TV on the Radio’s latest release, Read Silence, is a follow-up remix EP to Dear Science. All three of the remixes are great, but the one that stands out the most is “Red Dress (The Glitch Mob Remix).” The Glitch Mob, up until recently, was comprised of DJs edIT (Edward Ma), Kraddy (Mathew Kratz), Boreta (Justin Boreta) and Ooah (Josh Mayer), who had decided to link up after repeatedly playing the same venues throughout California. Together, they performed tag-team-style sets with all four DJs on stage at the same time. Since 2008, they’ve been producing some of the sickest electronic, glitch and futuristic hip-hop tracks and remixed some of the most talented electronic and hip-hop artists. Mathew Kratz recently split from the group due to creative differences but will still be producing new music under “Kraddy.”

The other tracks on Read Silence are “Shout Me Out (Willie Isz Remix by Jneiro Jarel)” and “Stork & Owl (Gang Gang Dance Remix).” Both take the songs to new heights without compromising TV on the Radio’s signature sound. You can listen to more samples from Read Silence now on iTunes.

MP3: TV on the Radio – Red Dress (The Glitch Mob Remix)

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Modell 5 is a digital video performance created by Ulf Langheinrich and Kurt Hentschläger (aka Granular Synthesis) that utilizes the same principles of granular synthesis to distort video. These Austrian artists used the performance to showcase the development of an audiovisual synthesizer, which they’ve been working on for years. Modell 5 premiered in 1994 at the ICC London and is still being shown today.

The performance consists of four 10 x 3.5 meter screens with projections of Japanese performance artist Akemi Takeya’s face. The image is manipulated digitally by a computer, which warps it in a nightmarish way. Synched up with mechanical rhythms and drones, the experience is both disturbing and beautiful. It seems as though the video was composed just like a piece of music.

Granular synthesis is a method of splitting samples into many tiny (1-50 ms in length) sounds, or grains. The grains are then layered on top of one another playing back at different speeds, pitches and volumes. This creates a thick atmosphere of sound instead of one single tone. In a similar way, the video in Modell 5 is being broken down into individual frames and edited back together. If you’re interested in the audio end of granular synthesis, you can research Curtis Roads or check out audio samples of Native Instrument’s Spectral Delay plugin.

Everyone has a favorite artist/producer whose music they collect. Mine used to be Pearl Jam, then it was Nine Inch Nails (I broke my perfect streak after halo 19) and ever since 2001, it’s been Amon Tobin. Eight years ago, a friend of a friend left Supermodified at my apartment for my roommate and I to check out. I knew almost immediately that this guy was it—the most creative and talented electronic DJ/producer—at least as far as I was concerned. I picked up all his previous material, including Adventures in Foam, by Cujo, and got Out From Out Where as soon as it was released in 2002—and almost everything else since. While digging for some new music this afternoon, I found some remixes by Tobin that I had never heard. I picked em’ up from iTunes to complete the collection as far as I know it.

The first track by Pongá is called “Pick Up the Pieces of Saturn (Mosh Mix by Amon Tobin).” Pongá is an experimental jazz band that got its start in Seattle. Their latest release, The Remixes, has some great tracks on it including remixes by Spacetime Continuum, Capsule 150 and Even Schiller. This particular tune resembles the music from Chaos Theory—TONS of aggressive breaks.

The second tune, by Baikonour, is called “Coca Sun (Bhangratronic Mix by Amon Tobin).” This one sounds like it could have been an extra track off of Out From Out Where or Chaos Theory. Baikonour’s music is a blend of downtempo and ambient. Think Bonobo meets Explosions in the Sky and sprinkle that with some Hefner.

The most recent track, “Aksak (Amon Tobin Remix),” is by Omar Faruk Tekbilek, an incredibly talented Turkish/Middle Eastern musician. Their styles blend perfectly to create a sound similar to that of the Infamous soundtrack, a recent video game score co-produced by Amon Tobin.

