Fatima has shared a video for “Rest in Peace,” taken from her debut album for Eglo, Yellow Memories, which dropped in May. The Swedish-born vocalist, who is currently posted up in London, generated substantial attention around the release, which followed a clutch of five previous issues for Eglo and boasted the likes of Floating Points, fLako, and Scoop DeVille on its production credits. In her new video, posted below, Fatima’s acapella is set to simply shot images of the singer lighting candles to make a small shrine on a city sidewalk.
DJ Slugo was one of the key players in Dance Mania’s mid-1990s heyday. He’s possibly best known for “Wouldn’t You Like to Be a Hoe Too,” but Slugo also authored countless other hits, including “Smoke-N-Ride,” “A Blunt,” and “Freaky Ride,” all of which exemplify how well his inimitable, quintessentially ghetto house touch still stands up today. Considering the heavy interest in that period as of late, it makes sense that Slugo would turn up again to school the younger generation as he has on ‘King Of Ghetto House,’ his latest EP (although its appearance on Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label is certainly a surprise). Beyond its compositions, much of ghetto house’s appeal stems from its raw, slice-of-life sensibility, and it would follow that a forefather like Slugo has had his share of moments—positive and negative—to draw from. As such, he seemed like an obvious candidate for our ‘Trainwreck’ series, and once we got him talking, he shared this fairly ridiculous story of cowardice and bravery.
We were in Louisville, Kentucky. Of course, we got there in the daytime so that we would be there [in time to] DJ that night. We had walked around and hung out so much that we were tired. So we went back to our hotel room, and we weren’t scheduled to play until like two-thirty or three in the morning—maybe four. [The promoters] already gave us a deposit, and we got there [to the venue]—we had no fuss when we got there, so we went back to the hotel to get some rest prior to going back to the party. And the party happened to be near the downtown area. We called a cab, and tried to get as close as we could to downtown. But they had a marathon going on that started at like three-thirty, four in the morning, and you know when a marathon’s going on they cut off all of the streets, so you literally couldn’t get downtown at all. We were playing the last hour, hour and a half—we were closing [the party]. It took us literally an hour to even get to the [venue], and by the time we got there, the party was over! We had to walk like seven or eight blocks—maybe more. Even the promoter was trying to get to us. It just didn’t happen. But it got worse.
So we went back to the hotel, of course we went there because we didn’t play and the promoter’s upset because we didn’t play. The promoter called and said, you know, because you guys didn’t play the whole set, we flew you guys here, we got you rooms and everything, you guys should give us the dollars back. And I was like, I feel that’s fair, you know, here’s the balance back. But it didn’t happen that way.
I gave them my balance back. The DJ that was with me, I told them that he already took the money, because [he told me he got rid of it already]. Now, about two or three hours later, two guys show up to his room. And he’s not in his room, he’s hangin’ out in my room because we had about two or three hours before our flight. And they sent two guys over there to get the money from him. They went to his room, no one’s there. Then they came to my room. I was like knocked out, asleep. They knocked on the door, and he opened the door, and I woke up. When I sleep, I put the covers over my head. I heard the commotion and I pop up from under the covers, and they were shocked because they didn’t know I was laying under the covers. I popped up like, “Who are y’all? What’re you doing in my room?” They’re threatening the other DJ, saying, “Nobody is leaving this room until we get the other dollars.” I stressed that I gave back [my balance], and that nobody is gonna hold me against my will. Down in the corner—there’s two beds in the room—[the other DJ ducked under the covers in the corner]. I grew up fighting, all my life, and I box, so I was like, “Whatever y’all got going on, that’s between you…” Then one of the guys locked the door, and it just turned into an all-out brawl with me and the two guys. The fight spills out into the hallway—all-out brawl—[and the other DJ] never comes from up under the covers out of the corner! The maid in the hall screamed “Go and get the police!,” security ended up coming—the two guys ran, and they grabbed one of our record bags and took off! When the thing was all over with, we ended up finding our record bag under the stairs—they threw it because it had too much weight.
