16.5.23

Taking his cue from seminal mix albums of days gone by, Glenn Astro is back with a compilation of original productions from a cast of fictional artists on Nothing Is Real, releasing May 4. 

Across 13 tracks, the Tartelet mainstay celebrates the thrill of discovery which came as standard listening to new entries in series’ like X-Mix and DJ Kicks, moving between head-nodding downtempo, ambient techno, broken beat and all manner of chill-out room delights. You might be left wishing artists such as DJ 1999, Mental Trance and Eye Soul8r had actual discographies to go and explore, but as Astro himself is keen to point out, “nothing is real.” 

Astro has never been shy to embrace classic tropes and tones in his past albums for Tartelet, Apollo and Ninja Tune, but he’s drawing on a different set of influences for this album and embracing the flexibility afforded by using imagined aliases for varied production styles. 

“I had the idea to do a mixtape, preferably with unknown dance tracks that also reflect that whole 90s/early 00s vibe,” Astro explains. “Instead of digging for some records that haven’t been sourced yet or trying to find those ‘forgotten’ treasures, I made the tracks myself. That way I had full control over BPMs, feel and the whole arrangement of tracks. I thought of a few alter egos and started producing the tracks in the order that I intended to play them in a mix. In the end a whole compilation of tracks emerged.” 

While the concept might suggest you’re going to hear a lot of over-familiar sounds, don’t be fooled. Astro is inspired and inquisitive, channeling the experimental spirit of the 90s and early 00s when electronic music was still continually being redefined in all kinds of micro-scenes. In many cases, Astro’s productions slip into the cracks between genres rather than specifically mimicking a style. 

In the run up to its release on May 4, the album will be framed by four key single releases which embody the omnivorous attitude Astro brings to the album. As Crystalline Reality, he explores classic breakbeat in detail, fusing it with starry eyed ambient techno synthesis in an unlikely but wholly convincing combination. Eye Soul8r’s ‘Autumn Subs’ injects ambient synth work in a Fax Records style with a rolling drum funk calling back to the trip hop era. ‘Steppers Worldwide, Unite!’ by The Foundation lands somewhere between pitched down breakbeat hardcore and dubstep, echoing the seldom-mentioned breakstep sound but injecting it with a subtle touch of dub techno. Brain Liquor’s ‘Jaque?’ revels in beatless, Detroit-informed machine funk, laces in some wriggling 303 squelch and gives everything a generous dubbing, but hold tight for the plot twist. 

Even if the reference points are detectable, the end result is a curious blend as indebted to ambiguity as the overall concept of the compilation. Like the spine-tingling sensation of hitting play and awaiting the waves of unknown sonics on one of those seminal mixes, you never know exactly what you’re going to get as you take the trip through Nothing Is Real. 

“In terms of dance music, the 90s and early 2000s are pretty much the blueprint for everything that I’ve later on made myself,” Astro admits. “At the same time, I don’t want to be overly nostalgic about it. We often look at those times, specifically the Y2K years, as being a lot simpler, realer, more honest, which in some cases might even be true. Simultaneously, it's insanely naive. Everything plastic isn’t necessarily futuristic, you know?” 

Nothing is Real drops May 4th on vinyl and digital. 

All tracks written and produced by Glenn Astro

Nothing Is Real V.A. - DJ MIX - Mixed by Glenn Astro

Listen & download: https://melting-pot-music.lnk.to/amsremix

German-Filipino singer Ray Lozano teams up with UK alt R&B hotshot KeepVibesNear for remix single ‘Amsterdam Nights’, co-produced by Samon Kawamura (Max Herre, Joy Denalane). 

Ray's debut album Pairing Mode (03.03.) became a landmark for German-Asian (Pop) Culture and has been reviewed by Spiegel Online, BBC 6, WDR Cosmo and 1Live, just to name a few. 

Pairing Mode is composed of 12 musical short stories, in each of them Ray moves through a perspective on solitude. From longing for love to feeling contempt with yourself, disoriented, and then empowered again. Ray’s honest lyrics paired with her vulnerable, yet sophisticated and bold voice guide us through an emotional dreamy space found somewhere between heartbreak and hope. “Pairing Mode is like a collection of polaroid pictures. Or like a menu, composed of several delicate dishes” she explains, emphasizing that it is to be enjoyed with all our senses. Every track is “a moment that has been captured and is complete as it is.”

Follow Ray Lozano
Spotify https://lnk.to/raylozano_spotify
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/artist/ray-lozano/999630684
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/raylozanoxoxo/

Follow Melting Pot Music
Spotify https://lnk.to/meltingpotmusic_spotify
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/label/melting-pot-music/1548390831
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/melting_pot_music
Bandcamp https://meltingpotmusic.bandcamp.com
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/MPMTV
SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/mpmcgn

Lyrics written and performed by Ray Lozano & KeepVibesNear.
Produced by Samon Kawamura & Ray Lozano. 
Instruments performed by Samon Kawamura & Ray Lozano.
Guitar by Boti Ikvai-Szabo.
Mixed by Samon Kawamura. 
Mastered by Arne Schumann.
Artwork by Parissa Charghi. 
Press photos by Eno de Wit.

Cat No: MPM 336-X1
Artist: Ray Lozano & KeepVibesNear 
Titel: Amsterdam Nights (Remix)

© ℗ 2023 Melting Pot Music

Ray Lozano & KeepVibesNear – Amsterdam Nights (Remix)

Real Time

Show Me What You Got (feat. Jordan Rakei)

'Akousmatikous', out now on Brainfeeder: https://srjl.lnk.to/akousSo 

Taken from the album 'Chapters of Zdenka', released 11 December on Brainfeeder: https://srjl.lnk.to/chaptersSo

Follow Salami Rose Joe Louis -
Spotify: https://found.ee/srjl-sp
Apple Music: https://found.ee/srjl-am
Instagram: https://found.ee/srjl-ig
Facebook: https://found.ee/srjl-fb
Bandcamp: https://found.ee/srjl-bc
Soundcloud: https://found.ee/srjl-sc

We’re Dumb

Music Lover. Interested in Jazz, Funk, Soul, Elektronic Music, Songwriting, Old Stuff, New Stuff, Hip-Hop.

16.5.23

Julia