Graze Graze EP

Over the past few years, both Adam Marshall and XI have certainly shown themselves to be talented producers in their own right, but the pair’s first EP together as Graze—a project which was profiled in our Bubblin’ Up series earlier this week—quite effortlessly contends that the producers may actually have the most potential when working together.

Graze is a substantial EP, one which offers six full-bodied productions clocking in just under 40 minutes. The record shines largely because of its ability to balance bass weight with musicality, not landing on an exact formula throughout, but rather taking a unique, balanced approach with each individual track. Opening cut “The Sust” is one of Graze‘s most successful outings; it’s a low-end-heavy take on machinist house which alternates between thick sampled chords and a buzzing, parrallel bassline, all of which comes topped with chopped breaks and well-placed bits of percussion. The following tracks, “No Save” and “Cathode Bias,” take the EP into deeper territory. The former adds a good deal of swing to its Midwestern-style filter sweeps and spacey techno lines, while the following tune is stripped down to its most rhythmic necessities, which are occasionally enhanced by thick bass tones and light, melodic sprinklings.

In the end, it is “Ques,” Graze‘s lone c-side, that might be the record’s most memorable effort. The track begins steeped in emotion: An icy pad and an instantly alluring synth sequence slowly build alongside the jacking backbeat for the song’s first 90 seconds, eventually locking into a low-swung groove. While “Ques” is essentially built around one melody, the song never falters during its nearly seven-minute run—the subtle changes in arrangement, filters, and barely detectable melodic tweaks supply just enough variation to keep the momentum intact as the expertly assembled drum programming carries it all along.

Maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising that, when combined, the talents of XI and Adam Marshall lead to something greater than their respective solo material. Still, not all first-time collaborators sound as natural, confident, and refined as Graze does on its debut EP. And after the duo delivered a release of this quality directly out the gate, it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect that its work has the legs necessary to extend into even brighter and more captivating sounds the next time around. We’ll undoubtedly be waiting with anticipation to find out.

Al Bankolé “Feel”**

Hailing from London’s Camden neighborhood, everything about incoming house producer Al Bankolé‘s “Feel” seems to serve as an introduction. Bankolé, in addition to being a former radio host and psychology graduate, hails from the small Velvet Tux collective, a crew of self-described “douchebags that love music and food.” Now that it’s been established that Bankolé is a chill dude, how’s the tune? “Feel” picks up a three-chord sequence from the outset and runs free with it, keeping the track sparse until a surprise change-up hits at the three-minute mark, reconfiguring the whole track from a tough shuffle to a pleasing anthem. While there is not much information floating around about the producer just yet, there is a release confirmed for July, with details to be announced soon. Either way, if “Feel” is simply Bankolé’s introduction, it should be exciting to see what else the budding talent has in store.

Feel

Dean Blunt The Redeemer

The duo formerly known as Hype Williams has long been dominated by a theatrical streak. Focusing on their respective solo work, Inga Copeland’s efforts have been fairly straightforward, while theatricality remains Dean Blunt’s focus. The Redeemer, his latest LP, builds on last year’s The Narcissist II, at least in terms of its emphasis on relationships (particularly abusive ones), its elliptical sense of narrative, and the psychedelic balladry of the music itself.

At the same time, however, The Redeemer immediately seems to signal a change of mind. The boisterous drums and swelling strings that mark the record’s first few tracks create a crescendo which is both hopeful and elegiac. The highlights are subtle: Tranquil guitar licks appear on “The Pedigree,” and a fluid French horn solo pairs with new collaborator Joanne Robertson’s trembling entrance on “Demon.” Such optimistic orchestration belies a darker underbelly, though, as Blunt’s narration is murmured much in the same way as on The Narcissist II. His is the introspection of a man who has spent too much time with his own thoughts; even Robertson seems to be singing about being beaten.

These opening moments give the impression that The Redeemer will blossom into a grand—and more sensical—storyline similar to what Blunt accomplished on its predecessor. Instead, it wanders more like a Hype Williams album would, and leaves that opening promise to dangle unfulfilled. Even so, it perpetuates an expectation every few tracks, as it’s peppered with interludes which suggest a cohesive narrative is indeed at work. “V” and “Dread” offer answering machine messages from distraught women, while the ramshackle “Need 2 Let U Go” finds Blunt intoning, “I know what I did is wrong.” The overall effect is like listening to the soundtrack of a lost film. More highlights come in the title track’s warped soul, the resigned refrain of “you bring out the best in me” on “Papi,” and the acoustic pop of “Imperial Gold,” which recalls a low-key Fleetwood Mac or Swedish duo jj. These moments seem to come at random, though, and are few and far between. “Par,” the four-second closing track, is an automated voicemail signoff. It makes some sense as an outro, as it more or less confirms the LP as a series of disparate messages.

