Download Oneman’s ‘Solitaire Vol. III’ Mixtape

Oneman has delivered the ambitious third installment of his Solitaire mix series. In compiling Solitaire Vol. III, the South London DJ invited some of his favorite artists to record exclusive tracks at Red Bull Studios throughout Europe and the US, including sessions in London, New York, LA, Amsterdam, and Paris. The mix finds the likes of Ryan Hemsworth, Mumdance, Mickey Pearce, Tom Trago, Todd Edwards, and UK grime veteran Trim delivering exclusive new tracks (and a few collaborations), and also features diverse selections from Bicep, Dro Carey, Ikonika, Kingdom, and many more. The 85-minute mix can be streamed in full below, where we’ve also included its full tracklist, and downloaded here; for more info on Oneman’s initiative with Red Bull, head here.

1. Spooky Black – Take The Blame So I Don’t Have To
2. Paul Fisher – On My Life [Mr. Mitch ‘If U Mean It’ Rabit Mix]
3. Mickey Pearce ft Denzel Curry & Sweyn Jupiter – Better Lean*
4. Ikonika – You Won’t Find It Here [VIP] Alex Deamonds Edit]
5. Future ft. Pusha T – Move That Dope [J.D. Reid Remix]
6. Cliques – Chro [Wen Remix]
7. Jim-E-Stack – Run
8. Todd Edwards – I’m Not Afraid *
9. Tom Trago – One Trago Jam *
10. Bicep – Lyk
11. Rae Sremmurd – No Type
12. Denzel Curry x Logos – Steel Pulse x Zone 3 [GAGE Edit]
13. Dro Carey – ITSFOMO
14. Ethulwulf – What’s The Play
15. Baauer – Comp Aliz [XCLUSIV]
16. Taskforce – Laojiao
17. Young Thug – I Just Might
18. Tinashe – 2 On [DJ Uniiqu3 Remix]
19. Alex Coulton – Equilibrium
20. Rabit – Hit My Icy Lake
21. DJ Smokey – Racks Everywhere
22. Chief Keef – F
23. Skepta – Not Your Average Joe
24. Lil Ugly Mane – Last Breath
25. D Double E – Wolly [Oneman Dub]
26. Mumdance ft. Riko – Take Time [XCLUSIV]
27. Sam Tiba – ???? [XCLUSIV]
28. Kingdom – Sippin Choral
29. Stormzy – Not That Deep
30. Youngstar – Formula 2
31. Sinden ft. Main Attraktionz – Space Walk *
32. Myth x Beatking – Throw That Ass x Air [Rabit Edit]
33. Dro Carey – Deepwell
34. Fekky – Still Sittin Here [Grime Allstars Remix]
35. Rabit – Defience
36. Mumdance ft. Tim Vocals – Animal *
37. Canblaster & Sam Tiba – Tension *
38. Ryan Hemsworth ft. Trim – Difficulties *

* Exclusive tracks recorded at Red Bull Studios

Gui Boratto Abaporu

A relative latecomer to the Kompakt techno world domination party of the ’00s, Brazilian producer Gui Boratto scored nicely with Chromophobia, his first full-length for the Cologne label, in 2007. Its best track, “Beautiful Life,” was a love anthem of sorts that spring and summer, and the LP featured some other good tunes (“The Blessing,” “Shebang,” “Mr. Decay”) with similarly soaring synths, dramatic melodies, and warm basslines. The follow-up, Take My Breath Away, delivered on at least two big, fat electro-pop cuts (“No Turning Back” and “Atomic Soda”), while the third LP, III, had only a few memorable highlights (the bassy rocker “Stems From Hell” counts as one). One would hope that the new full-length, Abaporu, would see a return to the promise Boratto showed on his debut. The good news is that, yes, it does. The bad news is that in the context of dance music in 2014, it sounds, well, about seven years out of date.

To be fair, Boratto was never a candidate to be a game-changing artist. His tracks blend elements of techno, house, and electro-pop. The productions are clean and bright. There is a misty-eyed sweetness to the best of them, but new ground never really seems to be broken. Phrases in new tracks like “Indigo,” and “Take Control” hint at careful listening to New Order (something that was also apparent on previous Boratto releases), while other tracks (“Antropofagia,” “Joker”) recall Kompakt boss Wolfgang Voigt’s infatuation with schaffelfieber (a shuffling, rock-based song structure) during the label’s early days.

