On June 8, young UK producer Miles Otto released his brilliant debut EP, Phos, on Ishiki Recordings. The two tracker captures the essence of his live performances with driving 303 acid lines, moaning synth textures, and drum-machine rhythms all featuring prominently. In support of the EP, XLR8R has been offered “Duke Slammer,” a beautiful, synth-heavy workout that struts along filled with glistening pads, piano stabs, and tight percussion. You can download “Duke Slammer” for free below, with Phos available for purchase here.
Individually, Sergio Muñoz and Israel Sunshine have been on the scene since the early ’00s—but together as Fur Coat, the pair are of more recent vintage, their big break coming in 2010 when Damian Lazarus plucked the Venezuela-born, Barcelona-based duo’s Space Ballad EP from the house-and-techno ether for release on Crosstown Rebels. But in the relatively short time since, Sergio Muñoz and Israel Sunshine have insinuated themselves so deeply into clubland’s fabric that it comes as something of a shock that the just-released Balance presents Fur Coat is actually their first official compilation. As you’d expect, it’s a set of deep, moody, occasionally dark-hued but always groovy tunes, from the likes of Francesca Lombardo, Tokyo Black Star, Roman Flügel, Âme, Luke Slater, DJ Koze and the boys themselves. As you’d also expect, its a damn addictive set, and should garner lots of play at those late, late–night back-to-mine affairs that some of us seem to end up at on a regular basis. We figured this might be a good time to ask Fur Coat about some of their favorite tunes to spin, and…well, we’ll let Muñoz and Sunshine take over from here: “Together we have over 15 years of experience behind the decks, and over that time we have come to appreciate and be influenced by many different genres and artists. Our studio processes and our DJing have a depth and journey within them, similar to our own journeys as artists. We really hope that these five selections show the different aspects of our influences. This are our top five tracks from the other side!”
Robag Wruhme “Volta Cobby” (Pampa Records) We have always loved Robag´s work. He has this unique sound which sits somewhere between melodic and techno. You instantly know it’s a track from him—it’s the sounds of his beats and his percussion. Another aspect to his music is that he has this really crisp sound that extracts from the minimal era, but he always manages to present something fresh and interesting. This is the case with “Volta Cobby,” one of the tracks from his new EP on Pampa. The track has this great main bassline synth that goes on throughout it, some subtle melodies playing alongside some crazy delayed vocals, and then finishes with a truly majestic touch.
Mind Against & Somne “Vertere” (Life and Death) Mind Against has been doing a great job. In most our of our sets at the moment, a track of theirs is included. We know Alex Fognini, one of the Mind Against brothers, and we are always exchanging music, that’s how we heard “Vertere.” It’s a track with precise, pitched melodies which make up the main hook of the track—these melodies come and go throughout the track, but the bassline offers the perfect platform to allow it it come back again. It also has this repetitive techno influence within the structure giving it a really modern twist, showing their production skill.
Magit Cacoon “Love Express” (Upon You Records) This is a pure techno track, and we love playing it when the set is building up. It leads to amazing tension on the dance floor with repetitive voices that say “the beautiful…the beautiful,” alongside a kick which has a drop but still allows the bassline to keep rolling. It then builds up again even stronger, and really makes the crowd go off!
Daniel Avery “Drone Logic” (Rødhåd Remix) (Phantasy) Rødhåds music, especially his remixes, have been ever-present in our sets since last year. This remix has a very techno essence to it, with some subtle voices going through the track which are melded with some kind of pads. Really tight percussion and a feeling of raw bass with a slight distortion makes for a perfect combination, and is an amazing crowd awakener.
Linkwood “Object” (Firecracker Recordings) We have played several tracks from Linkwood over the past few years. This time we have selected a track from his latest LP, “Object.” It’s another techno track with a very powerful driving feel, the kind that never stops. The main percussion gives an amazing energy to the track, and works really well with the deep pads that roll on through it. “Object” is definitely one of our secret weapons on the dancefloor.
Weisz2’s latest single “Ko Si Eda To Mola” Ft Aladin Anyebe will arrive on June 22 via Luv Lite Recordings.
Following on from its excellent first release, El Vagabundo, “Ko Si Eda To Mola” Ft Aladin Anyebe finds Weisz2—made up of brothers Sascha Weisz and Andreas Weisz—fusing electronic production with elements of world music, with the track coming about after the pair moved to Ibiza and took up a weekly radio show on Ibiza Global Radio with label mate Claudio Ricci. Innervisions affiliate Henrik Schwarz puts his masterful touch on the track, reworking it into more club-focused territory, with a low slung bassline and tightly wound synth lines.
