Kingdom Vertical XL

Most of Kingdom‘s brightest moments involve the artist embracing his love for vocal hooks. Like most of his contemporaries on the Night Slugs and Fade To Mind labels, Los Angeles-based Ezra Rubin hybridizes everything from grime to ballroom house, but it’s on R&B-infused tracks like “Take Me,” with singer Naomi Allen, or “Mind Reader,” with Shyvonne, that his sound truly comes into its own. Vertical XL, the latest EP from Kingdom and his first proper release since 2011’s Dreama EP, continues that trend, presenting quality instrumentals that nonetheless get outshined by a giant vocal track.

The record is solid overall, but it should really be named after its towering opener with vocalist Kelela, “Bank Head.” Although she appeared on Teengirl Fantasy’s “EFX” single from last year’s Tracer and has a mixtape on the way for Fade to Mind, Kelela’s contribution to Vertical XL sounds like her first serious arrival. Rubin lets her silvery vocals sit front and center in his mix, the arrangement giving her simultaneously bold and vulnerable performance plenty of space. It’s a total earworm, but one that is airily, gesturally constructed—picking up when Kelela’s voice dictates it should, and floating pensively otherwise.

Somewhat unfortunately, “Bank Head” overshadows Rubin’s other tracks so much that they almost come across as forgettable in comparison. “Zip Line” offers a redux of themes from “Bank Head,” while the dystopian “Corpse” moves with a sputtering stumble, laced with an imposing chime and interplaying stabs. “Viper Lash” begins in a similar state of darkness, but opens up into chords reminiscent of ’90s ambient techno (or even the aforementioned Teengirl Fantasy). After the sparse, pitched-up funk of “Takedown Notice,” “Viper XL” finds Rubin closing his EP in euphoric dancefloor territory. It’s practically all climb, led by optimistic synths that quash the prior tracks’ sense of indecision. Solidly composed as these later pieces may be, Vertical XL is worth the price of admission for “Bank Head” alone.

Prism House “Classical Age”*Ceremony*

In light of its upcoming show at Brooklyn’s Glasslands on May 30, NYC duo Prism House have shared “Classical Age,” an anthemic collage that combines carefully manipulated samples and field recordings with original electronic elements and rhythms. Sometimes haunting and sometimes playful, the end result is the perfect accompaniment to a brisk summer night at the world’s creepiest carnival. While it was originally meant to be a part of the pair’s Reflections EP—a song from which appeared in our Downloads section back in February—”Classical Age” is a refreshing, multi-dimensional work that stands on its own.

Classical Age

Adapt “Rokcr Broth”*Avantroots*

On his recent LP for Barcelona-based label Avantroots, Adapt does not spend much time messing around with four-on-the-floor rhythms, but when he does, he makes them count—and the best example of such is “Rokcr Broth.” Pulled from the producer’s Atlántico LP, the tune uses its steady kick as a guidepost from which hang an innumerable amount of minute sonic details, one-off FX tricks, and just a hint of vocal processing. Despite its stripped-back arrangement, “Rokcr Broth” is a surprisingly soulful production, one that really sinks into its bluesy chord progression as the producer follows his heart through every conceivable subtle sonic twist. It all makes for a finely crafted and highly repeatable listen from the burgeoning Spanish tunesmith.

Rokcr Broth

Blackedout “You Don’t Understand”**

Burgeoning slow-jam producer Blackedout has quietly self-released his first proper effort, showcasing a love for repurposing distinct R&B samples around patiently bult backdrops. “You Don’t Understand” is by far the sparsest tune in the burgeoning artist’s sparse catalog. Built on a slow, thrusting stomp, Blackedout gently slides vocal samples on to, before looping them over and over to the point where they turn from a declaration of sorts to almost begging. Blackedout’s debut EP is out now as a “name-your-price” download on his Bandcamp.

