Australian producer and vocalist Guerre has released the b-side of his “Rashad (Loose Pace)” single to the world, a beautiful white dove of a tune lovingly titled “For Qwanisha.” Intimate lo-fi beats that recall Shlohmo’s Bad Vibes LP caress Guerre’s sweet falsetto as it calls out in deep longing for Qwanisha (who, as Facebook tells us, was once Guerre’s “own”). Towards the end, an unexpected rumble of a bassline kicks in for just a moment, leaving us wanting more, but alas, all we can do is flip to the a-side, which you can do after the jump.
It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s been years since a long-player arrived from the UK experimentalists of Autechre, but we’ve just been reminded that that is indeed the case, as IDM veterans Rob Brown and Sean Booth announced that they will release their follow-up to Oversteps almost three years later to the date. Exai is another massive offering from the duo, a double-CD/four-LP album clocking in just over two hours. The record spans 17 tracks, and will be released on March 5, 2013. You can check out the artwork and tracklist for Autechre’s Exai below, and drool over the many forms its wonderfully crafted packaging takes here.
01. FLeure 02. irlite (get 0) 03. prac-f 04. jatevee C 05. T ess xi 06. vekoS 07. Flep 08. tuinorizn 09. bladelores 10. 1 1 is 11. nodezsh 12. runrepik 13. spl9 14. cloudline 15. deco Loc 16. recks on 17. YJY UX
Electronic music has always been a lightning-fast genre, and the pace certainly didn’t slow down in 2012. Throughout the year, there was a constant barrage of new—new songs, new sounds, new labels, new scenes, and, of course, new artists. Supporting new acts is a bit of a tricky business, as the annals of electronic-music history are filled with producers who suddenly emerged with an exciting tune or two, only to fizzle out and disappear just as quickly. Nevertheless, we pride ourselves on being able to spot the quality newcomers, and now that the year is coming to a close, we’ve put together a list of 10 new artists who were not only impressive in 2012, but seem poised to continue making an impact in the years ahead.
10. J. Alvarez/214 Seattle producer Chris Roman is by no means a new face. Roman debuted in 2002, and has since built a substantial discography under the alias 214, releasing on labels like Harbour City Sorrow, Car Crash Set, and Fortified Audio. Originally from Miami, many of the artist’s tracks are accordingly laced with tinges of the city’s famed Bass sound, but his take on electro is very much his own. His signature has matured into a supple hybrid of dancefloor bounce and dystopian grit, a progression which culminated in his 2012 output, the finest of his career. As 214, Roman put his name to Fuzzy Leash for Yellow Machines, Plastic Spokes for Fortified Audio, and Submanouvers for Frustrated Funk, and all three of these EPs showed him incorporating a fresh dynamism. Plastic Spokes, for example, took in R&B and deep house elements, and he perfected these infusions on Overseas Highway, his first release as J. Alvarez, for Hypercolour’s LTD series. The EP’s pop appeal was a refreshing take on electro’s robotic rigidity, and declared Roman as not just an adept producer, but one capable of pushing the entire genre in new directions. Steve Kerr
9. Champion London’s Champion doesn’t just make tracks, he drops riddims, in the purest Jamaican sense of the word. His tracks melt down the best parts of grime, bassline, UK funky, and drum & bass, remolding them into golden morsels of 4/4 house rich with a million nuances of low-end-frequency flavor. At just 22 years old, Champion has already figured out the formula for making the whole dancefloor skank out—a minimal graft of tropical drum hits cavorting over inventive levels of bass and subs. Though dropped in fall 2011, his Rainforest EP (on Roska’s Kicks & Snares label) and his Lighter EP (for his own imprint, Formula) continued ripping up DJ sets throughout the first part of 2012, with wildly energetic bass and classic jungle samples having a crack-like effect on random clubbers and music snobs alike. By June 2012, Champion unleashed the massive metallic graft of “Crystal Meth” backed with the tribalist brock-out “Speed,” a snort-if-you-dare proposition for all lovers of underground UK bass. What he doesn’t deliver in quantity, Champs makes up for in quality—and with connects to Elijah & Skilliam’s Butterz label and Terror Danjah’s Hardrive camp, Champion is in good company to keep the next-gen soundsystem vibes alive. Vivian Host
8. Helix Every year, it seems like there are a handful of artists who come of out nowhere, and it’s safe to say that Helix‘s 2012 ascent falls into that category. Although he did release a single tune back in 2010, this was the year that people really took notice of the Georgia youngster, primarily off the strength of his “Drum Track” single for Night Slugs’ white label series. On its surface, there wasn’t much to the song, but its combination of snappy, rapid-fire drum sounds and ravey synth stabs somehow coalesced into an unusually compelling creation. Similarly potent was “Stacks Riddim,” an even more dizzying number which dropped on Glasgow’s All Caps label. Yet while those tracks’ hip-hop-informed, grime-flavored sound certainly charmed people—as did Helix’s overtly brash online persona—he’s already thrown up signals that he’s ready to move on stylistically. Granted, he still worships at the altar of Southern rap, but he’s also taken to publicly adoring techno legends like Basic Channel and Jeff Mills while openly longing for more involvement with a Berlin-style club culture. In the meantime, he’s also increasingly shifted his sound toward dark and driving techno, an evolution he hinted at on “Honig” (the b-side of the All Caps release) and continues to explore via his still-developing live set. At this point, no one really seems sure exactly where Helix will end up, but we’re certainly fascinated by the process. Shawn Reynaldo
