Nicolas Jaar: I was a Teenage Villalobos

This is the thread to discuss the wunderkind producer Nicolas Jaar.

Typical teenage boy, loves Satie and Mulatu Astatke. At 14, he decides he loves techno too, even though the only thing he's heard at that point is Tiga's DJ Kicks. His father, the artist and filmmaker Alfredo Jaar, goes to a record store in Chile and says 'Give me the most forward-thinking electronic music album right now', comes home with Thé Au Harem D'Archimède. Dad gives him the Villalobos album ("the sexiest thing I'd ever heard") and Luomo's Vocalcity for Christmas that year. Nico starts making tracks, gets hooked up with Wolf + Lamb a couple of years later, and there you go.

Additional charming details in the Philip Sherburne interview.

Jaw-droppingly good Resident Advisor podcast available on soundcloud (tracklist).

His original tracks, many done before he turned 18, are also up on soundcloud.

My tracklist for the Essential Nico:
*Time For Us
*Mi Mujer
*No Regular Play - Owe Me (Nicolas Jaar remix)
*WOUH
*Love You Gotta Lose Again
*Hage Chahine (ft Will Epstein)
*John the Revelator
*Marquises
*El Bandido
*Kasper Bjorke - Heaven (Nicolas Jaar remix)
*DJ T - Gorilla Hug (Nicolas Jaar remix)
*Mini Calcutta
*Russian Dolls
*Your Waltz
*Nico's Feeling Good

Easily my favorite and most listened to music of the year.

The few tracks I've heard (think one of them was El Bandido) were very very good.

only heard him on thu for the first time - i was doing a radio show with braiden, who's been raving about him for a while - and was totally blown away. love the bluesy vocals, love the way every track ends up somewhere completely different to its start. would add "marks", "angles" and his remix of ellen allien's "flashy flashy" to the must-hear list.

he has a comp coming out in a week or two, right? called inès. can't wait m8

Side one of Inès on soundcloud.

that radio show lex mentioned...

http://freakytrigger.co.uk/lollards-podcast/2010/11/freaky-trigger-and-the-lollards-of-pop-series-4-week-11/

did anyone get tix to the show in london in a couple of weeks?

nooooo i'm gonna try to get in somehow though

yeah im really hoping i can get a ticket on the door :-/

i hadn't even heard of this dude four days ago! i haven't fallen so fast and hard for an artist in some time

yeah im really late too! i blame ilx

Had heard some of this guys stuff and wasn't really blown away but i'm listening to El Bandido now thanks to this thread, and...damn.

Ever since the RA podcast I've been waiting for one of the usual suspects to start the Nicolas Jaar Can Do No Wrong: Defend or Refute thread he no doubt deserves.

Finally decided to take matters into my own hands. Never started a thread before, been reading ILM since the very beginning.

kinda hott too

http://www.playgroundmag.net/img/doc/13564/thumbs/480.jpg

just heard that kasper bjørke remix - it's wonderful.

his remix of azari & iii's "into the night" is something else too

so how old is he now

20 i think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSp_2c96JtA

^^ you can dl that edits ep free from the resident advisor website btw

Love Nicolas Jaar. He's had an incredible few years. He wrote to me in 2007, sending a song called "Little Stone" (much more, um, folktronica? than his techno now, but still really excellent). He was 17 and calling himself "Nico" - and it was plausible to me he didn't realise there already a famous Nico. A couple years later, he's doing tracks like "John the Revelator" - and now he's a Mutek fixture, a Resident Advisor wunderkind, just making beautiful subtle new things. So happy for him.

the edits ep is nice but i wouldn't really recommend it as your entry point to him, don't think it showcases what makes him special as much as other stuff

which i guess is why it was given away free

Sean: repost?

My favorite of his remixes is still "Owe Me", which reminds me of early Matthew Herbert (the remixes on Secondhand Sounds). The staticky clicks and pops and the echoey handclap and the wobbly keyboard and the filtered vocals -- it's all just so choice. Then the surf comes in.

edits ep is all ive heard, it was nice but a bit. i mean i kinda like everything i've heard on w+l bc thats an aesthetic that appeals to me, but its a bit on the subtle end

His solo debut on Circus Company is breathtakingly good, in the same way that early dOP stuff was. my only complaint is that he samples "I Got A Woman" on one track, which i find a bit much. otherwise, i'd say it's a perfect record.

lol at that grateful dead edit

i'm glad that it seems he's branching out from Wolf + Lamb, because tbh, i pretty much dislike 90% of the output from those producers and that label. it's all very boring, imho.

Pretty sure he's on BeatsinSpace next week but can't find anything to back that up so perhaps I dreamt it.

that sounds plausible, bis is way into w+l

His father, the artist and filmmaker Alfredo Jaar,

Get the fuck out! This family is like a entity of genius.

I already regret the phrase "entity of genius." Nevertheless, the point still stands.

i'm glad that it seems he's branching out from Wolf + Lamb, because tbh, i pretty much dislike 90% of the output from those producers and that label. it's all very boring, imho.

― Honey, I squirted jizz all over the baby (the table is the table), Saturday, November 27, 2010 3:35 PM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark

I know most are going to disagree, but this is absolutely 100% OTM.

I saw him play live at Mutek last June. Very enjoyable, despite having an indoor set at 3PM playing to a mostly empty room. Expect it to be slow, too.

Here are "Little Stone" and "The Student" (mp3s).

Oh um er let's try that again:

"Little Stone" (4.6mb)
"The Student" (4mb)

I put "Angles" on a recent mixtape and got a good response...is there an album coming out soon?

early next year - http://www.datatransmission.co.uk/viewnews/6069/

+ like lex said there's also a label comp out in a week or two that he has a few songs on

Tim Sweeney's just confirmed he is on the show tomorrow night so I obviously wasn't dreaming.

Woah - WOUH is incredible, some kind of Studio/techno hybrid I didn't know I needed to hear.

find a lot of his stuff a little meh but el bandido and time for us are both pretty great.

I dunno, it feels a bit soon for everyone to get carried away but it seems like a bandwagon has started rolling around this dude very quickly indeed. Then again, he's working withing a style where people are predisposed to throw around words like 'genius' very easily.

I like WUOH and Time For Us and what he does to Flashy Flashy, but I listened to the Marks & Angles EP and it just sounded dreary rather than hypnotic. I kinda feel like post-Villalobos there's almost no element or style that feels too weird to throw into this kind of framework, and it has a kind of dulling effect. Materials is pretty good though. We'll see.

really like a lot of what i've heard, particularly el bandido, but the vocals on Marks & Angles EP are so flaccid and lazy sounding bleh

the new album sounds a lot like dOP, but less house-y and more jazzy.

mostly agree with matt xp. time for us is the best thing he's done by a mile i think. i would really really like to hear him work with a good vocalist. think i read an interview where he said as much also. maybe he does on some of the forthcoming stuff? not that the slo-mo treated thing can't work too... like marks/angles isn't amazing overall, but it seems like he's starting to get the vocals to mesh with the production in interesting ways.

and will he further explore marksist politics in dance music?

I think he sounds like Matias Aguayo, even thought it was him at first. He has some better ideas than him from time to time but I'll agree with karl: he should abstain from vocal duties.

