Apr
20
New Control Freak E.P. release - Desert Fox
For fans of the nascent Ethniglitch scene, the last few months have been akin to a long, dry, slow crawl through the blasted wastes of Northern Africa. Fear not though weary traveller, the oasis of distorted, sexy goodness that is Desert Fox is finally on the horizon. Grab the full release below.
Oct
26
Laptop Battle Tokyo Vol.4
Get ready for the next installment of Laptop Battle Tokyo on 6th Novermber at Super Deluxe. Almost all new contestants this time and judges include edIT from LA's The Glitch Mob, japanese dubster Goth-Trad, Ahimsa, Com.A and Hash from Samurai.fm. See the full details at the Laptop Battle Tokyo website
Oct
23
Live collaboration with Paul Mercer
Control Freak and belly dancer dancer Maki will be collaborating live with Paul Mercer at the next Midnight Mess Vampire Ball on 22 November at Shinjuku Marz.
Aug
12
Raqs Gothique Video
If you’ve heard Control Freak’s latest release, Raqs Gothique, you’ll know that is heavily inspired by the seductive art of belly dance. The music was in fact written especially for dancers Maki and Natsu’s unique choreography, and to appreciate the project fully you really must see them dance to the music. For a sneak preview of what you can expect to see at Control Freak’s upcoming live performance at Midnight Mess on 23rd August, check out the newly uploaded videos on the Control Freak Myspace page.
Control Freak is Tokyo-based music producer Matt Redding from England. His formative years were spent tearing up the fretboard as a metal guitarist, but when he discovered sampling he exchanged his axe for an Amiga. Inspired by his peers and electronic artists of the time and the expressive potential of the evolving new music tech, he began to experiment and search for the “new sound”. To his surprise, he found it on his bedroom floor, in between a Squarepusher CD and a worn out copy of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
He has been heavily influenced by the music philosophy of John Cage, the virtuosity of Paganini, the severity of Stravinsky and the austerity of Bach. More direct musical influences come in the form of artists such as Amon Tobin, Sneaker Pimps, Squarepusher and more recently Vex’d and Shackleton. However, he is very fond of mixing seemingly disparate genres to discover new and unusual forms of musical expression, including flamenco, jazz, tap dance, african drumming, Indian and middle eastern music etc. His latest release Desert Fox is heavily influenced by west-coast glitch-hop and the nastier side of the UK dubstep scene, as well as ethnic music from the Middle East and India.
Matt also is a co-founder of Laptop Battle Tokyo, a global music contest event for laptop musicians, which he brought to Japan with a hope to expose and promote undiscovered new music talent and to bring together Japanese and overseas artists. He continues to produce music and perform live in Tokyo.
Its about guns, drums and foxy chicks. The E.P. is heavily influenced by west-coast glitch-hop and the nastier side of the UK dubstep scene, as well as ethnic music from the Middle East and India. Control Freak has liberated ethnic instruments from the hippies, glitched them up and mashed them together with some seriously heavy beats and bass. Expect ethniglitch like you’ve never heard before.
Raqs Gothique delves into the seductive art of belly dancing and eastern music, comprising influences from avant-guard orchestral, glitch and drum'n'bass with dark gothic ovetones. The project was inspired by dancers Maki and Natsu who continue to collaborate with Control Freak choreographing and performing live.
Control Freak’s debut is a twisted, frantic beast of a release with breaks so harsh Satan himself made a guest appearance. The project is heavily influenced by artists Robert Johnson, Paganini and Buddy Rich. With a blistering remix by H7’s own Chaos Royale, this is a journey you're not coming back from.