teengirl fantasy, miracles club, mi ami, 100% silk and the rise of HIPSTER HOUSE: S/D

yah i think i'm asking the wrong question here -- rather than 'there isn't space for it' i guess i'm wondering why this space is opening up. like, was azari a bridge too far, or something, and so a bunch of fans pull the other way. or are we talking about an entirely difft scene & now i'm treating indie w/ the monolithic brush ppl were saying about dance.

in this op-ed in the wire amanda brown sort of laments that she feels like the way the internet hype machine works forces smaller labels to try to put out poppier more crossover-y type shit in order to secure enough income to stay afloat, which sort of implies to me that she herself is not interested in releasing pop records or crossover records

like on one hand i guess that seems strange because on the face of it 100% silk records seem to be more accessible/marketable than not not fun records but in interviews her ambition for the label seems to stop at getting to the level of a proper dance label that can release proper dance records, so maybe her interest in dance music is totally concordant with the opinions in the op-ed because she sees future times or whatever as being uncompromisingly not-pop in the same way that NNF is

which is not at all the approach of the other acts mentioned itt, iirc miracles club is on modular a via cut copy vanity imprint and teengirl fantasy is on true panther, making pop songs with vocals for labels that are not really "proper dance" labels and basically just kind of working under an MO that seems very different form the one 100% silk is espousing

so i mean in terms of intent and relationships with other entities within dance music it doesn't seem like you can really lump these people all under any single umbrella despite the fact that they all seem to get along pretty well and not mind working with or in proximity to one another

is there overlap with this scene and !!!/out hud? those guys' live shows verged on live goa trance at times

― blank, Friday, November 4, 2011 2:13 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I interviewed Outhud years ago, like when they were touring STREETDAD I think, and mentioned a bunch of (pretty well known) British stuff from the 90s that they reminded me of, and iirc the only one they'd heard was The Orb

i was fortunate to get a white label of namedropper and uber hipster Capitane Jay Vee's L.I.E.S .record. it is fantastic.

as for Traxx, he's an interesting example to cite as his records are definitely homages to Chicago's early house days, he has links to L.I.E.S. but i wouldn't put him in amongst this as he's been doing it for eons and is an oracle / evangelist / encyclopedia for all things Chicago.

sounds like a such a sad state to be in...where i grew up
...it was junglists vs househeads and never the twain shall meet

― you want fries with that (flame grilled meat), miércoles 2 de noviembre de 2011 17:40 (2 days ago) Bookmark

ok yeah i was definitely part of the HOUSE 4 EVA JUNGLE IS CRAP camp through the early 20's... didn't "get it" until hearing db's a secret history part ii: the rough and the smooth - that was more from a distaste towards the og-bro-y WOMP WOMP WOMP, WOMP WOMP WOMP over and over again tracks that seemed to permeate everywhere. house + ...nu skool breaks were always like pb+j though

I'm not really sure which side of the divide Azari & III are being placed on here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPMSMEl82rU

not my idea of fun

but i'm told i hate fun

I'm not really sure which side of the divide Azari & III are being placed on here.

― Matt DC, Friday, November 4, 2011 12:05 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

isnt this stuff far too close to ~actual~ house to qualify as 'hipster house' even though its predominant audience is in fact hipsters, which is part of my confusion about how stuff that isn't quiet so dance-y managed to gain purchase, in 2011

azari & iii is a pop group with vocals, people dancing to them in a h****** loft party are probably also dancing to things like holy ghost or penguin prison or whatever, their lack of interest in proper house and techno is probably equal to their lack of interest in 100% silk singles or teengirl fantasy

it seems like there was at least some interest in reconciling all of that stuff together in the mid 00s with black dice and gavin russom being on DFA, but i guess arguably it didn't really work. the people who went to go see holy ghost open for chromeo were for the most part probably not running to go buy black meteoric star albums and by the time their tenure at dfa ended, black dice's former label paw tracks had grown a lot and maybe become a better place for them

like i guess there are reasons for throwing the h****** tag around but if you're going to do that, it has to be made clear that the people in stutter shades going to secret sponsored parties with spank rock and duck sauce or whatever are not the same people who are making or buying 100% silk records

I think the dichotomy some ppl are referencing (not to put words in Lamp's or anyone else's mouth) is almost more about venues and less about the music?

like, diy basement show vs trendy club

This goes a long way toward explaining the spirit of the scene and answering Tim's question about how it differs from electroclash in terms of being outside the dance music mainstream. While the NY aspect of electroclash (Fischerspooner, Larry Tee) made a conscious reach for mainstream success w/o needing dance culture success, one of the key parts of the hipster house scene is it's underground quality - Azari & III end up not being a part of it simply by being too successful, taking them outside of the realm of DIY venues and limited vinyl only releases (and that's aside from the differences in mastering, that they're on Turbo, etc.). At least from what I've seen here in DC it is, to a large extent, a house party scene and there are a lot of kids in it who are just really wary of actual nightclubs in general.

azari & iii is a pop group with vocals, people dancing to them in a h****** loft party are probably also dancing to things like holy ghost or penguin prison or whatever, their lack of interest in proper house and techno is probably equal to their lack of interest in 100% silk singles or teengirl fantasy

― james brooks, Friday, November 4, 2011 3:57 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i disagree i think ppl who are into edits & etc are also messing w/ the big azari singles (all 2 of them)

I don't think that era of DFA has really ended either - the Invisible Conga People 12 for example.

i can personally attest that 'in a hole' sounds good in a set incl h1pster house music

Yeah I'm sure it would!

