Lords of Midnite “Drown In Ur Love”*Unknown to the Unknown*

A new 12″ is on the way via DJ Haus‘ unstoppable Unknown to the Unknown label, a three-track record which was crafted by a “mystery producer” by the name of Lords of Midnite. (All we can really say is that the artist has worked with UTTU before, and is known for having a predilection for multiple monikers and sci-fi narratives.) Called Drown In Ur Love, the forthcoming release is said to be the rediscovered transmissions of a now-extinct sect of humanoid aliens, whose lost rhythms “some consider the key to existence.” Heady stuff indeed. A-side “Drown In Ur Love” is our first taste of that esoteric offering, and mixes cosmic synth work and disembodied vocal samples with a pulsating deep-house beat that eventually gives way to rolling breaks, expertly playing off the track’s dense textures. Lords of Midnite’s EP is set to drop on July 15, but before then, previews of its three tracks and a video for the title cut can be found after the jump.

Drown In Ur Love

Video: Blondes “Elise”

Just last month, NYC duo Blondes graced us with a stream of its new album, Swisher, and they now have a syrupy, lo-fi new video for “Elise”, the record’s closing cut. The seven-minute clip finds director Greg Zifcak (who has also been responsible for past Blondes visuals) pairing swimming geometric shapes in a wash of hazy atmospheric colors and patterns. It’s as mesmerizing as the accompanying track, and makes a great metaphor for the band, as Blondes has always been content to find ways of marrying futuristic forms with its own analog-driven infatuation. Though it’s currently available as a digital download, Swisher will be released on double-LP and CD via RVNG on August 6, and the band will celebrate with a record release show in Brooklyn on July 20 at 285 Kent. Blondes’ updated list of European tour dates can be viewed below.

08/02 – OFF Festival – Katowice, Poland
08/03 – Nachtdigital – Olganitz, Germany
08/09 – Razzmatazz – Barcelona, Spain
08/16 – Panoramabar – Berlin, Germany
08/17 – Ostre – Bergen, Norway
08/22 – Sneaky Petes – Edinburgh, UK
08/23 – Start The Bus – Bristol, UK
08/24 – Soup Kitchen – Manchester, UK
08/25 – Bussey Building – London, UK
08/30 – Kuntshalle – Zurich, Switzerland
08/31 – Opium – Vilnius, Lithuania
09/01 – Electric Picnic Festival – Stradbally, Ireland
09/08 – Muziekgebouw – Amsterdam, NL

Cassy to Deliver Next Fabric Mix

Veteran jock and longtime Panoramabar resident Cassy Britton (or just Cassy) has been chosen to helm the next volume of Fabric‘s mix series, with her Fabric 71 collection set to drop early next month. The forthcoming, 17-track audio journey will feature tunes from the likes of Basic Soul Unit, Adam Marshall (of Bubblin’ Up duo Graze), Benjamin Damage, and John Talabot, and—as Britton explained in the announcement’s accompanying press release—is the result of some rather modest objectives. “The tracks on the mix all represent what I love about electronic music, and what I love playing,” she explains. “Simply, each track is individually beautiful—there is not much more to add… I have aimed to get back to the roots of what this should be about for every DJ—namely, playing records for the love of playing records, and not because of anything else.” Cassy’s Fabric mix will see an official release on August 19, and its artwork and full tracklist are included below. (via FACT)

01 Arttu feat. Diamondancer – Tune In [Clone Royal Oak]
02 Kuumba Project – Black Thoughts (Tribal Mix) [Psychostasia]
03 Livio Imrprota – Mare010 [Housewax]
04 Norm Talley – Tell Me (Late Night Creeper Mix) [Thema]
05 Italo Johnson – A1 [Italo Johnson]
06 Alex Cortex – Oh Yeah [Killekill House Trax]
07 Freestyle Man – Meeting At Dawn [Wazi Wazi]
08 Basic Soul Unit – Basic Necessity [New Kanada]
09 John Talabot – When The Past Was Present (Pachanga Boys Blue Remix) [Permanent Vacation]
10 Basic Soul Unit – For Some [New Kanada]
11 Affie Yusuf – Bring You Techno [Killekill House Trax]
12 Losoul – Brain Of Glass [Playhouse]
13 Marco Zenker – Landwehr [Ilian Tape]
14 Emptyset – Completely Gone [Caravan]
15 Benjamin Damage – 010x [50 Weapons]
16 Adam Marshall – Thelon (Todd Sines Mix) [New Kanada]
17 Duster Valentine – (My Back Is) Against The Wall [Rush Hour]

Hi, Doctor Nick! – Making the Move to Berlin and Whether or Not Posting Tunes Online Is a Good Idea

Last week, we gave our resident advice columnist the week off for Independence Day, but now, we’ve got Nick Hook back in the mix and he’s ready to dole out some knowledge. The good doctor is here every Thursday, answering our readers’ questions about music, production, gear, DJing, travel, life, love, and just about anything else they need to know about. Doctor Nick has seen the world and has done a whole lot of living, so he’s got wisdom to share. Tap into it by dropping him a line at [email protected].

