Podcast 628: DJ Nigga Fox

DJ Nigga Fox is one of electronic music’s more enigmatic artists and a linchpin of a thriving Afro-Portuguese music scene with its home in Lisbon, Portugal. Outside of a solitary 12” on Warp Records, all of Nigga Fox’ solo EPs have come through Príncipe, the similarly mysterious entity dedicated to presenting Lisbon’s club sounds to the world. Earlier this month, he also presented “Naruto,” a powerful and stripped-back stepping techno cut, to our XLR8R+ series alongside exclusive tracks from DJ Narciso as RS Produções, BLEID, and Serpente. You can read more about this and download the package here.

Nigga Fox signed to Príncipe in 2013 after DJ Marfox introduced his music to the label. He was still finishing high school at the time and knew Marfox from the schoolyard. Born Rogério Brandão Luís in Luanda, Angola in the early ‘90s, he’d fled to Portugal with his family when he was three years old to escape the horrific civil war. Around 2007, his sibling showed him Fruity Loops, the chosen creative platform behind all Príncipe-affiliated artists due to its simplicity, and he began making his own beats in his bedroom. He grew closer to Marfox and became involved with Lisbon’s ghetto music, before appearing out of nowhere with O Meu Estilo, meaning “my style,” his debut 12” that demonstrated his vast aural palette.

As the EP’s title suggests, there was nothing really like it, even among Lisbon’s bustling collective of evermore creative artists. He’d seemingly combined lessons from the local producers around him and from Luanda, demonstrating a mastery of timbre to create an unnameable hybrid informed by kuduro, afro-house, Angolan deep, tarraxinha, and batida, but distinguishable nonetheless.

Nigga Fox returned to Príncipe in 2015 with Noite e Dia, before Warp Records snapped him up for “LUMI,” which came out on the British label’s Cargaa 1 compilation. The single track set the foundations for Crânio, Nigga Fox’ proper debut on Warp, released in 2018 and featuring six tracks of shapeshifting dancefloor psychedelia. Completing his discography are “15 Barras,” a four-part movement of virulent acid and crowd noise unfolding over a seamless 15-minute arrangement, and Cartas na Manga his much-anticipated debut album, released last year.

Marking his XLR8R+ contribution, Nigga Fox compiled a podcast for our series. At just under an hour in length, it’s entirely his own material, barring a single track from Caiiro, and includes several tracks from his unreleased collection, many heard for the first time. Expect 45 minutes of fast-paced Afro-Portuguese beats in Nigga Fox’ inimitable style.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to download the podcast you will need to subscribe to our Select channel. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Tracklisting

01. DJ Nigga Fox “Sasuke” [Unknown]
02. DJ Nigga Fox “Faz A Minha” [Principe]
03. DJ Nigga Fox “Watara” [Unknown]
04. DJ Nigga Fox “Sombra do Leão” [Unknown]
05. DJ Nigga Fox “Sub Zero” [Príncipe]
06. Caiiro “Sissoku” [Unknown]
07. DJ Nigga Fox “Talanzele” [Príncipe]
08. DJ Nigga Fox “Banhadas [Unknown]
09. DJ Nigga Fox x DJ Firmeza “Sanzaleiro” [Unknown]
10. DJ Nigga Fox “Encher Chouriço” [Unknown]
11. DJ Nigga Fox “Edu” [Unknown]
12. DJ Nigga Fox “Vício” [Unknown]
13. DJ Nigga Fox “Pão De Cada Dia” [Príncipe]
14. DJ Nigga Fox “5 Violinos” [Príncipe]

Editor note: there are no questions to accompany this podcast at Nigga Fox’ request.

Four Tet Announces New Album, ‘Sixteen Oceans’

Four Tet will release his new album in March, titled Sixteen Oceans.

Sixteen Oceans is Kieran Hebden’s first new studio album since 2017’s New Energy, although he has since released two live albums, from Funkhaus Berlin and London’s Alexandra Palace. Hebden announced the album via Twitter earlier today alongside a tracklisting, which can be seen below and includes “Teenage Birdsong,” released last year. There’s no other information available at this stage.

No label is disclosed, but Hebden’s recent work has come via his own Text Recordings.

Tracklisting

01. School
02. Baby
03. Harpsichord
04. Teenage Birdsong
05. Romantics
06. Love Salad
07. Insect Near Piha Beach
08. Hi Hello
09. ISTM
10. Something In The Sadness
11. 1993 Band Practice
12. Green
13. Bubbles At Overlook 25th March 2019
14. 4T Recordings
15. This Is For You
16. Mama Teaches Sanskrit

Sixteen Oceans LP is scheduled for March release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Teenage Birdsong” below.

Lamache’s Discobar Welcomes PEOPLE PEOPLE

Up next on Lamache’s Discobar label is a debut EP from PEOPLE PEOPLE, the collaboration of Gonzalo Perez Scartascini (a.k.a Gulp) and André Baum.

