Only 4 minutes into the 2nd side of their 1st Beat Tape, you recognize it from the first sound of that siren. You might call it ‘the hype section of Soupmask‘ (as Kuma’s remix reminds you), but St. Helens call it ‘Ground Effects‘.  Souns tightens it up ’til it almost pops, and Jirku throws it through a wall of synths. Might have been a stretch to call it dub-step back when the original mix was made, but these days that label is sounding more flexible.

1. St. Helens - Ground Effects (Souns Remix)
2. St. Helens - Ground Effects (Kuma Remix)
3. St. Helens - Ground Effects (Extended Mix)
4. St. Helens - Ground Effects (Jirku Remix)

Big thanks go out to Vancouver’s hardest working, heaviest hitting dubstep producers/promoters for the remixes!

Find out what Souns is up to:
www.myspace.com/michael_red
lowindigo.blogspot.com

Find out what Kuma is up to:
www.artofbeatz.org
www.thekonspiracygroup.com/kuma.html

This collection was remastered and assembled as a limited promo CDr a while back, but it seems senseless to me now to keep it limited. Various remixes a few of which still haven’t been released, but they come together into a pretty mean album, so enjoy:

01 - naw - birch bark (tomas jirku remix).mp3
02 - Soundwarp - DK 85 (Tomas Jirku Remix).mp3
03 - naw - 5am westbound (Tomas Jirku’s ”As West As It Gets” Remix).mp3
04 - The Hermit - Home (Tomas Jirku’s Naturhaus Remix).mp3
05 - Sourcecode - Even Numbers (Tomas Jirku’s Number Station Remix).mp3
06 - Marco Bernardi - EF, NG (Tomas Jirku’s Effin’ Great Remix).mp3
07 - LOD - Sabado Gris (Tomas Jirku’s ”Scooby-Doo Gristle” Remix).mp3
08 - Tomas Jirku - The Stickiest of the Icky.mp3
09 - Andrew Duke - Consumer vs User (Tomas Jirku’s Bureaucratic Mess Mix).mp3
10 - Caduceus Music - Factory Sounds (Tomas Jirku’s ”In The Factory Things Are Loud” Remix).mp3

I completed a few remixes earlier this year for our friends at Nice & Nasty in Dublin, Ireland… Three of ‘em… Jack Tripper would be so proud.  And they clock in at about 10 minutes a piece… Hey, when I don’t have limited groove-room on a piece of vinyl to concern myself about I just can’t help myself:

T Polar - The Bubbling Brook of Brook Trout Remix by Tomas Jirku
Mick Chillage - Sub Harmony (Tomas Jirku Remix)
Orlando Voorn - Angles (Tomas Jirku Remix)

With those tracks we’ve got our funky, chill and slammin’ bases covered (respectively).
Had a bit of a lull in music production since completing the last one in March, but I have dusted off the motherboard and am now working on a set of tracks that, in a welcome change of format, just might end up on vinyl! I’m going to have to start exercising restraint with tracks lengths again?

I also recently completed artwork for an awesome new Nice & Nasty album from Mark O’Sullivan.  Check out the CD booket, online edition and remix edition graphics:

RIFT
Bottom Breathing
with remixes from Limaçon, Tomas Jirku & Ruoho Ruotsi
TLM019

After making a splash with his contribution to Thoughtless Times v.3, Florida’s Patrick Campbell dives deeper still to present two fresh tracks. Employing a rare balance of percussive impulse and textural finesse, ‘Forever Is Happening Now’ fills out a stripped-down house structure, while delicate melodies skirt the sharper edges of ‘Bottom Breathing’. In the first of three remixes, Limaçon molds a sub-aquatic juggernaut spliced with shards of coral and translucent reef. Minimal tech-house pioneer Tomas Jirku’s synthetic echoes cast light from a turbulent surface to the ocean floor, illuminating the skeletal breakbeat that propels his version through the depths. Finally, Def’child’s Ruoho Ruotsi takes the aquatic elements of the original to their logical conclusion, dub-heavy bass anchoring a tide of sparkling sine waves and analog bubbles. Take a deep breath, and dive – into the thoughtless Rift…

