Sounds Of The Universe, the London shop where the excellent Soul Jazz label is based, recently launched a new label, simply called Sounds Of The Universe. Their first release was an art & sound 12" which paired an etching from 2YANG on one side, with a track from Chicago house/noise auteur Hieroglyphic Being. Entitled ‘Shikaakwa’, it found HB, aka Jamal Moss, on blinding form, setting rough, acid-cut melodies above a rattling drum machine groove. Listen here.
It’s been around for a while now, on the <a href="http://www.soundsoftheuniverse.com/news/hieroglyhic_being_
" target="out">Sounds Of The Universe site, but we’ve just come across it, so: Hieroglyphic Being also recorded a 45 minute long mix to accompany the 12"s release.
It’s not that common to hear DJ mixes from Moss, a fearsome producer and DJ whose performance at CTM Festival earlier this year prompted us to say that he "mines the [space between Chicago house, post-punk and disco] with impunity, and does so in a way as to both confound and delight dancers – a mid-set appearance of Talking Heads’ ‘I Zimbra’ is a revelation, colliding head on with a house beat for a festival of off-kilter polyrhythms."
So this mix, entitled ‘The First True Language Of The Universe Selection 1’ is similarly brilliant. Apparently mixed and re-edited by Moss on 2 SP 404 samplers, it finds his music colliding in all sorts of odd and energising ways with tracks by labelmates like John Heckle and Marcello Napalentano. Listen below – it’s well worth your time – and find out more at the SOTU site. You can also check out/buy the Shikaakwa 12" here.
