Throughout the week, a whole lot of material gets posted here on XLR8R. And while we know—and love—that some hardcore readers will eagerly pour over every single news story, interview, podcast, video, and MP3 download that appears on the site, we also realize that for most people, it’s impossible to see everything, which means that some quality XLR8R content is likely to get missed in the hustle and bustle of everyone’s daily lives. In the interest of making it easier for everyone to catch up, every Friday we present The Lowdown, a weekly wrap-up of the top 10 tidbits from our site.
1. The newest installment of Artist Tips was delivered by the men of Mister Saturday Night (pictured above), who expounded on the elaborate efforts they undertake to ensure that the DJ booth at their parties is set up properly.
2. Maya Jane Coles‘ new From the Dark EP arrives this week via the Mobilee label, and XLR8R premiered a stream of the title track.
3. We exclusively streamedMagazine 13, the debut full-length from Cologne producer Barnt, and followed that up with an in-depth feature detailing his backstory and creative approach.
4. This week’s XLR8R podcast was put together by Brooklyn producer and L.I.E.S. affiliate Gunnar Haslam.
5. UK selectors Joy Orbison and Ben UFO were this week’s guests on the long-running Beats in Space radio show, and their sets are now streaming online.
6. Berghain resident and techno stalwart Ben Klock unveiled a new mix for FACT.
7. XLR8R premiered a stream of Power of Anonymity, the new LP from Dutch-born, Berlin-based producer Steffi on Ostgut Ton.
8. Nina Kraviz shared the details of the upcoming first release from her newly launched ???? label.
9. The latest Bubblin’ Up put a spotlight on rising San Francisco-based producer and Leaving Records affiliate Brogan Bentley.
10. Andy Stott released his new album, Faith in Strangers, this week, and our official review weighed in with our thoughts on the LP.
An expanded version of the The Lowdown is also available via a weekly email newsletter. Those interested in an even more in-depth round-up of XLR8R content should sign up by entering their email address below.
Recorded during the recent Tokyo edition of Red Bull Music Academy, a 90-minute interview/lecture with Hessle Audio co-founder Ben UFO has surfaced. Sitting down on the RBMA couch, the UK DJ begins by discussing how he, David Kennedy (a.k.a. Pearson Sound), and Kevin McAuley (a.k.a. Pangaea) would come to form the Hessle Audio label, before covering his (and the label’s) rise through England’s club music world as well as how the highly regarded selector approaches his own craft, amongst a number of other insightful topics. The latest detailed and informative RBMA lecture can be watched in full below. (via Resident Advisor)
Hailing from Mexico City, prolific producer Alec Sander (who has in the past operated under the names La Royale, Yesco, and Moon Runner) will deliver the next record for Sanfuentes—the eponymous label of LA-based Cómeme affiliate Vicente Sanfuentes—under his Mijo alias. Due out on December 8, Mijo’s Economic EP is said to embody the Mexican club music ethos of “less is more,” offering four tracks of stripped-back techno with “no gimmicks, no flash.” A fine example of such is EP cut “Valet Parking,” which sees Mijo crafting an efficient but energetic production that laces its lively drum-machine stomp with playful bits of upfront synth tones and, of course, plenty of percussive odds and ends. Ahead of its release next month, Mijo’s forthcoming Economic EP can be previewed after the jump.
Veteran electronic producer Matthew Herbert is set to continue his streak of EPs under his more house-minded alias, Herbert, announcing plans to issue the Part 8 installment next month. After a bit of a hiatus from the project, the longstanding British artist’s work as Herbert began resurfacing earlier this year with the Part 6 EP, which landed in June via the producer’s own Accidental label, followed closely behind by Part 7 in September.
The forthcoming Part 8 EP will feature four new productions, including lead cut “The Wrong Place,” which features the manipulated vocals of Ade Omotayo (of Kindness) and Rahel (of Hejira). Also serving as the record’s lead single, “The Wrong Place” can be streamed in full below before Herbert’s new EP sees its official release on December 15 via Accidental.
