Wasting no time, Manchester native Acre immediately invites the listener into his sculpted world of synthetic, glitched-out atmospherics within the opening seconds of “Gantz.” Taken from his recently released Forgotten EP for Lost Codes, the track consists largely of distinctly classic drum-machine sounds which are given new life thanks to the ever-changing industrial sounds—scattered bits of white noise, detuned hi-hats, and rapidly pitch-shifting kicks, among others—surrounding them. Despite these quick maneuvers, however, Acre’s production gradually develops into a cohesively experimental tune, more of which can be heard in the preview of Forgotten found after the jump.
Despite staying busy with both his two collaborative projects—Sepalcure with Braille and JETS with Jimmy Edgar—the New York-via-Berlin producer Machinedrum (a.k.a. Travis Stewart) hasn’t released a proper solo album since 2011’s Room(s). Today, Stewart announced that that would be changing soon with the forthcoming release of his Vapor City LP, and has shared the album’s mighty first single, “Eyesdontlie,” as well. As Pitchfork reports, the new effort is due sometime in the fall via the legendary Ninja Tune label, with each track representing different boroughs and locations of the fictitious Vapor City, a metropolis spawned out of Stewart’s imagination. While Machinedrum’s next album has yet to be given a release date, “Eyesdontlie” can be streamed here before it’s released as a single with b-side “Body Touch” on July 29.
Native Instruments had a busy week unveiling the compact Z1 controller/mixer while images of the forthcoming X1 MK2 temporarily made their way to the internet, only to disappear soon thereafter. We recap NI’s events, watch Addison Groove build a live beat, share details of a remix contest for Inner City’s “Good Life,” and more in the latest edition This Week in Music Tech.
Earlier in the week, XLR8R dove into the latest rebirth of Akai‘s MPC line, the MPC Studio—deeming the unit a “solid alternative” to NI’s Macschine and the Ableton Push. Read our full review here.
Native Instruments unveiled the compact Kontrol Z1 controller, mixer, and audio interface. Specifically made to be used with NI’s Traktor software, the slim, two-channel unit doesn’t have an exact release date yet, but can currently be pre-ordered for the street price of $199.
Speaking of Native Instruments, the DJ Tech Tools blog came across leaked images of an unreleased controller from the company earlier this week. The images are said to be of the X1 MK2, a reboot of NI’s original X1 controller for Traktor. More photos and the specs—direct from PSSL‘s temporarily live product page—of the soon to be announced X1 MK2 can be checked out here.
FACT TV recently stopped by Addison Groove‘s studio to have the UK producer demonstate how he uses a TR-808, x0xbox, some hi-fi guitar pedals, and a modified Fisher Price toy to build tracks live.
In another FACT TV video, Sam Binga (formerly known as Baobinga) is the lastest beatsmith to step up to the Against the Clock challenge, using handclaps and crushed beer cans to create a quick beat in under 10 minutes.
Attack Magazine has again offered up a helpful tutorial for crafting a certain rythym, this time dissecting the 2-step shuffle and how to incorporate found-sound percussion into the mix. Read the full tutorial here.
Beatport Play has launched a remix contest for budding producers, giving them the chance to remix Inner City’s “Good Life” with prizes such as a Kontrol S4 and a release with Kevin Saunderson’s KMS label going to the best rework of the classic house track. You can enter the contest and download stems of the original tune here.
Now that young duo Disclosure‘s debut full-length Settle—which was spotlighted recently as part of XLR8R‘s Deep Inside series—has had time to sit in the window and cool, the band has delivered a few bits of follow-up this week, including a comprehensive track-by-track rundown of brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence’s 14-track LP. The 10-minute clip sees the two producers dig into the processes which formed each tune from Settle, talking about the sources of many of the album’s samples, the genesis of the album’s guest vocalists—most fascinatingly the candid meeting between the pair and Ed Macfarlane—and their reaction to the album’s steady climb on the charts worldwide. Additionally, Disclosure’s single “You & Me” received a lush, club-ready remix treatment from fast-rising Australian producer Flume, who also turned in a remix of Rustie’s “Slasherrr” last week. Both the video detailing Settle and the one for Flume’s remix are available to view below.
Press Play‘s bounty runneth over this Friday. We’ve stuffed this post to the brim with heaps of streaming audio, free downloads, exclusive premieres, and intriguing videos from a wide array of DJs and producers. We’ve got sights and sounds from the likes of Matias Aguayo, CFCF, Brenmar, Ital, Matthewdavid, MikeQ, Young Echo, Brackles, DJ Haus, XXYYXX, and Glimpse, among plenty of others. The possibilities go on and on, after the jump.
