After sharing news of a forthcoming remix EP featuring reworks of his tracks from Leogwelt and Demdike Stare’s Miles Whittaker, Cosmin TRG has detailed his next release of original productions, a three-track EP for Gerd Janson’s Running Back label. The Panoramic EP is described, rather plainly, as “three cuts for the techno dancefloor and all the other ones,” which likely means it will continue down the path Cosmin TRG has been on for a while now, crafting melodically tinged and sonically detailed techno music. Marking his first release for Running Back, the record will arrive in early November. For now, its artwork and tracklist are included below. (via Juno Plus)
Our recent profile of Warp mainstay Mark Pritchard detailed the variety of aliases and genres the prolific UK producer has used over the past few decades, but it seems that shapeshifting might be a thing of the past. Pritchard has announced the forthcoming Make a Livin’ EP, the final and third installment of a series of EPs issued under his own name to mark a break from his multi-alias past. Following the solid Ghosts and Lock Off EPs, Make a Livin’ is set for release on November 12, and is said to “span UK rave, dub, footwork, jungle, and 8-bit” sounds. The title track, which puts a vocal sample from Steel Band’s “Heaven & Hell Is On Earth” to heavy use, can be streamed below, where the tracklist for Pritchard’s next record is included.
A1 Make A Livin’ A2 Fabulous Fred B1 Jack B2 Natty
London-based producer Auntie Flo has been weaving together the dark sounds of the UK underground and African rhythms for a few years now, crafting an impressive array of tracks with both rhythmic precision and mechanical fortitude. His latest, a free track for Enchufada’s Upper Cutssingles series called “Zulu Death March (Weep Weep),” continues along those lines, marrying a cyclical vocal snippet over booming tribal-informed drums that shift slyly around the beat. A gliding synth phrase and rapidfire snare rolls help the track’s energy come to a crest, and as Auntie Flo illustrates, there is still a lot of unexplored territory surrounding these disparate rhythmic influences.
Revealed over the summer that the duo comprises Manchester producers Synkro and Indigo, shadowy outfit Akkord has just shared the particulars of its debut album for Houndstooth. The 10-track Akkord LP is scheduled to arrive on November 25, roughly six months after its Navigate EP dropped. That record’s title track will appear alongside nine never-before-heard original productions which are said to “[blur] the lines between junglist revivalism, smoky ambience, and suctioned dub, with a consistently engaging pulse linking the styles.” Leading up to its first LP’s release, Akkord will be sharing previews of its new music on its website, here; the tracklist and artwork for Akkord can be found below.
XLR8R always makes an effort to cover music that we think is new and exciting, but certain acts have proven themselves to be especially adept at breaking the mold. The Innovators mix series, presented by Cigna, is designed to spotlight one-of-a-kind artists that we think are particularly innovative and unique. We kicked things off last week with an exclusive mix from Todd Edwards, and have elected to keep it going by enlisting Los Angeles DJ/producer Kingdom (a.k.a. Ezra Rubin). Raised in Massachusetts, Rubin first made a proper name for himself while living in New York, where he quickly gained a following thanks to his DJ prowess, along with a series of innovative mixtapes and singles for labels like Fool’s Gold and London’s Night Slugs. His relationship with the latter crew has been particularly fruitful, as Kingdom’s inventive brew of R&B, hip-hop, grime, rave, and twisted bass sounds has found a real kinship with the music being generated by the Night Slugs camp. The exchange of ideas continued even after Kingdom relocated to Los Angeles and started his own Fade to Mind label and collective, which he runs alongside similarly experimental artists Nguzunguzu, Total Freedom, and Prince William. This year has seen Kingdom release a new EP, Vertical XL, and also contribute production to the freshly released Cut 4 Me mixtape by Fade to Mind songstress Kelela. In the midst of all this activity, he somehow found the time to assemble a mix for our Innovators series, and it finds him pulling heavily from the Night Slugs and Fade to Mind catalogs while showcasing the top-flight DJ skills that helped him catch our attention in the first place.
01 @Kristen-Ilycia Vine Rip Intro 02 Krezy Ryan “Brassband” 03 Kelela “Enemy [Prod. Nguzunguzu]” (Fade to Mind) 04 Dat Oven “Icy Lake (Total Freedom Remix)” (Fade to Mind/Night Slugs) 05 Neana “Bow Kat (8 Bar)” 06 Kelela “Do It Again [Prod. NA]” (Fade to Mind) 07 Divoli S’vere “P**** So C**** (Instrumental)” (Qween Beat) 08 Nguzunguzu “Harp Bell” (Fade to Mind) 09 Jam City “Worst Illusion” (Night Slugs) 10 Moleskin “Turnt On” 11 Ciara “Backseat Love” (Epic) 12 DJ K Millz “Can You Handle It? (feat. Bree & K-Shiz)” (Brick Bandits) 13 Jam City “Garlands” (Night Slugs) 14 Helix “Track Titled 1 (Kingdom Edit feat. Divoli S’vere)” (Night Slugs) 15 DJ Eastwood “U Aint Ready (Dubbel Dutch Edit)” 16 NA “Xtreme Tremble” (Fade to Mind) 17 Kelela “Cut 4 Me [Prod. Kingdom]” (Fade to Mind) 18 Nguzunguzu “Skycell” (Fade to Mind) 19 Sean Garrett “Anytime” (The Practice) 20 Kingdom “Untitled” (Fade to Mind)
UK downer-pop trio Darkstar was once better known for its forward-thinking beats than its poignant melodies, and the outfit seems to have returned to the former territory on a recent remix it did of “Young Hearts,” a cut lifted off the band’s own News from Nowhere LP for Warp. The track will appear as part of a forthcoming series of remix EPs, alongside productions from Motor City Drum Ensemble and Zomby, and finds Darkstar working out a gummy, punch-drunk groove that strangely recalls Gerry Read’s brand of blunted and raw house music. “Young Hearts (Darkstar Remix)” can be streamed in full below and downloaded for the price of an email here.
