Two new mixes from three respected artists surfaced earlier this week—namely, Friends of Friends mainstay Jerome LOL (formerly of LOL Boys) teamed up with The Well for a new hour long mix, and across the pond, bass alchemist and Trilogy Tapes owner Bankhead partnered with Ben UFO (pictured above) for a 70-minute B2B session.
Though the tracklist for his mix is a secret full of deep cuts from the realm of house, instrumental hip-hop, and jazz, Jerome LOL says of his offering, “[the selections] mean a lot to me, and I hope they end up meaning a lot to you.” The Bankhead/Ben UFO mines compellingly familiar territory for the two artists, its undisclosed tracklist largely comprising ambient and techno cuts.
Jerome LOL has opted to sell his mix in a limited quantity of 100 CDs, all of which feature handsome packaging and a personalized note from the DJ himself. Pre-orders for the physical copy are available here, and the mix is streaming below, alongside Bankhead’s and Ben UFO’s outing.
The same week that Swedish duo The Knife shared a full stream of its brand-new Shaking the Habitual LP, one of the first remixes for that album’s tracks has surfaced from UK funky mainstay Cooly G. “A Tooth for An Eye (Cooly G Remix)” also appeared the same week as a new mix from the DJ/producer born Merissa Campbell, and shows that the artist is still working within the realm of slinky and heavily percussive dancefloor music. The track can be streamed below, courtesy of Dazed Digital, who premiered the tune along with a sizable feature on The Knife and its new album, here.
A grab bag of videos capturing a production tutorial from Kate Simko, Kyle Hall and Thefft in the midst of their beatmaking process, and an interview with disco legend Giorgio Moroder popped up on our radar this week along with a few fresh looks at intriguing gear developments from Novation, Roland, and others. The lastest edition of our weekly gear and production news wrap-up gathers them all in one convenient place for uninterrupted viewing and potential drooling.
This week, Novation announced that it would release an updated version of its popular Launchpad grid controllers later this month for a street price of $169. The Launchpad S unit adds some new key features—including a much brighter LED set, faster refresh times, and—most important of all—class compliance, which will allow the Launchpad S to be used with any computer, most production softwares, and even the iPad.
Roland unveiled a new tabletop loopstation this week, the RC-505. While most of its marketing seems to highlight the unit’s usefulness for beatboxers, we imagine that the five channels, bevy of FX, MIDI funtionailty, and all of the other impressive looping capabilities it provides may prove equally as useful to those beatmakers who prefer the hardware touch.
Native Instruments shared a new video showing off the capabilites of its Traktor DJ app with gear-obsessed mixmaster DJ Shiftee at the helm. The musical offerings may not blow XLR8R readers out of the water, but the video does find the man utilizing the app’s cue points and looping functionality in some rather creative ways.
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Although there is only one day left for its Kickstarter campaign, the intriguing SubPac caught our attention this week. Ostensibly a subwoofer that sits on a chair against one’s back, the SubPac is toted as a new way to experience low frequencies that are felt rather than heard in the home or studio. The product’s fundraising goal has already been met, meaning that personal SubPacs will be in production soon. The idea is certainly intriguing, though, at this point, the jury seems to still be out as to whether this will have a place in electronic music production, or rather is something more suited for your mall’s Bridgestone store.
Last week, FACT TV shared the first episode of its new Against the Clock series, which featured xxxy attempting to craft a tune in merely 10 minutes. This week added another episode, with UK producer Thefft taking on the same challenge this time around.
In anticipation of his upcoming debut LP, Boat Party, Detroit producer/DJ Kyle Hall shared a video of himself building a beat from—of all things—David Banner’s “Like a Pimp.” Challenging himself to do so in under 30 minutes, Hall uploaded an edited version of his attempt to take on the task, tweaking various hardware pieces and continually laughing at what he came up with along the way.
Veteran techno producer and former Ghostly associate Kate Simko recently led a masterclass session at London’s Point Blank institue, focusing on production tecniques within Logic—the highlights from which have been collected and shared via the 11-minute video above.
And lastly, the Creators Project shared a new video earlier this week of a rare video interview with disco pioneer and all-around synth/dance music genius Giorgio Moroder. During the illuminating piece, he discussed his roots as a proudcer, the early days of disco, and his experience collaborating with Daft Punk on the French duo’s forthcoming Random Accesss Memories album.
Despite being released on LA imprint Halocyan, Never Forgotten—the latest EP from Bristol-based producer Adam Gazla (a.k.a. Arkist)—is a proper hometown affair. The five-track release finds Gazla working alongside Applepips boss Appleblim, with Komon and October on remix duties, resulting in an eclectic collection of tunes, each of which touches on the shuffling rhythms of vintage garage.
