Podcast 834: John Digweed

As a fan of electronic music, the chances are high that you’ve experienced music touched by the hands of John Digweed, the head of Bedrock Records. Over a 40-plus-year career, Digweed, originating from Hastings, southern England, has put out more than 60 mix CDs, produced and remixed over 70 tracks, and played at the likes of Glastonbury and Coachella. He’s also shared more than one thousand episodes of his Transitions radio show, which is broadcast in over 80 countries worldwide to over 14 million people a week. But most recently he released Futuro, a collection of four eclectic mixes compiled of new and previously unreleased music coming from Marco Bailey, Nick Muir, Captain Musta, and more in celebration of 25 years of Bedrock.

For this week’s XLR8R podcast, Digweed has delivered a new mix, recorded before the turn of the year, and once again featuring music from his artist friends. To record it, he asked some of them to deliver one of their favorite tracks, then he mixed them together with his trademark unyielding precision. Press play for one hour of synth-heavy acid house from a master.

01. What have you been up to recently?
Touring Japan, Bali, Greece, and Ibiza, as well as putting the final touches to the new Futuro album project.

02. What have you been listening to?
Running a record label, most of my spare time is spent listening to demos sent in for consideration for being released on my Bedrock label.

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
As I travel around the world in hotel rooms and also at home.

04. What setup did you use?
I use Ableton live to put all my mix albums together

05. How did you choose the tracks that you’ve included?
I reached out to some of my favorite producers as well as artists I admire and requested a track from them. Once I had all the tracks in I set about compiling and making the tracks work as a complete album.

06. Where do you imagine it being listened to?
I would imagine this album would be listened to in cars, headphones, and at home. I have done over 60 mix albums now and have a loyal fanbase of fans who support these projects.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklsting

01. Apaull “Dogma” (Abe Duque remix) (Furnace Room Records)
02. Radio Slave vs Audion “Mouth to Mouth” (Rekids)
03. 8kays “Lyra” (Watergate Records)
04. Oliver Huntemann “Paralleluniversum” (Senso Sounds)
05. d.digger “Mondrakete” (Lucid Flow)
06. Franky and Sandrino “Comportamento” (Sum Over Histories)
07. Rodriguez Jr. “Alraegadir” (Bedrock Records)
08. Solique “Lights” (Sum Over Histories)
09. Four Candles “Don’t Talk About” (Bedrock Records)
10. Madden “That Ending Track” (Bedrock Records)

Erika de Casier to Release Third Album

Erika de Casier will release a new album next month.

Casier, a 33-year-old Danish singer, songwriter, and producer has built a cult following with her 2019 debut album, Essentials, and she built on that designation with 2021’s Sensational, her first for 4AD.

Still, her third album, is “classic de Casier,” we’re told, with her idiosyncratic mix of luxuriant electronica and moonlit R&B.

Her songwriting is as masterful and universal as ever, and her proficiency as a producer heightened as she produces other voices including They Hate Change, Shygirl, and Blood Orange for the first time.

She also invites new collaborators, working with live musicians in addition to samples.

N, co-producer of Essentials and Sensational, returns here, but added to the fold are Jonathan Jull Ludvigsen, Carl Emil Johansen, Niels Kirk, Christian Rhode Lindinger, Nick León, and more.

Tracklisting

01. Right This Way
02. Home Alone
03. Lucky
04. The Princess
05. Erika de Casier feat. They Hate Change
06. Test It
07. ooh
08. Believe It
09. Anxious
10. Ex-Girlfriend feat. Shygirl
11. Toxic
12. My Day Off
13. Erika de Casier feat. Blood Orange
14. Someone

Still LP is scheduled for February 21 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Lucky” below and pre-order here.

Scissor and Thread Welcomes Will Long

Francis Harris‘ Scissor and Thread will release a new EP from Will Long.

Will Long is an American artist who curates and manages the label Two Acorns. He has been producing music since 2005, in various forms under his own name for DJ Sprinkles’ Comatonse Recordings, and as Celer for his own label and many others.

He debuts on Scissor and Thread with Too Much.

The lead track is a lush, loose deep jam that combines wistful, warm pads with an insistent groove and choice samples.

“A midnight meditation of intentional simplicity, strained, and on that night train,” says Long.

Francis Harris steps up to provide one of his signature reforms, adding a little more percussion and drive to the track, while DJ Aakmael (a.k.a Greg Stewart) offers up another version that takes the track even deeper, adding some additional instrumentation and raw sounds.

For more information on Francis Harris, check out his XLR8R feature here and his podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Too Much
02. Too Much (Francis Harris Reform)
03. Too Much (DJ Aakmael Remix)

Too Much EP is scheduled for January 26 digital release. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream the lead cut below.

