Urlaubshits

So, hypnagogic pop, glo-fi, chillwave, or as Italians Do It Better boss Mike Simonetti posted on his Twitter page recently “hipster baleric cosmic lo fi dance music” – whatever you want to call it, or if you want to call it nothing at all, it’s been hard to avoid talk of artists such as Memory Tapes, Washed Out and Neon Indian this year. These are artists who are the poppier and more accessable tip of what is occasionally a very alienating iceberg (for an example of one of the more, shall we say “challenging” acts in this area, check out The Skaters), but there are many more experimental acts who could be seen as fitting under these banners in loose ways.

This month I promised two mixes in December – one usual mix and a year-end best-of, (the best-of is coming next week, along with my top singles of the year, promise) but the more I thought about that the more I thought things might be a bit samey if I did two very similar mixes, so for the December edition of the podcast I’ve enlisted a friend of mine who introduced me to the concept of “hypnagogic pop” to put together a guest mix in that vein. He goes by many names, but the name he wishes to be known by for the purposes of this mix is his real name, Ed Gillett, so I shall leave you with some words written by him to explain his track choices, and many thanks to him for making a mix which I am, quite frankly, in awe of:

This mix came out of a playlist I put together for some friends, aiming to give a vague overview of what has been loosely termed hypnagogic pop (also known as chillwave, glo-fi, or defined by any number of other slightly clumsy genre names).

In angling the track selection towards the Urlaubshits aesthetic, I’ve included precursors to the sorts of sounds employed by modern practitioners (Musci & Venosta, or Arthur Russell, who seems to be a common touchstone), and others who aren’t primarily identified as being part of the genre, but who share some stylistic tendencies (Four Tet, Jane and Line). I’ve also veered a bit more towards the “pop” end of the spectrum, eschewing noisier, starker, more rock-orientated options (Sun Araw, Ariel Pink or Pocahaunted, for example), and instead focused on artists channelling 80’s synth-pop (Washed Out or Memory Tapes), Kosmische synth journeys (Emeralds) or blissed-out drones (White Rainbow and High Wolf) into forms more or less reminiscent of house, techno or disco.

For those interested in a different take on similar themes, I’d also highly recommend Radio Olio’s Hypnagogo mix, which offers a broad introduction to some of the other disparate styles tied together under the hypnagogic banner. It can be found at http://radioolio.tumblr.com

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio – December ‘09 (01:03:33, 87.4mb)

1) Musci & Venosta – Volterra
2) Jane – Agg Report
3) White Rainbow – Tuesday Rollers & Strollers (edit)
4) Friend – Dreams (demo)
5) Arthur Russell – Arm Around You
6) Washed Out – You’ll See It
7) Ducktails – McGuire In The Ocean
8) Emeralds – The Overlook pt. 2
9) Memory Tapes – Easy Pert Mom
10) Joe Goddard – Apple Bobbing (Four Tet Remix)
11) Line – Love Is Strange
12) High Wolf – Astro Black Ghost, Speak To Me!