The Exaltics “Broken”

The German production project known as The Exaltics describes itself as “Drexciyan electro,” a fitting title that adaquately frames the drum-machine beats, acid touches, and depth of synth work offered up on “Broken,” a cut from the outfit’s forthcoming Muted World EP. While the breaking beats and 16th-note bassline certainly harken back to an older era of electronic artistry, the tune heard here is not merely a love letter to the sounds of past electro, but also offers a fresh view on the genre—injecting some modern sheen into its rich synth pads, and imbuing the audio with a more contemporary precision. The Exaltic’s Muted World EP is out on February 4 via Austrian outpost Trust, but you can preview the five-track effort ahead of its release, after the jump.

Broken

DJ Sprinkles Readies Protest Mix for Mule Musiq

House experimentalist and all-around musical firebrand Terre Thaemlitz (a.k.a. DJ Sprinkles) has put together a new DJ mix for Japanese label Mule Musiq which was conceived and executed as a protest against the country’s archaic, “anti-dancing” fuzoku laws. Called Where Dancefloors Stand Still, the forthcoming mix album is said to “transform dancing into a ritual in which dancers do rhythmic body painting that amalgamates the individual identity into a collective,” with a range of classic and contemporary body-moving sounds from the likes of Fingers Inc., Trentemoller, Lectroluv, and others. DJ Sprinkle’s mix will arrive on March 25 as 14-track CD (with a nine-song, double-12″ sampler to follow soon after), but you can check out its artwork and tracklist before then, below.

1. Braxton Holmes – 12 Inches Of Pleasure (Ron’s Foreplay)
2. Alex Danilov – Deep S
3. Sound Mechanix – I Can’t Forget
4. The Rhythm Slaves – The Light You Will See (Trentemoller’s Deep Dub Mix)
5. Lectroluv – If We Try (Ambient Dub)
6. Manoo & François A – The Deep
7. Classic Man – Rapid Winds (75 MPH Mix)
8. Understars – Forestfunk I (No Damkkb Mix)
9. Gene Farris – Good Feeling
10. The Rude Awakening – The Dip (5AM Dipsco Mix)
11. MyMy – Everybody’s Talkin’ (Original Mix)
12. Choo-ables – Hard To Get (BT’s Massive Groove)
13. Fingers Inc. – Never No More Lonely
14. Keys & Tronics Ensemble – Calypso Of House (Paradise Version)

Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, Eats Everything, and More to Appear on ‘Dirtybird Players’

Dirtybird, the San Francisco-based house label best known for its emphasis on the gritty side of club-ready sounds, is in the midst of prepping a follow-up to last year’s Hatched compilation, a 14-track offering called Dirtybird Players. The forthcoming compilation features all new and exclusive material from both fresh and familiar DJ/producers—such as Justin Martin, Claude VonStroke (pictured above), Leroy Peppers, Shadow Child, and Eats Everything—ranging from simmering booty bass cuts to hyper, overdriven techno. Before Dirtybird Players arrives on March 13, you can check out its artwork and tracklist below.

1. Kill Frenzy & Nick Monaco – Black Girls White Girls
2. Mark Starr – Rood Boy
3. Munnibrotherz – Drum Machine
4. Justin Martin & Ardalan – Wheelgunner
5. GoldFFinch – Afloat
6. Shadow Child – The Only One
7. Eats Everything – The Withywood Walk
8. Friend Within – The Pull
9. Cause & Affect – Don’t Like To Do That
10. Cats ‘n Dogz – Do Your Job
11. Leroy Peppers – Northern Nookie
12. Worthy – Dip
13. Claude VonStroke & 6 Stroke – Chop Nek
14. Supatrol – Lick A Strange

Caribou, Apparat, and More to Feature on New DJ Koze LP

Longstanding German DJ/producer and Pampa label head DJ Koze has unveiled the details of his first full-length studio album since 2005’s Kosi Comes Around, a 13-track LP called Amygdala. The artist born Stefan Kozalla has corralled a number of his peers to contribute to his forthcoming record—including Caribou, Apparat, Matthew Dear, Milosh, and Ada, among others—calling the music they created “an unreal, 78-minute walk through Koze’s mind, complete with moods, intensities, sounds, and scenes as yet unheard of.” Amygdala is set to appear on March 25 via DJ Koze’s own label, but before then, he’ll embark on a European tour. You can check out those dates, as well as the tracklist and artwork for Amygdala, below.

