solipsistic NATION No. 228: Sinistar

It’s a dark, rainy night here in San Diego and that’s providing the inspiration for today’s show. Me? I’m providing the soundtrack for tonight’s perilous precipitation.

A dark, rainy night. That could go many ways, right? A brooding, introspective mix might be appropriate. Or maybe something light and playful, suggesting the cleansing nature of rain. But no, in this case it’s a rain that might have fallen on that megatropolis that was Los Angeles in Bladerunner. Or maybe a rain that would have fallen on William Gibson‘s Chiba City in his seminal cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer.

It’s a rain that makes the asphalt slick and causes manhole covers to endlessly belch fetid steam, obscuring unknown and possibly menacing figures. It’s a rain that falls from a sky the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

And I need to go out into that wet night in a few minutes and eat some dinner before I fall over. But first, a few notes.

The album artwork for today’s show comes to us courtesy of Stu Horvath. Stu’s a former videogame critic and photo editor for the New York Daily News and his current endeavour is Unwinnable.com. If you’re part of videogame and geek culture, and really, who isn’t these days, then go check out his site.

Last week we showcased Diffrent Music, a label that blends the best elements of drum and bass and dubstep. I think the label is great but I only just got the mix a few days before last week’s show went out. I hastily mixed in my interview with Hunchbak and Dexta, the label’s founder and released the show. I was surprised and blown away with their mix as you were. And if you haven’t listened to it, go check it out after listening to this week’s show. It’s really great!

Join us again next week when our guests will be [tlr], who will tell us about the show he’ll be performing at The Terrace in Pasadena next week with DJ BZZZRP, Kissing Tigers, Kid Static and Ming and Ping. We’ll also be joined by DJ Umb of Generation Bass who’ll tell us all about their Transnational Dubstep compilation album. I’ve heard the album and it’s quite tastey! Suridh Hassan will also be on the show to talk about Bassweight, which is a really cool documentary about dubstep that he directed. We might even talk with Vincent Villuis of Aes Dana but we’ll definitely talk with Meat Beat Manifesto‘s Jack Dangers.

See you then. Hopefully it won’t be raining.

Photo Credit: ©Stu Horvath

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  2. Monolith “Transmission”
  3. Matta “Solar Driftwood (Ft. The Abyss)”
  4. SE “Mimikry (Subheim Remix)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
  5. Skream “Commercial SellOut” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
  6. Lucidstatic “Boneyard (vs. Shad0w)”
  7. Undermathic “Quantum Theory”
  8. Tapage & Meander “Delicate Hydroid”
  9. Niveau Zero “Law of the Universe (feat. Ben Sharpa & Ill Smith)”
  10. Zeller “Zion Asteroid”
  11. Sub Swara feat. Freddie (of Freddie Mills) “Future Fresh”