Take 10: Shlohmo picks the tracks that have inspired him
Four years on from his ‘Dark Red’ album and LA producer Henry Laufer’s solo work is as luscious and melancholic as ever.
02. John Maus ‘Bennington’
“I love John Maus so fucking much. This song will always be really special to me. I finally got to see him perform recently and it was one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen — even with just him and a mic. Very heavy. I definitely shed a tear.”
03. Squarepusher ‘Beep Street’
“At one point I think I listened to this song on repeat every time I got in the car for several days. I’m always finding something new in it. I could really listen to it forever.”
04. Tom Waits ‘Alice’
“My dad put me onto Tom Waits when I was a kid. I remember becoming obsessed with this album in, like, ninth grade. He creates such a special space in this song with sound design and the quality of the recording. There’s not much else like it.”
05. Miles Davis ‘Blue In Green’
“I think I listen to this album every time I’m on a plane.”
06. Sleep ‘Dopesmoker’
“Legendary stoner metal song. It’s like an hour long. I remember seeing this documentary about the making of the song and they said something about the riff being so good they kept trying to stop the song, but it felt all awkward [so] it just became about finding how to set the thing back to the ground, how does it land? And that just happened to take them an hour.”
07. DJ Rashad ‘Let It Go’
“Important song from a very important musician to me. I play this out almost every time I DJ. He was such a positive energy and this song really captures this other side of footwork that can be incredibly thoughtful and introspective.”
08. Bohren & Der Club Of Gore ‘Im Rauch’
“Only found out about these guys a few years ago. Really slow beautiful goth jazz.”
09. Sonic Youth ‘Superstar’
“This is a cover they did of The Carpenters for this tribute album, ‘If I Were A Carpenter’. Brilliant reimagining of the original and probably my favorite Sonic Youth song [laughs]. The guitar feedback and quality of the vocals being quietly sung but loudly recorded always really inspired me.”
10. Actress ‘Our’
“One of my favourite electronic musicians. Every song feels like such a specific moment in time. The space and melody in this one are so captivating, such a perfect little vignette. I could live in it.”
DJ Mag’s top 50 albums of 2018
As both producers and audiences have opened up more and more cross-pollination between sounds in recent years, the possibilities for the album format have become endless in electronic music. And the results in 2018 have been pretty astounding.
From harrowing bass music, dissonant IDM, pulsing electro, engulfing jungle, bubbling ambient and beyond, the year has seen a raft of more esoteric works garner widespread acclaim.
There’s a techno rave in a castle happening this summer
Festival Forte will see Helena Hauff, Surgeon and Donato Dozzy come to the castle of Montemor-o-Velho, a small town near the west coast of Portugal this August.
The fifth edition of the Portuguese rave runs from 30th August to 2nd September, with Lena Willikens, Umwelt and Shlomo also featuring. Check out the full Festival Forte line-up below.
