Having just released his AVN011 12″ as 400PPM, prolific New York-based producer Shawn O’Sullivan is readying a new EP under his Vapauteen moniker, which will be issued by the equally prolific L.I.E.S. label. O’Sullivan’s latest outing is a six-track which finds him drawing a line between the two varying sides of Vapauteen. Its a-side has been described as “unforgiving, modular, slowcore beat electronics,” while the flip is said to explore “power electronics and harsh tone workouts.” The Vapauteen EP is set to drop in late November, but until then, its tracklist and artwork can be viewed below; previews of each track can be heard here. (via Juno Plus)
A1. Drawing Blood From a Stone A2. Ask the Boss A3. Basilisk B1. You’ll Get Used to it B2. An Unbreakable Bubble B3. Punish or be Damned
As the story goes, sometime following Error Broadcast‘s release of the Fish Touch EP by Russian man-of-many-talents Pixelord, Irish producer Boxcutter was enlisted to rework EP track “Kiss Your TV” for a vinyl reissue that unfortunately never happened. Now, Boxcutter’s remix has finally found a new purpose, to commemorate the Error Broadcast label reaching 6,000 followers on SoundCloud, and while 6,000 may not traditionally be a number met with all that much fanfare, it’s hard to argue with free beats—especially when they come in the twisted, G-funk-indebted form Boxcutter manages to cook up here.
Rising from an epiphanic experience, the video for William Kouam Djoko‘s “Deflourished” single (forthcoming via Tom Trago’s Voyage Direct imprint) is a kaleidoscopic dream work of animation. William’s penchant for interlacing African drums into his house influences makes for blissful dance music, as each beat is layered by yet another skittering, polyrhythmic drum pattern. Together, the track and video assert an entrancing state while vocals sustain over wonky rhythms and animated creatures engage in a euphoric primal dance. Everything eventually unfolds into a flurry of dazzling explosions and voodoo images before its abrupt ending.
Modeselektor’s 50Weapons label—which was once again highlighted during our recent Labels We Love week—will issue a mix CD surveying the imprint’s 2013 run, tapping French bass expert Bambounou to weave together selections from the last 12 months of the label’s output. Bambounou Presents: Best of 50Weapons 2013 is set to land on December 13, bringing with it 11 highlights from the label’s 2013 catalog—including cuts from XLR8R Pick’d records like Untold’s “Targa” b/w “Glare” and Benjamin Damage’s Heliosphere LP, in addition to tracks from Cosmin TRG, Shed, Addison Groove, and—of course—Bambounou himself. Before the mix CD drops next month, its artwork and tracklist can be perused below.
01 Cosmin TRG “Desire is Sovereign” 02 Shed “The Dirt” 03 Benjamin Damage “010X (Truncate Remix)” 04 Untold “Targa” 05 datei 42 “They Explore Themselves” 06 Bambounou “Ignition” 07 Benjamin Damage “Spirals” 08 Cosmin TRG “New Structures For Loving (Marcel Dettmann Remix)” 09 Bambounou “Brim” 10 Addison Groove & Sam Binga “Thr3id” 11 Phon.o “Schn33”
Red Bull Music Academy graduate Ryan Hunn, who operates under the moniker Illum Sphere, has announced that he is set to unveil his debut album via veteran UK outpost Ninja Tune. Having previously released his forward-thinking tracks via imprints like Tectonic, Brownswood, and Young Turks, Hunn will drop the 13-track Ghosts of Then and Now LP—described as “an album in the traditional sense, full of music that couldn’t be more modern, whilst nodding to Hunn’s various influences”—on February 10. Before then, Illum Sphere has shared lead single “Sleeprunner,” which can be streamed below, where the tracklist for Ghosts of Then and Now can also be found.
01. Liquesce 02. At Night (featuring Mai Nestor) 03. Sleeprunner 04. The Earth Is Blind (Prelude) 05. The Road (featuring Shadowbox) 06. Ra_Light 07. It’ll Be Over Soon 08. One Letter From Death 09. Ghosts Of Then And Now 10. Love Theme From Foreverness (featuring Shadowbox) 11. Lights Out / In Shinjuku 12. Near The End 13. Embryonic (featuring Shadowbox)
Acquaintance is a budding UK producer who also heads up the strangely named Anti-Ghost Moon Ray label. The imprint’s next release is set to come from Acquaintance himself in the form of the four-track Parapsychology EP, from which the featherweight “Aerial” has been pulled. Built atop a mellow bounce, the tune fashions a rich melodic lattice from bubbling arpeggios and tender synth plucks—choosing not to launch into a full stomp across its nine-minute run, but rather to allow the understated drums beneath to provide a crisp rhythmic bed for the producer to unfold an ever-increasing array of heavenly elements. Acquaintance’s three other similarly infectious excursions into blissful electronics can be heard when his Parapsychology EP drops on November 4.
Continuing with its knack for uncovering nascent producers with strong talent, Brooklyn label Mister Saturday Night—which recently appeared in our annual Labels We Love coverage—has tapped relatively unknown Irish artist Boya to helm its next release. The heavily atmospheric, three-track 12″ will mark the producer born Davin Conaty’s debut physical EP, and is slated to appear on November 25. Ahead of that occasion, snippets from the appropriately titled The Boya EP can be streamed below. (via Juno Plus)
We’ve got an updated free download of Legowelt’s hi-quality synth sample pack, a peek into the synths used on Benjamin Damage’s new EP, Max Cooper discussing his work with the 4D Soundsystem, a look at a beautiful collection of classic drum machines, and more in the latest This Week in Music Tech.
