Music Submissions Roundup: November
A selection of our favorite music submitted by XLR8R+ members last month.
Music Submissions Roundup: November
A selection of our favorite music submitted by XLR8R+ members last month.
Welcome to our final submissions roundup of 2021. In a year that has once again been plagued by uncertainty and disruption, we’re proud to have continued to present the work of artists from across the world, many of whom wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to have had their music heard. This month’s roundup wraps up all the music submitted to us through our portal in November and, all in all, its darker and more melancholic than many of its predecessors. Erica Van Berger’s pummeling “Temple Of Joy Mix 103” certainly tips the scale in this direction, as does Inigo Kennedy’s remix of Makaton’s “Neglect,” but there’s also some emotive work from Jnatra, Russia’s Mitry, and, once again, Afar, an Australian producer whose work continues to impress. We’d also like to give a shoutout to Juli Holz and Tristan Learmonth, whose new album as Psylhouette has helped to calm our nerves as fears of the pandemic have risen. We hope you enjoy the music as much as we have, and thanks to you all who have submitted your music to us. Have a lovely festive period and we look forward to hearing more on the other side.
Editor’s note: we’ve made a point of linking each artist’s Bandcamp page, or a place where you can buy their music, and we encourage our readers to support these independent artists by buying their music. Let’s keep independent culture alive!
For those unfamiliar, XLR8R+ is a member-supported music community and curated music experience. Every month, you will get three exclusive tracks—sometimes more—by a wealth of amazing artists that XLR8R has supported over the years, as well as access to the member’s area where you can submit tracks and DJ mixes to be showcased in this feature series and to the XLR8R+ community. There’s also exclusive editorial content, mixes, FREE passes to music festivals and events, playlists, and more. You can find out more here.
Stature “Instate“
Stature is the alias of Connor Harrison, a producer based in Nottingham who makes energetic beats with a focus on dance. In July, Harrison shared Stasis, his first proper release after years of dabbling in electronic music, and in September we featured Racks, his latest EP that comprised three funky, garage-infused jams. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s closing what’s a breakout year with “Instate,” a new track, though it’s unsure when it’s going to be released.
Jnatra “Slow Motion“
Residing in Los Angeles, Jnatra is a vocalist and producer whose work is underpinned by psychedelic guitar, electronics, and and vocal effects. What’s amazing is that he only started to produce a year ago: after the pandemic forced him to stay home, he turned his bedroom into a “synth oasis,” he tells XLR8R, and he’s been jamming away ever since. He released “Slow Motion,” his first track, earlier this year, and there’s more to come soon.
Quizzik “Dodging Bullets 101” (Original Mix)
Quizzik, real name Cristiano Portilho, is a Brazilian DJ-producer who started making music in 2002, when he was selected for the Red Bull Music Academy, and he’s since put of releases as half of electronic duo DeltaFoxx alongside Popinigis. This year, however, he’s returned to his electro and IDM roots as a solo artist, releasing a remix for fellow Brazilian experimental producer ^L_ plus “Dodging Bullets 101,” a slick acid track on the Brazilian avant-garde label 6 Plusten Records. We’re excited to hear more.
Yui Onodera “Cromo 6”
Yui Onodera is a Tokyo-based producer whose works explore notions of perception and memory using a broad palette of musical instruments, field recordings, and electronics. He’s previously appeared on Room40, but more recently he signed “Cromo 6, a delicious slice of warm, contemplative electronica,” to Kompakt for the German label’s Pop Ambient 2022 compilation, which features artists like Thomas Fehlmann.
QNTM CNTRL “The Eagle and The Senses”
Oblivious Transfer is an electronic music label and blockchain art collective. The label’s first EP, The Eagle and The Senses, comes from QNTM CNTRL, and we’re streaming clips of it—with its tight drum processing and sharp synth stabs—here.
Blutch “Poplar”
The work of Blutch sits somewhere between electronica, breakbeat, and house, and it’s inspired by the likes of Bicep and James Holden. The French artist unveiled his first productions in 2020 on Brest’s Astropolis Records, and now he’s preparing his debut album, Terre Promise, which pays tribute to his native Brittany. With its airy and melancholic style, “Poplar” is the latest taste of the album, and it comes with remixes from Correspondant label head Jennifer Cardini and Maud Geffray. And, while you’re here, why not check out “Cobalan” and “River,” too?
