ELECTRONICA
Cactus Face: Crafting a Cinematic Electro Sound
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Electrifying Soundscapes: A Journey through Dance, House & Rave Classics, Trip Hop & Beats
Let us take you on a sonic journey through the timeless Dance Classics that defined the dance floors of past eras. Feel the infectious energy of House Classics, with their soulful vocals and uplifting beats, guaranteed to keep you moving. Dive into the underground scene with Rave Classics, where high-energy anthems and mind-bending soundscapes transport you to the heart of the rave culture.
Explore the mesmerizing fusion of downtempo beats and atmospheric vibes in our Trip Hop selection. Let the trip-hop pioneers guide you through a captivating sonic landscape that blurs the boundaries between genres.
We continuously curate and update our Electronica section, ensuring you stay at the forefront of the ever-evolving electronic music scene. Discover new tracks, rediscover timeless classics, and let the rhythm guide you. Whether you're a DJ looking for inspiration or an electronic music enthusiast seeking sonic adventures, our Electronica section has everything you need to ignite your passion for the electronic sound. Get ready to lose yourself in the electrifying beats of Dance Classics, House Classics, Rave Classics, Trip Hop, and Beats.
Meet Cactus Face, the latest project from Dresden-based Australian artist Michael Mortlock. Anything but prickly, Cactus Face’s smooth debut release, ‘Those Hot Summer Nights,’ transports listeners to the sweltering streets of New York City, and is just a taste of an upcoming full album. With clear references in film, we could easily hear ‘Those Hot Summer Nights’ on the slow pulse titles of your next favourite binge thriller. Drawing from influences like DJ Shadow and Amon Tobin, Cactus Face conceptually blends downtempo, trip-hop beats with urban landscapes, creating a sound distinctly his own.
Congratulations on the release of ‘Those Hot Summer Nights’, as an Australian living in Dresden Germany, tell us about the inspiration and meaning behind the title of the track?
I’ve always had a fascination with New York City since I was a kid, and it was the first place I ever went outside Australia when I was a teenager. Since then I was a little obsessed with capturing this feeling and energy that the city resonates. After seeing Spike Lee’s ‘Do The Right Thing’, which takes place in NYC during a sweltering heatwave in the 80s - I felt it doesn’t come much closer than that. This track basically combines this scenario into a kind of cinematic theme for some fictional TV-Drama, where a heatwave sweeps across the city and it feels as dry as a desert. Everyone is motionless under the heat and pressure, until the downpour comes and drenches the whole city - sweet relief.
Video Clip: Cactus Face ‘Those Hot Summer Night’
Can you tell us a little about your journey with the production, do you have any interesting stories you can share, where there any inspirations for you while composing this beat?
Once I had this beat, everything else just fell into place - but the ethereal rain sound fx certainly created the foundation for the concept. It felt like some kind of film score, a climactic moment where the fate of the lead character becomes clear. I’d been listening to a lot of DJ Shadow and Amon Tobin in my youth and it brought me straight back to this kind of ‘Wild West’ cinematic style, but set in the backdrop of urban desert landscapes.
As an Australian living in Europe, can you nominate 5 emerging artists on your radar from both home and abroad that we could add to our electro collection for our readers to check out?
Leon Vynehall, DJ Rum, Uppermost, Parker, Logic1000
Photo: Cactus Face (image supplied)
This is your first release under the moniker ‘Cactus Face’; tell us a little about the project, how you imagine it might convert to a live setting, and what we can expect from you in the near future?
Cactus Face emerged after I decided I wanted to delve into some more downtempo / trip-hop productions, away from my usually more dance-floor oriented stuff. I loved the process of finding some really great beats and cutting them together with all sorts of other eclectic odd sounds and samples from a wide range or genres. It felt like creating a collage using a whole bunch of old magazine clippings from somebody’s dusty attic. I instantly felt so at home making this project and much more free to experiment, and even wrote a whole album which I will be releasing later this year. I am also a film-maker, specialising in music videos and documentaries - so creating the visual aspects of this project are just as important to me. As a live performance, the video aspect will be a huge focus.
Cactus Face’s debut single and upcoming EP offers a collage of ethereal sounds and eclectic samples. ‘Those Hot Summer Nights’ beckons listeners to slow down and lay low in an evocative soundscape. Let the music guide you through city streets in Summer, where every corner is a testament to creativity and exploration. So close your eyes, quench your thirst and let your imagination run wild”
‘Those Hot Summer Nights’ Tour Dates
CACTUS FACE - LIVE
10.05 - GrooveStation - DRESDEN (GER)
23.05 - Privatclub - BERLIN (GER)
07.06 - Absturz Club - LEIPZIG (GER)
20.06 - Abercrombie Hotel - SYDNEY (AUS
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