Dis-track-ed Vol. 6: Disturbed Nature
vol-6-disturbed-nature
February 27, 2014
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# Dis-track-ed Vol. 6: Disturbed Nature
*Illustration by Inka Gerbert*
**In her monthly column, Ruth Saxelby pulls on hidden threads weaving
through modern music. In this edition, the call of nature found in
tracks by Ekoplekz, Total Freedom, **LAFAWNDAH** and more.**
I first heard [Sueño Latino's "Sueño Latino"][1]{: target="_blank"} on a
dancefloor in Leeds circa 1999, a decade on from its release. While I'd
later learn it was based on Manuel Göttsching's almost hour-long opus
[*E2-E4*][2]{: target="_blank"}, one key thing the Italo house band
added was an exotic bird call. That warble was transportive, blurring
the boundary between my material and sensate surroundings: I could taste
sea salt on my lips, feel sun on my arms.
Sounds that recall the natural world are like shortcuts to sensory
memories, rustling a thousand layers. For humanity's relationship with
nature is a complicated one---with one hand we romanticize it and with
the other destroy---and that duality makes for rich sonic territory.
What's more, whether they are synthesized or sampled, the sounds of the
natural world are wildly symbolic---they represent that which humans
often suppress: fear, desire, chaos.
While there's something blindly utopian about how ambient and new age
music approached the natural world---it's practically impossible not to
think of sleep aid tapes featuring lapping waves or whale song---more
interesting references in contemporary music recognize its duality. The
neigh of a horse in [Light Asylum][3]{: target="_blank"}'s ["A Certain
Person"][4]{: target="_blank"} set an urgent, almost desperate, tone
that heightened the song's ecstatic release.
More recently a seam of new music that has an ambivalent relationship
towards nature has revealed itself. Gone is the nature-as-utopia of
previous decades, but neither is it wholly dystopian. Instead the
presence of life within the track acts almost as a witness; the mood is
ominous, the gaze unwavering. Here are a handful of musicians and
producers using the natural world to get at the surreality of
contemporary life.
**LAFAWNDAH "Chili"**
There's something wild about French-Iranian singer/producer LAFAWNDAH's
debut single "Chili", co-produced by Porto-based pal Garagembanda.
Drawing on zouk and techno, it sways and burns---and births a new kind
of ritual club music. Swarming around the beat, often threatening to
engulf it, is the fiery roar of flying insects. They set a scene of life
beyond the borders of the song, beckoning the way into a new world.
**Ekoplekz "Coalpit Heath"**
The music of Bristol-based experimental producer Ekoplekz has always
resisted easy classification but his forthcoming new album *Unfidelity*
on [Planet Mu][5]{: target="_blank"} is perhaps his most primordial
soup-like. Rain falls on album track "Coalpit Heath", bouncing off
uneven surfaces and setting off percussive echoes that occasionally
ripple into melodies before sliding back underneath the surface like a
dead-eyed eel.
**Ajukaja & Andrevski "Rare Birds"**
On a lighter note, Estonian duo Ajukaja & Andrevski conjure up a
half-conscious dream world on their *Rare Birds* 12-inch released on Jon
Rust's [Levels][6]{: target="_blank"} label last month. Here nature is
evoked rather than sampled: synthesized bird calls, strangely shaped yet
perfectly on key, skate across the open spaces of this after-hours
number.
**Etat de Siege "V2"**
Bugs both real and digital appear to scurry through "V2" by Etat de
Siege, a contributor to the e-cigarette inspired [*VAPECRU: Cloud
Chasing Vol. 1*][7]{: target="_blank"} compiled by [Gatekeeper][8]{:
target="_blank"}'s Aaron David Ross. It flits from compelling to
unnerving in the blink of an eye, with more than a wink of
nanotechnology's grey goo theatrics about it.
