Sigur Rós will release Odin’s Raven Magic, a new orchestral album.
Odin’s Raven Magic was first commissioned by the Reykjavik Arts Festival in 2002, and it was performed only a handful of times that year. It has since become part of Sigur Rós’ own mythology, existing only in snippets found online by fans. This recording is taken from a live recording of the 70-minute score from Paris’ La Grande Halle de la Villette.
The project is a collaboration with Icelandic music legend Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, as well as Steindór Andersen, a fisherman.
The work grew out of Hilmarsson’s fascination with one particular chapter of Iceland’s Medieval literary canon known as the “Edda,” entitled “Hrafnagaldur Óðins,” or Odin’s Raven Magic, named after the Norse god’s two ravens that flew over the Earth to survey and bring information back to him. The poem recounts a banquet held by the gods, in which ominous signs foretell the end of the world.
The release’s orchestral and choral arrangements were largely handled by former member Kjartan Sveinsson and Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir from the band amiina.
The piece prominently features the sound of a five-octave marimba built from roughly-hewn pieces of stone by sculptor Páll Guðmundsson.
01. Prologus 02. Alföður orkar 03. Dvergmál 04. Stendur æva 05. Áss hinn hvíti 06. Hvert stefnir 07. Spár eða spakmál 08. Dagrenning
Odin’s Raven Magic LP is scheduled for December 4 release. Meanwhile, you can stream lead single “Dvergmál” in full below, and pre-order the record here.
Resolute affiliate O.BEE and Tomas Station (a.k.a. Irie Nation) have launched Jigit, a new label and multi-disciplinary creative project.
A record label centers the project, exploring “fictionalized storylines of life-altering encounters and cosmic synchronicities,” revolving around a spiritual entity called Jigit. The story will be expressed by the music released and the accompanying visual narrative, created by artist Asli Tunaman. Each release is a chapter in the story; the music acts as the narrator and the cover art as the visual narration, taking the form of a fantasy comic strip.
The project kick offs with 5.1398° N, 3.3238° W, a five-track 12″ from Station’s Irie Nation alias, produced during his travels to the West African shores of the Ivory Coast. The record has already garnered support from scene heavyweights such as Raresh, Magda, Lamache, Varhat, Laylla Dane, and, of course, the two label founders.
Tracklisting
A1. Assinie (Escape Mix) A2. Assinie (Back 2 Bahia Mix) A3. The Sea (Wrath Of The Whitewaters) B1. Vibrations & Soul B2. Champetrance (Abidjan Speed-chase Mix)
5.1398° N, 3.3238° W is available in stores this week and can be ordered over at Yoyaku, the label’s distributor. You can stream snippets of the release below.
Los Angeles’ Jason Chung (a.k.a. Nosaj Thing) has a new EP out on LuckyMe.
The four-track release, titled No Mind, dropped earlier this week and followed a self-released single, “For The Light,”from August. It emphasizes the power of mindfulness and presence, told through beats and electronica indebted to ambient and trip-hop.
The record comes accompanied by a range of creative assets, including 360° videos and interactive web experiences that “aim to place the user in a state of No Mind.”
Alongside the announcement, Chung also released a short film by Dominic Flannigan for the EP’s title track, which pairs the track’s immersive ambience with hyper-real hallucinogenic animation.
You can stream the video for “No Mind” in full via the player below, with the EP available for streaming and purchase here. Head to the Nosaj Thing website to dive into his creative world.
Tracklisting
01. Opal 02. Mountain 03. Pressure Points 04. No Mind
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his Tourist album, Ludovic Navarre, better known as St Germain, will release Tourist 20th Anniversary Travel Versions, a remix album.
The release features artists from the United Kingdom, South Africa, United States, Reunion Island, and France, all with various musical inspirations, and whom Navarre has met on his travels.
Navarre, who has provided his own rework of “So Flute,” asked each artist to interpret their favorite album track. “I truly enjoy their passion for music, their personality and musical integrity,” Navarre says. “I know they’ve got soul.”
Navarre, whose style merges jazzy house music with acid jazz, is influenced by Bob Marley, Miles Davis, and Kool & the Gang. He has released EPs under a number of aliases, among them Deepside, Modus Vivendi, and Hexagone. Tourist, released in April 2000, is Navarre’s third studio album as St Germain, and it sold more than 4 million copies.