You Don’t Understand

You Don’t Understand

Various Artists Keysound Allstars Vol. 2

With the curation of the second Keysound Allstars 12″, label heads Dusk and Blackdown continue to define the dark, grime-tinged sound of Keysound Recordings in 2013. Just as with previous label compilations, the latest collects four artists who are each tying up the loose ends of dubstep, grime, and UK funky to create music that is brooding, spacious, rhythmically propulsive, and, more than anything, distinctly British.

Londoner Etch kicks off the release with “Scattah,” a production built on dub-tinged sounds pillaged from classic ’90s jungle. It combines fractured, pitched snare rolls and outbursts of hollowed-out bass to make for a tune that brings to mind the more hyperactive ends of classic UK dubstep—albeit at a bpm closer to 130. This vibe continues with “Homage” by Walton, who also appeared on the first edition of Allstars. The Mancunian opens his track with a rough, shuffling beat and grainy female vocals, giving the whole thing an air of dilapidated garage. But the dense, modulated bassline and crackling samples that come to dominate the core of “Homage” are pure dubstep classicism.

Things take a turn towards grime on the flip with Visionist‘s moody and spacious “From a Place.” Constructed out of dark strings, delay-drenched claps, and brilliantly fragmented snippets of a grime vocal, the track is certainly a highlight, but it’s Glasgow producer Fresh Paul who delivers the strongest contribution. The exceptionally lively “Sunblazed” is a proper mini-epic made of colorfully energetic synthlines that evoke the Ruff Sqwad crew at its most excitable.

Keysound Allstars Vol. 2 is another worthy addition into the label’s continuum. As with the majority of tunes to come from the outpost in recent months, these four productions do an excellent job of exhibiting the constant forward motion of UK electronic music while sounding steeped in the influence of the scene’s history. And it’s this mix of compelling experimentation and dedication to a deep-rooted legacy that keeps Keysound continually relevant.

Enoe “Shortage”*Rudimentary*

Due next month, the forthcoming Shortage EP is said to showcase budding New York City talent Enoe across four-tracks of “low-end house [and] garage creations, with a deep reflective feel.” Here we have the title track, a sunken but dancefloor-ready slice of house built around floating chords and anchored by rich sub-bass. The six-plus minute track develops into a gradually deeper endeavor, diving down into increasingly seductive layers of crisp percussion and enhanced by subtle vocal tweaks. Enoe’s Shortage EP will see a release June 3 via Belfast’s Rudimentary imprint.

Shortage

Lokiboi Late Reaction EP

Moscow-born, London-based producer Lokiboi has spent years simmering within the internet-specific realm of the production world, steadily building his reputation through SoundCloud posts, remixes, and collaborations—not to mention his consistentpresence in our Downloads section over the years. Though the Russian transplant already has a handful of small, mostly net-label releases to his name, his first record of 2013, Late Reaction, seems to signal his biggest leap as a producer and first concrete statement as an artist.

During his gradual ascent, Lokiboi has toyed with a number of different slants on bass-minded dance music, but Late Reaction is squarely aligned with house and garage. The title cut and the Citizen-featuring “Love Saves the Day” are glossy exhibtions of four-on-the-floor house. Both tracks come infused with a proper touch of London shuffle—thanks to the swung hats on “Late Reaction” and the extra kicks pumping underneath “Love Saves the Day”—and organize their basslines and chords into precise patterns which fit around the drum programming, making the various rhythmic shifts the focal point of each production. When left to his own devices, Lokiboi builds a more machinist tune, assembling interlocking patterns of sharp percussion and anchoring them with a slowly gliding bassline. But on the EP’s sole collaborative effort, Citizen makes his presence felt, giving “Love Saves the Day” a more charming touch with some smoothed-over chords and a luscious bassline.

