Archive for July, 2010

27
Jul

Album Review: Eleven Tigers – Clouds are Mountains

By Cynapse 0 Comments
Categories: Music Reviews and Reviews

Artist: Eleven Tigers
Album: Clouds are Mountains
Genre: Electronic (Dubstep)
Label: Baked Goods
Year: 2010
Rating: 95%
URL: http://eleventigers.net/

Burial’s 2007 LP Untrue introduced many electronic music fans to Dubstep. Untrue’s potent combination of murky beats, bleak melodies mangled R&B vocal samples put a decidedly soulful spin on a genre that was otherwise migrating from its darker origins to a more rave/tweaker friendly sound. The problem was that once you got through Untrue and Burial’s less flashy self-titled debut, there was little else in the scene that sounded nearly as rich. Most popular dubstep tracks sound like lethargic remakes of the squelchy club music from Jersey Shore – fantastic to the clubbers tripping on Ketamine and distracting to just about anyone else.

Eleven Tigers - Clouds are MountainsLithuanian producer Eleven Tigers breaks that mold authoritatively on his debut LP, Clouds are Mountains. While inspired by Untrue, Clouds are Mountains forgoes R&B and Garage mutations in favour of ambient pads and generous layers of IDM-style synth-work. Vocals are used sparingly and garbled to the point of sounding like Simlish. The songs flow seamlessly, engaging one other via crossfades of up to 40 seconds. The album is mixed like a well-planned DJ set and can be played from start to finish without a break in the action.

While the sum of Clouds are Mountains is indeed greater than its parts, there are still standout tracks. Songs for You plays like the lovechild of Dido and Burial, pulsing along at a slow dub-like speed lead by acoustic guitars before moving double time over ringing analogs. Atomic Turnip pays homage to the dub roots of dubstep with chest-tickling sub-basslines and a heavily reverberated organ. Thesis veers into vintage Prodigy territory, albeit with an IDM twist as three generations of grimy old school rave beats crunch against heavily altered speech loops and indescribable random noises that barely avoid chaos. Stableface easily boasts the greatest crossover appeal and dance floor potential, featuring chopped female vocals over several airy layers of pads and a driving drum beat. Even this track is complex, however, and like nearly all of the tunes on Clouds are Mountains, it constantly evolves.

Clouds are Mountains is easily one of the best albums of any genre that I’ve heard in the past decade. Numerous visitors to my house parties (whose musical tastes span from Alt-Rock to Hip Hop) seem to agree. Only dubstep scenesters may not bite since this album is closer to Boards of Canada than Rusko. However, anyone with an even passing interest in headphone-friendly electronic music would be well advised to check out this hidden gem.

And for Burial lovers … yes, this will tide you over for awhile.

25
Jul

Discovering African Ancestry Through DNA Testing (3/3)

By Cynapse 3 Comments
Categories: History

See also: Part 1, Part 2

In the final installment of the series on DNA ancestry testing we will look at mtDNA and the maternal line. Read part 1 of the series to learn the difference between mtDNA, yDNA and autosomal DNA.

To quickly recap: a patrilneal test can determine haplogroup and tribal association as dictated by the father’s father’s father’s … father. My test results traced back to a strain I-Haplogroup (I1a) originating from and most commonly found in Scandinavia. Independent research verified that my paternal great grandfather was a native of Scotland, where the I-Haplogroup is alleged to have spread via Viking invasion. Needless to say, the yDNA test provided no information about which African ethnic group I may have descended from.

My Ancestral Journey – Mama Edition

The mtDNA test can determine haplogroup and tribal association by way of the mother’s mother’s mother’s … mother. MtDNA Haplogroups are denoted by different labels than male haplogroups, though the geographic regions represented are roughly the same.

Given the previous test results, I knew better than to have any explanations in terms of discovering exact African ancestry:

  • mtDNA, like yDNA, only traces a single gender line of ancestry. Nearly all of the family tree is left untested
  • Autosomal DNA can test both male and female DNA but is accurate for only a few generations back and sometimes cannot differentiate between closely-related populations
  • My maternal grandmother is visibly and verified to be mixed. As she is from the Caribbean, her mother/grandmother could be from … virtually anywhere.

Genebase mtDNA test Interface

Genbase performs mtDNA testing based on a buccal swab from the user or a member of the user’s family. The latter option allows users to trace lines not directly accessible from their own sample (e.g. a father’s matrilenial line).

mtDNA Haplogroup Identification
L1 Haplogroup

The default mtDNA test can predict a user’s haplogroup. My test predicted membership in the L-Haplogroup. An additional SNP backbone test confirmed my subclade to be L1C. The L1 Haplogroup appeared approximately 150,000 years ago in East Africa and is closely related to the original L0 group (Mitochondrial eve). The L1C subclade is commonly found in central and southern Africa, particularly among Pygmy ethnic groups and Bantu-speaking African groups.

Multiple years passed before I had a single “close match” on DNA Reunion (matches users to other users). The original assumption was that there weren’t many black users on the Canada-based Genebase system but a quick user profile search dispelled that idea. This was an early sign that the mtDNA result might contain another “surprise”, despite being within the African realm. Continue reading ‘Discovering African Ancestry Through DNA Testing (3/3)’

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