Dusted Magazine - Caural's Recent Ten
Originally posted here
Zachary Mastoon, a.k.a. Caural, reportedly grew up influenced by the old school pleasures of hip hop. This one-man mixing wonder showcases his talent with a plethora of sampled sounds and a talent for handling many other additional instruments. Unlike most sample and turntable gurus, Caural’s pieces are more premeditated songs than chance adventures of where the needle drops next. Comparable to genre-ambiguous artists like Fourtet, Tommy Guerrero and req, Caural stems from his hip hop framework into the undefined realm of electronic sound. His latest album, Stars on my Ceiling is now out on Chocolate Industries
- Nate Howe
Caural’s Recent Ten (in no particular order):
1. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein (Def Jux)
Def Jux on a whole is putting out some of my favorite hip-hop today, but this album is an absolute gem- one of the best in the last five years. "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again/Get on the mic & die again/This the next lifetime & you wanna battle/Either you like reincarnation or the smell of carnations."
2. Minor Threat - Complete Discography (Dischord)
There is so much energy in this music that it makes me cringe. I had Out of Step & the skinhead cover on cassette in junior high, and played them until they disintegrated… I don’t think a digital format can melt- we’ll see.
3. Boards of Canada – Twoism (Music 70)
No, I don’t have a legit copy of this… But, the way the mp3 compression and what sounds like digital hiccups meld with BOC’s beautiful synth pads and crunchy breaks makes my CD-R a straight-up classic, thank you!
4. Do Make Say Think – Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead (Constellation)
My friend Ben put the title track "Goodbye Enemy Airship" on a mix cd for me and I listened to it on repeat one day for hours. This record is incredibly dynamic with cliffs of sound and emotion- and they recorded it in their keyboardist’s grandparents’ barn in Ontario! You can hear crickets in some of the quieter moments…
5. Vladislav Delay – Entain (Mille Plateaux)
Quickly becoming one of my favorite ambient albums alongside Datacide’s Flowerhead & Aphex Twin’s SAW II, I listen to this album entirely too much… Maybe that’s why I’m such a space cadet. This album breathes: repetition is buried in a constantly changing & exciting soundscape that makes me return to it again and again.
6. White Stripes - White Blood Cells (V2)
Yeah, so what? I like the White Stripes. I like the Strokes’ album too, so fuck you!
7. Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses (Warner Bros.)
Seven (@ Chocolate Industries) left this cassette in my car a few weeks ago and I remembered how much I love these guys. I drive around and feel like a teeny-bopper harmonizing with David Gahan on "Never Let Me Down Again" in my faux English accent.
8. Slowdive – Souvlaki (Creation)
These guys sound like My Bloody Valentine on heroin. I love almost all of Creation’s output, but this album- along with MBV’s Loveless- are my favorites.
9. SND – Tender Love (Mille Plateaux)
Okay- remember Fraggle Rock & how the Fraggles worked in the little crystal factory? SND sounds like a session in there- on these crystal & miniature instruments, with hammer clicks and hypnotic melodies. It’s so crisp and clean it’s almost frosted over. I also don’t think these guys realize how hip-hop they are.
10. Nuno Canavarro – Plux Quba (Moikai Re-Issue)
My family was robbed in Lisbon when I was little. They stole my Snoopy suitcase full of toys and stuffed animals out of our rental car; I actually yelled at a girl in SoHo who was walking around with the same suitcase. Anyway, Portugal has made it up to me on this record, giving me music that sometimes sounds like it was my stuffed animals themselves, playing with tape loops and electronics.