Disclosure has shared the lead single from its forthcoming sophomore album, following from 2013’s hugely popular Settle LP. The pop-house duo of Guy and Howard Lawrence collaborated with Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Gregory Porter for their new track, “Holding On,” which also features their own “signature garage-flex production sound.”
Disclosure’s first appearance of 2015 is slated to take place on June 6 at Parklife Festival, and “Holding On” (out via PMR/Island) can be heard in full below.
Bruce Tantum chats to Dance Spirit about their XLR8R Podcast.
Fans of the Southern California duo may also know Mohn and Denius through their previous incarnations, Proper Villains and Android Cartel, which traded in (slightly) more traditional electronic-house fare—but fans of any of the pair’s recorded output might not be prepared for this gorgeous Dance Spirit podcast. As you might expect if you’ve heardThe Sun Also Rises, the mix is certainly lush—but it’s the kind of focused, late-night lushness that you can’t help but get lost it. It’s an engaging, subtle, utterly groovy set, one that that we think will transport you to someplace quite beautiful.
London’s Phonica record shop originally set up its Phonica Records label, at least in part, as a vehicle to put out tracks created by the shop’s staff, with Hector Murillo and Anthea Nzekwu contributing to early releases. Here’s hoping the two were awarded Employee of the Month status for their efforts—Hector’s inaugural track for the label, “Tension” (produced with Ben Bryant) was a masterful nine minutes of brooding, dubby techno, while Anthea, working under the JC Freaks moniker with Werner Niedermeier, came up with “Dub Praise,” a subtly jazzy slice of skippy deep house. Those two early harbingers were not only a sign of the label’s range—focusing on four-to-the-floor rhythms, but happy to work around house and techno’s edges—but also its attention to high-grade work. Six years and 16 or so releases later, and that adherence to quality control is still there, as its latest record, the Obsession EP from Russia’s mysterious Art Crime, proves.
Art Crime’s previous output, the Never Look Back EP (released on William Burnett’s W.T. Records) was something of a revelation—in particular the succinctly titled cut “Release,” a shimmering, deceptively simple piano-house piece that conveyed joy and melancholy in equal measure. That’s more or less the same vibe you’ll find in Obsession’s title track, with warm pads, tinkling keys and three-note bassline evoking something of a last-song-of-the-festival, eyes-toward-the-sky feel. It’s a beauty, as is the tougher “Show Interest,” its angelic synth work anchored by a propulsive rhythm and hard-charging low end. On the flip side, “Eye Contact” is another piano-lead number, but trades in the simple chord pattern of “Release” with more complex, chillier keyboard action—and then there’s “Rise Fall Run,” a celestial, quivering cut that’s downright sublime. It’s not exactly prime-time, full-on dancefloor fodder—but it’s safe to day that Art Crime is reaching for something on a slightly higher plane.
Click here for more on Art Crime’s ‘Obsession’ EP.
Chris Mohn and Reagan Denius attribute the music they make under the Dance Spirit moniker to a “philosophy based on attaining subconscious harmony through rhythm, timbre, melody, and movement”—and that metaphysical inclination towards positivity shines through on their debut album, The Sun Also Rises, recently released on Audiofly’s Supernature album. The ambitious LP brims with emotional and instrumental richness (live playing figures prominently), and even a casual listen affirms the pair as masters of multihued and dreamy music that aims as much toward one’s headspace as it does for the dancefloor. Fans of the Southern California duo may also know Mohn and Denius through their previous incarnations, Proper Villains and Android Cartel, which traded in (slightly) more traditional electronic-house fare—but fans of any of the pair’s recorded output might not be prepared for this gorgeous Dance Spirit podcast. As you might expect if you’ve heard The Sun Also Rises, the mix is certainly lush—but it’s the kind of focused, late-night lushness that you can’t help but get lost it. It’s an engaging, subtle, utterly groovy set, one that that we think will transport you to someplace quite beautiful.
VIDEO: Dance Spirit’s Chris Mohn and Reagan Denius discuss their XLR8R podcast.
XLR8R Podcast 388: Dance Spirit by Xlr8r on Mixcloud
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As reported over on Juno, Detroit titans Omar-S (pictured above) and OB Ignitt have announced that they are to team up for a new collabrative EP. The four-tracker, entitled The ’90s Evolution of What it Was, is the latest fruit of the friendship between the pair, which as Juno notes has also yielded 2012’s collaborative Wayne County Hill Cop’s (Part.2) 12″, plus the pair of solo OB Ignitt records subsequently released on Omar-S’s FXHE label. The new EP’s artwork and tracklist can be found below ahead of the record’s full release on OB Ignitt’s OBONIT imprint in late June.
