There’s little information out there on Exael, wherever you look. What we do know is that they’re originally from Wichita, Kansas, which is where they became aligned with a crew of friends making and shaping electronic textures and rhythms into various breeds of modern ambient and downtempo. Between 2013 and 2019, the group shared their work and organized events through Terry Radio, an internet radio station.
Exael’s gateway in was Ulla Straus (a.k.a Ulla), a friend from childhood, but they’ve become an integral member of what’s a highly elusive community alongside Pontiac Streator, whom we featured in September; Brian Leeds, better known as Huerco S. or Pendant; Mister Water Wet; and Special Guest DJ (a.k.a uon), Exael’s partner. The couple live in Berlin, having relocated from Chicago, and the collective has broadened to include Ben Bondy, among others.
Incidentally, Leeds’ West Mineral Ltd. has become a frequent meeting point for this community, and it welcomed Exael with 2018’s Collex, an album of otherworldly sounds and clattering, murky ambiance. In April, Exael returned to the label, this time with Bondy, which resulted in Aphelion Lash, an eight-track album of unheard solo material and collaborations. It’s intensely beautiful, and possesses the same gaseous quality of the ambient genre’s pioneers.
Recorded earlier this month, Exael’s XLR8R podcast is rich in tracks from those around them. There’s a gorgeous unreleased cut from Huerco S., plus music from Mister Water Wet and Monkey Twenty, an alias of Pontiac Streator. But it also looks beyond, opening with music from Japan’s Hironori Nagatsuma and moving through Lurka, from Bristol, and Horla’s sublime “Jumbo Score,” released in August. To wind down the mix, Exael turns to Bondy, whose “Lith” production delivers a standout moment of the mix.
01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been working on music mostly, and trying to get back into reading books. Right now I’m reading “Parable of the Sower,” watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer off-and-on, and also lots of TikTok. I watched “Southland Tales” a couple of times recently because it feels both prescient and relevant right now.
02. How has the lockdown period been for you?
It’s been relatively okay. I have a lot more time to make things, which is great, but figuring out how to sustain myself has gotten more challenging over the course of the year. The isolation of lockdown can get pretty draining, but I’m trying to make the best of it. The general state of the world amplifies any stress, for sure. Some funny things have come out of it though too: my friends and I started making a ghost-hunting show and that’s motivated me to get back into making videos.
03. What have you been listening to?
For most of lockdown, I’ve listening to a lot of shoegaze and rock music. But lately, I’ve been more in the gay anthem pop orbit and a lot of mid-2000s scene kid shit, and also like Soundcloud pop-trap stuff.
04. When and where did you record this mix?
Last week, on my couch.
05. How did you go about choosing the tracks that you’ve included?
I selected tracks that I feel like are in a really big space, and like they are alive in the way that they are continually evolving or expanding. It’s what I would want to hear in a loud music environment when or if that comes back. A lot of the tracks are things that I found on Bandcamp this year, and there are some tracks from my friends.
06. You’re part of a whole crew of artists surrounding the West Mineral label. How did you connect?
Most of all of us have been friends since we met in Kansas, and Ulla [Straus] and I have been besties since high school. We met Pontiac Streator through some mutual friends when we were in high school. I started hanging out with him a lot when Ulla moved away for a bit after graduating, and we’d make music and eventually started throwing parties and shows together with our friends in Wichita, maybe 10 or 11 years ago now. That led to me being friends with Brian (Leeds; a.k.a Pendant and Huerco S.) and Mister Water Wet. Eventually we were all living in Kansas City at the same, and Ulla ended up moving there as well. That led to the formation of Terry Radio, which is a semi-operating internet radio station we all help run with a big group of friends and how we sometimes organize events. Shy (a.k.a Special Guest DJ) and I met on Tumblr about six years ago, and I moved to Chicago to be with him shortly after. He and I would help organize shows and parties with our friends there as well, and now we all kind of link up over time in different places.
07. What’s next on your agenda?
I have an album coming out on Soda Gong early next year called Flowered Knife Shadows that I’m excited about. It’s focused a bit more on club-oriented sounds again. Besides that, I’m just trying to find a stable way to make money, and trying to plan out how I can better redistribute that money when I have access to it. Also, there was supposed to be a West Mineral European tour over the summer, which hopefully will happen when it’s safe to do that again.