Just listened to his Live At The Bunker podcast (WLP087) in the gym - more propulsive than the RA one; doing lots of the same layering and building tricks but not quite as show-offily (or maybe just in a less developed way, since it's so much older)

Album dropping in February:

http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=12795

I am listening to it now (NB I have basically learned everything about him from this thread!), so far it's great and completely unconcerned by ~the dancefloor~ - there are a lot of moody pianos and a track that was like idk Barry Adamson crossed with microhouse or somesuch - I'm not really one for overstating the weather-appropriateness of music but 8am in a REALLY cold December is kind of where this is at I think

his beats in space is now up

completely unconcerned by ~the dancefloor~

I dunno, some people might consider this not necessarily a plus in house music.

oh clearly! NB a good chunk of it I would probly not describe as 'house music', also this is based on one listen on computer speakers lol

might have the chance to interview this fella soon. anyone got any questions for him?

you can stream his album here : http://maouris.co.uk/music-detail.php?c=cccd009-space-is-only-noise

can any jazz heads tell me what his edit "mini calcutta" is an edit of?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ_X9uTLHxo

Think it's dave Brubeck - Calcutta blues

Pro tip: the Ines compilation on his label is like a much superior version of his album, on the same micro-downbeat tip. Really beautiful stuff.

just sayin' thanks! x

O really? Love that comp but disappointed to hear the album's not as good xpost
No prob jed_!

another sample req (and this one has been driving me crazy) there's a kind of vocal whoop + crowd noise/talking in the background of "Time for Us" which i recognise. initially i thought it was from Marvin Gaye's "got to give it up" but no. anyone know the source of the "whoop!"?

http://soundcloud.com/nicolas-jaar/nicolas-jaar-time-for-us

O really? Love that comp but disappointed to hear the album's not as good xpost

The album's even more supine and feels flabbier, less consistently interesting sample choices too.

Anybody listen to the mix he did for Time Out New York? Quite possibly one of the sexiest mixes ever.

http://soundcloud.com/timeoutnewyork/nicolas-jaar-mix

(You guys know how to download "undownloadable" Soundcloud files, right?)

no

offliberty.com

view source, a do a find for

streamUrl":"http://media.soundcloud.com/stream/

then copy and paste everything inside the double quotes starting with http://media.soundcloud.com/stream/

in this case that's http://media.soundcloud.com/stream/iMHd65pdtNPy?stream_token=ktNzd

thanks. that mix is great!

think i'll go hear and *look at* him in glasgow at the end of this month.

ta Tracer!

absolutely <3 this. stunner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th33wxpla5s

Yes! That's my favourite Jaar moment i think. When the horns come in!

Jaar at his most ethnodelic reminds me a lot of Lhasa's 'The Living Road' album (I think he also included a Lhasa track on his resident advisor podcast).

i really liked his resident advisor podcast

v. elegant

...almost too elegant though? (in the case of his album at least). I appreciate what he's doing, but the LP... There's a fair bit going on, but not a lot to get your teeth into. It's almost an ambient record, with few beats going much higher than 110bpm. Think I need to give it a few more listens.

im into that

like recently i almost started a thread asking for more things like this w/o having this as an eg.

i feel like its one of those records where the beats jack as hard as you want them to

Ines comp is a better version of it though.

what is that?

Compilation of tracks released on Jaar's Clown & Sunset label.

Has some other artists on there as well as Jaar but it's all in that slightly glitchy percussive ethnodelic style.

xposts Yes I'm all for it too - certainly not a bad thing. It's almost becoming the norm for hotly-tipped dance acts releasing very restrained and non-dancey debut LPs at the moment. James Blake, Darkstar and now this. Aeroplane's album kind of tried (and failed) at doing an album that deviated from expectations. That said, I guess it was a bit more predictable with Jaar, but I'd have liked an album of El Bandido-style stuff.

A lot of the acts on Clown & Sunset are younger than Jaar himself.

The Ines album is great and despite it being a comp it feels very much of a piece. Jaar's tracks are great but they don't even stand out as being the best things on the record.

A lot of the acts on Clown & Sunset are younger than Jaar himself.

there are only three artists on the label iirc? but yes, both are younger than Jaar.

okay im into this

lol wtf is phillip sherburnes deal in this RA interview my god

what's a good representative track from this dude?

idk if its representative but Wouh is the one slaying me atm

the one that first blew me away was "marks"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64pJZyC-r_k

I guess Time For Us is a good representative track, if not his most popular? It also manages to capture both his up and downtempo sounds in the same song. That's and it's just really great.

it is! feeling the love you gotta lose ep the most in gen. tho

I remain resolutely un-blown away by most of this. It all feels a bit bloodless, museum-y.

I think my favourite thing he's done (other than El Bandido) is Shakedown, which isn't really anything like his more recent output, but great fun disco-edity stuff.

yah i mean i wouldnt say im "blown away" by any of it (also i had listened to his disco edits a few months ago and found them really unfun for disco edits) but i do really like his sound a lot while getting that it might be a little "subtle" for some ppl.

Matt's had his nerves shredded by years of bangin bass; it's understandable

i'm not really a fan of the disco edits at all

i like them now, but not as "disco edits" bc in that context they seem a bit uh pale

I thought they were cool. There seems to be a little more going on in them than the average cut-n-shut edit. What's the original of "Shakedown"?

http://charliegower.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/09/bob.jpg

i wish

i don't think this stuff is for me...i like his sound palette a lot, but there's just not enough there to hold my interest (and the noodly piano interludes are kind of grating). maybe it would work at a club or party, but i wouldn't know.

huh surprised by that tbh

I'd have troubel imagining the new album working in a club setting, but then I say that about a lot of things and end up being surprised when they do. He's getting a band together so he can perform the tracks live, so I hear.

that said i checked out his soundcloud and i do like some of that stuff better, like this: http://soundcloud.com/nicolas-jaar/b1-o-angles

thanks for the link to that Time Out New York mix, what a great listen.

"WOUH" is jaw-dropping.

Space Is Only Noise leaked.

i saw nico at the wolf and lamb xmas party at Sankeys in manchester. It was quite possibly one of best atmospheres i have ever experienced in a club. He started of at 70bpm and the crowd lapped it up , it made the changes throughout the set epic and his music on a good quality sound system was incredible. The man was like an artist and the whole crowd responded. he even SANG the vocal parts on his tracks - NO JOKE! i love my tech house/ deep house / minimal nights where the dancing is relentless however seeing Jaar is something different and something special - dont judge until you see his live act in a club setting - its surprising how well it works. He is the 2nd best live act in the Resident advisor polls for a reason.

i would really love to see him live yeah

it's him singing on the recordings, right?

come to glasgow on the 29th of jan then!

xpost

yh on the Chilean American vocals - this is his best mix in my opinion and gives you an idea of what to expect seeing him live - http://www.wolflambmusic.com/mp3/WLP087-nico-bunker-showcase.mp3

did anyone end up going to the shoreditch gig?

He started of at 70bpm and the crowd lapped it up , it made the changes throughout the set epic and his music on a good quality sound system was incredible. The man was like an artist and the whole crowd responded. he even SANG the vocal parts on his tracks -

boner

"Boner" - mature respone but yh he was that good , check out motor city drum ensemble aswell his stuff is great

did anyone end up going to the shoreditch gig?

no ;_;

:( didnt make it either

Adore the mcde remix of nufrequency on this general tip.

if I remember my Ivy Leage dates right, he's going to be missing the first few days of classes to do the Sub Club gig ... then i imagine no shows til the summer? TBH this guy seems like he'd fit summer like a glove

LeagUe

:(

yh its brilliant
check out the raw cuts series he did - raw cuts 3, 5 and 6 being the best - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjgsqXp3meg&feature=related
and this mix he did is great - http://www.nightmusic.ch/2010/10/11/motor-city-drum-ensemble-fabric-promo-mix-29-09-2010/

btw i take

i feel like its one of those records where the beats jack as hard as you want them to

lol having actually heard the record lol @ me. i like it but stick a kickdrum underneath it

Yeah I was a bit puzzled by that comment before TBH.

anyone not sold on nico listen to this mix of his - http://www.wolflambmusic.com/mp3/WLP087-nico-bunker-showcase.mp3

didnt realised u guys had all heard it since it hadnt leaked, figured u meant the eps which it still does apply 2

What you guys think of the album?

It's growing on me actually. I was comparing it to James Blake upthread, and while there are similarities, it's a lot less slap-dash than his album.

I would say the key distinction between Jaar and Blake is that Jaar can be loose but is never messy.

