Following the close of this year’s edition of the Sónar festival, Red Bull Music Academy has pulled together an “audio-visual love letter to the city and its music-making residents,” in a new video focusing on RBMA grads who live and work in Barcelona. The Made in Barcelona mini-doc follows artists such as Sinjin Hawke and Astroboyz (both of whom make frequent appearances on XLR8R) around some local music haunts, as they reflect on the city’s burgeoning creative underground. Behind-the-scenes movers and shakers, like the festival’s co-director, also make appearances.

Back in January, XLR8R did an in-depth feature documenting Barcelona’s growing electronic music scene, but Made in Barcelona takes things further; the video, which includes live clips from recent performances at the SónarDome, can be watched in full below, and an accompanying interview with Hawke is posted over at RBMA. Our coverage of this year’s Sónar festival can also be found here.

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. (However, given the Independence Day holiday this Friday in the US, we’re running this week’s Lowdown one day early.)

1. Coinciding with the release of his new full-length, Matthewdavid (pictured above) revealed a few of his production secrets in the latest edition of our Artist Tips series.

2. German supergroup Moderat remixed Jon Hopkins’ “Abandon Window,” and a stream of the rework surfaced online.

3. Talaboman, the much-anticipated collaborative project of John Talabot and Axel Boman, will issue its debut single next month.

4. This week’s XLR8R podcast is an eclectic mix from Brooklyn’s Willie Burns.

5. Parisian DJ/producer Canblaster was enlisted to remix “Turn Me Up,” the new single from Gina Turner, and the rework was given away as a free download on our site.

6. Our Downloads section also played host to a remix of Femme En Fourrure’s “Palms Glide Up Thighs” by rising Night Slugs affiliate Neana.

7. Another popular free download came courtesy of Lockah, who remixed “Pure El Nino Vibes” from the forthcoming Slugabed EP.

8. A previously unreleased remix from the late “Godfather of House,” Frankie Knuckles, debuted this week.

9. The calendar flipped to July this week, and we marked the occasion by compiling a list of XLR8R‘s most popular downloads from the month of June.

10. On the gear front, Roland introduced the SH-101 Plug-Out, a soft synth modeled after the company’s legendary SH-101 synthesizer.

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.

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Set to touch down this August, the Berlin Atonal festival has added a number of new names to its already impressive bill. Early last month, the recently relaunched festival (whose roots reach back to the early ’80s), revealed that Tim Hecker, Millie + Andrea, and others would perform at the five-day event, which will again take place in a disused power plant in central Berlin deemed the Kraftwerk industrial complex. Of the new acts announced are Italian techno veterans Donato Dozzy (pictured above) and Nuel, whose deep, tribal offerings from their Aquaplano label have received a much deserved resurgence in popularity since Spectrum Spools reissued much of the material earlier this year. In addition, storied industrial electronic outfit Cabaret Voltaire have been confirmed for the festival, presenting what will be its first live performance in over 20 years. A number of additions have also been made to the festival’s worthwhile after party line-up, including Young Echo affiliate Vessel, Sigha, and Swedish duo Shxcxchcxsh all being added to the roster.

Set to take place from August 20 to the 24, a flier for Berlin Atonal’s official performances can be found below, while the five-day event’s entire line-up (including many of its after parties) can be found here.

Following the release of his The North Borders LP via Ninja Tune last year, Bonobo (and his live band) set out on an extensive tour schedule, traveling across the globe in support of the record. Now, Ninja Tune has announced plans to issue the forthcoming The North Borders Tour live album and DVD, which captures one of the group’s performances at The Roundhouse in London. Set to drop on October 6, Bonobo’s live album will be released as a deluxe package, which is said to feature “a CD and DVD, a 70-page hardback book of photographs and stories from members of the band, as well as a bonus DVD featuring glimpses of hi-speed photography.” In addition, The North Borders Tour will also be released as a standalone CD and double-LP package that, like the deluxe version, will include additional recordings from radio shows the band hit while on tour.

Before the live album/DVD officially drops in the fall, a trailer for the package can be watched below, where we have also included the forthcoming project’s artwork and complete tracklist.