Hi. I’m back in Brooklyn, dripping sweat. Taking a week off was crazy. It feels like it’s been a while. Apologies if I’m rusty.

I just got back from Seoul, South Korea. The trip was really amazing and it was eye opening to see how much amazing music is out there, and how people are paying attention to all the moves everyone is making across the world. To think you can just show up 7000 miles away from home and people will know you from music that you made and posted online from your bedroom is so great. I think I’m lucky to do this and I wanna shout out the cats I got to meet and build with while I was out there. I recommend everyone putting an eye to Seoul and going there if you have the chance. They are listening.

PEEP: Cakeshop Seoul, DJ YTST, Akimbo, Jinbo, Soulscape, Somdef, Mood Schula, Simo, 360 Sounds Crew, Big Body Gibbs, Som Serious, Yung Kim, Kingmck, BBQ fried chicken, and, last but not least, the most insane bar I’ve ever been to in my whole life—OLD TOWN.

Also, send me questions. [email protected]. Do it.

Hi Doctor Nick,
What’s up? My name is Nick too, so that’s cool. Basically, I’m about to graduate from a top-tier music school with a semi-dual condensed degree in music composition and audio engineering. Most of the students who graduate from this major end up going to LA and writing music for commercials and TV and I’m just not about that at all. My dream is to spend the next year saving money while teaching myself C++ and German, then moving to Berlin and trying to score a job at somewhere like Ableton or Native Instruments doing sound design or software development. I have some background in graphical programming environments like Pd and Max, and I’m pretty decent at sound design, but I have no coding experience whatsoever. Do you think this is realistic? Can you offer any suggestions for making this happen?
Nick

Nick 4 life breh. What’s good? Thanks for writing.

YES. It’s realistic. Why wouldn’t it be? You just graduated college with nine degrees. It’s just a question of how hard you are willing to work and navigate that maze.

To be honest, I know the Ableton guys and I’ve been to Berlin and most people there speak English, so you might want to spend that much more time on your coding. The German will come.

Your degree sounds nice. I mean, I am not sure, but I feel like I ALWAYS see openings for coders at companies like Ableton and Native Instruments. Look at these simple searches:

https://www.ableton.com/en/jobs/ (things available)

http://www.native-instruments.com/en/career-center/ (C++ guy available)

So yeah, go get it man.

Berlin is super cheap, so that’s something else you have going for you. I also recommend that while you are developing, you should go get an internship at either place, just so you guys can bond on a personal level and they will be wanting to take you on when you are ready—they will have already invested in you and will know you guys can work well together.

Another thing. Start making some iPhone apps on your own and make ill shit so you have some things to point at and say, “Hey, I did that.” People like working with people when they see that they have drive and initiative. I dunno how hard that is, but hey maybe it’ll work.

Anyways, go do it man. You got this.

Hi Doctor Nick,
What are your thoughts on releasing music? I want to get rappers on my tracks and am not sure if it’s best to put the stuff out there to the public, or keep the tracks private and network/sling them around individually. Know what I mean?
Tim

Well, are your tracks finished? Are they dope? It’s the chicken and the egg until it’s done.

To be honest, right now I think getting music in people’s hands is more important than anything. In a world of Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, you’re just holding yourself back by not showing anything.

I see it even more clearly as I get to travel the world and see how kids are consuming music in places like Korea. They love Flatbush Zombies and A$AP Ferg and are consuming music almost faster than we are.

Also, if you look at songs that have become hits, it usually takes a year of the inner circle of tastemakers (us and EVERYONE related to us) to like a song, rinse a song, usually end up hating a song, and then the rest of the world gets it and loves it and we are like, “Yo, Ima throw up if I ever hear that song again.”

I’d say do what feels good. It’s different every time and if a quality label has ideas and plans, then go for it. If not, the beauty is that we can really take things into our own hands right now and things are gonna find their way.