Earlier this week, prolific Dutch producer Legowelt shared a new sample pack containing 350 samples (in WAV format) custom-made using his Roland JD-800 synth. Shortly after the initial post went live, the link appeared to no longer work, likely due to a high volume of curious tunesmiths attempting to download the folder. Now, the link appears to be repaired and ready to dish out Legowelt’s comprehensive sample pack. The full ZIP file can be downloaded for free here, or directly from Legowelt’s site, here.
For the first edition of our new Singled Out feature, XLR8R tapped Berlin transplant Benjamin Damage to reveal the layers of Juno synths hidden in “Nebula,” a hypnotic cut from his new EP for 50Weapons. In the article, Damage breaks down the process and equipment which yielded the lush pad sounds used in his track, offering readers a chance to hear and download the sonic elements separate from the rest of the production. The full piece can be read here.
Earlier this week, the Asheville-based Moogfest festival announced the launch of a DIY circuit bending competition, which offers festival passes and new Moog synths to its three winning contestants. Those ready to take on the challenge have until midnight of February 23, 2014 to turn in their submission. The full set of rules, details, and instructions for submitting to the Fourth Annual Moog Circuit Bending Challenge can be found here.
London-based producer Max Cooper has spent some time working with the Amsterdam team behind the 4D Soundsystem, which allows for detailed placement of sounds in a three-dimensional sonic field. Using a custom-made program to spatially design how his tracks are presented, Cooper put together a number of performances using the 4D Soundsystem, and took a few minutes to explain to DJ TechTools how it all works, which can be seen in the video above. Further information and more specific examples of how Cooper’s music is used within the system can be found here.
Drum machine enthusiast Joe Mansfield is in the midst of prepping a new picture book of his entire collection of rare and sought-after rhythm boxes entitled Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession, but before the book lands on December 3, an extensive slideshow of his collection—including pieces like the one seen above—is now available to oggle over. Sure, it’s basically drum-machine porn, but since when has that ever been a bad thing? The full collection of photos can be drooled over here.
And lastly, at the end of next week, submissions are due for the XLR8R-sponsored Ghostpoet remix contest, with its three winners set to have their reworks cut onto one-off dubplates by London vinyl manufacturing plant The Carvery. Full details can be found here.
Longstanding German duo Mouse on Mars has seemingly found a kindred spirit in Modeselektor’s Monkeytown label, as the pairing has brought about something of a resurgence from producers Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner. Following last year’s intriguing and inventive Parastrophics album (not to mention a few other smaller releases and a handful of press appearances), Mouse on Mars has just announced a brand-new EP. The five-track release is called Spezmodia, and will be the pair’s first digital-only record when it drops on January 10. Said to contain “five happy hardcore-inspired, gabba-reminding club tracks which aim to push both listeners and dancers to their limits and reflect what you experience at a Mouse on Mars live show,” the EP’s tracklist and a preview of its music can be found below.
01 Bakerman is Breaking Bad 02 Cream Theme 03 Spezmodia 04 Migmy 05 I See Dizzy
It was yet another busy week for new music on the internet, and the latest edition of Press Play is here to round up all of its highlights. James Blake, Matthew Dear, Holy Ghost!, Pearson Sound, DJ Sliink, SCNTST, Mike Slott, and Total Freedom are just a handful of the names who offered up fresh sounds, along with plenty of others. It all can be experienced in full after the jump.
As everyone seems to be doing, recent Mercury Prize winner James Blake reworked a Drake song to his liking, and offered the tune as a free download.
Mr. Mitch’s “response” to the so-called grime war going on lately is this Peace Dubs Vol. 1 offering, a batch of classic grime instrumentals—including Wiley’s “Eskimo”—warped and slowed down by the UK producer.
Ghostly stalwart Matthew Dear recently shared this busy and beat-driven remix of Jagwar Ma’s “Come Save Me” single for Mom + Pop.
The week after he dropped previews of his next EP for Hessle Audio, Pearson Sound posted a full stream of barebones title track “Starburst.”
East Coast club don DJ Sliink remixed “Jansen” by Austin outfit FBOM, and promptly got the music video treatment for his party-starting tune.
Before his upcoming Self Therapy LP drops via Boysnoize Records, young German DJ/producer SCNTST gave us the premiere of his latest mix.
Tom Demac’s forthcoming EP with vocalist Will Samson is set to drop on November 5 via Will Saul’s consistently solid Aus label, and can now be streamed in full before its release date.
Top-notch producers like Mike Slott, Dam Mantle, Soosh, and Fulgeance, among others, can be found reworking some of Kelpe’s latest tunes on the upcoming Fourth: The Golden Eagle Remixed record.
This week, DJ/producer veteran Brock Van Wey unleashed a stream of one of his forthcoming Earth House Hold tunes, the lush and melodic deep-house sounds of “A Little Late For That Now.”
Holy Ghost’s disco-informed cover of “Hold On We’re Going Home” by Drake is easily one of the better unauthorized versions of the hit single to surface.
Fade to Mind co-owner Total Freedom had his with with Ciara’s recent “Body Party” single, and gave away the haunted, frenetic results as a free download for Halloween.
The soft-voiced singer and co-producer of SETH, Brooklyn artist James K unveiled one of her new solo tracks from the forthcoming RUM EP.
Before his brand-new 12″ drops via Boys Noize’s BNR Trax imprint, Barcelona artist Cardopusher has posted a full stream of both its acid-soaked sides.
