Blixaboy

I was reading Lloyd Bradley's Bass Culture and listening to lots of dub (as previously noted), the Flaming Lips' Embryonic, and Gorillaz' Plastic Beach (out now on vinyl; are you listening, Doc's?), when Mwanza Dover of The Black Dotz (ex-Mazinga Phaser/Falcon Project) sent me a link to Kliks and Politiks, the latest release under his Blixaboy nom de disque.

Discussing dub, Bradley notes that the popularity of "versions" or remixes came about in part as a result of the Jamaican Minister of Trade and Industry enacting a law that put a ceiling on the price producers could charge stores for pre-release records -- which were highly desirable in a market that valued novelty and exclusivity -- around the same time musicians' session fees increased. Bradley quotes producer Rupie Edwards' observation that "reggae is two or three, occasionally four chords, so it don't leave you a lot of choice -- some of the nicest sounds from that era was two-chord songs. So it's the drum pattern that decides it..."

This reminded me of classical-jazz-experimental bassist extraordinaire Paul Unger's recent drinkie-talkie observation that all Western music basically works off a drone (the tonic), with other chords only added to create tension. In fact, most of the music we listen to (with the exception of classical and Tin Pan Alley pop) lacks harmonic movement. So, absent that, how do you create tension or interest in your jams?

Nowadays, of course, technology has made every home a potential recording studio and every muso a potential producer/auteur. Few have realized this ideal to a greater degree than Dr. Dover's son, who has an omniverous ear for left-of-center sounds from punk to Krautrock to dub to minimalist techno, and is conversant in all of these musical languages as well. Mwanza calls his current musical direction "futro" (opposite of "retro"). On Kliks and Politiks, he uses a varied array of rhythmic patterns and instrumental textures, including silence and space, to create tension and engage the listener's attention. You can hear the influence of Jamaica via the Bronx (Wanz might say Detroit) in these grooves, as well as echoes of Fela's riotous tribal funk, but these sounds are all made by one man, not an orchestra.

The tracks flow seamlessly, like a good DJ mix should, whether you're moving your body or only dancing in your mind. Minimalist this ain't; rather, these tracks feature ever-shifting soundscapes over the basic riddimic racket. Midway through "Ruby," he overlays lush, languid chords to provide contrast with a taut, tense rhythm bed, and he makes good use of negative space on "Kliks," which follows. The vocal by The Angelus' Emil Rapstine lends "Lion Eyes" an Indian vibe, while on "Icey Hot," the percussion groove builds from simple to complex beneath swirling chords.

Blixaboy saves the best for last. Mwanza wrote "I Will End You" after someone commented "Wanz Dover I Will End You" in a thread on weshotjr.com (RIP). He calls it "my personal tribute to Bernard Hermann and the soundtrack to my own murder" -- a disturbing concept. Imagine a Hitchcock soundtrack from the techno era. You can almost see the maestro's cameo in your mind's eye. - The Stash Dauber

Continuing along with our promise to stuff you full with free mp3s from promising new local artists this week, we now point your eyes and ears in the direction of Wanz Dover's new(ish) project, Blixaboy. Dover, local music fans surely know, is hardly a newcomer to the scene, long having participated in a number of local bands and as one of the area's more confounding, yet also rewarding, DJs.

Last year, he debuted the Blixaboy moniker as a means to put out his own dubstep-leaning electronic creations, releasing his first long-player, Digital Daze Vol. 1. Today, though, marks the release of his second full-length, called Kliks & Politiks and released on his own Astroblaque label. And it shows some serious growth, too. It's dubstep, sure--Dover's a little obsessed on that front--but more laid-back than other offerings within the genre. And it's nothing if not alluring, both on record and in live settings as Dover, who has already earned the thumbs-up from the so-called Queen of Dubstep, keeps audiences enthralled by jumping back and forth from his MPC to his theremin, as he's (sometimes) accompanied with a live drummer.