**Total Freedom & Dutch E Germ's runway soundtrack for Hood By Air**
L.A. DJ/producer and [Fade To Mind][9]{: target="_blank"} associate
[Total Freedom][10]{: target="_blank"} provided this bristling
soundtrack to New York fashion label [Hood By Air][11]{:
target="_blank"} a couple of weeks back, weaving warped pop loops around
an original score by (former Gang Gang Dance drummer) Tim DeWit aka
[Dutch E Germ][12]{: target="_blank"}. A dog growling a warning cues up
the mix---and later returns in a barking frenzy---imbuing proceedings
with a compelling tension. ~
*For more editions of Dis-track-ed, click [here][13]{:
target="_blank"}.*
[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxJNkoeWi8
[2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUiA0UOKIlc
[3]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/artist/light-asylum/
[4]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syAOovE9FQU&feature=kp
[5]: http://www.planet.mu/
[6]: http://levelsmusic.bigcartel.com/
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/rhizomedotorg-1/sets/vape-cru-final
[8]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/artist/gatekeeper/
[9]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/tag/fade-to-mind/
[10]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/artist/total-freedom/
[11]: http://hoodbyair.myshopify.com/
[12]: https://soundcloud.com/dutch-e-germ-the-dutchess
[13]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/category/features/columns/dis-track-ed/
---
id: 163ad751-d06a-43f1-833c-6d8c1d0089a2
blueprint: article
title: 'Dis-track-ed Vol. 6: Disturbed Nature'
date: 2014-02-27T11:10:17+01:00
wp_id: '71583'
slug: vol-6-disturbed-nature
teaser_image: legacy/vol-6-disturbed-nature/Dis_Track_ed_Nature.jpg
contents:
-
type: text
text: '<p><em>Illustration by Inka Gerbert</em></p><p><strong>In her monthly column, Ruth Saxelby pulls on hidden threads weaving through modern music. In this edition, the call of nature found in tracks by Ekoplekz, Total Freedom, <strong>LAFAWNDAH</strong> and more.</strong></p><p>I first heard <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxJNkoeWi8" target="_blank">Sueño Latino’s “Sueño Latino”</a> on a dancefloor in Leeds circa 1999, a decade on from its release. While I’d later learn it was based on Manuel Göttsching’s almost hour-long opus <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUiA0UOKIlc" target="_blank"><em>E2-E4</em></a>, one key thing the Italo house band added was an exotic bird call. That warble was transportive, blurring the boundary between my material and sensate surroundings: I could taste sea salt on my lips, feel sun on my arms.</p><p>Sounds that recall the natural world are like shortcuts to sensory memories, rustling a thousand layers. For humanity’s relationship with nature is a complicated one—with one hand we romanticize it and with the other destroy—and that duality makes for rich sonic territory. What’s more, whether they are synthesized or sampled, the sounds of the natural world are wildly symbolic—they represent that which humans often suppress: fear, desire, chaos.</p><p>While there’s something blindly utopian about how ambient and new age music approached the natural world—it’s practically impossible not to think of sleep aid tapes featuring lapping waves or whale song—more interesting references in contemporary music recognize its duality. The neigh of a horse in <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/artist/light-asylum/" target="_blank">Light Asylum</a>’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syAOovE9FQU&feature=kp" target="_blank">“A Certain Person”</a> set an urgent, almost desperate, tone that heightened the song’s ecstatic release.</p><p>More recently a seam of new music that has an ambivalent relationship towards nature has revealed itself. Gone is the nature-as-utopia of previous decades, but neither is it wholly dystopian. Instead the presence of life within the track acts almost as a witness; the mood is ominous, the gaze unwavering. Here are a handful of musicians and producers using the natural world to get at the surreality of contemporary life.</p><p><strong>LAFAWNDAH “Chili”</strong></p><p>There’s something wild about French-Iranian singer/producer LAFAWNDAH’s debut single “Chili”, co-produced by Porto-based pal Garagembanda. Drawing on zouk and techno, it sways and burns—and births a new kind of ritual club music. Swarming around the beat, often threatening to engulf it, is the fiery roar of flying insects. They set a scene of life beyond the borders of the song, beckoning the way into a new world.