Much like his slightly divisive 2012 single “Two Night Stand,” a-side “Addict”—a collaboration with Appleblim—finds Gazla working with fizzing synth tones and high-energy garage rhythms. It’s a tighter, more streamlined work than that track, however; where “Two Night Stand,” for better or worse, was a dense affair full of sonic curveballs, “Addict” plays on classic synth progressions, bouncy arpeggios, and an infectious hi-hat rhythm to form a very enjoyable, albeit less surprising, club track. Regular collaborator Komon follows it up with a remix that slows the tempo, replacing the garage feel of the original with a lovely swaggering house vibe.
For all the local support on the EP, however, it’s the two b-side cuts—which find Gazla working solo—that prove to be the highlights. On “Iron Oxide,” he strips back the colorful synths to leave space for huge brooding bass hits and hanging, atmospheric chords, creating a darker garage cut that matches the a-side for energy while adding depth and mood. Power-pop-infused cut “23 Summers” provides the release’s finest moment though. It’s a vibrant work of R&B-influenced dance music, full of massive retro synths and major-key vocal chops; it sees Gazla harnessing the day-glo likability of the sounds he toyed with on “Two Night Stand,” but in a tidier, more effective manner. Finally, October rounds off the package with a creative—although slightly disjointed—”23 Summers” remix. He keeps the retro feeling of the track intact, but shifts the emphasis away from catchy melodies and onto interlocking rhythmic patterns; it’s undoubtedly an interesting interpretation, but it lacks some of the fun of the original.
Los Angeles-based duo Cosmic Kids (a.ka. Ron Poznansky and Daniel Terndrup) recently teamed up with fellow SoCal native Fingerpaint on a 12″ for Let’s Play House. Called Reality on the Horizon, the EP features one collaborative track and some solo outings from each production outfit. Cosmic Kids’ “Higgs Boson” opens up the record’s b-side with a warm bed of euphoric synthesizers before locking into a mellow bounce that endures tirelessly for the tune’s seven minutes. The pair also stuffs its latest production with a wealth of hidden details: Synthesized strings, bells, and other flourishes (including an expertly employed Zombies sample) all swirl around underneath the pulsing rhythms. Reality on the Horizon is out now on vinyl, with a digital release due on April 7. Previews of each track can be found after the jump.
A draft of “California Analog Dream,” the lead single from Vondelpark‘s debut full-length, also appeared on the trio’s first EP for R&S, Sauna. The updated version showcases the strengths the UK group has honed since it rose from the ashes of the band Lion Club in 2010. The flimsy 2-step rhythm that rattled around in a haze of muddy guitar licks and nasally vocals on the original feels more solid on the rework, and it’s now closer to a rock beat than shuffling garage. Lewis Rainsbury, Alex Bailey, and Matt Law are no longer hiding behind layers of distortion in an attempt to mask the singing or polished instrumentation like teenagers eclipsing their faces behind shaggy hair. The band has matured, and on Seabed, the group presents a distinct voice and cohesive vision that’s less hesitant and more vibrant than the one presented on its previous releases.
In broad strokes, the album is more robust, sexier, and moodier than Vondelpark’s past efforts. It’s a confident attempt to stake out a distinguishable sound within the web of influences and like-minded contemporaries the band has been linked to, including stalwarts like New Order and Radiohead, as well as newer faces like James Blake and The xx. As we mentioned when we premiered the video for “Camels” a few years ago, Boomkat listed the group under the tag “emo garage,” a term that could unite Vondelpark with other musicians who have blended singer-songwriter structures with broken beats and rumbling layers of sub bass; this includes members of the R&S/Apollo family such as Airhead and Gacha, as well as indie crossover artists in the mold of Raleigh Moncrief. While the trio toys with familiar elements like slowly swaggering beats and wispy vocals, Seabed establishes a recognizable voice by drawing on a nautical motif throughout the course of its 10 tracks.
For example, there’s “Dracula,” a full-bodied number which bobs along on voluptuous bass tones and a sturdy, lulling beat, creating an aquatic ebb and flow that Vondelpark sustains throughout the record. “Quest” rolls out a gentle, rocking rhythm with claps that sound like waves crashing onto a shore, while the prickly opening notes of “Blue Again” seem to bubble up from the depths of silence. These songs are hazy and drenched in reverb, but instead of sounding muffled or muddy, they’re clear and crisp, making tracks like “Come On” feel fluid. Guitars echo and synths hoot, pulsing and fluttering like swimming jellyfish.
