There’s been a lot of excitement for this week’s announcements surrounding the annual NAMM conference, and French instrument and software company Arturia has now shared their own, unveiling a new pad controller and step sequencer called Beatstep. With 16 velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads, 16 encoders, 16 MIDI controller and sequencer presets, and a very reasonable price of $129, the Beatstep packs a lot of features into an affordable package. Arturia has also included CV outputs, USB input/output, MIDI output, and iPad compatibility (with the ubiquitous camera kit connection), allowing the controller to be used in conjunction with a range of synthesizers and drum machines, including their recently released Microbrute. The full specifications for Arturia’s Beatstep can be found here, while an introductory video is available to watch below.
The array of sights and sounds available in the latest installment of Press Play is kind of overwhelming. Seriously, a whole lot of great tunes from top-notch artists appeared on the internet this week—including remixes, exclusive premieres, videos, record streams, and more from the likes of Kingdom, Jimmy Edgar, Mount Kimbie, Max Cooper, Africa Hitech, Paul Woolford, Graze, Morri$, Salva, Appleblim, and plenty of others. There’s a whole lot to take in here, so we suggest that everyone gets to clicking those play buttons after the jump.
Check out this video of Mount Kimbie performing “Home Recording,” the opening cut from its recent Cold Spring Fault Less Youth LP for Warp, live on a rooftop in South London.
Paul Woolford’s “Untitled” single took over countless dancefloors (not to mention “Best of” lists) last year, but has only just been treated to this playful music video before it’s re-released by Ultra Music.
Young UK artist Kyan unveiled his new “Rosetta” single this week, along with a spacious remix by Fade to Mind boss Kingdom.
Speaking of remixes, prolific Berlin producer Jimmy Edgar just dropped his jacking version of Aden’s new “Whip” single.
Max Cooper teases his upcoming Human LP with lead single “Impacts,” as well as an acid-touched remix of the tune by Gabe Gurnsey of Factory Floor.
Last year, Mark Pritchard’s and Steve Spacek’s Africa Hitech project was interviewed by Australian crew The Operatives, and the results of that conversation can now be watched in full.
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Before Appleblim drops his collaborative EP with Komon, Jupiter, via Aus next week, the pair of Bristolian producers have shared a full stream of that record’s three eclectic cuts.
The latest clip of amorphous black-and-white imagery to appear from the burgeoning Graze duo is for “Airror,” a drum-heavy track lifted from the outfit’s Edges LP.
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Finnish up-and-comer Twwth is set to release his Thousand Million EP via his own Signal Life label next week, ahead of which he’s been kind of to stream its four hard-edged, bass-loaded productions.
This week, Night Slugs affiliate Morri$ changed his name to P. Morris when he shared “Hold Tight,” a new track which is, oddly enough, a flip of Justin Bieber’s song of the same name.
Dutch DJ/producer Presk has already premiered the video for the title track from his upcoming Saluki EP with us, so it only makes sense that he has let us premiere the full stream of his new record for Ten Thousand Yen, too.
Continuing his prolific streak, DFRNT will follow-up his Patience album from last year with the Flow EP, a four-song 12″ of quality house music for Urulu’s Amadeus label.
The Pull Ova EP is a three-track effort from Brooklyn DJ/prouder Jubilee which comes complete with a remix from LA producer Salva, and can now be streamed in its entirety before it drops via Mixpak next week
On February 3, Polish producer Hatti Vatti (a.k.a Piotr Kali?ski) will release his sophomore LP Worship Nothing via New Moon, and has sent over one of the album’s 12 tracks in the meantime. With a notable penchant for ’80s-influenced sounds, “Treasure” is an atmospheric production which weaves together a mixture of intricate rhythms and waves of fading synths—the perfect soundtrack for a leisurely ride through industrial ruins. In addition to “Treasure,” another track from Kali?ski’s Worship Nothing album can be streamed after the jump.
With this week’s release of the vinyl-only remix EP for “Cupid’s Head,” the title track from the latest LP by The Field (pictured above), issuing label Kompakt has given us the premiere of Berlin techno duo Barker & Baumecker‘s version of the lush cut. The pair doesn’t entirely eschew producer Axel Wilner’s original ambient slant for its remix, but nonetheless pushes the swirling pulse of “Cupid’s Head” underneath a barebones drum patten and some warbling synths for stretches of the production. Roughly halfway through “Cupid’s Head (Barker & Baumecker Remix),” however, that dense cloud of melody rises back to the forefront for a short while, just before the track evaporates in a cloud of prickly atmosphere. The song can be streamed in full below.
