Veteran producer Vaughn Robert Squire (here masquerading as Prison Garde) has sent over a bonus track from his upcoming Forts EP, set for release next month. “The Sound (Reese & Santonio Cover)” features Larry Heard-style chords and heavily swung drums. Like the rest of the EP, the track—in fact, a cover of Reese & Santonio’s 1987 track originally released via KMS—was made with an all-hardware kit assembling Roland drum machines, a Juno-60, and raw, analog bass, with Ango lending a hand in the studio. Forts follows Prison Garde’s recent cassette for 100% Silk and nearly two decades of cross-genre play, from bass music to beats under his Sixtoo alias. His next outing will present five new Prison Garde tracks when it drops in digital form on June 3 (with a vinyl release to follow shortly thereafter) via the fast-growing ASL Singles Club imprint.
The Knife have announced plans to follow up last year’s 98-minute behemoth of an album, Shaking the Habitual, with a mini-LP featuring eight new “Shaken-Up” versions of the unpredictable outfit’s existing catalog. The forthcoming Shaken-Up Versions collection will include new edits of songs made for The Knife’s recent North American tour; among them, cuts such as “We Share Our Mother’s Health” and “Silent Shout” have received new arrangements.
Before the mini-LP sees a release on June 16 via Mute, a new video for “Without You My Life Would Be Boring (Shaken-Up Version)” can be watched below, where the upcoming record’s full tracklist has also been included. (via Resident Advisor)
01 We Share Our Mother’s Health (Shaken-Up Version) 02 Got 2 Let U (Shaken-Up Version) 03 Bird (Shaken-Up Version) 04 Without You My Life Would Be Boring (Shaken-Up Version) 05 Pass This On (Shaken-Up Version) 06 Ready To Lose (Shaken-Up Version) 07 Stay Out Here (Shaken-Up Version) 08 Silent Shout (Shaken-Up Version)
Following a flurry of activity in 2013 that saw appearances on Mindset, Audio Culture, and more, Brussels-based duo GoldFFinch has announced its return with The Stronghold EP, set to see a release next week via Tiga’s Turbo label. The upcoming EP will appear as part of the the imprint’s ongoing Warehouse Series of releases, which has so far included the likes of Sei A, Gingy & Bordello, Randomer, TWR72, and JoeFarr.
GoldFFinch’s three-track contribution to the series is said to exhibit a “spectral glimmer of rave throughout,” and can be heard in full below before it sees an official release on May 26.
Hailing from Glasgow, MermaidS has today released its debut for Los Angeles’ Young Adults imprint, the Handsome Stranger EP. To spread the word, the pair has dropped off the record’s lead cut “Cherry Cola,” a hazy bit of house which creates a hypnotic bed of sounds from finely chopped pieces of soulful disco. Taking its role as the EP’s opener to heart, “Cherry Cola” builds in elongated, patient steps, with its soul-washed samples remaining buried beneath lush filtering and a driving, tambourine-led beat. Those who follow along are rewarded when the production gracefully opens up in its closing 90 seconds, adding thickened drums and a particularly playful saxophone solo to the mix as the tune makes its final push. “Cherry Cola” is joined by four other MermaidS originals on the Handsome Stranger EP, whose vinyl edition is out now, with a digital release set for June 10.
Released earlier this month, LV‘s and Joshua Idehen’s collaborative “Imminent” single is now the subject of a new remix contest coordinated by the London production outfit and the Keysound label. Offering various stems from the percussion-heavy track, budding producers are invited to rework “Imminent” into something entirely new, with one winning remix each chosen by LV as well as Keysound affiliates Dusk + Blackdown. Those two winning productions will then both be played on Dusk + Blackdown’s Rinse FM show, where listeners will choose one “People’s Choice Winner” whose remix will be pressed to a 10″ dubplate.
Submissions are to be uploaded to this SoundCloud group by June 19. The full details of the contest and the individual stems for “Imminent” can be found here, while LV’s and Joshua Idehen’s new single can be heard below.
Delroy Edwards has posted up a 20-track free download of exclusive remixes, edits, and instrumentals. The collection has been issued through his own L.A. Club Resource label and finds the DJ/producer and L.I.E.S. affiliate exploring an affinity for rap and beatmaking that, until now, had yet to translate into a release.
Launched in 2013—around the same time Edwards delivered his XLR8Rpodcast—L.A. Club Resource has served as a platform for DJ Harlow, Gene Hunt, and, most recently, Edwards’ own DJ Punisher alias, while Edwards’ other output this year has included Teenage Tapes on The Death of Rave and the under-the-radar Reel Torque Vol. 4 mixtape. Entitled Slowed Down Funk Vol. 1, Edwards’ new collection of previously unreleased material is available to download for free here.