The last track I picked up, “Chicken in the Wind (Amon Tobin Remix),” is by Airto Moreira & The Gods of Jazz. The original is an improvised jazz track released in 1993. Definitely not for those seeking classically composed jazz. Because the remix was done in 2000, it most resembles music off of Permutation.

Tobin is currently working on new material for Two Fingers with producer Doubleclick. If you haven’t already heard it, check out the self titled debut album, Two Fingers. Also, Amon Tobin will be playing a few gigs in the US and Canada starting in August.

MP3: Baikonour – Coca Sun (Bhangratronic Mix by Amon Tobin)

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I first heard Fukkk Offf from a post on blip.fm a few months ago. No artist was listed—just the title “I’m A Freak Remix.” It was a hard electro house track with attitude. Luckily, after reposting a few times, I found out the artist. This German DJ/Producer, Bastian Heerhorst, has been releasing singles since 2007 with Hammarskjöld and Coco Machete Records. His first full-length, Love Me Hate Me Kiss Me Kill Me, is a non-stop headbanger which has already started killing the dance floors throughout Europe. The album’s full of addictive melodies, pounding beats, gritty synths, and trance-like arpeggiations.

To hear more Fukkk Offf, check out his Monosurround, DJ Dan, Sidechains, Maral Salmassi and Suicide Club remixes. They’re all sick tracks with a ton of energy. If you live near Germany, you can catch Fukkk Offf at a few clubs this August. See his MySpace page for more details.

MP3: Fukkk Offf – I’m a Freak

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Chris Clark’s new album, Totems Flare, was released today and the sound is huge! My first listen was on my iMac speakers. My second, on my car stereo and my third on my crystal clear Mackie HR-624’s. I do this so that I don’t pay too much attention to the production right off the bat. Now that I’ve heard it all the way through about four times, I can honestly say that this album rocks. The synths on the opening track, “Outside Plume,” are so freakin’ thick. It’s a great introduction to the album single, “Growls Garden.” The break in the middle of “GG” is one of baddest things I’ve heard all year. Big up, Clark!

Although the album seems predominantly digital, it feels human. It sounds like the future of the past. Beats are missed, pitches slip and notes get dropped. The best example of this is in the seventh track, “Future Daniel.” If you’ve ever tried playing chords with a monophonic synth patch, you’d understand. There’s something special in every track—the beginning of “Luxman Furs”—the end of “Totem Crackerjack”—there’s a lot of cool shit going on here.

Clark apparently had an extremely hard time narrowing down 30 tracks that he had originally recorded for the album. I’d love to hear the tunes that didn’t make the cut. My only complaint with Totems Flare is that I can’t play it really loud because of the overwhelming distortion. Those of us with tinnitus have to be careful.

If you dig it, check out Boxcutter, Autechre, Venetian Snares, AFX and Telefon Tel Aviv. If I’ve left some key artists out, leave a comment. Totems Flare is available now from bleep.com and iTunes.

MP3: Clark – Growls Garden

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Posting has been hard the past two months, but there’s a lot on the way. In May, I finally graduated from Tyler School of Art with a degree in Interactive Design—Sawtooth was one of my senior projects. After graduation, I was busy with portfolio reviews and constant researching and interviewing. I had been back and forth from Philadelphia to New York for over a month before landing a job. I’m excited to announce that I’m one of the new interactive designers for Fancast. The team is pretty cool and I think I’m really going to like it at Comcast. Now that I’m finally making a decent income, I can spend more time on Sawtooth. Here’s a short list of some of the electronic music I’ve been listening to recently: Clark, Boom Bip, Flying Lotus, Lukid, Broken Note, Evol Intent, Fukkk Offf, Mr. Oizo, ill.gates, King Cannibal, Pig & Dan, Kleerup, Saint Pauli, Raiden, Spor, Wagon Christ and 16 Bit.

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For those of you hanging in there, here’s a track from Clark’s new album, Totems Flare.

MP3: Clark – Future Daniel

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