Tracklist:
01. Seem Like Y’all Ready
02. Fellow Me
03. Hold The Line
As pointed out on RA’s Feed section, Roger Semsroth (a.k.a. Sleeparchive) has made available to stream a six-track EP he originally released on a limited run of 100 cassettes in 1998. Data Tracks, which was recorded under his long-defunct Skanfrom alias, finds Semsroth exploring a pastoral-yet-synthetic sound that echoes certain contemporaneous releases on labels such as Rephlex and Skam. It can be enjoyed in full on the player below.
In March we reported with considerable excitement on the upcoming release of Noo’s Must Be The Music, the stunning third edition of Optimo Music‘s Optimo Disco Plate series. Now the series, which as label boss JD Twitch points out has now become a fully-fledged label in its own right despite originally being intended only as a vehicle for a one-off release, is ready for its fourth outing.
Optimo Music Disco Plate Four is a three-tracker from Sex Judas Feat. Ricky, a project that, in Twitch’s words, “started up a few years ago to channel an anonymous Norwegian producer’s love for comics, political satire, music history, eroticism and above all electronic music. Imagine Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz project on acid, or the musical versions of The Fabulous Furry Freakbrothers on, well whatever they are on. Portrayed as a classic twosome, enfant terrible Sex Judas and his trusted sidekick Ricky come across as some kind of musical nomads with a hippy take on life.”
“Musically it’s all over the place,” Twitch continues, “but the essence of jamming and the love for African-American music shines through. Inspiration is taken from German psychedelic rock, deep southern disco, rhythm and blues, classic house and techno, and the avant-garde.” Previews of all three tracks can be heard on the player below ahead of Optimo Music Disco Plate Four‘s full release on June 1.
Following the release of his sophomore long player We Walked Home Together through Fiakun, El_Txef_A returns with a series of remix packs on his own newly created label Forbidden Colours.
While the first remix pack brought us the darkest side of the album, the Basque imprint now explores other textures. From the German cult of Ada, to Hrdvsion’s analog raw sound, the second release pack also includes a smooth and pleasantly weird Bostro Pesopeo rework. Additionally Good Guy Mikesh projects his unique vision on El_Txef_A’s work and Bedouin wraps things up with a mystic and shamanistic feeling.
We Walked Home TogetherRemix pack II is scheduled for release on July 13. The vinyl release will be limited to 300 copies and shops can order direct from [email protected].
Tracklist:
Vinyl:
A1 – El_Txef_A – Every Day Is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Ada Remix)
A2 – El_Txef_A – Every Day Is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Bostro Pesopeo Remix)
A3 – El_Txef_A – Every Day Is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Good Guy Mikesh’s Totally Whacked Mix)
B1 – El_Txef_A – The Love We Lost feat Woolfy (Hrdvsion Remix)
B2 – El_Txef_A – The Love We Lost feat Woolfy (Bedouin Remix)
Digital:
01 – El_Txef_A – Every Day Is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Ada Remix)
02 – El_Txef_A – The Love We Lost feat Woolfy (Hrdvsion Remix)
03 – El_Txef_A – Every Day Is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Bostro Pesopeo Remix)
04 – El_Txef_A – Every Day Is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Good Guy Mikesh’s Totally Whacked Mix)
05 – El_Txef_A – The Love We Lost feat Woolfy (Bedouin Remix)
The trio known as Fink (Fin Greenall, Tim Thornton, Guy Whittaker) spent much of the winter and spring riding lasting acclaim for 2014’s Hard Believer whilst touring the USA and pretty much everywhere with a venue in Europe.
Following the album’s success, they now present single “Fall Into The Light”, a glitchy, echo-laden gem from Horizontalism released alongside three remixes that each lend a decidedly different flavour.
Berlin’s Prequel Tapes stretches notes to new, metallic lengths in a constantly evolving and unfolding ten-minute re-work. Panorama Bar resident and Perlon artist Margaret Dygas reduces the track to its most hollow, but steadily beating core, delivering pure art as a result. Deadbeat adds elements of Jamaican dub to lighten the step but not detract from the mood.
All four interpretations are available in June via R’COUP’D, with the Margaret Dygas remix available to stream below ahead of the full release on June 1.
Tracklist:
1) Fall Into The Light
2) Fall Into The Light (Prequel Tapes Remix)
3) Fall Into The Light (Margaret Dygas Remix)
4) Fall Into The Light (Deadbeat Remix)
Orthy is the musical project of Austin-based songwriter and producer Ian Orth. Orth will be releasing a special digital release of his reworking of Tom Petty’s classic “Listen To Her Heart” via Dither Down, on May 19. The release will arrive with a batch of remixes from Cosmic Kids, Aimes, Roy Dank, Birds of Pandaemonium, and the one in question here by Mexico City producer Mijo. Mijo heads straight for the dancefloor with his rework, which transforms the slow-burn feel of the original into a club-ready bomb. Starting out with a thumping kick and ping-ponging toms, Mijo patiently adds layer after layer, melding chopped vocal samples, soaring pads, and chords to devastating effect. You can download Mijo’s remix of “Listen To Her Heart” below, with the full EP available here.
