File under Asheville. And Awesome.

In case you missed the invites flying around Facebook and the tweets circulating this morning, a group of Asheville-based electronic musicians recently got together and released a 17-track collection titled Asheville Beat Tape Volume 1. Artists include SYS-HEX, TwoFresh, DJ Bowie, Mingle, Marley Carroll and others and can be downloaded for free from Skew Records.

Songs find a delicate balance between downtempo and danceable, with chill, repetitive beats running like a thread throughout. d:Raf’s “Ninja Au Go Go” learns toward world beat with Middle Eastern flavor; DJ Bowie’s “Doin It” is a glitchy, scratchy, celebratory track; Mother Hood (from RBTS WIN) brings an almost disco groove to “Waffle Fryz”; ProFlogik’s “Velvet” lives up to its name with soulful r&b strains and is that a banjo on Wuchinow’s gently rollicking “Tola”?

According to the press release for the album, “The idea for an Asheville Beat Tape came from Nigel One, a long-time DJ and producer who has been involved in Asheville’s electronic music scene since the early 2000s. Soon after joining forces with Skew Records, Nigel decided to spearhead the idea of bringing some of the surrounding talent together to form an Asheville Beat Tape. After a month’s time, Nigel had collected a multitude of tracks from area producers, and brought on Skew producers Peripheral and DM Stair to help artfully and seamlessly arrange the tracks into order. The result is a 45-minute mix of inspiring production and composition styles.”

Man of the artists on Vol. 1 were represented at MoogFest this fall (give the tracks a listen and you’ll see why they were hand-picked for that inaugural electronic music festival). Entries for a forthcoming Vol. 2 are currently being vetted.

Download Asheville Beat Tape here for free. The Vol. 1 track list is:

1. “Could Have Sworn” by SYS-HEX
2. “Nammo” by KimathiM
3. “Mini-Max” by TwoFresh
4. “NewWorld” by Moving Temple
5. “Ninja Au Go Go” by d:Raf
6. “Doin’ It” by Dj Bowie
7. “Radio Mountain” by DM Stair
8. “Waffle Fryz” by Mother Hood
9. “Pyradelic” by Nigel One
10. “Abbrev” by Jables
11. “MPCONE” by Bookworm
12. “Velvet” by ProFlogik
13. “Town To Town” by Mingle
14. “Wave” by P3RIPH3RA
15. “Tola” by Wuchinow
16. “Be Good” by Marley Carroll
17. Shoutro

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “File under Asheville. And Awesome.

  1. Moving Temple

    Just a correction, not all of the artist were represented at Moogfest, just for the record(s). Thanks for the great coverage. Skew LOVES Asheville and the Mountain X!

    Andy Askew
    Skew Records

Leave a Reply to chris f. ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.