Traumer has unveiled a new album, Assembling Pieces, featuring Cristi Cons, Steve O’Sullivan, and Priku.
The 11-track album comes via Berg Audio, a dub techno-oriented label inspired by the Soviet era.
Traumer, real name Romain Reynaud—based in Paris, France—released on Berg in 2017 with A Different Path, and has previously put out material on Skryptöm, Rekids, and his own Gettraum. His debut album, Takt, surfaced in 2014, exploring more downtempo aesthetics. A Different Path is “the first album in his new direction,” we’re told, meaning it explores the minimal dubby house that he’s playing out nowadays.
There’s little else disclosed about the album, other than that it includes “Baud” and “Strap,” staples of Traumer’s recent sets. It’s also on vinyl only and comes with artwork from Juli Jah.
Read more about Traumer here in his XLR8R 20 Questions feature.
Squarepusher has shared “Nervelevers,” the latest taste of Be Up A Hello, his long-awaited new album.
The breakneck breakbeats of “Nervelevers” recall classic moments of Squarepusher’s much-loved catalogue, which coupled with its blistering acid line also exemplifies the influence his formative years in the Essex rave scene had on the album.
For the release, Squarepusher, real name Tom Jenkinson, returned to using a bewildering array of vintage analogue and digital hardware, the same equipment that first helped him develop his sound in the early ’90s.
In addition to his worldwide tour, see dates below, Warp and Rough Trade shops will present a special Be Up A Hello album launch party at London’s Five Miles on Saturday, February 1. Fans can pre-order a CD, vinyl, or t-shirt to guarantee entry to this exclusive DJ set from Squarepusher and special guests.
Squarepusher added a bonus track and one-hour mix of unreleased material to the accounts of fans who had pre-ordered the album over Christmas and new year. Anyone who pre-orders from Squarepusher.net, Bleep.com, or buys the physical release from any other stores will be able to access these downloads.
Be Up A Hello is out on January 31 via Warp Records.
Pramuk, an American operatically-trained vocalist and electronic musician known for her work with musical collaborators such as Holly Herndon and Colin Self, created the entire album using her own voice, shaping it with electronics. Its title is derived from her family name, Pramuk, which translates from Czech as “well spring” or “fountain.”
The Iceland label describes the album as “an emotional, sensual, and devotional journey.” Often wordless, the songs “evoke a new wholeness sustained by the ritual force of drowning, immersion, cleansing, and bathing,” which is also referred to in the album artwork by visual artist Donna Huanca.
Fountain’s completion culminated in the live premiere of the album material at Unsound Festival in Krakow in 2019, where she performed through a multi-channel array designed by Ben Frost, opening for Sunn O))) and Roly Porter. A closer collaboration with Frost on a soundtrack for a new film project will be announced later in 2020.
RVNG Intl.‘s first release of the year comes from Sign Libra, an alias under which Latvian composer and artist Agata Melnikova delivers her mystical, musical musings.
Sea to Sea, Melnikova’s sophomore album, operates at the node between cerebral and celestial. It follows Closer to the Equator, Melnikova’s debut album, originally released on Sounds of the Dawn, and then Antinote, on which she composed for a contemporary ballet choreographed by Milana Komarova. The album introduced Melnikova’s penchant for impressionistic, pseudo-anthropological and intimately synthesized environmental visions.
For Sea to Sea, Melnikova surveys the “seas” of the moon’s surface, known collectively as Lunar Maria. These large, dark plains formed by volcanic eruptions were thought to be actual seas by early astronomers.
Each of the album’s nine songs is dedicated to a different liquid expanse, and Melnikova’s arrangements articulate themes of abundance and peace, curiosity, bliss, and mystery and mastery. Her voice appears throughout in repeated, mostly-wordless refrains, between which, we’re told, “a language forms and reminds us what we have learned, and what we have yet to learn, before echoing away into distant waters and galaxies.”
Sea to Sea will be released on February 14, 2020 as vinyl and digital editions. On behalf of Sign Libra, a portion of proceeds from this release will benefit Music Fund, an organization that gives young people living in conflict zones and/or poor regions the chance to practice music in suitable conditions. You can pre-order the album here.
Tracklisting
01. Sea of Fecundity 02. Sea of Islands 03. Sea of Waves 04. Sea of Serenity 05. Sea of Vapours 06. Sea of Nectar 07. Sea of Cleverness 08. Sea of Tranquility 09. Sea of Knowledge
Lauro Robles has been making music and DJing since 2001, and he began releasing as Lao in 2006. By pairing classic club sounds with those of South America, he creates avant-garde dance pieces with a uniquely Latin flavor, put out via Filtro, Blaq Records, and NAAFI, where he’s a co-founder responsible for the label’s A&R. Away from his own work, Robles has played producer for the likes of Gaika, Yoga Fire, Linn Da Quebrada, and Nick Hook, among others. He’s filled his recent time by working with urban music duo ForyFive from Mexico City and avant-garde Latin pop group Defensa, based in Argentina.