Abaporu‘s sweetest tracks might be those with vocals by Luciana Villanova: “Too Late,” “Please Don’t Take Me Home,” and “Wait For Me,” on which Boratto’s vocals also are featured. The funkiest cuts are the title track and “Get the Party Started,” which has Boratto on vocals and guitar. Taken as a whole, Abaporu isn’t a bad LP, and for fans of classic Kompakt records by the Modernist, SCSI-9, or even The Field, the album might be exactly what they’re looking for. More adventurous listeners, however, are advised to look elsewhere.

Ask the Experts: Daedelus

Following the enthusiastic response to our first and second installments of Ask the Experts, which featured sage words from Modeselektor and Om Unit, respectively, we wanted to make sure that the knowledge being passed along to our readers continued to only be of the highest quality. Thankfully, that goal was realized when veteran LA beatmaker Daedelus agreed to step in for this month’s edition. This week, he’ll be releasing his latest album, The Light Brigade, via Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, and he’ll also be setting out on a month-long US tour. Amidst all of that preparation, he somehow found the time to answer a number of questions from XLR8R readers, in the process touching upon copyright law, his extensive gear arsenal, and how his passion for coffee ultimately aids his music.

What is your best advice for fixing muddiness in your mix?
Thank you,
Martin

I am not perhaps the best one to ask this question; my mixes tend to be more in a space (a.k.a. muddy) then most. I will say that when you produce, you can reduce that squishy sound by carving up the elements in your song into different frequencies, most often by using EQ on each track. This way, no track directly steps on any other element and causes peaks and valleys that increase a messy mix. [I recommend a] sparing use of reverb. [It’s also important to listen] in different environments to understand how sounds can get hyped in some rooms and fall flat in others. Also, when it comes to mixing and mastering, multi-band compressors and careful limiting will afford you more sonic ceiling for the clarity you’re after.

I’m a budding, Minneapolis-based electronic musician and I am obsessed with sample collection, convolution, and collage. I know you’ve worked extensively with samples in your career and I wonder what your stance is on the ethics of using samples in music? Do you feel any guilt or worry about repercussions or like your work is in anyway cheapened or made more criminal by way of extensive borrowing? Or are you more of the mind that re-contextualization is enough of an artform in and of itself that it stands outside of any potential allegations of illegitimacy?
Sincerely,
Schuyler

This is tricky. I don’t agree with the basics of copyright law, or at least with the way that endless addendum’ing by specific copyright holders has left the music industry held hostage. There is really a lot to be said on the topic, but I don’t want to [forget] your questions in particular. I think sampling is wonderful, willful, and illegal. When you do so, you run the risk of being prosecuted, but you don’t need to be quiet about it how ridiculous such a persecution is, considering the history of “borrowed” works. Absolutely, re-contextualization gives you much better moral ground to stand on versus blatant and often unartful exact copying. Let’s break the law and make the world more beautiful with our sound! It is kind of the last dangerous act in music.

What live electronic show has impressed you the most and for what reason(s)?
Coby

Dorian Concept is as ever a wonderful show—quite simply, fingers on keys playing the fuck out of every parameter. Baths in his duo formation (with Morgan Greenwood) is compelling and startlingly hair-standing-on-end effective. Flying Lotus’ “Layer 3” (or whatever number he’s up to) is, alongside every Gaslamp Killer DJ set, a journey I’m always curious to take. Mark Pritchard is seminal. Spazzkid is infectious. All of these performers are onstage, not just letting the bright lights do all of the heavy lifting. That’s really key for me.

I am a 20-year-old musician who started on guitar and decided to get into producing. I recently went to the studio to try out some things with MIDI. My friend who was teaching me there said my pad drumming was off key. I know that structure is important and so is timing, but everyone has a different style, right? What is the main foundation I should learn before I start to produce beats? Drum rudiments? BPM timing? Time signatures? Forgive me, I have many questions because I really want to get better!
Kind regards,
ShyCheeks TyTy

You have the right [idea]. There isn’t any one right way, especially when composing electronic music. It is precisely the novelty of the sound in its wrong or right fashion that can make an essential production. But people will think you are crazy, out of tune, off key, or arrhythmic. That never stops—audiences’ understanding of what they want to hear is as much a zeitgeist nightmare of “cool,” “fashionable,”and “now” as it is deeply held personal preference. Learn to make your sound, and really go deep on that. No technique matters more.