So [later], we get on the plane, we get a police escort all the way to the airport from the hotel, because they want us to get out of town for causing that commotion at a four-star, five-star hotel. They wait until we get on the plane. When we get on the plane, I asked the DJ, like, [“What was so important?”], ’cause I don’t remember you needing [the money]. I’m so angry that he didn’t come from up under the covers to see what was going on. Needless to say, he had his money on him the whole time and just didn’t want to give it back. So I was like, “You’re gonna give me all of that money or we are going to fight on this plane!” He was like, “It wasn’t our fault that we didn’t DJ,” but it was! It was our fault and their fault. I called the promoter and told him he had it on him the whole time, if you want me to send it. And I sent it, ’cause I want to make sure I get more bookings. And he was like, “Nah, keep it, you earned your half.” I never went on the road with that DJ ever again.
NYC producer Galcher Lustwerk appears to be putting together a new EP intended for soundtracking one’s time spent behind the wheel, sharing a preview of a seven-track “made for the care” EP entitled D.W.B.. Details are slim on the upcoming effort, which appears to find Lustwerk—who we picked as an Artist to Watch earlier this year—operating under the appropriate production handle of Road Hog. Boasting track names such as “About These Streets,” “Miles Away,” and “The FUCK Outta My Lane,” the D.W.B. EP has no official release date, though Lustwerk’s SoundCloud account promises the record will “eventually” see a digital release. For now, preview clips for all seven of the record’s dreamy house tracks can be heard below.
01 Mirage 02 The FUCK Outta My Lane 03 Got a D.W.B. 04 Abuse These Streets 05 Dines Rd. 06 Miles Away 07 Freedom
The Ghostly artist roster has been tapped to soundtrack Hohokum, an upcoming videogame which makes it possible for players to “take on the role of a flying, colorful kite-like being.” Naturally, cuts from Shigeto, Tycho, Matthew Dear, and others are included in the collection, which will see a digital and vinyl release in the coming weeks.
Amongst the soundtrack’s selections are previously released efforts from regulars of the Ghostly staple such as Tycho, Com Truise, Osborne, and Christopher Willits, whose “Reticent Reminiscence” collaboration with Ryuchi Sakamoto (an innovative Japanese pianist and composer whose recent throat cancer diagnosis has temporarily halted his creative efforts) is included. In addition, new productions from Shigeto, Matthew Dear, Ben Benjamin, Geoff White, and Michna have also been commissioned to soundtrack the upcoming PlayStation game.
Ghostly’s full soundtrack for Hohokum can be streamed below, where the full tracklist for the collection’s digital release (out on August 12) and vinyl release (our on October 28) can also be found. Those interested in seeing how the music and gameplay are set to interact can check out trailers for Hohokumhere.
Digital Tracklist: 01 Tycho – L 02 Matthew Dear – Pawn In Their Game * 03 Shigeto – Lamp Lighting * 04 Com Truise – Declination (instrumental) 05 KILN – Lux (rpf Rebuild) 06 Willits + Sakamoto – Reticent Reminiscence 07 Tycho – A Walk 08 Michna – Emerald Plateaus * 09 Geoff White – Wedding Party * 10 Osborne – Mount Arvon 11 Ben Benjamin – Air Parsing * 12 Tycho – Coastal Brake 13 KILN – Sunsethighway 14 Heathered Pearls – Raising Our Ashes 15 Michna – The Best Way Out Is Through * 16 Ben Benjamin – Temporary Aztec 17 Tycho – Send and Receive 18. Michna – Increasing Ambition * 19 Jacaszek – As Each Tucked String Tells 20 KILN – Desertkarnival (rua Rebuild) 21 Joel Corelitz – We Run In Tunnels 22 Shigeto – Super Secret End Credits *
Vinyl Tracklist: 01 Tycho – L 02 Matthew Dear – Pawn In Their Game * 03 Osborne – Mount Arvon 04 Geoff White – Wedding Party * 05 Michna – Increasing Ambition * 06 Ben Benjamin – Air Parsing * 07 Shigeto – Lamp Lighting * * = exclusive to this release
Berlin techno mainstays Henning Baer (pictured above) and Milton Bradley will release a split EP via their collaborative K209 label in September. The A Shared Objective EP will serve as the imprint’s fourth release, and will contain three new productions from Baer (who also heads up Berlin’s Grounded Theory label/club night) alongside a pair of new tracks from Bradley (who also heads a label of his own, Do Not Resist the Beat!). The upcoming split effort is said to showcase each producer’s knack for “merging multiple experimental, industrial, and traditional electronic forms,” resulting in a record that “builds in intensity and tempo over five tracks, ultimately feeling like the ideal vinyl representation of a well-paced Grounded Theory club night. “
A Shared Objective will see its official release on September 1. In the meantime, the forthcoming record’s artwork and tracklist have been included below.