You can hear Henrik Schwarz’s remix of “Ko Si Eda To Mola” Ft Aladin Anyebe in full below, with the full release available here.
Evian Christ is the latest artist to be added to pioneering UK label Warp‘s roster. Christ first made a name for himself with an outing on Tri Angle, scoring production credits on Kanye West’s Yeezus album not long after. Instead of a record, his first project for Warp will take the form of a collaborative installation at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Working with Warp’s David Rudnick, Christ will reportedly assemble and present archival materials related to the so-called Trance War, said to have begun in Europe in 1998 and continuing through today. The installation (image below) is described as a memorial to the 30,000 dogs that died in the war, and runs from July 23 for three days; more complete information can be found here. (via FACT)
June 23 will see the release of Carlson’s debut album, Never Easy Never Been Easier.
Carlson is a Brooklyn studio engineer and producer who’s worked with dozens of groundbreaking artists including Cat Stevens, Autre Ne Veut, Tim Hecker, and Ariel Pink. His debut full-length is a 40 minute continuous set, easy enough for a casual listen, but big enough for the dance floor.
Although the majority of this album was tracked with in the confines of his Greenpoint studio, the initial backbone of the project was constructed while working abroad in Nicaragua:
“The sonic palette for this album was created during a surf/recording project I recently had the chance to work on. Every day there was a smooth-boogie / jazzy house party going on at the beach where we surfed. Spending about two weeks there, surfing daily, I got those tones in my head. So I would spend nights in our cabana actually sequencing beats I was hearing all day. At the end of the trip I had hours of free form beats and grooves.”
Ahead its June 23 release via Driftless Recordings, track four from the album can be streamed in full below.
Italian hardware specialists The Analogue Cops will return to Hypercolour later this month with a new, four-track EP. The duo of Lucretio and Marieu have released two 12″s on the label’s HypeLTD subsidiary, and also collaborates with recently profiled producer/DJ Steffi as Third Side. Their upcoming Monkey Suits EP, due out on July 17, reportedly packs “bit-crushed techno and loopy Chicago House”; a press release describes opener “Vampire Killer” as “135-plus beats per minute of face-melting, drum-machine funk,” while on the flip, “deep, sine-wave bass, impeccably mixed drums, and a vocal lick” characterize b-side cut “Corona.” No clips have been shared as of yet, but the EP’s tracklist can be found below.
For the past 15 years over 400,000 burgeoning Jewish adults age 18 to 26 have received a ten-day “heritage trip” to the motherland of Israel to discover its culture, find new meaning in their faith and establish a connection with history—and thanks to the lovely folks at Taglit-Birthright, it’s all free. For those same 15 years, over four million dance musically-inclined adults (mostly age 18 to 26) have received a three-day “heritage trip” to the motherland of Detroit to discover its culture, find new meaning in their music and establish a connection with their musical history and possibly some “party supplies;” and thanks to the lovely folks at Movement Electronic Music Festival, it can all be had for the not-quite-free-but-still-more-than-reasonable price of $150 ($260 VIP). Both trips are rumspringas of a very different variety, but the end result is the same: You forge a stronger bond with your beliefs, or you find a new religion. I can’t speak for the Jews, but here in Detroit, everyone chooses the former.
The collection of local and international talent for the downtown festival is a who’s-who list of the world’s best and most innovative DJs and producers. There’s 140 performances over the (now) six stages, and that’s not even counting an intense after-party circuit, which picks up as the festival closes and goes well until the next day for a massive-24-hour-cycle of raging and music. Save for some mid-aughts wilderness years of low attendance and high drama, Movement and the grande dame city that birthed it are rising up for the taglit (discovery) of a new generation. It’s hard not to see quasi-religious undertones in the symbiosis of a city that shaped a new kind of music, leading—years later—to that same music helping that ailing city back up. So put your hands together, not up, for the perfectly timed resurrection of Detroit and Movement.
1. Sunday’s Ghostly International Showcase at the Made in Detroit/THUMP Stage The local heroes of Ghostly International were wisely charged with curating the lineup all day Sunday on the Made in Detroit/THUMP stage for what was one of the longest and strongest runs of any stage on any day. From Shigeto’s amazing live-percussion set to a spectacular closing set by label workhorse Matthew Dear (who was often hard to hear through the yelps of Dog Blood), the day also featured stand-out sets from Mike Servito, Miguel Senquiz, Fort Romeau, Derek Plaslaiko. But no one could have predicted the best performance that day come from Derek Plaslaiko’s toddler son, whose dancing stole the show. (Look out for his all-vinyl set in 2022 on the Beatport Stage.)