01. Forever Is Happening Now
02. Bottom Breathing
03. Bottom Breathing – Limaçon Remix
04. Bottom Breathing – Tomas Jirku Remix
05. Bottom Breathing – Ruoho Ruotsi Reshape

”Quite like ‘Bottom Breathing’ – thanks again for the music.” TYLER STADIUS – Fabric

“Limaçon on form here again – his mix is for me. Thanks!” CHRIS FORTIER – EQ Grey

“Thoughtless music continues an output of deeper-than-average fodder. Always quality. Limaçon wins here, but all are fantastic, electronica-rich explorations.” DEEPCHILD – Future Classic

“I’ve really been enjoying this release, and have been playing it a lot. Fantastic deep melodic intuition.” KILOWATTS – Voodeux

“Nice package – thanks!” DAVIDE SQUILLACE – Minisketch

“Limaçon’s remix - for play - and Tomas Jirku’s remix - for listening - are my favorites on this EP. Thanks!” ANGEL MOLINA – Sonar

“Thanks for always sending such quality music. ‘Forever is Happening Now’ and ‘Bottom Breathing - Limaçon Remix’ are the ones for us here, will definitely play these two. ‘Forever is Happening Now’ is a great track with a super nice groove, lovin’ it. Nice EP!” SIGNAL DELUXE – Eintakt

Take a listen and buy it now exclusively on the brand new BEATPORT.

thoughtlessmusic.com
myspace.com/thoughtlessdigital

Check out another remix I recently finished for fellow B.C.ian Ookpikk. “James Rocketface” is the stand-out track for me from his debut album… I can’t get enough of it! So it was an honor to be asked to remix it and a joy to take the original’s vaguely Mouse on Mars sound and push it into a dubby electro bass drop that recalls moments from the aforementioned’s Iaora Tahiti album…. kinda…

Ookpikk - James Rocketface (Tomas Jirku Remix).mp3

Ookpikk is the creation of Dan Godlovitch, a Canadian electronic music who has been recording under the Ookpikk moniker (taken from the Inuktitut word for “snowy owl”) since 2006. True to its title, Ookpikk’s debut album “Total Home-Job” was composed, recorded, mixed and mastered entirely by Godlovitch in his home studio in Victoria, British Columbia.

Ookpikk’s new album “Total Home-Job” on So Called Recordings will be available through the Itunes Music Store on November 18th, and an exclusive advance release is now available on the Emusic website with the addition of my remix.

Also check out:
Ookpikk’s homepage
Ookpikk on Myspace

I got paid a whole bunch of imaginary dollaz for this one…
Kanye West - Love Lockdown (Tomas Jirku Remix) (click to listen/download)

Kayne West premiered the original song on his blog and also made the multi-tracks available for peeps to remix. A whole bunch of remixes are already out there and being the sucker for a remix that I am I jumped at the opportunity myself. I let the TR-808 drum machine from the original lead the way into a rolling electro jam for my remix.

Now I must admit I wasn’t feeling the original at first, but I made the mistake of listening to it before a weekend of fishing and had it stuck in my head the entire time. Whether I learned to like it over the weekend, or was just brainwashed, I’m not sure… but I did catch my biggest rainbow trout yet (all 8 pounds of it):

Check out the brand-spanking-new remix from Tomas Jirku of the Celtec Twinz’ track “Benediction” to be released by Nice & Nasty.

The video loop is of the from Lake Wave 2008: The remote (we’re talkin’ 55° north), invite-only mini-rave! Complete with video projections, fireworks, Vapo-rub, Arctic Greyling, multi-coloured camp fires and lots and lots of bacon!