Red Rack’em I Trusted You” b/w “Converse”

If one could level a criticism against UK-bred, Berlin-based producer Red Rack’em (a.k.a. Danny Berman), it’s that on occasion, he can sound a little divorced from the music he’s making. To be fair, this could be said about many producers—plenty know which buttons to press, but not necessarily how to make a track that presses buttons. Berman regularly shifts from style to style, and perhaps this has compromised his ability to really hone in on a sound. Although formally very well done, “I Trusted You” b/w “Converse,” his latest 12″, doesn’t help this reputation much.

On the energetic a-side, gritty, crackling organ stabs alternate with cleaner ones, while a pitched-down voice repeats the title. Pushed forward by a cantankerous bassline and clattering, reverb-coated drums, it’s a sufficiently bumpy house workout, but not much more than that. “Converse,” on the flip, is more spare, and done in a vaguely tropical, syncopated style that hints at UK funky house. Its clean, plastic-y rhythm is paired with a mostly dulled, groaning bass, which intermittently wobbles to the fore. Calming pads give this foundation an added dose of warmth, but it’s still likely to simply blend into a set. Again, there is nothing wrong with “I Trusted You” b/w “Converse,” but one gets the sense that Berman is holding back a bit, as neither piece goes beyond its premise.

Video: The Range “Telescope”

Lifted from The Range‘s excellent and recently released Nonfiction LP, “Telescope” has been treated to a music video which takes its title quite literally. Consisting of a series of VHS-like distortions scrambling and swathing the image of massive NASA telescopes, the visuals disorient the viewer as galactic bodies rotate within the scrolling camera’s gaze. The hollow cymbal strikes of The Range’s production collide with a weighted pad motif and trumpeting synths that eventually give way to a muted chorus of harmonized voices—sounds which are complemented by the warped images created by director Peter Taylor.

Bicep Preps New EP; Preview It Now

After being a bit quiet on the release front in recent months—due in part, according to a press release, to the pair setting up its new studio—Bicep is set to deliver one last effort before the year is through, returning to its own Feel My Bicep label for the forthcoming Satisfy EP. The three-track endeavor is said to take on a darker, more synth-driven sound than Bicep’s previous efforts, with the pair adding that the EP signals a shift in its output which will be “more frequent and increasingly varied” moving forward. Before the three-track Satisfy EP drops on November 25, a trailer featuring clips of all three cuts can be watched below, where the forthcoming record’s artwork and tracklist can also be found.

01 Satisfy
02 Snack Bar
03 The Final Trip

Actress Shares ‘Ghettoville’ LP Details

Speculations and rumors about the next LP on the way from Werkdiscs label boss Actress have been in the air for a while now, but only today have the official details of Ghettoville been announced. The 16-track LP is scheduled to be released on January 27 as a digital package, a triple-LP, or an “Elephant-skinned” box set which includes the LP and CD versions of Ghettoville, a CD and exclusive double-LP version of 2008’s Hazyville, and a 32-page art book. And the album could very well be the last record producer Darren Cunningham issues under his Actress moniker. As the press release states, Ghettoville is “the bleached out and black tinted conclusion of the Actress image,” and Cunningham goes on in this manner before signing off with “R.I.P Music 2014.” The full statement can be read here, and the artwork and tracklist for Ghettoville can be found below.

1. Forgiven
2. Street Corp
3. Corner
4. Rims
5. Contagious
6. Birdcage
7. Our
8. Time
9. Towers
10. Gaze
11. Skyline
12. Image
13. Don’t
14. Rap
15. Frontline
16. Rule

Jabru “Glass Floor VIP”

Originally the title of a sprawling 2002 mix by dance veteran Tom Middleton, Sound of the Cosmos grew in meaning when Middleton, acid-house artist Richie Rundle, and music writer Joe Muggs curated a successful tent of emerging artists at the now-defunct Big Chill festival in England, leading the trio to host more festival stages under the Sound of the Cosmos title. Their latest expansion of the project is a record label, the first release from which will take the form of a collaborative EP called SOTC001 (artwork above)—featuring fresh cuts from Silkie, Distal, Mite, VVV, Forgold, and UK producer Jabru. Today, the label presents us with a VIP edit of Jabru’s contribution, “Glass Floor,” and this version revels in thunderous bass and swamped drum & bass breaks that collide in violent, volatile patterns. A sampler of clips taken from SOTC001 can be streamed after the jump.

Glass Floor VIP

Warp Signs London Experimentalist Patten, Details Tate Britain Takeover

Some keen-eyed XLR8R readers might remember back to the end of 2011, when we profiled a nameless, faceless producer known only as patten for our Bubblin’ Up feature series before going on to name the London producer’s deliciously twisted GLAQJO XAACSSO LP our 29th favorite release of that year. And though he’s since gone on to drop a handful of remix EPs for that album, as well as launch his decidedly boundary-pushing Kaleidoscope label, we haven’t heard any new music from patten since. We’re not sure how soon that will change, but with today’s announcement that the secretive Londoner has signed with electronic-music institution Warp, we expect that a new patten record is imminent.

Cryptic as ever, Warp’s announcement of the new signing was only accompanied by a brief clip of rainbow psychedelia and swirling atmospherics called “LL2.” There was no mention of a new release on the way from patten, but the label did share details of its forthcoming takeover of Tate Britain in London, which is described as “a free evening of performance and installations from Warp Records and artist Jeremy Deller, inspired by Deller’s work The History of the World.” Label affiliates Oneohtrix Point Never, Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, and patten are all scheduled to appear. All of the details for Warp x Tate can be found here, and patten’s “LL2” clip can be seen below.

