Abstract Index Playlist - September 16/10

This one's here for the purty cover art.

Just kidding, it's a heck of a record. I don't know much about the history of Gold Panda, and I'm not sure if the name will lead to instant recognition among the herds of animal-monikered bands out there.

He's just one man. The bio doesn't read like much; he's done remixes for Bloc Party, Simian Mobile Disco and The Field, but only the shimmery yet disciplined electronic compostion of this last artist gives a clue about how this music unfolds.

It's 'worldly' in the sense of being woven from exotic microsamples. However, these songs hit hard with a hiccuping funkiness, though some of my favourite tracks ("Snows And Taxis") feature really compelling downtempo soca beats. It certainly helps that its celebratory mood manages to interpolate Sublime Frequencies-like grimy samples with clear yet creative beats. Despite its clicks and cuts bricolage, this isn't tentative or ironic music in the slightest - it's boldly synthetic.

This week's track "Same Dream China" has been making the blog rounds and it's got a whiff of Konono via Steve Reich about it; soon after that theme establishes itself the beat drops and it's all over.

Podcast

it doesn't stop - from bacteria to boys (aum fidelity)
soheb - fond of tigers (drip audio)
polka story - warsaw village band (barbes)
la danza azteca - nahuatl sound system (no label)
suzie q (dem hunter bowel blood remix) - gonjasufi (warp)
sanmidor - kaly live dub (jarring effects)
wb - system (rump)
walk moon combo - arthur's landing (no label)
fluck flick - bobby jackson (jazzman)
ne noya - cos ber zam (analog africa)
bump jive #6 - the movers (gallo)
carolina carol bella - os brazoes (mr. bongo)
summertime our league - babe, terror rmx by four tet (no label)
abiogenesis track 7 - tatsuya nakatani (no label)
pareiodolia - steve raegele (songlines)
the shitman - moha! (rune gramofon)
same dream china - gold panda (ghostly international)
respek i speck/touch i heart - dubkasm rmx by gatekeeper & appelblim (sufferahs choice)
chronicles - odel (ohm grown)
black star dub - gg all stars (heartbeat)
seventh seal - sound iration (year zero)
el majagual - systema solar (no label)
chico ye - menea (no label)
tile ban - donso (comet)
el aguajal - los shapis (barbes)