Hands In The Dark Records Mixtape (#21) Stream & Download

Vee Hua 華婷婷7 min readJuly 9, 20122 comments

Hands In The Dark was born at the end of a boozy party in 2010! This mixtape pulls together various sounds with the common feature of mixing pop and experimental music, grouping them under the title ‘Expop’ music.

Hands In The Dark was born at the end of a boozy party in 2010! What could have ended up just a brilliant idea and a short-lived story became the start of a great musical adventure, bringing together two lovers of “unclassified” music. Hands In the Dark pulls together various sounds with the common feature of mixing pop and experimental music. Grouping them under the title ‘Expop’ music, HITD has quickly reached its 12th release comprising CD’s, vinyl and even tapes. HITD also means ”DIY”. We build everything from top to bottom, from contact with the bands we love to sending out the parcels. We always preserve our freedom with no artistic pressure. Such is the great enterprise of HITD. In short, a French label with a certain je-ne-sais-quoi…

Thanks to Amélie and Alice…

 

Curation & Translation by Morgan & Onito; Additional Translation by Jeff Diteman

Hands In The Dark est né fin 2010 lors d’une soirée arrosée! Ce qui aurait pu s’apparenter à une fulgurance doublée d’une histoire sans lendemain n’était en fait que le début d’une belle aventure musicale réunissant deux amis passionnés de musiques inclassables. Hands In The Dark rassemble des sonorités diverses et ayant pour dénominateur commun un côté expérimental allié à un versant pop. Rassemblé sous l’étiquette d’ «Expop music», le catalogue du label comptera bientôt 12 références… Cd’s, vinyles mais aussi cassettes. HITD, c’est aussi l’importance du côté « DIY ». Tout est de A à Z géré par nos soins, de la prise de contact avec les groupes que l’on aime à l’envoi des disques. Aucune entrave à notre liberté, aucune contrainte artistique… Tel est le vaste chantier de HITD.

Merci à Amélie et Alice.

 

Mixtape Stream & Download

See the full post for descriptions in French and English.

 

Download Mixtape (132.3 MB)

See all REDEFINE magazine mixtapes

 

1. Lee Noble – “Woman In The Dunes”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(01)_Lee-Noble_Woman-In-The-Dunes.mp3|titles=Lee Noble – Woman In The Dunes]
Un vacillement permanent nourri de visions nocturnes où synthés et guitares se tiennent la main. On atteint ici des sommets difficilement égalables.

An unfaltering vibration, nourished by nocturnal visions where synths and guitars go hand in hand. Lee Noble makes us climb as high as a mountain top, hardly reachable.

 

2. Ensemble Economique – “Your Hands, Your Lips, Your EYES, Your Hips”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(02)_Ensemble-Economique_Your-Hands-Your-Lips-Your-EYES-Your-Hips.mp3|titles=Ensemble Economique – Your Hands, Your Lips, Your EYES, Your Hips]
Rencontre mutante entre kosmiche musik et minimalisme synthétique, la musique de Ensemble Economique magnifie la volatilité des sentiments dont la logique n’est autre qu’émotion.

Seen as the mutant music-child of an illicit encounter between Kosmiche Musik and synthetic Minimalism, Ensemble Economique’s sound magnifies the volatility of those moments when rationale gives way to pure emotion on a new scale.

 

3. Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier – “Amish Amish Land”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(03)_Je-Suis-Le-Petit-Chevalier_Amish-Amish-Land.mp3|titles=Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier – Amish Amish Land]
La musique de Félicia Atkinson aka JSLPC est constituée de pièces expérimentales qui se vivent comme des traversées de contrées inconnues, tantôt hostiles, tantôt enchantées et émouvantes… La bande son de votre imaginaire.

The music of Felicia Atkinson, aka JSLPC, is made of experimental bits that must be taken as the crossing of unknown lands, sometimes hostile, sometimes enchanting and moving… Your imagination’s soundtrack.

 

4. Lumerians – “Track 1”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(04)_Lumerians_Track-1.mp3|titles=Lumerians – Track 1]
De l’Afrique à l’Allemagne en passant par le Brésil et New York, ces visionnaires boulimiques de la musique insolente, créent un rythme hypnotique, incantatoire et écrasé qui sabote les figures de tes idées reçues, fracasse la terre et élargit brutalement ta crâne.

From Africa to Germany, from Brazil to NYC, these bulimic visionaries of disobedient music produce a hypnotic, incantatory, and smashed groove that botches your preconceptions, shatters the ground, and monstrously widens your skull.

 

5. Death And Vanilla – “Cul-De-Sac”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(05)_Death-And-Vanilla_Cul-De-Sac.mp3|titles=Death And Vanilla – Cul-De-Sac]
L’une des idylles vespérales les plus intenses et troublantes de l’année 2012… Sensuelle, minimaliste et magnifique!

One of the most vivid and troubling crepuscular idyls of the year 2012… Sensual, minimal, and magnificent music!

 

6. Sacred Harp – “Brother Green”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(06)_Sacred-Harp_Brother-Green.mp3|titles=Sacred Harp – Brother Green]
Alternant entre acoustique virtuose et mantras criblés de sitar et de bourdonnement continu, Daniel Bachman aka Sacred Harp fait figure de chaman sonique qui ne trouve son compte que dans le geste incantatoire.