At the moment it's reminding me of Joakim's first couple of albums. Only a bit sonically, but mainly due to the sense of 4-5 really nice pieces being lost in the haze of excessive interludes, transitions, intros, and outros.

i like the album (on one listen) but, while i wouldn't say it's a disappointment exactly - i should at least give it time to grow on me - i prefer the singles. it's not necessarily the non-dancefloor focus that's the reason, i just feel like there's less focus full stop. people who are disappointed by it could do a lot worse than checking out frivolous's imminent meteorology album on cadenza

How similar is Meteorology to his Couples Therapy 12"?

Which I loved, partly because it reminded me Horror Inc.

no idea - this is the first frivolous stuff i've heard.

but clearly i need to hear it if it reminds you of horror inc!

(not my first point of comparison for the album, which sounds a lot warmer, but thinking about it the intricacy and use of melody are def comparable)

comparison/comparable aargh must drink coffee

Well I threw away the word "of" so... But on a re-listen it definitely sounds similar to Horror Inc (at least Horror Inc via Cadenza). Not just in terms of the intricacy, but also Frivolous' use of the same kind of musicbox and string sounds (at least on the track My Consciousness).

Frivolous has pretty much always been on key.

I would say the key distinction between Jaar and Blake is that Jaar can be loose but is never messy.

― Tim F, Thursday, January 13, 2011 6:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

I think this is OTM. "Space Is Only Noise If You Can See" is awesome.

who here has seen him live again? like is it *actually* possible to dance yr ass off when this guy plays?

I saw him, however he played to an huge, virtually empty room at 2PM. It was a lot of fun: he started out dancey, 110 bpmish, then pulled it down to downtempo stuff, where it did become more of a sliding and gliding affair. Also, this was last May, and I also kind of like the stuff he was doing a year ago more than his more up to date output.

I wish his sound design were more interesting -- I find a lot of the sounds themselves (electric pianos, or their stand-ins, for instance) a little underwhelming. The ideas are nice, but I wish the execution were a little more fully-formed.

And Plaxico, I don't really understand what you mean about my "deal" in that interview.

i enjoyed the interview, no clue what plax meant

still undecided on the album, i love the vibe of it, but the vocals grate at times

idk its prolly a great interview

kinda surprised that people are disappointed with the album, i think it's amazing. it's funny cause i actually *do* feel that the ideas on this are more focused/fully-formed than those on say the ines comp, which seems a bit sketchier and more obtuse to me (almost idm, reminds me of earlier four tet at times). also i kinda love the vox, esp if you compare them to james blake or superpitcher or even caribou (and 'swim' was my favorite record last year fwiw)

just listened to 'marks' - heard this in dj sets before but omg this song is so amazing. total 7am dancefloor banger when you're not sure whether to go home or not

The album's clicked for me. I listened to it in the dark on headphones. It's very impressive, and much more singer/songwritey in places than James Blake. Really looking forward to catching him at Fabric in March - is anyone going to this? I have a feeling I may be on my jack.

thrilled to see the indie kids picking up on it

^ are they?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q8078uDJMHI/Sl2zlHA56uI/AAAAAAAAABM/q-wiVvQkV18/S660/snark+banner.jpg

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15122-space-is-only-noise/

Shock horror.

He's pretty indie in fairness

can a jaar stan make me a list of the best stuff not on the album

look at the first post?

cool i will see him in fabric so

i decided i live in london now. i decided this tonight. i live in london.

just fyi.

lol dog latin, no snark here. thought the indie kids would sleep on this one and have james blake be the 'crossover dance' album of 2011

Did you know when something gets best new music on pitchfork you can have Insound automatically drop it in your cart?

I don't know this for sure but when I interned there it definitely seemed that this was the case.

My point being that it is impossible for indie kids to sleep on it, now.

Ah sorry mcoll, thought you were being dancist. Personally think the more discerning indie contingent need jaar in their lives right now and I'm not too surprised they're lapping up the new album, given its abstractions and quirks. But hey, no problem with that. Is it daft to ask whether jaar or Blake could become the new Richard d james? ie dance maverick releases art album gets adopted by indies and guardian supplement readers etc?

Stupid question imo.

We already have one Burial.

I know your opinion Matt; I wasn't asking you

;-)

xpost Burial though? Seriously?

Even the average Burial fan has little idea of who he actually is/what he looks like. Good as his work is, I don't think he has the personality nor the eclecticism to compete as a modern-day Aphex in terms of impact upon the wider world like James did.

Is it daft to ask whether jaar or Blake could become the new Richard d james? ie dance maverick releases art album gets adopted by indies and guardian supplement readers etc?

― chandelier falling through a bar in a batman costume (dog latin), Friday, 18 February 2011 08:59 (1 hour ago)

never change, dog latin ;)

Well you didn't mention looks or personality in your initial criteria. I don't know what an "art album" or for that matter a "dance maverick" but it's not like there's been a hole where the dance producer who indie listeners and Guardian supplements like should be. That's obviously been Burial for a couple of years at least. It doesn't matter whether such a producer exists anyway, apart from making a certain type of dance listener feel good about themselves.

I'm liking this album a lot more now I've been listening to it on headphones, in a lot of ways his production style feels more Geoff Barrow than Villalobos - more crackly, soundtracky. In two minds about the Fabric gig though, this music just doesn't feel like it would be that interesting in a live setting with a live band.

Ah sorry mcoll, thought you were being dancist. Personally think the more discerning indie contingent need jaar in their lives right now and I'm not too surprised they're lapping up the new album, given its abstractions and quirks. But hey, no problem with that. Is it daft to ask whether jaar or Blake could become the new Richard d james? ie dance maverick releases art album gets adopted by indies and guardian supplement readers etc?

― chandelier falling through a bar in a batman costume (dog latin), Friday, February 18, 2011 8:59 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

posts very much in character.

in a lot of ways his production style feels more Geoff Barrow than Villalobos

would have never made this connection myself but it is v. otm.

so pissed off that nicolas jaar and taylor swift are playing london on the same night

NO ONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS THE DISTRESS THAT THIS CAUSES ME :( :( :(

i saw him at the subclub and it was ok. definitely not worth going out of your way or paying a hefty door fee for but perfectly fine. i was more into it then most people there though, it seemed.

but yes he is v pretty

or "a total ride" as my friend kept saying.

I don't like Taylor Swift but I'd go and see her if I were you, it'll almost certainly be a good gig whereas Jaar could go either way. And you'll almost certainly have like 20 opportunities to see Nicolas Jaar in London in the next couple of years.

Definitely a headphones album. Sounds like an art installation on regular speakers. Personally, I'm kind of hyped for the Fabric set to be honest. I don't think he'll let us down.

Apologies to Matt upthread - I was kind of sleepy on the train into work and just having a brainshit into my iphone.

Although, y'know I think there's something to be said for people like Blake and Jaar having, what Tim F I think called, "the Aphex Twin factor" on the Blake thread. That is: A solid dance background; A flexible approach to making music that is apparent from release to release; A tangible image that people can latch on to (helps that both Jaar and Blake are good-looking, James not so much); Certain arty (but not art-school) tendencies (I see "Space Is Only Noise" as a kind of SAWII, while the earlier singles are Jaar's Analogue Bubblebaths); the ability to crossover from 'proper' dance to indie dance to middlebrow media without pandering to a mainstream or compromising their initial values... Just saying I see quite a few parallels, so I'm not surprised Pitchfork are giving this the thumbs up.

or "a total ride" as my friend kept saying.

― jed_, Friday, February 18, 2011 10:18 AM (22 minutes ago)

lol where is ur friend from?

whether or not jaar crosses over to indie kids = least interesting thing about him

plax, glasgow!

oh ok cos this is a totally irish thing to say, i never heard anybody not from ireland say that

Anyway, Aphex Twin occupies a unique position in dance music history that's connected to the time at which he emerged as much as his music and personality. There'll never be another Aphex Twin in the same way there won't be another Beatles.

it's quite a glasgow thing too, i think.

xp

u better not be lying bc im gonna say that in a knowitall way sometime in future and i need that info to be accurate.

straight up, you can say that to any glaswegian even pensioners.

fyi plaxico lives in london now.

can't remember where u live

fyi honolulu.

photos or it didn't happen

gr80 p sure u have never mentioned that before u r hella mysterious!