01 Cirrus
02 Towers feat. Szjerdene
03 Stay The Same feat. Andreya Triana
04 Prelude
05 Kiara
06 Ten Tigers
07 Kong
08 Ketto
09 Emkay
10 Heaven For The Sinner feat. Szjerdene
11 Recurring
12 We Could Forever
13 Transits feat. Szjerdene
14 Know You
15 Pieces feat. Cornelia

After releasing his sophomore LP, A Series of Shocks, earlier this year via Berlin techno institution Ostgut Ton, Tobias Freund (a.k.a. Tobias., pictured above) has put together a new remix EP, enlisting the likes of The Mole, Mathew Jonson, Peter Van Hoesen, and Blue Hour to rework cuts from his recent album. The three-track effort will find Berlin residents The Mole and Jonson working together to reimagine Tobais.’ “If,” while Van Housen has been tasked with taking on “Cursor Item Only,” and UK newcomer Blue Hour (who formerly operated under the name Furesshu) turns in a machine-driven remix of “He Said” for the upcoming effort.

The simply titled Remixes EP will be available in digital and 12″ formats on July 28. In the meantime, the artwork and tracklist for the release can be peeped below along with a new video for Tobias’ “Statik,” a track which appeared on the the accompanying 7″ vinyl for A Series Of Shocks.

A1 If (Mathew Jonson & The Mole Remix)
B1 Cursor Item Only (Peter Van Hoesen Remix)
B2 He Said (Blue Hour Remix)

Austrian artist Dorian Concept (a.k.a. Oliver Thomas Johnson) has detailed a return to Ninja Tune, and shared a track stream from the forthcoming full-length album. Joined Ends reportedly “sits somewhere between a floating lucid dream and a deep trip into a synaesthetic wonderland,” furthering a signature sound that brings together jazz, hip-hop, and synth-heavy experimental electronics. It’s been four years since his last release, but developing the record consumed two of those—built around his own vocals, a Wurlitzer electric piano, and an array of analog synths, Joined Ends marks, according to the artist himself, the close of one musical cycle and the start of something new.

The LP officially lands on September 22, but until then, album cut “Draft Culture” can be heard in full below, where the forthcoming record’s artwork and tracklist has also been included. (via Resident Advisor)

01 The Sky Opposite
02 Ann River, Mn
03 Mint
04 Clap Track 4
05 Draft Culture
06 —Schadentrauer
07 Nest Nest
08 The Few
09 Trophies
10 —Do, Undo, Redo
11 11.04.2012
12 Tried (Now Tired)

Next week, increasingly prolific Brooklyn DJ/producer Hound Scales will return to his own Fifth Wall imprint with the Pinky Violence EP—a five-track effort that will include a remix from Dro Carey‘s Tuff Sherm alias and can now be streamed in full on XLR8R.

Across its five cuts, Pinky Violence finds its contributors smearing murky textures across tough rhythmic structures. The opening “Princip (Rubble Dub 1)” shoves refracted soul snippets between restless percussion, while “Spahnners (Rubble Dub 2)” takes on a more sci-fi atmosphere; later on, “Youth Series (Rayon Dub 1)” and “Superior Headwraps (Rayon Dub 2)” find Hound Scales crafting a pair of buzzing and efficient workouts. Appearing in the middle of the record’s run, Tuff Sherm’s take on “Spahnners” presents a cooler demeanor, but still one anchored by similarly strong-armed drum pulses.

Officially out on June 8, Hound Scales’ forthcoming Pinky Violence EP can be streamed in full below.

Last month, veteran DJ/producer Gerd detailed an upcoming 12″ as NY Stomp for his own 4Lux label, and original cut “Beatattak” can now be streamed in full before the EP lands next month. The Dutch artist has only had one previous outing under the house-inclined alter-ego, a 2012 EP for Illusion entitled Can You Feel It?, and this forthcoming effort likewise deals in classic ’90s New York-style house. A deft deep house cut from NY Stomp’s upcoming effort, “Beatattak,” can be heard in its entirety via the player below.