Towards the end of next month the 2020Vision label will celebrate its 20th anniversary with the release of Content. a compilation, a—of course—20-track collection which will feature new tracks from Maya Jane Coles and Matthew Herbert, Doc Daneeka, Pezzner, and Citizen, as well as Simian Mobile Disco, whose contribution to the upcoming album can now be streamed in full. Spanning seven-plus minutes, “Parson’s Nose” finds the UK pair operating at a methodical pace, gradually building a dancefloor-aimed production with rich synth tones and a bottom-heavy beat. Finished off with just the slightest swing, Simian Mobile Disco’s “Parson’s Nose” tune can be streamed in its entirety below before the full Content compilation drops on June 30.
Wisconsin’s Joel Shanahan—who produces experimental electronics under a slew of sonic guises—has sent over a track from his new project, Auscultation. Most recently seen crafting hazy synth compositions as Golden Donna for 100% Silk and Not Not Fun, Shanahan’s “Tied” is an R&B and funk-inflected house track with heavily filtered percussion and sultry Rhodes chords. The upcoming EP is the latest in a string of releases from Canadian label 1080p, and drops on June 3 in both cassette and digital forms.
Mosaic, the ambitious debut LP from UK producer Ross Tones (a.k.a. Throwing Snow), is set to drop next week, but can now be streamed in full ahead of its release. Spanning 11 tracks, Mosaic finds Tones piecing together dense electronic hybrids, often looking to swelling string sections and growling basslines to create tension, while airy melodies and a number of vocal collaborators help render the productions into more intimate affairs.
Set to see an official release on June 2 via Houndstooth, Throwing Snow’s debut full-length effort can be streamed in full below.
London’s DJ Haus, chief agitator behind the prolific Unknown to the Unknown and Hot Haus labels, has shared a full stream of his forthcoming Thug Houz Anthems Vol. 3. Set for release next month, the EP is the third in a series that reportedly takes its cues from ’90s house and UK garage, Jersey club, and Baltimore. In keeping with the label’s output thus far, all four tracks are brash, pumped-up club cuts, with US label ambassador Matrixxman guesting on ”Feel It.” Thug Houz Anthems Vol. 3 officially lands on June 16, and a full tracklist and stream have been posted below.
01. Clap Yo Handz 02. Lez Get 2 getha 03. Woo! Yeh! (James Brown Bmore Jam) 04. Feel It Feat. Matrixxman
Earlier this month, Brian Eno and Underworld co-founder Karl Hyde released their debut collaborative LP, Someday World, via the venerable Warp label. Now, in a rather unexpected move, the pair of electronic veterans has quickly revealed plans to drop a second full-length together in July. Entitled High Life, the six-track effort is said to take much of its inspiration “from the repetitive minimalism of composers like Steve Reich and Phillip Glass, and from the polyrhythmic music of Fela Kuti and funk.” Furthermore, Eno himself explains that at the end of the recording process which yielded Someday World, “I felt like we were still on a roll and I wasn’t ready to stop working and get into ‘promotional mode’ for that record, so I suggested we immediately start on another album, a different one, where we extended some of the ideas we’d started, and attempted some of the ideas we hadn’t.”
The resulting High Life LP is set to see a full release via Warp on July 1. In the meantime, album cut “DBF” can be streamed in full below, where the forthcoming record’s tracklist has also been included.
01 Return 02 DBF 03 Time To Waste It 04 Lilac 05 Moulded Life 06 Cells & Bells
Earlier this month, longtime Amsterdam artist Shinedoe dropped Illogical Directions, an ambitious new full-length which saw a release via the producer’s own Intacto label. Here we have LP bonus cut “Unleash the Beast,” an infectiously bouncing tune built around snare-heavy drum machine programming and a simple bassline. Atop this solid core, Shinedoe does not need to add much—sprightly synth sequences sneak up from behind the steady rhythms, and a mellow siren stab ensures the dancefloor that having fun is a top priority.
Berlin, Berghain, and Ben Klock. Though not quite a biblical trinity, the three are inextricably connected. After all, Klock is a native Berliner who’s been involved in the city’s techno scene since its inception. Today, he’s one of the most visible residents at Berghain, the infamous German nightclub at the center of the contemporary techno universe. His marathon sets—often lasting eight hours or longer—have helped to define the sound of the club, offering a musical outlook that goes far beyond purist techno and instead champions a kind of long-form narrative that dissolves genres into a mass of textures and surfaces. That aesthetic carries over into the music Klock produces as well; his work has appeared on Ostgut Ton, BPitch Control, and Klockworks, his own label. All of that said, Klock is not completely tied to his hometown; he continues to maintain a constant touring schedule, and this Saturday, he’ll be playing Room One at Fabric in London. The night’s full details can be found here, but ahead of the party, Klock recently took some time out to answer 20 questions for XLR8R, touching on his pre-DJing ritual, his occupational history, and his thoughts on the future of Berlin’s club scene.