An unrelenting, head-spinning collection of various sounds, Kliks & Politiks races along without ever feeling rushed--and, largely, without the accompaniment of vocals. There's one notable exception to that rule, though: the song "Lion Eyes," for which Dover enlisted Emil Rapstine, frontman for local outfit The Angelus, for vocal duties. Dover's been kind enough to pass along that track as a free download to DC9 readers. Grab it after the jump, where you'll also find an embedded player that allows you to stream the new record in full.

Bonus mp3: Blixaboy -- "Lion Eyes (featuring Emil Rapstine)"


It's a near-perfect matching of beat and vocal, with Dover's icy cool offering and Rapstine's distant vocals complementing each other masterfully. - Dallas Observer

I'm not saying it's not enough for a musician to just stand and hide themselves behind a phalanx of synths, because a ton of musicians have done that and blown the brains out the back of my skull. With Oneohtrix Point Never, though, you always get the feeling there's something or someone worth discovering there at the centre of the din. It's that, and the very real sense of human comfort you get from tracks like the original version of "Returnal", that for me mark Dan Lopatin out as a genius. Antony Hegarty, another with a rare ability to shatter worlds, already coaxed the human heart out of the wires with his stripped back take on "Returnal", and Blixaboy's "Futura Freemix" stands somewhere between the two: anchoring Lopatin's synth drift with the strident beat you'd expect from one of Mary Anne Hobbs' new favourites. His new album Kliks and Politiks is out now through Astroblaque. - RCRD LBL

Dubstep was not beget of Texas, so Blixaboy could make his home state a destination for rewriting some electronic rules. The name "Sci-Fi Jack" sounds like it could be an awesome Saturday morning cartoon or an arcade underdog flocked to by only insiders. The Wurlitzer-like fight noises support the latter and mixed with a layer rhythmic shoegaze undertones, it's clear Blixaboy is making some alterations to what makes you move on the dance floor. Conglomerate genres are having a moment, though, and "Sci-Fi Jack" in all its radiant differences to a regular dubstep track fits in quite nicely. - RCRD LBL

When Blixaboy's "Sci-Fi Jack" first appeared on RCRD LBL, we knew he would be able to wield some Southern charm out of dubstep. "New Age Steppa" has bluesy undertones that just continue him on the mission to transmogrify what a dance track should sound like. And if that isn't enough, former BBC 1 DJ/dance music luminary Mary Anne Hobbs is a huge fan—one of the ultimate co-signs for any electronic craftsman. Pick up his brand new album Kliks and Politiks here, out on Astroblaque. - RCDR LBL

Dramatic little track, great remix of 'Returnal' by Antony Hegarty/Oneohtrix Point Never all the way from Texas. Constantly switching up, mellow vibe breaks into euphoria, a splash of vocals then into an 8bit skank off. Grab your free download from his SoundCloud page. - Wax Off

In an increasingly scene-led climate, where a new sub-genre is coined practically every day, a lot of producers become fundamentally intertwined with the movement of which they are a part. However, there are some artists who refuse to define themselves by any one sound, defiantly moving forward with each new project, each new song, instead drawing their identity from their constant mutation and evolution; Wanz Dover is one such artist. From founding space rock band Mazinga Phaser in the nineties to starting the Laptop Deathmatch competition in Dallas, he has strived to push the boundaries of forward-thinking and experimental music for the best party of twenty years.

Following the release of a string of online EPs and limited-run album Digital Daze, he is now releasing the Kliks & Politiks LP on his own Astroblaque imprint under his current incarnation, Blixaboy. With this project, Dover has amalgamated his myriad influences into a bass driven dancefloor sound, underpinned by its futuristic conceptualization.

The album, which is delivered as a narrative that can be divided into two story arcs, ending with Kliks and Politiks respectively, melts away any artificially imposed notions of scene or genre, touching upon such disparate sounds as shoegaze, krautrock and dub, while loosely using dubstep as its foundations. That is not to say that it is defined by any of the tropes that have now become associated with dubstep though, but rather that it is a manifestation of the experimentation and ambition at the heart of the nascent scene, with the ambitious project perfectly embodying its space, impact and futuristic sonics.