Tracklisting
01. Rose Rouge (Atjazz Galaxy Aart Remix) 02. Sure Thing (Osunlade Yoruba Soul Mix) 03. Rose Rouge (Terry Laird Nu Maloya Fusion Mix) 04. Rose Rouge (Ron Trent Jazzfunksuite for Musicandpower Remix) 05. So Flute (Ludovic Naverre Amapiano Version 2020) 06. Sure Thing (Black Motion Anniversary Mix) 07. Rose Rouge (Jovonn Oldskool ’90s Remix) 08. Sure Thing (Jullian Gomes Remix) 09. Rose Rouge (Nightmares on Wax Rerub) 10. What You Think About (Traumer Re-jammed Remix) 11. Sure Thing (DJ Deep Remix)
Tourist 20th Anniversary Travel Versions LP is scheduled for January 29 release on vinyl, CD, and digitally. Pre-order links and public streams will be added as they become available.
The five-track release is soulful and introspective, and it follows Jackie’s House, the Chicago’s rapper and poet’s second album, crafted as a means of sustenance for his mother, Jacqueline (Jackie,) sister, and grandmother, supporting them as they quarantine at their home in Florida during the crisis.
Together, With Great Feeling sees Virtue enlist the help of Malci for beat production, and also add the vocals of Audra Vidal on the EP’s centerpiece, “Options.”
Planet Mu will release PlanetMµ25, a 15-track compilation to celebrate the label’s 25th anniversary.
Committed to pushing boundaries, PlanetMµ25 runs from the deep listening of Skee Mask’s Konx-om-Pax remix and Ital Tek‘s “Deadhead” to the drifting tones of Bogdan Racyzynski and the fired-up cubist experiments of Basic Rhythm’s remix of DJ Nate. There’s original work from Gábor Lázár and Rian Treanor, and the collection also displays diverse experiments in footwork, ranging from RP Boo’s dancefloor acid to the juke of Ripatti, better known as Vladislav Delay.
Founded in London by Mike Paradinas, also known as µ-Ziq, Planet Mu began as a Virgin imprint but became independent in 1998. It has remained at the forefront of electronic music ever since, established as a cornerstone for innovative club genres.
Tracklisting, CD
01. East Man & Streema “Know Like Dat” 02. RP Boo “Finally Here” (ft. Afiya) 03. Konx-om-Pax “Rez” (Skee Mask Remix) 04. Ital Tek “Deadhead” 05. Gábor Lázár “Source” 06. DJ Nate “Get Off Me” (Betta Get Back) (Basic Rhythm Remix) 07. Ripatti “Flowers” 08. Speaker Music “Techno Is A Liberation Technology” (ft. AceMo) 09. Jana Rush “Mynd Fuc” 10. Rian Treanor “Closed Curve” 11. Bogdan Raczynski “tteosintae” 12. RUI HO “Hikari” 13. FARWARMTH “Shadows In The Air” 14. Meemo Comma “Tif’eret” 15. Eomac “All The Rabbits In The Tiergarten”
PlanetMµ25 will land on December 4. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream DJ Nate’s “Get Off Me (Betta Get Back)” in full below.
We’re back with another batch of submissions from our portal, and once again they come from far and wide; from producers old and new. Artists like Aspetuck we’ve featured before, but much of the music we’ve heard and chosen is new to us, and likely new to you, too. Hard Drive Library, a Hamburg, Germany, collaboration, submitted an EP we can’t stop coming back to; as did ben & dylan, from Portland, Oregon; and RSlane, from Algeria, North Africa. If you’re looking for something darker, dig into our two mixes, from Dead Pepaya and Anechoic; and if you want something deeper, or more contemplative, be sure to play “Colorinda,” a track from Brazil’s Vinicius Antônio. Thank you for sharing your work with us.
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.
Yusuf Misdaq “Spiral Staircase (Dream Breathes)“
Yusuf “Yoshi” Misdaq, born in Brighton, United Kingdom, is an Afghan-English singer-songwriter and producer, and “Spiral Staircase (Dream Breathes)” is one of his latest works. A gentle jam with rich, sensual vocals, it marks the beginning of new material, following 2017’s Misted Almond Legacy album, recorded in Hawaii. “I can’t tell you much about what the song means,” he says. “I don’t know what it means yet, it’s too new, maybe in a year.”
Aspetuck, whom we’ve featured in March and June, is the alias of Griff Fulton, a Vermont producer who is fascinated by groove, percussion, and the influence of dub on electronic music. He’s recently released The Time Capsule Experiment, an EP of three originals ranging from house to breakbeat to electro, and all with a nice twist. The title-track is the record’s most left-field moment, and also its most enjoyable. The EP comes with two remixes, one from the label boss, Route 8.
Cult Glaswegian post-punk outfit Junto Club have returned to Snap, Crackle & Pop with their second release for the London label. The Alameda EP, available now, finds Junto Club, four teenage buddies united by their love of drum machines, primitive synths, and taut bass moves, expanding on the sound that has come to define the band, which is to say sparse electronics and percussive post-punk underscoring David Wilson’s haunting vocals. It follows two EPs, Club Juntoand Warm Me Up, with Optimo.