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. Hironori Nagatsuma “Osynlig struktur” [The Collection Artaud] 02. Tropical Interface “ncestry scl” [BLCR Laboratories] 03. Bop “Untitled Pattern 69” [Med School] 04. Pent “3” [Self-Released] 05. Huerco S. “Jaunt” (Demo) [Unreleased] 06. Lurka “Powder” [Damage] 07. Slacker “Mists Lift” [Room II Records] 08. Es.Tereo “Ultimas Breath” [Cosmic Bridge] 09. DÆMON “faceValuue” [Intelligent Models] 10. Downpour “In Memory of Mary and the Atom” [Dropbeat] 11. JAK3 “Nuh Uh” (feat. Yvncc) [Origin Peoples] 12. Ivy “Oni” [Self-Released] 13. Torus “Arrival” [Queeste] 14. Horla “Jumbo Score” [Le Cabanon Records] 15. Mister Water Wet & Monkey Twenty “Platinum Rose in House” (Dub Edit) [Self-Released] 16. The Neighbourhood Character “Unacceptable Model” (4 A Dance Track) [Self-Released] 17. Ben Bondy “Lith” [Experiences Ltd.] 18. IOSS “MAMA, Study of a Human Tongue” [Midas Tapes] 19. xphresh “xephon” [Unreleased]
Rival Consoles, better known as Ryan Lee West, has released Night Melody / Articulation, compiling his 2016 mini-LP and this year’s album into one complete long-player. The digital release comes with a remix crafted by Berlin-based Japanese pianist and producer Midori Hirano, streaming below.
Night Melody, West’s six-track mini-album, was shaped by long hours working into the night. It’s nocturnal in sound, and mysterious in the way that the early hours so often are.
Articulation, released in July, has an equal running time of 34 minutes. It was conceived with a visual way of thinking, unusual for the London musician and producer. During the writing process, West drew structures, shapes, and patterns by hand to try and find new ways of thinking about music, giving himself a way to problem-solve away from the computer.
Night Melody / Articulation is the second time that West has bundled two releases together, having released Odyssey / Sonne in 2015.
For more information on West, check out his XLR8R feature here.
Tracklisting
01. Pattern of the North 02. Johannesburg 03. Slow Song 04. Lone 05. Night Melody 06. What Sorrow 07. Vibrations on a String 08. Forwardism 09. Melodica 10. Articulation 11. Still Here 12. Sudden Awareness of Now
Night Melody / Articulation is available now on Erased Tapes. You can order here and stream the Midori Hirano remix of “Articulation” in full below.
Daniel Avery has released Into The Arms Of Stillness, a new single taken from his surprise third studio album, Love + Light. The single is backed with new cuts “Petrol Blue” and “Into The Voice Of Stillness.”
Released on all digital platforms today via Phantasy worldwide and Phantasy/Mute in the United States and Canada, Into The Arms Of Stillness follows Avery’s contemplative Andrew Weatherall tribute, Lone Swordsman, which saw a digital release in early September.
Avery wrote “Petrol Blue” in a studio “at the very edge of the country,” he says. “The views across the water without a single sight on the horizon always create a certain atmosphere in my mind, some kind of unknowing warmth. Real life seems pretty distant in those moments.”
The track came about in the space of a few hours, and filled the room immediately. It’s named after Avery’s own little space down by the water that continues to be its own escape and a constant source of creativity. s
The track see vinyl release in January on the flip of a limited edition 12” vinyl run of Lone Swordsman, and all proceeds will be going to Amnesty International in memory of Weatherall.
Making up the single is an alternative version of “Into The Arms Of Stillness.
Love + Light will be available on vinyl from this Friday, November 27, and then a batch of extra tracks, “Darlinnn,” “Dream Distortion,” and “Katana,” will to follow in early 2021 on a new 10” titled More Light.
“To make a long story short: I got carried away and put too many tracks on the fucking thing,” Avery explains.
The album follows Avery’s recent collaborations with Alessandro Cortini on Illusion of Time LP and alongside Roman Flügel under the alias of Noun. Avery’s previous solo album, Song For Alpha, was released in 2018.
Tracklisting:
01. Into The Arms Of Stillness 02. Into The Voice Of Stillness 03. Petrol Blue
Into The Arms Of Stillness is available digitally now. You can stream the full release below and order here.
The piece, titled “Bescenje,” is a live performance by Serbian artist Bane Jovančević under his Kӣr alias, recorded with 360-degree video technology and featuring regenerative textural ambient and engulfing drones performed on an expansive modular setup.
You can watch the video in full via the player below, with more on Kӣr here.