Coming on the heels of Blunt’s opus, The Redeemer feels maddeningly incomplete and meandering. This is surely not an unexpected turn for Hype Williams fans, who are undoubtedly accustomed to wild twists by now. And, as per usual, it’s never quite clear who exactly is playing this music, or to what extent samples are being used. Perhaps because of the record’s clean fidelity, this is less mysterious than it has been in the past, but maybe it just feels less important at this point. In any case, The Redeemer remains as beguiling as any of Blunt’s past work.

DJ Falcon Featured in Latest Daft Punk Collaborators Video

With only two weeks left before the release of Daft Punk‘s Random Access Memories LP, the ongoing Creators Project-produced Collaborators video series checks in with the pair’s childhood friend, longtime collaborator, and a veteran DJ/producer in his own right, DJ Falcon. The Frenchman discusses how he first met Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter—the men behind the robots—while skating as kids and talks about the storied time when Daft Punk and the French electro and house movement were first taking hold. The latest episode in the insightful video series can be watched in full below.

Video: Tycho “Ascension”

Though “Ascension” originally saw a release on Dive, Tycho‘s 2011 LP for Ghostly, the tune has had a bit of a second life recently, landing on a split remix EP alongside—of all outfits—Thievery Corporation, and at last receiving a proper video treatment. The song’s accompanying clip is appropriately calm and psychedelic as it follows the colorful, seemingly aimless journeys of a woman in the middle of the desert. Perhaps she is in search of some sort of spiritual understanding along her journey, or just on some wild drugs—it’s all up to the viewer’s interpretation.

Download Deadboy’s New Remix of Toddla T

Earlier this year, Toddla T (pictured above) introduced Toddla T Sound, a new production project incoporating the talents of Serocee, DRS, Shola Ama, and—of course—Toddla T himself. Now, UK tunesmith Deadboy—a re-emerging producer we chatted with not too long ago—has turned in a remix of Toddla T Sound’s first single, “Worst Enemy,” which is now available to download for free. Infusing the tune with an extra dose of dancefloor power and an onslaught of breakbeat rhythms, Deadboy’s refix is a welcome accompaniment to the mellow flow of Toddla T Sound’s original rendition. The remix can be picked up for free via FACT, here, while the original version of “Worst Enemy” can be streamed below.

Listen to Adult.’s New LP for Ghostly

Pioneering Detroit electro-pop duo Adult. came out of its nearly six-year hiatus in 2013, announcing that it would drop its fifth long-player via electronic-music institution Ghostly. Now, a week before The Way Things Fall is released, the record can be heard in full. The 10-track album has been described as the closest Adult. has come to writing “traditional pop songs,” and is said to be “both focused and coherent, flowing with a conceptual ease.” We can all suss out whether or not that’s actually the case by checking out the stream of The Way Things Fall before it’s released on May 14, below.

Luca Lozano “Condition”**

After first appearing on Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird label back in 2009, UK-reared, now Berlin-based producer Luca Lozano (a.k.a. Lucas Hunter) has kept up a steady stream of output since his debut release, all while co-heading the growing Klasse imprint. With a new EP, Sail On, set to drop via his own label next week, Lozano has decided to share an extra cut, the silky “Condition.” The slow-brewing tune is a fine example of the producer’s carefully honed style which exists between soulful house and jacking techno—complete with a welcome emphasis on the bottom-half of the sound spectrum.

Condition

Marcel Fengler Readies Debut Album for Ostgut Ton

Berghain resident—and former contributor to the fabled Berlin club’s mix series—Marcel Fengler will make his first foray into long-player territory this summer when the veteran producer drops his debut album, Fokus, via Ostgut Ton. Said to be the result of an intensive three-month recording process, Fengler’s forthcoming LP is touted as a record sonically led by its maker’s “love for outlandish electronics, abstract melody, abrasive textures, and dub-wise bass frequencies.” Fokus will see a release on July 8. Before then, the upcoming album’s artwork and tracklist can be found below.

A1 Mayria
A2 The Stampede
B1 Trespass
B2 Jaz
C1 King Of Psi
C2 Sky Pushing
D1 High Falls
D2 Dejavu
D3 Liquid Torso
*CD version includes additional tracks “Break Through” and “Distant Episode”

Watch Julio Bashmore’s and Kowton’s Video for “Mirror Song”

Since first announcing their collaborative single together back in March, Julio Bashmore‘s (pictured above) and Kowton‘s “Mirror Song,” has—after initially dropping in limited quantities on Record Store Day—officially seen a wide release this week. To mark the occasion, a video for the tense, forceful tune has surfaced. Using footage from black-and-white film The Lady from Shanghai, the video follows a series of characters as they begin to go mad inside a carnival fun house, occasionally confronting a series of—you guessed it—mirrors. Of course, the film has been manipulated and rearranged to make the proceedings even more disorienting and strangely fitting for the Bristol producers’ tune. The video for “Mirror Song”—which is out now via Bashmore’s own Broadwalk imprint—can be watched below.

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