The pair’s relationship dates back to 2016 when they met in Berlin, Germany during a set from Ricardo Villalobos, and bonded over a shared appreciation for J.J. Cale, Massive Attack, and The Cure. They left the club, went to a studio, and promptly recorded “Shock & Awe,” which became the title-track to the EP.

Shock & Awe comprises two other originals plus a remix of the title-track by Villalobos, who takes the original four-minute song and flips it into a 10-minute Villalobos trip.

We’re told to expect a “genre-shifting record” that takes cues from synth-pop, techno, hip-hop, folk, and punk, and stands as an introduction to PEOPLE PEOPLE’s vision of the post-genre band.

The EP is Discobar’s 13th release, following EPs for The Mole and Cez, and its first of 2020.

Ahead of the release, hear Gulp’s XLR8R podcast here, and read more about Lamache in our long-form feature here.

Tracklisting

A1. Shock & Awe
A2. Cousin Itt
A3. The Spinning
B. Shock & Awe (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)

Shock & Awe is out on vinyl towards the end of January, and will also see a digital release towards the end of March. Meanwhile, you can hear clips below.

Moby Unveils 17th Studio Album, ‘All Visible Objects’

Moby has announced his 17th studio album, All Visible Objects, out March 6 via Mute.

Moby, real name Richard Melville Hall, will donate all his profits from All Visible Objects to charitable causes, with each individual track benefiting a different outlet. Among those included are Brighter Green, a public policy action tank that works to raise awareness of and encourage policy action on issues that span the environment, animals, and sustainability; Mercy For Animals, which fights the exploitation of animals; and The American Civil Liberties Union, founded in 1920 to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties. Extinction Rebellion, the Rainforest Action Network, The Physicians Committee, the Good Food Institute, and the Indivisible Project are also named as beneficiaries, among several others.

Over the last 10 years, Moby has been donating one hundred percent of the profits from most of his work to animal and human rights charities.

Moby released his last album, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, in March 2018.

Tracklisting

01. Morningside feat. Apollo Jane
02. My Only Love feat. Mindy Jones (Roxy Music cover)
03. Refuge feat. Linton Kwesi Johnson
04. One Last Time feat. Apollo Jane
05. Power is Taken feat. DH Pelligro & Boogie
06. Rise Up in Love feat. Apollo Jane
07. Forever
08. Too Much Change feat. Apollo Jane
09. Separation
10. Tecie
11. All Visible Objects

All Visible Objects LP is out March 6 via Mute. Meanwhile, you listen to “Power Is Taken” featuring Dead Kennedys’ D.H. Peligro below.

Session Victim Sign to Night Time Stories for Fourth Album

Photo | Micki Rosi Richter

Session Victim have unveiled their forthcoming 11-track album, Needledrop, out March 6 on Night Time Stories, the London-based sister label to LateNightTales.

Needledrop is the German duo’s fourth studio album, following three outings on Delusions Of Grandeur, and marks a notable move towards the downtempo dynamic of artists like Nightmares on Wax, DJ Shadow, and Portishead, all of whom “have all played a strong influence in Session Victim’s variety of output over the last decade,” we’re told.

Accompanying the album announcement is the video for “Made Me Fly,” a collaboration with singer-songwriter Beth Hirsch, known for her work with French duo Air on their 1998 album, Moon Safari. The music video was created by animator Mike Scott and tells a computer game love story visually inspired by ’80s and ’90s point and click adventure games.

Tracklisting

01. Bad Weather Mates
02. The Pain
03. Made Me Fly With Beth Hirsch
04. Jazzbeat 7
05. No Sky, Blue Sound
05. Waller and Pierce
06. Needledrop
07. Isle of Taste
08. Cold Chills
09. Still High
10. Glimmer

Needledrop LP is out March 6 via Night Time Stories.

David August ‘Moves Beyond Introspective Sonics’ on New Single

David August has unveiled a new single, Reminiscence of a Jewel, out January 31 on his own 99CHANTS label.

Reminiscence of a Jewel, at nearly eight minutes in length, is inspired by August’s live performances, and has slowly taken shape over the course of a larger period of time. It “marks a bold move beyond the introspective sonics of his previous works,” the label explains, using rich sound design and intricate production to create a dense interplay between dramatic and uplifting spaces. “Granular synthesis morphs into choral tones, and disparate drums assemble themselves to create trance spaces,” we’re told.

The single is August’s first release on 99CHANTS, set up in 2018, since last year’s Elysian Fields EP. He’s also released DCXXXIX A.C., his second album, on the platform, which has also released music from Ambienti Coassiali and Giulio Aldinucci. It comes out on digital first, and will be followed by an additional B-side + 12“ format will follow in spring.

Tracklisting

01. Reminiscence of a Jewel

Reminiscence of a Jewel is out on January 31 via all digital platforms.

DJ Diaki’s Balani Show Next on Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Tapes

Next on Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes is DJ Diaki with Balani Fou.