Through his work with NAAFI and as a DJ, Robles has been championing the regional sounds of Mexico and greater Latin America for over a decade, transporting reggaeton, cumbiaton, perreo, tribal, and whatever experimental combinations of those sounds, and others, his friends happen to be dreaming up to a more global audience. This past summer alone, he’s been on the road for his second Asian tour and he closed the Sónar Dome stage at Sónar Barcelona with a b2b set with Wasted Fates. He’s also no stranger to Berghain, Razzmatazz, and Circus Tokyo.
For his XLR8R podcast, completed ahead of his performance at Comunite Festival this weekend, Robles wanted to “make a big picture of the past and present of NAAFI by including some key influences that somehow helped in building the aesthetic of the “new Latin American club sound.” It features classic tracks by Nguzunguzu, Erick Rincon, and Bok Bok, and also some unreleased tracks by NAAFIs newest artists Nick León and Lila Tirando a Violeta. There’s also some material from his “favorite new Mexican producers” Blasta Masta and Abssys.
What have you been up to recently?
All this last year, I’ve been in the studio working on many projects, finishing an album with Nick Hook, producing an album for Los Angeles rapper Speak, and I went on an Asian tour for two months to India, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Also, I did a b2b with Wasted Fates at Sónar Barcelona, and I did a Lao show at Mexico’s first edition of Sónar. I’ve was involved on the NAAFI releases by Debit, Wasted Fates, and the upcoming releases by Nick León and Lila Tirando a Violeta. Also, we’ve been developing a new label focused on Latin urban and trap music called Baby Thug.
What’s going on with the Mexican electronic music scene at present?
There’s a lot to going on, it’s sometimes even difficult to keep up with it. I think 2019 was a good moment in Mexican music in general; there are now local labels for every popular electronic music sub-genre, there are solid DJ crews, and also forward-thinking promoters willing to take risks. At this moment, Mexicans love electronic music, so it’s a good ecosystem.
Which artists are interesting you right now?
Blasta Masta, Abssys, Nick León, Lila Tirando a Violeta, El Irreal Veintiuno, IDS, Aggromance, El Plvybxy. They’re all Latin American producers with solid tracks.
What’s coming up on the label?
This 2020, we are celebrating 10 years of NAAFI so there are going to be surprises throughout the year. We have a vinyl compilation coming out in summer, we also recently signed Nick León and Lila Tirando a Violeta, and they both have releases coming out soon. There’s a Gaika x NAAFI release that hopefully will see the light soon. Also, we will drop a big merchandise line this year.
When and where did you record this mix?
At the NAAFI studio in Chapultepec, Mexico City.
Is there a concept to it?
I tried to make a picture of the current state of the alternative club scene in Mexico and Latin America by incorporating some classics that inspired NAAFI at its beginnings and some unreleased tracks.
What’s on your horizon for 2020?
Celebrating 10 years of NAAFI while working to keep the brand for at least 10 more!
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.
Editor note: A tracklisting is incoming and will be added soon.
Retina.it, the collaboration of Lino Monaco and Nicola Buono, and Donato Dozzy have previously teamed up as Le Officine Di Efesto, releasing an EP of murky left-field techno on Dozzy’s own Spazio Disponibile. Through this, they discovered a shared love of classic post-punk, wave, and synth-pop, and not long after, Men With Secrets was born.
The project name is borrowed from Richard Bone, an early New York electronic musician and minimal pop pioneer. The trio’s name is but one of their many homages: we’re told that Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League, New Order, and even Dopplereffekt are additional reference points.
Psycho Romance & Other Spooky Ballads is described as a “pitch-perfect, vintage-styled minimal wave record,” filled with icy synths, shuddering bass, and anthemic vocals, “sounding like a lost gem unearthed from 1982 for the first time.”
“Not many records on The Bunker New York are as likely to be played in goth clubs as they are by adventurous techno DJs, but then again, this is not your average Bunker New York record,” the label adds.
Tracklisting
01. 4th Dimension Signal N°1 02. The Misfortunes Of Virtues 03. Cabaret (Démodé) 04. 4th Dimension Signal N°2 05. Dramantic 06. Elle Est Nihiliste 07. 4th Dimension Signal N°3 08. Angelus Novus 09. Secrets Of The Crowd 10. 4th Dimension Signal N°4 11. Aletheia.aiff 12. Ruins On Ruins 13. 4th Dimension Signal N°5
Psycho Romance & Other Spooky Ballads LP is out January 31, with pre-order here, where you can also stream “Cabaret Démodé.”
Los Angeles multi-instrumentalist and producer Timo Ceniceros (a.k.a Gnome Beats) will return to Dome of Doom with his sophomore album, Las Formas En Flujo.
Ceniceros began writing Las Formas En Flujo, meaning “The Forms in Flux,” in 2017 when he took a full-time job with a concrete and masonry company.