Despite your live set-up being seemingly simple, your shows are engaging and fun. What advice do you have for someone who’s starting to take that plunge and play electronic music live? How does one make it engaging for the audience but also for oneself?
Derrick

You’ve got it right there! Make your live show compelling to yourself and the audience will recognize the effort reflecting back to your energy. The era of press-play DJs is coming to a close—[people will only accept so much] deception before [they start expecting] more. It really doesn’t take much to make a crowd feel welcomed, wanted, and respected, and the bar has been set so low by general EDM, that there is an opportunity for you or any up-and-coming performer!

How wide is the age range of the equipment you use to create music? In other words, what is the oldest device you have, and what is the most modern machine/piece of software you use?
Cheers,
Lindon

My double bass is from 1904. My bass clarinet, 1960s. The Roland SH-09, 1980. TR-606, 1982. TR-808, 1983. The Monome, 2003. I’m not sure about the most modern, but it feels like the Aleph was just released yesterday (even if it was the start of 2014).

Do you worry about how you might perform a piece of music live when you are writing it? Obviously some songs have a better presence on a stage. Are some pieces composed knowing that they are strictly for the album?
Sean

Certain records carry more of that concern, but it has never been too worrying. I am very interested in albums for deep, lasting listening and the live show for temporal occasions. It is nice when both can occur.

How does an artist stay true to themselves when their record label wants them to do something completely different?
Oliver

My method has been many labels for many sounds. I know I’ve been lucky to have those outlets and opportunities. I believe that since you ultimately need to represent yourself onstage with those sounds (at least in part), you shouldn’t ever doubt about your truth. But don’t think you know it all either.

How do you strike a balance between personal expression/creativity and the business/practical side of music?
OneWerd

There isn’t balance. It’s chaos and you need to be careful about what you give time to. Everything demands your utmost. Personally, I’m happiest creating in the studio or onstage, but I feel like it is very important to have community to exist in. Just being creative all the time can feel selfish/draining. Having a hobby away from music helps at times; mine are coffee culture and tabletop gaming at the moment.

Check Out New Mixes from Bicep and Call Super

To start off the week, new mixes from Bicep and Call Super (pictured above) have been made available to stream and download.

Over the weekend, Northern Irish duo Bicep delivered the latest installment of BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix series. The recording comes a week before the pair’s Lyk Lyk EP drops via its eponymous Feel My Bicep imprint, and finds members Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar anchoring more eclectic selections around the dual pillars of Detroit and Chicago house. “It was an honor to be asked to contribute to a mix series which we have been listening to throughout our teens growing up in Belfast,” the duo is quoted as saying. “In this mix we tried to cover quite a lot of ground across a fairly wide spectrum of our taste, while still keeping it club focused.” A number of Bicep productions crop up throughout the mix, which also features Mr. G, Sleezy D, and Nathan Fake and can be heard in full here.

Fresh on the heels of releasing Suzi Ecto, his debut album for Houndstooth that was recently named an XLR8R pick, Berlin-based producer Call Super (a.k.a. JR Seaton) has turned out this week’s Resident Advisor podcast. The mix is described as “deeply personal showcase of what makes him tick artistically, connecting the dots between his then and now,” and is available to download here. Note that rather than disclosing a conventional tracklist, he opts instead to remark on each record included in the mix; tags include “A record first heard at 03:26 on 24/04/04 at a house party east of the Essex Road,” and “A record gifted to me by Andrew Ingram at Tabernacle,” and are listed in full on the download page, along with a brief interview.

Nuage “Wandering Waves”

On his Prints of You LP, St. Petersburg-based producer Nuage is said to explore a range of electronic styles—from the cooler ends of 120-plus bpm house to fast-paced, drum & bass-indebted fare. Featured here, “Wandering Waves” falls in the former category, finding Nuage crafting a piece of moody, deep-reaching house that comes peppered with tinkling keys, washy flutes, ghostly vocal samples, and the occasional—by design—rhythmic stutter. A track kept steady by its precise bassline and heavy snares, “Wandering Waves” joins 14 other Nuage originals on the Russian beatmaker’s Prints of You LP, out today via DC label Translation.