Ben Frost is Back with Sixth Album

Australian-Icelandic producer Ben Frost will release a new album in March on Mute.

Scope Neglect is Frost’s sixth studio album and his first in seven years.

With Scope Neglect, Frost ventures into “new sonic territories,” we’re told. Across eight tracks, featuring collaborations with Greg Kubacki from Car Bomb and Liam Andrews of My Disco, Frost blends the intensity of metal with introspective, minimalist influences.

“It’s a journey of contrasts, where raw power meets ethereal delicacy,” Mute says, “narrated through Frost’s unique lens of cyclic themes, mathematical structures, and mythic storytelling.”

Frost’s artistic footprint extends beyond music to film, television, and opera. He released The Centre Cannot Hold, his last album, in 2017.

Tracklisting

01. Lamb Shift
02. Chimera
03. The River Of Light And Radiation
04. 1993
05. Turning The Prism
06. Load Up On Guns, Bring Your Friends
07. Tritium Bath
08. Unreal In The Eyes Of The Dead

Scope Neglect LP is scheduled for March 1 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “The River Of Light And Radiation” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Photo: Topper Komm

Four Tet Teases New Album with New Single

Four Tet has released the first single from his new album.

“Loved” lands on the UK producer’s own Text Records label after he teased the track on his social channels last week.

No other information on the album has been released yet, but it will be Four Tet’s 12th and his first since 2020, when he released Sixteen Oceans and Parallel. He also issued 871 under his 00110100 01010100 alias the same year.

Tracklisting

01. Loved

“Loved” is available now, with a stream below.

Podcast 833: AshTreJinkins

Towards the end of last year, AshTreJinkins—the Fresno, Los Angeles beat-maker, producer, and rapper—released IT’S TRASH NOW on the mighty Leaving Records. It’s an album of lo-fi, gritty jams but it’s also “a screed, a manifesto, a series of abstracted diary entries, and/or a catalog of feelings experienced in half-remembered dreams.” It’s the latest evolution of an artist who has gone through various iterations, though Low End Theory, where he cut his teeth as a DJ-producer, low-end hip-hop, techno, and experimental and left-field deep house. Whatever it is, it’s masterfully proceed—each release little known treasure in its genre. (That includes “Love Fast,” a track he contributed to XLR8R+) IT’S TRASH NOW is no different, and for this week’s podcast AshTreJinkins has stepped away from his usual house and techno DJ sets to spin us some of the records that lie behind it: Vladislav Delay, Space Afrika, Andreas Tilliander, and more. So, kick back for just under an hour of vaporous ambient and dub-wise rhythms.

01. What have you been up to recently? 
I was in Los Angeles recently catching up with family and friends. I had a show and decided to extend my trip to catch up with people before I vanish for a while.

02. What have you been listening to?
Lately, I’ve been listening to Vladislav Delay’s Multila album, and the score for “Deep Red” by Goblin. I’m pretty obsessed with that score!

03. How was your 2023? 
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I’m very glad my IT’S TRASH NOW album is out, and I’m glad I made Dakim say “wtf was that track you played” after my set. Really the only two highlights of that year!

04. When and where did you record this mix?
In my bedroom with FL Studio 21. I just faded the tracks in and out; it was a simple process.

05. What setup did you use? 
Just FL studio 21 and my mouse.

06. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
I chose those tracks to show the many influences of the album I dropped so people can get an idea of where the inspiration came from. I have been listening to those artists for the last three years.

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
It doesn’t compare honestly. I usually get booked for house or techno sets or “beats” sets. The only time I played a set similar to this mix is when I played Sustain Release in New York in 2021. Actually, I played a set similar to this when I played a show for the In Sheeps Clothings and Motion Ward showcase. So, only twice have I played a set similar to this mix.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
More techno and house records from me that I’m releasing with a few solid record labels. I would love to say who but I don’t think I can leak that information just yet. I’m also starting my own record label                 called Buried Light. I have been slowly working on my next Apron Records release, too.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. AshTreJinkins “exhausted” (Schematic Records)
02. Rest Symbol “6” (An1ma)
03. Delarosa “Idris” (Intro) (Clock Wise Records)
04. Shuttle358 “Models Of My Life” (12k)
05. Tilman Ehrhorn “Clear” (MillePlateauxMedia)
06. SND “Untitled” (Mille Plateaux)
07. Marow “e.coli” (Mille Plateau)
08. Vladislav Delay “Raamat” (2020 Remaster) (Keplar)
09. Andreas Tilliander “Vibetan” (mille plateaux)
10. SND “Circa 1666” (Mille Plateaux)
11. Loom “Isolex 03” (Mille Plateaux)
12. Space Afrika “gwabh” (sferic)

Ólafur Arnalds Launches Label with Single from Sofi Paez, Costa Rican Pianist

Ólafur Arnalds has launched a new label called OPIA with a new single from Sofi Paez, a pianist and composer born in San José, Costa Rica.

