Sofia Kourtesis “Fresia”

Sofia Kourtesis is a Berlin-based producer, DJ, and vocalist (amongst other things) who may be more familiar to XLR8R readers than they think, having provided the vocals for Gold Panda’s “An English House” track from his excellent sophomore LP, Half of Where You Live, back in 2013. Since then, Kourtesis has continued to build up her chops as a solo producer, and is now set to issue her official debut EP, This Is It, later this month. Pulled from the record is “Fresia,” a melody swept affair that doesn’t land too far down the road from her collaboration with Gold Panda, making use of bouncing bells, sweeping synth lines, and an efficient rhythmic base across its four-minute run; there are even some retuned vocals and light atmospheric touches thrown in for good measure as well. Set to see an official release—alongside the rest of the forthcoming This Is It EP—via the Duchess Box label on February 28, Kourtesis’ “Fresia” production can be downloaded below.

Fresia

Stream Nicolas Jaar’s Updated Score for ‘The Color of Pomegranates’

Nicolas Jaar has composed an updated score for The Color of Pomegranates, Sergei Parajanov’s iconic 1969 film. As Resident Advisor reports, the film is based on the life of 18th century Armenian poet and musician Sayat Nova (King of Song), and is considered both a 20th century masterpiece and one of the most controversial pieces of cinema to emerge from the USSR. Jaar’s 80-minute soundtrack (which he announced via Facebook over the weekend) includes 20 tracks and has been syncopated with the original film, posted below.

01. Garden of Eden
02. Construction
03. Pass the Time
04. Survival
05. The Fool and his Harem
06. Being and Nothingness
07. Near Death
08. Beasts of this Earth
09. Fall into Time
10. Folie à Deux
11. Screams at the Edge of Dawn
12. Divorce
13. Three windows
14. Touristas
15. Shame
16. Tower of Sin
17. Kapital
18. Volver
19. Spirit
20. Muse

El_Txef_A Preps Remix 12″, Shares Track from The Black Madonna

Following from last year’s release of the We Walked Home Together LP, El_Txef_A has detailed the first in a trio of remix EPs inaugurating his new label, Forbidden Colours. The Spanish producer’s upcoming Remix Package 1 reportedly hones in on the darker side of the album with the help of Eduardo de la Calle, Lake People, Deep’a & Biri, Andres Aguirre, and Chicago-based house aficionado The Black Madonna, whose remix of “Claim of Planet Earth” is streaming below in an XLR8R premiere.

We Walked Home Together–Remix Package 1 sees a limited-edition vinyl release on March 10. Until then, the Italo-influenced “Claim of Planet Earth (The Black Madonna’s Black Tulip Mix)” can be heard in full below, where we’ve also posted the EP’s complete tracklist.

01. El_Txef_A – Claim of Planet Earth (Eduardo De La Calle Internal Shuffle Mix)
02. El_Txef_A – Claim of Planet Earth (The Black Madonna’s Black Tulip Mix)
03. El_Txef_A – Every Day is Blue Monday feat Meggy (Lake People Remix)
04. El_Txef_A – Claim of Planet Earth (Deep’a & Biri Remix)
05. El_Txef_A – The Love We Lost feat Woolfy (Andres Aguirre Remix)

Listen to a New Track from Matias Aguayo’s Upcoming 12″ Series

Photo: Sarah Szczesny

Having announced plans to release a four-part 12″ series by the name of El Rudo Del House last month, longstanding dance music adventurer Matias Aguayo has now shared the series’ dark, clanking, but still deeply funky title track. In Aguayo’s own words, the El Rudo Del House series is based on an “imaginary creature who speaks to you with a pitched-down voice and produces heavy house rhythms that are engineered to directly trigger the movement of different body parts.” The resulting title track sounds precisely as one would hope the product of the above-described approach would, and can be streamed in full using the player below ahead of the release of the series’ first 12″ (appropriately titled Round One) on March 16 via Aguayo’s own Cómeme label.

Download a New Mix from Mood Hut

A new mix focusing on unreleased material from the Mood Hut camp has surfaced. Stitched together by Canadian selector Local Artist, the hour-long mix is said to be comprised of “100% Mood Hut material,” all of which is “unreleased, but plenty of these tunes are coming out in the very near future,” the Vancouver-based label explains on its website.

Featuring new productions from the likes of Jack J—whose “”Something on My Mind” tune was deemed XLR8R‘s favorite track of 2014—Pender Street Steppers, Hashman Deejay, LNRDCRY, and more, the full Mood Hut 10 mix can be streamed below and downloaded for free here.

