Reidy, from Sydney, Australia but based in Berlin, Germany, writes and performs original music using guitars and synthesized and recorded sound. Vanish is her first appearance on Editions Mego, and it completes a trio of releases that started with last year’s Brace, Brace and In Real Life, out via Slip. She’s also released on A Guide To Saints, Room40′s magnetic tape label.
We’re told that “the delicious unease, the anxious burning” of the preceding volumes has settled, becoming “more wide-eyed and resolute.” For all its poise, the album’s sense of build—electric licks rasping into glistening synths, punctured by distant kicks—feels freshest.
Across the album, Reidy’s music “sweeps you up,” the label says, and her guitar and vocal lines are mapped to the natural ebb-and-flow of breath and thought, lulling you as they “push through vast and secret spaces.”
The release is mixed and mastered by Joe Talia at Holding Pattern, Berlin.
Artwork comes from Suze Whaites, with layout by Nik Void.
Tracklisting
01. Clairvoyant (18:22) 02. Oh Boy (15:18)
Vanish LP will be released by Editions Mego on October 16. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream “Clairvoyant” below.
Redeyes, real name Julien Salvi, wrote the bulk of Selfportraits during the Covid-19, capturing a time spent in “sheltered reflection.” It draws on Salvi’s own personal beliefs and tackles “important issues of our times,” he says. Featuring across the album are [ K S R ], Lovescene, Juga-Naut, DRS, and DJ Flight.
“My music is not just dance music,” Salvi tells XLR8R. “I’ve always seen my art as something that transcends the dancefloor, and all the greatest artists in the world, from painters to singers to actors, have always been engaged in important fights. So why don’t we do it, why are we not as engaged as our favourite artists from other genres are? It’s time to make the difference, it’s time to be the change.”
We’re told to expect a “journey through vintage soulful drum & bass, soundscapes, and beats” that captures Salvi at his most inspired.
“Through 10 carefully pieced together tracks, the listener is transported through a mosaic of influences and emotions,” the label says.
Known for his detailed and emotive take on drum & bass, Salvi, a French producer with a career spanning over 15 years, has released three albums on The North Quarter. The last one,Broken Soul, surfaced in 2018.
Tracklisting
01. Intro / A Thousand Times feat. [ K S R ] / Colours feat. Abnormal Sleepz 02. Carry Me Home / Never Learnt feat. Victor Gould & Juga-Naut 03. Belong feat. Monty / Running 04. Outside / Dad’s Hand feat. DRS 05. Delicate / Between The Waves 06. Low Key / Slow Pace (Prelude) feat. DRS 07. Change.Illusion / No Way feat. DRS 08. Glowin’ / Lazy Flow 09. All The Reasons feat. Lovescene / A Lifetime 10. Slow Pace / Outro feat. DJ Flight
Selfportraits LP will be released on September 11 on The North Quarter. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream the album opener below.
The Knife are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first release with a series of digital and vinyl reissues of some of their rarest work. Some of these releases are being made available for the first time in several territories.
It’s been 20 years since The Knife, real names Karin Dreijer and Olof Dreijer, released their first 7″. The pair went on to release their debut self-titled album the following year and their final one, Shaking the Habitual, in 2013.
The reissues come via Mute, and the notable items include multiple rare remixes of Deep Cuts‘ “Heartbeats,” “Pass This On,” and “You Take My Breath Away” from various international editions, as well as the Pass This On vinyl 7″.
Also among the reissues is The Knife: Live At Terminal 5 which was previously only available in select territories. The live album will be available on physical and digital formats worldwide. You can watch The Knife’s full 2014 Terminal 5 performance here and order here.
Finally, the band will digitally release their soundtrack to the 2003 Swedish thriller “Hannah Med H.” It’s available to order here.
These reissues coincide with the launch of Rabid Records on Bandcamp, which will see catalog releases from The Knife, Fever Ray, and Olof Dreijer available on the platform for the first time.
