Ryan McMaster

Frantic and smooth. Fast and slow. So unique. As a rule, Debruit is just crazy. He crafts such interesting tracks and the breaks the mold with the weirdest effects. Even if I don’t like a track he does right off the bat, I’ll grab it as a rule just to listen to what he’s up to. The original of this track is great. But the remix by Reso might be even better, glossing up the rappers choppy, breathless, earnest delivery with the smoothest ambient noise and buttery synths.

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This song by 14kt took me by surprise, especially as I hadn’t heard of him before – this song is so huge and the kick drums sound like punchy ripples in an electronic pond. So I followed that aspect of the song and created the artwork around the sound of the kick drum. Gentle, floating light melodies and distorted vocals jump around, refracting and reflecting.

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Is it odd that this combination of rolling bass, warbly, fuzzed out synths and sparse drum programming sounds like the first snow fall of the year? Living on the west coast is great – there isn’t snow at all downtown in the winter. Still coming from the mountains, I feel a bit nostalgic for heaps of snow. So here’s how I think this song looks, namely the not-so-distant past looking out at a blizzardy day.

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One endless loop of cosmic sultriness. Heavy, intense, and passionate yet restrained. Jose’s voice feels suitably pulled back and he blends in well with the bass heavy neo-galactic-soul. Gentle electronic whirring, robotic atmospheric strings and overhead piano place this edifice in a distant corner of the universe, ancient and futuristic.

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The stuttering, shimmering tones and beats on this track were enough for me to invest in Kona Triangle’s album: Sing a New Sapling into Existence.

This song sounds like they sampled the entire width and breadth of a Northwest forest, plugged an MPC into a pine tree and jammed out this gleaming number for the nearby woodland creatures. And all this at dawn.

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This is my plan: design album artwork for a single worthy of attention each and every day. This is ambitious. But it’s crazy enough to work. I hope I can share some good music that inspires me and capture the mood / essence of the song in a CD cover sized piece of artwork.

The one to kick it off is Flying Lotus – Heat Wave 2.

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Occasionally, casual web browsing actually leads to something inspiring. And I’m glad that I just checked up on Stefan Dziallas, also known as iconwerk. He has updated his site with breathtaking new icon design work and released the first episode of iconwerkTV. Here’s one guy who elevates the icon to a new level. From mere utility to a thing of beauty. I’ve never coveted icons. Never. And I might just be guilty now.

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I wanted to share this series of high-resolution texture photos that I took on a trip through an alley in downtown Vancouver. Urban environments always inspire me, especially when they’re getting broken down and eroding “organically”.

Walking in the alleys parallel to the entertainment district of Granville Street you’ll see many visual treats. That is, if worn down brick walls and eroding telephone polls are your thing. You know, good textures.

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