“Las Formas” is a reference to the process of forming concrete. With his work crew, Ceniceros listened to music from Central America and Mexico, planting foundations for various music structures that would find their way onto the album. This inspired the tonal beginning of the songwriting and the recording process.
“En Flujo” became part of the title later, inspired by major life changes that include the birth of his second child and the loss of a family home during a devastating forest fire. We’re told that the concepts of transformation, modulation, and impermanence are a part of the musical core.
The album also incorporates Ceniceros’ history studying music theory, which includes years learning Flamenco and Latin American music as a teenager and studying West African Poly-Rhythm and North Indian Classical music in college. He’s “distilled this knowledge into an array of modern electronic forms, forming a style all his own” across the 37-minute record, we’re told.
Freestyle Fellowship’s Myka 9 features again, having contributed to Ceniceros’ debut LP, Gnome Lyfe. Dome of Doom label owner Wylie Cable has also collaborated, as has Kokoro Star.
The album has been pressed on cassette as a limited edition version of 100 copies.
Tracklisting
01. Paradise Flip 02. En Flujo 03. Ai Kansha (feat. Kokoro Star) 04. Trouble (feat. Myka 9) 05. Odd Tropics (feat. Wylie Cable) 06. Este y Ese 07. Piedras Flotantes 08. The Buffalo 09. San Tomas de Los Padres 10. Firebird 11. Sleepless In Mojave 12. Blue Night Black Dawn 13. Moondot
Las Formas En Flujo LP is out January 24 on Dome of Doom, with pre-order here.
Hildur Guðnadóttir has won the award for Best Original Score at this year’s Golden Globes for “Joker.”
In her victory, the Icelandic composer became the first woman to win the award solo in the history of the Golden Globes. She is also the first woman to win the award since 2000 when Lisa Gerrard shared the prize with Hans Zimmer for “Gladiator.” The last woman to be nominated was Karen O, who shared a nod with Carter Burwell in 2009 for “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Guðnadóttir won the prize over Randy Newman, Alexandre Desplat, Thomas Newman, and Daniel Pemberton. Joaquin Phoenix, the film’s lead, was awarded Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck.
Guðnadóttir also recently picked up an Emmy for scoring Chernobyl, a TV assignment for HBO. Away from motion picture, she has released several albums on Touch and has worked with the likes of Pan Sonic, The Knife, and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Prophet is an underground funk musician from the San Francisco Bay Area, who, until this year, had only put his name to one record: an obscure private-press LP called Right On Time (1984, Treasure Records).Indeed, that’s how Peanut Butter Wolf first caught wind of him, and eventually convinced him to sign to Stones Throw, as well as introducing him to Mndsgn. The two producers later linked up on Wanna Be Your Man, a collaborative full-length released in 2018, and from then on, Prophet has been part of the Stones Throw family.
Don’t Forget It is an album of entirely self-produced material. We’re told that working solo allowed Prophet to further explore his sound palette and whittle down over a hundred songs to 16 for this record. Some tracks share the retro-futuristic sound of Wanna Be Your Man, while others like the first single, Be the One for You, based around a catchy piano riff, are more hypnotic and looping.
An album tracklisting will be added as it comes available.
Don’t Forget It LP is out January 31, with pre-order here and “Be the One” streaming below.
XLR8R is offering XLR8R+ subscribers free passes to the upcoming Comunité Festival taking place on the beautiful beaches of Puerto Escondido, Tulum, in Oaxaca, Mexico on Saturday, January 11.
Hailed as one of the best surf beaches in the world, Puerto Escondido is a paradise that’s managed to remain mostly under the mainstream tourist radar with plenty of amazing spots to stay and delicious food.
This year’s edition sees Comunité focus heavily on the bass-heavy sides of cutting-edge club music. With Yu Yu club as a collaborative partner, Mexico’s vital underground club scene is well represented. The NAAFI label will be there in full force, with Mexican Jihad and Fausto Bahia both on hand. After a performance an Mutek Mexico, Tomás Urquieta is a highlight to watch, while DJ Hotmale brings rowdy acid flair. Nico (f.k.a White Visitation) will also bring his uniquely gritty techno sound, joined by rising names MNTY and Phaedra.
Heading up the rest of the lineup are dubstep legend Mala and Hyperdub boss Kode 9. Madam X is on hand to represent younger strains of bass music, as well as Berlin’s Darwin. Miami’s Nick León brings his experimental flair to the beach, and Kiev’s Raw Unkut will provide a unique ravey, breaks-driven energy. The latest lineup can be found here.
Please note that tickets are limited so claim yours now.
For those who haven’t yet, just SUBSCRIBE HERE and email your full name with “Comunité 2020” as the subject to [email protected] to claim your FREE ticket. For those current subscribers, simply email your full name and “Comunité 2020” as the email subject.
The 17th edition of XLR8R+ is here, featuring tracks by DeWalta, Öona Dahl, and Alci. You can hear snippets of the tracks below.