1. Track ID Anyone? (Feat. Caribou)
2. Nices Wölkchen (Feat. Apparat)
3. Royal Asscher Cut
4. Magical Boy (Feat. Matthew Dear)
5. Das Wort (Feat. Dirk Von Lowtzow)
6. Homesick (Feat. Ada)
7. La Duquesa
8. Marilyn Whirlwind
9. My Plans (Feat. Matthew Dear)
10. Don’t Lose My Mind
11. Amygdala (Feat. Milosh)
12. Ich Schreib’ Dir Ein Buch 2013 (Feat. Hildegard Knef)
13. NooOoo (Feat. Tomerle & Maiko)

16.03. Barcelona – Raum Club
23.03. München – Bob Beaman
30.03. Amsterdam – Mdsm Dockland
31.03. Köln – Gewölbe
13.04. Hamburg – Uebel&Gefährlich
19.04. Nürnberg – Rakete
20.04. Stuttgart – Rocker33
30.04. Leipzig – Conne Island

Hi, Doctor Nick! – The Pros and Cons of Being Anonymous and What to Do When Your Music Is Difficult

There’s no stopping Nick Hook. Even when he’s on the road—as he is this week—the man takes the time to dole out advice to the XLR8R massive. He does this every Thursday, tackling questions about music, DJing, production, travel, romance, studio gear, and more. He can help you too, so send your questions to doctornick@xlr8r.com and let the wisdom flow.

Sup y’all? I’m comin’ from San Francisco. Shout out to my man Vin Sol for saving my life and letting me grab some tunes after I left my hard drive on the plane. Delta, if you have it, I need it!

This week I’m headed down to NAMM to look at nerdy things. If anyone is around, give a shout. Send questions as always. We need more. doctornick@xlr8r.com. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hi Doctor Nick,
I was wondering how you felt about the path of anonymity with any creative endeavor, but particularly in the case of being a musician/producer/DJ. If one walks this path, what are some good things to keep in mind? And how is it done successfully?
Jonathan

The way I feel about it is this: either it’s really cool and interesting or it’s really boring and contrived. I don’t think I have a middle ground on it, so if you are gonna roll that way, make it fucking amazing.

I’ve never personally thought about being anonymous because I really think personality has a lot to do with your music. My music is me. It’s what’s inside of me coming out of a speaker and I think playing shows and connecting all that is personally important. I’m nuts, there are tons of sides of me, and I’ve always been like that, so the more output for me, the more I think it tells someone who I am. So if you’re thinking about being anonymous, maybe there’s a side of you that you are scared to show, even though you really want to. Maybe. I’m not sure. Just because I’m a doctor, that doesn’t mean I know the answer to all this stuff. It’s good to think about it though.

I think we touched on this in an earlier column, aliases and what not. I think the good thing about an alias is that keeping the mystique is really important. You look at Burial, and all people ever care about is wondering who it is. But the only reason they care about that in the first place is because the music is great. The last anonymous project that had some sort of impact on me was Captain Murphy. It turned out to be Flying Lotus, but for a minute, no one really knew. He was leaving a trail of music and crazy videos and stuff. The liberty of being anonymous is that you can do anything you want, so make sure to push the limits as far as you can go.

I think this kind of ties in with the next question a bit.

