Enter the NYC Hardware Emporium

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New York often groans under the weight of its storied heritage of clandestine dance music cultures. Even for artists who reside on the periphery of well-established avenues, there is a risk of oversaturation. There can only be so many white labels and warehouse parties that actually manage to stumble upon new cultural territory, after all.

 

Fortunately, a handful of imprints continue to fuel the city’s tradition of innovation. Genre-evasive L.I.E.S. and the challenging Styles Upon Styles both combine uncompromising attitudes towards aesthetic expectations and a diversity of source material that artfully broadens the spectrum of what electronic music can offer. It’s fitting, then, that Gavin Russom would gravitate towards this vanguard, given DFA‘s comparable disruption of the city’s stagnant musical climate more than a decade ago. Russom’s recently-announced release on L.I.E.S. signals an affinity for this legacy and we’re thrilled to have him join a lineup with mainstays from the L.I.E.S. and Styles Upon Styles rosters. Familiarize yourself below with a few choice cuts from the lineup in anticipation of Wednesday’s broadcast.

Certain Creatures – “Sparkle (Feat. Ike Yard)”
Bangers & Ash is Styles Upon Styles’ format-release series where artists contribute an experimental track on one side and a club-ready number on the other. “Sparkle” is the A-side, where Ike Yard’s hushed muttering builds paranoia over Certain Creatures’ windswept, industrial soundscapes. The two build off each other to cinematic levels of intensity that’ll have you anxiously looking over your shoulder to see if anyone is there.

Bookworms – “African Rhythms”
Exotic without exoticizing, Bookworms’ “African Rhythms” takes accents of hand clap percussion and adds aquatic undertones that would be tropical if it weren’t for the eerie vocal chants that propel the track forward. The result is a distant memory of luaus past, stretched out and broadcast across light years. [Dep Ed: basically one of the finest club tracks of recent years, fyi]

Gut Nose – “Filthnoid Mix (Side B)”
Gut Nose imbues lo-fi house with the darker, more sinister elements of 90’s hip-hop, particularly the stylistic conventions of beat tapes. This 18-plus-minute stomper undergoes a number of transitions while maintaining a scratchy, dirt-flecked pulse. Use it to soundtrack the opening credits of your biopic, as long as it’s on VHS.

Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom – “Relevee”

With new material on L.I.E.S. right around the corner, it makes sense to revisit Russom’s earlier, synth-driven work that helped broaden the visibility of analog production within DFA’s corner of the world. Longtime collaborator Delia Gonzalez lends a hand for this pioneering post-disco voyage.

– Now that you’ve boned up, set your mental iCals at the session page over HERE so you don’t miss out the Wednesday crunchiness –

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