Amidst the swell of continuing NAMM developments, a new video has surfaced detailing the features of the Sub37, Moog‘s new “paraphonic analog synthesizer” which is expected to see a release later this year. The Sonicstate website provides this comprehensive look at the Sub37 prototype—including its voice architecture similar to Moog’s SubPhatty synth, its built-in arpgeggiator, and a host of new routing and modulation features. Furthermore, what Sub37’s “paraphonic” quality actually is is explained in the 20-plus-minute video as well, which can be watched in full below.
London house specialist Fort Romeau (an artist more recently associated with the venerable Ghostly label) has announced that he’ll soon release a new EP via Frankfurt’s Live at Robert Johnson imprint in March. Entitled Her Dream, the forthcoming three-track effort appears to find Fort Romeau continuing to explore the dreamier sides of house, with a refreshingly subtle streak of soul in the mix. Few details have accompanied the announcement of the ascending producer’s next EP other than its release date, March 17, and the preview of Her Dream‘s three tracks, which can be heard below.
The forthcomingSaluki EP from Dutch DJ/producer Presk has been on our radar since before the holidays last year, but ahead of its release via Doc Daneeka’s Ten Thousand Yen label next week, we’ve been treated to a premiere of the simple DIY video for that four-song record’s title track. The clip focuses entirely on the movements of a painted dancer who is increasingly covered in vibrant colors as he twists, turns, wriggles, and writhes in front of the camera. Presk’s slinky “Saluki” track works out a rubbery, synth-laden groove as he does this, maintaining the stripped-down beat which drives the dancing man’s maniacal movements throughout the song’s four-minute run. The Saluki EP will be available on January 27.
Or:la‘s “Reach My Soul” was already a considerably deep house workout before Embryo got his hands on it, but on his remix—which serves as the b-side to Or:la’s recent 12″—the Slovakian producer takes the Liverpool artist’s original version into more properly thumping territory. In truth, Embryo’s “New York Mix” succeeds by simply focusing on the essentials: a set of stabbing chords, a rounded bassline moving in sync, a heavily compressed four-on-the-floor, and just a sprinkling of vocal samples to keep things lively.
After being quiet on the production front since releasing his debut LP Changing Days last year, Mano Le Tough has announced plans to release a new EP of original material next month via Maeve, a label he co-heads alongisde The Drifter and Baikal. The three-track Tempus is said to show three different sides of Mano Le Tough as a producer, with the opening two tracks taking shape as a “melodic burner” and a “dancefloor moment,” respectively, while the effort’s closing cut is teased as finding the Berlin-based artist operating as “Mano the Haus Romantiker, returning to a style reminiscent of his album.” Before the Tempus EP drops in vinyl form on February 24 (to be followed a week later by a digital release), the record’s artwork and tracklist can be found below.
A1 Tempus B1 Return To Yoz B2 Sorry Is A Useless Word
As part of the company’s array of new units being rolled out for NAMM, M-Audio has unveiled the Trigger Finger Pro, an updated version of its classic workhorse controller, the Trigger Finger, which brings with it an abundance of updates, including a built-in step sequencer.
Like its predecessor, the Trigger Finger Pro comes equipped with a 4×4 grid of pads and four sliders (though the amount of rotary knobs has gone from eight to four in the controller’s new version). It appears that most every component on the Trigger Finger Pro has been enhanced with extra functionality: Its 16 pads come with RGB feedback, a new high-resolution screen has been added, and extensive expression and transport controls are also accessible from the face of the unit. Perhaps the biggest addition, though, is at the bottom of the controller, where M-Audio has included a built-in step sequencer for users.
M-Audio will package the Trigger Finger Pro with a library of sounds deemed the “M-Audio Arsenal,” offering over eight GBs of “instruments, one-shots, loops, and more.” The controller is also said to come with its own detachable, three-position metal stand. No word on the pricing and availability of the Trigger Finger Pro has surfaced yet, but more details on the new controller (and everything else M-Audio is rolling out at NAMM) can be found here.
