This is one of the more schizophrenic mixes I've ever recorded, but that's appropriate, I suppose, given the subject matter. The introduction comes from the 1972 film adaptation of Alvin Toffler's book Future Shock, narrated by Orson Welles. I actually watched the film when I was still in grade school—just 12 or 13 years old, as I recall. I suppose some well-meaning teacher wanted to teach us to think critically about media and technology, but at that age, I remember feeling only baffled. Today, the film (which you can watch on YouTube, appropriately enough)feels both comically dated and woefully prescient. That collision of sensations dictated the overall shape of the mix, which leans heavily on broken-down techno and tangled retro-futurism. Instead of the streamlined designs and elegant circuitry that electronic music has supposedly promised, this mix is all about shuddering gears and time out of joint.

The majority of it was mixed with vinyl, using two Technics 1210s and an Allen &amp; Heath mixer; the final two tracks, along with additional passages taken from the film, were added in Ableton at the end. Ironically, as difficult as mixing some of the tracks proved, figuring out how to close it all out was infinitely harder. Just like the film says, "Every day we're bombarded by choices, we need to make instant decisions, we're in endless combat with our own environment 
with all its pace and variety, its choice and over-choice."

01. Intro – Future Shock (1972, narrated by Orson Welles)
02. The Hafler Trio, "Suppressed Noise" [Doublevision 1972/1984]
03. Vibert/Simmonds, "Submarine" [Rephlex 1993]
04. Roswell Return, "A Goldbach Vibe (Clean Cut Remix)" [SD Records 2009]
05. Caribou, "Bowls (Holden Remix)" [City Slang 2010]
06. P. Eladan, "Monochordium II" [Muting The Noise 2010]
07. Juju &amp; Jordash, "Chelm Is Dubbing" [Golf Channel Recordings 2011]
08. Morphosis, "Dirty Matter (NWAQ's Via Mezzacapo Dub)" [Delsin&#13;
2011]
09. Redshape, "Kracken's Game" [Present 2011]
10. Terekke, "Damn" [L.I.E.S. 2011]
11. Grackle, "Jungle (Original Mix)" [Discos Capablanca 2008]
12. About Group, "You're No Good (A Theo Parrish Translation)" [Domino 2011]
13. Daphni, "NPE" [Resista 2011]
14. Tilt (Trouble Funk), "Arkade Funk" [D.E.T.T. Records 1983]
15. Autechre, "Lost" [Warp 1994]
16. Laurel Halo, "Strength In Free Space" [Hippos In Tanks 2011]

Unsound Podcast 12: Philip Sherburne - "Future Shock Mixed"

An amorphous global-minded festival and creative platform dealing with music, sound, words and related visual arts. Founded in Krakow in 2003, Unsound has taken place in 30 cities around the world.

Writer, DJ, lapsed producer. 
Bylines in Pitchfork, NYT, and others.
Weekly newsletter: futurismrestated.substack.com
Mixes ranging from techno to ambient to who knows what.

"We monitor many frequencies. We listen always. Came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. It played us a mighty dub."