Makaton “Neglect” (Inigo Kennedy Remix)
Steve Bailey, better known as Makaton, is a British producer who has been cultivating hard-edged, high-fidelity techno for more than two decades. His productions first gained a foothold throughout the 2000s on his own Rodz-Konez label, but he’s since released on Token and Blueprint. In November, he shared a collection of remixes of “Neglect,” a track taken from Belief is The Death of Intelligence, his collaborative album with Inigo Kennedy. Incidentally, it’s Inigo Kennedy who delivers the standout remix, a hard-hitting techno weapon.
Andrew Barren “Gutter“
The second release on Amphiboly Records, based in Michigan, comes in the form of a four-track various artist compilation called Misery Breaks, and it features Andrew Barren, Gābi, and Sard. It is Barren, a Detroit native, who delivers “Gutter,” a standout techno track with an aggressive bassline and pummelling rhythms. (Barren also delivers the thumping title-track, with its mind-numbing tones and evolving textures.)
Mitry “Elevation”
Influenced by the atmospheric minimalism of Brian Eno, Rod Modell, and Moritz von Oswald, Russian artist Mitry seeks to envelop his listeners in soothing hypnotic textures. After debuting last year with the glacial techno EP Homeward, Mitry shared The Sun through London’s Drift Deeper Recordings. More recently, though, he’s shared Night Sessions, highlighting his yearning for tranquil, evocative soundscapes. The restful, hypnotic “Elevation,” the EP’s top pick, sets the tone with its spacious, dreamy synths bathed in opulent ambient sweeps.
Buy/Listen
Gabo Rio “Deep and Synth“
In October, we featured “Sequence” (Original Mix) by Gabo Rio, a Miami-based DJ-producer who grew up in Nicaragua. This month, he’s back with “Deep and Synth,” another slice of deep, minimal techno, available now as part of the Get Into Your Thing EP on Impresión.
Afar “Mirrabooka“
Afar, from Australia, is the alias of Matt Gibson. Gibson is a fan of many styles of electronic music but he uses the Afar name for his deeper, heads-down productions. “Division,” a killer dub-house cut, featured in our May roundup, and now he’s back with “Mirrabooka,” a pulsating techno cut that’ll have you coming back for more.
Psylhouette “An Age Found“
As Psylhouette, Juli Holz and Tristan Learmonth make mesmerizing dreampop, and last month they returned with Psylhouette II, a new album that lands six years after their first. To open the release, they’ve chosen “An Age Found,” a melodious shoe-gaze track that comes accompanied by a video shot in Berlin and paves the way to a release that XLR8R has been enjoying a lot over these winter months.
MSTRBLSTR “Prey“
MSTRBLSTR, based in Queens, originated as an improvisational acid house and techno artist during the 1990s, learning to move crowds at underground rave parties held in shady warehouses across the city. Nowadays, he’s hard at work in the studio, creating music that “inspires and makes your body move,” he explains, much of it inspired by full-moon parties in the Arizona desert throughout the 1990s. “Prey” is a piece of psychedelic electro-acid that he performed, mixed, and recorded live in 1997, without a computer in sight.
Loxxe “2021 vinyl mix”
Loxxe, based in Canada, took up DJing after living in Osaka, Japan, inspired by the city’s energy and intensity. Her selections draw inspiration from retro gaming culture, as well as from her background as a bass guitarist. Her sound, while techno at its core, features deep house, nu-disco, and minimal—and this, a mix filled with the favorite records she’s heard during lockdown, captures her versatility, with tracks from Binh, Chaos in the CBD, and Opal Sunn.
Erica Van Berger “Temple Of Joy Mix 103”
Erica Van Berger’s selections travel from downtempo all the way through to dark industrial music and drum & bass. As with all her mixes, her recent set for Moscow’s Temple of Joy is more rooted in a mood than a specific genre. This one definitely falls towards the darker and unsettling side of her catalog, but it’s also utterly compelling.
