Studio wizard Chop pulls out all of the analogue stops on the Motorik highway to Cybotron by way of a Tangerine Dream on his debut album for Now-Again. Mutant EP available now via Now-Again Deluxe; Illuminate album out July 16th.

Mr. Chop’s debut EP for Now-Again in 2009, Lightworlds, drew together anthemic synth-rock, the jagged sound of Italian prog monsters Goblin, and musique concrète, with surprisingly accessible results. Since then, the artist known to friends as Coz Littler has rid himself of the Mister and returns with renewed focus for his debut album Illuminate known simply as Chop.

The path that took him here was winding indeed. Isolating himself in his Cheshire, UK studio in late 2009, Chop decided to try his hand at the nearly fifty year old – and rarely successful – quest to musically merge the organic and the electronic. Three years later, surrounded by a host of musical material and reeling from the passing of his father, his music started falling into itself and Chop found himself in the center of the spiral.

Enter his friend Joe Fearon, A&R for the likes of Liverpool bands The Coral and The Zutons. With Fearon’s help, Chop whittled down hours of recordings to a selection of the most inspired moments. It became clear that while each stood up on its own, they lacked a unifying theme. Chop discovered a solution in the mutated sound of his own voice – at times processed through a WWII-era bomber pilot’s reconditioned microphone, at others deconstructed via an early Texas Instruments computer. And then everything fell into place: Heliocentrics drummer Malcolm Catto’s rhythm tracks were edited off-the-grid until they became more Neu than James Brown, more driving than syncopated; Bill Ryder Jones from The Coral stepped in for the lead guitar parts, which lent a powerful psychedelic 60s rock sound to the proceedings; Chop repurposed a range of obsolete musical gear to renewed ends, in line with his desire to search for a future imbued with the innocence of the past.

The result is Illuminate, an album equally inspired by the retro-futurism of the still-sputtering 19th century power station in Northern Wales, across the estuary from Chop’s studio, the events of his life, and Chop’s collection of hip-hop, disco, new wave and minimal synth records. A record of extreme personal significance to Chop, the creation of its music conversely helped him to silence the chaos of an increasingly neurotic world and soothe the pain of his loss of his father.

Unsurprisingly, Illuminate traverses a number of moods. The jackhammer pounding of ‘Building Blocks’ segues into the moody but serene ‘Picture Box’. The futuristic soundscape ‘Arcane Future’ takes an uplifting melodic turn, revealing Chop’s hopes for a more perfect tomorrow. Tape loops and effects, field recordings and drum programming all play a role in Illuminate, and as the majority of the tracks were assembled far away from a detailed Pro-Tools grid, in what Chop calls a “mutant modern way of editing things,” This approach gives the songs a life of their own – equally electronic and human. Though it’s the most intellectual approach Chop has taken with his music to date, it retains a spontaneous feel throughout, and despite its technical accomplishments, Illuminate is Chop’s most intimate and personal album yet.

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Buy Tickets: Madlib Medicine Show: The Sound of Zamrock.

Madlib has championed Zamrock’s heroes for some years now: his Beat Konducta in Africa release leaned heavily on samples from the likes of WITCH and Paul Ngozi and the Ngozi Family; his DJ sets feature rarities from the scene; he and the rapper formerly known as Mos Def have been discussing a trip to Zambia to record a collaborative album. At this special Madlib Medicine Show, Madlib will not only put together a DJ set that weaves his trademark hip hop beats in and out of funky and fuzzy Zamrock classics, but he’s brought WITCH’s last remaining member, bandleader Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda from Zambia to San Francisco to 1015 Folsom to perform Zamrock Live! on June 7th for the first time to a public audience in North America…. Ever.

Also on the bill is Egon, Madlib’s partner in Madlib Invazion, and, as any visitor to this site is almost certainly aware, the man behind the resurgence of interest in the Zamrock movement via anthologies of the giants of the scene: WITCH, Rikki Ililonga, Musi-O-Tunya, Paul Ngozi, Chrissy Zebby Tembo and, soon to come Salty Dog, Mike Nyoni, Born Free and The Peace.

As Now-Again ramps up its undertakings to document the lost gems from this isolated yet genius movement in 2013, they happily partnered up with Urban Outfitters to bring a Zamrock inspired collection into the chain this spring. With Urban Outfitters, Now-Again brought Chanda and his Zamrock Live! – which has been making the European festival rounds – to Hollywood this past month for a private show, but this is the first time that Zamrock Live! can be accessed by the ticket buying public.

At the show, Madlib will be selling a limited edition 7” EP containing selections from his forthcoming Rock Konducta album on Madlib Invazion. The 7”s – white labels, housed in a custom designed Jeff Jank sleeve – were only manufactured in a run of 300 copies.

More Info/Rock Konducta preview: Rappcats.com

A while back, we told you that Egon was photographed amidst his record collection for photographer Eilon Paz’s Dust and Grooves project. Well, now Paz has published an extensive interview and a streamable mix highlighting selections from Egon’s collections. Check it out at the Dust and Grooves site now.

Have you ever seen the Heliocentrics live? Well, we won’t lie: we’ve only ever seen them as a trio, in Paris, of all places – as substitutes for Madlib, of all people – but damn was the power of that show enough to reverberate in our craniums until this day. So, with that said: if you happen to be within a reasonably priced plane or train ticket to London, you owe it to yourself to see them at Soundcrash this July 9th.

Buy Tickets: Heliocentrics at Soundcrash, July 9th.
Buy The Album: Heliocentrics 13 Degrees of Reality on Itunes.

Edward “Apple” Nelson is best known for the small clutch of 45s he released under the Apple and The Three Oranges name on local Los Angeles labels in the 1970s.
His run with his own Sagittarius contains six unimpeachable soul and funk numbers released under the Apple and The Three Oranges banner and one issued under his own name, Ed. (sic) Nelson. We at Now-Again are privileged to present Nelson’s complete works in our Free and Easy anthology. His is some of the most unique American funk and soul music we’ve ever come across.

Download: Apple and Three Oranges – Free and Easy.