Continuing its streak of recent activity, the Berceuse Heroique label—which issued a new outing from MGUN and a collaborative effort from Horespower Productions and Beneath in recent weeks—has released a new 12″ from NYC transplant Vereker. With past releases for L.I.E.S. and The Trilogy Tapes imprints to his credit, Vereker’s Flesh and Blood 12″ finds the formerly SF-based artist continuing to explore grainy, noise-laden electronics across three new tracks, one of which comes in the form of a collaboration with French producer Low Jack (who himself issued an LP via the L.I.E.S. label earlier this year).
Vereker’s Flesh and Blood 12″ is out now and can be heard in full below.
The jacking, frenetic rhythms of “7713GHv2” will lead off the forthcoming All I Have cassette from rising Stateside talent REKchampa. One of six new productions included on the tape (which will be limited to just 50 copies), “7713GHv2” is lined with an appropriate amount of hiss that peaks out from behind the thick chords and restless percussion REKchampa utilizes during the course of the tune. Set to appear via Atlanta’s fledgling Harsh Riddims label, the soul-washed All I Have cassette will see its official release on August 20.
Following the release of his surprise 12″ for Clone’s Royal Oak series earlier this month, Leon Vynehall has shared a mesmerizing new video for a-side cut “Butterflies,” along with news of an upcoming North American tour.
Joining the breezy piano and easy swing of Vynehall’s tune is a collage of computer-rendered butterflies which spiral in kaleidoscope-like patterns as they delicately morph between a series of pastoral colors. Said to have been directed by up-and-coming visual artist Nryn, the clip aims to create “a feeling of hypnosis, constant rotation and repetition, building toward euphoric moments.” The full video for “Butterflies” can be watched below, where Vynehall’s upcoming North American tour dates for the month of August can also be found.
August 9 – MoMA PS1 Warm Up, MoMA PS1, New York w/ George Fitzgerald & Martyn August 9 – Blkmarket Membership, Secret Location, New York w/ George Fitzgerald August 10 – Piknik Elektronik, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal August 14 – Evening Standard, Bambi’s, Toronto August 16 – Swimming With Sharks, Standard Hotel Rooftop, Los Angeles w/ Detroit Swindle August 16 – The Looney Lau, Monarch, San Francisco w/ Detroit Swindle
Melbourne-based duo GL (pictured above) will soon drop its Love Hexagon EP, a collection of glossy, funk-striped pop tracks that will serve as the pair’s debut outing. Appearing ahead of the release is this dub mix of “Won’t You See”—Love Hexagon‘s lead single—from Running Back label boss Gerd Janson. In his hands, the song is stripped of most of extremities, being refitted around a steady drum machine pulse, which comes highlighted by percussion hits that come bathed in heavy digital reverb. Holding on to its simply infectious groove for the remix’s entire four minutes, Janson renders the track a dub by throwing coy snippets of spacey vocals atop the mix. GL’s full Love Hexagon EP can be expected to arrive in September via the Plastic World label.
For a label to reach 303 releases is no small feat, and to commemorate this milestone longstanding Cologne-based outpost Kompakt has announced it will dedicate its 303rd release to the iconic Roland TB-303 synth. Though the TB-303 did not initially cause much of a stir when it first went on the market in the early ’80s, its squelchy bass sound eventually became immortalized with the emergence of acid house, and arguably, much of contemporary electronic music is indebted to the machine in some way.
Taking the helm for Kompakt’s upcoming 303rd release is techno vanguard and label co-founder Wolfgang Voigt, whose early exposure to the “mind-melting” sounds of acid led him to adopt the 303 as a production staple when he operated under the guise of Mike Ink and a myriad of other aliases. On the upcoming INSTANT 303 (artwork above), the self-professed non-conformist sidelines his laptop and returns to the source in a two-part techno jam. The record is due out on 10″ vinyl on August 15, and comes decorated with the ubiquitous yellow smiley faces that became synonymous with the acid house movement.
UPDATE: We have been informed by Kompakt that Voigt’s INSTANT 303 EP will be available only as a limited vinyl release, for which the label is pressing—you guessed it—303 copies, some of which will be included along with Kompakt’s Total 14 vinyl compilation when ordered through the outpost’s own web shop.
