As we’ve been reporting since news first arrived over the summer, Huxley‘s debut full-length will be delivered by !K7/Aus in October, with the album’s first single, “I Want You,” scheduled to arrive a couple weeks in advance. Now, the UK producer’s original version of track has been made available to stream. Although not without some “trademark grunt in the bass department,” the ” slick, modern vocal house” track is described as one of Huxley’s deepest cuts to date. “I Want You” can be streamed in full below, while further details of the upcoming single can be found here, and info on Huxely’s Blurred LP has been posted here.
Tin Man (a.k.a. Johannes Auvinen) has been releasing music for over a decade, but he seems to have found a real home at Acid Test, an offshoot of LA-based label Absurd. His 2012 full-length Neo Neo Acid brought broad attention to his use of the genre’s signature machine—the Roland TB-303—from which he coaxes a distinctive musicality while crafting a unique brand of synth pop-inspired techno. Auvinen’s latest album Ode (currently streaming in full via XLR8R) trades in a more distilled strain of post-rave melancholia, and ahead of its arrival on September 22, the Vienna-based artist walked us through five tracks that, much like his own productions, offer a unique take on acid—from Richie Hawtin’s minimalist approach under his Plastikman alter ego to the acid-pop crossover of Ten City.
Liddell Townsell “As Acid Turns”
In LA, there have always been scene crossovers. For example, the Chicano rockabilly scene crossed over into the lowrider street scene. Just as they would jam rockabilly tunes in their low riders, I would jam acid tracks in my 1964 Thunderbird. The rolling vibe of this track is cool for cruising LA in a classic car and I have fond memories of doing just that!
Armando “Confusion’s Revenge”
This is my favorite acid track. I get tingles. As far as classic acid tracks go, this has all the bells and whistles. It is perceptually confusing and because of the complexity of the bassline, it sounds like there are three different 303s running in parallel. I like that he builds up the suspense and then really lets loose. He takes the acid to the most acidic here.
Plastikman “Pakard”
I feel like this track features all that is novel about Plastikman’s take on acid. He slowed the whole thing down and set the focus on pretty and minimalist legato lines. The result is a mood which is much more laid back and contemplative, perhaps even more blue. Many artists revisiting acid in the ’90s, especially in Europe, explored the melancholic side of the genre.
Pierre’s Pfantasy Club “Fantasy Girl”
This track freaks me out because it is really a deep house track with an acid surprise. The track is built up just as you would expect a Chicago deep house track to be. It has a classic Chicago bassline, raw drum-machine beats, and a deep, yearning vocal. When the acid breaks into the track, it takes it to another level, which makes it a bit scary, but also pretty sexy.
Ten City “That’s The Way Love Is (Acieed Mix/Extended Version)”
I have made a reputation with long, melodic acid lines. This track, which was a pop crossover, keeps at its foundation a four-bar acid line. The subtle details in the line complement the conflicting themes in the song. The steadiness of the bass speaks to the theme of being strong. The wavering speaks to the sadness of lost love. I find it cool how something that was considered a totally wild sound a few years earlier quickly became an expressive element in music outside of acid house.
Last year, Japanese producer Yosi Horikawa dropped Vapor; serving as his debut full-length, the 16-track album stitched together remarkably detailed sound design and adventurous beatwork. Now, the First Word label is preparing to drop Vapor Remixed 1, the (presumably) first in a series of remix EPs which gathers reworks from Daisuke Tanabe, Fulgeance, and kidkanevil. Also included in the package is “Thousand Year Forest (One for Yosi),” a kidkanevil original made with Horikawa’s style in mind. “Daisuke Tanabe and I took a field recording trip to Mount Fuji,” kidkanevil explains, “and came across a really beautiful and strange forest nearby… this beat was made from those recordings.” Furthermore, the producer explains that he felt “quite inspired by [Horikawa’s] use of field recording, the directness and detail and the way it’s utilized in his production,” and so made this track as a tribute to his craft. The resulting production, “Thousand Year Forest,” can be downloaded below while Vapor Remixed 1 is set to land on September 22.
Last month, Houndstooth announced that Marquis Hawkes would be making his debut on the label with Fifty Fathoms Deep, sharing a stream of EP cut “Can’t Find a Reason” in the process. Now, a second track from the upcoming record has been shared, which offers a more sultry take on sound than shown in the anonymous producer’s previous releases. In “Fifty Fathoms,” Hawkes brings together cut-up soulful vocals, mellow, jazzy chords, and the shuffling drum grooves of early New York house. The full record will reportedly range from “jazz-inflected deepness, disco flavours, and quirky cyberpop through to futuristic funk” when it arrives on September 29 (available via the label’s website), but until then, the premiere of “Fifty Fathoms” can be streamed in full below.
Ever-active selector and Hessle Audio (a label which today announced an upcoming EP from Bruce) co-head Ben UFO has shared a new mix. Appearing as the 100th effort in the Truants blog’s ongoing Truancy mix series, Ben UFO explains that the almost-two-hour set “[doesn ‘t] exactly reflect what you might expect to hear from me in most club situations or at festivals.” “There’s an emphasis on tracks which shift the energy and momentum when they’re played during a DJ set,” he further explains of the mix “and, relatedly, I wanted to try and include more experimental music in a way that didn’t seem tokenistic or throwaway.”
Ben UFO’s full contribution to the Truancy series can be streamed and downloaded below, where the set’s tracklist has also been included. Furthermore, the mix comes accompanied by a lengthy interview with the seasoned DJ, which can be read here.