In some ways, the story of Call Super (a.k.a. Joe Seaton) isn’t particularly unique. Raised in the UK and now based in Berlin, he admitted in our Bubblin’ Up profile last year that his background doesn’t really set him apart from many of his peers. However, when one listens to his output, especially the records Seaton has offered up since he settled in with the Houndstooth camp, it’s clear that Call Super isn’t the average techno producer. Calling his music difficult would be a stretch, but it’s undoubtedly challenging, even when it’s focused on the dancefloor. His latest 12″, “Depicta” b/w “Acephale II,” which dropped just yesterday, was delivered with remarkably little fanfare and even less explanation, yet it’s full of robust, propulsive rhythms. At the same time, its tunes are marked by ominous atmospherics, ghostly melodies, and crunchy percussive elements; essentially, the tracks exemplify how the Call Super sound is nuanced, complex, and designed to reward those listeners who are willing to sit back and simply be enveloped by Seaton’s artistic vision. Of course, one can only glean so much about an artist’s vision from a handful of tracks; in hopes of viewing a more comprehensive picture of what Seaton hopes to accomplish, we invited him to put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series.
Right off the bat, a glance at the tracklist demonstrates how Call Super is someone who prefers to keep things close the vest. While most of his selections have been listed in the usual fashion, a few tracks have been adorned with cryptic titles seemingly invented by Seaton himself. Those details aside, the podcast celebrates many of the aesthetics favored by Call Super in his own music; pulling mostly from the house and techno realm, there’s a clear sense of functionality to the proceedings, even when the sounds presented aren’t particularly easy to digest. Melody plays a major role, but its presence does nothing to stop Seaton from twisting, turning, and occasionally fleshing out the sonic landscape with harsh bits of noise over the course of nearly 80 minutes. It’s an immersive listen, and, much like Seaton’s own productions, it’s something that rewards those with an attention to detail and the patience to allow things to unfold at their own pace.
01 disciplinarian 02 discyplynarian 03 dyscyplynaryan 04 Levon Vincent “Tyner” (Soul People) 05 Pixel Music “M-Theory” (Strength) 06 Route 8 “Memory Disorders” (Nous) 07 Nannies 08 Claude Young “Dream of Another Time” (Utensil) 09 Dresvn “Untitled” (Acido) 10 Baby Ford and the Ifach Collective “Bad Friday” (Klang) 11 Route 8 “C19” (Nous) 12 G Man “Quo Vardis” (Swim) 13 at the party she would have to try and remove the worst of the mud 14 Call Super “Acephale II” (Houndstooth) 15 Prince of Denmark “Cut Untitled Cut” (Forum) 16 Never on Sunday “The Journey” (Retroactive) 17 Tyme “R-Theme” (Transmat) 18 Gesloten Cirkel “Submit X” (Murder Capital) 19 Embassy No. 1 Fr Yr Birthday 20 One Tribe “What Have You Done” (Inner Rhythm) 21 Dresvn “Untitled” 22 Valerio Tricoli “Hic Labor Ille Domus et Inextricabilis Error” (PAN) vs. Mr. Oizo & Assassin “Step Pon Eric” (Noisybunch)
Ahead of the release of his debut album, Auto Music, Brian Reitzell‘s “Last Summer” has been treated to an offbeat rework by Dan Lissvik (of now-defunct Swedish electronic band Studio). Reitzell’s original track is described as a West Coast freeway cruise and features My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields on organ. Here, Lissvik’s remix picks up on the post-punk/alt-rock undertones of the original, drawing on sampling and sound design to result in a rework that is reminiscent of a Lapalux-style collage. Oslo-based label Smalltown Supersound is set to deliver Auto Music on June 17.
Pulled from the forthcoming Silicon Remixes EP for Ultramajic, Jimmy Edgar has shared a full stream of his dark new remix for Danny Daze‘s “Beatdown.” First appearing towards the end of Edgar’s recent Essential Mix, the Berlin producer/DJ’s rework makes use of cold, steel-like textures and a procession of sharp rhythms to fuel its momentum. In its new form, “Beatdown” is rendered into a hypnotically repetitive production, and one that remains squarely aimed at the dancefloor throughout its entire five-plus-minute run.
Danny Daze’s full Silicon Remixes EP is set to land on May 26 with additional contributions from Erika, Ambivalent, and Dimitri Veimar. In the meantime, the latest remix from the increasingly prolific Edgar can be streamed in full below.
Split into two parts and serving as the second installment of Detroit DJ/producer/record guru Rick Wilhite‘s ongoing series, the first-half of the Vibes New and Rare Music 2 collection has landed via Amsterdam’s Rush Hour label. Coinciding with the new release, a full stream of the seven-track compilation has now surfaced.
Vibes New and Rare Music 2, Part 1 serves as the first of two collections intended to highlight established and new artists from Wilhite’s hometown of Detroit as well as Chicago and New York. As the veteran DJ explains on Rush Hour’s website, each track included on Vibes New and Rare Music 2 is meant to represent exactly “who the artist is and what he really likes to put out.” The resulting collection covers a wide range of deep-reaching, soul-washed house with “The Godfather” Wilhite himself offering up a collaborative track along with fresh cuts from K Alexi, Jovonn, and Motor City newcomer Jon Easley, among others.
Part 1 of Vibes New and Rare Music 2 is out now in vinyl form and can be streamed in full below. Part 2 of the collection—which will feature the likes of Moodyman, DJ Stingray, and others—is expected to see a release later in the months to come, and the two collections are set to be brought together onto a single CD later this year as well.
