Fever AM, the label of Mor Elian and Rhyw, has announced its latest signing, an EP by Weymouth, Massachusetts producer Xen Chron.
The producer behind Xen Chron has been active in the scene “at varying levels of obscurity for over 20 years,” the label says, starting out in drum & bass in the late ’90s before evolving into mid-tempo styles, taking in techno and more experimental pastures. Xen Chron is his latest alias.
The EP, Deleted Vapor, features five tracks—four on the vinyl edition, which arrives with a screen-printed cover, and one digital-only. We’re told to expect a set of psychedelic, broken-beat techno that pushes “sci-fi sounds and atonalities, a sense of fun, and head nod factor,” according to the artist.
Fever AM was founded in 2017, and has put out music from Gacha Bakradze, Formally Unknown, plus the label heads. It’s based in Berlin, Germany.
Deleted Vapor drops as a Bandcamp exclusive on February 5, before a general release on February 15. In the meantime, you can stream the EP’s title track via the player below and pre-order the EP here.
Bruno Silva will release Irmãs, his new album as Serpente.
Silva, a prolific fixture of the Portuguese music scene, has operated under numerous aliases throughout the years, including the much loved Ondness name. Whereas Ondness deals personally with Silva’s obsessions, anxieties, and hauntings at a given moment, Serpente is more “strict,” Silva says, and focused on percussion. In 2019, he released Parada, his first album as Serpente, and he has also contributed to XLR8R+.
Irmãs, Portuguese for “sisters,” comprises two 17-minute tracks which are intrinsically linked, mirroring and then inverting one another. Typical of the Serpente project, the tracks “artfully transform the strictest percussive forces into expressive and mind-expanding mantras,” we’re told.
The release is Silva’s first for Alien Jams, a London label run by Chloe Frieda. It follows Fé/Vazio, an album of “properly mazy rhythmic psychedelia,” from August.
Learn more about Ondness in his XLR8R podcast here.
Matering is by Carlos Nascimento, with artwork from Richard Forbes-Hamilton.
Tracklisting
01. Da Clara 02. Para Celeste
Irmãs is scheduled for February 19 release. Meanwhile, you can stream clips below and pre-order the cassette here.
Moki Kawaguchi will release I Hope You Are Well, his new album as Lionmilk, later this month.
I Hope You Are Well is a 57-minute meditation of “ambient therapy” from the Los Angeles pianist and producer. Leaving Records, the label behind the release, has labelled it “peaceful and introspective music for crazy times.”
Originally, I Hope You Are Well was home-dubbed cassette-only music selectively dropped in mailboxes of Kawaguchi’s friends and family who may have been struggling with anxiety and depression during the early 2020 pandemic shutdown. In late 2020, Leaving teamed up with Lionmilk to officially release a limited edition cassette.
Back in June, Kawaguchi released Healing for a New Tomorrow with Jon GK, produced for your mental, emotional, and spiritual wealth.
Tracklisting
01. Hints 02. Afloat in the Ocean 03. Everyday Another 04. Angels Over My Head 05. Awake when I Should be Asleep 06. Made it this Far 07. Stranded in a Pool 08. Good Things Happen, Too 09. Time After Time 10. We Start Again 11. I Remain Hopeful 12. Great Mother in the Sky 13. Necessary Growth 14. Pastel Memories 15. The Simple Things 16. I hope You Are Well
I Hope You are Well LP is scheduled for January 29 release. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream “Hints,” “Afloat in the Ocean,” and “I Hope You are Well” in full below.
The new millennium was still crisp when Ludovic Navarre, better known as St Germain, released Tourist, his second album. Available via Blue Note Records, EMI’s jazz imprint, the record unites soulful basslines and jazz instrumentation into eight elegant, downtempo tracks—including the masterful “Rose Rouge,” “Sure Thing,” and “So Flute.” It remains a landmark in house music, with sales in the millions.
