George FitzGerald Preps Single for Hotflush; Hear it Now

After contributing two records to Scuba’s imprint in 2010 and 2011—both of which helped propel both his own and the label’s ascent—George FitzGerald is set to return to Hotflush with a one-track single later this month. “Thinking of You” is said to exist within “the darker realms of the dancefloor” and come “imbued with the same kind of precision-tooled grooves, nuanced melodic touch, and emotive shades” which has marked FitzGerald’s work over the years. “Thinking of You” will drop as a digital Beatport exclusive, to be followed by a full physical release (possibly with more tracks or remixes) in May. In the meantime, you can stream the track below.

Chatterbox: Gold Panda

Essex’s Gold Panda has kept fairly quiet since the release of his 2010 debut LP, Lucky Shiner. He compiled a hypnotizing DJ-Kicks mix in 2011, but few of his own creations have made it out of his hard drive during the past few years, aside from a few EPs and remixes here and there. Gold Panda tends to be as coy as he is self-effacing, but his high personal standards ultimately pay off when he finally does unleash new tunes. His latest record, the Trust EP, is no exception; its four meticulously crafted tracks are pleasantly dozy, yet vibrantly alive with gorgeous, delicate bits of sonic minutiae that shimmer, shift, and clink. Better yet, the EP is a harbinger of another full-length album that’s slated to appear later this year from the elusive beatmaker and NOTOWN label boss. We took to Skype to coax some information out of Gold Panda about how his approach to production has evolved since moving to Berlin, and discussed what he and Jay-Z might have in common.

Chicago Flotation Device “Untitled 6″**

There is very little info on the three-piece Chicago Flotation Device, other than that the crew is based out of London and operates as a strictly analog techno/house outfit. The group has proclaimed its sound to be a “return to the warehouse,” and the description couldn’t be more apt. “Untitled 6” is as raw and gritty as house tunes come, sounding like it was tailor made for unlicensed raves going long past the midnight hour. The trio soaks all the percussion with abandoned, ghostly reverb, keeping the arrangement as sparse as possible with only a one-chord synth stab binding the track together. Despite its eight-minute length, “Untitled 6” flies by. With only one more publicly unveiled tune under its belt, Chicago Flotation Device is still a mystery, albeit a dark and intriguing one, with no further releases scheduled on the horizon.

Silent Escape

Untitled 6

Anthony Child The Space Between People and Things

As Surgeon, Anthony Child has been active in the UK techno scene for nearly 20 years, but he’s finding a newfound relevance as listeners look back to “industrial techno”‘s first wave. His work has always tended, naturally, toward the clinically precise, counterbalancing the sheer power of his raw textures and 10-ton rhythms. This kind of mastery can reach a natural end point, though: on a mix like 2007 Warp exclusive This Is for You Shits, Child wove his own tracks, as Surgeon or in collaboration with Regis as British Murder Boys, into those of contemporaries like Autechre and forerunners like Whitehouse and Throbbing Gristle. Despite the catholic selection, an oppressive uniformity prevailed, making for a listening experience not too far removed from something like Richie Hawtin’s similarly masterful but overly consistent Decks, EFX & 909.

Child’s latest release is the first under his own name, and further diversifies his recent activities, which have included a return to the British Murder Boys project and Trade, an EBM-leaning collaboration with Blawan. The NNA Tapes release The Space Between People and Things is culled from 16 years’ worth of behind-the-scenes electroacoustic experimentation, and breaks from the teleological progression of the projects he’s best known for. Untethered from beats, the album’s two side-long suites feel intimate, even airy and featureless, though they never settle into a traditionally ambient role. Some of the timbres bear comparison with the harsher end of the Coil discography, but Child’s sense of structure (or lack thereof) is all his own. There’s something stubbornly individual about these sounds, which metamorphose at will with no hint of narrative. Compared to many tape labels’ releases, Child’s album—which, atypically, is being released on LP rather than cassette—fails to suggest any reference points. It’s guaranteed to make both techno fans and cassette-trolling esotericists scratch their heads, and that’s certainly the point.

