Beginning in 2016 as a series of sweaty underground Dalston basement parties, Earthly Measures quickly established themselves as a community hub for some of the more eclectic psychedelic grooves coming out of London. Evolving into a record label in 2020, their Earthly Tapes series have been for many one of the few soothing pleasures of the pandemic. After just over a year-long hiatus the third chapter is finally here and with it the label welcomes six new members to its ever growing family.
For today’s premiere, we spotlight Chilean musician DJ Raff‘s track, ‘Voces’, which is inspired by his mother and the music she would listen to around the home in his teenage years. Raff used to take her records and tapes to sample and make boom-bap beats: every time he showed her a new beat, she had the ability to recognise the track that he sampled.
Keeping with the spirit of transforming the familiar, ‘Voces’ takes ideas from Spanish and Chilean 70s music and deconstructs them until they are both soothing and alien. Vocal samples are chopped up and warped around persuasive percussion and a warm sensual synth bed – it’s a beautiful, warm and uplifting entry point into the renowned series.
Earthly Tapes 3 is out 22nd April.