I interviewed him for BurningAmbulance.com. Link.

here's his podcast for xlr8r

http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2011/02/nicolas-jaar

Oh I just realised that unperson wasn't linking to a gr8080 interview.

Hahah

i'm psyched for this! The opening times say 8pm-1am. Anyone know any more details than this, as I need to make sure I get me last train back. Are there other acts playing?

Wish I was going, but an old friend is in town that night, and I'd feel harsh about missing out on seeing them.

I imagine the live set up will be great and a psyched crowd will really add to it.

that said, I've only seen bands on a Fabric night and not as a concert venue.

If the venue's open til 1am I would assume he'll be playing until 1 - according to the Fabric website there's a support act but dunno who. If you need to leave at, say, 11 for your last train you run the risk of missing the whole thing.

finally listened to this record a couple times. it's interesting, appealingly casual, and sometimes gets to a pretty awesome place mood-wise, but it's just not very, i don't know, satisfying?

Last train's at 1:36. I hope he's not playing til 1, on a Wednesday that's pretty late for people living outside of Zone 1.

He'll play 10 / 10:30 till 12, anyone in London who plays after 12ish and doesnt expect the entire crowd to leave for the last tube is an idiot,

There will most likely be a dj till 12 for people to dance to after the live stuff..

That said, if anyone is going to play late & loud, it would be at Fabric.

Carsten Kleimann's on first.

I'll be going on my jack if anyone fancies meeting up, just bell me - oh double seven three nine eight four double oh three nine.

i left the house before this was bumped! i wasn't sure i was gonna make it until i did though, due to having to leg it over from taylor swift at the O2 - got to fabric at 11, enough time for a good portion of his set. which was rather amazing. "el bandido"!!!! everything sounded HUGE on the fabric system. live band worked really well, loved the drum rolls and the SAXOPHONIST <3

jealous...

Yeah it ruled. I turned up right at the beginning an hung around like Gary no pals for two hours, then I had to leave at the end of bandido cos I was worried about missing the train (plus it was ridiculously crowded, maybe the promoters had underestimated the popularity of the night?). Did I miss much after el bandido? What I found impressive was how the little nuances of tracks off the album suddenly became hugely catchy earworms live. And yes the band were incredible. The drummer has a real flair for jiggedy beats. The sax was something else too.

haha fabric is always rammed, ugh @ that place. even more so for gigs as far as i can tell, last gig i saw there was ryan leslie on a monday and it was heaving :(

one imagines it gets extra-rammed for gigs because the total capacity of the club is tryin to fit into one room?

lol @ "Gary no pals"

jealous of anyone who's gotten to hear a good set on Fabric's system

I would have loved to see this.

They should really keep the live acts in Room 2 - Room 1 just isn't very well set-up for watching someone on a stage.

But it's got the boomin system.

I'm at the bbc maida vale studios now waiting for his session to begin!

wish i had a recording of this. A Jaar Live album would be immense!

The album is lush. Anything else by this kid on CD?

Not sure about singles/eps but I've just got round to checking out the Ines comp and that's good in a very different way yet again.

If there is a better tune this year than the title track on this LP I can wait to hear it.

Funny, I've got it going round an round my head right this moment

phh. can't

Yeah it's great. I love the melody of the title track but I keep sitting listening to it thinking - is this what I think is great? then the last minute or so kills me every time.

God. No - I'm wrong. The whole thing is awesome.

Here're my thoughts on the live show: http://thequietus.com/articles/06139-nicolas-jaar-fabric-live-review

nice

That was a great article. Thanks for posting.

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

!!!!

he did an amazing cover of this for the gilles peterson show the other week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9asAVWUArg

heard that missy remix the other week on BiS and yeh, wow

that missy rmx is amazing

Love that missy rmx. Any idea where can I purchase?

yeaaaaaaaah heard that missy remix out the other week and have been desperate to know what it was - so good

man abdullah ibrahim is dope, cant wait to hear his rmx

live in the studio version, pretty nice:

http://soundcloud.com/nicolas-jaar/ishmael-abdullah-ibrahim-cover

(no vocals though, just a jam on the bassline)

saw ibrahim live once, one of the greatest shows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNu-Jtp_M1Y&feature=related

Nicolas Jaar / Live

Wednesday July 27th & Thursday July 28th
Details

* Date: Wed 27th Jul, 2011
* Time: 8pm - 1am
* Location: Fabric, 77A Charterhouse St City of London EC1M 3HN
* Price: £10-12.50

really liked your review of the last one btw DL, I don't think I said at the time

hey, thanks! I think that was my first official live review so it means a lot :-)

What's his pre-album stuff like then, and does anyone fancy helping me hear it?

See the list at the top of the thread Mouthy. It's kind of similar, but more house-based. Worth looking at. Think you might like Mi Mujer, and El Bandido.

Or get the Inès comp

What's his pre-album stuff like then, and does anyone fancy helping me hear it?

omg nick the answers to these questions are only in the VERY FIRST POST of this thread

lol i made the same mistake upthread

listened to the album for the first time today while relaxing outside with my head leaned back it was lightly raining & i felt like i was getting my hair washed at the hairdressers when that sample came on so nice

would listen to an album of the sound of rushing water

http://www.whatpeopleplay.com/?redirect=/albumdetails/null/id/40689

Gyah! Aju & Bradock & Jaar.

Ah, two of my favourite acts from this year coming together:

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

i'm fully convinced that this guy is a genius now.

he finished his set at fabric the other day:
http://www.divshare.com/download/15416345-739
does anyone know what it is?

didn't he say it was brand new?

he's distractingly smashable

omg dont get me started

he's a total ride.

lol

http://soundcloud.com/nicolas-jaar/sets/nicos-bluewave-edits/

he's distractingly smashable

― the tune is space, Sunday, July 31, 2011 5:00 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

omg even more so in person

you bastard.

and omg that Hey Boy bluewave edit is amazing.

really liking this!

I like his edit of The Beach. Nothin special, just slowed down and less jerky.

i have a question about his production (and i know nothing about production so please humour me).

the records that he puts out have a very idiosyncratic sound, it seems to me. appropriately, perhaps(given the album title) i'll describe it in spatial terms because i think that way. each sound sounds very separated from all the others, it's almost like each sound is a sphere of sound within a room and that sphere is travelling forward but not colliding with the other parts of the mix. that individual (spherical) sound is very separated from the other sounds within the mix and those other sounds occupy a similar separated space - each sound had a field around it which prevents it from touching the other sounds in the mix, does that make sense? amazingly he does make those separated sound make a whole

i love this effect but, at the same time, i find it wearing to listen to at a stretch. i can't listen to "space is only noise" from beginning to end, it's too taxing.

so the question is, does he have a unique talent here? or are other producers capable of achieving this effect but realise that used, over a long stretch, it can have a negative effect and so hold back from using it too much?

or possibly you just disagree with me or don't get that sonic overload effect that i do.

or maybe you just think i'm talking nonsense!

(that is really garbled, sorry, but i don't really have the language to discuss these things)

i don't know, but you're making me want to listen to this stuff again!

maybe i'm just jaded and hard to thrill these days but a lot of his stuff sounds really interesting and beautiful but doesn't give me the sort of kick i look for in this sort of music. maybe it's a phase.

jed's description is why "Space Is Only Noise" is making me think I need a new home system

Are there any good Jaar sets floating around online anywhere?

the xlr8r one is good but it's basically one long jaar track/series of reedits.

http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2011/02/nicolas-jaar#

still available.

Got it, thanks!

listening to him is a severely visual experience for me too but i couldnt really do an accurate description.

So much amazing material this year, mostly not on his actual album of course...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LiGRSsC33k&feature=related

why do you say "of course"?

any idea what hey boy is an edit of?

More that's it's kinda typical for dance producers to slightly underwhelm with their actual albums as compared to the other stuff they put out.