Hi Doctor Nick,
What’s cracklin’ through your frequencies? I feel that my music and soundscapes project is best experienced during that introspective “you” time—lounging, cleaning up the crib, a long drive solo to another city, studying, before bed, etc. (I hope you feel me.) I even have heads zoned out when they come over, so I’ve been told. Because of that, I feel like the emotive, feeling, ponder/reflect aspect of what I’m doing is there. However, this is not that rad when you want to share your music in a public performance sometimes. Non-traditional venues (art galleries, school hallways, clothing stores) have served me well, but generally I find that it just doesn’t go over as well as when the music is super intimate. Plus, you can’t smoke everyone out and give a dissertation at every show. Any suggestions for growing an audience without alienating them?
UZI-Charm

First and foremost, don’t worry about alienating people. The greatest artists of all time are the ones pretty much looking at us in the eye and saying, “I love this so much that if you don’t, I don’t care.” Seeing that, you either love or hate it right away, or maybe take some time to process it and eventually grow to love it more, just because you are connected.

Maybe alienating everyone that isn’t down for the ride is the best-case scenario. After that, the fans left are ride or die. Do you wanna serve your fans or be a servant to them? I know which one I choose.

Look at a dude like Four Tet. When he started, he made downtempo music. Look where he is now. He can do anything he wants and it’s really inspiring, cuz we’ve watched him grow and experiment. As artists, it sucks that people watch us grow and fail in public, but at the same time, the short attention spans and heaps of horrible music out there allow us to keep forging on.

Another idea would be to do club mixes of all your stuff. Take them all and rework them for different environments. Then you have two, three, four versions and you can let the people that fuck with you see it all. That way, you’re not forcing them to “pick” one. Instead, you’re opening up your palette and nothing seems off-limits after a while.

Thanks y’all. ‘Til next week.

Hi, Doctor Nick! appears every Thursday on XLR8R. Do you have a question for Doctor Nick? Please submit your inquires to doctornick@xlr8r.com. Nick Hook can help you.

Drifter “None Else”

“None Else” is a creative little bit of production from Helsinki-based newcomer Drifter, whose gloomy and emotive “Please Stay” you may remember from a couple years back. Combining a few lounge-friendly elements and a self-proclaimed affinity for “late ’60s psychedelic rock,” this fresh track from the rising artist manages to fit a number of unexpected sounds—distorted guitar, jazzy vibraphones, and Hammond organ—into a sleek and well-crafted package. A touch of pattering beats and some nicely reworked vocals help seal the deal, making this an intriguing taste of what’s to come when Drifter drops his debut album, Not Far Now, later this year.

None Else

Various Artists Dual Form

Even for a compilation, Dual Form is a bit all over the map, incorporating almost every conceivable sound that fits under Matthewdavid‘s and Leaving’s creative umbrella. From hazy, off-kilter beats and new new age to repurposed ’80s R&B and even cheeky synth pop, the collection is clearly more focused on showing off its diversity than forming any sort of cohesive image from its contributions.

Dual Form‘s most intriguing offering comes early on with its second track, “Visions,” by British producer The Cyclist. Following an avant-jazz, Tortoise-esque “Untitled” offering, “Visions” is an immediately necessary breath of fresh air. Beginning with the clang of trashy bells, the song unfolds into a piece of abstract dance music, its kick drums and rounded bass pushed beneath layers of static and textured percussion. In its own way, “Visions” is a very creative take on dance music, one that uses the steady rhythms and repetition of the genres merely as posts for hanging more off-kilter elements—in this case, a loop of subtle snaps and a single chord which appears every so often throughout the song’s five-plus-minute run.

Unfortunately, tracks of a similar caliber are not easy to find throughout the rest of the compilation. Further down the tracklist, yuk. serves up a highlight with “Atimo”—a 90-second tune in the vein of classic, blissed-out beat work—and Russian producer Lapti turns in one of the record’s most accesible tracks with “Peace”—an electro workout which pits floating, ’80s-style chords beneath a barrage of cleverly programmed drums. Even some of the collection’s stranger offerings, such as Ssaliva‘s “Congo Dawn” and Dntel‘s hyperly melodic “Windy Windy” come close, but really, “Visions” stands as the most inventive piece the compilation has to offer.

