Category: Cinematic

“For the purposes of mystique (and, one assumes, legal reasons due to the various participants owning recording contracts), the experimental noise rock collective the Sound of Animals Fighting appear in public only in cheap creepy cute children’s Halloween masks with cartoon animals on them. Furthermore, the members of the band — really more of an always shifting musical collective in the manner of Broken Social Scene — are referred to only as the animals their masks represent. Therefore, their debut album, The Tiger and the Duke, lists the Walrus, the Lynx, the Bear, the Nightingale, the Ferret, the Armadillo, the Hyena, the Octopus, the Skunk, the Llama, the Swan, the Dog, the Raven, the Tortoise, and the Tiger as participants. As gimmicks go, it’s a good one….” [more on Spotify]

“Tipper is the professional moniker for Dave Tipper, a British electronic artist/DJ/producer associated with styles including nu breaks, glitch hop, and downtempo. Originally part of the late-’90s drum’n’bass subgenre nu breaks, Tipper became entranced by the scene at age 16, when his older brother turned him on to the whole rave culture.

“Eventually growing bored with the fast tempos and repetitiveness of drum’n’bass, Tipper began to experiment with tempos — leading to his debut album, The Critical Path, in 2000 on the Higher Ground/Sony label. During the making of the album, Tipper began to suffer from hearing damage due to the elaborate and booming stereo systems inside his cars. With the problem sorted out, Tipper returned early the next year with his sophomore effort, Holding Pattern, which led to tours of both Europe and America. The DJ mix Tipper Presents Sound Off appeared later in 2001 via the Fuel label. Surrounded followed on Myutopia Recordings in 2003 and was one of the first electronic music albums to be recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound.

“With distribution by Kudos Records, Tip Hop marked the debut of his own Tippermusic label in 2005. Incorporating elements of hip-hop production, it helped lay the groundwork for glitch hop. His imprint also issued 2006’s The Seamless Unspeakable Something and Relish the Trough, 2008’s Wobble Factor and Tertiary Noise, and 2010’s Broken Soul Jamboree. The latter saw him embrace a downtempo, more ambient sound.

“After a series of EPs, Tipper announced in 2013 that health concerns would limit his festival appearances, and he released Dusty Bubble Box: EP Remixes to help raise funds for medical bills that included cardiac surgery the same year. After time off to recover, he returned with 2014’s Forward Escape, which hit the Top 20 of Billboard’s electronic albums chart. By that time, Tipper was making festival appearances with dedicated so-called uptempo or downtempo sets.

“In 2015, he released two EPs, Fathoms EP and It’s Like…, and in 2017, he returned with Flunked EP. It became his highest-charting release to date, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.” ~ Marcy Donelson & Greg Prato, Rovi

“Psychedelic duo Simon Posford and Raja Ram are Shpongle, an ambient / electronica project formed in 1996 after the pair viewed a solar eclipse in India. After that event, they entered the studio and attempted to duplicate the experience in sonic form, and the result was a 20-minute track, “…And The Day Turned To Night,” which was featured on Twisted Records label compilation titled Eclipse. Shpongle’s full-length debut album, Are You Shpongled? was released in early 1999. Their sophomore effort, Tales Of The Inexpressible arrived in 2001 and featured the additions of Spanish and East Asian instrumentation. In 2005, the duo released their third album, Nothing Lasts…but Nothing Is Lost (Remastered, 2019) which was intended to be their final project. However, Shpongle returned in 2009 with Ineffable Mysteries, which incorporated world music themes, and the God Particle EP in 2010. Museum of Consciousness followed in 2013. Their sixth album, the appropriately titled Codex VI was released in 2017. In 2019 they played 2 sold out shows at Red Rocks, Colorado with the full live band. Work has already started on their 7th studio album to follow in 2022.”

“Autechre have remained one of electronic music’s most groundbreaking and influential duos since they began releasing material in the early ’90s. Rooted in vintage American electro as well as ambient and musique concrète, their sound has constantly evolved from melodic, intricately programmed techno to vast, algorithmically generated sprawls that challenge the conventions of rhythm and structure. As demanding as their work can be, they’ve frequently received praise from critics, and their influence is inescapable — legions of electronic artists have emulated their style, from their inscrutable track titles to their fluid yet metallic sound design. After helping to establish the template for what the press would soon dub IDM with their 1993 debut, Incunabula, Autechre continued releasing classic full-lengths such as 1995’s Tri Repetae and 1998’s LP5, in addition to equally vital EPs including 1994’s Anti and 1999’s album-length EP7. Their sound gradually became glitchier and less melodic throughout the decade, culminating in 2001’s polarizing Confield. After making a slight return to their more accessible side with 2008’s Quaristice, they began releasing some of the most ambitious works of their career starting with 2013’s two-hour Exai, and continuing through the eight-hour NTS Sessions in 2018. The relatively compact SIGN, released in 2020, was a bit closer to their ambient-leaning material, while its companion PLUS was heavier on beats but still highly abstract.”

“North America bookings: Mint Talent Group – Mary: bookings@desertdwellers.org

International bookings: Sofa Beats – Itay: international@desertdwellers.org

Management: jesse@pivotal-agency.com; cole@pivotal-agency.com

“Desert Dwellers is the convergence of music producers Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe, who honed their individual crafts in the mystical deserts of California and New Mexico, long before electronic music reached mainstream. Amani and Treavor combine the raw sounds of the natural world, wrapped in dance-floor and chill-out productions; blending deep bass, earthy percussion, etheric voices, and cross-cultural instrumentation into a sonic incense for the mind and body. Desert Dwellers’ unique global sounds are a bridge between worlds, and their label Desert Trax has become a platform to spotlight similar alchemical artists.
 
“Brought together in the late ‘90s through the legendary Moontribe gatherings, in 2019 the duo celebrated their 20th anniversary of making music together, adding depth to their reputation as a pioneering and prolific downtempo, psybass, and tribal-house act from the United States. The culmination of two decades of partnership has forged their Beatport number 1 selling electronica album BREATH, out on Black Swan Sounds, which features more than 20 musicians and vocalists over a 10-track nomadic journey.
 
“Desert Dwellers’ studio output is matched only by their extensive touring history, which juxtaposes performances at America’s most iconic festivals like Symbiosis, Lightning in a Bottle, Burning Man, and Coachella, with high-powered sets at the biggest trance festivals around the world; BOOM in Portugal and Rainbow Serpent in Australia. Desert Dwellers are equally at home in the clubs as they are in the yoga studios, and the jungles, deserts, and mountains of far-flung international festivals.”