Also been listening heaps to "Deleuze's Will" which I can't believe is 2 years old.

The original of "Hey Boy" is by The Blow.

thanks, Tim. do you know the orig of "what my last girl put me through"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozFvQcyQ4y8

That entire compilation is amazing actually - see also The Manhattans' "If My Heart Could Speak", The Temprees' "Love Can Be So Wonderful"...

Everything sounds like Jaar sample sources actually haha.

i have a hunch btw that soul keita and nikita quasim don't actually exist so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_95WB4Bxio

thanks again Tim. i wasn't being lazy, I have genuinely searched several times for answers to those questions.

also wtf at 18 or so making tracks that reference Deleuze, if only by title.

"hey boy" is a The Blow remix i think

space is only noise was p underwhelming in the end, coulomb is the only song that i love as much as his singles and remixes. i mean i still like it, disappointment is p relative to its context in this case.

oh my god i love hey boy

why you didn't call me?

me too, big love for that.

Okay can dude release "Encore" and the Iva Gocheva tunes already.

Possibly too busy having Space is Only Noise recalled. But yes.

i've no idea what the tracks tim mentions are but his next single is don't break my love/why didn't you save me, and they're both very pretty

Who's that with? Also while we're asking, can he finally get round to releasing the Kalabrese 12" he's been promising for Clown and Sunset? You know, the one he played on the RA mix over a year ago.

Iva Gocheva is a Jaar pseudonym - Bring the Fire/The Pink Veil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jGLE5nCCcg

Encore:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GX_4PgUhYo

Possibly too busy having Space is Only Noise recalled. But yes.

― Jedmond, Sunday, October 23, 2011 1:05 AM (2 hours ago)

is there a story behind this?

Uncleared sample situation;
http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/news/nicolas-jaar-album-recalled-due-to-uncleared-sample

It's a Ray Charles sample that wasn't cleared as far as I can work out.

Kind of the world's most obvious Ray Charles sample!

Kanye's Late Registration recalled for uncleared Ray Charles sample

Jamie Foxx recalled for uncleared Ray Charles impersonations

each sound sounds very separated from all the others, it's almost like each sound is a sphere of sound within a room and that sphere is travelling forward but not colliding with the other parts of the mix. that individual (spherical) sound is very separated from the other sounds within the mix and those other sounds occupy a similar separated space - each sound had a field around it which prevents it from touching the other sounds in the mix, does that make sense? amazingly he does make those separated sound make a whole.

I had a defining moment with this album, when I played the CD through a hi-fi that had also been set up for TV surround-sound, in a large, tall, split-level space with a great acoustic. As there was a speaker in each corner, I found myself walking slowly round the room and experiencing each sonic element if it were a separate spatial entity. It was, um, pretty amazing really.

^^ Jealous, I always had the creeping feeling that when I listen to this on headphones or my cheap monitors or the lousy stereo downstairs, that I'm not doing this album justice. Sound design is getting so good these days, but unless you have a decent space and system, it's largely lost.

I dug this out again. It struck me that this is less a house/slow house record than a jazz/blues record made on electronic instruments.

totally agree... been listening to this and the Mark Hollis solo album recently and they both arrive at a jazz destination from wildly different starting points.

I think NJs links with the Wolf & Lamb crew has played up the slow house aspect of the album.

yes, the best song is the dave brubeck one

oh it's not on the album but
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ_X9uTLHxo

I think NJs links with the Wolf & Lamb crew has played up the slow house aspect of the album.

― my opinionation (Hamildan), Tuesday, October 25, 2011 12:06 PM (5 hours ago)

that and the majority of his output aside from this album

The new EP is ridiculously beautiful. So much static, so much space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=976TiEEWW48

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YwEg4Lcs8Q

Don't Break My Love is up there with WOUH for his best.

This guy!

weird tracks

Scout LaRue Willis??

Like the track though.

I don't understand why people rate WOUH so much... such a nothingy track compared to some of his others.

Totally late to the party—just got Space Is Only Noise from an end of the year list—but Jaar has become a fast favorite. Gonna have to spend some serious time with this thread it's such a wealth of links.

think there's something instantly accessible about WOUH, much like those hip-hop instrumentals (BiS?). But yeah, only scratching the surface.

jaar pox

wouh
a time for us
love you gotta lose again
marks
the bees - winter rose (nicolas jaar remix)
ellen allien - flashy flashy (nicolas jaar remix)
russian dolls
el bandido
space is only noise if you can see
no regular play - owe me (nicolas jaar remix)

"wouh" wasn't immediate for me but it gets under your skin and stays there permanently

Wuoh benefits from being on the Love You Gotta Lose Again 10" - it's perfect Jaar alternative to Love You Gotta Lose Again and Don't Believe the Hype.

Jaar pox

Love You Gotta Lose Again
Wouh
Variations
Angles
Encore
Time For Us
Hey Boy
Matthew Dear - You Put A Smell On Me (Jaar remix)
Azari & Ill - Into the Night (Jaar remix)
Can't See What Is Burning There

Even if the last two tracks are the same trick (aka watch the track turn Bleep) it's a great trick, and the variations are even better.

ya i was going to say, i feel like at least some of the bluewave edits should be a part of any jaar compendium

also the nicolas jaar and dave harrington thing is p nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm1ftqRRLj0

(apologies if that was already posted)

Came out during the time of the sandbox.

Yarh, the Jaar & Harrington is damn nice - A1 should probably be where the Dear remix is.

And now that another 2 months have passed it's doubly ridiculous that Encore hasn't been released.

The Jaar tune I find myself coming back to most is his edit of Shakedown Street, even though as mentioned upthread it's not really representative - I just love it

Wuoh benefits from being on the Love You Gotta Lose Again 10" - it's perfect Jaar alternative to Love You Gotta Lose Again and Don't Believe the Hype.

hmm not for me, i've only ever had "wouh" as a standalone thing (think it was released separately too). only have the other two on the inès comp.

i don't think the bluewave edits, or any of jaar's edits, are nearly as good as the rest of his stuff - even the album is better. they seem a bit precious and mimsy.

I'm pretty sure I can also enjoy Wouh separately as well.

Even What My Last Girl Put Me Through? Considering how sample heavy his tracks are it seems a losing proposition to spend too much time distinguishing between his edits and his edits which he's worked on longer. Plus I find the reverse, Jaar's edits/sampling stops him from getting to micro-precious.

This is true. I don't really hear that much distinction between the tracks proper and the edits. It's all of a part - the album material, the dancier singles and the edits. I really like the Work It edit too.

Plus the edits give you a bit of background on some of his tastes and how they fit into the rest of his work - who'd have thought that the Grateful Dead's disco period or Love Potion No.9 would be such an influence on a sound like this?

POXI:

Clown N Sunset Collective - Her String
Nicolas Jaar - Encore
Nicolas Jaar - Love You Gotta Lose Again
CEO - Illuminata (Nicolas Jaar Remix)
Nicolas Jaar - Can't See What Is Burning There
Iva Gocheva - Bring The Fire
Nicolas Jaar - Mi Mujer
The Blow - Hey Boy (Bluewave Edit)
Nicolas Jaar - Avalanche (Tribute to Leonard Cohen)
Nicolas Jaar - Dubliners
The Bees - Winter Rose (Nicolas Jaar Remix)

Argh I forgot about the Darkside EP, so amazing!!

This new track "With Just One Glance" is pretty great also:

http://soundcloud.com/huntandtrack/nicolas-jaar-with-just-one

The Darkside EP is worth just for A1 4:43-5:30, ridiculous.

Hadn't heard of that CEO remix, I thought Illuminata would be well past boost remixs.

One Glance....oh nice.

