PICKS: Third Son's Teenagelectronic Crossover

Published on 2020-10-12 00:00:00 by Will Soer

Welcome again to the collosseum of bangers!!! Are you hungry for beats?!?!?!?! Do you want them to pour down your throat and simultaneously up your backside until your innermost being consists of Bass?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Well calm down lad, sit down and have a cup of tea. Let me tell you the tale of Third Son. After developing recognition for his rich electronica over the course of 3 hardworking years, h****e recorded his debut album together in 20 Days, imagine that! And then named it 20 Days! Its a gorgeous polyphonic splurge, definitely worth a listen. Anyway, Third Son wasnt always as edgy as me, no sir! He used to like indie rock, HAHAHAHAHAHA imagine that. Anyway, hes put together a lovely playlist of tunes that eased his transition into cultural relevancy, all gathered in this Spotify playlist here, and explained by the man himself below. Drink up and enjoy… (also hes due to play alongside Erol Alkan at Night Tales on November 1st!)It took me some time to appreciate electronic music as I do today. I was in bands for years as a young teenager, convinced that rock and metal would take over the world. At the age of 15 or 16 I started to experiment with my brothers’ copy of fruity loops. I was hooked by the limitless possibilities of the production side, but also the spectrum of sounds made by artists in electronica, Hip Hop and dance music. Here’s some of the music that catalysed the crossover

Fairly early on I tried to imitate Amon’s sound in Cubase, one of the first proper sequencers I got hold of. I’d cut up and sample random jazz records and make beats from the classic breaks. I could never get it quite right, naturally because I was an upstart rookie. I remember getting so frustrated. It felt like reaching his level was impossible. That hasn’t really changed. The musicianship and song writing in this, and all Cinematic Orchestra tracks is amazing. Every year or so I rediscover this album and put it on repeat while I do non-music work, bits and bobs about the house and whatnot. It’s rocket fuel for that sort of thing. Total flow-state energy in this one. Also another producer I modelled my verrrry early stuff on. I loved Hip Hop (Atmosphere, J5, Tribe called quest) at the time but had no idea how to even find a vocalist for that sort of thing. The idea of being able to just make, and put out instrumentals in this style was appealing. Obviously everything I made at that point was total trash so I never got to the finish line there. Much like Amon Tobin I found this guy’s production fascinating. The sounds were so weird but still musical. Kinda trippy but not just for the sake of it. I have to be honest though, i’m so ignorant to what’s going on in that scene now, regrettably. I guess like every other teenager at the time I was very much into Jamie XX. The XX also but I was always more interested in the electronic side of their work. I’ve probably played this track more than any other between the years 2009 and 2013. There’s something really haunting about that lead line. Like a murder scene in a horror film you can’t look away from. Just me?Another big sample-head. This guy’s knowledge of old disco and Hip Hop is next level DJ Food started as a side project from Coldcut, which then grew to 5 members before Patrick Carpenter became so involved with The Cinematic Orchestra that he had to quit. Each release is as listenable and interesting as the last. Not technically electronic, at all, but a composer I’ve always loved. He takes an idea and exhaustively pushes it, rhythmically. Clapping live is great too Such a bizarre mix of guitar, electro 808 beats, house, techno and sampling. But I guess that’s just a standard day in the office for these guys. I remember when I got my first bit of kit and tried to emulate the opening beat. It was an APC40, that was basically just a midi controller for Ableton, but it meant you could chop things up and mix tracks quickly. I didn’t get close to that beat in those early days but it definitely got me hungry to make electronic music.

Written by Will Soer

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