“Durga,” a cut from Scottish producer Cain‘s Mora EP (due out via Fine Grains on September 30), immediately juxtaposes a heavily percussive intro with crystalline synths to establish its contrasting sound palette. Cain continues to add in warped chord progressions and an otherworldly keyboard riff without compromising the lightness of his production. And though the song’s overlapping polyrhythms flirt with both footwork and dubstep, “Durga” would be an outlier in both camps.
Although it was officially released back in March of this year, Ableton‘s Push controller has remained a somewhat rare beast, bouncing in and out of online backstock and proving even scarcer in actual brick-and-mortar stores. Perhaps in an attempt to insure that everyone has the chance to see Push in the flesh, Ableton has announced a worldwide tour for the controller, which will see demos of the unit hitting stores all around the world throughout the months of October and November. Scheduled to hit Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the US, the demos will be led by Push experts and/or certified Ableton trainers, but will also give attendees a chance to actually get their hands on the elusive music production tool and play around with it for themselves. We’ve included the upcoming US dates for the tour below, while all the details and schedule for Push’s international demo jaunt can be found here.
October 8 New York, NY – Turntable Labs
October 9 Washington, DC – Washington Music
October 15 Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Pro Audio
October 17 Minneapolis, MN – American Guitar and Band
October 22 New Berlin, WI – Cascio Music
October 24 Austin, TX – Austin Bazaar
October 24 St. Louis, MO – Mozingo Music
October 28 New York, NY – Alto Music
October 29 Chicago, IL – Live Sound and Lights
November 2 Madison, WI – MC Audio
November 2 Austin, TX – Music Makers
November 2 San Francisco, CA – Robot Speak
November 11 New York, NY – B&H Photo
November 14 Wellesley, MA – Parsons Audio
Anyone familiar with the L.I.E.S. camp knows that the New York label does an excellent job balancing quantity with quality across its amassing glut of leftfield releases. For its next record, L.I.E.S. will issue eight collaborative tracks from Marquis Cooper (a.k.a. Svengalisghost, pictured above) and Lili Schulder (a.k.a. 51717) working under the moniker Shadowlust. In a press release, the forthcoming Trust in Pain double-LP is referred to as a “non-stop electronic erotic cabaret” which was developed from a string of improvised live performances and two weeks of refinement. Cooper’s and Schulder’s debut as Shadowlust will be released sometime in mid-November, but before then, its tracklist can be perused below, where a stream of opening cut “Iris” is also available.
A1. Iris
A2. Galician Dream Sequence
B1. Girl 613
B2. Russulo’s Dream
C1. Fluid Distortions
C2. Jute
D1. Devotion
D2.Chrysanthemum (Coma)
Former Minus affiliate and current Items & Things label co-head Marc Houle has unveiled dates for an upcoming fall tour which will see the veteran DJ/producer making his way around North and South America, with a few European dates sprinked in for good measure. Beginning in October, Houle will travel around much of South America, bringing his crisp techno stylings to Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia over the course of two weeks. November will see the Berlin resident crossing North America, with gigs in Mexico, Canada, and both coasts of the US. Houle’s full list of upcoming tour dates is included below.
October 3 Madame – Rosario, Argentina
October 4 Items & Things Showcase – Mandarine, Buenos Aires, Argentina
October 5 Items & Things Showcase – Warung, Itajaí, Brazil
October 7 Items & Things Presents – CC Barranco, Lima, Peru
October 11 Club Bolera – Bogota, Colombia
October 12 Avalon Club – Pereira, Colombia
October 13 Kowel Club – Manizales, Colombia
October 18 1500m2 – Warsaw, Poland
October 19 Cosmos – Sevilla, Spain
October 27 Rex 25 Years Anniversary – Rex Club, Paris, France
November 3 XTC Music Festival – Mexico
November 3 The Network – El Paso, TX
November 8 Shine – Vancouver, Canada
November 9 Desert Hearts Campout – Apple Valley, CA
November 14 Treehouse – Miami, FL
November 15 Dolphin – Philadelphia, PA
November 16 U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC
November 23 Los Globos – Los Angeles, CA
November 27 TV Bar – Detroit, MI
November 29 The Network, Magazine Club – Lille, France
November 30 The Norad – Denver, CO
Dublin-based producer Lasertom doesn’t have many releases to his name yet, but what he does have shows a clear mastery of a sweeping, retro-futuristic Italo sound. “Maelstrom,” a cut from his forthcoming Drift LP, is a slow-building track that moves through several funky layers before settling into a comfortably spacey groove. Lasertom’s squeeling guitar and rising arpeggios set the stage for a blossoming, minor-key string melody that keeps lifting the song higher and higher.