The Knife 20th Anniversary Reissues:
Live at Terminal 5 Hannah Med H OST Pass This On 7″ (vinyl) “Heartbeats” (The Knife Techno Remix) “Heartbeats” (Style of Eye Remix) “You Take My Breath Away” (Mylo Remix) “You Take My Breath Away” (Puppetmasters Club Remix) “You Take My Breath Away” (MHC Remix) “Pass This On” (M.A.N.D.Y. Remix) “Pass This On” (M.A.N.D.Y. Instrumental) “Pass This On” (M.A.N.D.Y. Knifer Mix)
This particular discussion will focus on career opportunities and creative processes related to music composition, sound design, and licensing for games, film, and television. The featured panelists are Jocelyn Brown, an independent music supervision and licensing consultant; Daniel Rosenfeld (a.k.a C418); Kat Wenske, a freelance sound designer and composer; and Will Wiesenfeld (a.k.a Geotic/Baths). On moderation is Aaron Guice, or AFRORACK. You can read more about the panelists here.
This is the sixth Ghostly Knowledge Share event and the second to stream online following last month’s roundtable talk on Philosophy, Inspiration & Workflow.
Ghostly launched Ghostly Knowledge Share in 2017 as a way for the label and its extended family of artists to engage closely with the community and help demystify the process by which one begins and flourishes in the field of creative arts. The series has previously been held in Los Angeles, New York, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. You can read more about it here.
This particular edition takes place on August 20 at 7pm EDT. You can RSVP here ahead of its stream here.
Editor’s note: Lead photo is livestream screengrab of July 2020’s ‘Knowledge Share’ on Philosophy, Inspiration & Workflow.
All four artists are label regulars and are returning to the fold with their first full-length efforts of 2020. The Cyclist’s Weather Underground, like its revolutionary group namesake, is a tense and gritty six-tracker befitting the tumultuous times of 2020—expect dust-covered grooves and gauzy synths. Jupiter Jax looks to “notions of escape and the unknown” for inspiration on No Such Thing, a 12-track exercise in shimmering rhythms and melody. On C.M.T.I.E. Manual, Pleasure Model soundtracks a “dystopian corporation’s psychonaut expansionist agenda (‘Corporate Macrodosing for Technological Innovation and Efficiency’)” with VHS-like technoid soundscapes beamed from the ether. And finally, Maria Minerva returns for her first LP in half a decade, Soft Power, with another killer collection of neon-lit diva-pop disco.
All four releases will drop digitally, with Weather Underground, C.M.T.I.E. Manual, and Soft Power also available on cassette. Jupiter Jax’s No Such Thing won’t be available as a cassette but instead will drop on vinyl.
You can pre-order all four releases over at 100% Silk’s Bandcamp page, with a video for Pleasure Model’s “ELLIPTIANLOVER” streaming in full below, alongside cuts from each release and their tracklistings.
Maria Minerva Soft Power Tracklisting:
1. Every Single Thing That You Love 2. Had Me At Hello 3. Wake Up In NYC 03:34 4. Summer Romance 5. I Could Be Your Best Friend 6. Down Low (Motor City You Make Me Wanna) 7. Ask Myself For A Reason 8. Apology
The Cyclist Weather Underground Tracklisting:
1. Broken Down 2. Junglo 3. Catacombs 4. Weather Underground 5. Dubby Shanks 6. Crying For Sleep
Jupiter Jax No Such Thing Tracklisting:
1. Solar Witnesses 2. When I Saw You 3. No Such Thing pt. 1 4. No Such Thing pt. 2 5. Moods No Grooves 6. Things Left Unsaid 03:14 7. Moonless Tides 8. Moral Dilemmas 9. Breathing You Out 05:12 10. Limbo Skies 11. Solace 12. The Earth From Above
Next on Dome of Doom is Komorebi, the debut album from ambient and electronic group Context Chameleon.
Context Chameleon is headed up by Erik Otis, a semi-frequent XLR8R contributor. The album is centered on Otis’ experimental synth work, but he’s joined across the release by Jonah Levine (trombone), Demon Slayer (turntables), Tomoki Sanders (drums and saxophone), and Gnome Beats (guitar).
Sanders recorded his parts in Japan while the rest of the group completed their sessions across three separate studios in the heart of Los Angeles over recent months. Because of this, the album is a “tethered time capsule fuelled through communication between the musicians,” and it captures the energy of the social unrest present across the world and the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. We’re told that the recordings represent a “moment of collective healing for the various musicians involved.”
