Big Mister Doom, an electronica duo based in Leeds, sent me over a couple of tracks this week. These are some fresh, glitchy and atmospheric tunes—similar in style to Telefon Tel Aviv and Eskmo. Turn the volume way up to enjoy crystal clear production and heaps of swirling beats and bleeps.

Fore more info. and music downloads, check out Big Mister Doom.

MP3 1: Big Mister Doom – Avant
MP3 2: Eskimo Twins – Judas (Big Mister Doom Remix)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

01. Flying Lotus – Clock Catcher / Broken Note – Meltdown
02. Boreta – Bubblin in the Cut
03. Two Fingers – Bad Girl (King Cannibal Remix)
04. EPROM – Shoplifter
05. Switchdubs – Who Are Those Guys
06. Caper – Poker Ghost
07. Crookers ft. Spank Rock – Park the Truck
08. Foreign Beggars ft. Noisia & Devlin – No Holds Barred (Goth Trad Remix)
09. Borgore – Foes (16bit Fuck Hoes Remix)
10. Liquid Stranger – Zero Hour
11. HD4000 – South Street (VIP Remix)
12. Reso – TikTak
13. Brackles – Rawkus
14. Kraddy – Godzilla (Son of the Electric Ghost Mix)
15. Milanese – So Malleable (Cold Mix)
16. The Qemists – Your Revolution (Reso Remix)
17. Rudi Zygadlo – The Udu and the Clave (Doshy Remix)
18. King Cannibal – Embrace the Minimum
19. Voodeux – Enter the Voo (Eskmo Remix)
20. Geiom & Dawntreader – Toscani
21. Roel Funcken – Martyrz
22. Meat Beat Manifesto – Less
23. Emalkay – When I Look at You
24. Starkey – Rain City
25. Tom Encore – Jig
26. Datsik – Retreat (Elite Force Remix)
27. Excision & Datsik – Calypso (Elite Force Remix)
28. Noisia – Machine Gun

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

File for Download
Click to download the high-quality (320kbps) file

It’s been a great year for DJ/producer Nosaj Thing, aka Jason Chung. He released an extremely successful debut album which made numerous top albums of 2009 lists, toured the world with an innovative audio/visual set, was nominated for best new electronic artist in the URB 2009 Reader’s Poll and has remixed tracks by some of this years’ top artists.

His most recent remixes are Drake’s “Forever,” The XX’s “Islands,” and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s “Heaven Can Wait.” Other artists remixed by Nosaj include Flying Lotus, Nalepa, Freeland and Blank Blue.

Check nosajthing.com for news, videos and upcoming tour dates. Visit iTunes to download Drift and remixes.

MP3 1: Drake – Forever (Nosaj Thing Remix)
MP3 2: The XX – Islands (Nosaj Thing Remix)
MP3 3: Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait (Nosaj Thing Remix)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Electronic Heart is the latest EP from producer/video artist Pierce Warnecke. It’s a 6-track electro-glitch feast for the senses. As the title suggests, there’s a good balance between organic and synthetic properties here. The music is almost entirely made from distorted synth sounds but the arrangements are incredibly sophisticated and human. The EP starts off with a straightforward lo-fi electro track—but as it progresses, the beats become more fragmented and unexpected. In “The Art of Error,” sounds are skipping, splitting and regenerating into new forms—creating the perfect soundtrack to a cellular-level science video.

Warnecke is incredibly successful at making everything sound machinelike. Hi-hats sound like hydraulic pumps, pads sound like electrical surges and the beats pump, pulse, tick, breathe, repeat, spin, click and power down. In “Excision of the Heart,” a robot voice repeats “H. E. A. R. T.,” while synth arpeggiations mimic an internal body process reacting to the removal of a human heart. Things begin to spiral out of control by the final track, “RnBeast,” which is chock full of millisecond samples and florescent rainbow-style synth riffs. If this EP were to represent the health of a patient during medical procedures, they would have definitely died by the end. It’s safe to say they didn’t go without a fight.  ~ tom

To view Warnecke’s experimental video projects, check out www.vimeo.com/user1185399. To purchase or sample more of The Electronic Heart, visit iTunes or BEE Records.

MP3 1: Pierce Warnecke – Used Romamtricks
MP3 2: Pierce Warnecke – Excision of the Heart

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In order to keep Sawtooth.fm up and running, I’m going to need some help from you guys. Between a full time job, searching for new music and promoting Sawtooth, there’s little time left for researching artists and writing reviews. I’m looking for some creative people to submit reviews for tech/house, experimental, pop, breakbeat, IDM and dubstep electronic music. Since I’m not making any money, I can’t offer you any— but I can offer you free music. I’ll either find it or buy it for you so that you can write the reviews. This can be a way to contribute to a growing community, have your voice heard and get free awesome new music. The ideal people would be able to write 2-3 reviews a week. If you’re down, send a message to info[@]sawtooth.fm

I’ll leave you with a sick track from Vibesquad (aka Aaron Holstein). “Gauntlets” is a nasty psychedelic bass groove off of the 2008 full length album, Dawn Patrol. If you dig this, also check out Kilowatts, Tipper, Bassnectar and Joker.