DJ Diaki is Diaki Kone, an originator of balani show, a popular music played at street parties across Mali, distinguishable for its high-energy balafon samples, crashing drums, and live remixes.

Balani show dates back to the late ’90s, as DJs with sound systems began to animate social ceremonies, primarily because they were cheaper than a balafon group. The DJ credited as the originator is Seydou Bagayoko, who mentored DJ Diaki and DJ Sandji in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

Early on, DJs would play cassettes, but to create more dynamic music, they began to augment songs with drum pads, crashing coupé decalé rhythms, cymbals, and whistles. DJs would dub their remixed versions directly onto new tapes to play at their parties. Over time, the sound made its way to Bamako, the capital and largest city of Mali, and DJs also began remixing on the fly. This was followed by a brief period of CDJs before the current incarnation of laptop DJs.

The sound thrived through the mid-2000s, and DJ Senateur even performed an official version on Malian television, but in recent years, it has returned to its street culture roots, played in neighborhoods in informal block parties.

In smaller villages across Mali, such as where Diaki lives, the sound is a little different, with a faster tempo and tranced out loops that “extend into mind-melting repetition,” Nyege Nyege explains. “It’s much faster in the countryside,” Diaki adds. “The people in the village want the music fast. If someone goes to my parties, it’s impossible they dance the whole time.” His video channel illustrates this point.

Balani Fou, meaning “Crazy Balani,” comprises 12 of Diaki’s high-energy remixes, released for the first time.

Nyege Nyege Tapes is label based in Kampala, Uganda, exploring, producing and releasing outsider music from around the region. Balani Fou is its 19th release.

Tracklisting

TAPE 1 / A1 / 1. But Show DD 1 Mix
TAPE 1 / A2 / 2. But Show Diaki Dj 6
TAPE 1 / A3 / 3. But Bomou 2
TAPE 1 / A4 / 4. But Show Diaki Dj 8
TAPE 1 / A5 / 5. Calaman Top Mix DD 2019
TAPE 1 / B1 / 6. MIX Introu 1
TAPE 1 / B2 / 7. MIX Introu 2
TAPE 1 / B3 / 8. Shekey Mix
TAPE 1 / B4 / 9. Show Time Mix
TAPE 1 / B5 / 10. Calaman Diaki 5
TAPE 2 / A / 11. Diablo Mix
TAPE 2 / B / 12. Harmattan

Balani Fou LP is out on February 20 on limited edition cassette and digital. Meanwhile, you can stream previews below and pre-order here.

Blawan and Pariah Welcome Peder Mannerfelt to Voam

Peder Mannerfelt will release his latest EP, Like We Never Existed, on Blawan and Pariah’s Voam label.

Like We Never Existed is Mannerfelt’s first release on Voam, launched last year with two releases from the label founders as Karenn. It features four tracks of “mind-squishing club music perfectly tuned to turn your brains into scrambled eggs,” we’re told.

Tracklisting

A1. Black Alert
A2. Everywhere, Everywhere
B1. Summercase 2006
B2. A Queen

Like We Never Existed EP is out January 31 on vinyl and digital. Meanwhile, you can pre-order the record here, and hear clips below.

Lawrence English’s Room40 Supports Australian Bushfire Relief with Chris Watson Recording

Photo: Lewis Watson

As part of its continued support for bushfire relief in Australia, Lawrence English‘s Room40 will release a new record from wildlife recordist Chris Watson.

The recording, made in the South Burnett region of Queensland in 2009, captures the intense beauty of the Australia Bush. “It’s a recording that represents how much life can be found in one small stretch of country and is evidence of the diverse ecosystems that exist within this vast continent,” the label adds. The recording was made as part of a special recording project instigated by Room40 during one of Watson’s regular visits south.

Watson is a founding member of Sheffield-based experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire, but has since developed a passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals and habitats from around the world. He’s been responsible for some revealing field recordings in Australia, including this section from Sir David Attenborough’s “Life In The Undergrowth.”

All monies raised from this edition will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery for the Australia Bushfires. Room40 will match all donations.

“It has been a hellish summer, we’re glad to support the Red Cross in their efforts,” the label adds.

Tracklisting

01. The Rail Trail

The Rail Trail is available now here.

Blue Hour Returns with Four New Tracks of Techno, Trance, and Hardcore

Luke Standing is back as Blue Hour with his new EP, Devotion, out February 17 on his own Blue Hour label.

Standing describes the record as “a personal homage” to his “early influences in dance music, frequently visited venues or events, and shared experiences with close friends.” He wrote it through the summer of 2019, and explores left-field, techno, trance, hardcore, and ambient across four tracks.

Standing started Blue Hour in 2013 but hasn’t put out an EP there since 2018’s Beyond The Void, focussing instead on building the label’s roster with other artists. This is the label’s 14th release.

Tracklisting

A1.​ Nocturnal
A2​ Mira’s Theme
B1​ Devotion (Rave Mix)
B2​ Lotus Bells

Devotion EP is out February 17, with clips below and pre-order here.

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