Even without comparison to Surgeon material, The Space Between People and Things doesn’t make a lot of sense: it’s too abrasive and disjunctive to be either headphone material or the kind of thing one would put on in the kitchen. Maybe someone could read some dark tarot cards to it. It’s not rewarding, at least according to the established value systems of the avant-garde and the techno horde; whether or not that’s intentional, it’s less of a rebranding effort than an interesting and pointedly disposable piece of marginalia. Perhaps these studies have fed into his main body of work, but more intriguing is the prospect that it’s somewhat thoughtless and free-associative, like the slim volume that comes out in the middle of an author’s career simply because there’s enough interest for even something structureless to exist as long as their stamp is on it. There are miles of droning, acrid synth tapes on the market these days, and a blindfolded taste test wouldn’t necessarily reveal qualities to put this album ahead of the pack: it’s shit from an old notebook, an effort that’s as much about the fact that it can exist as the music contained therein.

Beatbully “Silent Escape”*Dødpop*

“Silent Escape,” a tune crafted by Dødpop co-founder Beatbully, is something of a bait and switch, as it presents one thing to the listener before suddenly shifting gears and taking off in another direction. The skweee stalwart begins his track with rapid heartbeat kicks, but then the snares take things back 10 years into trip-hop. Beatbully makes solid use of the sinister synths that circle the percussion in the background, occasionally dropping everything out and leaving only a distant hum, or to great effect, dead silence. In short, “Silent Escape” is a track laden with details that slowly come out over multiple listens. The song is featured on the freshly released Dødpop Vol. 3 (artwork above), which also features cuts from Stones Throw pillars Baron Zen and Tekblaser, fellow skweee heads Randy Barracuda and Melkeveien, and more.

Silent Escape

Marquis Hawkes Higher Forces at Work

Berlin-based producer Marquis Hawkes announced himself last year with Cabrini Green, an EP which, if the title didn’t give it away, depicted an artist deeply influenced by Chicago’s house legacy—particularly mid-to-late ’90s ghetto house. Tracks like “Marvin,” however, with its slow-burning, filter-laden groove, were a little more considered than most ghetto house, a genre that usually succeeds on bluntness. Higher Forces at Work, his follow-up EP, confirms the producer has talents beyond simple throwbacks.

That said, the unhinged pitch-sliding that runs throughout “Higher Forces” is straight out of Steve Poindexter’s playbook. Rather than coupling it with a frantic rhythm, however, Marquis Hawkes drops the drums to around 115 bpm, which serves to draw out its abstraction. The pace is similarly sluggish throughout the record. The compressed pads that highlight “Automatic” could easily appear on one of Jochem Peteri’s records, but the raw, old-school house drums and squiggly bassline come from another place entirely. As on its predecessor, its odd combination is accentuated by its rhythm’s lurch. “I Want You” opens the flip with the record’s most festive arrangement. Like the other tracks, it thrives on a simple combination, but its sample-driven disco-house swerve is less incongruous and more functional. One of the EP’s strengths, though, is this kind of mismatching. “Divine Intervention” again capitalizes on the tendency, as its measuredly rattling, Poindexter-esque rhythmic skid is coupled with quaveringly compressed strings and taut acid lines. Marquis Hawkes utilizes the more experimental elements of ghetto house, but smartly discards much of the attitude. He is less a copyist than an experimenter, taking a long view of dance music and melding Chicagoan motifs with an array of other influences. Higher Forces at Work is not as riotous as Cabrini Green, but its pared-down, measured approach is welcome.

The Lowdown – Locked Groove, Flying Lotus, Shlohmo, and More

Throughout the week, a whole lot of material gets posted here on XLR8R. And while we know—and love—that some hardcore readers will eagerly pour over every single news story, interview, podcast, video, and MP3 download that appears on the site, we also realize that for most people, it’s impossible to see everything, which means that some quality XLR8R content is likely to get missed in the hustle and bustle of everyone’s daily lives. In the interest of making it easier for everyone to catch up, every Friday we present The Lowdown, a weekly wrap-up of the top 10 tidbits from our site.

1. This week on XLR8R was all about Locked Groove (pictured above). The day after we reviewed his new Heritage EP (and exclusively streamed it in full), the Belgian DJ/producer served up a new mix for the latest installment of the XLR8R podcast.

2. XLR8R explored The Art of Collaboration with an in-depth feature that included interviews with Dark Sky, Breach, DJ Koze, KiNK, Marc Romboy, and others.

3. NYC DJ/producer Jacques Renault topped our Downloads section this week with his remix of Chad Valley’s “I Owe You This,” a song featuring Twin Shadow.

