Sepalcure
The duo of Praveen Sharma (Braille) and Travis Stewart (Machinedrum) took the world by storm with their debut self-titled album released Thanksgiving week on Hotflush Recordings. The album earned them the #1 slot on Amazon’s Best Dance & Electronic Music of 2011 list; a slot on iTunes Best Electronic of 2011; a slot on Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2011 list; a slot on XLR8R’s Best of 2011 list, a slot on RCRD LBLs Best of 2011 list; listed as one of Hype Machine’s Top 5 new artists of 2011; one of KCRW’s Artists You Should Know and included in Capital’s Best of New York 2011 amongst many other accolades.
Working together in what can only be described as a joyous collaboration, Travis Stewart and Praveen Sharma utilized the broader canvas of the album format to take their collaborative process to a new level, incorporating a strikingly diverse and, it must be said, very American set of influences into the bass-based framework of their sonic delights. The duo have long been at the forefront of an ever-expanding bass music scene in New York - not only through their DJ and live performances, but also through Praveen's community-oriented bass music web site Percussion Lab (which also acts as co-presenter tonight). Additionally, the duo, have been prolific on solo projects. Stewart now spends significant periods of time in Berlin. This summer he released a much-heralded Machinedrum album Rooms on Planet Mu. Over on our side of the Atlantic, proud New Yorker Sharma (who, by the way, has no plans to move to Berlin) let loose a flurry of EPs under the alias Braille on Hotflush and Rush Hour. Both the Machinedrum and Braille releases reflect the impact of the frenetic, paranoid rhythms of the modern Chicago and the return to vogue of music deeply embedded in the core of his city - House music. Together as Sepalcure, both artists add a crucial sense of emotional intelligence, melodic sensuality and a dynamic passion that defines their unique sound. Their music is caught between detailed and intelligently gathered histories of dance music movements in New York, Chicago, Berlin and London and it's also free of them all - in the end, their sound is their own, created with a fervent commitment to the hear & now. Like New York itself, their album reveals a world where new doors open to surprising worlds, where the full range of delights is both easily acknowledged and highly addictive.
At Bass Mutations, Sepalcure bring their well-received live show complete with a special Audio-Visual component created by visualist Sougwen back to the city that spawned them. They are the only act to have performed at all three New York editions of Unsound Festival and for anyone in attendance at the Bass Mutations night it will be clear to see why.