Hi, Doctor Nick! appears every Thursday on XLR8R. Do you have a question for Doctor Nick? Please submit your inquires to [email protected]. Nick Hook can help you.

White Knight “Acid Dub”*Still Music*

On the forthcoming Kill Yourself Dancing compilation, dance music archivists Still Music will present the story of Chicago’s Sunset Records Inc., a label which proved integral to the early evolution of house music, releasing a wide range of genre-blurring records during its run from 1985 to 1989. Pulled directly from the collection is “Acid Dub,” an appropriately titled acid-tweak-and-percussion-loop workout credited to a producer known as White Knight. In hindsight, a track like “Acid Dub” may not be the most sophisticated of tunes, but the effort certainly has enough pure rhythmic force to remind us that, sometimes, all one needs is a drum machine and a single synth to rock a party. The comprehensive tracklists for Kill Yourself Dancing—which will be released as a double-CD and double-LP on August 20—are included after the jump.

CD1:
01 Razz Feat. Matt Warren & Ralphi Rosario – Kill Yourself Dancing
02 Modern Mechanical Music – Persia
03 Master Plan – Electric Baile (Commercial Mix)
04 White Knight – It Could Be Acid
05 Ben Mays – Jail Bait
06 Hex Complexx – I Want You – Suite – The Dash Riprock Mix
07 Michaelangelo – You Can Do It
08 White Knight – White Knight Jacks Club Mix
09 Razz Feat. Matt Warren & Ralphi Rosario – Razz-Matazz
10 Boom Boom & Master Plan – Face The Music Club Mix
11 Razz Feat. Matt Warren & Ralphi Rosario – Pump It Up

CD2:
01 Matt Warren – The Way To My Heart Club Mix
02 Kajsa – Try Try Again House Mix
03 White Knight – Demons A Mix 4U
04 Modern Mechanical Music – Doo Doo Da
05 Razz Feat. Matt Warren & Ralphi Rosario – Say It
06 Boom Boom & Master Plan – Face the Music Dub Mix
07 White Knight – Yo Baby Yo Mix 1
08 Master Plan – Electric Baile (Large Dub)
09 White Knight – Acid Dub
10 Matt Warren – Rock The Nation Remixed By Kenny Jason (Bonus Track)

LP1:
A1 Razz – Kill Yourself Dancing
A2 Ben Mays – Lover Man
B1 White Knight – It Could Be Acid
B2 Boom Boom & Master Plan – Face the Music Dub Mix

LP2:
C1 Modern Mechanical Music- Persia
C2 Master Plan – Electric Baile (Commercial Mix)
D1 Hex Complexx – I Want You The Transcontinental Mix
D2 Matt Warren – Rock The Nation Remixed By Kenny Jason

Acid Dub

Marcel Fengler Fokus

Berghain resident Marcel Fengler‘s debut album, Fokus, inverts the polarity of his singles. This isn’t an innovative move in itself—the expansive medium seems to demand it. But in his hands, the results are particularly rewarding. Instead of leading with sounds immediately recognizable as techno and letting his personality emerge between the hits, Fengler leisurely builds tracks up around darkly reverberant atmospheres. From the sound of an early track like “Mayria,” one would guess that Fengler has been listening closely to the likes of Demdike Stare and Old Apparatus. The rhythm is mercilessly tough, grittily lo-fi, and yet more spacious than anything on last year’s appropriately titled and differently excellent Frantic EP. Adding to the atmosphere are disembodied wails and uncomfortably sustained horror-soundtrack strings, which keep the walls from closing in. The shapes that emerge from the album’s numerous open spaces are often uncannily human—this is a descent into Fengler’s own personal inferno, midway between the concussive bodily force of Berghain and the artificial paradises of raw, intoxicating sound design.

Setting aside the negative connotations of the term, Fokus is at times a threadbare record, and Fengler is audibly delighted to be reduced to the essential. While prizing nuance over function can sometimes lead musicians down a self-indulgent road, Fengler’s resume ensures a measure of aesthetic discipline. Fokus is a voluptuous experience, a kind of opium den where the listener is content to be glued to the floor. “Distant Episode” has the narcotic slippage of an Actress cut, with unpredictable claps over hazy samples always slipping out of time—it’s techno at its least practical, but it’s enough just to follow its irregular breaths. “Jaz” could be Fengler’s take on Gavin Bryars’ “The Sinking of the Titanic,” zooming in on a slow orchestral procession, its vagueness contrasted with watery tremolo synths stuck into it like pins. The contrast between its scampering forward motion, a distant relative of UK garage, and the oceanic pull of the strings inspires the same kind of natural awe we feel watching time-lapse footage. It moves quickly, but the mind deduces its essential slowness. On the more aggressive side, “King of Psi”‘s dumpster snares—or are they pitched-down gunshots?—practically slam against the listener’s face. The track comes on like ripped techno, but it’s Fengler’s experimentation with the way the trebly bells and gurgling synth fit together that really drives the composition.