The only element that isn’t always so clear and defined is the vocal delivery; as such, it tends to stick out and occasionally take the listener out of the music’s smooth atmosphere. Although Rainsbury’s voice sounds familiar—at different moments, he effects a croon like James Blake or Thom Yorke, while at others he guns for a deeper and more brooding tone akin to The xx’s Oliver Sims—it’s often hard to make out what exactly he’s saying. On “Always Forever,” only a few words are enunciated, like “truth” and the repeated hook, “I’m just saying that I’m having a time/You’re just saying that you’re having the time of your life.” Even though Rainsbury’s vocals are no longer smothered by a fog of distortion, there are stretches of ambiguous lyrics, which can be a bit distracting from the rich, seductive, and immersive mood that persists throughout Seabed.
XLR8R last saw Manchester-based producer and Spontaneous Rhythm label head John Howes when we posted his track “Asiko” as a free download back in January. Howes’ newest production venture, Cassetteworks, is a collaborative effort with young music student Michael Haddon; together they aim to explore the darker side of house and techno, as hear on the duo’s premiere track. The aptly titled “001” is chock full of gritty percussive elements and unstable low end, evoking the tough and despairing attitude of a lone survivor on an abandoned planet.
Of late, Bristol-based label Black Acre has done an excellent job finding gems amongst the more esoteric ends of electronic music. Between the synth-heavy romanticism of Blue Daisy and Unknown Shapes’ Bedtime Stories, the ambitious beat work of Loops Haunt’s Zenith, and Meditations on Afrocentrism, the debut EP from footwork-influenced crate-digger Romare, the label played home to some of 2012’s most personality-rich electronic releases. Here, the latter of those artists returns to the fold with a new release comprising four wonderfully intricate jazz- and blues-infused tunes that build upon the promise of his previous outing.
As with his debut, each of the tracks on Love Songs: Part One owes a very deliberate and open debt to the tone and mood of its sample material. Romare builds his music, sonically and thematically, out of building blocks sourced from mid-20th-century blues and the roots of African-American culture. He hardly hides his sources either; EP opener “Your Love (You Give Me Fever)” is built around a very blatant sample lifted from the same jazz standard that Romare references in the song title. This sort of openness is hardly surprising though; his last release was originally intended to come with the source of every sample listed on the back of the record sleeve—an idea that was torpedoed at the last minute by international copyright law. In effect, Romare seems intent on taking the listener on a guided tour through his influences, rather than simply repurposing sounds and then covering his tracks.
This release differs from Meditations, however, in that each of the tracks feels slightly stripped back, minimal, and more refined. After its initial build-up, “Your Love” effectively turns into an ultra-minimal footwork tune, a composition built around little more than a bass-heavy kick, quick-cut vocal, and a low-key synth pad. Similarly, on “Jimi and Faye (Part One)” Romare constructs a fairly simplistic beat out of a handful of samples and lets it run over an extended spoken-word vocal before slowly expanding the track out to a crescendo with reverb-drenched atmospherics and stretched-out drones.
It’s difficult to pin down Romare’s music to a single genre; while juke was an obvious reference point on his first release—due to both his hectic kick rhythms and the cut-and-paste manner in which he used his samples—”Your Love” is the only thing here that really comes close to footwork. Both “Jim and Faye” and “A Taste Of Honey (From The City)” are closer aligned to instrumental hip-hop and old-school house, while closing track “Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin’)” slows things down enough to move into full-blown blues territory. It’s impressive then, that Romare’s cohesive use of samples—providing each track with a unified atmospheric tone—draws together what would otherwise feel like a bafflingly eclectic mix of ideas. Clearly, Romare is an artist with some serious skill.
The video for Owiny Sigoma Band‘s “Nyiduonge Drums” has surfaced, giving a taste of the septet’s live antics to those who haven’t seen them perform. The lo-fi clip shows Charles Owoko (who explained the history of the Nyiduonge drum here) dancing and rallying the crowd from the stage during various performances from last year as the traditional African drums help propel the song’s powerful synth groove. “Nyiduonge Drums” is featured on the flip side of the “Owiny Techno” single which was released earlier this week, before Owiny Sigoma Band’s Power Punch LP drops on April 8 via Brownswood.
Following its appearance in the closing credits for a recent episode of Cartoon Network’s hit cartoon series Adventure Time, a blippy new track produced by Flying Lotus hit the internet today. The widely loved SoCal artist born Steven Ellison uploaded “About That Time//A Glitch is a Glitch” to his SoundCloud profile, where it was immediately swarmed by his 200,000-plus followers. Clocking in at just under two minutes, Flying Lotus’ video game-referencing tune can be streamed in the player below.