Tumbling through the paranoid dub mutation of opener New Age Steppa via the space funk groove of Sci Fi Jack right through to the taut drama of album closer I Will End You, the album's ebbs and flows effortlessly ignite the different nerves embedded in Dover's musical subconscious. Playing with a broad rhythmic and sonic palette, his sparse arrangements reference and re-contextualize his influences, while simultaneously giving birth to something completely fresh, brilliantly idiosyncratic and impossible to pin down.

With the album out now, we thought it time to fire some questions at Dover about his influences, the making of the album and future projects.

Having a lot of time in bands, what are the pros and cons of electronic production for you? Do you prefer working on your own?

I don't know too many cons to electronic production. It is simply the way I record music. I still play guitar, theremin, keyboards and bass all over my stuff. The guitar stuff tends to not sound like guitar. Computers have been an integral part of how I operate as a musician for over decade. My computer is kind of my second brain. It's a very man machine type of relationship.

The biggest advantage of doing electronic production on my own is the ability to follow every little whim without having to get permission. There is a lot to be said for playing off another person in a live situation. I occasionally play live with a drummer and VJ and it definitely takes the live experience to another level.

With this project, did you set out to create an album? Or did it develop more organically?

I was kind of in a dark place in my life when I started working on the album and making this record was my way of dealing with it. I wanted to kind of go into isolation and really explore my wide range of musical interests through my love of dub. On my first album [Digital Daze vol.1] I was trying to find my voice within dubstep. On Kliks & Poltiks I kind of took what I learned and tried to just tell a story.

Is there any overarching concept or thematic motifs that unify the album for you?

It is a soundtrack to an epic imaginary sci-fi / superhero film featuring Blixaboy as the central character. Kliks ends the first part of the story arc and Politiks ends the second part of the story arc. I Will End You is score for the climatic battle at the end of the story. I am a long-time comic book and sci-fi geek. I drop references to that stuff throughout my Blixaboy work. The song Kurt Bamf is actually a tribute to my favorite X-man, Nightcrawler. He passed away in the Marvel universe this year and I was a bit crushed. I wrote the track the day I found out they killed him off.

Was there anything in particular that was influencing you during the making of the album and feeding into your own productions?

Dubstep is obviously my launchpad. I started following the scene around 2006. I was really attracted to the wide variety of influences coming into the genre. At the time every producer I heard had distinct voices within this fairly young genre. I saw old school producers that I was into in the 90s like Kevin Martin [The Bug] and Mick Harris [Scorn] find new inspiration and new audiences. At the same time I saw a slew of newer producers really pushing the genre in all kinds of creative directions.

Dubstep from my perspective was an open pot that you could bring in any of your influences stir it up at 140 bpm and explore the power of bass. I have a lot of musical interests and finding a genre where I could express all of them under one hat was very inspiring. I love krautrock. I love shoegaze. I love dub (especially the early On-U sound catalogue). I love all kinds of film music. I love Detroit techno. I love minimal. I love dubby post-punk (PIL, The Pop Group). I love rare funk and soul records. I love African funk. I love a lot of music. Finding one genre where I can explore all of it and have it make sense is somewhat ideal.

Rhythmically I pull a lot of influence from some of my favourite drummers. Guys like Jaki Liebzeit, Robert Wyatt and Tony Allen. I always wanted to be a drummer, but I ended up learning how to program beats instead.

I hear a very strong grime influence on tracks like I Will End You. Is this something that you are aware of?

I love film music. This song is my tribute to Bernard Hermann. He was the composer for a lot of iconic films including a significant chunk of Alfred Hitchcock movies. Psycho, North By Northwest, Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, The Day The Earth Stood Still... that stuff. I am a bit of a crate digger and I buy up his records whenever I find them. I wondered what a Bernard Hermann dubstep track would sound like. Kind of a film noir dub soundtrack to a murder mystery. I really enjoy doing symphonic arrangements and this song was a great excuse to explore that.