Before his long-awaited third LP, The Visitor, drops via Cómeme on June 24, Matias Aguayo has shared another one of its lively dance cuts, the dark and clattering “Levantate Diegors.”
This club-ready remix of “If You Love Me” by ’90s outfit Brownstone arrives from Brooklyn R&B obsessive Brenmar and his UK counterpart Murlo.
After it was reworked by iconic DJ/producer MK, Katy B’s “What Love is Made Of” single gets a forward-thinking UK garage treatment from Rinse affiliate Brackles.
Unknown to the Unknown label boss DJ Haus asked us if we wanted to premiere his upcoming Thug Houz Anthems Vol. 1 mixtape before it drops next week, and seeing as how he’s a pretty great DJ, producer, and all-around prolific guy, we decided it’d be a good idea for us to do just that.
Lifted from a forthcoming remix EP on the way via West Coast label Ecstasy, New Jersey vogue-house impresario MikeQ just dropped this hiccuping dancefloor remix of “Nite Birds” by Sheffield’s Poisonous Relationship.
Here, the dance-pop nostalgists of Shine 2009 have their “Eurozone” single for Cascine remixed by shapeshifting Canadian artist CFCF.
Brooklyn producer Ital shares “Ice Drift (Stalker Mix),” one of his latest experimental house cuts lifted from a recently released, three-track 12″ for the Workshop label.
Today, we’re premiering the three-track EP for Alex Niggeman’s drum-heavy “Just a Little” single, which includes remixes from Glimpse and Poker Flat label boss Steve Bug.
After having to push back the release of its debut LP, Nexus, yet again, Bristol collective Young Echo shared a stream of “Slow Jam,” a spacious and beat-driven cut with a twisting lyrical turn.
LA duo Soft Metals shares the second synth-addled single from its upcoming Lenses LP for Captured Tracks, “In the Air.”
Check out this clip of Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras (a.k.a. Duppy Gun) working with Fyah Flames in Spanish Town, Jamaica on “What Would You Say About Me,” a tune which features production from DJ High Waistline (a.k.a. Matthewdavid).
The love child of LCD Soundsystem’s Pat Mahoney and Jee Day, Museum of Love unveiled its first single for DFA this week, the appropriately psyched-out and dancefloor-friendly “Down South.”
Up-and-coming producer XXYYXX announces an as-yet-untitled new album for Relief in Abstract by offering the tenderly textured “Pay Attention” to stream and download for free.
And lastly, here’s a strange video posted by Hyperdub, in which the UK label ever so cryptically asks “Do You Know Jessy Lanza?”
It can be difficult to keep up with the many frequent movements of DJ Haus‘ Unknown to the Unknown imprint, but fortunately, the label makes our efforts worthwhile by offering up plenty of freebies. Its latest giveaway comes in the form of a remix from rising producer Jook10, who refits the title track from Sinden‘s new digi-EP for the label, Bad Boy, into an even more brooding piece of underground UK sounds than the original’s creator likely imagined. Between dropping an EP by Luke Eargoogle last week, Sinden’s new record this week, and prepping what is essentially his own debut LP for relase next week, DJ Haus is certainly a busy dude, which is why we’re always appreciative when the man takes a second to hook up free tunes. And this time, we also have a found-footage music video for Sinden’s original version of “Bad Boy,” which can be found after the jump.
When the news of Enthusiast, Siriusmo’s first full-length release since 2011, arrived, so did the possibility that the record could also be his last. If Monkeytown’s cryptic and convoluted press release for the album is to be believed, the Berlin-based producer has decided to end his 18-year career by retiring “with enthusiasm.” But whether or not Enthusiast is indeed Siriusmo’s swan song, it’s nevertheless a solid offering from the Monkeytown mainstay, who manages to pack a multitude of influences and genres—including disco house, jazz, and space-age hip-hop, to name a few—into its 13 tracks.
