Pulled from True Romance—the recent debut LP of UK internet popstress Charli XCX—”What I Like” has been given a once-over by Cardiff production pair Bodhi (pictured above). While the original seems tailor made for iPod-dock dance parties and summer car ride sing-alongs, Bodhi does an excellent job of turning “What I Like” into a sleek and enticing piece of club music where subtle classic-house touches peek through while miniature synth details bubble in the background. Considering its source material, Bodhi have really worked some magic in turning “What I Like” into a warm, glowing piece of classy house music.
UK bass manipulator Walton is making one final push before his debut full-length lands, with plans to drop a new single before his Beyond LP hits later this summer. The forthcoming three-track EP, led off by the fiery, Brandy-sampling “Baby” (which was previewed on his SoundCloud nine months ago and is streaming below), will see a limited, vinyl-only release later this month—according to the press release, “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.” The 12″ will be rounded out by the tune “Can’t You See” and an instrumental edition of “Baby” on the flip. Walton’s Baby EP is due out on May 27 via Hyperdub.
Before it drops next Tuesday via the Adult Swim-associated Williams Street imprint, Brooklyn-by-way-of-St. Louis producer Phaseone has made his forthcoming If I Tell U LP availible to stream in full. The eleven-track effort is heavy on the synth work, resulting in over 40-minutes worth of spacious productions—some of which incorporate vocals from a handful of collaborators in the tunes’ quieter corners. The budding producer’s complete If I Tell U LP can be streamed via the player below before it officially drops on May 7.
Russian producer and Hyperboloid label boss Pixelord has just shared a new video for his unreleased track “Snap Cop City.” Put together by Pixelord himself, the strange clip comes at the viewer from a few different angles, but mostly features clips of vintage video games which are likely to induce plenty of nostalgia. The track is a continuation of Pixelord’s exploration into 8-bit music—following in the direction of his 2010 EP, Lucid Freaks—combining upbeat synth melodies with carefully programmed, breakneck beats and samples from Snap!’s 1990 hit single, “The Power.”
Announced today, Polish duo Catz ‘N Dogz has teamed up with Bulgarian house producer KiNK for a new 12″ which will release later this month via dance-music powerhouse Dirtybird. Titled Love, the two-track record will be the first original collaborative production from Catz ‘N Dogz and KiNK, following the release of the latter DJ/producer’s “Follow the Step” single for the Polish duo’s Pets Recordings label. In a press release, the “Good Love” and “Bad Love” tunes were described as “characteristically classy, with a generous helping of bass.” Love will be released on May 20.
Despite his run as a prolific collaborator and head of the Apple Pips label, Bristol bass-music fixture Appleblim (a.k.a. Laurence Osborne) is—believe it or not—yet to issue an entirely solo release ever in his accomplished career. That will all change soon, as the producer today unveiled plans to drop a new solo 12″, “Fluorescent” b/w “Past Present Future.” Appleblim has a long history with collaboration—penning records with Peverlist, Ramadanman (a.k.a. Pearson Sound), and Komon—but according to the press release for the forthcoming single, “Fluorescent” b/w “Past Present Future” will see him launch “a new chapter in his musical evolution, setting a promising precedent for both club-baiting dynamism and experimental adventure while busting the possibilities for the future wide open.” The pair of forthcoming tunes can be previewed below ahead of their release on June 10.
Returning from a brief hiatus, online music magazine Immersed Audio’s label arm is set to return to a full-time release schedule with its first effort of 2013, a compilation EP entitled 2013 Incoming (artwork above). Billed as a taste of things to come from the IA imprint, the forthcoming comp—which is available on Bandcamp now—features tracks from the likes of Latcha and Erotic City alongside the IA debut of house duo Zee&Eli, who have contributed its “Auzuar” production to the collection. The track is an especially deep number, one which features richly produced sub-bass and dark, moody synth work. Zee&Eli have offered its contribution for free download ahead of the pair’s own forthcoming EP for Hypercolour and the imminent wide release of 2013 Incoming.
