I’ve been listening to The Opus (Mr. Echoes and The Isle Of Weight) for well over a decade. They were the first hip hop producers I’ve seen bring all their hard-ware to a show and improvise live on the spot, causing heads and bodies to violently sway as if possesed. The world’s greatest beat-makers all have their signature. Dj Premier mastered the chop, Pete Rock brought a lot of soul, J-Dilla brought that bounce, the wompy bassline. The Opus’ sound is most recognized by their use of hard-hitting drums and intense break-like patterns. Moods ranging from war-like to enlightened are all spoken for. To put it simply, they are DOPE AS HELL. On top of being underground heroes here in Chicago, The Opus has also worked with an impressive list of world reknown artists such as DJ Krush, Aesop Rock, and Murs to name a few. This live-set is from Moment 8. For more about The Opus visit www.theopusonline.com
-Lokua

download the release:
high quality zip | slightly lower quality zip

Moment Sound celebrates the release of “Sunflower”, a diverse collection of songs from one of our primary founders, Slava. For the past several years Slava has been playing and organizing events throughout Chicago focusing on the advancement of live electronic music and art culture. Like his many performances, Sunflower spans a wide array of styles while maintaining a certain atonement that is uniquely “Slava”.

Beyond the use of complex harmonies and unpredictable yet familiar melody lines is an almost obsessive approach to texture and timing. This is what happens when you put a jazz-man on a beat machine. His coolness transcends the temporality of trend and the artistic result is well-rounded music. Simultaneously ingenious and humble, the overall sound of this release can be described as contemplative, ambient yet attention grabbing, aromatic. Stay tuned for more release and live recordings from Slava in the near future.
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Yet another blast from the past live set, this time accompanied by an in depth (and up-to-date) interview…

Slow Children: What was the sky like when you were young?

Lokua: The sky was a visual soundtrack for imagination. Even now i still go to the park and lay down and pretend that I’m hanging from the universe’s ceiling looking down on the sky, something like reverse gravity, the sky is a bottomless pit. Before I had thought about things like an ever-expanding universe or infinity it was all right there in front of me. I didn’t need to think to experience wonder, just had to look.

SC: Bubble helmet ah? …And what about colors?

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Below you will find live recordings from the Intimate Ambiance party we hosted at El Dorado. The event turned out to be quite amazing and all together lasted about 12 hours. There were pillows blankets, stuffed animals relaxed people, a mysterious script, a few spills, a missing jacket, bags full of bags, a box of games, a very strange puzzle, stretches, an amazing massage, a record player that plays slow and weird, a waterphone, candles, sleepers, and lots of great ambiance.

Intimate Ambiance pt2 is 0A03 (live) ~ 30m | Miles Tilmann (live) ~ 1h | Polyfuse (live) ~ 10m
Intimate Ambiance pt1 is Mama Sonic (dj) ~ 40m | Dreamlogicc (live) – 45m
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Live set by Garo from Moment 8 (April 2007) The audio quality is not the best and the recording drops out for a few seconds in the middle as a result of a disconnected power cable. At the end of the recording you’ll hear Coyote DG making some announcements followed by the first song from his set, the rest of which unfortunately did not get recorded.

Recently Quarion, of Drumpoet Community (an excellent Swiss record label), payed us a visit, coming all the way from Berlin! He played an amazing deep house live pa set at one of our small underground parties @ El Dorado. The audio is live and the video is a mixture of live and recent footage of the Chicago skyline. Video was done by jystin james.

you can find a little more information about this as well as a recording of some sets here – thank you m50!

download zip file of the release

Lokua (Joshua Keckner) is a master of melody, texture and mood. Many are yet to experience this musician’s full scope of ability. Lokua’s earlier works consist largely of down-tempo instrumental hip-hop. Recent works branch out to include a large scope of electronic genres with a significant amount of dance material. Lokua’s sound is characterized by the richness and sincerity of its emotional content with even the danciest of tracks retaining a deep, cerebral sophistication.

A Chicago native, Lokua has fully embraced and embodied his environment. His sound is deeply rooted in the city’s music and social history and his countless live performances are imbued with contemporary yet authentic and raw Chicago culture. With a back catalog of tracks hovering in the thousands (including a number of conceptually-complete albums) and new ones being produced daily, we can look forward to a great variety of music releases in the near (as well as distant) future.

links: Lokua’s myspace contact: lokua *At* momentsound *Dot* com

cover art by ac.jazz

The Night That Laid Still out on shade::red

A great self-released EP from Justin McGrath [justinmcgrath.com]. The title track tastefully combines live instrumentation with programmed drums and sound design elements to create a dreamy, melancholy mood reminding me of all those nights that I wish stood still, but unfortunately did not, inevitably coming to an end. The following track, “Overly Conscious”, lightens the mood a bit (but only a bit) with its pensive violins and rich piano chords. The dreaminess and spaciousness of the title track then develop into ever deeper and moodier expanses of soothing (yet eerie) ambiance of the following pieces. This is where the journey begins. We leave our mundane concerns and self-indulgent desires and begin to experience something else, something otherworldly, pure and light. Hope I’m not sounding too new agy… but really, if you let your mind drift along withe the sounds, you’ll end up in some magical places. Finally “Deconstruction” gently brings you back to to reality while soothing piano and guitar reinterpret the title track.

The accompanying video, by Bridget Driessen (who also did the artwork) provides a great visual component (you can get an idea by watching the teaser video).

The EP also includes a bonus collections of Remixes.

I Need It

A rather eclectic French web-label with a demanding name has finally released the debut EP by its founder, Kaiton. This is the label’s 8th release; it is a captivating mixture of convoluted melancholy colours, fragmented field recordings and ebbing ripples of crackling texture. Simply titled “Tone,” it is promising and brief. Check.

Hi everybody! Its me, Uncle Garo! I am here to interview a growing force in the live electronic music scene here in Chicago- CoyoteDG!!!! Let’s begin, shall we? Read the rest of this entry »

Dubfront Records

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Here is a bunch of beats I made waaay back in the day mixed by Oneword, a producer/dj currently situated in Portland. He makes music of his own that you can check out @ www.myspace.com/theoneword.

peace,
-Lokua

Momentsound congratulates Thomas McCauley AKA Blackdaylight for his first netlabel release “The Second Season Mix” available for free @ www.stigaemusic.com

Blackdaylight’s sound has often been described as “lava-love” music; Deep and sexy, something lovers can bubble-bath to. “The Second Season” however takes on a more pensive stance. The title track grabs you by the hand and takes you through an erie wilderness as if to deliver a secret message. As the next few songs progress one cannot escape the feeling of being lead through time (Teeth2, Lost in the Moment), as if you’re Ebenezer and The Ghost of Christmas Past is showing you your wickedness. Pain and sadness are bold themes throughout the EP yet an underlying sense of peace persists. Just when the heavy current is about to engulf you (”BetaWaves600Below”) the city awakes with “West End Autumn Blaze Mix”. Picture Big Bird blunted w/ shades on – a slow burner for mature relaxation. “The Second Season Mix” closes w/ the sonic completeness of jazz; guitar, bass, and horns over deep pulsing drums only the most sincere beat-heads like Blackdaylight can lace. The Second Season Approaches! Don’t sleep!

-Lokua

Hi, kids! It is me, your uncle garo! I am here to provide you with a clip of me doing a live pa @ the mini-dutch gallery in chicago. The video was shot by my good friend, and momentsound commrade, J.Beckman AKA drmlgcc! Also, stay tuned for interviews w/local electronic musicians hosted by me, uncle garo! Please write in with suggestions of your favorite electronic musicians at garotokat@yahoo.com, or feel free to write in for any other electronic music advice, questions, or comments. Questions concerning society, automobiles, food, pets,school, religion, love, and relationships will also be accepted. Exceptional e-mails WILL be posted! And remember kids, regardless of religious and spiritual affiliations, we must remember to love one another year round! Happy Holidays!

A recent minimal live set recorded @ Moment 14 on October 7th, 2007 in Chicago.
Drums: Korg Electribe ER Ambiance and Melody: Reason