Longstanding Boston DJ/production duo Soul Clap is—if nothing else—a champion of classic dance music; Charles Levine’s and Eli Goldstein’s influences and DJ sets dive into as much soul, funk, and vintage pop as they do bubbly house sounds. As such, the two artists seem like perfect candidates to deliver a mix album made entirely of tracks lifted from the catalog of seminal UK garage label Nice ‘N’ Ripe. The 30-track Nice ‘N’ Ripe All Stars finds Soul Clap curating and blending together tunes which date as far back as 1993, as well as reworking some classic material from the likes of Industry Standard and Planet Detroit. On November 11, Nice ‘N’ Ripe will release the mix album on CD and as a mixed and unmixed digital package, with a four-track sampling of the music arriving on vinyl. Until that date arrives, the artwork and tracklist for Soul Clap’s Nice ‘N’ Ripe All Stars can be found below. (via Resident Advisor)
01. 1st To Go – R-U-Reddy (Underground Instrumental Mix)
02. 24Hour Experience feat. Lorraine Lowe – Give Me That Love (Stepper’s Mix)
03. Urban Myths feat. Tiny – Pop No Style (Soul Clap Chocolate Fudge Edit)
04. Sylvester – Turn Table Mixer
05. Dangerous Liaison – Smoov
06. N-ergy – Changes (Bongo Dub Mix)
07. 3-Play – Rio
08. 24Hour Experience – Emotions
09. Intergration – Dubment
10. Grant Nelson – In My Soul (Soul Clap Nice ‘N’ Ruff Edit)
11. 24Hour Experience – Jazz From The Heart (Old Skool Re-Edit)
12. Thermo Statik – Men Beat The Drum (2 Taboo Remix)
13. Slypaul – Slypaul’s Groove
14. O.J.H. – Right Size
15. Planet Detroit – Find The Way (Soul Clap Smooth Jam Yumme Day Break Flute Edit)
16. Vision – Girl Let Me
17. Dub Syndicate Productions – The Big Chill
18. Strickly Dubz – I Can’t Stand
19. Urban Myths – I Just Can’t Help Myself (Original Version)
20. Ty Holden & James Reynolds – Nobody Else (Stepper’s Delight)
21. Jeremy Sylvester – Got To Go
22. Big Bird – Flav
23. Industry Standard – What You Want (Soul Clap Deep Edit)
24. Richard Purser – The Funk Daze
25. Livin’ Large feat. Colonel Abrams – Love Is What We Need (Radio Edit)
26. 24Hour Experience – Mantra
27. Sherwood – My Slave
28. Reflex One – I Need To Know (Main Mix)
29. Sly – Patiently 4 Love (2-Step Dub)
30. GOD feat. Frankie Paul – Kissing Game (Large Joint Slappy Mix)
Just today, Surgeon‘s performance from Dimensions Festival 2013 was posted online to stream and download for free. Known for his scathing brand of techno, Surgeon delivered a live set on Resident Advisor‘s Moat stage at the start of this month, dropping a propulsive and winding collection of tracks. Locked grooves unwind into splashes of white noise, cantankerous metallic percussion, and highly sanitized beats. The set unfurls over the course of an hour and a half, becoming increasingly busy and tightly wound throughout its course. The live mix can be streamed and downloaded for free via the player below.
In this short-but-sweet edition of our weekly gear wrap-up SoCal producer Daedelus discusses the production process behind his new LP, Waldorf shares its recently released Pulse 2 analog synth, we learn about some techniques for creating percussion using analog synthesis, and Native Instruments offers a chance to win a custom-designed Maschine workstation.
Earlier this week, proven Los Angeles beat chemist Daedelus caught up with Resident Advisor in order to detail the technology and philosophies which yielded Drown Out, the man’s new LP for Anticon. The discussion covers the roles played by traditional recording studios and analog recording equipment during the album’s creation, as well as diving into Daedelus’ process of sound-sculpting (which he refers to as “mulching”) and how the man incorporated the 808 into his new tracks. RA’s full interview can be read here.
This week, the German synthesizer designers at Waldorf released their Pulse 2 unit, a three-oscillator analog synth that serves as the long-awaited sequel to the company’s original—and now discontinued—Pulse synth (which first appeared back in 1996). The powerful piece boasts a comprehensive filter section, two overdrive circuits, and can operate in either paraphonic or unison modes. The video above shows off the desktop synth’s design while featuring some sounds made on the new unit. Full details of the Pulse 2—which is expected to be selling for a street price of just over $600—can be found here.
Although the video above focuses on Moog‘s Sub Phatty synth, the techniques used to build percussion from the unit’s analog oscillators could likely be applied to most any synth with similar controls. With that in mind, if any WIMT readers have wondered how to make kick, snare, hat, and tom sounds using analog synths, here is a brief video demonstration that should get them started—whether or not they have a Moog at their disposal.
And lastly, Native Instruments is offering users the chance to win a custom Maschine workstation designed by Japenese art collective Oilworks (pictured above). To enter, potential winners must like the Maschine Facebook page and this Facebook post before September 30, when the winner will be picked at random.
