Throughout the week, a whole lot of material gets posted here on XLR8R. And while we know—and love—that some hardcore readers will eagerly pour over every single news story, interview, podcast, video, and MP3 download that appears on the site, we also realize that for most people, it’s impossible to see everything, which means that some quality XLR8R content is likely to get missed in the hustle and bustle of everyone’s daily lives. In the interest of making it easier for everyone to catch up, every Friday we present The Lowdown, a weekly wrap-up of the top 10 tidbits from our site.

1. We examined the current state of ambient music in an in-depth feature that included thoughts from Wolfgang Voigt, Lawrence English, Christopher Willits, Wanda Group, Deru, Heathered Pearls, and many others.

2. This week’s XLR8R podcast was put together by Planet Mu boss Mu-Ziq (a.k.a. Mike Paradinas) (pictured above), who took the opportunity to showcase a bevy of unreleased tunes from his label and some of his favorite tracks from the PC Music camp.

3. In the wake of Ben UFO’s much-lauded appearance at the recent Dekmantel festival, organizers made a large portion of his set available to stream and download.

4. DJ Shadow announced the launch of his own label, and kicked things off by giving away a free EP that includes a remix from Machinedrum.

5. Daedelus shared the news that he will soon be releasing a new album via the Brainfeeder label, and posted a stream of the LP’s first single.

6. The latest chapter of our 20 Questions series featured veteran spinner DJ Harvey, who tackled inquiries about surfing, rock ‘n’ roll, and the meaning of life.

7. Ahead of its release later this month, Surgeon shared a stream of his new single exclusively on XLR8R.

8. Flying Lotus has a new LP slated to drop in October, and this week saw him unveiling the album’s tracklist and a new teaser video.

9. UK artist Floating Points surprised everyone with the sudden release of a new single.

10. The most popular track from our Downloads section this week came from London producers My Panda Shall Fly and Maulin, who gave away a “5 a.m. Minimal Dub” of forthcoming EP cut “Gingerbread House.”

An expanded version of the The Lowdown is also available via a weekly email newsletter. Those interested in an even more in-depth round-up of XLR8R content should sign up by entering their email address below.

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