Navarre, a product of the chic St Germain-en-Laye suburb of Paris, is one of electronic music’s most unpredictable artists, deemed the “forgotten genius” of French music. He discovered the house music of Detroit and Chicago as a teenager and taught himself to make it while bed-ridden following a motorcycle accident. Emerging through the’90s, he joined the likes of Daft Punk and Cassius as part of the celebrated “French touch” movement, characterized by impossibly funky rhythms.
But Navarre’s music was noticeably different in that it did not lean on frantic disco loops with electro. Instead, Navarre presented dub, reggae, blues, and jazz through a deep house lens, manufacturing a new breed of electronic music that was fun and fresh. Tourist, the most acute realisation of Naverre’s musical vision, became wildly successful and saw him tour all over the world—but then he fell silent for 15 years. In that time, he recorded various new albums but shared nothing; life on the road had exhausted him, and he needed inspiration to rediscover his touch.
For this, he travelled for Mali, where he began recording with local musicians before releasing a self-titled album in 2015. The album took six years to complete, and he preceded its release with a couple of remixes that kick-started this second chapter of activity. His most recent project is Tourist 20th Anniversary Travel Versions, a celebration of the original’s 20th anniversary that compiles remixes by the likes of Nightmares on Wax, Traumer, and Atjazz. Navarre delivers his own new version of “So Flute.”
To celebrate the release, Navarre has delivered his long overdue XLR8R podcast. It took him some months to complete, and it compiles just some of the music he’s been listening to while he prepares his new album. It features an exclusive taste of the new remix album and fills the same musical space as the original: jazz-influenced deep house that’s wonderfully smooth and impeccably arranged, which keeps you tuned in all the way. Press play and unwind.
02. How have you been handling the lockdown period?
I am in a perpetual lockdown period, so frankly, I really don’t see a difference. I work by night in my studio at home.
03. What sort of music have you been listening to?
At the moment, I listen to a lot of African and afro-house, and also soul and reggae from the ’70s.
04. Are they any artists and/or labels that are impressing you
Martin Iveson (a.k.a Atjazz) is doing a lot of productions on his label, Atjazz Records, and I appreciate his talent. He is one of my favorite producers.
05. How do you reflect on the Tourist album when you look back?
20 years later and I’m not disappointed by the production! It was great to play it live with musicians, touring around the world.
06. Why do you think Tourist turned out to be such a success?
Honestly, it’s quite difficult to answer. The acoustic instruments mixed with my productions brought something new, and maybe the period was right for that. In addition, I had the chance to meet the right people at the right time; I am thinking of the boss of EMI France, Blue Note Records, my manager, and my agent, who greatly contributed to Tourist‘s success.
07. How did you go about choosing the artists music that you’ve included for the Tourist remix album?
The idea was to approach the artists I appreciated in 1990, like JoVonn, Ron Trent, Nightmares on Wax. I would have liked to have invited Little Louie Vega, Moodymann, Kerry Chandler, Carl Craig, and Kenny Dope but they weren’t available. I asked them to choose their favorite song from Tourist and to make their own version.
08. Where and when did you record this XLR8R mix?
I recorded this mix for XLR8R in Paris, at my place, in November 2020.
08. What were your processes for choosing the music that you’ve included?
I have several playlists in different styles, and I chose these tracks based on the atmosphere, tone, and rhythmic responses between them.
09. Can we expect any new original music from you soon?
I’ve started working on a new album, but that’s a secret!
XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to hear the podcast offline you will need to subscribe to our Select channel to listen offline, or subscribe to XLR8R+ to download the file. 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.
Full XLR8R+ Members can download the podcast below.If you’re not an XLR8R+ member, you can read more about it and subscribe here.