How many EPs/singles/one-offs has he released these last 12 months? Have we talked about Don't Break My Love / Why Didn't You Save Me yet?

i really dig the last minute and a half or so of "don't break my love" but it might have to do with the sense of release from a somewhat boring/mediocre five minute build. imo.

ooh psychgawsple you just make me so MAD sometimes

haha. i guess it's actually sorta intricate, but the basic synth line just leaves me with a "meh" feeling every time. until the release of course.

his shlohmo remix is really dope

i really really love "With Just One Glance".

yeah that shlohmo really is something isn't it?
Jaar definitely has 'themes' that he revisits in terms of chord progression and scale.

ha so does shlohmo

essential mix live now and its already ruling

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wkfp

hm

this was a beautifully strange essential mix. can't wait to d/l it.

you can: http://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/nicolas-jaar-essential-mix-05

Thanks!

Rio Grande - Let's Groove (Tonight Edit)<--- my highlight. sounds very similar to the Hey Boys track he did.

Still getting my head around it.

Tracklisting, FWIW:

01. Nicolas Jaar & Maceo Plex - Gravy Train (Nicolas Jaar Remix) [Get Physical Music]
02. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise [Clown & Sunset]
03. Laxx & Farkas - Creature
04. Nicolas Jaar - Don't Break My Love [Clown & Sunset]
.....................................................................................................

05. Angelo Badalamenti - Conversation On Twin Peaks [Warner Bros]
06. The Brothers Four - Greenfields [Columbia]
07. Jay-Z - My First Song (Acapella) [Roc-A- Fella]
08. Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood [NONESUCH]
09. Los Ángeles Negros - Tu Y Tu Mirar... Yo Y Mi Cancion [Harmless]
10. LaShun Pace - It's Me Oh Lord (Acapella Praise) [Shanachie]
11. Jonny Greenwood - Open Spaces [NONESUCH]
12. Pearson Sound - Footloose [Pearson Sound]
13. The Electric Prunes - Holy Are You (There Is No God Edit) [Reprise]
14. Aphex Twin - Ziggomatic 17 [WARP]
15. Keith Jarrett - Tokyo, November 14 (Encore) [ECM Records]
16. My Girl And Me - Always Back To You (feat. Lorraine) [Unknown]
17. Vera November - Last Night Together (You're Coming Back Edit) [Rough Trade]
18. Nikita Quasim - L'amour L'après Midi [Clown and Sunset]
19. Nikita Quasim - The Way I Felt Today [Clown and Sunset]
20. Feist - Caught A Long Wind [Polydor]
21. Shigeru Umebayashi - Yumeji's Theme (In The Mood For Love) [In The Mood For Love OST, Higher Octave OmTown]
22. *NSYNC - It Makes Me Ill (Edit) [JIVE]
23. Unknown - Unknown
24. Charles Mingus - Myself When I'm Real [IMPULSE]
25. Bill Callahan - America! [DRAG CITY]
26. The Field - The Little Heart Beats So Fast [Kompakt]
27. Sneaky Sound System - Always By Your Side (Nicolas Jaar Remix) [Modular]
28. Just Friends - Avalanche [Unknown]
29. Pavla + Noura - Don't Owe Me A Thing [The Prism, Clown and Sunset]
30. Acid Pauli - La Voz Tan Tierna [Clown and Sunset]
31. Igor Wakhevitch - Taddy's Dream: Ramallah's Road [Pathé Marconi EMI]
32. Nikita Quasim - Derridu [Unknown]
33. Beyoncé Knowles - 1+1 [Columbia]
34. Anouar Brahem - Vague / E La Nave Va [ECM]
35. Rio Grande - Let's Groove (Tonight Edit) [Unknown]
36. Gonzales - Manifesto [Sunnyside]
37. The Grass Roots - Let's Live For Today (Learn To Live Edit) [Dunhill]
38. Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Sk Edit) [TAMLA]
39. Man Friday - Real Love (The Paradise Garage Mix) (feat. Larry Levan) [Nite Grooves]
40. DJ Slugo - What That Do [Subterranean Playhouse]
41. Ricardo Villalobos - What You Say Is More Than I Can Say [Playhouse]
42. Untitled - Untitled [Unknown]
43. Nicolas Jaar - The Student [Wolf & Lamb]

this may sound like an otw comment but this mix is everything i had hoped the harvey ra mix would have been.
ya i know diff artists/diff sounds etc but the mixture of atmosphere/dance/eclectic is what jaar nailed here and harvey fumbled when he attempted to do the same.

not sure I agree (although I haven't returned to the RA mix) but there was something 'harvey' about it in a really great way.

weird mix not sure i like it yet (30 mins in)

nah i didn't like it much either. seemed a bit, dunno, desperate to impress (breath of tracks/knowledge of music) but kind of lazy at putting all of those things together into a whole. i liked several tracks on it though.

wtf is all this piano & violin

I thought the Jaar mix was brilliant, but I'm not too deep of an electronic/techno head. I shared it with some non-music-obsessive people who were really taken. I think it slots together really well in terms of keeping a steady atmosphere and having a nice pace. I will definitely be returning to it.

Rio Grande - Let's Groove (Tonight Edit)<--- my highlight. sounds very similar to the Hey Boys track he did.

― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 19 May 2012 19:06 (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just got to this & totally agree, best track so far

main thing i didn't like about this mix is how many long stretches of beatlessness, or at least drum-lessness, there were. his use of percussion is my favourite thing about him as an artist & he has a great ear for beats, his use of space & texture is really cool too obv but moreso when it's complementing something rythm-based than just pure sound

all this griping is making me even more super-looking-forward to listening to this while reading in bed at night

Played this mix 3 more times in full. It's one of the most audacious mixes I've ever heard. It's unbelievable that he used his Essential Mix for this type of mix instead of just playing 2hrs of house.

idk if the world is ready for bill callahan edits guys. tho the nsync thing was actually pretty great

That Callahan track only plays for about a minute though. Never heard it before this set.

a friend had this on the other night and i was loving it.

main thing i didn't like about this mix is how many long stretches of beatlessness, or at least drum-lessness, there were. his use of percussion is my favourite thing about him as an artist & he has a great ear for beats, his use of space & texture is really cool too obv but moreso when it's complementing something rythm-based than just pure sound

― flopson, Tuesday, May 22, 2012 3:43 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Haven't listened to the EM yet but I def. agree with the above in general terms.

Shock World Service:

Nice work from Jaar Jaar Nic.

http://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/nicolas-jaar-essential-mix-05#new-timed-comment-at-6317015

Shock World Service: Shite, I don't even like the mix that much.
Saturday at 19:11 · Like · 1

people who loved the album prob love this mix

this mix was a joy to listen to. i love the blurry line between tracks that sound jaar-y but are untouched vs others that are basically full remixes.

i like the mix more than the album!

Me too. The album was pretty boring, this mix is a treat.

a week late on this but otm: mix > album

its surprisingly suited to a day at the beach!

all this griping is making me even more super-looking-forward to listening to this while reading in bed at night

^ last night, was great

I also enjoyed his 6 Mix where he discussed all his influences and current favs.

Appreciate him introducing me to Anouar Brahem through these mixes. Listening to Le Voyage De Sahar right now and loving it.

http://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/azari-iii-and-nicolas-jaar-6

absolutely LOVE the essential mix, one of the best mixes in years, and i'm not even a jaar fan.

Shock World Service: Shite, I don't even like the mix that much.
Saturday at 19:11 · Like · 1

i know this guy.

perfect soundtrack to a lazy sunday bbq in the sunshine. i was all (lol i'm an idiot) geared up to hate on this after all the fuss (i think jaar is a bit overrated as a producer) but yeah, it's really great

yeah i don't give a toss about him as a producer i have to say.

Was just listening to this when the Leveson enquiry live feed came back on...took me a while to work out what was going on, but it turns out you can put any kind of serious speaking dude in the background and it sounds extra-Jaary.

All a bit forced imo

So the thread title remains relevant

Did the Prism thing actually happen? (Only vaguely following Jaar but suspect it would make a nice present for someone).

Can the world be done with this dude already so I don't have to see him everytime I GIS Alfredo Jaar [/challops]

seems not to be a problem if you GIS Alfredo Jaar instead of just Jaar [/search tips]

that would only be a problem if I actually was only GISing "jaar"

when I search for Alfredo Jaar an image of his son comes up on the 16th page of results, when oh when will his career end and ease my burden

why would one ever not enjoy looking at nicolas jaar?