Kӣr is a 2020 artist of the SHAPE platform for innovative music and audiovisual art, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. This online premiere is presented by XLR8R in collaboration with SONICA.
XLR8R is also featuring a package of exclusive music and content from a selection of SHAPE artists for the latest edition of XLR8R+, including tracks and a sample pack from Jay Glass Dubs, Poly Chain, and Rian Treanor. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/XLR8Rplus_SHAPE
Palestinian electronic music duet Zenobia have shared “Sobo El Gahwa,” a cover of a Jordanian hit of the same name from the ’60s.
Combining Arabic pop melodies, Palestinian and Syrian dabke rhythms, and powerful beats, Zenobia are positioned at the forefront of the new, vibrant Palestinian electronic music movement. They released Halak Halak, their debut album, on Crammed Discs in June.
“Sobo El Gahwa,” their new song, talks about the Bedouin’s welcoming tradition, symbolized by ceremoniously prepared coffee, which is offered to brave riders and desert travelers as they reach the encampment and are invited into the tents. Zenobia’s version of the song features vocalist Faten Shafeq Kabaha, the daughter of iconic, late Palestinian singer Shafeq Kabaha.
Zenobia consists of Nasser Halahlih and Isam Elias. Nasser was a pioneer in the local scene, and was arguably the first Palestinian electronic music producer, back in the late ’90s. Young, fleet-fingered keyboardist Isam’s background is in European classical music.
The band draw their inspiration from pop and folk music from all over the region, including Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. They refine their songs by taking them back and forth between their studio and the stage, where they improvise a lot, and feed off the audience reactions.
Tracklisting
01. Sobo El Gahwa
Sobo El Gahwa is available now on Acid Arab Records and Crammed Discs. Meanwhile, you can stream the single in full below, and order it here.
Borokov Borokov continue our wrap up of the XLR8R & SHAPE platform partnership.
Recorded live to cassette tape and presented by Maintenant Festival, the live set by Belgian ensemble Borokov Borokov pairs free-wheeling machine funk and gritty drum-machine rhythms with fittingly out-there interpretive dance scenes and staged art-piece theatrics. It’s an engrossing watch to say the least.
You can watch the video in full via the player below, with more on the band here.
Borokov Borokov are 2020 artists of the SHAPE platform for innovative music and audiovisual art, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. This online premiere is presented by XLR8R in collaboration with Maintenant Festival.
XLR8R is also featuring a package of exclusive music and content from a selection of SHAPE artists for the latest edition of XLR8R+, including tracks and a sample pack from Jay Glass Dubs, Poly Chain, and Rian Treanor. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/XLR8Rplus_SHAPE
We’re all aware of the impact this pandemic has been having on the music and live events industry. With tours postponed and concerts cancelled, artists, agents, managers, promoters, and dozens of other employees have seen their incomes reduced instantly. Yet, despite the challenging scenario this industry and others are currently navigating, it is important to remember the far more difficult fight happening at the frontlines of this pandemic, the Von der Haardt agency says.
“With the tendency of our societies going back to a nationalistic mode and closing borders, we are unfortunately forgetting many who are not living in privileged western states,” says Ralf Diemert, founder of Von der Haardt.
All proceeds will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières, meaning “Doctors Without Borders,” an independent humanitarian organization that is providing medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare.
The release features previously unheard material, with each artist encouraged to share music that reflects on the idea of collaboration. 18 international artists took part, from Pantha Du Prince, to in-vogue Polish pianist Hania Rani, indie folk singer-songwriter José González, and Sebastian Mullaert.
Each artist has contributed a new track or a rework of a fellow musician, and the release even includes several first-of-its-kind collaborations between artists, such as the one between Hania Rani and producer Fejká for the tender yet enthusiastic track “No Goodbye.” British cellist Peter Gregson and pianist Lambert joined forces for the emotionally stirring “The Dive.”
Tracklisting
01. Kiasmos “Blurred” (Sven Helbig Rework) 02. Sophie Hutchings “Here I Am” 03. Lambert “Porcelain” (Aparde Remix) 04. Masayoshi Fujita “Sadness” (Carlos Cipa Rework) 05. Pantha du Prince “Pius in Tacet” (Grandbrothers Remix) 06. Mario Batkovic “Restrictus” (Annelie Rework) 07. Sophie Hutchings “Blind Dance” (Sebastian Mullaert Remix) 08. Hania Rani, Fejká “No Goodbye” 09. Janus Rasmussen “Ting” 10. José González “Let It Carry You” (Brandt Brauer Frick Remix) 11. Tara Nome Doyle, Malakoff Kowalski “Bad Dreams” 12. Peter Gregson, Lambert “The Dive” 13. Poppy Ackroyd “Parallel” (feat. Manu Delago) 14. Christian Löffler “The Great Wide Open” (Federico Albanese Rework)
Haingeraide is scheduled for December 25 release. Meanwhile, you can stream Brandt Brauer Frick’s rework of José González below, and pre-order the release here.