Where Dual Form really falters is when it tries to incorporate MCs; whether it’s the sloppy hip-hop of Davis’ “Into the Night”—which features a droopy beat from Matthewdavid and largely incomprehensible vocals from Serengeti—or the Def Jux-reminscent “Beacon” from SoundWizard BZB & MC Set. And while the remaining contributors do their best to inject their own eccentric production takes into the affair, seldom do they land on anything that strikes the listener as more than just a one-off or throw-away beat. In the end, despite its packaging as a double-cassette or double-LP collection, listening to Dual Form is more or less akin to skipping through all its contributors’ SoundCloud pages on any given day.

Drake “Doing It Wrong (Figgy Remix)”

Barring a small number of exceptions, we don’t normally indulge in Drake-related music, but this remix by East Coast producer Figgy (pictured above) managed to catch our attention. In his interpretation of the anti-love song, Figgy alters Drake’s endearing vocals almost beyond recognition, maintaining their honest charm while disguising them as a ghostly falsetto uncharacteristic of the heart-on-sleeve rap/R&B artist. Furthermore, the remix sees Figgy ramping up the original track’s tempo and smoothing it out with breezy overtones to make for an emotive and subdued dancefloor tune.

1 Wants 2

Doing it Wrong (Figgy Remix)

Woolfy vs. Projections Set Me Loose

Last year’s The Return of Love, Woolfy vs. Projections’ second LP, trod much of the same territory as its predecessor, 2008’s The Astral Projections of Starlight. This was expected, as the duo of Simon James and Dan Hastie trades in velvety yacht-disco that isn’t concerned about getting anywhere too fast. Easygoing as the approach may be, Woolfy vs. Projections know its way around a concise hook, and one of the best on The Return of Love was the sultry “Set Me Loose.” Realizing this, Permanent Vacation has commissioned its release as a single, accompanied by remixes from Lexx, The Drifter, and El_Txef_A. None of the results are radically different from the original, but they adequately highlight its details.

The album version of “Set Me Loose,” it should be said, does appear here. It’s a low-lit mood piece led by jittery disco guitar and filtered-down piano, with a hushed falsetto almost humbly creeping in midway through. The remixes hone in on these elements and attempt to flesh out their dancefloor potential. Lexx’s is perhaps the most successful at this: the Swiss producer gives his version an alluring, amplified bassline and tumbling percussion, so that when the vocal is deployed, the track is already in the midst of a confident strut. The Drifter, meanwhile, makes a subby, narrowly grinding bassline the star and couples it with syncopated shakers, until a breakdown lets the vocal fully wander in. This formula repeats again later in the track, with the vocal ushering in a regrouping of the track’s parts. Finally, El_Txef_A teases out bits of the original in a stepping, restrained beginning section. It’s somewhat of a trudge, but its final section is a different track entirely, and its powerful stride is underlined by a bassline similar to the one that reappears throughout Kassem Mosse’s Workshop 12. Bits of strings and piano threaten to send the piece into dramatics, but the producer smartly keeps them low in the mix. Like its counterparts, the track keeps the original’s cautious romanticism in full view.

Buy J Dilla’s Record Collection

Maureen Yancey (a.k.a. Ma Dukes)—mother of the late, great J Dilla, who undoubtedly plays a seminal role to much of the music heard on XLR8R—is taking to eBay to sell off a portion of her son’s massive record collection in a series of weekly sales. The story goes that the iconic hip-hop producer left an estimated 8,000 12″s, personal test presses, audio master tapes, and more in a Detroit storage unit before moving to LA in 2004. When he died in 2006, Dilla’s personal collection of music was nearly lost, until last spring, when his mother recovered it. Now, each week, fans will have the opportunity to own one of J Dilla’s personal records—randomly handpicked and sent over with a numbered certificate of authenticity signed by Ma Dukes (see below)—the proceeds from which will go directly to The J Dilla Foundation. This week’s allotment appears to have sold out instantly, but you can try your luck again next week by following dillavinylcollection on eBay.

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