It has been a while, but I have checked out some grime. It's kind of hard to not stumble onto some grime when digging into the roots of dubstep. I like a lot of what I heard, but I don't think I have been exposed to it enough for it to be an influence. Maybe some of those guys dig Bernard Hermann too.

How conscious is the music making process for you?

Extremely conscious. I spend on average 30 to 50 hours a week in the lab when I am in writing mode. I sell music recording gear for my day job and DJ for my night job. It keeps me very immersed in records and gear 24/7.

There is an underlying eeriness that permeates the album. Are you generally drawn to music of this nature?

I do tend to be drawn towards the dark side of things. I have had a rough few years and that gets expressed through my music.

What can we expect from you over the coming months?

I am dropping a series of four EPs called Futro Trax Vol.1-4 over the next few months following the release of the album. The tracks on the album are all very developed and part of the whole story arc of the album concept. The EPs will be focused more on stripped down club tracks. Tracks that I use as DJ tools in my sets. The EP tracks are two or three times longer than the tracks on the album. I also have a few remixes coming out under my own name and also with my occasional partner Redeye.
- Knowledge Magazine(Kmag)

Even though Dover, TX, producer Blixaboy has been making music in a number of forms for nearly 20 years, his forthcoming full-length album is a sort of re-introduction of the artist's forward-thinking dubstep- and bass-leaning sound. Blixaboy will release Kliks & Politiks through his own label, Astroblaque, on October 19, but we've got the first leak from that record for you today. "Sci-Fi Jack" is the third cut from Politiks, and finds the tunesmith smack dab in the middle of some low-end gymnastics out in the middle of space. Through "Jack"'s near five-minute runtime, Blixaboy never once lets up from his bouncing bass rhythms or touches down from his cosmic sound explorations—moving deeper instead to the outer reaches of dubstep's club-ready sonics. You can listen to all of Politiks now, over on the Blixaboy/Astroblaque website. - XLR8R

Blixaboy goes deep into the dubstep cut with “New Age Steppa,” but he doesn’t stumble on tropes or played wobble—it’s more like he crafted the track on a sculpting wheel, spinning it smooth until all the kinks were out. It’s a burner of a track and not something you’d necessarily expect from a dude living in a place like Denton, Texas (sidebar: new Friday Night Lights!)—it feels more like London to JA. But then Blixaboy started out his career in a psychedelic rock band so who knows what wild things they’re doing down there in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (confession: wikipedia’d that). This is from Blixaboy’s new album, Kliks & Politiks, out now on his own imprint Astroblaque.

- FADER

There’s something interesting about current electronic producers: they have an affinity for the old and the analog, yet they have a way of making music that sounds futuristic. Future vs. Present vs. Past seems to be a consistent theme on Blixaboy’s new album, Kliks and Politiks. One of the album’s tracks, “New Age Steppa” relies upon soulful vocal samples, Toto guitar riffage (Toto a la the Dune score) early ’90s rave influence, the newness of dubstep, and more. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you excited about where music might be in 15 years. Probably just some sad continuation of Dr. Luke and RedOne production, but hey, we can dream, right? - Potholes in My Blog

Some of you will already know his track ‘New Age Steppa’ – still available to download free via Fader here – an unlikely and effective combination of deep chord stabs, woody percussion, overdriven guitars and psyched-out ocals ruminating on the subject of, well, bass. The latter might not be to everyone’s taste, but either way you’ve got to admire the ambition.

Blixaboy already has an album, Kliks & Politiks, out on his own Astroblaque label; intriguingly, he’s secured the services of fellow texan Gerard Hanson AKA Convextion – without doubt one of the world’s finest techno producers – to remix his track ‘Ruby’. The results are genuinely overwhelming, as Hanson paints a melancholy, complex harmonic scene over a canvas of maximum horsepower 4/4 rhythm. It’s one the most immersive but also one of the most concertedly dancefloor-friendly tracks we’ve heard from Convextion in a long time, and we’re pleased to be able to offer it to you lot as a free download (click the arrow on the right hand side of the Soundcloud player below to do so). Highly recommended.
- Fact Mag