Today’s Dirty Monday Playlist is brought to you by NY based master composer Alex Epton.
Having collaborated with artists such as FKA Twigs, Arca, Kali Uchis, Jamie XX, Wiki, Amber Mark, Skepta, AJ Tracey, David Byrne and Jack Penate, it makes perfect sense that Epton has offered up his favourite analogue-synth-tinged tracks.
Check out the full playlist - and read why the tracks mean so much to Alex below.
Read Alex’s full bio HERE.
Silver Apples - Love Fingers. This is such a huge sound design influence for me. It's like the embodiment of an alarm/siren saying — RED ALERT—RED ALERT— but then just barely bent into shape so it can perform the function of music! Terrifying and futuristic.
Can - One More Night - I love how the synth/guitar/organ are all interlocking, weaving into this carpet of melody. Then, at 2:50, this random industrial buzzing noise starts happening like it's a regular thing to do. Also, how killing is Jaki's drumming on this!? What monster musicians. This is probably also the funkiest song ever recorded in 7/4.
The Normal - Warm Leatherette - More terrifying alarm sounds! This is like the ultimate in contrast and brutality to me. So powerful, and it just pushes.
TomTom Club - Wordy Rappinghood - This whole album is amazing, so hard to pick a toon, but this is definitely the one that influenced me the most. Out of all the amazing moments in here, the thing that really gets me is the little cartoony wobbly synth that pops up and goes "BOING!" On the "&" of "3" every second bar. It just jumps up and hits you in the face like stepping on a rake. Every dance track I ever make has some version of this device; it's just so addictive!
Broadcast - Pendulum - I found out about track one more recently. Very similar red-alert-alarm-vibe as the Silver Apples tune! I just love the whole world they build here. Also, I love all the squealing feedback stuff that keeps pushing and pulling in and out of frame.
Gary Numan & Tubeway Army - Are 'Friends' Electric - I'm guessing this was done on some first-generation polyphonic analogue synth, maybe a polymoog or an Oberheim? They basically spawned all of trance/Eurodance synth sounds with this tune. Maybe there's something earlier that does this? This is the first big tune with this sound that I'm aware of.
Portishead - Machine Gun - What even is this? so good! More air raid siren at 2:50!
Fever Ray - If I Had a Heart - This kinda took on some more cheesy context for me recently when I heard it in the opening credits of the history channel's "Vikings" series. Screw it. I still have all the time in the world for Fever Ray. I blast this super loud on the studio mains at least twice a week.
Alessandro Cortini - Iniziari - This is such a sick album! The story, I guess, is that he did these tunes all as improvisations on an EMS Synthi? The Synthi is one of the first all in one box synthesizers you could actually buy back in the 1960s. Every one I've ever played with has super unstable tuning, and it's super difficult to get music out of one. It's cool to see him transcend the limitations of this instrument and bring his whole, gorgeous, melodic and harmonic concept to it here.
LCD sound system - 45:33 - I think this was produced initially as a promo thing for Nike; I think that's why it's all baked together into one track. The first tune on the record is such a good way to reset the dance floor when you're DJing out somewhere and want to take it up/down to mid-tempo disco land. Also, pretty much every synth sound in "Someone Great" is unique and amazing. I spent so much time trying to figure out how to remake all these sounds. I'm pretty sure the pulsing drone is an EMS Synthi again. The big detuned bass reminiscent of Gary Numan sounds like it could be a Roland Jupiter? The little percussive arpeggiated sequence I'm still mystified by.
Suzanne Ciani - Concert at WBAI Free Music Store - I love what she's able to do here just by manipulating two (?) sequences on the Buchla. What a master of the instrument. I've been obsessed with this technique lately. taking really dead simple, small sequences and creating larger works out of them by transposing/overlaying them in different ways.