Did the Prism thing actually happen? (Only vaguely following Jaar but suspect it would make a nice present for someone).

yes! i wrote about it http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-04-11/music/nicolas-jaar-and-gwilym-gold-play-with-their-packaging-strategies/

I ordered the prism last week, hasn't arrived yet. The Leonard Cohen cover from the Essential Mix is on it.

Kind of preferred his dj set to his live show at mutek. Both good, though.

Thanks Alex/Misty. Can't decide if it's worth $40 (£26.00) ... and the website wasn't hugely user friendly.

Did it arrive, Misty?

new cat power remix is kind of perfect

http://www.thefader.com/2012/08/07/cat-power-cherokee-nicolas-jaar-remix-mp3/

the essential mix is now available for download without the bbc voiceovers and interruptions:

http://soundcloud.com/clownandsunset/csp06-nicolas-jaar-essential

(tip, it's an .m4a file)

+1

Ah, beat me to it. The mix flows way better now.

Listened to this today for the first time since the few weeks after it came out -- perfect fit for a grey and windy day. The opening with Badalamenti getting all enraptured is magical. I love the Baroque trio piece followed by Keith Jarrett, and the Leonard Cohen cover, and surprise, the Feist song. I can see how this can seem like forced eclecticism, but so much of it is so good that I'd rather not see him edit himself too much.

This is still the best part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4rVcvkE2EU

Wait, never noticed the question about the Prism.

It took 2 weeks to arrive, typical for shipping to Canada. It's smaller than I expected, sits easily in the palm of my hand. It's an attractive little box. The buttons aren't labelled, so it's not intuitive to use. The music is hit and miss. Nico's stuff (Don't Break My Love, Why Didn't You Save Me, the covers of Ishmael and Avalanche) is great, the rest of it didn't stick with me. Haven't listened to it mich -- too much hassle to rip it and can't be bothered to carry it around.

Xinobi's done a nice edit of "And I Say", the Jaar track with Scout LaRue (originally titled With Just One Glance). Much like El Bandido or Mi Mujer -- a bit faster, more of a 4x4 pulse. Good for the People Who Don't Like The Album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHG2J7RCnF4

Speaking of Mi Mujer, here's the sample source for one of the vocal parts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M2HDceMVB0

A terrific little set at the Mondrian Hotel as part of Art Basel -- until he approached curfew. "I have time for one more...?" he asked hopefully, glancing at the sound mixer. A 1:30 later the hotel cut the power.

The crowd was small enough for me to approach him afterwards and chat for about a minute. I mentioned watching him at Pitchfork in July, which surprised him.

BEST LIVE SHOW EVER

I'm only slightly exagerrating.

So jealous.

How many players?

3 - jaar (on knobs, keys and vocals), a guitarist and a saxophonist (occasionally on keys)

I saw him at the second, Darkside-billed show bcz the big one sold out - couple of hundred people, Jaar on knobs, keys, vocals and gong, guitarist on guitar and double bass (mainly used for textures and percussion with loop pedals). wish I'd seen both but if it had to be only one, it was pretty special

This might have been Darkside actually but given he only paid one show here he might have pretended it was a Jaar show to avoid confusing people.

nah Darkside is a duo

I guess he's dropped a drummer altogether? or didn't bring to Australia. but he seemed to be mainly playing percussion parts on laptop...

what's new?

this

http://warp.net/records/grizzly-bear/brian-eno-nicolas-jaar-grizzly-bear

nice!

probably the best 45 minutes I've heard all year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUjWumGIqe8

what's up with the grizzly bear / brian eno / nicolas jaar thing? just saw it at the record store, heard nothing about it. is it a collab or?

It's for Record Store day. Jaar remixes of Eno's "Lux" and Grizzly Bear's "Sleeping Ute"

ah ok, have u heard it? how is it?

no, haven't had a chance yet

Boiler Room set is definitely doing it for me though

this is better than the new daft punk :)

giving this a proper listen today and it is really great and exactly what i need (and also makes me feel high)

yeah, this is brilliant. all new and unreleased AFAICT.

love the way "took me out of the dark rain" drops. it's Destiny's Child:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tpme6V1dWs
(at 1:06)

the "what what what" track kills me, with that sweet soul sample and the slo-mo rant about the "domestic agenda"

the domestic agenda track would be Nicolas Jaar + Theatre Roosevelt's The Ego 2 https://soundcloud.com/clownandsunset/nicolas-jaar-theatre-roosevelt

this is p gorgeous

looking for an mp3 rip to listen to this in the car.

looking for an mp3 rip to listen to this in the car.

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, April 29, 2013 3:46 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

me too!

listentoyoutubedotcom

https://soundcloud.com/soldin-arman/nicolas-jaar-boiler-room-nyc + jdownloader

yeah the br set is just excellent.

so fucking good, the whole thing. but i especially love the 32:00-41:00 portion.

really fascinating to watch him work-- no headphones!

The set I saw in December was the best by any act since, well, Jaar's Pitchfork appearance.

really fascinating to watch him work-- no headphones!

well it's all done on the laptop, so he doesn't really have to worry about mixing/beatmatching, right?

i did like how he was playing electric piano using his laptop (qwerty) keyboard near the end.

last year at mutek it was a nice double feature of him playing his own material live w/band and the next day him djing in the park in the sunshine

I know it's the middle-aged indie rocker in me speaking but i would like this guy to gather all his bits and pieces in an album. I liked 'Space...' ok but what he's released since has been something else. or basically, I need "And I say" on CD

feel like his work would best be featured as feature length doc film with extended live performance segments tbh

sorry, no more recorded performances, you just have to go dance in a sunny park

easier downloading: http://soundcloud-download.com/ + http://soundcloud.com/soldin-arman/nicolas-jaar-boiler-room-nyc

thanks Lukas!

also, if you're trying to convert a youtube link, vidtomp3.com is quick and easy.

This Boiler Room mix is so incredible...and that 32:00 - 41:00 portion is unreal.

I liked 'Space...' ok but what he's released since has been something else. or basically, I need "And I say" on CD

Just out of curiosity, what has he released since "Space..." aside from the Record Store Day Grizzly Bear/Brian Eno thing?

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Nicolas+Jaar

Oh, I guess I thought there might have been more than that.

http://www.discogs.com/Darkside-Darkside-EP/master/393143

He's doing a set with the Joshua Light Show at the Barbican in October.

he's remixed all of Random Access Memories lol
http://t.co/ZHhRwDog05

some nice bits on the RAM remix thing. The Beyond remix is cool.

New Darkside album in October. Aiming high:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8NaWT0WvEE

The first Darkside EP just gets better and better. Awesome video for A1: http://vimeo.com/32882961

love the darkside album

Ahhhh how dare this be a thing that exists and yet not in my possession.

http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=15075

Ooooooh.

they must have just updated with returns it was sold out for a long time

had no idea darkside was him!! i posted them to the nu-balearic thread last week.

you have been in this thread where we've talked about them!

so i have.

really looking fwd to this. The EP was fantastic

Another track from the new album: https://soundcloud.com/daftside-2/paper-trails

i'm sure i'll get over it but guitar sounds kindof lame in a dance context... sounds like some frusciante shit or something

I was going to say Knopfler.

streaming now

http://www.other-people.net/

This Darkside album is fucking lush.

I like it. It's weird.

i like the dubby, palm-muted guitar parts and the vibe, but ugh at some of those blues lead licks.

I can just about let the blues bits pass. Just about.

Darkside beats the hell out of Jaar's solo LP.

this is awful

i love it, i don't think it sounds that weird or removed from jaar's solo work though. his sonic palette is so wide already that the addition of a guitar doesn't feel remarkable (but still great)

Do wish people would stop talking about this as if it's a Jaar album with is mate Dave playing guitar over the top. The credits make it pretty explicit that this is a collaboration; Harrington brings a lot more to the table than just some blues licks.

i was pretty underwhelmed on first listen but i had to take a few hours of officework home the other night, so i opened a few beers and put this album on repeat and by the 3rd play i was sold.