C / A continue our wrap up of the XLR8R & SHAPEplatform livestreams with an inspired audio-visual set.
The video, titled BLEEDING EDGE2020: THE B҉R҉O҉A҉D҉C҉A҉S҉T҉, is presented by TodaysArt and features a mix of classical, searing ambient, metal, and rhythmically dense drone, all cut to visuals by the duo. The video performance also preempts a debut five-track EP, which is on the way on Eco Futurism Corp.
You can watch the video in full via the player below.
C / A are 2020 artists of the SHAPE platform for innovative music and audiovisual art, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. This online premiere is presented by XLR8R in collaboration with TodaysArt.
XLR8R is also featuring a package of exclusive music and content from a selection of SHAPE artists for the latest edition of XLR8R+, including tracks and a sample pack from Jay Glass Dubs, Poly Chain, and Rian Treanor, and art by C / A. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/XLR8Rplus_SHAPE
Jay Glass Dubs, real name Dimitris Papadatos, has delivered a new live set for the 2020 partnership of XLR8R & SHAPE, a European platform for innovative music and audiovisual art.
The 54-minute live set was recorded at Papadatos’ partner’s studio in Nicosia, Cyprus a couple of weeks ago and encapsulates the mood of his “latest live performances where I mostly play material from my two latest albums, Epitaph and Soma, alongside some improvisations,” Papadatos explains. Recorded live with Ableton, the mix features an array of dub sonics, from ethereal, dreamy outings to in-your-face speaker-rattling bass cuts.
You can stream the mix in full via the player below. XLR8R+ subscribers can download the mix below.
Jay Glass Dubs is a 2020 artist of the SHAPE platform for innovative music and audiovisual art, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. This online premiere is presented by XLR8R in collaboration with Riam Festival.
XLR8R is also featuring a package of exclusive music and content from a selection of SHAPE artists for the latest edition of XLR8R+, including tracks and a sample pack from Jay Glass Dubs, Poly Chain, and Rian Treanor. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/XLR8Rplus_SHAPE
Another month has passed, which means another roundup of member submissions. As ever, we’ve had a great number to listen to absorb and review, and now we’re presenting the ones that we’ve kept coming back to over the past few weeks or so. This month is notable for its rich selection of downtempo tracks, which is perhaps a reflection of the pandemic. In these troubled times, it’s easy to find solace in Bewegt’s “Lullaby In,” unsaame’s “Hansei,” and Sergio Díaz De Rojas’ sublime “Porcelain.” If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a slice of energy, you might turn to Singapore’s The Analog Girl or the deep funk of Hungary’s Mybe. And if you want to temporarily drift out of lockdown altogether, Tomash GHz’s “Summer Glow Mix” is a sound collage of how summer nights might have sounded without the pandemic. Press play and enjoy.
You can listen to a playlist of all the submitted tracks in October here.
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.
Undicii “Primary Needs”
Undicii is a mysterious project founded by Kostral One and Aldo Abbinante in 2015. The Parisian pairing released their first album, Ore, in 2016, which focused on jazz and experimental electronic music, out via Your Master’s Voice Records. Then, in February 2020, they organized their first concerts, showing their work in collaboration with the painter Arnaud Liard. “Primary Needs,” a peaceful slice of deep and melodic ambience, is the fifth track on Resurgence, a new EP released earlier this month.
unsaame is an ambient project based in Bristol, United Kingdom, and has taken a long time to take shape, we’re told—an everlasting work in progress from a drifting individual. “It is only a collection of disparate seeds of sounds that sometimes bloom, sometimes wither,” they explain. “It has no intention to last. It is part of the cycle.” “Hansei,” a new digital single, released in October, is a slow-moving but utterly compelling piece of dreamy ambient.