UZ-MI Records, based in London, has served up Tee Hee Hee, a new five-track release from label founder James Vernon, who also forms part of Money House Club with label co-founder Rick Silver and Second Move with Dario de Marco. The darkly alluring title-track is raw and prickly with jacked up percussion and a low-key vibe that is perfect for gritty backroom spaces. “Darts,” the EP opener, is also one to remember.
Myrezu is the creative alias of Myles Valle, whose production emphasizes an obsession with otherworldly sounds. “Calm Compulsion” is a delicate new track, taken from SURRENDER DANCE, Valle’s new album. “I have been working on this music for a long time, and I had many plans that may never see fruition,” he says. “At the end of the day, I found it very relieving to let go and move forward.”
Altstadt Echo is a DJ-producer originating from Detroit, Michigan, whose sound signature combines ethereal atmospheres with eroded, broken-beat percussion. He’s been remixed by artists like Erika, Terrence Dixon, and Varg, and last year he released his debut album on Semantica, based in Madrid, Spain. “Nothing Clever,” available now, comes as part of Sacred Sevens II, the latest entry to Modern Cathedrals‘ catalog, focusing on “post-industrial techno from post-industrial cities.” It’s a beautifully broken piece of intelligent techno.
Sebastian Fuentes, born in Mexico City, has developed his musical practice through piano and synthesizers. His tastes and tendencies are mainly directed to ambient and techno, as well as downtempo. “13 de Diciembre,” taken from Entropía Mañana and available on Unos Quantos, is a gorgeous, hard-to-define piece that perfectly encapsulates his sound.
Hard Drive Library is a musical project of two boys who met in an online forum for old Italian mopeds. As it became apparent that they lived close to each other in Hamburg, Germany, and shared the same taste in music, they decided to join forces with their close friend and graphic designer, who created a piece of art that said: “love songs are bad songs.” This became the group’s identity and the name of the first EP. With two tracks, the release encompasses lush, atmospheric breaks and dubbed-out grooves. We’re streaming “Something Like Heaven” here, but you can check out “Tell Me When It’s Over” here.
Following on from his Please Play Again EP for Canadian label Philthtrax, Detroit’s Filthiest returns to Casa Voyager with Original Not Crispy, which encompasses a range of styles from ghetto-tech to electro and drum & bass and delivers a head-scratching collection of club cuts. “Undefeated,” an abrasive and frenetic club banger, is the EP’s second track.
VAntonio, real name Vinicius Antônio, has been performing and making electronic music in São Paulo, Brazil since 2016. He divides his time between working in the computing field, producing video, making soundtracks for his cooking channel, and also electronic music. His work focuses on synesthesia, a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses. “Colorinda,” a beautifully deep and soothing track, is available now on D-EDGE Records Black as part of Humano, Antônio’s debut album.
Edgar Mondragón, an electronic musician based in Mexico City, has been a regular in our submissions features, delivering tracks that blend ambient, drone, noise, and techno. All of the cuts we’ve featured are from No hay recuerdo que no se apague, a debut album coming next month. “Ensoñación,” available now, is the fourth single to be released ahead of this new record. It’s a deeply moving slice of ambience that feels like the soundtrack to a moving picture. Check out the other singles here.
While Rachel Palmer, now based in Cologne, Germany, is most recognized for her live visual performances at electronic music events, she is now combining music production with generative visuals, intent on creating fully immersive audiovisual experiences. “Aureate” is the first taste of her Antecedent album, scheduled for November 27 release on Modularfield. Across nine tracks, she composes expansive soundscapes with intimate and melancholic undertones. Organically structured rhythms are met by billowing synths that invoke the feeling of breathing in a slow-motion dream-state.
Benn Horne is an artist based in Los Angeles, California, meandering around space, “searching for somewhere remotely peaceful and habitable,” he says. His Perambulation album, released last month, is a continuous journey through the solar system, utilizing frequencies picked up from each passing body. “Pluto,” a brooding slice of contemplative electronica, opens the album.
Since debuting in the Australian music scene in 2018, Sydney-based producer Pat Carroll has shaped his sound into something intricate and warm, with breakbeat drum patterns and soothing synth lines. This is particularly apparent on Branching, Carroll’s latest EP, available as a self-release, and we’ve chosen the title-track to stream here. Carroll balances music production with his studies in electroacoustic music composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
RSlane is a DJ-producer from Algeria, and one of North Africa’s minimal trendsetters. He’s spent the past decade driving forward the region’s electronic music cultural movement, aiming to merge the dark techno sound of Berlin with the melodic modes of traditional Arabic music. He’s the head of Duck it Records based in Algiers, Algeria’s capital. Dupa, available now, is another breaks-driven, minimal affair backed with a remix from Algeria’s Harr, who opts for a deep and stripped-back take on “Cosmic Breaks” to conclude the EP.
