Berlin-based house enthusiasts Alan Mathias and Etienne Dauta have been tapped for the next release on local imprint Finest Hour. Producing under the moniker Arcasenal, the duo looks set to have a busy 2014, with a pair of forthcoming 12″s already lined up for release via Jus Ed’s Underground Quality and Boards, a sub-label of Fred P’s Soul People imprint. (Dauta also runs Berlin’s much-loved Bass Cadet record store and eponymous imprint, which oversaw his debut release back in 2012.) Due out on November 3, the four tracks on FH03 are described as “spaced-out deep house trips” geared toward fans of Terekke, Patrice Scott, or Lowtec, and previews can be streamed below.
The debut EP from ALSO—a new collaboration between Appleblim and Second Storey (pictured above)—is on the way. The two UK producers reportedly came together through a shared love of “Detroit machine rhythms and sleek electronic grooves.” Their forthcoming EP01 (set for release via R&S) reportedly reflects a shared interest in pushing their respective boundaries, and comprises four loose cuts from live studio sessions. “If that means broken rhythms and non-traditional melodies then so be it,” Appleblim (who recently delivered an XLR8R podcast) is quoted as saying in the press release. “There’s so many people making sonically ‘correct’ or refined 4×4 music. We just wanted to explore everything other than that, while still keeping the dancefloor moving.”
EP01 is set for release on November 24, not long after Second Storey’s debut full-length—Double Divide—is due to arrive via Houndstooth. Both a tracklist and artwork for the forthcoming EP can be found below.
Though known more on this side of the pond for its label efforts, Donky Pitch actually began as a Brighton club night in the summer of 2009. Now, the Donky Pitch crew is marking its five years of existence with, well, Five, a free compilation gathering some of the label’s past highlights in addition to a number of unreleased tracks including the Lockah production featured here. On “Unrealable,” the former Bubblin’ Up artist crafts a beat heavily steeped in retro vibes, its neon-striped chords and active layers of drum-machine percussion making this one sound like a futuristic—and even a bit sinister—outtake from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack (not that we’re complaining at all about that fact). In addition to housing Lockah’s “Unrealable” effort, Donky Pitch’s new comp also counts tracks from The Range, Slugabed, Ghost Mutt, ARP 101, Starfoxxx, and Tokyo Hands to its name; all of which can be grabbed as a name-your-price download here. In addition, the label will be celebrating its five years with a “birthday” party in London this Saturday, the details of which can be found here.
Pacific Rhythm opened shop last year with the aim to “provide our local environs with deeply sourced and deeply felt records, [and] to throw a party here and there.” Now, the Vancouver record outlet has announced plans to launch its own label, and shared details of its inaugural EP. The first in a series of compilations, Rhythms of the Pacific Volume 1 brings together material from local producers, including Mood Hut fixtures Cloudface and Hashman Deejay (remixing Memory Man) and LNRDCROY, who delivers an extended version of “Sunrise Market” from his Much Less Normal tape for 1080p on the record’s a-side.
Rhythms of the Pacific Volume 1 drops on October 20, and all four tracks on the EP can be heard in full below.
Lawrence (a.k.a. Peter Kersten) will return Mule Musiq later this fall with a new album. A Day in the Life will be the Hamburg-based deep house producer’s sixth full-length to date, following from 2013’s Film & Windows for Dial (the label he heads) and earlier works released via Pampa, Ghostly International, and Kompakt. As Resident Advisor reports, the ambient-leaning effort marks 10 years of friendship between Kersten, Mule label chief Toshiya Kawasaki, and artist Stefan Marx, who provides artwork for the album.
RA goes on to quote Kersten’s description of A Day in the Life as a “triple buddy record,” who adds “The three of us have worked together for ten years. This record shows this very nicely in terms of our love for ambient music and cover artwork. The cover shows Stefan’s sublet apartment in New York, [which is] also a very ambient place. The idea for the record emerged out of a sudden inspiration and this fits perfect to the way Toshiya runs a label, where sharing a good natural wine is more important than marketing.”
A Day in the Life is due out on November 24 as a vinyl, CD, and digital release, and the LP’s tracklist is on view below.
A1 Horses A2 A Day In The Life A3 Lucy, Lucy A4 Nowhere Is A Place A5 Marlen A6 Fainting B1 Simmer B2 The Visit B3 Dreams Are Dead B4 Blue Mountain B5 Bonheur B6 Lost In Joy
Just days before the arrival of Flying Lotus‘ highly anticipated album You’re Dead! on October 7, UK label Warp has shared the video for LP cut “Never Catch Me,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Directed by Hiro Murai, the video expands on the “fantastical dream-state imagery” explored in his earlier video for “Until the Quiet Comes” (off Flying Lotus’ 2012 full-length of the same name) and can be watched in full below.
