Tapes

It seems like fate that Milo Cordell has mixed the latest installment of !K7's Tapes series. The Big Pink production mastermind has been making compilations ever since he was a kid. "Doing this mix was a complete pleasure because I grew up recording mixes for myself and friends," says Cordell. And, in some ways, not much has changed. Then, as now, the idea was to conjure up a mood. "My goal has always been the same," he explains. "To make something that transports you somewhere completely different." Cordell's Tapes set certainly does that. The Big Pink are known for strident electro rock that sits alongside bands such as Klaxons and Crystal Castles. Their 2009 debut album, A Brief History of Love, featured "Dominos," an anthemic fusion of widescreen guitar riffs and electronic atmospheres was one of the defining songs of last year. However, Cordell explores completely different territory here. The dominant theme is the new generation of American musicians making spooked, spectral electronica that has been variously named 'drag music,' 'witch house' or 'haunted house.' It's night-time music, heavy with soporific sonics and dream-like ambience. Opening track "Slow Dancing" by GRtLLGRtLL is an eerie wash of disembodied, digitized vocals and dark synth chords, while "Dirt" by Salem, drag music's defining act, takes a hip hop beat and smears guitar fuzz and sinister sounds effects over the top. It's like being trapped between sleep and waking; a hypnagogic state. There are other flavors, too. "Snake Eater" by UK dubstep producer Joker pitches chopped up female vocal samples against some creeping bass. Then there's "Fantasy" by The xx, a pulse of bass and ringing guitars that sounds like it was recorded in a huge underground cave. And last but not least, The Big Pink's own "Velvet," remixed by Gang Gang Dance into a stripped down bittersweet mood piece. Cordell's favorite track is "Mumbai" by oOoOO. "I think it sums up the whole mix really well. It's beautifully eerie. It's that thing where music takes you somewhere else. This track does that instantly. Straight away you're in another world. I make music myself and I just love the way these bedroom producers have come up with these sounds. He really has created his own sound and vibe."