Not too many of you will have heard of Benjamin Freeney, but the rising Berlin-based DJ-producer—a sort of behind-the scenes-operator—has laid his hands on a whole lot of quality music. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in his role of A&R of Foom, a London-born label now rooted in the German capital, where Freeney has coaxed new records from Matthew Herbert, Mica Levi, and Half Hawaii (Bruno Pronsato & Sammy Dee). Coming next on the label is work from Thurston Moore, Melchior & Pronsato, and Tobias Freund, in partnership with Ransom Note.

Freeney also lends his production ear to a lot of Pronsato’s production work. Fans of the American’s US Drag album might recognise Freeney’s work on “Hands Reach Up,” included in this podcast, and “Brighter Than Her Daughter,” a collaboration with Liars. Trusting Freeney’s ear, Pronsato has enlisted him as a guide for a new album he’s working on for Perlon, and also as an editor on the upcoming Melchior & Pronsato EP.

As a DJ, Freeney began playing house parties in his hometown of Dublin, but he’s been floating around the European club circuit since 2014. He’s influenced by the style of the late Andrew Weatherall—”I saw him play probably 100 times, all different kinds of stuff. I learned a lot,” he says—but he also notes Margaret Dygas, The Mole, DJ Harvey, and DJ Richard as artists he’s moved by.

His XLR8R podcast, recorded in his Berlin apartment, is compiled of records that, for him,” feel close to perfection (in whole, or in part),” he says. It opens with almost 20 minutes of smooth dub techno, and the pace picks up shortly thereafter. Across 70 minutes, you’ll hear records from Cassy, Baby Ford, Thomas Melchior, Moritz Von Oswald, Etapp Kyle, and more—and it closes with a rather surreal blend of Thomas Melchior and Arthur Russell.

01. What have you been up to recently?

Setting up my new studio in Berlin. Being confused by resonance issues. Wearing an inordinate amount of navy.

02. What are you working on at the moment?

Working on my own music and others’. I just edited the next Melchior & Pronsato EP, I’m finalizing a new Thurston Moore album. Both will be on my label, Foom. There are also some remixes. I’ve also been curating an event that will take place in Berlin next year.

03. Where and when did you record this podcast?

A couple of months ago, in my old apartment in Mitte, in Berlin. My neighbor told me he liked the basslines that he could hear coming through the wall.

04. What equipment did you use?

My ailing Technics 1210s and a dusty old Vestax mixer. Plus a CDJ-400, Dynaudio monitors, and then I did some edits in the computer.

05. How did you select the records that you’ve included?

I picked a large bunch of records that, for me, feel close to perfection (in whole, or in part), and then I got ideas from their possibilities/limitations as a suite. I always find making mixes a bit like solving a puzzle, assembling smaller pieces to express a larger idea/form a particular shape. I have also been doing the blend (that closes the mix) of Melchior & Arthur Russell in DJ sets over the last few years and I always wanted to document it. It felt like the perfect note for the narrative to end on.

06. Where are your favorite places to dig for new music?

Online mostly. Discogs is such an invaluable resource. I spend so much time on there, seeing who produced on what, who released what where, who played on what. I love Bandcamp too, and really appreciate how progressive it is, and I use YouTube also. I like to do the research online, and the purchasing in the shops.

07. Which artists and/or labels are impressing you right now?

Lately, Chris Korda, Julius Eastman, Steven Warwick, Jim O’Rourke, Max Loderbauer, Oliver Coates, Fumiya Tanaka. I can’t think of any labels who’re particularly on fire right now, but I’m always particularly impressed by Perlon, Dial, Lovely Music, Octatonic, Audika, ECM, Steamroom, Accidental, Thesongsays, Drag City, Warp, On-U Sound.

08. What’s up next on your agenda?

I’ve got a 12″ of three different dubs that I’ve done of “Temperature High,” a track by Tim Burgess & Peter Gordon, coming on Foom in Autumn. It’s got Peter Zummo, Mustafa Ahmed (who played percussion for Arthur Russell), and Nik Void on it, with handclaps by Bruno Pronsato. The source material was very rich and I felt spoiled getting to work with it. I was also supposed to be playing some festivals this summer, but that will have to wait.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to download the podcast you will need to subscribe to our Select channel. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

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Tracklisting

01. Biosphere “As The Sun Kissed The Horizon” (Origo Sound)
02. Moritz Von Oswald Trio “Yangissa” (Honest Jon’s)
03. Hatikvah “Big Mind” (Form Resonance)
04. Rhythm & Sound “See Mi Yah” (Basic Reshape) (Burial Mix) / Archangel “Half-Man Half-Lisa” (Peter Gordon Version) (Foom)
05. Round Four “Find A Way” (Main Street)
06. Burial “Stolen Dog” (Hyperdub)
07. Bruno Pronsato “Hands Reach Up” (Foom)
08. Daniel Bell “Deep Down” (Perlon)
09. Gemini “Where Do I Go” (Cyclo)
10. Blaze “My Beat” feat. Palmer Brown (Derrick Carter Circus Mix) (Slip ‘N’ Slide)
11. Loco Dice “How Do I Know!?” (Desolat)
12. Levon Vincent “These Games” (Novel Sound)
13. Cassy “Night To Remember” (Perlon)
14. Baby Ford & M-Core “Rock Tek Da City” (Ifach) / Herbert “Even”(Accidental)
15. Trus’me “Shakea Body” (Terrence Dixon Remix) (Prime Numbers)
16. Baby Ford + Eon “Dead Eye” (Plus 8)
17. Etapp Kyle “Drama” (Klockworks) / Melchior Productions Ltd. “Todo Mundo” (Lick My Deck)
18. Sunpeople “Make It Right” (Trelik)
19. Melchior Productions Ltd. “The Hypnotist” (Perlon) /Wishmountain “Jam Jar” (Live At Sabresonic) (Antiphon)
20. Arthur Russell “Tower Of Meaning” (Section F) (Audika)