Paez experiments with piano, voice, and electronic elements in search for new ways of expression in her roots, using both the Spanish and English language. Her pieces are often inspired by daily life and the nature that surrounds her. In 2023 Paez garnered widespread interest upon releasing her debut EP, Circles.

On “Por qué,” the first taste of her new album, Silent Stories, Paez grapples with the profound loss of a loved one. The intersection of the delicate piano, dark synthesizers, and haunting vocals in her native Spanish creates a unique and emotionally charged sonic landscape.

On Silent Stories, Paez captures the simultaneous existence of happiness and sadness, love and fear, hopefulness and grief.

“Within each of us lies a unique story—a collection of inner struggles that we conceal, silent battles that can often go unnoticed,” Paez says. “These challenges subtly infiltrate our lives, yet they never deter us from pressing forward. Somehow, we discover the resilience to continue, repeatedly finding the strength to keep on going.”

“Over the past three years, I’ve dedicated myself to crafting this album,” Paez continues. “The stories within these songs unfolded slowly, witnessing the numerous changes I have faced and many different landscapes. Now, these songs are ready. These, dear listeners, are my silent stories.”

Born out of Arnalds’ desire to create an environment that encourages experiments and collaboration, OPIA was originally founded in 2019 as a one-day festival. Today it is focused on strengthening the scene where modern-classical music meets electronic.

Tracklisting

01. Por qué

Por qué is available now.

Photo: Mariam Wo Ching

Teklife Welcomes DJ Lucky for Debut Album

DJ Lucky, real name Lashawn Riley, will release his debut album on Teklife.

Triple 7 follows on from “Rupees,” a single featuring PlainJames released in October. It features DJ Manny, Taso, and Weezy, and delivers “pure modern footwork tailor-made for the dancers,” we’re told, “but with tons of rave-friendly sonics in-between.”sonics

We’re also told that at times the vibe on the album is soulful, but other times it’s eerie. And that the synth work is “masterfully crafted” throughout the album, with lots of trance-inducing arpeggios.

DJ Lucky previously released “Welcome to the Party” on Teklife’s ON LIFE volume 3 compilation.

Tracklisting

01. War feat. DJ Manny
02. G.B.G.W feat. Taso
03. Your Emotions feat. Khodi.ell
04. Spazz Out
05. Hit Da Flo feat. WEEZY
06. Lost Without U
07. 1366
08. Gawd
09. Trance X
10. Demon Time

Triple7 LP is scheduled for January 12 release. We’ll add pre-order links as they become available.

Skee Mask Drops 11 Archival Tracks

Skee Mask has shared a new batch of archival tracks via his Bandcamp page.

C is the third batch of previously unreleased tracks that the Munich, Germany DJ-producer has shared since March 2022. B was released in December 2022 and A landed some months earlier.

All of these tracks were made between 2016 and 2020, and they’re all unmastered.

Tracklisting

01. MDP2
02. Bassline Dub
03. Keygruv
04. Aktif Garbon
05. FFB7 Dub
06. One For Vertigo
07. Minitx
08. 11616
09. Blok
10. Pitchacid
11. thnk u

C is available digitally now with a full stream below.

Podcast 832: Rubi

The life of Rubi, who has been dancing to electronic music ever since she turned 18, took a turn in 2013, when two friends approached her, wanting to organize events in bars. They mentioned that they liked her taste in music and suggested that she join them. Being a curious person, she immediately went for a “hell yes” approach, she says, and started learning the ropes while putting a collection together. She played her first gig on vinyl when she owned a total of 30 records, bringing literally all of them to the event.

“Since then, I’ve kept founding and joining new collectives, moving countries, and turning lots of my life upside down several times, but music and DJing have always remained an anchor in my life,” she tells XLR8R, from her current home in Berlin.

Today, Rubi is perhaps best known for co-founding Barcelona event series Kommuna and the vinyl-only label Kommuna Tapes, one of the Spanish city’s most respected imprints. But as a DJ she has been touring across Europe for years now, earning a reputation as a connoisseur of forgotten music, and in 2020 she joined the Rings of Neptune agency. She curates Rings of Neptune’s own Feedback Waves, a reissue label to give standout releases from the past their first appearance on vinyl, and on Refuge Worldwide she co-hosts the monthly show Musical Autobiographies, inviting fellow artists to share their life stories through 10 tracks which influenced their journey.