Tracklisting
01. Andre Lodemann “Connected” feat. Huw Costin (Best Works Records) 02. Master Mind “Concrete Jungle” (Main Mix) Ancestral Recordings) 03. Invaders Of Afrika & Chromatic L “Imowa Dance Ritual” (P.M Project Afro Sunset Remix) (Deep Calls Recordings) 04. Chriss DeVynal “101 Ways” (100 Ways Flip Side) (Fourth Avenue House) 05. St Germain “So Flute” (Ludovic Navarre Amapiano Version 2020) (Parlophone) 06. DJ Vetkuk & Mahoota feat. Lady Zamar “Hero” (Kalawa Jazmee Records) 07. Dj Stokie “Dlala Stokie” feat. Sthando & Kabza De Small (Remix) (Universal Music) 08. St Germain “Rose Rouge” (Atjazz Galaxy Aart Remix) (Parlophone) 09. 9umba “Uyakenteza” (Revisit) (1260330 Records DK) 10. St Germain “Sure Thing” (Black Motion Remix) (Parlophone) 11. Cuebur “Umhlatshelo” feat. Lizwi) (Universal Music)
“Villain,” available now, prompts you to slow down, unplug, take a step back from the incessancy of modern life, and spend a little more time looking out the window as you sip your morning coffee. The result is an immersive downtempo track textured with catchy hooks. We’re told that it traces Photay’s lineage from his 2017 debut full-length release, Onism, all the way through 2020’s Waking Hours.
Though the collaboration took place during golda may’s trip to New York in the autumn of 2018, the track captures the spirit of the modern day, we’re told, with its lyrics: “I’m sipping on the freedom days/ hanging onto sanity, hoping that I stay around.”
“I had arrived home after a long stretch of touring and a new tranquility hung in the air,” Photay, real name Evan Shornstein, tells XLR8R. “I kicked things off with this blissful floating tone and Ariella (golda may) instantly vocalized these complex articulate melodies over top. It’s not often you jump into a creative collaboration without any icebreaking needed.”
Tracklisting
01. Villain (feat. golda may)
Villain (feat. golda may) is available now, with a stream below.
IVIC, Valese’s debut album, distills droning tonal experiments and minimalist rhythms into 11 electro-acoustic-wave ventures written over five years in Berlin, Saas-Fee, and Thun.
Each track draws influences from the psychoacoustic properties of the live album format. They’ve been mixed and recorded live on DAT cassettes, without the possibility to revise the final recordings. Valese adopted this approach to conceptually propose reconciliations between the irreversibility of the past and acceptance of its residuals in the present.
We’re told that the music possesses a “dilated, shuffling rhythmic base,” much like the “firm traversal of a tanker against a storm of jangling components.”
The track titles cite the works of American photographer Francesca Woodman and the poet Sylvia Plath.
“In Your Rosary ́ and “You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself” were previously released on vinyl via Valese’s own imprint, JSMË. “You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself” is dedicated to the memory of Marco Bacher.
Artwork is designed by Carsten Nicolai, with mastering by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, London.
Tracklisting
01. In Your Rosary 1 02. In Your Rosary 2 03. You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself 1 04. You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself 2 05. You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself 3 06. You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself 4 07. Horse The Color Of Rust 1 08. Horse The Color Of Rust 2 09. Horse The Color Of Rust 3 10. Horse The Color Of Rust 4 11. Kept In The Night By The Light Of The Moon
IVIC LP is scheduled for February 5 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself 1” and “You Cannot See Me From Where I Look At Myself 4” in full below, and pre-order the record here.
Slovenian label Kamizdat is offering up a track from its latest compilation for download.
Kamizdat is a “free-form boutique label for creative commons music” that focuses on local artists. The label’s releases explore a wide range of styles and genres, from fast and gritty Eastern-European techno to textural ambient and more free-form electronics, often packaged in locally-made and unique hand-numbered limited physical editions.
The label’s latest release, a 10-rack compilation titled FCKXMS, pulls together a collection of tracks from Slovenian artists whose music celebrates and looks at our current world timeline, one “of laughter and despair, the gifts and discounts, the unavoidable consumerism and devastating trickle-down economics.”
Across the release, the music can be fierce and frenetic, like Blaž’s “Fuck Berghain,” but also tender, such as ala percula’s “digression20,” which is the cut being offered as today’s XLR8R download.