1. Where were you born? Born and raised in Berlin. The former west part of the city before the wall came down.
2. What kind of jobs did you have before becoming a DJ? My first job ever as a kid was handing out flyers for clubs on the street, followed by being a Santa Claus for Mars and Snickers. I did many things: sold Olives at a market, did factory work, was a call center agent, I did child-minding, was a street musician with a guitar, a bartender, all kinds of things. As a serious, full-time job, I was graphic designer for a couple of years.
3. What was it that made you want to become a DJ? The bass.
4. What is your favorite movie? I’m bad at choosing the one that stands above everything else. One of my favorites though is There Will Be Blood. Love the strange mysterious layers in it, especially with the music from Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead.
5. Describe your ideal day off. Nature, massage, some soft smells. Actually, when I think about it now, it would be riding a horse on the beach. But I need to learn to ride horses for that first I guess.
6. What would you do if you weren’t a DJ? Something like a zen monk.
7. What is the best part about living in Germany? Berghain.
8. How do you define a good DJ set for yourself? When there are no thoughts in my head, when I just follow intuition, a perfect balance between hypnotic deep tripping and strong energy.
9. What’s a production technique that you think more people ought to know? The most important production technique is to not look at your computer screen when you’re arranging a track. It’s better to look in the opposite direction or out a window; imagine a dancefloor or get up yourself and dance to your beat. It’s definitely better for the track.
10. Name a track that always seems to work on the dancefloor. At the moment, it’s Robert Hood’s new version of “Never Grow Old.” To be precise, it’s Hood’s alias as Floorplan. I love it, and it lifts the energy to a strong emotional level.
11. What is the longest DJ set you’ve ever played? 13 hours alone, 16 hours back to back with Marcel [Dettmann].
12. What do you do to keep your stamina up for those kinds of sets? Nothing really. A bit of champagne and some coffee. When the flow is there, I just enjoy the long sets. Others can sleep for 13 hours, I can play for 13 hours.
13. What do you do before playing a DJ set? Take a shower and let the driver wait. I’m always a bit late for the pick up.
14. How many records do you own? I never counted or even calculated roughly. The quantity doesn’t mean anything to me.
15. What is the most you’ve ever paid for a record? Six Deutsche mark for the single of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” It’s the first-ever record I bought with my own money. Six Deutsche mark (which would be three Euros now) was worth more to me back then when I was a kid than any other record I paid for later on.
16. What is your favorite non-electronic album? I always have a hard time picking one favorite. I always just chose what comes to mind at that particular moment. At this moment, it’s Nick Drake’s Pink Moon. Totally different than techno. One voice, one guitar. Purity.
17. What is your favorite record store? Hard Wax.
18. How do you see the Berlin club scene changing in the next 10 years? I think it will stay stable and very international for the next couple of years. Then it might change suddenly or slowly. At some point, the Berlin hype will fade out a bit; maybe another city will take its place. But I can’t see that yet.
19. What’s the most underrated club in Berlin? I have no idea. I don’t have time to go out in Berlin.
20. What will you do after answering these questions? Enjoy the view of a lovely train ride through the south of France. (I’m playing in Marseille tonight.)
Following last week’s line-up announcement, Amsterdam’s Dekmantel Festival has just launched a new video series, entitled Sole Selectors. The lead episode focuses in on Antal, a DJ and co-founder of famed Amsterdam record store, label, and distributor Rush Hour.
Subsequent installments of Sole Selectors, aiming to tell the stories of international DJs and industry figureheads, will feature DJ Harvey, Gerd Janson, and Prins Thomas, and a special stage dedicated to highlighted artists at the festival in August is also in the works, with full details to be announced soon.
The textured atmospherics of last year’s Treillis LP from Ricardo Tobar nodded toward a Balearic influence as well as the Chilean producer’s own early affiliation with James Holden’s Border Community label. On Tobar’s forthcoming Hundreds/Gardens EP—which is set to see a release through French label Desire on June 9—two original tracks from Trellis are treated to reworks by Daniel Avery and Bass Clef. Featured here, Tobar’s “Hundreds” follows a dreamy melodic line, one colored with surface friction and held together by earthy percussion and trance-like arpeggios.
The notorious electronic duo British Murder Boys—a partnership between Anthony Child (a.k.a. Surgeon) and Downwards label boss Karl O’Connor (a.k.a. Regis)—is set to return to Downwards next month with a new EP, entitled Live in Tokyo. The pair got its start in 2002, yielding a malignant strain of noisy, industrial techno released mainly through Surgeon’s own Counterbalance label. After a seven-year hiatus, the two producers reunited in 2012 for the Where Pail Limbs Lie EP on Liberation Technologies. The forthcoming Live in Tokyo 12”, available to preview with tracklisting below, assembles material from a live performance in Japan, and is slated to see an official release on June 9. A British Murder Boys compilation, accompanied by a live DVD and photo history book, is scheduled to follow.
