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 mixes to 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 “Hansei“
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.
Adriano Koch “BRIEF”
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.
Bewegt “Lullaby“
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 “Porcelain”
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.
The Analog Girl “I Feel On Top Of The World”
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.
Saharas Greenery Side A
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 “Lucid Dreams (The Tightrope)”
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.
Manao “Xscend”
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.”
crouds “You Talk The Talk” (JakoJako Remix)
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.
Lifecutter “Sub Persona VI”
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 “Reject My Mind”
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 “Try Repeat”
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.
Deckard feat. Fabio Properzi “A Marble Middle Finger”
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.
Mybe “Don’t Care” (feat. Taison Cloud)
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 “Summer Glow Mix”
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.