1. GRAVATS 001 – Snares 2. Some Truths – Acid and Prozac 3. Michael Ozone – Hetrotopia (Young Marco Remix) 4. ? – ? 5. Dresvn – Little Fever 6. 2562 – Nocturnal Drummers 7. Morgan Buckley – Heavy Traffic 8. Beau Wanzer – Shitty Cough 9. Xhin – Insides (Perc Remix) >> Sick Llama – Exerpts 10. MGUN – Walk With Me 11. Ruth White – The Cat 12. Emeralds and Dilloway – Under Pressure >> 13. The Sun God – Further Dialogue and Discussion 14. Low Jack – The Cricket Dance 15. Anton Zap – Modernization 16. Steve O’Sullivan – No Details 17. Dungeon Acid – Late Night Dungeon Jam 18. Even Tuell – Planet Ape (Raw Mix) 19. Actress – Murder Plaza 20. Acre – Physically 21. Planetary Assault Systems – Kray Squid 22. Objekt – First Witness 23. Bruce – Not Stochastic 24. Minor Science – Glamour 25. SW – A2 (Reminder pt. 2) 26. Call Super – Hoax Eye 27. Factory Floor – How You Say (Gunnar Haslam remix) 28. Head Front Panel – 006 A2 29. The Exaltics – They Arrive 30. Karenn – ? 31. Shackleton – Beat This Command
Barcelona’s Hivern Discs—run, in part, by John Talabot—will release a new EP from Man Power. The anonymous project has appeared on labels such as Inne, Eskimo, and Correspondant in the past, and is said to be based in Europe. Furthermore, the project’s anonymity is said to the result of the producer’s “involvement in another electronic project… with the intention of avoiding any comparisons between the two.” The Man Power project’s moniker and imagery is also said to be “a direct homage to camp/butch early electronic pioneers such as Patrick Cowley and Man Parrish, and is intended to present a playful self-parodying alternative, at a time where a straight-faced, self-important public persona seems so important to so many current producers and DJs.”
Forthcoming on Hivern Discs, the Flacid Trax EP will present three new productions from the elusive artist, with lead track “Renamed” set to showcase Man Power’s “trademark acid-balearic sound, pairing percussion-heavy rhythms, lysergic basslines and cryptic melodies,” while “Taronja” will offer “glowing arpeggios, old-school claps, and soothing strings,” and the closing “Song with a Name” aiming to “bring down the tension with its clever use of an ethereal vocal sample.” No exact release date has been set for Man Power’s Flacid Trax EP, though the record is expected to drop soon. In the meantime, its artwork and tracklist are included below, and short clips of the record are available to preview here.
Will Bankhead’s The Trilogy Tapes label is set to issue a mixtape and a new 12″ from French producer Low Jack in the coming months. First, the Parisian artist—who dropped his Garifuna Variations LP via L.I.E.S. earlier this year—will contribute a mixtape to the label’s TTTape series, which, as Resident Advisor reports, will feature “two hour-long selections” on each side of the cassette. (Past contributors to the series have included Kassem Mosse, and Madteo, among others.)
Following the mix’s release later this month, Low Jack’s six-track Imaginary Boogie EP will arrive via the label in November. Before it drops, the record’s lead track can be streamed in full below, where the record’s tracklist has also been included.
01. Imaginary Boogie 02. Scratch Variation 03. TTT Beat I 04. FM Field (Swing Mix) 05. Mallet Theme 06. TTT Beat II
With his sophomore LP, Sagrada, set to drop next week, Non Projects label head (not to mention an alumni of both RBMA and the XLR8R podcast series, and a former In the Studio subject) Anenon is streaming his forthcoming album in full. Across 11 new tracks, Sagrada sees the Los Angeles producer/saxophonist crafting richly textured passages, within which his chosen instrument appears in both bare and processed layers, adding an airy presence to much of the LP.
Offering a diverse array of productions—from the crystal-clear sonics of “Lights and Rocks” and “Karma,” to the more tribal “Sagrada” and beatless “Shibaura” and “Emblem”—Anenon’s second full-length proves to be an immersive listen. Dropping on September 23 via Non Projects, Sagrada can be streamed in full via the player below.
Cherushii is the handle of San Francisco producer Chelsea Faith, a budding talent whose taste for jacking house rhythms and hardware constructions landed her an EP on 100% Silk late last year. Now, with a string of West Coast tour dates ahead of her (alongside fellow Silk affiliate Golden Donna), Faith has dropped off “No Doubt in My Mind,” a soul-streaked expedition indebted to the Chicago house tradition, and one which finds ample room to unroll a number of gliding synth leads and R&B vocal chops across its eight-minute run. “No Doubt in My Mind” can be downloaded in full below (the track is also set to appear on a forthcoming, as-yet-untitled EP), while Cherushii’s upcoming West Coast tour dates can be peeped after the jump.
September 18 – The Legionnaire, Oakland CA September 19 – SubMission, San Francisco CA September 20 – S1, Portland OR September 24 – The Fox Cabaret, Vancouver BC September 26 – Cairo, Seattle WA
Baton Rouge-based producer Suicideyear (a.k.a. James Prudhomme) has dropped a new video for “Remembrance,” the title track to his forthcoming Software debut. Appearing towards the end of the artist’s eight-track EP, “Remembrance” is a moody beat whose slow-turning strings are cut by booming kicks and layers of rattling tuned percussion. Directed by one Hunter Esmon, the track’s accompanying clip follows Prudhomme as he drives around his home state as the pillowy beat continues to unfurl.
The full video for “Remembrance” can be watched below before Suicideyear’s forthcoming EP of the same title drops on September 23 via Software.