Fokus is in its own world. Structurally, it comes from further outside the house than “outsider house,” and its chemical flumes are more genuinely industrial than a lot of today’s “industrial techno.” Fengler was once the least discussed of the Berghain residents; that’s changed leading up to Fokus, but the album is still loaded with low-stakes, high-yield adventures—it’s the kind of effort one might expect from an artist operating without anyone else’s imperatives to follow. As surprising as it can be, Fokus never abandons Berghain’s merits entirely, but neither does it score easy points off its nonconformity.

Video Premiere: Kelpe “Puds”

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Prolific UK beatmaker Kelpe recently released the well-received Fourth: The Golden Eagle LP via his own DRUT imprint, and now, the beat scene-influenced producer has just dropped an animated video for album track “Puds.” The video’s woozy, handmade quality highlights the playful side of the producer’s beats, as goofy-looking fish with human faces swim through a surreal, technicolor underwater landscape. And Kelpe’s music also stays on the vibrant side of things, with busy percussion interacting with bright, kaleidoscopic synths.

Opti “Need”**

French producer Opti has just released the Need and Hostility EP, a seven-track effort over a year in the making and from which we’ve pulled the delicate “Need.” Even on a cursory listen of the tune, Opti’s sound design background reveals itself immediately, thanks to a scraping, metallic tone that somehow twists into a more wistful and lifelike sound. The producer continues to employ a wide array of unique timbres throughout his tune’s duration—including thick, lush pads, skipping synths, and distant, reverb-soaked drum hits. Sometimes, the technical aspects of sound design can seem to be anything but musical, so it’s all the more refreshing to hear Opti blend the two so seamlessly on “Need.” And more of the artist’s handiwork can be heard by streaming his brand-new EP after the jump.

Need

Lone Airglow Fires

Having moved through groggy, distended hip-hop, rave-revivalist house, and the most populist album of his career in last year’s Galaxy Garden, Matt Cutler’s career as Lone is at an interesting juncture. Although his sunny, woozy melodies have remained a constant, the producer has never seemed content to stick with one style for too long. One wonders what twist he’ll be able to come up with next. The two tracks on Airglow Fires don’t really provide an answer, but they’re a fine example of Cutler doing what he does best.

After its deceptively quiet intro, the title track finds Cutler draping in peaceful synthetic vocal pads and his signature shimmering keys before a brassy stab pattern takes over. It’s so upfront that it almost overwhelms the drums’ cushioned push, but this unbalance somehow enhances the track’s overall warmth. The song ends with a locked groove (or just a tacked-on groove) of Ecstasy & Friends-style offbeat bounce, hinting that he may be headed back in that direction. “Begin to Begin,” meanwhile, is highlighted by another of his typical melodies, deployed via woodwind, and this lends it the feel of an updated NY spiritual-house track—if only because of its regimented sense of freedom, as the flute is tightly tucked into its neatly swung groove. Cutler also drops in one of his typical vocal samples, “Am I dreaming, am I awake?,” and it’s expertly separated from the mix for maximum clarity. As one might glean from this description, these sun-dappled tracks don’t fall far from the producer’s prior work. But for those fiending for more Lone, they ought to do the trick nicely.

Listen to Recloose Remix Motor City Drum Ensemble

Veteran New Zealand-via-Detroit DJ/producer Recloose has remixed one of Motor City Drum Ensemble‘s now-classic series of “Raw Cuts.” Originally released in 2009 via Danilo Plessow’s own MCDE imprint, “Raw Cuts #5” is the first track to be remixed for a forthcoming compilation of such remixes, which will be issued by MCDE parent label Faces. Recloose’s version transforms the gritty vibe of the original track into something altogether more sophisticated, and features tunneling strings and diva vocals layered over crisp, mid-tempo house beats. Although there are no further details available for the upcoming Motor City Drum Ensemble remix record, Recloose’s new production can be heard below.

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