Listen to “The Attic of the Milestone (Decisions, Decisions) (prod. by DJ Empirical)” by Mikal kHill.
Mikal kHill asked me to craft a new beat for an older song of his, to be placed in a new context as a part of a zombie-themed concept album, The Walking Dead, which was released in conjunction with Halloween. The album features a raft of nerdcore specialists, and is quite good overall. (And Z, of the blog “Hipster, Please”, agrees.) Check it out!

Incidentally, I think this is the first released thing I’ve done that features one of the excellent Sufi plugins. In this case it’s (perhaps obviously) Palmas, the clapping drum machine. I love these things and hope to make wider use of them.

Listen to “Shivablast (produced by DJ Empirical)” by Beefy.
Rusty Shackles, the amazing artist who did my birthday show poster last year, had the idea to put together nerdcore rapper Beefy with a slew of producers to create a tribute EP to the show The League, a comedy about fantasy football. Knowing I had at least a passing interest in the show (I’m a huge fan of How Did This Get Made, a podcast co-hosted by some of the same actors involved), he reached out to me to contribute.

I produced two of the tracks, which bookend the EP. First, the lead-in track “Shivablast”, which musically homages NFL music* while incorporating elements of Indian music, referencing the ethnicity of “Shiva”, the girl their trophy is named after. She comes in again at the end of the EP, with the other track I produced, “SKSK” (short for “Shivakamini Somakandarkram”, Shiva’s full name). This one’s not a proper “song”, so much as just a funny way to end the record: the guys on the show sing her name to the tune of “Hava Nagila”, so I sampled them, added Indian drums, and some sub bass.

Go check it out — it’s free, and fun. The other folks involved are great, and the end product came out nicely.

Oh, and here’s the instrumental of “Shivablast”:

Listen to “Shivablast (instrumental)” by DJ Empirical.

*This had to be suggested to me, as I have no knowledge or interest in football.

 

I freakin’ *love* How Did This Get Made, a podcast exploring crazy bad (or just plain crazy) films, and I especially love Jason Mantzoukas, who’s often the most emotional of the co-hosts.

On their episode reviewing Battlefield Earth, Jason was particularly vocal about his dislike of the film, and after listening to the episode a few times, decided to make a kind of supercut of just his bits. Thus, the name, “Manzoupercut”.

The beat in the background is one I produced as well.

Listen to “Hunter’s Dreamboat (schädel remix)” by Ellie Herring.

Released on Ellie Herring’s “Reattraction“, for Race Car.

The label’s blurb about this one:

schädel (known to some as DJ Empirical) from Cincinnati, OH concocts a hypnotic look at ‘Hunter’s Dreamboat.’ A slow burner, complete with devilish ambiance and synths that hold you captive. The depths lead with the heart and fall to the floor.

Release Date: Apr 03, 2012
Artwork: Dustin Bowen & Evan Scott Sharfe
Catalog #: RCP 035
Mastering: Kevin Frey

This is a five minute minimix, a bit like the ones on Annie Mac’s BBC show. It’s short, but there’s a lot packed in there. You can download from the soundcloud widget, or click here.

Tracklist:
01) Graham Philip d’Ancey – Sacred Dance
02) Sheila Chandra – Strange Minaret
03) Moon Boots – Aretha (Zimmer remix)
04) The System – You Are in My System
05) Cut Copy – Sun God (Andrew Weatherall Arp version)
06) Fan Death – Veronica’s Veil
07) René & Angela – Save Your Love (for #1) (feat. Kurtis Blow) (12″ version)
08) Thompson Twins – Love on Your Side (No Talkin’) (12″ version)
09) Liaisons Dangereuses – Los niños del parque
10) The Who – Eminence Front (The Love Supreme edit)
11) schädel [untitled] (rpm 04) Something Like a Hajj (demo)
12) Genius of Time – Houston We Have a Problem
13) Zodiac – Pacific (original mix)
14) Baron von Luxxury – That Disco Beat
15) DAF – Brothers
16) Ellie Herring – Hunter’s Dreamboat (schädel remix)
17) The Black Madonna – Exodus

Lexington musician Ellie Herring organized a compilation of electronic music entitled Sorghum, to which I donated the above track. All proceeds from its purchase will be donated to the Mid-East Kentucky Chapter American Red Cross to aid the tornado victims of West Liberty, KY.

It features some excellent music, and has a minimum of $4 to purchase. Click through to check out the other songs.