Kid Kameleon Live at False Profit Tues Night Party BM ’11. Photo by Steph Goralnick
Here in the northern hemisphere, it’s the season of overabundance – bounties of overflowing fresh picnic fare, sun that stretches deep into the evening, celebrations and friends and saying yes to everything and no to nothing. And musically, we’re well into 2014’s surfing safari, atop the crest of a wave of new music. So for music listening, now is not the time for the cloistered contemplative curation of winter. It’s time to toss it all together, roll the windows down, and enjoy. CDM’s resident selector Matt Earp, aka DJ Kid Kameleon, sums up that kids’ fair-enthusiasm summer vacation ethos with a big new mix of sounds. But because it’s Matt, we also can count on discovering some new music missed in the click-chasing cool-kids dance of the bigger music blogs. -Ed.
I still believe in sticking to the craft of the DJing as presenting a story, whether it’s in the headphones or on the dance floor. Maybe in that sense, this mix is a little strange. I can hear people saying, “Project Mooncircle and Trap in the same mix? You’re crazy!”
But next week, I’ll take the drive from my native Chapel Hill in North Carolina to my beloved Outer Banks in 90-degree heat. This is a mix for that drive, and similar ones you may take.
I’d like to shout out just few artists who are making summer 2014 special to me. I share Peter’s overwhelming positivity about a new generation of digital creators – even as we’re awash in knockoffs, every day I find new artists and tunes that shine through, thanks to the ever-increasing interest in digital production techniques. So if you’re feeling the mix, please look closer at these producers.
Submerse – Rob Orme has so much creativity it’s amazing. Reeling in influences of UK Garage, JPop and now, on his latest, the glittery pixel hop of his fellow label mates Kidkanevil and Daisuke Tanabe. Slow Waves is an amazing release for PM.
Blap Deli – a new favorite beat-head on the impeccable Pragmatic Theory label. A stellar interweaving of 90s hip-hop vibes with 2014 parlor tricks. His Whisper Me album is great start to finish.
AFTA-1 – The whole “U N D E F I N E D” album is amazing. Dropped without a sound a couple months ago. For free. After like a 2 year hiatus. Probably my favorite album of the year so far. Grab it now from Moovment before someone takes it down.
Oddlogic – While you weren’t looking, this kid put out 58 releases on Outlier Recordings, plus a slew of his own stuff. Oh, all the while continuing to refine his sound to where he’s producing some of the most complex, emotional interesting beat stuff out there. You will see him signed to a major indy one day.
Evil Needle and Sivey for Soulection – I didn’t know too much about these two artists before this release, but Soulection are undoubtedly one of THE success stories of digital electronic music from the last several years. From sound to presentation to tactics, they could write a textbook on how to get noticed – hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started a consulting business.
Pilerats – Their whole Rat Pack #1 comp is SO good. Yeah, it’s kinda obvious, but don’t you want to be in front of a bunch of people when this beat drops?.
Filastine Live at Urban Spree
Filastine – Gray is a hero of mine. If we all had the artistic integrity he has, as well as the tenacity to do the amazing political projects and fuze the weird sounds that he makes, the world would be a lot more eclectic and better place. Double props for making Aphasia, which sounds to me like a Filastine trap album!
Gouda Hoop – Completely unknown to me, but a great tune from Gem Drops 4 – my favorite one since the first one (profiled in CDM here). Lots of good material here. Awesome to watch Aaron and his whole crew mature – and to know thatPortland and Cascadia continues to push beat innovation, as it has in quiet ways for the last 20 years.
Jacob 2-2 – In the words of Anti-Pop Consortium, “Gem of a Gentleman” – while some people sample the 80s and early 90s films, Jacob 2-2 samples 80s and 90s STAR TREK. Beat that. He gets better with every release.
Thanks, Matt. Readers, we’d love to hear your own musical selections, so do sound off.
Our contributor Kid Kameleon is DJ you should get to know, too – check out his freshly-updated site http://www.kidkameleon.com, produced with the help of another DJ, Tinker. There you’ll find the astounding range of his own work. And he’s available for bookings.