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. Our latest chapter of In the Studio found us visiting the lab of UK producer Jon Hopkins (pictured above), who told us about his production methods and set-up.

2. The same week that The Mole released his sophomore LP, the Canadian-born, Berlin-based producer put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series.

3. This week’s contest offered readers the chance to score a stylish pair of wooden over-ear headphones. Enter now before it’s too late.

4. London’s Tuesday Born put together a pensively hazy remix of Vondelpark’s “Always Forever,” which we offered for free download.

5. Veteran UK selectors Gilles Peterson and Four Tet teamed up for a special B2B mix that surfaced online this week.

6. It was a busy week for Jon Hopkins; apart from his In the Studio feature, he also offered up a new mix for UK outpost FACT.

7. Motor City Drum Ensemble appeared in the latest chapter of Resident Advisor’s Behind the Beats video series. The video follows the German producer to a number of European gigs and chronicles a bit of his life as a touring artist.

8. Several months after Korg unveiled its Volca series of mini-grooveboxes, the company detailed the devices in greater detail this week with a series of videos.

9. UK producer Artifact participated in FACT’s Against the Clock video challenge; the clip documents him building a song from scratch in 10 minutes.

10. SoCal producer Free the Robots gave away “Adore,” a track from his forthcoming debut full-length, in our Downloads section.

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, including a complete listing of all the free downloads we’ve offered in the past seven days, should sign up by entering their email address below.

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