The album’s title is Japanese and means “sunlight filtering through trees,” which is also shown on the album artwork, shot by Otis at Ted Craig Regional Park in 2015. The Fullerton, California park is a stone’s throw away from the apartment where over one hundred Context Chameleon songs were performed and captured digitally, including the Moog sequences found across Komorebi.
The photo is symbolic of the group’s tonal direction and serves as a “building block to many recordings that would come during this phase and those that continue to build in our library,” Otis tells XLR8R.
Otis continues: “Komorebi is representative of the beauty of my life partner, our son, the creators in Context Chameleon that occupy creative spaces with me, my family, and all those who have remained close sources for wisdom over the years. It’s the light we are shining through the thick canopy of life’s path.”
Over the last two decades, every member of Context Chameleon has been a part of local, national, and international fights for justice, equality, and peace, and this musical project will also serve as a vehicle for this energy. For the first year, all digital streaming and download proceeds from Komorebi will be donated evenly to the Elijah McClain Fundraiser, Black Lives Matter, Free Mumia, The World Stage, and Save The Music.
Wylie Cable handled the album’s mixing and mastering.
Tracklisting
01. Intro (Awakenings & Rebirth) 02. The Syntax of Color 03. The Hunter & The Hunted 04. Invalid Codes 05. Repletion ft. Gnome Beats 06. The Corrupted Cauldron ft. Demon Slayer 07. Instinctive Growth 08. Komorebi ft. Tomoki Sanders 09. Paint & Brushes ft. Jonah Levine 10. Solar Wind 11. Outro (828)
Komorebi LP is available on August 28. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream the title-track featuring Tomoki Sanders below.
On August 17, Maayan Nidam will host the secondOpen Culture Lab, a series of open-air musical meetups celebrating cultural diversity. This particular edition will focus on Iranian music and artists.
Open Culture Lab is an arm of The Open Music Lab, a non-profit collective based in Berlin, Germany that offers free music workshops committed to including and supporting refugees, asylum seekers, people who identify as female*, non-binary and LGBTQI+, and people of color. The series, hosted by Nidam, was launched on July 20 with a program that focused on African musical heritage and culture, featuring a discussion panel with Yoyaku’s Tracy Bakala, RISE promoter Mista Wallizz, and Berlin-based artist Ukai Ndame. There was also a music production workshop by South African artist Floyd Lavine.
The second Open Culture Lab will be centered on Iranian music and artists. It will include a music workshop with Namito, who will speak on his creative process; a panel with Dorsa Ahari, Hesam Ayat, and Afsun Moshiry, who will discuss how they are bringing Iranian culture into their creative processes; an exhibition featuring art pieces and photographs from Iran by Dorsa Ahari, Ali Nazarian, and Nikjoo Azadi; and Iranian music curated by Payman Farahani.
Those who wish to attend the event in Berlin can register here and a location will be confirmed via email. Due to the nature of the event and its limited capacity, preference will be given to people who identify as female*, non-binary, or LGBTQI+, and to refugees, asylum seekers, and people of color.
You can check out a selection of photos from the first event below, taken by Bill Patrick. Meanwhile, read William Ralston‘s long-form profile of Nidam here.
Limerencia is described as the Uruguayan’s “most intimate” record to date. She composed it during a physical recovery process, conceiving the songs under an ongoing neurological medical treatment. It is “a meditative piece of recognition, a counterpoint between strident sensations of pain and arousing feelings of wholeness,” the Mexican label tells XLR8R.
The full-length features work from a whole bunch of friends, including Nick León, PRJCTN, Lighght, and El Plvybxy.
Lila Tirando A Violeta is one of the brightest emerging talents in the new wave of creatives coming out of Latin America. Her work is inspired by cyberpunk anime, pop anthems, club sounds, and Latin music. Her early music, released on labels such as Illuminated Paths and Dream Catalogue, gained recognition with vaporwave fans, but recent releases, such as last year’s Sentient EP, have focused firmly at the dancefloor. She’s one half of A.M.I.G.A, a pop music project with Hiela Pierrez.