Blue Cloud is an unknown producer making ethereal and quite astounding electronic music, and “Break Through” is a new production. It’s a serene, uplifting cut from a talented London artist we hope to hear more of soon.
Stature is the alias of Connor Harrison, a producer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. Having studied music production, as well as being an avid musician since a young age, he now makes high energy beats with a focus on dance. Racks, a new EP, marks a progression in Harrison’s productions, comprising three funky, garage-infused jams. In July, Harrison released Stasis, his first proper release after years of dabbling in electronic music, and we featured the title track in July’s submissions roundup.
Hanging Waters is the debut EP from Portland, Oregon duo ben & dylan and the first release on their new label, waterworks. Though the two have been making music together for over a decade, they haven’t released any collaborative music until now. With the release, they aim to capture the sounds they love in dance and electronic music, “funneled through their own goofy lens.” Comprised of warm chords and off-the-wall drums, these four tracks form a collection of emotional dance music that doesn’t take itself too seriously, drawing influences from artists like Four Tet, Leon Vynehall, Mica Levi, and Kornél Kovács. It’s deep, groove-based music that is smile-inducing, and all-together funky.
Dead Pepaya “Moda Ekuator” (Indonesian Post-Club Music)‘
https://soundcloud.com/dead_rec/moda-ekuator-mix
Moda Ekuator, compiled by Dead Pepaya, a joint initiative by Pepaya Records and Dead Records in Jakarta, is a compilation that showcases the uncharted rhythms of Indonesia’s post-club electronic music, produced by members of the alternative dance and experimental scenes there. The compilation is available now, and this mix is a little taster of what to expect, delivering nearly an hour of forward-thinking tunes, from speaker-rattling jungle hybrids to fractured beat cuts and noise-filled drone.
Moroccan-born artist Anechoic‘s music is trippy, textural, spacious, and melancholic, and he’s been working on it for 10 years in Paris, France—we’ve featured his music numerous times in our submission roundups over the last six months. His latest mix, a one-hour journey for PWFM, an electronic music broadcast radio based in Paris, is perfectly suited for the heady, psychedelic dancefloor. Press play and let the time drift away.
Bambounou has announced 033, a new solo EP scheduled for release later this month on AD 93, formerly known as Whities.
Bambounou, real name Jeremy Guindo, signed to the iconic Whities in early 2019, releasing his debut EP on the London label. Since then, he’s been focusing on collaboration; this is his first solo EP since then, and it demonstrates his knack for hypnotic rhythms and off-kilter percussion.
AD 93, the label of Nic Tasker, changed its name in June.
Tracklisting
01. TFTT 02. Hale
AD 93 will release 033 on October 30. Meanwhile, you can stream opener “TFTT” below and pre-order the record here.
Climate Of Fear has released a live recording of Nkisi‘s hardcore set from the event series’ June 2019 party in Berlin, Germany.
Recorded the same night as Elena Colombi’s entry, it offers an inverted counterpart to that set’s languid grooviness. Nkisi, a signee to Lee Gamble’s UIQ, wrings a hypnotizing atmosphere from the most defiant selections, using the 170+ bpm kick drums and scythe-like percussion to envelop the listener.
Baseline and Relaxer kicked off their party series, based between Berlin and New York, back in 2018. The corresponding tape series features live recordings of sets from their parties, and the first batch of 12 highlighted Bambounou, Terekke, Shanti Celeste, Vladimir Ivkovic, Mad Miran, and DJ Python, as well as Relaxer himself. Nkisi’s submission is the series’ third release.
Tracklisting
01. Side A (41:14) 02. Side B (41:56)
Peeling is available now on tape. It will be followed by Bruce’s set, Citric Acid Hydrate, on November 16.
Mndsgn, real name Ringgo Ancheta, puts his signature soulful sound on Sofie’s left-field pop tune.
“‘Truth Of The Matter’ is one of my favorite songs on Cult Survivor, the Los Angeles producer says. “It sounds like a theme song for a classic TV show.” He adds that the melodies and harmonies were stuck in his head after the first time he saw a video of Sofie playing the tune with a band back when it was just a demo. “The song and its feeling is somewhat of a contrast from what I’ve been listening to, so it was a breath of fresh air to step outside of my comfort zone vocally,” Ancheta continues.
Tracklisting
01. “Truth Of The Matter” (Sofie Cover)
Mndsgn’s “Truth Of The Matter” (Sofie Cover) is available digitally now via Stones Throw, and streaming in full below.