1. The Wrong Place 2. Remember Ken 3. Ticket 4. Her Face
Originally expected to arrive much earlier this year, PAN has revealed that a new collaborative 12″ from Helena Hauff (pictured above) and fellow Golden Pudel resident F#X—who together operate under the name Black Sites—will see its release next month. The two track “Unit 2669” b/w “??????” record follows behind what has been an active year for Hauff, who has released solo EPs via Swiss imprint Lex and Bunker Records sub-label Panzerkreuz, as well as issuing a split EP alongside Andreas Gehm for German label Solo One.
Serving as our first taste of the Black Sites project’s upcoming 12″ is a-side cut “Unit 2669,” an elongated, acid-lined techno workout that showcases the improvisatory nature of Hauff’s and F#X’s collaboration. “Unit 2669″ can be streamed in full below before the pair’s forthcoming 12” arrives via PAN on December 15. (via Juno Plus)
Earlier this month, Glasgow trio Machines in Heaven dropped the Hindu Milk EP (artwork above), a five-track effort which explored a number of (mostly instrumental) electronic and pop hybrids. To coincide with the release, Machines in Heaven has tapped fellow Glaswegian talent Debukas to remix the EP’s title track, the results of which are featured here. A wistful, M83-esque affair, Debukas reshapes “Hindu Milk” into a more club-appropriate outing, placing a thick bassline beneath the array of warm chords and sprightly melodic content which Debukas repurposes from Machines in Heaven’s original track. Debukas’ rework can be grabbed below, while a full stream of Machines in Heaven’s Hindu Milk EP can be found after the jump.
DJ Haus’ Unknown to the Unknown label is set to keep its release schedule going at full speed into the end of the year, with plans to issue a new 12″ from London-via-Lisbon producer Photonz next month, backed with a remix from Berlin transplant Palms Trax. (For the sake of full disclosure, we should point out that Palms Trax’s Jay Donaldson is a regular contributor to this site.)
Last seen on Unknown to the Unknown when his “1551” 12″ dropped via the label in 2013, Photonz (real name Marco Rodrigues) will return to the fold with “Osiris Resurrected,” a hypnotic cut focused on sharp rhythms and Eastern-indebted melodies. On the flip, Palms Trax offers his take on the track, reshaping it into a vintage-striped dancefloor affair, one which lays loose hats and plenty of percussion alongside its series of full-bodied chord stabs. Set to see a release in both vinyl and digital form next month, Photonz’s upcoming “Osiris Resurrected” 12″ can be streamed below.
In the rapidly evolving world of electronic music, it’s all but impossible to keep track of every new artist, label, party, and genre. At the same time, certain names will inevitably pop up again and again at the XLR8R office, some of which we’ve only given passing mention to on the site. In an effort to get our readers up to speed with some of the things—both new and old—that we’ve been digging lately, we recently launched a new feature series called ‘Get Familiar,’ which aims to shine a spotlight on subjects we think are worthy of a little more attention.
For all intents and purposes, thePeople is a house music party—one that focuses on tracks rooted in African and Latin rhythms as well as the more soulful and jazz-informed ends of the genre. Helmed by a DJ collective of sorts, thePeople is centered around a monthly event that began in Oakland, California in the fall of 2007, and in its current form, takes place on the fourth Saturday of the month at The New Parish. “When we started, you could not build big parties in Oakland off house music,” resident selector and thePeople co-founder Cecil Carthen (who DJs and produces simply under the name Cecil) says of the party’s beginnings. “Now, a lot of those people who were so-so on the music when we first started are like, ‘lt’s all about the music,'” he adds. “They’re diehards.”
Cecil
Cali
Like many metropolitan cities in America right now, Oakland is changing fast, in large part due to the Manhattanization of San Francisco and the ensuing flood of people who have looked to the East Bay for a more affordable lifestyle. As Oakland evolves, it has become increasingly important to have cultural institutions that can connect the old guard with the new blood, and thePeople is just that—a melting pot representative of Oakland’s immense diversity; as such, the monthly gathering balances an accessible and inviting atmosphere with a respectably curated musical agenda. It also helps that folks come to thePeople get down; once the party gets rolling, there is rarely a dull moment on the dancefloor.