Earlier this month, Lila Tirando A Violeta featured on a Houndstooth compilation, Alterity, which highlighted experimental club music. This year, she’s also published a FACT mix, which you can stream in full here.
The release follows Gaika’s Seguridad EP on N.A.A.F.I.
Tracklisting
01. Nuevo Paris Piano 02. Maldoror ft. Nick León & PRJCTN 03. Flores & El Mar 04. Noche Tótem w/ Abssys 05. Interlude (Alien Ciego) 06. Mariposas & Fuego ft. Nick León 07. Dry Season w/ Lighght 08. Lagrima Viva w/ El Plvybxy
Limerencia LP is available on August 21. Meanwhile, you can stream “Dry Season” ft. Lighght below and pre-order here.
DJing since the late ’90s, the veteran Swiss DJ first broke out when he was invited by Carl Craig to play at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2001, and he’s always held a deep love for the city’s sounds. His “relationship with music was inspired and forever marked by the talent and genius of Detroit and Midwest USA’s musical pioneers, and we all owe the city and its cultural legacy a huge debt,” Loko explains. “This mix is my small way of saying thank you to the city.”
The mix is arranged with tracks from a long list of talent that runs deep and wide, featuring a handful of XLR8R’s favorite artists, such as Fred P, Carl Craig, and Chaos in the CBD. The mix also includes six tracks produced by Loko himself, alongside a range of Detroit luminaries, including Derrick May and Stacey Pullen.
Detroit Love Vol. 4 will be released on CD and digital formats on September 4, with a 2 x 12″ vinyl package arriving on September 18.
You can pre-order Detroit Love Vol. 4 here, with Mirko Loko and Ursula Rucker’s “It’s Like” streaming in full below.
Tracklisting (CD/Digital):
01. Fred P “Vision In Osaka” 02. Mirko Loko ft. Ursula Rucker “It’s Like” (Detroit Love Mix) 03. Feater “Time Million ft. Vilja Larjosto” (Villalobos Vocal Mix) 04. Chaos In The CBD “Comfort Zone” 05. Sergie Rezza “Monté” (Carl Craig Edit) 06. Still “Haile Selassie is The Micro Chip” 07. Takuya Yamashita “Aos Si” (Mirko Loko’s HOS Remix) 08. Eduardo De La Calle “My Own Transition” 09. Scott Ferguson “Dump Days” 10. Wincent Kunth “Relove” 11. Phase Phorce “Faces Of Life” 12. Adryan “The Jazzer” (Russ Gabriel Remix) 13. Mirko Loko ft. Derrick May “Mentors Heritage” (Detroit Love Mix) 14. Gilb’R “Pressure Laurent” (Garnier Mix) 15. Bel-Air Ltd “The Loft” 16. DJ Duke “Music Cinema” 17. Tevo Howard “Madness” 18. The Prince Of Dance Music, L.B. Bad “The True Story Of House Music (I’m So Alone)” 19. Jared Wilson “It’s The Message” 20. The Godson “City Bar “Reopen” Live Dancing” 21. Mirko Loko & Stacey Pullen “Tronic Illusion” (Detroit Love Mix) 22. Lady B “Cruising Around Motor City”
Vinyl (Unmixed):
A1. Mirko Loko ft. Derrick May “Mentors Heritage” A2. Mirko Loko ft. Ursula Rucker “It’s Like” B1. Mirko Loko & Stacey Pullen “Tronic Illusion” (Detroit Love Mix) B2. Bel-Air Ltd “The Loft” C1. Sergie Rezza “Monté” (Carl Craig Edit) C2. Takuya Yamashita “Aos Si” (Mirko Loko’s HOS Remix) D1. Phase Phorce “Faces Of Life” D2. Lady B “Cruising Around Motor City”
The video is directed by Jordan Hemingway and Collin Fletcher, whom we’ve featured before on XLR8R before. It stars Yves Tumor and Julia Cumming.
Alongside the announcement, Yves Tumor, real name Sean Bowie, has shared exclusive merchandise inspired by the video. You can check that out over at Bandcamp here.
