Nicolas Jaar Darkside EP
Here are some clips of Jaar’s latest project, already featured on the blog, with guitarist Dave Harrington. The duo will be performing exclusives from their new project in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on the 1st of Dec. Anyways, here’s the clips. Enjoy.
Nicolas Jaar presents Darkside
Darkside is an amalgamation between Nico and guitarist Dave Harrington, whom is part of Jaar’s live band. The pair, under Jaar’s own label Clown and Sunset, will be releasing the EP in early December, with each track shrouded in mystery simply named A1, A2 and A3. Little information has been released, as of yet, clips are impossible to find online, with only Giles Peterson’s exclusive clip available – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wq8d. However, from what we have heard, which was a mini clip of all three tracks, this EP is huge, and will indefinitely be one of the standout releases of the year.
Nicolas Jaar – Nico’s Bluewave edits
6/10
Fresh from seeing PSA’s favorite Chilean Jaar at Fabric, London – http://psamag.com/2011/08/03/nicolas-jaar-valentin-stip-soul-clap-and-gadi-live-at-fabric/ – complete with his innovative live band; we are back on his case again, reviewing his latest release via Wolf + Lamb’s black label. Nico’s edits are infamous, remembering fondly back to his RA mix, and more recently releasing numerous mp3s via Wolf + Lamb. Although these cuts have been on the surface for a while now, they have finally been released on a tangible format, limited edition of course.
The EP, features a remix of Missy Eliot’s “Work it”, pitch dropped, almost sounding like a bloke; adding an Afro infused rhythmic section; eerie chords and his usual techno inspired crescendos. Not his greatest piece of work; nor is it groundbreaking. However, percussively it works impeccably well, using the vocal as the central focus, clearly building the track around the sample.
The second of the trio of edits, The Blow’s “Hey Boy”, breaks no new ground. Without sounding harsh. While the standout track, Mike & The Censations “Theres Nothing I Can Do” reworked into “What My Last Girl Put Me Through”, is a soulful number reworked in the Chileans trademark style.
Overall the EP makes for easy listening; whilst breaking no real new ground, it provides quintessential listening for sultry summer rioting…
Nicolas Jaar, Valentin Stip, Soul Clap and Gadi Live at Fabric
Travelling by coach is no joke; first up, the 5 hour journey; second, crying babies; third, the refugee that has yet to shower; and fourthly, the tendency to be more than often, late. However, rum/coke bottled up and in hand, iPod massed and trainers kicked off, I was ready to make this slightly less excruciating.
3 hours in, pissed out of my face, surrounded by non-English speaking passengers, families and the elderly, I suddenly felt a little out of place, techno blaring and rum flowing.
40 minutes late, the time now 11.30, perhaps I should have got an earlier coach…
Bag away in mates, booze in Capri-Sun pon route to fabric…
Have to say I was surprised at the venue, having a Mecca esque vision in my head, a utopian club, yet it was just any large club.
Unfortunately we missed Gadi, and most of Valentin’s set; however, we did manage to catch the last 20 + mins of Stip, strange though it was. Playing off atmospheric synths and at times elusive rhythms, he seemed to confuse the rather than induce his audience. Although, listening to his previous work, mixes etc, it was much to be expected, I don’t quite think it enchanted much of the audience, whom were bustling about in anticipation of Jaar.
A DJ stepped up and played a couple tunes whilst Nico and band set up shop, yes band. Opting to showcase his new album, instead of his infamous DJ sets, Jaar has compiled a band in order to perform his album tracks.
Notorious for his work with silence, Jaar works off the Hawtin thesis – “Silence is as important as sound” -manipulating sections of songs in order to elongate, stretch and create a unique atmosphere. The band has facilitated this manipulation to another degree, allowing him to manually command all forces of the tracks.
Nico stepped up delivering excellent renditions of his latest album including: Colomb, Variations and Space is Only Noise, whilst he also included one of his earlier tracks Mi Mujer, which shot him to fame. Overall Jaar was conclusively excellent, orchestrating the band/electronic hybrid. However, I must admit to preferring his DJ sets to the live performance.
Next up, Soul Clap. Famous for their, shall we say… friendly? House. Mixing the likes of George Michael etc into deep, soulful and disco, the pair ever adventurous in their song selection.
Overall, a fantastic night; Jaar was amazing; Stip promising; and Soul Clap…adventurous, to be fair it was enjoyable, which is what their music is about. Probably the best Thursday night in a long time, props.
Valetin Stip – Anytime Will Do EP
8/10
Its fair to say that Nicolas Jaar’s album, for me, has been one of the standout records of 2011. Valentin Stip, a 19-year-old from Montreal, is the latest signing on Jaar’s Clown and Sunset label.
Much like Jaar, Valentin plays with glitchy mid-tempo trip-hop beats, fusing with house/techno elements, to create atmospheric dance music. ‘Anytime Will Do’, the opening track, works off deep organ chords, Marivn Gaye vocal phrases and heavy claps, reminiscent of early FlyLo, whilst maintaining house structure.
The second track, ‘Esquis(e)’, follows in the same vain; refined moments of electronic escapism. ‘Gravels’ opens with a koto, a Japanese stringed instrument, plucking away creating an insistent Wild West atmosphere, before the track breaks down into percussive detail, congas n all.
However, it is on the final track, ‘Le Dormeur’, where Valentin’s talent is showcased. The track, with a slow burning keyboard, drips in and out of consciousness, again playing of looped vocal phrases – synonymous with all 4 tracks.
Valentin’s debut is outstanding. For a man so young he has taken to the stage like a duck to water, excelling with trippy and atmospheric electronic music, one to definitely watch out for in 2012.
Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise
Clown and Sunset
8/10
Born in Santiago de Chile, Jaar now resides in NYC, studying at the Ivy League Brown University, Rhode Island. With his first EP at the age of 17, releases on Wolf + Lamb, a resident advisor mix, and a debut album on his own label Clown and Sunset, the 19 year old has the world at his feet.
The heavily anticipated debut, Space Is Only Noise, follows up several releases in 2010, notably the ‘slow house’ grooves showcased on the Time For Us EP. The title stresses a narrative obsessed with silence, presented between left field samples of running water/creaks and cracks, and waltzing piano crawls warping space where drums conventionally dominate.
The opening, “Etre”, introduces the album with sharp, crawling piano chords and trippy vocal stabs. Before “Colomb” enchants with a deep, drunken yet unbelievably penchant charm, laden with Dilla esc drums. Jaar’s vocals are showcased in “Too Many Kids Finding Rain in the Dust” and “Keep Me There”, although providing to the structure of the album sonically, separately the tracks lack a buoyant glare. However, listening to each track separately tears away the essence, the point, of the album- intended to be a cohesive piece.
“ I Got A Women” ferments around Ray Charles’s classic vocal, before leading onto Nico’s dark vocals “Problem With The Sun”, followed by the bass ridden title track “Space is Only Noise”.
“Balance Her in Between Your Eyes”, “Specters of the Future” and “Variations” aptly sit between skits and atmospheric rumblings, making contingent sense only in variance with the album.
This is a hipsters record. Intended to be listened to as a piece, and very much reflects Jaar’s own live sets. Echoing a profound influence from Jazz and Hip Hop, reflected in a fresh down tempo electronic music, it’s a unique refined brand of music.
Music lovers will find indulgence in its trippy ambience. Whilst not intended for club euphoria, it provides a divergence from the bass ridden, kick-laden electronic scene, and along with James Blake introduces an innovative palladium of new music.
