Asheville Beat Tape Vol 1 Available Now

Dec. 02nd, 2010

Skew Records just released the Asheville Beat Tape Vol 1, a showcase of some of Asheville’s essential electronic producers.

[FREE DOWNLOAD]

“
In a clearing surrounded by mountains a distinctive sound rings out. This sound is the imaginative echo of the Asheville electronic music scene. It’s a sound that has been growing rapidly within this mountain community, where an ever-growing artist population constantly pushes the variety of musical production through the envelope.

The idea for an Asheville Beat Tape came from Nigel One, a long-time DJ and producer who has been involved in Asheville’s electronic music scene since the early 2000′s. Soon after joining forces with Skew Records, Nigel decided to spearhead the idea of bringing some of the surrounding talent together to form an Asheville Beat Tape. After a month’s time, Nigel had collected a multitude of tracks from area producers, and brought on Skew producers Peripheral and DM Stair to help artfully and seamlessly arrange the tracks into order. The result is a 45-minute mix of inspiring production and composition styles…
“
[read on]


Asheville Beat Tape Vol. 1 by Skew Records

October, So Far

Oct. 13th, 2010

OK, time to take a break from the constant stream of promotion for an honest update.  Please, come in, have a seat.

First, things are going swimmingly in the world of Melanaster Records.  I just returned from Trinumeral 10 in Miami, where I performed alongside Asheville favorite DJ Bowie, recent Asheville-by-way-of-Miami transplant Panther God, and national acts like Tokimonsta, Blackalicious, and Big Boi.  I performed the first night at 7th Circuit, holding it down outside in the beautiful Miami night air to a scattered crowd of engaged onlookers (that trance-like swaying state means you’re either bored or fascinated) while Otto Von Shirach’s sideshow / carnival / performance art electro madness raged inside the club.

It was not like this. Well, kinda. We definitely said, “I’m in Miami trick!” a lot.

The rest of the time I just enjoyed the myriad performances from all colors of the electronic music spectrum.  Everything from raw hip-hop (Blackalicious) to mashup party jams (Mochipet) to techy, aggressive dubstep (Heyoka).

October has a few more things in store.  First, there’s this:

(tiny poster = humble promo)

… where I will likely display more aggressive electro / house flavors for the people (huge sound system).  Next, this date will be special for Asheville:

November 3 2010

Keep it on the calendar.  And at the end of October, of course, there’s the brain-melting lineup at MoogFest, and though I haven’t yet committed to playing, I’ll likely end up at some after-party somewhere holding it down.

So there we are.  Since you have made it this far, here’s a special secret:

There will be a new Melanaster release in October.

xo,

Marley

MountainX Feature on Asheville’s Electronic Music Scene

Mar. 17th, 2010

Last week, The MountainX ran a cover feature called “The Body Electric,” focused on Asheville’s burgeoning electronic music scene.  The articles cover Asheville’s place in the world of electronic music (The Body Electric), the subgenres and styles of DJing (DJ Heroics) and the critical role of promoters and venues in growing the scene (Predicting the Weather).

Featured performers and interviewees include: Sonmi Suite, Panther God, Telepath, Cleofus Williams, Brett Rock, DJ Bowie, and Marley Carroll, in addition to promoters and artist collectives like Under One Beat and Low Frequency Ops.

Here’s an excerpt:

”

At first glance it might seem that Asheville is stacked in favor of roots music, what with a guitarist on every corner and an Americana band in every bar. But there’s also much to suggest Asheville as an electronica hot bed, despite that scene’s apparent underground status.

Exhibit A: Asheville is where Robert Moog — pioneer of electronic music and inventor of the Moog synthesizer — worked as a research professor of music at UNCA, based his electronic musical instruments manufacturing company and lived out his final years.

Exhibit B: Asheville has (perhaps in spite of itself) embraced live band-electronica fusion acts like Telepath (since moved on to Philadelphia) and electronic music/arts festivals like Trinumeral.

Exhibit C: Take a walk around downtown and check out the posters affixed to power poles and displayed in shop windows. Every other one is for a DJ show. Same thing with Facebook events. Many electronic artists eschew conventional publicity methods in favor of new media. Not seeing many electronica shows? Go online.

Exhibit D: Even the rootsiest of venues is booking electronic acts. The Rocket Club is home to a free weekly Super Dance Party (Wednesdays at 10 p.m.), with DJs Crick Nice and Adam Strange (GFE) and DJ Mark Davis (who has been spinning underground dance music in Asheville since the ’80s). Mo Daddy’s welcomes its first-ever hip-hop show with local artist Foul Mouth Jerk, PyInfamous from Crystal Springs, Miss., and Charlotte’s One Big Love on Friday, March 5. The Grey Eagle hosts Baltimore duo Beach House on Friday, April 30.

But even with new developments — and nearly everyone seems to agree the local electronic scene has grown exponentially in the past few years — electronic music isn’t a new phenomenon. Its roots reach back to ’70s-era disco, dating the genre older than not just its current practitioners, but many of their parents.

Fueling Asheville’s newfound fondness for electronica is certainly the live band/electronic fusion — anything from the live instruments-meets-computers of The Nova Echo to live sequencing of engineered loops and beats as performed by Freepeoples Frequency. But more than sonic accessibility, it’s technical accessibility that brings new fans to the multifaceted genre. Music makers no longer need to be piano or guitar virtuosos — computer proficiency and a desire to create are the instruments of this under-represented but increasingly available art form.

Want to know more about local electronic music? Read on …
“