Still, when it comes to electronic music, Oakland is more often associated with the experimental and aggressive ends of the spectrum. (Not surprisingly, there’s also a strong current along the more hip-hop-minded side of things.) House music, on the other hand, can be a hard sell in the city, especially with an internationally recognized scene happening right across the bay in San Francisco. Despite these obstacles, thePeople has managed to cultivate an audience with a real appreciation for percussive, soulful house. Overseeing the monthly gathering’s musical selections, more or less since the beginning, alongside Carthen are resident DJs Chris McCallister (a.k.a. Cali), Brandon Brown (a.k.a. Orefu Negro), and Melissa Rae Canio (a.k.a. DJ heyLove*). Together, the crew covers a wide range of styles, which means that DJs are as likely to drop some traditional African music (bolstered by extra dancefloor rhythms), as they are Detroit-indebted fare or most anything from the deeper, more hypnotic side of the house spectrum. (Shades of boogie, disco, and funk are never entirely out of the question either.) “For some reason, our crowd is so open, I don’t really understand it,” Canio explains. “It’s a gift to have people come out who are so open; then we as DJs can play what we want, and people just dance. Whether you’re a burner, a b-boy, a hippie, a bougie, or someone from a Berkeley frat, you hear the music and you still feel it.” Cali, perhaps the most precise selector of the crew, sums up the residents’ freedom behind the decks in simpler terms: “We get away with murder.”
DJ heyLove*
Orefu Negro
On the fourth Saturday of this month, thePeople will celebrate its seventh anniversary. For a party in Oakland, that’s quite an accomplishment; for a house music party in Oakland, it’s unheard of. When the residents talk about their progress, it is clear that thePeople has been built gradually, to a point where the party’s seventh anniversary has almost snuck up on its founders and is not necessarily going to be met with any extra fanfare. In many ways, this is demonstrative of what has made thePeople such a refreshing presence. The party wasn’t built on big headliners or fashionable trends; instead, the crew remains humbly focused on simply creating an enjoyable atmosphere and a rewarding nightlife experience for the residents of Oakland (and the larger Bay Area, for that matter). Guest DJs are sometimes a part of the equation, as the likes of Dego, Amp Fiddler, Aybee, and Afrikan Sciences (the last two being former Oakland residents), have brought their talents to thePeople over the years. However, none of these bookings were made in an effort to fill up the party on their own. “The guest DJs are always for us,” Cali explains. “All these people that we look up to and that we have come out and play, we always want them to have the best time,” he continues. “When I was in London, Dego said thePeople was the best party in the States. We were standing in a circle with a bunch of other people I look up to, and he said that and I was just feeling like, ‘Oh shit, that is so huge.'”
The addition of Brice Dreessen (a.k.a. Lowcommittee) to Belguim’s Vlek label seems fated to be a good fit. A hometown producer who has made a name for himself across two intriguing cassette releases for his own Varech label, the Belgian talent is set join the adventurous label’s fold next month with Race at Neon Club. Appearing early on in the record is “1943,” which serves as Race at Neon Club‘s rhythmic-based outing, placing a collection of thumping kicks and toms beneath expansive sheets of ever-evolving synth tones. Lowcommittee’s “1943” exploration is set to be joined by seven similarly hand-crafted productions when Vlek issues Race at Neon Club in vinyl and digital form on December 1.
Bok Bok continues his takeover of Benji B’s BBC Radio 1 show with an hour-long grime special. First aired yesterday, the session shines a light on the cross-pollination between R&B and grime, opening with an exclusive live mix from the UK artist and Night Slugs co-head with Fade to Mind affiliate Kelela (who also appeared on his “Melba’s Call” single earlier this year). The show also includes interviews with grime originator Terror Danjah, British R&B singers Sadie and Shola Ama, and Hyperdub’s Scratcha DVA.
“Bok Bok Takeover PT III: Kelela in Session” is available to stream here via BBC, where parts I and II from the series—specials on Chicago and Jersey club—can also be heard in full.