Out of all the 10 artists, ala pecula is the anomaly, a mysterious and enigmatic figure, or group, that is unknown even to the label affiliate, Domen Učakar (a.k.a. Lifecutter), who told XLR8R he personally knows “everybody on the compilation except that act.” The track is fittingly peculiar and ethereal, dancing nimbly across its six-minute runtime like a living organism birthing alien-like sounds and textures.
“digression20” is available as a download to XLR8R+ subscribers below, with the full compilation available to purchase here.
Tracklisting:
01 Gašper Torkar “Harlequinesque” 02 Warrego Valles “You need 5 pairs of jeans, leggings and sweatpants” 03 Lifecutter “Decay” 04 Zergon “CandyCaneHorror” 05 Douchean “But Their Miracle Was Not Seen As Such By Others” 06 Blaž “Fuck Berghain” 07 Marka San “Blessed Luv” 08 beepblip “Sentimental Bastards” 09 ala pecula “digression20” 10 Ž “The Birth of a New Year”
Full XLR8R+ Members can download the track below.If you’re not an XLR8R+ member, you can read more about it and subscribe here.
The record is Calibre’s first bonafide 140bpm record that “transcends through space and time,” we’re told, “creating music that will take the listener on a weighty sonic journey.” All 13 tracks have been road-tested in the Belfast artist’s DJ sets over the last few years, and it was only a matter of time that he put them out for all to consume.
The idea for the album came about following the release of his most personal album to date, Planet Hearth, released in November 2019. We’re told that it works in the same headspace but “ultimately it’s been written for the sweaty club experience we miss now.” After an album like Planet Hearth “it felt very liberating to do,” Calibre remarks.
Calibre wrote the first album track seven years ago on the island of Valentia, and he’s spent the intervening years collecting tracks for the project, not really knowing when he was going to put it together as an album.
“The whole album is special to me; everything on there has an important meaning beyond for me. I have spent much time on all these and hope they are special for other people too.”
The album announcement is accompanied by two dub versions, “Bad” and “Badder,” deconstructed from the track “‘Badman” with DRS, from Mark Ernestus. The accompanying EP will release via the Hardwax store on January 29 and Bandcamp on February 12.
“Getting to work with Mark Ernestus is a real honour. I collected Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound, and his other work for many years and still do,” Calibre, real name Dominick Martin, explains. “It’s hard to avoid the influence of this guy in electronic music across genres, and so it is a real pleasure to have him do his thing with the “Badman” tune which I think sounds closely related.”
Tracklisting
01. Barren 02. Change With Me 03. Time To Breath (with Cimone) 04. Has To Happen 05. Feeling Normal 06. Badman (with DRS) 07. Good Times 08. Say Enough (with DRS) 09. Miami 10. Predictable 11. Man Got Sandwich 12. Wrong 13. Regular Bull
Tracklisting, Bad / Badder
01. Calibre & DRS V Mark Ernestus “Bad” 02. Calibre & DRS V Mark Ernestus “Badder”
Feeling Normal LP is out February 26 on Signature Recordings. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here, with the dub edits here.
As we kick start the new year, we’re rolling out our picks from the December submissions through our XLR8R portal. With much of the world still under lockdown and live venues shuttered, this is a ripe period for musical discovery even if you can’t see it in the flesh.
As you’d expect, there’s plenty to dig through in this month’s list, and we strongly recommend Melina Blanco, whose delicious ambient explorations have been on constant play this week. Meanwhile, those looking for something more energetic will probably enjoy the work of Tagir, a minimally-inclined Russian artist, and Dystopian Tofu, a curiously named musician who has submitted a playful trip-hop jam from a new mixtape. In terms of mixes, dig into the hypnotic techno of Adam Rahman, a key figure in Middle Eastern electronic music for decades. As per, we’ve added Bandcamp links where possible and, particularly with live music on hold, encourage you to buy.