2. Missing Ten Walls set We heard he played a “good ’90s” set with tracks from Frankie Knuckles, Derrick Carter, Danny Tenaglia, Superstar DJ Keoki, Larry Tee, Junior Vasquez, DJ Dan, Peter Rauhofer and DJ Irene. And for his finale brought out Neil Patrick Harris, the Indigo Girls, former Brooklyn Nets star Jason Collins, Nathan Lane and the entire cast of Glee to sing along to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax.” Seemingly nothing can stop this guy from having a really long career.
3. The unofficial Berghain reunion on the Underground Stage True to its name, the Underground Stage not only showcases dark and heavy beats, but was literally underground as well. At times, it became a claustrophobic sweatbox, but that didn’t seem to stop the ardent fans from going off in what resembled a parking garage. It was easy to lose track of time down there with a lack of light, making it feel like an all-night warehouse party inside of a perfectly bright and sunny day. Highlights included Paula Temple on Saturday, Matador’s live set and Nina Kraviz on Monday, and an unofficial recreation of eight hours in Berghain (minus, you know, the sex) with Anthony Parasole, Steffi, Rødhad, Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock on Sunday.
4. Grandma Techno 72-year old artist and photographer Patricia Lay-Dorsey started going to dance music festivals in 2005 with her friend Pat and 10 years later calls herself “kind of a fixture” at Movement. Diagnosed with MS , she uses a motorized scooter with a “Grandma Techno Hustles Harder” sticker affixed to the front to get around—but that does not stop her from ripping shit up. We watched her bop along to Dubfire’s entire 90-minute set, her VIP–wristbanded hands never dropping below her head as she constantly paused for pictures and danced with her “kids and grandkids,” all the while accompanied by a festival staffer and an entourage larger than Vincent Chase‘s.
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5. “DJ” Snoopadelic You can’t really begrudge the organizers a chance to book big name guests and expanding into non-techno-specific genres. Method Man, !!!, Danny Brown and Skrillex all worked out just fine and probably moved their share of ticket units. And while it was probably the most packed the main stage has ever been, most people rightfully questioned the organizer’s decision to book him at a festival specifically celebrating dance music. Having Snoop Dogg “DJ” at a festival instead of perform live seems akin to asking Richie Hawtin to do an all “ballroom dance set” (which actually would have been way more interesting). He closed out the festival on Monday night, and for a moment, as he took to the stage to the strains of “Tha Next Episode” it seemed like it could be a genius move. That is until you realized that he apparently forgot headphones (and mixer), as everyone was treated to iTunes shuffle-curated “set” including House of Pain, Joan Jett, Black Eyed Peas and Journey. You’d imagine that if you booked Snoop and he was playing this kind of “party-music” set, he might bring a mic out and you know, actually sing along to his own tracks. But no. Waving his hands over his head was the best he could do—and even that wasn’t as energetic as Grandma Techno’s routine, and she’s got him by thirty years and probably had just as many photos taken. Although it is probably the first time Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, spinning nearby, got drowned out by Icona Pop’s “I Love It”. And hopefully the last.
6. After-parties At this point the after-hours parties have become a cottage industry unto themselves. One of our faves were the aptly-named Club Toilet, an Avengers supersquad of “gay partying’ U.S.A.’s finest giving you their worst.” The night saw great sets from Chris Cruse (LA), Ryan Smith (NY) and the Black Madonna (Chicago)—while some people, like those in the Gloryhole Room, didn’t see much at all. There was also a rumor that three people got locked in their Toilet Room (that’s Toilet-speak for what you and I might call an “F Shack”) for days after the party ended and, we like to think, had to F their way out. Way less salacious—but way more funktastic—was another stacked 24-hour edition of Soul Clap’s House of EFUNK with Metro Area, Stacey Pullen, Alexander Robotnick, Flashin’ Eddie Fowlkes, Scott Grooves, Catz ‘N Dogz, the Clap themselves, and live performances from Mathew Jonson and ’80s electro act Newcleus. The one-two punch of Paradigm Presents, held on two nights amid the crumbling beauty of the Leland Hotel, featured parties from Innervisions and Visionquest/No.19 Music, with all of the superstars those labels typically bring. The Detroit-via-N.Y.-via-Detroit vinyl-lovefest of ANTHOLOGY’s Bunker showcase, the old-school analog hum of No Way Back (both of which hosted sets from the formerly local/currently unescapable Mike Servito and Derek Plaslaiko) and the tenth annual Old Miami day jam Need I Say More, which we actually do need to say more on.
