With his two-track Friends EP set to arrive via Luke Solomon and Derrick Carter’s Classic label early next month, Los Angeles vocalist/producer Seven Davis Jr. has shared uptempo bonus cut “Kisses” for free download. Meeting somewhere between soulful electronic music and modern funk, Davis Jr’s bonus production is an uptempo affair driven by a fast-paced shuffle and fittingly active synth work. From there, the producer’s vocals take the lead, effortlessly unravelling an endearing love story in a series of harmonic layers.
Davis Jr’s “Kisses” production is free to stream and download in the player below.
Earlier today, leftfield pop chanteuse Grimes (a.k.a. Claire Boucher) elected to give away a new tune, a self-described “summer jam” called “Go.” Produced with the assistance of Skrillex affiliate Blood Diamonds—who we assume is responsible for the track’s herky-jerky, EDM-style dubstep flirtations—the song was originally written for Rihanna, but Grimes ultimately wound up singing “Go” herself. The tune’s arrival comes as something of a surprise, especially because Grimes is currently at work on the follow-up to her much loved Visions LP, but she decided to share it with the world because she is “very bored of waiting to finish [her] album b4 releasing new music.”
“Go” can be streamed and downloaded via the player below.
A longtime member of Los Angeles’ beatmaker community, Mono/Poly will return to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label with a new album in August. Entitled Golden Skies, few details have been revealed for the forthcoming record, other than its release date, August 25, which has been sharead along with a stream of the LP’s lead single “Ra Rise.” Built around an unsteady rhythm of chopped and stuttered drum loops, “Ra Rise” is a dramatic affair, one which utilizes floating organ tones and ghostly vocals to create a gloomy atmosphere, occasionally broken by bursts of sparkling arpeggio lines and syncopated layers of tactile percussion.
While we await further details on Mono/Poly’s forthcoming ‘Golden Skies’ full-length to arrive, a full stream of the LA artist’s “Ra Rise” production can be heard below.
The latest release from house veteran Osunlade’s Yoruba label comes from fellow Grecian producer Afefe Iku. On his Order of Direction EP, Iku constructs lattice-like synth structures, which ride atop steady rhythmic beds. One such effort is “Zero Degrees,” a five-plus-minute expedition marked by analog arpeggios and rich pads that swell up from the lower depths of the slow-driving production. Out now, Afefe Iku’s Order of Direction EP can be streamed in full after the jump.
Fresh off the back of a collaborative effort with Max D under the ZSA Gang moniker, Jordan GCZ (one-half of Juju & Jordash), has teamed up with L.I.E.S. affiliate and WT Records founder William Burnett (a.k.a. Willie Burns) for a forthcoming 12″ under their new moniker, Crotocosm. The release is set to arrive courtesy of Second Circle, the recently launched sublabel of Music From Memory, and plays off the two artists’ more esoteric inclinations. The record is available to preview below, though no official release date has been shared as of yet. (via Juno Plus)
Back in April, longstanding UK pair Simian Mobile Disco made the trek to the desert of Southern California to record the basic tracks for a new album live in Pioneertown—a small town nestled directly outside of Joshua Tree. With the details of the resulting LP, Whorl, announced last week, a new documentary has surfaced chronicling SMD’s three days recording in the desert. Put together by Ryan McNeill for Vans’ YouTube channel, the four-plus minute doc pieces together interviews in which the pair discuss why it elected to record its new record in such a unique location, and what the group hoped it would get out of the process. The short film also provides a few glimpses of the hardware Simian Mobile Disco used for the recording, even capturing them tweaking their respective modular rigs in the middle of a desert landscape.
In addition to the documentary, Simian Mobile Disco has also unveiled details of an eight-date US tour set to take place this September. Those dates have been included beneath the mini-doc below, which can be watched in full below.
September 18 U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC September 19 Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA September 20 The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA September 21 Music Hall Of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY September 23 Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL September 24-28 Decibel Festival – Seattle, WA September El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA September 27 Mezzanine – San Francisco, CA
Korg has revealed details of the DSN-12, a software program for the Nintendo 3DS which will offer 12 monophonic synthesizers inspired by Korg’s vintage MS-10 analog synth. In addition to its synth capabilities, the DSN-12 boasts a series of effects modules (delay, chorus, flanger, compressor, kick, and reverb), a 64-step sequencer, and a 3D oscilloscope, which will allow users to see the waveforms they are creating in real time. Furthermore, 3DS users will be able to share song and sound data from the program with each other freely. Given all its capabilities, Korg promises the software will provide “a broad range of powerful sounds that you would not expect from a game machine.”
Expected to land in September, a demo video for the DSN-12—a collaboration with app developers Detune—can be watched below while more information can be found here.
The upcoming Last Gasp EP will find European producer Damian Schwartz returning to his own A Harmless Deed imprint with a new outing under his Epiphany alias. Resting in the middle of the three-track effort is “Player,” a slow-brewing selection that spends the majority of its run conjuring beds of galactic synth work. Around the three-minute mark, Schwartz begins to strip his extended production down, letting a loose-swung drum machine and shaker lead the charge while a thick analog bassline follows not too far behind. Out on June 30, the the Last Gasp EP will serve as A Harmless Deed’s eighth record since its founding in 2012, and the third effort from for the label from Schwartz’s synth-obsessed Epiphany alias.
Eglo driving force Floating Points has posted up a summer mix of Brazilian music for free download. The London-based producer has spent a chunk of time crate-digging in-country, so the mix turns up a nice selection of some of his favorite tracks from the likes of Luis Gonzaga Jr., Hareton Salvanini, Pedro Santos, Rogerio Duprat, Tim Mia, Gal Costa, Celia, Evinha, G/9 Group, and Luis Carlos Vinhas. The recording lands just a few days following the release of his “King Bromeliad” b/w “Montparnasse” 12″ for Eglo, and can be streamed here or downloaded via Eglo.
Montreal’s Clarian (pictured above) has revealed details of his upcoming debut EP for Tiga’s Turbo label. A Visionquest and Supplement Facts affiliate, Clarian’s new four-track effort finds him drawing influence from “the bittersweet, emotive sounds of deep, post-Burial UK house,” and features reworks from both Sei A and fellow Montreal-based producer Iron Galaxy. Having gained some traction recently with releases for James Zabiela’s Born Electric label and Audio Culture, the latter treats Clarian’s warm, melodic original with modulating Juno pads and heavily reverberated vocals, layered atop a crunchy analog beat.
Clarian’s Road to Recovery EP is due out on July 21, and “Who Are They To Judge Us (Iron Galaxy Remix)” can be heard below, where the upcoming record’s full tracklist has also been included.
01 Road to Recovery 02 Who Are They To Judge Us 03 Road to Recovery (Sei A Remix) 04 Who Are They To Judge Us (Iron Galaxy Remix)
