Netherlands-based label Atomnation (run by Bubblin’ Up producer Applescal) has shared a selection from Barcelonian producer Sau Poler‘s debut EP, A Soundless Echo. Though “Rutes” features plenty of dancefloor-appropriate rhythms and often brings to mind the organic production style of Four Tet, the relaxed attitude and unhurried bassline which support the song’s haunting vocals and dusty synth work also give it a bit of a new age slant. Look for A Soundless Echo when it’s released on April 11.
Night Slugs co-owner L-Vis 1990 has just posted clips of the three tracks set to appear on his next EP for the label, Ballads. As FACT points out today, the DJ/producer’s upcoming record will drop early next week, almost two months after his Circuits EP for Clone‘s Jack for Daze imprint. Ballads, however, is said to be the “first true artist statement since [L-Vis 1990’s] Neon Dreams, a set of bizarre, show-stopping pieces designed to spiritually open up the club.” Three snippets of just how the artist plans to do that can be streamed before they’re released on April 2, below.
Miles Whitaker, half of Manchester duo Demdike Stare, has already gotten off to a fruitful start in 2013 with the release of his production outfit’s Testpressing#001 (stream that here). As we reported last month, Whitaker is also releasing a new solo LP via Modern Love, called Faint Hearted, which can now be heard in its entirety. Faint Hearted is the longstanding producer and renowned record collector’s first release since the Facets EP from 2011. Modern Love’s description of the LP promises an “evocative exposition of Miles’ love of electronic music in all its shapes, harnessing his fidgety production style into one expansive, restless set of tracks.” Faint Hearted is out now on vinyl and digital, and can be streamed in full below. (via FACT)
Another seven days have come and gone, and with them, a handful of developments in the world of electronic production have surfaced. For today’s This Week in Music Tech, we gather new Ableton Push video tutorials, news of FL Studio-related DJ software, a look into xxxy’s production process, and the latest honor bestowed on legendary synth designer Bob Moog.
Following its recent set of Live 9 tutorials, Ableton has shared a new series of videos detailing use of its Push hardware controller. The six short videos highlight how to get started with the unit and demonstrate ways to play chords and melodies on, customize mixes and FX, and more on Push. The full series can be viewed above.
Imageline (a company best known as the developer behind Fruity Loops) has updated its DJ software and announced a beta release of Deckadance 2. Those digital DJs who can get past the deplorable music featured in the above demo, will notice that the newly reworked software has added some intriguingly customizable automation features, FX, and sample capabilities to the four-deck program. More details on the updated software and information about its public beta release can be found here.
On Wednesday, London’s FACT TV launched a new series which challenges producers to make a track in just 10 minutes. The series’ inagural episode of Against the Clock features UK artist xxxy, whose entire 10-minute beat-building process can be watched above.
Lastly, in a bit of long overdue news, pioneering synth designer Robert Moog—the man responsible for creating the legendary Moog line of electronic instruments—was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame this week, honoring his 1964 patent which introudced the first complete voltage-controlled modular synthesizer. Deemed the “Electronic High-Pass and Low-Pass Filters Employing the Base to Emitter Diode Ristor for Bi-Polar Transistors,” the design on the patent would serve as the blueprint for Moog’s first modular synthesizers and ultimately launch the late American engineer’s formative career as a leader in music technology and innovation.
There seems to be a couple of predominant themes in this week’s edition of Press Play—namely, crossover UK production duo Disclosure and the country of Norway. Whether it’s a brand-new tune from M83, a remix by Todd Edwards, a convoluted version of the “White Noise” single, or a psychedelically animated music video, those two things manage to pop up in the details. What’s more: We also have sights and sounds from the likes of Machinedrum, Jerome LOL, Thom Yorke’s Atoms for Peace project, Demdike Stare, and Kranky stalwarts Pan•American, among others. It’s all ready to be seen and heard after the jump.
Before the release of Tom Cruise’s epic sci-fi flick Oblivion, M83 has shared his stratospheric track of the same name, which features Norwegian singer Susanne Sundfør.
Prolific tunesmith Machinedrum shared a stream of his latest single, the frenetic juke/jungle hybrid “Clissold VIP.”
Sam Smith, the vocalist known for his collaboration with breakout UK duo Disclosure, receives a “Dub Mix” of his new “Lay Me Down” single by veteran DJ/producer Todd Edwards.
Manchester’s Demdike Stare unleashed a stream of Testpressing#001, its gritty new 12″ for Modern Love.
Check out this live footage of Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich performing Atoms for Peace tunes at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC.
LOL Boys expat Jerome LOL remixes “Holding On” by electro-pop production duo Classixx into a funky dancefloor jam.
Let’s try to get this straight: 18-year-old London singer/producer MNEK covered Disclosure’s “White Noise,” replacing the original vocals by AlunaGeorge’s Aluna Francis with his own, and then his new version was just treated to a collaborative remix by Amsterdam beatmakers Full Crate and FS Green.
Veteran electronic/post-rock outfit Pan•American shares an ambling track from its forthcoming Cloud Room, Glass Room LP for Kranky, “Project for an Apartment Building.”
Before East Coast producer Evenings drops his debut album for Friends of Friends on April 16, check out the bubbling and drum-heavy “Chesapeake.”
Here’s our premiere of the forthcoming “Jaded” single by London house and garage obsessives Toyboy & Robin.
Earlier this month, Norwegian beatmaker King Knut premiered his bubbly “A Lil’ Soul” tune as a free download on XLR8R, and now we have the colorfully animated—not to mention extremely psyched-out—music video.