Editor’s note: we’ve made a point of linking each artist’s name to their social media 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 mixesto be showcased in this feature series and to the XLR8R+ community, as well as exclusive editorial content, mixes, FREE passes to music festivals and events, playlists, and more.You can find out more here.
Melina Blanco is a DJ-producer from San José, Costa Rica who produces a wide-reaching collection, from ambient through to IDM, techno, and noise. She is also passionate about film and visual art, and they are big influences when creating music. “Sora,” a stunning breaks track, is the opener of Éter, her latest EP on Chile’s Life Bypass label. Across four tracks, the music weaves between breakbeat, techno, and ambient, combining calm and meditative atmospheres with solid drum programming.
In December, Bay Sine presented its inaugural vinyl record, coming from Danish artist RDG, a good friend of the San Francisco label. Jungle Technology is a punishing EP spanning the depths of deep, aggressively charged bass music. It comprises four cuts from RDG collected over the past two years. The third track, “Cut Em Out,” may be the hardest-hitting tune on the record, with rolling bass, visceral lead synths, and a groove that will have you jumping out of your seat.
Born and based in Deventer, the Netherlands, Bastian Benjamin finds inspiration from walking through the local woods. Since releasing his debut single, “Come Close,” at 18, his sound has matured, inspired by experimental artists like Clark, Lusine, Skee Mask, and Djrum. He released his debut album, Two Truths, in December, aiming to take listeners on a journey of internal self-discovery. “Concrete” stands out on the LP with its deep bassline that aims to “drive listeners into the recesses of their own souls,” Benjamin says. It’s a genre-bending cut that plays out like a score to the depths of your mind.
While keeping a constant downtempo vibe, Dystopian Tofu opts for sonic exploration over sticking to proven recipes. His music broadly oscillates between lo-fi hip-hop and trap, and is heavily influenced by his obsession with dystopian narratives of all kinds, plus “his love for Tofu.” Dystopia and Chill 01, his newest mixtape, came out in December and it includes “Tofu and Chill,” a playful trip-hop jam to open the release, signaling its mission statement with feel-good beats.
Tagir, who produces across a range of experimental styles, was born in Krasnodar, Russia. His parents, both jazz musicians, passed onto him a taste for complex and non-standard forms of musical art, and he spent much of his childhood studying his father’s musical instruments from guitars and drum machines to synthesizers. He currently bases himself in Berlin, Germany, where he’s plunged his way into the world of minimalistic sound of techno and house, which became the basis of his characteristic sound. “Amu” is a collaboration with Indigo Minds, released digitally in March.
Shifting Frames is the first release from Zenarchy, a new imprint from the founders of dubstep label Subaltern Records. It’s produced by Alllone, a collaboration between two producers based in Graz, Austria. We’re told that they’ve made quite a name for themselves in the bass music scene, and that they’re now combining their musical influences in this “genre-defying union.” The album travels across a vast array of electronic flavors, from the energetic half-time bass weapons “Night Shift” and “Cooked” to the glitchy head-nodding grooves of “Acryl Color Smoothie,” and the broken-beat mastery of “Blueberry.” “Inside Out,” featuring Forrest Lloyd, is our pick of the bunch. It’s hard to pin down stylistically but manages to be at once heavy and nimble, pushing serene chords and confident vocal hooks over a swinging, bass-heavy groove.
Marco Bruno’s focus is to forge a whole from elements that are both corporeal and transcendental, he says, and to conjure up a sonic and emotional scene that is diverse, pure, and free. He began his musical journey as a resident DJ for clubs in his native region of Apulia, southern Italy, and has since moved into production. His releases are defined more by feeling than by genre, but they contain glints of ambient, broken beats, and techno. He’s recently launched his own label, Evighet, etymologically coming from Swedish and meaning “Eternity,” with Bookmarks Of Consciousness, a new EP featuring an Answer Code Request remix. “Maverick,” a frenetic sci-fi-indebted cut with an insatiable groove at its core, is the second track and our pick from the EP.