The EP’s remaining cuts are much more rooted in garage structures. They both employ combinations of slithering chords and slow-brewing atmosphere similar to their counterparts, but “Help Yourself” digs into a much deeper groove, with heavy sub-kicks filling in the space between finely coordinated layers of skittering hats and jumping rim shots. On the other hand, “Keep On Loving Me Dry” excels in the relative sparseness of its arrangement. Lokiboi gives his closing track enough room for the sinking mood, conjured by bluesy chords and simple vocal repitching, to take hold. It may not all add up to be the most distinctive of releases, but it’s still hard to pick a bone with any of these productions on their own. Lokiboi still has room to grow as a producer, but Late Reaction is a strong indication of his ability to continue pushing his long-present promise into increasingly stronger tunes.

The Lowdown – This Week’s XLR8R Top 10 with Four Tet, Daft Punk, Disclosure, Mount Kimbie, Boards of Canada, and More

Throughout the week, a whole lot of material gets posted here on XLR8R. And while we know—and love—that some hardcore readers will eagerly pour over every single news story, interview, podcast, video, and MP3 download that appears on the site, we also realize that for most people, it’s impossible to see everything, which means that some quality XLR8R content is likely to get missed in the hustle and bustle of everyone’s daily lives. In the interest of making it easier for everyone to catch up, every Friday we present The Lowdown, a weekly wrap-up of the top 10 tidbits from our site.

1. As part of the ongoing Red Bull Music Academy in New York, Four Tet sat down with a group of students to detail his live set-up, a video of which hit the web this week.

2. Our brand-new From Studio to Stage feature with Mount Kimbie touched down in XLR8R‘s Gear section this past Monday, and everyone seemed pleased to learn about how the UK duo transforms its recording set-up into a live rig.

3. Traxman continues with the theme of giving fans an inside look at the creative process with a video of the Chicago producer building a beat on the spot, and in 10 minutes, no less.

4. This week, we went Deep Inside Daft Punk’s long-awaited fourth album, Random Access Memories, analyzing the record’s immense hype and how that affected fans’ perceptions of the French duo’s music.

5. Another big feature that appeared on XLR8R this week is called Wax Ecstatic, in which we speak with label owners like Kyle Hall and Gerd Janson, among others, about the limited-edition vinyl craze.

6. DJ, producer, Keysound label co-owner, and music scribe Blackdown wrote a fiery post on his blog, taking on a dubious quote from a recent interview with Disclosure.

7. A full stream of Mount Kimbie’s brand-new LP for Warp, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, hit the internet this week, which we were all more than happy to hear.

8. Our third Twentieth Anniversary podcast arrived this week from Detroit house/techno mainstay Stacey Pullen.

9. After spending all of last week at Boston’s eight-day Together Festival, we post our wrap-up in the form of a list called 10 Lessons We Learned from Together Festival.

10. Scottish duo Boards of Canada shared a stream of its first new track in eight years, the somberly disquieting “Reach for the Dead.”

An expanded version of the The Lowdown is also available via a weekly email newsletter. Those interested in an even more in-depth round-up of XLR8R content, including a complete listing of all the free downloads we’ve offered in the past seven days, should sign up by entering their email address below.

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Video Premiere: Orphan “Hours”

Earlier this month, a producer by the name of Orphan shared a track from her recent tape for the patten-helmed Kaleidoscope label. Now, Orphan has revealed an entrancing video for the tape’s “Hours” track. Made from the manipulation of simple black-and-white patterns, the clip morphs at a much faster rate than the patient, ghostly tune it accompanies, making “Hours” seem to move even more in slow-motion than it does on its own. Orphan’s five-track Retakes EP/tape can be downloaded in digital form for free here.

Seapoint “Triangle Optics”*Infinite Machine*

Before the release of his forthcoming Lunar Eve EP, Montreal-based producer Seapoint (a.k.a. Rafael Bucio) has unveiled a futuristic dancefloor beauty in “Triangle Optics.” Initially soaked in nostalgic chord washes, arpeggiated synths, and sparse vocal samples, the track switches gears midway through in order to follow a catchy bassline and infectious, garage-minded rhythms. “Triangle Optics” succeeds in building the anticipation for Seapoint’s sophomore effort, which is due out on May 27 via Infinite Machine.

Triangle Optics

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