MP3: Vibesquad – Gauntlets

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Last week, I stumbled upon the musician/digital artist, Ultre. His latest release, The Nest and the Skull, is a beautiful blend of acoustic instruments and electronics. The abstract tracks feature an array of instruments including guitars, pianos, violins and cellos. The music is accompanied by electronic beats, sampled sounds, breaths, hiccups and manipulated beat boxing rhythms. The sound is thick and atmospheric, similar to Burial’s 2007 album, Untrue. A lot of records sound dead and cold when too many electronic elements are used, but The Nest and the Skull utilizes nice, warm production techniques. Similar artists include Autechre, Dntel, Cex, Mouse on Mars, Prefuse 73, Access to Arasaka and early Telefon Tel Aviv.

This release is going to join my collection of “work albums.” Among the others are Funki Porcini’s Fast Asleep, and FFWD’s self titled album. They’re perfect to listen to when I need to sit down and design/code for hours.

To view artwork and videos by Ultre, visit Ultre on MySpace. The Nest and the Skull is available from Amazon and other online music retailers for a special price of $5.99.

MP3: Ultre – Struggle and Nothing

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A few weeks ago, I was checking to see if Tipper was working on any new material. I found out that he recently mastered an album called Zoomorphic by Spoonbill (aka Jim Moynihan), so I decided to check it out. I figured if Dave Tipper was involved in something it’d be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. It’s wild!

It’s a sound designers dream come true. Wobbly bass, foley sound effects, cartoon samples, warped synths, organs, flutes, kalimbas, trombones, slide guitars, broken egg shells, ping-pong balls, crunching food… you name it, it’s in there. Somehow, Moynihan is able to cram hundreds of sounds into each track while retaining structure, catchy melodies and sick beats. Zoomorphic can’t be pigeonholed into a single genre. It’s a mix of glitch-hop, IDM, dubstep, abstract electronica, folk and a touch of bluegrass.

A bit off topic… but about 10 years ago, my friend Liz and I were smoking in the dorm bathroom, looking out at the Philadelphia skyline. We were talking about the worst possible ways to die. For some reason, I thought that dropping acid at Zoobilee Zoo would be the worst way to go. Zoomorphic would totally be the soundtrack to that experience… only without the dying.

Zoomorphic is Spoonbill’s third full-length release. His previous albums are abstract as well, but are better categorized as broken beat, downtempo and experimental. Definitely worth checking out. All Spoonbill releases are available from Amazon and Addictech.

MP3: Spoonbill – Feather Leather

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

After years of hearing snippets of Two Fingers’ tracks in live DJ sets and internet leaks, the debut self-titled album is finally here. This is undoubtedly one of the best collaborations of the year. Producers Amon Tobin and Joe “Doubleclick” Chapman have created a sonic tornado that rips through musical styles including hip-hop, grime, dancehall, dubstep, glitch and drum & bass. The result is a thrill ride through a futuristic urban landscape. It transcends genres and pushes the limits of hip-hop and electronica. The LP is scattered with elements of world percussion, twisted samples, heavily distorted bass riffs and enough chopped up beats to keep dubstep and drum & bass fans drooling. If Bladerunner had a hip-hop soundtrack, it would sound like this.

The MCs include UK rapper Sway, Philadelphia’s Ms. Jade and the dancehall artist Ce’Cile. Sway’s talents are unmatched as words effortlessly roll off his tongue at 120–145bpm. Ms. Jade’s cocky style is a perfect compliment to the rough bleacher beats on “Better Get That.”  On “Doing My Job,” she easily adapts to the slow sensual bass drops and ensures the track will be a club hit.

Overall, the MCs add a creative element to the album, but hip-hop fans will probably be disappointed with the disconnection between Sway’s lyrics and the music. The rhymes take a backseat to the glitchy beats and waves of alien soundscapes. It’s hard to sympathize with gangster life when we’re listening to music suited for a field trip into outer space.

We can expect to hear a lot more from Two Fingers in the future. They have released numerous unofficial remixes including tracks by Spank Rock, Missy Elliot, Kelis, Ciara, Busta Rhymes, J-88 and Kool Keith. In an interview with URB, Doubleclick said that Two Fingers was both a recording act and a production team. He promises “We’re going to make tracks for as many acts as we can.”

The LP and digital files are available throughout the UK/Europe from Big Dada Recordings. All formats of the LP will be available in the U.S. on April 14th via Paper Bag Records. To order CD, MP3 and vinyl bundles, visit the Ninjashop. Also available at Amazon. Support your local record shops if possible!

MP3: Two Fingers – Not Perfect (feat. Sway)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.