7. Fest best set: Carl Craig b2b Stacey Pullen at Old Miami for Need I Say More
With no guestlist to speak of, $10 entry all day long, cheap drinks, no bullshit and a 7am start time (with no end time), the Visionquest daytime vibefest was already well on its way to passing into local mythology But for their tenth anniversary, they created something truly special. Packing the bill with a strict adherence to locals who have influenced the Visionquest crew (rumor had it that Joseph Capriati wanted to play but could not), the foursome—who didn’t even play themselves—booked old-school talent including Norm Talley, Mike Clark, Mike Servito, Carlos Souffront and Daniel Bell. But the party belonged to Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen, who hustled harder than anyone in the D—without ever breaking a sweat—in a multi-hour b2b aural history lesson, seamlessly mixing acid, disco, techno and house in what was easily the best set of this year’s festival, and maybe any year…of any festival…ever.
8. Fest worst set: GRiZ tooting his own horn GRiZ’s set truly accomplished a near impossible feat; it somehow managed to be insulting to both EDM and smooth jazz. Between singing along to his tracks on the microphone, playing hypeman to himself (at least get a Bez or Flavor Flav flunky to do that for you!), and his frequent live-sax interludes, it really is a wonder he had time to locate so many of those huge drops. But hey, the young Southfield native seems like a nice enough kid who loves performing in his home city—the crowd definitely ate it up and it was the perfect lead-in for DJ Snoopadelic, so maybe we’re just old and crotchety. If we were nineteen and our parents raised us on a steady diet of Tupac’s Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.,FruityLoops and George Winston’s December. then we’d probably love this too.
At the end of next month, Raster-Noton will release Atom™‘s remix EP Riding the Void, featuring reworks by Atom™, Scuba, and Hanno Leichtmann.
As with his previous release, Ich bin meine maschine, the EPis aimed squarely at club use. First up, Scuba turns the track into a techno steamroller, with rolling percussion and a hard-hitting low end. Atom™’s reworks strip things back with crisp drums riding on top of intricate layers and rolling basslines. A dub-tinged remix by Hanno Leichtmann will also be available on the digital release.
Riding the Void will be preceded by Atom™’s data DVD, HD+, and joins the DVD as the “conclusion of his critical yet delightful examination of pop music and culture on raster-noton.” The EP will be available in a bundle with the DVD, and also separately, on July 25 via Raster-Noton. You can check out a trailer for HD+ below, along with Riding the Void‘s tracklisting.
Tracklisting: A1. Riding the Void (Album version) A2. Riding the Void (Scuba’s Pulse Mix) B1. Riding the Void (Nought Mix) B2. Riding the Void (Tool) 5. (Digital only) Riding the Void (Hanno Leichtmann’s Consumed Remix)
In a couple weeks’ time, XLR8R will be making the journey to Moscow to take in the second annual Outline Festival. The festival, which runs over July 4 and 5, takes place in the east of the city in what is tantalisingly described as “a soon-to-be-demolished mechanical plant known for producing distinctive objects for architecture icons of Post–World War II Moscow.”
Outline recently finalised the bill for the five stages of electronic music and art that will comprise its 2015 edition. Top names on it include Atom™‘s Double Vision live, Ricardo Villalobos, Pharmakon, Nina Kraviz, Pender Street Steppers, Ben UFO, and Daniel Avery, while a healthy list of local DJs and producers are also slated to appear.
As was the case last year, the festival will also feature a heavy visual and sound-art side, with work appearing by artists and art crews from Russia as well as Germany, Poland, the US, Australia, Spain, and Japan. A video looking back at last year’s edition can be viewed below, while tickets for this year’s edition are available here.
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Mike Dehnert’s Fachwerk label will celebrate eight years with an album featuring Dehnert and label mainstays Sascha Rydell and Roman Lindau—which will see release on September 4.
Joining forces for the first time in three years, the German trio present 15 tracks of the label’s signature techno sound, interspersed with interludes “embracing the banter of daily life running a label.” The album flows, and sounds, like a solo album, which is testament to the label and the three artists presented on the album.
The label has also announced a series of Fachwerk anniversary shows to run alongside the album, with more information available on the flyer below; along with a album teaser video and tracklisting.
Tracklisting: 01. Intro 02. Roman Lindau – Staccato 03. Roman Lindau – Owner 04. Mike Dehnert – 8 Years Fachwerk 05. Roman Lindau – Dark Purple 06. Label Dinner 07. Roman Lindau – Give Up 08. Mike Dehnert – Beiwerk 09. Sascha Rydell – Idyllique 10. Sascha Rydell – Casserole 11. Sascha Rydell – Believe 12. Studio Chaos 13. Mike Dehnert – Rewerk 14. Outro
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