Irrespective of location or time, Rubi’s sets are a testament to her dedication to discovering hidden gems. For her XLR8R podcast, she melds ever-evolving rhythms, unconventional drum patterns, and immersive melodic elements, all taken from Bandcamp either for free or for a small fee. Press play for a late festive treat—a captivating journey through the uncharted territories of electronic music.

01. What have you been up to recently?
After quite a lot of gigging over the summer, I have been using the colder (and light-deprived!) months in Berlin to spend more time in the studio lately. Together with my studio partner, Ben Flock, we’ve been lucky enough to sublet a beautiful space for the winter from Baby Vulture and have been finalizing our first EP under our joint moniker, Flubi Doo. It was supposed to be our goal for last year but issues with our previous studio and both of us being out and about have delayed the project quite a bit. Now I’m excited that a new space and fewer distractions have helped us to get it together, and we’ll be in a position to put our first EP out into the world soon!

02. What have you been listening to?
I have been listening to a lot of ambient and downtempo music lately, preferably with a cup of nice tea in my hand and some candles to avoid winter blues. Based on my mood of the day, I’ll alternate between more soft and bubbly artists like Dub Tractor, ISAN, or Iso68, to more classic hip-hop or trip-hop tunes on labels like Jazz Fudge and G-Stoned, to very ambient music by Opiate or H. Takahashi. And yes, all of these are also categories in how I classify the downtempo music that I play out!

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
I put the selection together and recorded the mix over a couple of evenings in my living room. Since I also work full-time, it’s not always easy for me to find time and space for creative inspiration after an entire working day. Luckily, life around me has quieted down a bit recently, which has done wonders for finding musical inspiration.

04. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
I actually chose a concept I had in mind for a long time and have been wanting to put out into the world. This mix is comprised entirely of tracks that you can get on Bandcamp either for free or for a few Euros. I have been wanting to do this kind of mix to showcase just how much you can put together with a lot of dedication to digging, but with fewer access to resources.

While I love playing vinyl, and have a large collection at home, I also find vinyl-only culture too limiting sometimes, and too exclusive for many parts of the world. Next to my vinyl collection I have a stash of CDs at home, which especially for downtempo and IDM can really expand your musical availabilities, and I spend a lot of time looking through Bandcamp. There are a lot of great producers which put their music on this platform, and I like that most of the money you spend on there goes directly to supporting the artists. So for this mix, I decided to take the opportunity and showcase just how far you can get with a few Euros, a lot of time, and an account on Bandcamp.

05. What can the listener expect?
I’d say you can expect a bubbly and trippy journey through danceable electronic music at some 126BPM, with a little downtempo outro to softly send you back into the outside world. There’s loads of pads coming your way, a few vocals, some almost-nasty-but-I-love-them sounds and interesting rhythms, made some time between the mid-’90s and now!

06. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
I’d say it’s actually quite similar to music I play out, and many of the tracks have been “turning in my bag” (a.k.a on my USB) for a while. My approach to dance music has always been on the slightly softer and immersive side, so I’d play this kind of music out at peak-hour-adjacent slots!

07. What’s next on your list?
A very exciting project actually! We’re currently in the final stages of getting ready to distribute the first release of Feedback Waves, a joint project with Cleymoore and Nies under the Rings of Neptune umbrella. It’s a reissue label to give standout releases from the past their first appearance on vinyl, and our first release will be the iconic Trill from Palomatic, a beautiful nine-track album originally released in 1995. I have excitedly been playing out the test pressings for some weeks now, and can’t wait to hold the final copies in our hands!

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Weith “Sonic Clickbait” (Touched Music)
02. Esem “noulli et” (deFocus)
03. Selffish “Aftertears” (Lagunamuch Records)
03. Tony Rainwater “Shower of Blossoms” (Dance All Day Records)
04. Omega Forest “Larka Island Race” (Dance All Day Records)
05. Glen S “To Infinity and Beyond” (Haws)
06. Biodive “Centrific” (Inch by Inch)
07. Setrus “Wek Tepid” (Goddezz)
08. Too Smooth Christ “Forbidden Bubblegum” (Self-Released)
09. nihilist__ “The Habitat” (Self-Released)
10. Laars and Cosmic G “End Point” (Goddezz)
11. VICARI “Weekore” (Self-Released)
12. Mouldy Soul “Whine and Shine” (UK Glitch Hop)
13. EU “Fenn” (Self-Released)
14. Fields of Mist “Don’t Worry” (Infinite Pleasure)

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