It’s surprising to learn that at just 21 years old, Adriano Koch is already well-positioned alongside his more experienced peers within the neo-classical musical space. He creates art without borders, blending styles and genres and taking inspiration from classical music, jazz, electronica, and Middle Eastern music. Listening to artists from diverse cultures and backgrounds has allowed him to blend their colors into his vocabulary, he tells XLR8R. “BRIEF,” his latest work, is a song about the ephemeral aspect of existing. “It lies between fright, hysteria, and the idea of being submerged by realizing how creepy it is to live, to be, to feel,” Koch explains. “It’s also about death and birth.” A piece of gorgeous and affecting electronics that we highly recomend.
We haven’t got any more information on Bewegt other than they’re from Athens, Greece, and they submitted “Lullaby” earlier this month. It forms part of _, a three-track release, and we strongly encourage you put some headphones on and have a listen to the textural and tender ambience of “Lullaby.”
AshTreJinkins “Overdue Departure”
We’ve featured AshTreJinkins, a Compton-based producer, on XLR8R before. He’s even contributed to XLR8R+ alongside tracks from Afriqua and Jenifa Mayanja, but more recently he’s shared 40 Acres and a Spaceship, a new EP on Point Records that draws inspiration from Robert Hood, 18 Carat Affair, and Apron Records. AshTreJinkins made all three songs during the lockdown, and he describes them as a mix of being blessed by his solitude, yet acknowledging the social climate for black and brown people. It also finds him diving further into ambient pastures, submerging his rhythms in cerebral sound design and textures.
Sergio Díaz De Rojas is a Peruvian pianist currently based in Valencia, Spain. He has released one album, three EPs, and various stand-alone singles, and he’s also the person behind Unsichtbar, the experimental project behind Erlebnis, released on through London’s ACR.
“Porcelain” is a contemplative exploration of solitude that delves into De Rojas’ nostalgic state of mind after moving from Peru to Spain, leaving friends and family for a new chapter of his life. Various late nights by the piano-led to the creation of a softly sorrowful tribute to one of his favorite composers, Fryderyk Chopin. It’s available now as part of Postcards and is as beautiful as anything you’ll hear this month—or year for that matter.
What started out as a lo-fi bedroom project has evolved into some kind of quick-moving technicolor pop universe, where Singaporean electronic avant-pop musician The Analog Girl creates dance tracks with a pop edge using a myriad of illuminating instruments. “I Feel on Top of the World” is taken from her latest album, Awe, an illuminating and rapturous record loosely influenced by 1970s and ’80s television theme songs.
Maryland producer Saharas Greenery released his third studio album, Science of the Formless Self, on September 20 via Sunday Dinner Records. The record is an exploration of the inner self through the beauty of beats and sounds, with psychedelic samples, lush and vivid soundscapes, and collages of an aural nature that elevate your mind and spirit. We’re showcasing the album’s first side here, but check out it all, plus his earlier EPs like July’s The Shift. It’s pure and raw beat science of the highest order.
Būtsu is the electronic project of Los Angeles multi-disciplinary artist Michael Bitton. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Radiohead, Jon Hopkins, and Stimming, Būtsu develops emotionally rich music propelled by rhythms that are as much developed for the dancefloor as they are for solitary, reflective listening. He released “Lucid Dreams (The Tightrope)” on U•Baba Records earlier this year.
Erik Strauss “Behind And Over”
Erik Strauss is a musician and visual artist from Venice, Italy. He became infatuated with jazz and funk music through his family’s vinyl records, and slowly he progressed to house. We’ve featured him before in March, and now he’s back with another killer trip-hop and downtempo tune, “Behind And Over,” available for free download here. Strauss is also part of the French label Nuit Blanche.
Saturnlove, in Barcelona, Spain, has decided to launch an album series showcasing artists from around the world. They begin with Manao, a Venezuelan based in Nuremberg, Germany who delivers BETAWORKS. The release represents the spirit of an adventurous soul, and a taste of the progressive bass and techno we can expect through the label. Across the album, Manao presents tripped-out electro, frenetic techno, and smooth house, like the featured track here, “Xscend.”
Andreas Schuller and Jay Nagel started making music together in 2017, and shortly after they formed crouds with the intention to perform electronic club music live. They’ve developed a versatile live setup that enables them to improvise their sets on the fly, and in October they released Anshan, an EP produced during a residency in Shanghai, China in summer 2019. The release includes a remix by JakoJako, which is notable for its intricate rhythmic patterns, shifting drum grooves, and gritty sound design—it’s also an absolute bomb.