Wandering Waves

Peverelist and Andy Mac Prep 12″ for The Trilogy Tapes as Zennor; Hear It Now

Livity Sound member Peverelist (pictured above) is teaming up with fellow Bristol-based producer Andy Mac as Zennor on a collaborative 12″, entitled Never in Doubt. Resident Advisor reports that The Trilogy Tapes will deliver the “house-focused” EP later this week, following previous issues this year from the likes of Theo Parrish, Willie Burns, and A Made Up Sound, among others. The record is the first joint effort from the pair to see official release, although Andy Mac’s first two records dropped via Peverelist’s Punch Drunk label back in 2011. Title track “Never in Doubt” can be heard in full below, while the full EP (tracklist below)is streaming in advance here courtesy of RA.

01. Never In Doubt
02. Storms
03. Tin

The Lowdown: This Week’s XLR8R Top 10 with Pional, Legowelt, Jeff Mills, and More

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. This week’s XLR8R podcast was put together by Madrid-based producer (and frequent John Talabot collaborator) Pional (pictured above).

2. Dutch synth obsessive Legowelt gave away a sample pack he made of sounds from his Korg ER-1 drum synthesizer.

3. Recondite announced that he will soon be releasing his third full-length via German label Innervisions.

4. The newest edition of our Artist Tips series was put together by Peter Van Hoesen, who expounded on the art of listening.

5. A new mini-documentary about Jeff Mills surfaced online. The piece focuses on his Time Tunnel residency at Paris club La Machine du Moulin Rouge.

6. Aphex Twin’s highly anticipated new album, Syro, dropped this week, and we published our official review of the LP.

7. UK producer SBTRKT premiered a video for “New Dorp. New York,” another cut from his forthcoming sophomore album.

8. The top tune in our Downloads section this week was a remix of Neneh Cherry’s “Spit Three Times” by Ninja Tune affiliate Lee Bannon.

9. Another popular selection from our Downloads page was an industrial-minded remix of Italian producer Clap! Clap! by the UK’s Lurka Obeah.

10. Last weekend, XLR8R headed to Vancouver for the city’s annual New Forms festival, and our subsequent review detailed the festivities’ most memorable moments.

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.

Subscribe to the XLR8R Lowdown

Stream “King Kong Beaver,” from Hudson Mohawke’s Upcoming EP for Warp

After sharing the beatless “Brainwave” yesterday, another track from Hudson Mohawke‘s forthcoming Chimes EP has surfaced. Another brief outing from the upcoming record, “King Kong Beaver” sounds like classic Mohawke, with its glowing chords, fast-paced synth melodies, and manipulated vocal leads giving the beat a futuristic pop touch. The full production can be streamed below before the full Chimes EP lands via Warp on September 29.

Dublab Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Seven Davis Jr, Anenon, Suzanne Kraft, and More

Forward-thinking online radio station Dublab is set to celebrate 15 years of broadcasting with a one-day event in Los Angeles this weekend. Set to take place beginning 4 pm on Saturday, September 27—exactly 15 years from the date and time the station first began broadcasting—the celebration will take place at the Echo Park neighborhood’s Bedrock.LA venue, and will include performances from Seven Davis Jr, Anenon, Suzanne Kraft, Benedek, Gifted and Blessed, Low Limit, Secret Circuit, SFV Acid, and many more. The flier for the party can be seen below, while more information and the full list of performers can be found here; all proceeds from the event will benefit Dublab’s non-profit music mission.

Helel Arc “Kami”

Though he recently decided to begin operating under the name Crescent Bae, the Stateside producer formerly known as Helel Arc is one of 13 beatmakers to contribute to Opaq Glitter, the inaugural compilation from freshly launched French imprint Permalnk. Appearing alongside a number of adventurous electronic hybrids on the collection is Helel Arc’s “Kami,” a slithering beat which manages to marry together a number of frantic rhythmic elements with stoney, side-chained chords and freeform synth lines—all of which sits atop a bubbling cauldron of analog beeps and miniature digital glitches. Out now as a name-your-price download (as well as a “USB Bag with pure DIY random content”) via Bandcamp, Permalnk’s full Opaq Glitter compilation can be streamed after the jump.

Kami

Page 1225 of 3781
1 … 1,223 1,224 1,225 1,226 1,227 … 3,781