Just last year, Siriusmo whetted fans’ appetites by releasing the Dr. Beak’s Rantanplant EP, whose three tracks, “Doctor Beak,” “Rantanplant,” and “Plastic Hips,” reappear on Enthusiast. That first song actually opens the new album on a high note, utilizing punchy house rhythms and an infectious trickling lead. Much of Enthusiast—with some exceptions—follows a similar line of inspiration, as most tracks sound like they’ve been influenced by the club but don’t go out of their way to be dancefloor-friendly. This is not a bad thing, as the lack of constraints allows Siriusmo to balance accessibility with experimentality. “Cornerboy” and “Plastic Hips,” for example, traipse the weirder fringes of the dancefloor, the former adding MC Ramon’s nasal-toned braggadocio to a futuristic hip-hop-meets-dubstep instrumental, while the latter employs a bass-soaked stomp. “Cornerboy” is especially interesting, as it features a bombastic horn section and a bevy of cascading arpeggios and whining synths. “Plastic Hips” tries to capitalize on that chemistry, and although it’s catchy, the song lacks the same potency; the heavy, squelching bass—reminiscent of early Lazer Sword—sounds a bit overdone and unimaginative, especially coming from Siriusmo. In contrast, a track like the disco-house-indebted and extremely hooky “Congratulator,” with its funky bassline and sunny guitar riffs, falls squarely in the accessibility segment of the axis. There’s also “Tranen aus Bier,” a hard-hitting nod to the beat scene that juxtaposes slamming drums, skittery Southern-rap rhythms, and assorted pops with a melody that sounds ripped straight from an NES game.
Flipping back to the other end of the spectrum, Enthusiast isn’t afraid to tread less accessible waters. On “Wattnlosmitmir,” Siriusmo flirts with more beat-scene and glitch-hop tropes, shrewdly layering German rhymes—an MC mutters, among other things, the refrain “Was ist los mit mir? (What is wrong with me?)”—over the instrumental. But for all it does right, Enthusiast isn’t perfect. It does falter at some points, particularly in its midsection, where Siriusmo’s nonconformity does him a bit more harm than good. By dipping into such a wide array of genres and sounds, he manages to produce good results, but can sometimes seem like a jack-of-all-trades while being a master of none. Take “Rantanplant,” for example, which couples a vaguely garage-sounding house beat with low-end synth noodling—it’s competently done, but fails to leave a lasting impression. “Stinky Wig” centers itself around piano and synth arpeggio runs, but doesn’t really jibe with the two tracks it’s placed between, the wonky, techno-tinged “Itchy” and the bright, jazz-influenced “Liu.” “Petit Cochon,” while good instrumentally, rides its sultry French female vocal a bit hard, and seems a bit campy as a result. Taken as a whole, however, Enthusiast is a solid, eclectic offering, and, if it truly is Siriusmo’s last, it’s not a bad way to end a long career.
Curating collective House is OK formed out of the minds of producers Homeboy, Janis, and Oliver Achatz, who have been cobbling one-off tunes for their diverse house compilation series We Make Music. Featured here, Janis’ “Movin’ Up” is taken from the third installment, and is a long step sideways from the normally cavernous, bleary-eyed house tracks from past releases—trading the deep, unlit spaces for neon-soaked, strutting funk. The production is a very textured and engrossing listen, burning synth wobbles and a mercilessly groovy bassline at a steady rate while a buried vocal chant see-saws from speaker to speaker. We Make Music Vol. 3 is out on June 24, and can be previewed before then, after the jump.
Rome’s Egisto Sopor is multitalented, making his name as a prolific video artist and a composer of new-age music as TheAwayTeam, in addition to his principal project Polysick. Polysick has so far maintained Sopor’s wide-ranging interests, ranging from short, beatless cuts of twisted, hypnagogic synthesizer to more accessible takes on house. As its record label might indicate, Under Construction finds the producer in dancefloor mode, though he manages to inject a decent amount of oddball character into these tracks as well.
“Whatever” is the most straightforward piece here, combining acidic squeals, undulating bass, and clean organ stabs above a planar, vaguely Chicago-inspired drum framework. Sopor goes a bit prog-jazz on “Shattered,” with lively synthesizer solos on top of chilled keys and rustling hi-hats, while “3 Cents” offers hazy, fluttery disco, its flexible funk offset by samples that may or may not be from gritty quasi-documentary Streetwise. The film sample on “Barry Talks” is not as easily recalled, but one can assume it’s Barry who is talking about being “a product of [his] environment.” The track again calls ’70s-jazz styles to mind, as its pointed bassline is paired with squiggly synthesizer and a stammering, low-key rhythm. On the whole, Under Construction is not as great of a conceptual gem as last year’s underrated pseudo-mixtape Flow FM, but it certainly furthers the case for Polysick as a dance project. The way these tracks masterfully twist and morph is redolent of Pépé Bradock’s material, and that comparison ought not to be taken as faint praise.
We reported on the first full-length compilation from Parisian label Sound Pellegrino, SND.PE Vol. 1, earlier this month, and today, the label is offering a track from that forthcoming collection as a free download. “Can’t Believe” is an effervescent number by French bass specialist and Infinite Machine affiliate 123Mrk, a production full of bright synth melodies and clipped vocals darting around a bed of skittering 2-step beats. SND.PE Vol. 1 is set to drop on June 17, but can be pre-ordered here.