Do wish people would stop talking about this as if it's a Jaar album with is mate Dave playing guitar over the top. The credits make it pretty explicit that this is a collaboration; Harrington brings a lot more to the table than just some blues licks.

― they all are afflicted with a sickness of existence (Scik Mouthy), Friday, October 11, 2013 3:53 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah... some p shitty blues licks

this album is like stoned shirtless guy at a party with acoustic guitar playing along to minimal techno

can't blame this dave dude though, if nico asked me to bluesfart all over his album & then join him on a decked out world tour i'd say yes

at some points i could almost swear that they had turned the guitar down in the mix to a just-ever-soslightly above audible level

the guitar isnt that bad!! its not too different from like AM01 or something.

Pretty sure there are guitars on the Jaar album anyway.

and he always played with a live band (of which harrington was part) anyway

like, blending electronic stuff and ~real instruments has always been jaar's thing, the guitar is just something else naturally enfolded into what he has at his disposal

xp maybe there were, they just weren't played by anonymous jazz majors

idk i found it kind of awkwardly incorporated, like there was a forced equality of prominence b/w them rather than it just being one more element carefully folded into nico's mix... the first track is p great tho

There's one song where it sounds like "blues guitar" as far as I can tell, mostly it's pretty tasteful.

I like this a lot more than the Jaar debut but I think Ines is still my favourite Jaar-associated release - it seems like the "album" that weaves together all his competing tendencies most successfully.

listening to that Boiler Room set again, so good.

NY Times likes to run features on him:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/magazine/nicolas-jaar-tests-the-limits-of-dance-music.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/arts/music/nicolas-jaar-electronic-musician-and-student-at-brown.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

like, blending electronic stuff and ~real instruments has always been jaar's thing, the guitar is just something else naturally enfolded into what he has at his disposal

This is what makes him boring IMO, a lot of it just doesn't feel interesting enough musically, like if you saw a real band playing music like this it would just feel aimless, but it's not propulsive or hypnotic enough to work as techno either.

I gave this album a go wanting to like it but I couldn't get all the way through it, it just felt so dreary.

I loved the EP but so far this feels rather tedious

I like this a lot more than the Jaar debut but I think Ines is still my favourite Jaar-associated release - it seems like the "album" that weaves together all his competing tendencies most successfully.

this is strange to me, i like inès for what it is, a label sampler, but it's really slight - as an overall listen it's not that satisfying, it doesn't do that self-contained world thing that jaar's best works do so well

ok now that i've had the chance to hear the full Darkside album, i'm all about it.

xpost I don't think it's the best jaar associated thing ever, just the best that happens to be in album form.

Hands down best jaar thing still that XLR8R mix IMO, though there's stiff competition.

i basically think this dude has 75% immaculate taste, 25% cornball in a pretty bad way. bbc essential mix, griz & eno remixes, this album all p disapointing. he's always had a corny sid eto him, i think. his beats in space (maybe he's done one since but the first one where he plays a bunch of instrumental hip hop) was really interesting as a way to understand where he's coming from but had some clunkers iirc. his first run of singles (basically everything i downloaded from this thread, up to bluewave edits & excluding space) is still my favourite, if i can cheat that way

my corset's laced up nice and tight

This is what makes him boring IMO, a lot of it just doesn't feel interesting enough musically, like if you saw a real band playing music like this it would just feel aimless, but it's not propulsive or hypnotic enough to work as techno either.

haven't heard the album, but saw Darkside live in January and it was TOTALLY intense and propulsive (Harrington played cello as well as gtr btw)

his first run of singles (basically everything i downloaded from this thread, up to bluewave edits & excluding space) is still my favourite, if i can cheat that way

i agree with this

darkside worth ~$30 live?

His 2012 sonar set is in youtube and its awesome.

it is awesome as is that boiler room set. wasn't sure if darkside is a different setup what with the bluesman and all.

Yes it is.

Darkside live @ Maida Vale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjK_zF-3KTY

This sounds totally rad. Every single time I think Jaar has maybe lost the plot he brings me back in. This is sexy sexy stuff.
Pink Floydesque Balearic Rock with tracky propulsive resonance and some light crossover appeal ? Either way I'm on board.

More goodness. Live @ RA.

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

not content with being a prodigiously talented producer he's a pretty bloody good singer too.

and he's a ride!

Darkside US tour in Jan/Feb!

http://www.darksideusa.com/tour/

should i see darkside live for $18?

Psychic ended up being one of my most listened to albums of last year

Well yes, then. Dur.

yeah but i could see it being a dud live

just picked up a vinyl copy of Space Is Only Noise yesterday, holy moly this stuff is great - had only seen/heard that boiler room set. the store has it listed as "downtempo" and I told them they were doing him a disservice, this is so much more abstract and compelling.

I got tickets to see them next week. The live clips i've seen online are incredible. Has this interview been shared? http://www.electronicbeats.net/en/features/conversations/its-as-if-the-plants-are-speaking-or-even-singing-to-you-daniel-pinchbeck-talks-to-darksides-nicolas-jaar-and-dave-harrington/

tim finney said he kills it live

I saw him solo not as Darkside but the set was kinda halfway between Jaar and Darkside in terms of sound anyway.

$20 is sorta steep but i think i have to go

Random Access Memories Memories > Random Access Memories

Darkside live is a bargain at $20. Killer show. Go if you have a chance.

i forgot i had my work holiday party that nite so i didnt go :(

Saw them live in SF. Killer show, great visuals. Use of fog+lasers+LEDs+mirrors was mesmerizing. Crowd was fucking horrible. Wouldn't. Shut. Up.

kinda surprised they sold out the Fillmore, even some of my Jaar-loving friends didn't know who was playing

SF crowds can be the worst. I had to leave a Pat Mahoney DJ set because the dance floor was clogged with people staring at their iphones.

Missed that SF show. Scalpers wanted to charge 60. No Thanks.

That being said, when I read it I was at the Fillmore I was underwhelmed.
The sound there is hit/miss plus the concert crowd vibe for a Jaar show was not what I wanted. Looks like my instinct was correct.

I have been watching his live shows on youtube and I am convinced Darkside is getting BETTER in a short amount of time of touring.

My main beef with Darkside has been the overuse of Dave's guitar and at times Jaar's vocals.

I watched this video.

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

Paper Trails has always been the song that exhibits those two qualities to a larger effect. However, in just a few months Dave has toned down on the guitar solo side of things and is more restrained, more focused on sonic ambience and melody. He still tweaks out solos but its in service of the groove. This may seem like a subtle thing but it has made me like Darkside much more. Also, Nico is becoming even more adept at switching from minimal/maximal when it comes to the midi controller and the beats. His vocals also seem more confident and natural. I always sensed a hint of affect in his vocals on the Darkside project (really all of his vocals) but i think he's getting more comfortable. Overall, I am super pleased with where they are going and I have to catch them next time around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_ref358zQ

Darkside cover Black Sabbath's Planet Caravan at the end of their Boiler Room set.

Never heard the original before, it's beautiful:

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

Darkside. The End.

https://soundcloud.com/otherpeoplerecords/07-gone-too-soon

"Hello.

DARKSIDE is coming to an end, for now.
On September 12th, we will be playing our last show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. (tickets : http://bit.ly/1p6XtRR)

Here are two songs that we made while working on "Psychic" but that didn't make the album. "

Did I see something on twitter about a new solo album?

yes

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

we never mentioned his soundtrack for The Color of Pomegranates, worth listening to

woah what

Nymphs II is rather good.

Vimeo had a full-length Color of Pomegranates video with the new soundtrack synced, but it got taken down.

damn, i'm dying to see/hear it now

Free download!

@nicolas___jaar
If you're at a computer, here's a DL for my album "Pomegranates" http://bit.ly/1e45wwv