Invisible Conga People are basically my platonic ideal for this kind of thing. And I would love for some of this stuff to go in the percussive direction that ICP did on "Weird Pains".

I've been liking yr last few posts btw Lamp - I do think that perceptions of relationships and differences are as important as the reality so if someone is saying "notwithstanding anything else this feels different or distinct to me/us because of the contextual framework" that makes total sense to me, so long as it's at least somewhat self-aware.

i have heard azari & iii songs in miracles club sets fwiw. also that neurotic drum band single, which sounded excellent.

it's worth noting tho that these sets don't rly include any hipster house at all

not sure if this kind of stuff was discussed already or really fits in here, there's some silkiness to it anyway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRp-CWxAMHU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npo5gC6r8bU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRqeVozWmlg

azari & iii is a pop group with vocals, people dancing to them in a h****** loft party are probably also dancing to things like holy ghost or penguin prison or whatever

Okay that makes sense because I associate Azari & III with Permanent Vacation and similar labels and totally think of all that as 'proper' dance music (albeit of the disco variety). Holy Ghost are kinda the link between Permanent Vacation/nu-disco and DFA, I suppose? All this stuff feels like it's at least linked to the rest of dance music (and also Gavin Russom etc) but the stuff that's being talked about on this thread feels like it's coming from a different direction, which is why Azari being brought in confused me a tad.

Permanent Vacation and similar labels and totally think of all that as 'proper' dance music (albeit of the disco variety)

not sure why this needs an "albeit" caveat

Would prob like some of the stuff in this thread but i never like hearing a block of things all together like oh hello you must listen to this whole new thing these are the things that sound like it....prefer just hearing records in isolation (or in a mix or whatever), not having to represent some other things

it's the 21st century man get with the program

love your username btw!

THIS track from Mr Wolfers recent FACT mix was made for this thread - right down to the fake you tube back story and everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTyZm9qr37A

Maria Minerva was just playing at the local record shop. Sounded better on their system than it does on my headphones.

potential new entry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4T2K-dkxA4&

song's not half bad...

weird (but not really). I haven't really heard them but some friends are really into them. Generally they're a dour post-punk revival band...early Factory records, Joy Division/Section 25 etc? Maybe they're just skipping right to the Hacienda circa 1987? (bypassing the latin freestyle era)

sidescroll dancing

i listened to the factory floor song on the quietus and the soundcloud widget was accompanied by this press photo of them looking just impossibly, immaculately serious and cool and dark

and the song is just like this monolithic cold perfectly crafted thing that has good production but not too good so as to sound slick, disaffected vocals but not so disaffected as to sound lazy, gritty synths and percussion but not too gritty to get in the way of the club-readiness of it, with completely unassailable influences and sound design that will scan as acceptable to dfa fans, to people who like techno, to people who don't usually like dance music, more accessible than what they'd done before but without any obvious pop

i just couldn't find a way into it at all, it's such an unobjectionable piece of music that it seems almost inhuman, wouldn't really group it in here because listening to it really makes me miss the idiosyncratic/anachronistic/wtf qualities this stuff has

that's just me though maybe no one else feels that way

havent listened to that one but for me a lot of this so far sounds really excellent when its on but i have no desire to return to it whatsoever

haha I'd agree with that.

Maria Minerva has a very high "instant wow I love this" / "okay twenty minutes on I'm ready for a change" correlation for me. I think the fuzzy production values make the music somehow more laborious for me to listen to even when I like and/or approve of them (I'm not saying that is some universal property - just me).

that's just me though maybe no one else feels that way

no i think you totally got to the heart of why this band annoys me so much

i wouldn't put factory floor anywhere remotely near this thread. they're total techno and for me, all about their live performances.

Feel like everyone was in a real hurry to rush out a negative opinion on these.

Still not sure what I think about them in general but I like what they're trying to do, and Octo Octa's "I'm Trying" is a jam

If we're putting Future Times in here then the new Maxmillion Dunbar is good

http://soundcloud.com/maxmilliondunbar/loving-the-drift

the maria minerva album is excellent imo. i hadn't listened to any of this stuff when i posted here defending it conceptually. seems quite far from any kind of pastiche of house really...

Octo Octa's "I'm Trying" sounds nice. but what i'm not supposed to like it?

This is a nice 100% Silk mix from Fader:

http://www.thefader.com/2012/01/05/download-100-silks-fader-mix-2/

the maria minerva album is excellent imo.

haha not sure which album you mean but: yes. been listening to this ital remix s0 much l8ly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji8BVXZ0JZc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nya7EENhHw

Feeling Blondes Wine/Water record as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMKK8bRzNfU

blondes rule. they are sort of a one-trick pony but it is a v satisfying trick

http://soundcloud.com/bobbybrowser707/no-appointments

wow, Magic Touch - Clubhouse is really something

here's my hipster house from a few years ago...

http://soundcloud.com/newyorkendless

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUN7z_fPpDA

from the new peaking lights remix 12"

not sure what to make of this: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2012/02/lost_in_the_night_haceteria_ke.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLcghGwTiSE

Oooh child!

two things jump out at me from that article

it's an attempt by disenfranchised indie rockers and noise musicians to utilize the sound palette and energy of classic house for new ends

fail

We stayed until just the end of his set before catching a cab and making our way towards other destinations at the edge of dawn. (Or, in other words, a truly remarkable set by Roy Davis Jr. at an underground loft in SOMA. You haven't really lived until you've heard an old school Chicagoan work the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" to a packed crowd of house dancers at 5 a.m.)

epic fail

wow, Magic Touch - Clubhouse is really something

i like it a lot! it's a re-edit of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zncX4ckGwfw&