had a song like it back in high school to soundtrack my Unreal Tournament killing sprees. Unlike other dubstep DJs, Distance has shunned grime MC's in favor of being totally instrumental. It's a smart move, getting away from the streets of 2007 in favor of urban explorations circa 2027. Yeah, words can paint pictures, but not always correct ones, and shedding the constraints of language allows My Demons to spread its chrome wings and deliver a cohesive vision. So lock this in a time capsule with climate change studies and a photo of Kim-Jong Il so that future people can say, "Damn, how did they not see it coming?"





Various Artists - 7" Series Volume One (Lovepump United 2006)

Crack Und Ultra Excema - Arbeit - Lovepump United

Check AIDS Wolf, half-naked and mouths agape, their minds duly blown by this four band, 2x7" compilation. Functioning as the NATO of noise rock, we have gathered here Crack Und Ultra Eczema (France), Pre (UK), Dmonstrations (USA), and the aforementioned AIDS Wolf (Canada...errr, Quebec), who kick things off with "Put Your Head On A Plate", aiming to decapitate us all with razor sharp guitar stabs. Chloe's vocals join right in with the maelstrom, vividly pleading with you that there is a killer outside and he just maimed your sister. "Bad Vibes" is just as literal, like anxiety grabbing hold of your throat and never ever letting go. Crack Und Ultra Excema was a real revelation to me. "Arbeit" is the true definition of industrial music, pounding and scraping like an old factory. Julie Le Pute's ghost in the machine vocals ever rising until the bottom falls out into broken bass slogging it out with what must be the sickest guitar effect known to man, sound converted into a million tiny, lacerating lights. Le Pute again shines on the bouncy "Rastafareich", invoking the detached delivery of Delta 5; "Ebola Day" is a panic-indusing post-punk guitar romp that would make James Chance a happy man. Pre is always in your face like a petulant kid hopped up on too much sugar. Their songs are mostly wide-eyed and sprinting like suicidal lemmings. With titles like "Dude Fuk" and "Big Dique", there's a punk-as-fuck attitude that goes way beyond dumb mohawks and safety pins. Seriously, its 2007, I thought punk was about not being stagnant. It's a shame when your daily look is a Halloween costume for some people. Theres nothing punk about being a stereotype. Keep moving, keep punching. Dmonstrations bring up the tail end with four tracks, all of them yelpy and disjointed. These guys are truly weird enough to call San Diego home and continue the great lineage of bands like Antioch Arrow, the Locust, and the Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower. Remember, this is only available on 2x7", and you know how the kids eat up colored vinyl, so snag this today before it becomes another No New York-type situation.