Jack J – Atmosphère
Disco Mantra
Aquarian Foundation – Binary Raindrops IIBINARY RAINDROPS II
Pender Street Steppers – Whistlin’
Florist – Marine Drive
Kinetic Electronics – Jupiter Kush
JJ and Neo Image – Untitled
LNRDCRY – Kali Yuga
House of Doors – Blue Expression
Hashman Deejay – Selfless
Local Artist – Place I
Plo Man and Hashman Deejay – Fuck Dat
Slow Riffs – Virgo Dub
Disco Mantra

Palmbomen II Shares New Video from Upcoming Beats in Space LP

Back in December, we reported that RBMA grad Kai Hugo would release a solo LP under his hardware-based Palmbomen II alias via Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space label in the coming months. Now with the March 3 release date drawing near, Hugo has shared the second of three self-directed videos for tracks from the album. The video for Palmbomen II’s “Carina Sayles” introduces the titular character and comes beautifully awash with ’80s-film existentialism and humid West Coast atmosphere. In the words of the press sheet, “‘Carina Sayles’ answers the question many siblings have asked before: ‘What is that music, anyway?’.”

As Palmbomen II, Hugo Kai will head out on the road for five US dates in early March to support the release, details of which can also be found below alongside the artist’s new video.

March 6 San Francisco CA – Mezzanine*
March 7 Los Angeles, CA – Far Away*
March 12 Brooklyn, NY – Good Room
March 19 Austin, TX – Plush / SXSW Showcase
March 20 Miami, FL – Bardot*
* w/ Tim Sweeney

Huntleys + Palmers Announces Highlife World Series; Preview the First Release

Huntleys + Palmers sister label Highlife is set to release a trio of EPs under the Highlife World Series title. The collaborative releases will find Brian D’Souza (a.k.a. Auntie Flo) and Esa recording in collaboration with local musicians from various parts of the world in which the pair have recently found themselves. The first installment of the series—the four-track Highlife World Series: Cuba EP—is said to have been recorded in old town Havana with local musicians the pair met while in the country to perform at the inaugural Havana World Music Festival in February 2014.

The second and third releases under the Highlife World Series banner will be entitled Kenya and Uganda, and will apparently also see the light of day in the very near future. According to the Highlife label, “all proceeds from each release will be sent back to the respective countries in order to fund further musical production costs in years to come. We will also be seeking various ways to distribute the music in each country so the music is freely available for the musicians to use at home.” Previews of all four tracks from the Cuba installment of the series can be streamed via the player below ahead of the EP’s official release on March 9.

Premiere: Stream a New Track from Andy Butler’s Debut Solo EP

Photo: Alexander Nussbaumer

After serving as the force behind the Hercules & Love Affair outfit, Andy Butler has decided to step out on his own for his first solo effort, which will land via his own mr.intl in vinyl form later this month (with a digital release to follow in March). Now, having shared the record’s lead track, “You Can Shine,” back in January, XLR8R has gotten its hands on “Personality Track,” the forthcoming EP’s b-side cut.

“‘Personality Track’ was born out of the feeling I had from listening to my favorite Terence Dixon records,” Butler explains in an email “The quirky angular marimba line in particular was very inspired by some of his melodies. [I think] Dixon is a good representative of personality in techno, something missing in a lot of dance music today,” he continues. “I also love how early techno and industrial music had playful elements often, so I incorporated some of the techniques here (i.e. the found-sound and spoken-word samples and the super plucked-almost-slapped bassline).”

Butler’s “Personality Track” production can be streamed in full below before the artist’s debut solo EP lands in vinyl form on February 23 (and in digital form in March).

Nunca Duerma “Fast”

After first introducing himself to the XLR8R fold last October with a free download of his “He Is Gone” production, Chicago-based beatmaker Nunca Duerma returns to our pages with a new offering, “Fast.” In fact one of four tracks included on the budding talent’s new Deva EP, “Fast” again finds Duerma crafting a jittery beat of sorts, which this time comes streaked with a slew of chopped chords, miniature rhythmic glitches, fast-paced melodies, and even a good deal of ambient bird chirps. Duerma’s “Fast” production can be downloaded below while the Illinois artist’s full Deva EP can be picked up as a name-your-price download here.

Fast

NIBC “Disconnected”

Berlin-based Swedish producer/DJ NIBC will return to his own Trunkfunk label (an imprint that celebrates its 15th anniversary this year) with the Vega EP (artwork above) next week. Serving as a preview of the upcoming effort, the artist born Fredrik Nyberg has passed along “Disconnected,” a floor-focused production which is set to appear in the middle of the three-track record. A rolling house tune at its base, “Disconnected” makes use of rich, pulsing chords and echoing vocal samples across its five-minute run, maintaing a swift and confident stride throughout. NIBC’s “Disconnected” can be downloaded below before the seasoned producer’s full Vega EP lands in digital form on February 23.

Disconnected

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