Check out the latest EP on the way from Glasgow label High Sheen, a self-titled record chock full of rolling house cuts crafted by Dam Mantle’s Lovers’ Rights production trio.
Within the first 10 seconds of “Oblique,” LA producer Sweatson Klank draws us into the song with intergalactic rumbling and the airy sounds of rustling chimes. The instrumentation brings to mind the opening moments of Flying Lotus’ Until The Quiet Comes, as the song’s diving low end sets the stage for quick snares, acoustic guitars, and lustful cries of desire. “Oblique” serves as the first track on Sweatson Klank’s upcomingYou, Me, Temporary LP, which drops through Project: Mooncircle on April 1.
It’s quite odd to think that it’s been two years since Here, London-based producer Deadboy‘s last Numbers release. If anything, following a year that saw him DJ under the Numbers banner at countless clubs and festivals right across Europe and beyond, he seems like a more integral member of the fold now than he did back in 2011. In fact, when he’s at his best, Deadboy’s sets perfectly epitomize the balance of styles that the promotions-outfit-come-umbrella label has made its calling card; combining a light-hearted affection for ’80s power-pop and ’90s R&B with a deep knowledge of the roots of house, techno, and garage, he comes across as both ambitious and well informed without ever taking things too seriously. On Blaquewerk, Deadboy channels this combination of influences perfectly, resulting in an EP that is playfully nostalgic throughout but nonetheless feels like a significant stylistic step forward.
Opener “On Your Mind” sees Deadboy foregoing his usual disco-leaning vocal samples in favor of his own voice. Fortunately, his vocal contribution is mercifully understated—it’s limited to a half-mumbled romantic ode that’s drenched in effects and fed through a vocoder—allowing plenty of breathing room for the lush retro synths and shuffling house beat beneath. This sense of understatement carries across to the rest of the tune, too; despite being built upon a relatively upfront bassline and an utterly anthemic synth hook, “On Your Mind” is actually a fairly slow-burning track with a careful, minimal arrangement. The elements of the tune may be fairly full-on in themselves, but Deadboy uses each sparingly to create a mood-driven, drawn-out work of deep house. This less-is-more approach is also applied to “Geek’d Up,” as Deadboy builds a bare-bones house rhythm out of a simplistic drum-machine beat and four-note bass hook before layering on a repitched vocal. Halfway through, he drops in a rave-friendly piano line, which sounds all the more anthemic against the backdrop of the minimal and bass-heavy beat.
The second half of the release sees Deadboy delving a little deeper into his dance-music influences. “Black Reign” is a work of classic late-night garage, complete with muddy, reverb-heavy atmospherics and heavily filtered vocal lines. Here, he dials down some of the more colorful elements to create a track that pays tribute to his London roots, although it ultimately lacks some of the personality of the two tracks that precede it. Meanwhile, “Nova”—the final track of the EP—finds Deadboy in vintage drum & bass territory, combining a faithful jungle break and 808 bass riff to replicate the sounds of mid-’90s warehouse raves. As the track reaches its crescendo, however, he introduces layers of melody via washed-out synth pads and heavily delayed vocals, resulting in a climax that’s full of character—and one which acts as a perfect coda to the EP.
On the whole, Blaquewerk feels like a representation of Deadboy at his best; it’s enjoyably nostalgic throughout, constantly playing on a variety of vintage influences, but—with the possible exception of “Black Reign”—he never lets the homage paying overshadow his ability to craft a well thought-out dance tune with plenty of charisma. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another two years for his next release.
The Brooklyn-via-San Francisco synth wielders of Jonas Reinhardt have not only announced their upcoming Mask of the Maker LP (artwork above), but have also offered up album closer “Private Life of a Diamond” as a free download. The track features a densely layered wall of modulating synths, airy guitar solos, and a motorik bassline layered over a komische-leaning beat. For those wanting to hear more from Mask of the Maker before it drops on April 9 via Not Not Fun, album cut “Elimination Street” can be streamed after the jump.
Robert Moog, the man responsible for creating the legendary Moog line of synthesizers and FX, has been inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame for his 1964 patent which introudced the first complete voltage-controlled modular synthesizer. Amidst a field of inductees that include inventors of technology such as “Apparatuses for Trapping and Accelerating Neutral Particles” and “Long Range Navigation Systems,” Moog’s patent for “Electronic High-Pass and Low-Pass Filters Employing the Base to Emitter Diode Ristor for Bi-Polar Transistors” (a.k.a. a synthesizer) has again received some deserved shine not only for its advancement in technology, but also for transforming the world of music. Although Moog passed away in 2005, the pioneering designer’s legacy lives on through the current Moog brand of instruments and the Bob Moog Foundation, a non-profit orginization that seeks to inspire by exploring “the intersection of music, science, and imagination.” A comprehensive look at Bob Moog’s life was captured in the 2004 documentary Moog, which we’ve included below. (via FACT)
Glasgow-born, Barcelona-based producer Sega Bodega has shared the shimmering, two-part closing track from his forthcoming 34 EP, “Luxor Quest I & II.” The tune’s first passage opens with labored breaths, 8-bit notes, and a dancing bassline before it crescendos into an energetic sonic burst worthy of a fireworks display. As speedily as the song reaches its climax, it quickly moves on to a much quieter segment of finely chopped vocal samples keeping time beside the glow of synths and calm piano melodies. Week of Wonders will release the rest of 34 on April 1, but the video for its opener “Konerak” is available to watch now, after the jump.