</p><p><strong>Ekoplekz “Coalpit Heath”</strong></p><p>The music of Bristol-based experimental producer Ekoplekz has always resisted easy classification but his forthcoming new album <em>Unfidelity</em> on <a href="http://www.planet.mu/" target="_blank">Planet Mu</a> is perhaps his most primordial soup-like. Rain falls on album track “Coalpit Heath”, bouncing off uneven surfaces and setting off percussive echoes that occasionally ripple into melodies before sliding back underneath the surface like a dead-eyed eel.</p><p><strong>Ajukaja & Andrevski “Rare Birds”</strong></p><p>On a lighter note, Estonian duo Ajukaja & Andrevski conjure up a half-conscious dream world on their <em>Rare Birds</em> 12-inch released on Jon Rust’s <a href="http://levelsmusic.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">Levels</a> label last month. Here nature is evoked rather than sampled: synthesized bird calls, strangely shaped yet perfectly on key, skate across the open spaces of this after-hours number.</p><p><strong>Etat de Siege “V2”</strong></p><p>Bugs both real and digital appear to scurry through “V2” by Etat de Siege, a contributor to the e-cigarette inspired <a href="https://soundcloud.com/rhizomedotorg-1/sets/vape-cru-final" target="_blank"><em>VAPECRU: Cloud Chasing Vol. 1</em></a> compiled by <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/artist/gatekeeper/" target="_blank">Gatekeeper</a>’s Aaron David Ross. It flits from compelling to unnerving in the blink of an eye, with more than a wink of nanotechnology’s grey goo theatrics about it.</p><p><strong>Total Freedom & Dutch E Germ’s runway soundtrack for Hood By Air</strong></p><p>L.A. DJ/producer and <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/tag/fade-to-mind/" target="_blank">Fade To Mind</a> associate <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/artist/total-freedom/" target="_blank">Total Freedom</a> provided this bristling soundtrack to New York fashion label <a href="http://hoodbyair.myshopify.com/" target="_blank">Hood By Air</a> a couple of weeks back, weaving warped pop loops around an original score by (former Gang Gang Dance drummer) Tim DeWit aka <a href="https://soundcloud.com/dutch-e-germ-the-dutchess" target="_blank">Dutch E Germ</a>. A dog growling a warning cues up the mix—and later returns in a barking frenzy—imbuing proceedings with a compelling tension. ~</p><p><em>For more editions of Dis-track-ed, click <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/category/features/columns/dis-track-ed/" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p>'
---
Chunk #1 (Position: 0)
# Dis-track-ed Vol. 6: Disturbed Nature *Illustration by Inka Gerbert* **In her monthly column, Ruth Saxelby pulls on hidden threads weaving through modern music. In this edition, the call of nature found in tracks by Ekoplekz, Total Freedom, **LAFAWNDAH** and more.** I first heard [Sueño...
Chunk #2 (Position: 1)
For humanity's relationship with nature is a complicated one---with one hand we romanticize it and with the other destroy---and that duality makes for rich sonic territory. What's more, whether they are synthesized or sampled, the sounds of the natural world are wildly symbolic---they represent t...
Chunk #3 (Position: 2)
Here are a handful of musicians and producers using the natural world to get at the surreality of contemporary life. **LAFAWNDAH "Chili"** . There's something wild about French-Iranian singer/producer LAFAWNDAH's debut single "Chili", co-produced by Porto-based pal Garagembanda. Drawing on zouk ...
Chunk #4 (Position: 3)
Here nature is evoked rather than sampled: synthesized bird calls, strangely shaped yet perfectly on key, skate across the open spaces of this after-hours number. **Etat de Siege "V2"** . Bugs both real and digital appear to scurry through "V2" by Etat de Siege, a contributor to the e-cigarette ...
Chunk #5 (Position: 4)
A dog growling a warning cues up the mix---and later returns in a barking frenzy---imbuing proceedings with a compelling tension. ~ *For more editions of Dis-track-ed, click [here][13]{: target="_blank"}.* . [1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxJNkoeWi8 [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUi...