Bricolage : Podcast Round Up For 2018

2018 was another eclectic year on the mix front. We've been privileged to both receive and share some outstanding musical journeys from a range of revered selectors and artists.


JANUARY
Loui Cleghorn (NYE Live Set)

We started off the year with an exclusive set from Loui Cleghorn. Recorded live at the Tribal Pulse NYE party in Glasgow, it sees him navigate through a bunch of his own material and take the listener on an absorbing trip.



FEBRUARY
Rain

The music obssessed Russian selector, Rain flirts effortlessly between ambient and DnB when it comes to mixes. He provided us a stunning DnB mix back in 2017 so decided to indulge his quieter side in 2018 and carefully build an ambient cloud to lay our head on. Soothing from first to last.



MARCH
futurendeavours
Vivid and mangled electronica from the enigmatic Glasgow duo. This session showcases some of their favourite influences with a few of their own releases on Bricolage. Also includes an exclusive play of an as-yet-still unreleased epic they cooked up especially for the mix.



APRIL
Leit Motif

We nudged into spring time with Leit Motif and a selection of deep dub techno, entrancing world electronica and crepuscular, gliding, ambient material.



MAY
Dark Fidelity HiFi (Live set for RSD 2018)

This was the chance to immerse yourself in the captivating and hypnotic sounds of the Dark Fidelity HiFi live experience. A short but sweet RSD 2018 live set recorded at 'Reel Around The Fountain' record store in Manchester.



JUNE
Arran Trax

A robust and rugged hour that combines Detroit Techno with surging electro and waves of acid from Arran Trax. Complex and exciting grooves from the Scottish producer.



JULY
Fragile X
Label boss Fragile X went down the effervescent route for this summer mix. Bubbling chimes, atmospheric cuts and warm, colourful soundscapes. One for the long summer nights.



AUGUST
Justin Case

Bricolage newcomer Justin Case brewed up an inventive concoction of sounds that would shine on a light on some of his biggest influences. An hour of twitchy and peculiar, cosmic electronica and celestial house music.



SEPTEMBER
Daniel Katinsky

A guest mix from Glasgow native Daniel Katinsky that drifts between murky and experimental structures and bold sound design. A true headphone journey full of fractured rhythms and dynamic noise.



OCTOBER
Sceadu

Dense and layered electro, techno and dub from the mysterious German. Futuristic ambience helps break up the chaos among the deep bass rumblings. We still believe that this is the only mix of 2018 that you'll be able to hear Dusty Springfield transition into Underground Resistance....



NOVEMBER
R.U.R.

A guest mix full of hard hitting techno with a dystopian twist. Full of heavy characteristics but never reaching the point of extremity. A danceable wall of sound, if you like.



DECEMBER
Amunraja

A sublime guest mix born of shamanism from Amunraja to round out the year. Warm bass, laid back tribal vibes and deep psydub that envelopes the listener. Put this on and let yourself drift into another dimension.



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It wouldn't be a round up of mixes without mentioning our longform mix series, "Headroom". We only had three sessions this year. But they were three cultivated and stunning musical stories.

JANUARY
Kinoko

We had a special guest session from Hohm Productions resident, Kinoko, who pieced together a beautiful sound montage of ethereal ambient and misty deep house.



MARCH
Supply Fi
This session acted as a precursor of sorts to the tender and organic "...And We Become One With The Earth" EP. His two hour Headroom saw him bring together sounds from his friends and peers in a genre bending journe full of curious and dreamlike electronica.



NOVEMBER
Lying Cat

A grain and lo-fi affair from the Lying Cat. A tenebrous excursion through the slightly more disconcerted side of the music spectrum. It's awash with skewered beats, brittle textures and perfectly placed field recordings. It almost plays out like a film if you let it....



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A massive thank you goes out to all the people who gave their time to us in 2018. Artists and listeners alike.

John

Bricolage Podcast #30 : Rain

Our February podcast sees revered selector, Rain, return for his second Bricolage podcast. In March last year we got a selection of some of his finest DnB favourites and this time out we’re being given an insight into his quieter side with some ethereal ambient soundscapes as he scours his massive music collection for some deep and resonant tracks that make for an hour of celestial storytelling through sound. 

As always you can listen to the podcast below or at our Mixcloud.

Bricolage (Kedvenceim)

The second installment of our anniversary mixes comes from our very own Minerva. The Hungarian producer has put together some of her favourite experimental sounds from the labels back catalogue. You can expect a broad range of IDM, broken beats and electronica as she trawls through two years worth of unique productions. Recommended Sunday night listening.

Here's what she had to say:

"Bricolage (Kedvenceim) = Bricolage (My Favourites)

My favourite music label Bricolage had 2nd birthday last month and to celebrate for them I make together a mix of some of most innovating tracks from their collection. Always exciting and interesting sounds within! Lots of complexity! Some of these music can be hard to mix together but I do my best and I think is ok :)

I have lots of love for all these guys and I am thankful to be part of this Glasgow crew "

You can stream the mix below or over at Mixcloud



TRACKLISTING

1. Bedless Bones - Foreign Blood Heat (bc020)
2. Belial Pelegrim - Exoskeleton (bc027)
3. Figurate - Like A Moth To The Light (bc023)
4. Blue Notes - Icarus (bc027)
5. Fragile X - Utility Fog (bc026)
6. All Buttons In - Back To The Beginning Of The End (bc027)
7. No Arrival - Vex (bc027)
8. Ix Prospectum - RX (bc024)
9. Octavia Bannon Clark - Heavy Construction (bc020)
10. Rain - Cold (bc020)

Bricolage Podcast #19 : Rain

Our March podcast is a special journey through the realms of drum n bass music courtesy of Russian electronic mood creator, Rain. It's a rich supply of rolling beats and smooth progressive tempos. Prepare yourself for a barrel load of complex polyrhythmic structures in a mix that is constantly evolving. Sharp production choices and sharp mixing techniques make for an obscenely melodic, colourful and vibrant hour of solid DnB. There's splashes of energising, uplifting sounds on every selection. Deep basslines, shifting percussion, major keys, cinematic sections and chilled out vocals take centre stage backed up by a heap of springy and frisky funk components. A classic liquid DnB mix from a true aficionado of the genre. Rain has spoiled us this month.

As always listen below or over at the Bricolage mixcloud.

In The Loop : Episode 17

Episode 17 of In The Loop follows on from yesterdays post that looked at what the first half of the contributing artists from Volume 4 have been doing recently. This post focuses on the latest sounds and goings on from the second half of producers.

One look at the soundcloud page of 'Jaffa Kid' is enough to get an idea of the regularity of his output. A lot of people might think that regular output doesn't always mean quality output but if you listen through all the sounds that emanate from Dan Williams' bedroom studio you'd be very hard pushed to find a bad track. It's just a constant flow of high standard, intelligent electronic music. Of all the most recent productions, "Melgar" and "What You Can Do" are our personal favourites here at Bricolage. What's yours? Check out both those tracks below and head to Soundcloud for more.





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'The Oscilloscope' is another producer that constantly churns out top grade electronic works. An artist with a solid backbone of finger drumming skills melded together with an ear for weird, gloopy sounds. "Acid Sorcery" sounds exactly like you think it does. Little acid stabs flirting in and out of a funk laden bassline.



"Crawling" has a squelchy feel to it's harmonies and synth work that overlap each other while a distinctly 80's influenced bassline plods along underneath it.



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'Ra1n' recently uploaded an older track to his Soundcloud page. "Ceylon" was featured on a 2015 compilation for the Easy Summer Limited label. It's another exquisite piece of liquid drum n bass from the Russian producer. Full of ambient grooves, spotlight melodies and delicate percussion. Listen below and if you like what you hear head on over to beatport and grab a copy.



There's also a new episode of his beautiful Ambient Hour sessions to zone out with over on Mixcloud.



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It takes one listen to the 'Octavia Bannon Clark' track from our Volume 4 compilation to sense that you're listening to someone with an eclectic mind. Her track "Heavy Construction" is a joyride through skittery beats and flip flopping bass work. The eclectic element comes to the fore even more so when you check out her Soundcloud page. There's a plethora of electronic sketches that vary from braindance, acid, 80s influenced numbers and jittery IDM. We're sharing the two most recent uploads tonight. "Moon Base Alpha" and "Zenith" both sound like they could have been lifted out of some abstract 80's video game. This sounds like a ridiculous situation but hear me out....... imagine if Warp Records somehow got commissioned to soundtrack the 80s.......this is what it would sound like. It's pure fun, playful vibes over very well thought out IDM structures.





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'Figurate' is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut EP, "There Are Places Other Than Here", that we're releasing here on Bricolage next month. But he's found the time to rustle up a strange brew in the form of his remix of Bjorks 'Mutual Core'. Unrushed ambient organs and that unmistakable voice slowly turn to dust under a simply insane hardcore infused drum pattern before reappearing again to say goodbye.



'An Exist Strategy' is confirmed as the opening track of his imminent EP and it's dark, micro glitch music full of meticulous, ever twisting drums and vivid bass movements.



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"Meat Loops" sounds are hard to describe and I mean that in the best way possible. Amid all the coded and weird titles lies a diverse range of short, strange little electronic scenes that all each have their own distinct style but also manage to have the signature Meat Loops feel about them. We've shared a few of the newest tracks below.





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Last but not least, the elusive 'Mister Left'. His track "This Is Your Captain Speaking" closed out our compilation in fine style, A hypnotic, high energy electronic tool with a simple sounding but very complex rhythm base, sporadic and squidgy keys that fall out to allow a sarcastic pilot sample to appear before the journey kicks back in with a thud and an acid bassline. There's now a remix of the track available by Bricolage resident "Roy Or Bison?" that utilizes the heavier elements of the original and cuts out the extended pilot sample in favour of a more straight forward, no nonsense electro acid affair.



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If you haven't already then be sure to check out the latest compilation featuring all these producers and more on either bandcamp or Soundcloud. Both links below.

BRICOLAGE : VA VOLUME 4 (bc020)

Today we released Volume 4 of our various artists compilation project and it's another selection of, unique and eclectic, producers hand picked from across the globe coming together on one release that's brimming with a collection of intriguing and engaging sonic adventures. Each track plays its own important part as an individual component but also flourishes as part of the bigger picture in what proves to be a captivating digital landscape. A spectrum of melodies, immersive textures and an assortment of rhythms that drift between electronic experimentation, flat out techno, glitch movements, drum n bass and back again. The journey starts off with some vivid, trippy dub and dark ambient before moving into more beat based territory and a deep, woozy, resonating hybrid of bustling electronica, ambient techno, IDM and some rigid lo-fi tech frequencies. There's a diversion off path in the form of drum n bass before the trip continues and we leap into the most substantial experimental part full of intelligent drum work and dense, unpredictable musical sketches that collide into one another before finishing on a warped, techno/electronica composition.

 A massive thank you goes out to everyone who contributed and made the release possible.

As always the release is free download or "pay what you want" and can stream or grab a copy of the compilation from the embed below or at our bandcamp.

Introducing The Collective 48 - 51

Tonight we continue introducing you to some more of the fantastic artists we have lined up for your listening pleasure on our latest compilation. Various Artists Volume 4 is out this Monday, the 14th of November. So without further ado, let's say hello to Roman Fahls, Dark Fidelity Hi Fi, Minerva and Ra1n.



48. ROMAN FAHLS



Intricately weaving together influences of techno and ambient electronic music, Roman Fahls works to create a sound that generates as much pleasure on headphones as it does on the dancefloor. His is music for the mind and feet.

Roman Fahls (Soundcloud)

Roman Fahls (Facebook)

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49. DARK FIDELITY HI FI



DFHF are underground, Mancunian record producer, Rick Jones, and several guest players. The DFHF style incorporates mixing and recording all formats of sound from a varied selection such as 90's loungecore to dark trap and dub to lofi groove all with absorbing and curious textures. Each track stands out and provides an individual, engaging experience. The debut album "Dub Tests and Sky Pop Transmissions" was released last year on DIY Manchester label, Soundwaves Here We Come followed by a 6 track EP this year, "No Wave Control Manual". DFHF are settling into somewhat of a creative roll and we're glad to have them continue regular output as part of the new compilation.

Dark Fidelity Hi Fi (Soundcloud)

Dark Fidelity Hi Fi (Facebook)

Dark Fidelity Hi Fi (Reverb Nation)
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50. MINERVA



Minerva is the alias of Ariadne Vinerma. A young, female electronic producer of half Greek, half Hungarian heritage. She has released music on many local labels since her teens. Up until recent times her releases and sounds were focused on a heavier, industrial palette but as of late her style has taken a more experimental approach. The techno side of things still remains but there's a more playful and melodic edge to some of the tracks. This new direction is evident by the different stylings over on brand new "Minerva" Soundcloud page.

Minerva (Soundcloud)

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51. RA1N



Rain is the musical vehicle of 29 year old Alex from Russia. His output falls mainly under the drum n bass and ambient categories but he takes influence from a vast array of performers in the electronic world and beyond. Citing the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Chemical Brothers and Depeche Mode as just a few of his most cherished childhood vinyl memories. His taste in drum n bass is also exquisite with artists such as London Elektricity, Fanu, Sunchase and Electrosoul System name dropped among his favourites. For Alex, it's not just making his own music that's a hobby but also creating stories through his popular mixes. His "Ambient Hour" episodes on Mixcloud are full to the brim with dowtempo and chilled out drum n bass gems.

Ra1n (Soundcloud)

Ra1n (Discogs)

Ra1n ('Ambient Hour' episodes)

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This weekend we'll introduce the remaining artists then it's full steam ahead towards the release :)