4. In perhaps the goofiest development of the week, the folks at Red Bull Music Academy launched a new site this week called Modern MIDI Classics, a quirky web portal with MIDI versions of tunes from the likes of Flying Lotus, TNGHT, Mount Kimbie, Deadboy, and several others.

5. The Red Bull Music Academy gang was certainly busy this week, as it also debuted the latest chapter of its H?SHTAG$ video series. This episode features on beat music and includes the thoughts of Flying Lotus, Shlohmo, Benji B, Dorian Concept, and others.

6. LA producer Justin Jay recently released The Everything EP via the Southern Fried label, and passed along a rework from London’s Jack Fell Down as a free download.

7. Azari & III dropped a new remix compilation this week, and offered up “Lost in Time (VCO Remix),” a rework that actually doesn’t appear on the record, as a free giveaway. It proved rather popular with our readers.

8. This week’s XLR8R contest offered readers the chance to score a sleek pair of Munitio earbuds. Enter now before it’s too late.

9. Frenchman J-808 tackles the sounds of countryman Fobator on his “Late Night Dub” of “Emotion,” a deep and percussive selection from this week’s collection of free downloads.

10. We went Deep Inside the self-titled debut from Austalian crossover sensation Flume, and spoke with the young producer about his rapid ascent and musical methods.

An expanded version of the The Lowdown is also available via a weekly email newsletter. Those interested in an even more in-depth round-up of XLR8R content, including a complete listing of all the free downloads we’ve offered in the past seven days, should sign up by entering their email address below.

Subscribe to the XLR8R Lowdown

Download a Free Edits Comp from Oneman

London-based producer and Rinse FM stalwart Oneman has compiled some of his best edits and mash-ups and elected to give them away ahead of his upcoming tour of North America. The edits compilation houses tunes that have appeared in a variety of places; some have been freebies for various outlets, others were stream-only tunes on SoundCloud releases, and a few bangers have been exclusive to his live sets. Among the previously unreleased edits are juxtaposed cuts of TNGHT vs. Gucci Mane, Zomby vs. Dizzee Rascal, TLC vs. Dro Carey, and more. Beginning next week, Oneman will be hopping across the pond and hitting the road for the month of March, with an itinerary that includes multiple shows at SXSW and WMC. You can catch all the tour dates below, with the edits compilation exclusively available to download here.

7th March Output, Brooklyn, NY
8th March The Hoxton, Toronto, CA
9th March Belmont, Montreal, CA
15th March LuckyMe @ SXSW, Austin, TX
15th March SPIN @ SXSW, Austin, TX
16th March Numbers @ SXSW, Austin, TX
23rd March Resident Advisor, Miami, FL
23rd March Young Turks, Miami, FL

Marsman “Triangular (Julien Mier Remix)”*Lomechanik*

Following the release of his amibitous audio/visual album endeavor from last year, entitled Jaswawaj, Dutch producer Marsman has enlisted a group of friends and fellow Netherlands-based tunesmiths to rework that record’s tracks into new forms. Here, we have Julien Mier‘s take on “Triangular,” a remix which somehow makes sense out of a seemingly neverending supply of melodic elements, placing just a hint of boom-bap underneath an array of heavenly pads and bell-like percussion sounds. Mier’s is only one of 10 reworks offered on the simply titled Marsman Remix EP (artwork above), which can be purchased as early as March 2 via Lomechanik’s Bandcamp, and streamed in its entirety after the jump.

Triangular (Julien Mier Remix)

Surkin Readies New EP

Parisian beatmaker Surkin is a veteran with a litany of releases under his belt, both for former home Institutes and his own label Marble, co-founded alongside Bobmo and Para One. Still, it’s been more than a year and a half since his last original offering, but that’s about to change with the impending release of Advanced Entertainment System. The EP features six tracks with a grab bag of influences culled from French house, golden-age hip-hop, and 32-bit videogame music. There’s even a collaboration with French upstart Canblaster. Advanced Entertainment System is out on March 18; the artwork and tracklist are below.

1. Boot Screen
2. Oedo 606
3. Tiger Rhythm
4. Stronger (feat. Canblaster)
5. Lakeside
6. Warehouse

Page 1788 of 3781
1 … 1,786 1,787 1,788 1,789 1,790 … 3,781