Between virtuoso acoustics and mantras that are riddled with sitars and perpetual humming, Daniel Bachman aka Sacred Harp stands as a sound shaman who satisfies himself only with incantatory gestures.

 

7. Holy Strays – “Peaceful Rain”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(07)_Holy-Strays_Peaceful-Rain.mp3|titles=Holy Strays – Peaceful Rain]
Holy Strays est le nom de plume adopté d’un jeune producteur à Paris qui fournit des rythmes à la fois massifs et intimes. Ses paysages subtils conduisent à une communion entre la transe et la contemplation.

Holy Strays is the adopted nom de plume of a young Paris-based producer, who delivers equally massive and intimate beats. His subtle soundscapes lead to communion, between trance and contemplation.

 

8. Cankun – “Your Fingers The Snakes”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(08)_Cankun_Your-Fingers-The-Snakes.mp3|titles=Cankun – Your Fingers The Snakes]
Rêveur impénitent, Vincent Caylet imagine de savants cocktails sonores collant parfaitement à une fin d’été brulant. Une sorte de paradis balnéaire perdu où les guitares hawaïennes flottent sur des boucles musicales ondulantes…

Inveterate dreamer, Vincent Caylet imagines clever sound cocktails that perfectly match the ending of a burning summer. A kind of lost seaside paradise, where Hawaiian guitars drift on undulating musical waves.

 

9. Co La – “Love Nest”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(09)_Co-La_Love-Nest.mp3|titles=Co La – Love Nest]
Des fragments allant du Hip Hop aux girls band des ‘60s, du classique au reggae, du jazz au chant traditionnels qui sont ensuite découpés, recoupés, collés, mélangés, mixées, dissèqués et réinventés… Ce savant mélange donne des morceaux absolument neufs, pop et complétement avant-gardiste. Une des proposition musicale les plus étonnantes du moment.

Bits from hip-hop to ’60s girls bands, from classical to reggae music, from jazz to traditional chants — that are then cut out, stuck, mixed, and dissected to be reinvented. This clever mix creates absolutely new pieces of pop and completely avant-garde music. One of the most astonishing music creations of this time.

 

10. Johnny Hawaii – “Wave Goodbye”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(10)_Johnny-Hawaii_Wave-Goodbye.mp3|titles=Johnny Hawaii – Wave Goodbye]
Voici le début d’un rêve constitué de réverbérations, de boucles brumeuses et de ressacs infinis. A suivre…

Here comes the beginning of a dream made of reverberations, misty loopings and infinite waves. To be continued…

 

11. Cough Cool – “Plastic Jewelry”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(11)_Cough-Cool_Plastic-Jewelry.mp3|titles=Cough Cool – Plastic Jewelry]
Shoegaze lo-fi, irradié et déstructuré, émanant tout droit d’un Philadelphie dévasté!

Lo-fi, irradiated and unstructured shoegaze, coming straight out of a devastated Philadelphia!

 

12. Metacomet – “Warm Winds”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(12)_Metacomet_Warm-Winds.mp3|titles=Metacomet – Warm Winds]
Une expérimente épatante et ouverte de la fusion de la grandeur de l’Americana « big skies » avec le bourdonnement méditatif et l’expérimentation mélodique des traditions psychédéliques/expérimentales. Difficile à nommer ou définir, mais la force d’envoûtement de cette musique est énorme.

An exciting, open-ended experiment in melding the muted grandeur of “big skies” Americana with the meditative drone and melodic experimentation of psychedelic/experimental traditions. Difficult to name or define but the power of this music to bewitch you is huge.

 

13. Stag Hare – “To Coyoto To Hop”
[audio:/mp3/downloads/mixtapes/021/(13)_Stag-Hare_To-Coyoto-To-Hop.mp3|titles=Stag Hare – To Coyoto To Hop]
Les oiseaux annoncent la communion contemplative qui attend l’auditeur. Les choses se mettent tranquillement en place, à leur rythme. Les notes semblent faire partie intégrante du temps qui défile au rythme des éléments naturels. Les guitares se répondent et se complètent. La voix intervient ponctuellement pour envahir discrètement l’espace. Les percussions martèlent indéfiniment un rythme hypnotique qui accentue cette sensation d’état second. Naturaliste, introspective… Telle est la musique de Stag Hare.

The birds are announcing the contemplative communion that awaits the listener. Things are peacefully setting up, at their own pace, without any excitement or overplaying emphasis. Notes seem to entirely belong to time, running on at the pace of natural elements. Guitars respond to each other and complement each other. A voice punctually and quietly invades the space. Percussions indefinitely hammer a hypnotic rhythm that enhances the feeling of being in trance. Such is Stag Hare’s music – naturalist and introspective.

 

Download Hands In The Dark Records Mixtape (126 MB) See all REDEFINE magazine mixtapes

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Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, and Co-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!, and are pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.

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Lliesse
Lliesse
12 years ago

Hello,
Nice words and mixtape !
About Holy Strays’ Peaceful Rain, you can also experiment the visual :
http://lliesse.tumblr.com/post/17938661644/incredibly-dreamy-visual-experiment-made-by

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Lital
Lital
11 years ago

Sacred Harp’s “Brother Green” is great– very Peter Gabriel-esque.

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Written by Vee Hua 華婷婷
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