Theiz, real name Mathijs Schippers, may be a new name to many but the Dutch born, Belgium-based producer is 29 years deep in the scene. Having released on labels such as Eevolute (with East Island), Techno-Tourist, and Ear-Land Recordings in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, Schippers began producing again in 2015. His activity as a music journalist brought him back into contact with the music industry and, freshly motivated, he’s now returning after a 15-year hiatus.
His new EP, Moving Forward Into The Past, refers to the period of time the tracks were written in: moving back to the house his wife grew up in was a step forward into a new future, but they were also surrounded by childhood memories. The title-track, with its melancholic melodies and an ungainly beat, captures these emotions perfectly. It’s inspired by Tangerine Dream, Plastikman, and even Phillip Glass.
Frédérique Bruyas “La Création” (Beyond the Clones remix)
Beyond the Clones, a producer living in Frankfurt, is a believer in old recording formats and using them to promote the soul of the ’80s hardware sound. Included on his latest EP, Science Fictionalised, was a rework of Frédérique Bruyas’ “La Création,” on which he morphs the original into a slow-moving piece of experimental ambient, complete with engrossing textures and affecting melancholic keys.
Vayron is a newcomer to the electronic music scene and a co-founder of the newly formed label U.baba Records, from Paris, France. In December, they released 2 Years, an IDM- and electronica-infused work that they describe as a “contemplative journey” through the process of finding purpose in life. Vayron hopes it can help others going through similar journeys. It’s inspired by the works of Aphex Twin and Four Tet, but also classical composers like Debussy and Ravel. “Love’s Variation (Tilda’s Theme)” perfectly summarizes their work: it’s beautiful, touching, and full of textures that feel alive.
Kitsissut, a producer currently based in London, works in a range of electronic styles through the lens of jazz, minimal, and acid house. Their name refers to a tiny island at the southern-most tip of Greenland, which they glimpse when they’re flying home to Toronto, Canada, where they spent a decade in sound design for independent film and television. The Kitsissut project is an opportunity to interpret “an unruly collection of influences,” and “Scranshums” is a new single, released in December. It’s a playful broken-beat house cut that brings to mind minimal luminaries Akufen and Metamatics, and one that we recommend playing loud.
TENTAI 天体 is the alias of Billy Nigel, an experimental composer from New York who creates immersive sound worlds. “Days,” one of his latest tracks, released in March last year, is a five-minute sonic exercise in a singular style that utilizes chopped vocal samples and a stuttering groove to lock you into an ethereal zone.
Album 1 is a collection of songs from Pink B, an anonymous Italian composer. The artist uses painting to enhance the compositions and also to give them shape. They call this concept “materialized music.” With this in mind, the artist recommends that you listen to the tracks while contemplating the artworks here. Begin with “8,” a beautiful composition that balances barely-there beats with frayed melancholic synth lines and instrumentation that brings to mind the score for Twin Peaks.
Everything about LCAO is influenced by the world of atoms. That includes his name, which is short for “linear combination of atomic orbitals,” but also the artwork. After studying chemistry, the Italian-born Berliner began his musical education as a guitarist in some post-rock bands before starting his first solo project. He released his first album, Forbidden Transitions, in 2015 on Portuguese label Con+ainer Music. “Lithium,” a self-release, served as a pre-cursor for Aufbau, a later EP that came out in October. It’s a wonderfully crafted track with sound design at its core, flowing through shimmering synths and stoned beats before hitting its stride with an upbeat groove and touching vocal chops.
Jerod S. Rivera is a musician based in Oakland, California. His obsession with synthesizers, Eurorack, sci-fi, and contemporary art forms the basis for his work, and he leans on a background in playing drums. His preferred sonic palette draws from hip-hop and techno. He released his debut album, Virgo, earlier this month’s and it includes “Three Flowers,” an intriguing IDM track of warped but tender electronics and has us yearning for more.
ich, Merlin is a student living near Frankfurt, Germany who has recently undertaken score work for independent experimental art films. “Friction,” one of their latest productions, reflects an enthusiasm for the ’80s, and the aim was “to recreate the specific sound from that era,” they say. In that, we say they succeeded; “Friction” is a raw and swinging new-wave cut with enough sleazy swagger to live fervently in the ’80s.
one carrera two is the new project of Los Angeles-based music producer Cato, who is driven by relentless beats and soaring soundscapes with a dirty edge. With a Norwegian background heavy on classic synthesizers, early digital samplers, and sound manglers, Cato spent years connecting wires, sounds and ideas in new and subversive ways. Early inspirations include artists such as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. “Ratio,” a slow-motion dub techno track of the highest order, is the first taste of the new project, and it’s available for free download!