Hi-Five – Tessela Shares Five of His Favorite Classic ’90s Hardcore Cuts

Hailing from England’s West Country, Tessela isn’t a producer who’s afraid to reference the golden era of rave in his work. His latest effort, the Nancy’s Pantry EP for R&S, offered an unobstructed view into Tessela’s ability to reinvigorate these decades-old sounds, pushing skillfully chopped breaks through rushes of warehouse-ready chords and industrial percussion. Given that, we figured that Tessela likely knew his way around a stack of ’90s rave records better than most, which is why we asked him to pick out five of his favorite classic hardcore jams. In response, he’s turned in a list that is properly loaded with chorded stabs, cheesy vocal loops, and—of course—lots of breaks.

Unique 3 “Weight for the Bass (3 Ton Mix)”

The percussion and programming on this track would be impressive if this was released today, let alone in 1990! I accidentally bought the paper-thin “DJ Promo” 12″ of this, but I still play it all the time.

Dave Clarke “Zeno Xero”

A friend of mine put me onto this one, and the whole thing is great. There is something really satisfying about those drums, they almost sound like they’re being squeezed down a tube or something. It’s no nonsense and to the point—there’s not a single element in there that isn’t vital to the track.

Nightmares on Wax “Aftermath”

Although I was only one year old when this was released, I’m guessing it was pretty ahead of its time. This was one of the early records on Warp that was released at a time when music started becoming really interesting for me. I played this at my brother’s wedding recently and had my mum on the phone the next day trying to sing it back to me asking who it was. For a woman who normally listens to Classic FM, I’d say that’s 10 points to Nightmares on Wax.

Strictly Underground “The Future Is Now (Pressure Mix)”

This is pretty much the perfect hardcore record—a catchy riff, a cheesy vocal, and about 50 different sections. Magic.

Blame “Piano Takes You”

I could have chosen one of 20-plus records from Moving Shadow’s back catalog, and I’m honestly not sure why I’ve gone with this particular one. Maybe it’s because it has an immediate, instant gratification. Maybe it’s because it’s Friday and I’m onto my second Duvel. Either way, this is pure rave-anthem madness. It’s also got a brilliant break to sample towards the end.

George FitzGerald Announces New 12″, Shares Lead Single “Magnetic”

Berlin-based producer George FitzGerald has been gradually building a name for himself in the realm of big-room house music, a fact which our recent Pop Goes The Dancefloor feature throughly explored. And now, following his recent “I Can Tell (By the Way You Move)” single, the artist is returning to the Double Six imprint for a two-song 12″. A-side cut “Magnetic”—a darkly sensual dancefloor tune with a no-nonsense beat and the producer himself on vocals—is the first of its tunes to arrive, and will be backed with “Bad Aura” when George FitzGerald’s new digital package drops on November 18, with the vinly arriving on December 2. Before then, a full stream of “Magnetic” can be found below.

Podcast 320: Clark

It wasn’t that long ago that XLR8R was re-examining the extensive discography of UK producer Clark in one of our Rewind features. The veteran artist was a natural candidate for the series, as he’s been regularly turning out music—almost all of it for the venerable Warp imprint—for more than a decade. Still, while it was fun to look backwards and dig up a bit of insight about some of our old favorites, we also found ourselves curious about where Clark’s musical headspace resides in 2013. The recently released Feast/Beast helped somewhat, but as a collection of remixes, it could only tell us so much. His upcoming North American tour with Jon Hopkins and Nathan Fake, which begins next week, will undoubtedly shed some more light on the situation, but we felt like the man deserved a proper solo spotlight, so we invited him to put together the latest XLR8R podcast. In truth, Clark is more of a live performer than a proper DJ, and that’s certainly reflected by this exclusive mix, which includes a number of his own productions and is also marked by the occasional sudden transition. At the same time, there’s still an enjoyable flow to the proceedings; over the course of the mix’s 45-minute run, Clark touches on a number of moods, tempos, and styles, though his predilection for raw, hyperactive rhythms is never put aside for too long. Without question, it’s a bit intense, albeit not in a way that’s likely to upset those who relish Warp’s long history of experimenting with the dancefloor.

01 Voltek “D503” (Net Lab)
02 Burial “Stolen Dog” (Hyperdub)
03 Clark “Untitled Beat”
04 Black Dog Productions “Olivine” (Warp)
05 Neon Jung “Delirium Tremens (Nathan Fake Remix)” (Magic Wire)
06 Ancient Methods “Untitled” (Ancient Methods)
07 Clark “Amp Loop”
08 Clark “Untitled”
09 Joe “Maximum Busy Muscle” (Hessle Audio)
10 Clark “Untitled Riff”
11 Cristian Vogel “Xpute the Woop Woop” (Tresor)
12 Nathan Fake “Unreleased Error222”
13 Clark “Untitled”
14 Special Request “Broken Dreams” (Houndstooth)
15 Clark “Shuttle Track”
16 Clark “Unreleased Modular Jam”
17 Traxman “Electric Funk” (Lit City Trax)
18 Mark Pritchard “Natty” (Warp)

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XLR8R_Podcast_Clark_2013_11_05

Gardland “Horse Cloud”

After releasing its impressive debut full-length, Syndrome Syndrome, via the RVNG label yesterday, Australian duo Gardland has sent over this exclusive cut which never made it onto the outfit’s first LP of techno explorations. Anchored by a thudding four-on-the-floor, “Horse Cloud” indulges in multiple layers of free-range electronics, sifting through lattices of filtered synth sequences, ethereal pads, and sparse helpings of rhythmic FX. The result is a track that—much like the pair’s debut album—strikes an intriguing balance between techno built for dancefloor form and techno as a base for experimental sonic expeditions.

Horse Cloud

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