After delivering the strong inaugural release for promising new Brooklyn imprint Fifth Wall in the form of the Case (Nabis) EP, label co-founder Hound Scales‘ latest offering for the label solidifies the DJ/producer’s distinctively hybrid brand of industrial- and rave-inflected techno. Featuring two originals in addition to remixes from Japanese producer Yuji Kondo and scuffed techno purveyor and Opal Tapes affiliate Bleaching Agent, the Femen EP is purportedly a tribute to the powerful women who have sculpted the producer’s life. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Femen‘s two original tracks are situated firmly on the side of messy, powerful, and even primordial techno, with an unruly wallop reminiscent of Blawan.
The EP’s first original track, “A Clique of Tough Women,” starts things off with an air of industrialism and sees Hound Scales (a.k.a. Nico Jacobsen) slowly building up a clattering beat underneath murky waves of static and noise. A bit difficult to digest on first listen, the track lacks a coherent techno pulse, but is nonetheless intoxicating in its scruffy menace. “Throated” opts for a full-throttle approach, with its raw, harsh, bunker-techno rhythm matched by cold synths and an on-the-fly approach to fidelity. Yuji Kondo‘s take on “A Clique of Tough Women” sees him twist the original’s abstract inhospitability into skittering, multi-layered delirium, made all the more inviting by Kondo’s insertion of murmuring, buried voices in the mix. Finally, Bleaching Agent‘s remix of “Throated” underpins the original’s nostalgic chords with a shuffling beat that, while solid, feels slightly uninspired. Femen sees Jacobsen further honing his distinctive, militaristic take on techno; however, the EP is let down as a whole by its two weaker remixes.
A ton of great music appeared on the internet as streaming audio and video this week—even more so than usual, it seems. We’re not exaggerating: We’ve got record streams, brand-new original productions, one-of-a-kind mixes, engrossing music videos, and more from artists like Tim Hecker, Simian Mobile Disco, Nils Frahm, Wiley, Skream, Madlib, Guy Gerber, Daedelus, John Talabot, Teen Daze, and Autre Ne Veut, among others. The myraid of sights and sounds comprising the latest edition of Press Play can be found after the jump.
Though their titles indicate they were recorded in June and July of this year, these two sizable DJ sets from Simian Mobile Disco only appeared on the UK duo’s SoundCloud page this past week, and can now be streamed and downloaded for free.
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib released their Deeper EP this week via Stones Throw, and the soulful beats and smooth flows of “Harold’s” are lifted from that record.
Ahead of his Virgins LP dropping via Kranky, Tim Hecker has shared a beautifully warped video for album cut “Black Refraction,” directed by Sabrina Ratté.
Grime stalwart Wiley previewed his latest single, the ragga-infused “And Again (feat. God’s Gift),” as a teaser of his next record for Big Dada.
The remixes for Skream’s “Rollercoaster” single keep, um, rolling in, as the latest rework arrived this week from the anonymous producer known only as Route 94.
Daedelus’ Drown Out LP for Anticon may have dropped over a week ago, but this lovely extended teaser video for the record only just appeared this week.
Though the track has been available for about a year now, John Talabot’s remix of “Lonely Land” by F3 will soon be included on the Club Mod imprint’s first compilation, so the Aussie outpost decided to give away the tune as a free download.
“Ego Free Sex Free,” one of the forward-thinking pop jams from Autre Ne Veut’s Anxiexty LP, reappeared this week with a new video created by Brooklyn media company BANGS.
German musician/composer Nils Frahm is slowly leaking the details of his upcoming Spaces album, and our first glimpse of its music is the slow-building and delicate “Says.”
The latest record to drop via Cut Copy’s fledgling Cutters imprint is a four-track 12″ for Niles Delta’s “Aztec” single, which can now be heard in its entirety.
On October 1, Teen Daze will release his Glaciers album via Lefse, an occasion which is preceded by this colorful video for dreamy cut “Listen.”
Dirtyphonics is about to drop an EP of remixes for its “Hanging On Me (feat. Liela Moss)” single, from which Kastle’s bubbly, garage-touched version of the track is lifted.
Before it’s released this coming Monday, Low Jack’s grinding and visceral Flashes EP for the In Paradisum label is now available to stream in full.
Here’s an interesting mini-doc about veteran NYC percussionist David Van Tieghem, who will collaborate with 10 different artists—including Maxmillion Dunbar, Helado Negro, and Megafortress—on the next installment of the RVNG label’s Frkwys release series.
For those who missed it when it appeared on BBC Radio 1, a stream of Guy Gerber’s hour-long Essential Mix was put online earlier this week.
Bristol producer Tessela’s breakbeat-infused “Horizon” tune was posted online this week before his new 12″ for R&S arrives on October 7.
This 20-minute live recording arrives from Second Storey, the artist formerly known as Al Tourettes, who will be performing alongside Appleblim under the ALSO moniker this weekend at Fabric.