The man behind Liffecutter is Domen Učakar, “a lover of synths, effect pedals, distortion, and different types of heavy music,” from metal and hardcore punk to ’90s Warp and industrial and noise. In 2018, he was a part of the SHAPE platform roster, and he’s a resident at SONICA Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Sub Persona is Učakar’s fourth album as Lifecutter, and it captures the relation between humans and forests, the condition for life’s existence on earth. The ambient sonic structures may at first seem to communicate a feeling at peace with the current situation, but as the unnamed compositions progress they unveil a sheer brutality, and we’ve picked “Sub Persona VI,” a menacing-yet-touching ambient ride, to showcase here, but we encourage you to check out the full record as it’s best experienced as a whole. You can also watch a transfixing video for “Sub Persona VII” below.
59 Perlen is the work Matthias Rosenkranz, a German living in Zürich, Switzerland. Rosenkranz has been making electronic music for 20 years, but he launched the 59 Perlen alias in 2019 with his first pop-oriented single, “Arabische Nacht,” which expresses his deep love for sounds from the Middle East. His journey continued in October with his first EP, Lunation 1209, which broke new ground for the project by working with guest vocalists and artists. We’ve picked “Reject My Mind,” a brooding and atmospheric dub track, to showcase here. Turn this one up and drift away.
Lawrence Hart has collaborated with some of the most exciting names in electronic music, including work writing and producing with Lil Silva, whilst featuring his vocals with George Fitzgerald. Surrender Yourself, his debut EP, included the track “Try Repeat,” a piece of euphoric electronica that is at home in the club as it is the headphones. It’s introspective and haunting, with enough weight to move a dancefloor.
Rahms “I’m Tired Man…”
Rahms is a solo experimental electronic music offering by Brisbane, Australia’s Daniel Milad. Refusing traditional sound design and easy categorization, Rahms combines elements from his global music appreciation, resulting in a celestial stew of experimental music production techniques and old-school music methodologies. “I’m Tired Man…,” with its broken-beat rhythmic lightness and glitchy percussion is Milad’s expression of the tiresome feeling of pursuing a dream without knowing an end.
Murphy “Solitary Pleasures”
Murphy, a Melbourne, Australia-based producer formerly known as Gravy Murphy, has shared his third solo full-length, Waveform. It features 13 tracks of heady atmospherics, led by synths, sequencers, and drum machines. “Solitary Pleasures,” the lead single, is rich and emotive, conveying hope but melancholy, as seen in the transfixing video below. It’s a beautiful score-like work.
Some Great Reworks features three Fabio Properzi remixes of tracks from Deckard’s Cosmopolis album, with added guitars, synths, and samples. Of the three tracks, we’ve picked “A Marble Middle Finger,” a chilled out jam with Properzi’s own vocals that brings to mind Thom Yorke’s solo work.
As Mybe, Mark Balog has spent the last few years building an impressive catalog of releases, fusing funk and soul through intricately crafted beats and cinematic melodies. The project takes inspiration from Kaytranada and Jai Paul, as well as classic sounds of all types. With the help of Taison Cloud, Balog has released “Don’t Care,” an impossibly funky new jam with a head-nodding groove and hooky vocals.
Tomash GHz is a Berlin-based record collector, modular enthusiast, and designer of electronic instruments. His sounds are influenced by hypnotic minimalism, deep bass lines, and broken beats. Recorded in June, his “Summer Glow Mix” is a sound collage of how summer nights might have sounded without the pandemic, and it features tracks from Christopher Ledger, Guy From Downstairs, Youandewan, and more. Full of relaxed flow and swagger, it’s an hour of low-slung grooves and dreamy atmospheres.
Adam Antine “Melody PM Guest Mix”
Adam Antine is otherwise known as Dawn Razor, whom we’ve featured a lot on XLR8R. He’s a DJ-producer from Russia, and he’s compiled a mix for Silver Rain FM, showcasing the best artists from Russia and the post-soviet region. As you’d expect, it’s full of Dawn Razor originals, many unreleased, and it moves through slick house to darker, headier techno, showing that Russia is one of the richest hotbeds of electronic music talent in the world.
SYMAH ‘XLR8R Guest Mix‘
Yavor Zografski, better known as SMYAH, is a music producer based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and he’s just released Splitting Atoms, his debut album. The record features instrumental tracks and collaborations with vocalists from the local community. In celebration of the release, Zografski recorded a mix for XLR8R. While his sound is known for fusing different musical worlds, swinging from broken beats to left-field bass and cinematic elements, this mix leans towards dubstep, and it includes a couple of his own recent productions, alongside a wealth of mind-bending half-time cuts and speaker-rattling steppahs.