Distortion Disorder has always loved synthesizers. As a youngster growing up in Lithuania, he couldn’t afford a real one so he began making music on ReBirth RB-338 free software. His first real synthesizer was a Roland JX-3P, which he bought from a wedding musician, but he’s since acquired a whole load of authentic, vintage gear from a dedicated engineer called Zygimantas Laurutis, who is the backbone of many artists’ setups in the local scene, from hardcore to jazz, we’re told. With these new tools, Distortion Disorder expresses himself with brutal modular synthesizer sounds influenced by a mixture of punk, new wave, EBM, and electro. “Skeleton” is one of their latest jams, a rolling acid cut of immense power and fierce rhythms.
Teresa, real name Teresa Ferreiro, is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She’s featured on XLR8R+ before, and she completed the art for XLR8R+24, which featured AIDA, Slumber, and Eluize. She currently works in cultural research and DJs and makes music on the side. Her latest mix features tracks from Eomac, Tom Demac, Squarepusher, and even Daft Punk! As you can probably infer from that grouping of artists, it’s eclectic, with lots and bass and fun—a wild journey of club sounds to say the least.
Tima Fei recorded this mix for an eighth-grade art teacher named Ms. Halas, to educate students on the art of sound. The students were asked to interpret the sound in their art, with the winning artwork featured as the mix’s cover (seen above). Even beyond the classroom, it’s a captivating listen, with contemplative beats and subtle selections. It’s different from what you’d expect from the Chicago DJ, but the quality and embedded beauty remain.
A DJ, promoter, label co-owner, and festival coordinator, Adam Rahman has been a driving force for dance music across the Middle East for decades. And while techno might be the go-to sound for dance music right now, he’s been pushing forward-thinking techno and electronica since he started in the late ’90s. He was recently invited to do a guest show on Proton Radio, and so he unveiled a deep, hypnotic techno set that really locks you in across 60 minutes of refined, world-class techno, with transfixing mixing to boot.
Midnight Sister, the duo of Los Angeles artists Juliana Giraffe and Ari Balouzian, will release Painting The Roses, a new album, via Jagjaguwar.
Painting The Roses is the follow-up to 2017’s Saturn Over Sunset. It’s made of 12 tracks within the pair’s unique style: a blend of Jon Brion film scores, old Hollywood strings, and the kind of disco songs of a ’70s independent film.
Ahead of Friday’s release, they’ve shared four songs: “Satellite,” “Foxes,” “Wednesday Baby,” and “Doctor Says,” which was inspired by Giraffe’s trip to visit family in Argentina.
“Satellite,” streaming below, is the latest in a string of videos sprung from Midnight Sister’s imagination, exploring delusion and the way memory is influenced by perception. The video, shot through a funhouse mirror, finds clarity by embracing distortion.
Balouzian was responsible for scoring the recent documentary “Feels Good Man,” a tale exploring the transformation of “Pepe the Frog” from a college joke to a far-right icon.
Tracklisting
01. Doctor Says 02. Satellite 03. Foxes 04. Sirens 05. Escalators 06. Dearly Departed 07. Tomorrowland 08. My Elevator Song 09. Wednesday Baby 10. Limousine 11. Song For The Trees 12. Painting The Roses
Painting the Roses LP is scheduled for January 15 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Doctor Says,” “Satellite,” “Foxes,” and “Wednesday Baby” in full below. Pre-order is available here.