Daniel Avery‘s ascent from budding upstart to established talent has been quicker than most, with his flurry of critically regarded EPs and singles building steam throughout 2012 and rasing the London producer/DJ’s profile well into 2013. Earlier this week, Avery landed on a new milestone in his still young career by releasing his debut LP, Drone Logic, via Erol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound label. But even with this new, fully formed artistic statement in our hands, there is still a lot we do not know about the unassuming Avery, which is why we’ve asked him to put together a collection of tunes for our latest installment of Hi-Five. He’s responded by selecting a few choice cuts of what he calls “misty-eyed techno,” highlighting tracks from the likes of James Holden, Dauwd, and Barnt while giving some insight into the tender, melodically rich productions that continue to inspire him.
Holden “Blackpool Late Eighties”
This is one of the most beautiful electronic tracks I’ve heard in years. James Holden has always been an innovator who can take elements from all over the musical spectrum and apply them to his own unique brand of club music.
Oni Ayhun “OAR003-B”
It literally does not get any better than this record—a perfect moment of dancefloor euphoria that I never want to end.
Dauwd “Silverse”
I am obsessed with this track at the moment. I want to call it “space techno,” but is that too cheesy? I’m going to do it anyway. It totally fills my head.
Barnt “What Is a Number, That a Man May Know It?”
Barnt is a really interesting new character that has emerged on the European electronic scene. The music is Krautrock meets late-night techno, but never in a contrived way. This record sounds like the kind of thing you’d hope Tony Wilson would be signing today were he and Factory still around.
Daniel Avery “Drone Logic (Factory Floor Remix)”
Apologies for picking something with my name on it, but I’m still so excited that I got my favorite new band to remix one of my tracks, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. This remix is relentless but perfectly controlled, and it really comes to life when you hear it in the middle of a dark room.
Last month, we shared news of the impending return of KILN (the longstanding but seldomly releasing trio of Kevin Hayes, Kirk Marrison, and Clark Rehberg III) to Ghostly with a download of album cut “Star.field.” Now, before KILN’s meadow:watt drops on November 12, we’re treated to another selection from the upcoming effort in “Boro.” Like “Star.field,” “Boro” is a hyper-detailed piece of electro-acoustic production, its flute-like melodies and static-infused drums playfully existing between real-world audio and computer manipulation. Though the real treat comes right before the four-minute mark, when the unassuming, aimlessly floating melodies of the song’s first half flip into an almost Prefuse 73-like procession of reversed chords, psychedelic-tinged textures, and light, jazz-infused boom-bap. It’s a nice transformation, and one that has us continuing to wonder exactly what else to expect on KILN’s meadow:watt when it drops next month.
Calling all home recordists “bedroom producers” is as reductionist as the term seems. New York’s Policy (a.k.a. Francis Hsueh) certainly seems to transcend the term, as the lawyer-cum-filmmaker and father of two has repeatedly issued jazzy, deep-house-leaning tracks with an impressive sense of musicality and restraint. Postscript, his new, six-track EP for LA label 100% Silk, is a subtle and telling expansion of his output thus far, building on this year’s XLR8R-picked Hit Gone Bad EP.
Postscript‘s first half finds Policy continuing right where he left off—a series of warm, mid-tempo jaunts with an emphasis on overlapping melodic themes and subtle, nonchalant production choices. The fluid house groove of “Postscript 187” utilizes sawed-off vocal snippets and an efficient, sturdy bass pattern before a clarion call adds an unexpected flavor that guides the song to a crest in both energy and compositional arc. “Groove Street Freeze” employs another carefree groove that’s content to strut leisurely in the background, exemplifying a laissez-faire attitude that extends across the EP. Policy’s tracks seem content to wander along until they reach their natural conclusion, though at times this inertia is a hindrance. Such is the case with “Remembrance,” which despite taking a few more risks sonically—in particular with the skittering, chord progression that kicks off the track—feels a bit plodding, as if Hsueh is still figuring out where the song should go as it plays.
The second half of Postscript is where Policy begins to expand his reach, though the effort never feels contrived. Standout track “Ghost in the Groove” demonstrates the sweet spot between a belabored and slovenly arrangement, as harder-edged drum sounds and a wrought soul sample rub together singularly as a delay-soaked hoover synth riff bounces between the speakers. Later, “Wiseblood” and “Big Beat Anthem” bring more aggressive sounds to the forefront. Utilizing syncopated sidestick hits, washed-out chords, and white-noise-injected snares, both tracks contrast nicely with Policy’s more genteel productions.
It’d be very easy to overlook the range the EP employs, and yet the subtle sonic expansion of Postscript is one of its biggest virtues—its first half succeeds in continuing to meld Hsueh’s elegant melodic sensibilities with warm, chastened grooves, while the second demonstrates he can shine even when venturing into less familiar territory.
Birstol-based producer Artifact has formed a new collaborative project called Feud, which finds him working with fellow Bristolian tunesmith Sentiment to craft sinister slices of 160-bpm fare. “Misery” is one such track, a spacious but fast-paced cut which tastefully balances precise percussion with ominous atmospheres and unmistakably sturdy low end. At the moment, Feud does not have any official releases in the pipeline, but has shared a 20-minute “soundreel” to give curious listeners a better idea of the kind of brooding hybrids the pair is currently cooking up.