Bristol-made producers Sean and Dan Kelly (a.k.a. The Kelly Twins) have spent the past eight years making a name for themselves in their hometown as natural diggers, building sets that span R&B, Chicago house, techno, and bass tunes both local and international. Today, the brothers announced they will be expanding their endeavors with the start of a new imprint called Happy Skull; the label’s first release being a new collaboration between fellow Bristolians Kowton and Hyetal, operating under the collaborative moniker Systems of Desire. In an interview with Juno Plus, The Kelly Twins boiled down its intentions with the label, saying, “Basically, we want to put out space music”—which should continue with the brothers’ pursuit of inspiring genres, while also remaining raw, melodic and forward-thinking. The two-track Systems of Desire 12” is due out via Happy Skull sometime in July, but is available to preview now, below.
This past week, Reason 7 and the Traktor DJ app for iPhone saw a release, a video investigated the history of Bob Moog’s original ladder filter design, Attack Magazine shared some tips on programming shaker rhythms, and Ableton teamed up with a Polish sound-design firm to give away a comprehensive sample pack. It’s all inside the latest edition of This Week in Music Tech.
Propellerhead released version 7 of its flagship software this week. The considerably updated Reason program brings many new and revamped features to its platform, including a more streamlined recording process, the ability to send MIDI information out from the program, and a variety of new synths and FX—most of which are covered in the video above. Producers interested in trying the program before coughing up $400 to buy it (or the $129 it takes to upgrade from Reason 6), can download a free demo of version 7 program here.
Following just a few months after its release on the iPad, Native Instruments’ Traktor DJ app was made available to use on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The new, condensed edition of NI’s powerful digital-DJ app can be purchased now for the agreeable price of $5 over at the iTunes store.
Perhaps as a way to further celebrate Robert Moog’s recent induction into the Inventors Hall of Fame, Moog Music shared a new video which highlights its synthesizer’s pioneering ladder filter. The brief clip—which takes an in-depth look at the essential synthesis component—covers the history of Moog’s unique ladder filter design before launching into a pretty nerdy discussion about its importance throughout the years.
Another edition in Attack Magazine‘s helpful Beat Dissected series surfaced this week, supplying readers with valuable insight into the elusive art of programming realistic shaker sounds. The online publication does its best to break down the process into three easy-to-comprehend steps on Beat Dissected: Organic Shaker, which can be read here.
Though we just missed this piece of news last week, we hope you’ll agree that it’s really never too late to share free stuff. The audio experts at Polish sound-design firm Waveforms recently teamed up with Ableton to give away a free sound pack consisting of 24 unique loops and over 100 individual kick, snare, hi-hat, and percussion samples—all of which come organized in a convenient Live session file. The sample pack can be downloaded for free, here.
With his recent “Progression” b/w “Thinkin Bout” single for Ten Thousand Yen just a few weeks behind him, xxxy has announced a slew of tour dates which will bring the London garage pro stateside throughout the month of May. Beginning—strangely enough—in Las Vegas, the UK DJ/producer will eventually make his way to both coasts, the midwest (with a special stop at Detroit’s Movement Festival), and even up to Canada for a single gig in Vancouver. The full list of xxxy tour dates can be found below. And for those who need a refresher on just what the man is capable of in live setting, we suggest giving his recent set from Tokyo’s SonarSound festival a listen here, courtesy of RBMA.
May 15 Las Vegas, NV – Commonwealth May 16 San Francisco, CA – Independent* May 17 Seattle , WA -1927 Events* May 18 Los Angeles, CA – Los Globos+ May 19 San Diego, CA – Quality Social May 22 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall* May 23 Vancouver, BC – Shine May 25 Detroit, Movement Festival May 31 New York City, NY – Loft 300 * with Kastle +with Om Unit
