chicago love

hello all, here i am returning from another weeks-long hiatus. my excuse: i've been busy buying up vinyl and putting tracks together in hopes to get a mix or two out to the world. until then, i wanted to share a couple mixes from a few local chicagoans.

kate simko - livePA from 'sunday school for degenerates', new york city, 2008-08-31
i've been a fan of kate's productions since i discovered her a few years ago. this 40-minute set is a nice hypnotic trip that showcases her unique style: plenty of smooth synth chords and sleek acoustic percussion, with some nice delay effects... no real peaks or dramatic dynamics, which is perfectly fine with me. nowadays, most of kate's stuff comes out via the ghostly international/spectral sound label axis (this set actually comes courtesy of ghostly's podcast), and she has brought her sexy beats to clubs around the world. nice to see a local do it big. check her myspace for more info.

phil stone - soul clap podcast 62: 'phil is ill'
phil's dj sets have been getting lots of love around chicago. in my opinion, he out-did seuil when the frenchman paid chicago a visit late last year, taking over the decks after seuil's rather flat set (with an even flatter ending track) and cutting it deep as the early morning light started to shine through the venue's windows. for these 80 minutes, phil keeps the bpm's pitched low, creating a nice mellow mood. phil switches it up for the last half-hour with a healthy helping of old funk/soul/electro jams. check the soul clap podcast blog for tracklist.


now on to a wayyyy different tip...

oni ayhun - mnml ssgs mx47
this name is very new to me. if you're having trouble tracking down any of this 'mysterious' character's releases, this half-hour livePA should be a good introduction. for the most part, oni keeps it verrry slow, relying on synth bleeps, distorted noise and heavy atmospheres, only picking up the pace at the end of the set. i personally would love to hear a few hours of this slowed-down mindfuck; it kinda reminds me of some downtempo plastikman tracks. check mnml ssgs for more info.

enjoy the music!