The label has also announced that over the weekend, independent record stores throughout the US will host listening events for You’re Dead!, with Flying Lotus himself scheduled to appear at the Hollywood event on October 6 to sign copies of the new record. More info on events can be found here, and an updated list of Flying Lotus tour dates has been copied below.
October 2014: 09 Orlando, FL, The Beacham 10 Miami, FL, iii Points 11 Atlanta, GA, The Tabernacle 12 Chapel Hill, NC, Cat’s Cradle *SOLD OUT* 13 Washington, DC, Lincoln Theater 14 Philadelphia, PA, Tower Theater 15 New York, NY, Terminal 5 16 New York, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg *SOLD OUT* 17 Boston, MA, Paradise *SOLD OUT* 18 Burlington, VT, Higher Ground 20 Montreal, QC, SAT 21 Toronto, ON, The Danforth Music Hall 23 Detroit, MI, Royal Oak Music Theater 24 Chicago, IL, Concord Music Hall 25 Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
November 2014: 07 London, The Roundhouse *SOLD OUT* 09 Austin, TX, Fun Fun Fun Fest 11 Phoenix, AZ, Marquee Theater 12 Santa Ana, CA, The Observatory 13 San Diego, CA, North Park Theatre 14 Los Angeles, CA, Wiltern 15 Santa Cruz, CA, Catalyst 17 Portland, OR, Roseland 18 Seattle, WA, Neptune 19 Vancouver, BC, Commodore Ballroom 21 Salt Lake City, UT, The Complex 22 Denver, CO, Fillmore Auditorium
French software and controller developer Arturia has released the iProphet app for the iPad. The mobile soft-synth is described as “an authentic emulation of the ’80s-vintage, California-created classic Prophet VS digital vector synthesizer,” and is based off the same sound engine found in Arturia’s Prophet V plug-in (a soft-synth emulator which has been used with various DAWs for years). Furthermore, the app boasts over 650 sounds and a modulation matrix, and is also CoreMIDI and Audiobus compatible. The iProphet is available to purchase now from the iTunes app store, while an introductory video for the new soft-synth can be watched below.
San Francisco party-turned-record label Icee Hot has announced that it will bring its five-year run to a close over the coming months and will release its final 12″ early next year. Founded by Ghosts on Tape, Low Limit, DJ Will (formerly Rollie Fingers), and XLR8R editor Shawn Reynaldo in 2010, the Icee Hot parties built a reputation for bringing a diverse range of underground talent to San Francisco, often inviting rising DJs and producers to perform in the city for the first time. More recently, the party launched its own record label, tapping local artists such as Avalon Emerson, Bobby B, Roche, and Icee Hot resident Ghosts on Tape, among others, for a series of 12″ releases.
“After five years of running Icee Hot as a party and a label, we have decided to move on into new directions,” the crew posted to Facebook. “Throughout this experience, we have developed both musically and personally, all while remaining completely ineffective and unprofitable as businessmen,” the post continues. Icee Hot’s conclusion will not come immediately though as a trio of parties are still set to take place over the following months, culminating with a “28-hour marathon session featuring some of our very favorite artists from around the globe” which will serve as the group’s final send off in January. In addition, the 10th and final 12″ from the Icee Hot label will be a split EP from Soo Wavey co-heads Vin Sol and Matrixxman; entitled Daddy Issues, the record is expected to arrive in January. Icee Hot’s full announcement can be read here, while the flier for its next party—featuring D’Marc Cantu, Hashman Deejay, and Braiden—has been included below.
UK pair Simian Mobile Disco goes into detail about the gear used to create its recent Whorl LP and current live show in a new video. Appearing as the first edition of FACT TV‘s ARTEFACT series, the clip sees SMD explaining the role of each piece of gear in its set-up, which is anchored by a Cirklon sequencer which controls a number of modular components. The video also features a discussion with the artists who have designed the visual components of the live Whorl experience, which in many ways attempt to mirror the concepts that drive the musical side of the project.
The full first episode of ARTEFACT can be watched below while Simian Mobile Disco’s recent contribution to the XLR8R podcast series can be streamed and downloaded here.
Phono Obscura is the forthcoming debut compilation from the freshly launched Hallucienda imprint, a label which is intended as a continuation of the Hallucination Limited outpost helmed by longtime NYC DJ Three. The label’s inaugural collection is set to include contributions from J. Alvarez (a.k.a. 214), Terry Francis, and the collaborative track featured here from Öona Dahl and Jonny Cruz. Together on “Oceans,” the two producers craft an extended jaunt into lush and emotive house, with a pulsing bassline and jacking rhythms absorbed by an array of slow-evolving synth tones across the track’s eight-plus-minute run. “Oceans,” and the rest of the nine-track Phono Obscura compilation will see an official release on October 7.
