Over the summer Diesel's online online radio station, first launched last year, has returned, broadcasting 24/7 for two six weeks over the summer. It's online now and will be broadcasting until 24 June, returning for another six weeks on 18 September. Have a listen in the player above - the schedule has included turns from DJ Hell, Zombie Nation, Matt Walsh, the Mystery Jets and Erol Alkan and Richard Norris' Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve project.
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When 'Under Control' dropped a couple of months ago it got BlackPlastic a bit excited. The vocals clearly wished they were LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy but the overall package had enough attitude to make it work, particularly on Alex Metric's mix. Incorporating 'Under Control' as a starting point and recruiting a number of successful musicians an producers (Tommy Lee, the Pixies' Joey Santiago and Jerry Casale of Devo amongst others) things looked good for Cope...
...And on the whole, it delivers. Whether it is on the dread-soaked, paranoia drenched 'Strange Things' or the melancholic M83-esque downer 'Mancry' Cope is likely to have moments that appeal whatever your taste. The variety of styles and techniques that Freeland has obviously picked up through DJing and remixing really pays dividends here - BlackPlastic has long sung the praises of Freeland's mix of B-Movie's eighties track 'Nowhere Girl'. The distortion and shoe-gazing sounds on that remix and his Global Underground disc it featured on are all over this.
So it's not perfect. It's a little long and there is a little bit of padding plus BlackPlastic can't help but long for the faster, harder remixes. But the best things often aren't perfect: in a similar way to Evil Nine's They Live! from last year, Cope is likely to keep you coming back regardless.
As a faster check out the free mix Adam put together for Discobelle. It encompasses a number of Cope's tracks in a more dance floor focused mix.
Cope is available to order now across a variety of formats from Freeland.fm.
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Back with a follow-up, once again on & Eskimo Recordings, II is unsurprisingly more of the same. Yet if more of the same was ever more welcome, BlackPlastic can't put his finger on when that would be.
And once again, this is a beautiful record. It's slow and slightly ponderous but at the same time does so much across its length that to complain would be churlish. The mood is literally perfect. This is a record to consume with an espresso whilst watching the sun rise and with a beer whilst watching the sun set. With the current bought of good weather we have recently seen in the UK BlackPlastic can't imagine a better soundtrack for being lazy in the sunshine.
Words can't really convey what it is like to listen to - instead of reading just go and check it out.
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The result was Das Shadow and their debut single, 'Navigate the Menus' marks them out as ones to watch. Taking the dark introspection of Depeche Mode but applying layers of electronics and filters the result sounds like dark IDM. It's understated and the haunting melody stays with you long after the song has finished.
Check it out over at Das Shadow's MySpace. 'Navigate the Menus' is available now on iTunes from Zycos / Sony.
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Bitte Orca perfectly retains this over-worldly, unique feeling. With all of the human sexuality that Dave Longstreth's falsetto vocals managed to capture on the sublime Rise Above this is an album from a band that can both see and realise their own potential. Streamlined yet playfully creative, Bitta Orca manages to deliver an album that focuses Longstreth's experimentalism into something coherent and unashamedly "pop".
But it's still by no means conventional - it's just that the songs themselves are now calling the shots. The chorus of 'Useful Chamber' for example, with quick and punchy shouts of "Bitte Orca, Bitte Orca!", gives way to a fret wig-out on the guitar before dissolving into a dreamlike vocal that sounds like a kid spinning around until they fall down dizzy into the arms of love. It's experimental and interesting and yet still completely immediate and catchy.
Lead single 'Stillness Is The Move' boasts a snappy solo vocal from Amber Coffman that sounds like getting up and stepping over the root cause of your problems, no longer being held back by the daily grind. The strings that kick in halfway through turn it into what is probably the Dirty Projectors finest track to date - an organic, fresh R&B anthem.
Along with bands like TV On The Radio, the Dirty Projectors are forging a new pop-centric future for art-rock. The charm of Bitte Orca is that it sounds totally without time and without classification - taking the best elements from 50 years of pop music and rock without sacrificing any inventiveness. The result is one of the most beautiful records BlackPlastic has heard in a long time.
Bitte Orca is released on Monday on Domino Records on CD, MP3, LP and cassette. No, BlackPlastic isn't joking. Both the cassette and LP come with codes to download the album as an MP3. Available to order now on Amazon.co.uk on CD and LP, although obviously everyone knows cassette is the format to go for [Affiliate Links].
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