7. Citizen It’s easy to understand why the familiar sounds of classic house and garage are still relevant to today’s club music—the juicy chords, smooth basslines, and familiar vocals ooze soul, and, when used correctly, can strike the crucial balance between fun and sophistication on a dancefloor. London’s Citizen is not shy about his love for a number of house music’s past eras, yet these familiar sounds do not dominate his tracks. Instead, the array of garage shuffles, Midwestern funk, and disco touches heard in his tunes are seamlessly sewn into a more modern fabric, one where silky textures and fortified low-end come together to form what Citizen himself has described as “emotional house music.” Not to be confused with a somber gloom by any means, the man’s tracks are inviting, at times even sensuous, making the usual emotional response a combination of joy, elation, and body movement. While his Deep End EP for Kerri Chandler’s MadTech label and the limited Diva 12″ of R&B edits were certainly strong releases for the Londoner this year, Citizen’s Room Service EP—in particular, its title track—solidified his place amongst 2012’s most noteworthy new artists. Glenn Jackson
6. Nautiluss Toronto doesn’t get a ton of shine, despite being home to hotly tipped acts like The Weeknd, Azari & III, and Egyptrixx. Following his 2012 campaign, it’s safe to say that Nautiluss should be added to this cadre of Torontonians brewing brooding electronic magic, as his thoughtful techno and house cuts nonchalantly sashayed onto the scene wearing dark sunglasses and a mysterious smile. This is hardly Graham Bertie’s first foray into production—over the last few years, Bertie (formerly known as Grahmzilla) has quietly segued out of making club rap and bashy house as half of Thunderheist and Bassanovva and into Nautiluss’ deeper, blue-grey palette, joining the likes of Randomer and Trevino in fusing classic Detroit and Berlin sounds with touches of the UK bass underground. April’s carefully machined ?lpha EP and the mystical warehouse vibes of November’s epic Habitat were highlights of Turbo’s 2012 season, paired with the muffled jacking and mind-twisting vocals of “Troubleman” and a perfectly loping acid rub of ZZT’s “Work.” On the flip side, the housey blanket offered by his remix of Untold’s “Breathe” makes for the perfect chillout; following last year’s “Bleu Monday” (also for Hemlock), it’s all early-morning light rising over an afterparty of warm melodies and shuffling snares. Like the mighty nautilus, one never knows exactly what’s inside this shell. Vivian Host
5. Locked Groove The highlight of Scuba’s recent FACT mix came at the moment the euphoric arpeggios of forthcoming Locked Groove cut “Dream Within A Dream” revealed themselves from amongst the dark atmospheres of Sigha’s “Puritan.” It was a moment that succinctly sums up what’s so infectious about Locked Groove’s work—like so many artists in 2012, the Belgian producer (real name Tim Van de Meutter) deftly spans the gap between techno and classic house, but it’s his knack for crafting rich, subtly joyous melodies out of spartan synth lines and simplistic bass that makes his production stand out from the crowd. With his Rooted 12″ on Hotflush, Van de Meutter delivered one of the most exciting debut EPs of recent years, offering three tracks that combined the most anthemic touches of vintage Detroit with the pristine power of modern Berlin. He’s continued to impress throughout 2012, turning his hand to raw techno with the Different Paths EP and exploring the history of house on the Keep It Simple EP. However, it’s his masterful remix of Duke Dumont’s “The Giver” that sealed him as one of the year’s standout artists, as it accomplished the impossible by taking one of the summer’s most overplayed tunes, breathing life back into it, and making it feel more exhilarating than ever. Si Truss
4. South London Ordnance There’s no lack of reasons to name South London Ordnance one of 2012’s best new artists. Despite being a post-graduate student in his early 20s, the London producer managed to drop a hefty number of enticing releases throughout the year (no less than four, by our count)—including records for respectable outposts like Well Rounded and Audio Culture, as well as remixes for Warp and MadTech. Each 12″ explored its own unique strain of bass-focused house and techno, but whether it was the deep sounds of “Witch Hunt” b/w “Chase Scene” or heavily percussive tunes like “Big Boss Theme” and “Pacific,” South London Ordnance imbued each production with his distinct taste for oversized low-end, unstoppable dancefloor rhythms, and a downright raw vibe. We profiled the artist as part of our Bubblin’ Up series back in September, and couldn’t help noticing that he was seemingly popping up just about everywhere else throughout 2012, too. And with some hotly tipped releases already on the docket for 2013, the young South Londoner seems to be well on his way to a promising sophomore year. Patric Fallon
3. Karenn Likely by design, the exact trajectory of Blawan‘s and Pariah‘s collaborative Karenn project has always been hard to follow. What we do know is that the duo officially formed back in 2011, founded a vinyl-only label to release its work (as well as that of some of their friends) under the intriguing name She Works the Long Nights, and—after releasing its first EP towards the end of 2011—issued a second proper record in the form of a six-track, vinyl double-pack full of hard-edged, hardware-based techno. But even for those who couldn’t manage to get their hands on a piece of Karenn wax this year, the pair’s charged Boiler Room session did as much to bolster the outfit’s reputation as any release to date. Behind a mass of electronics spread across every inch of one table, Blawan and Pariah navigated the glowing abundance of knobs, buttons, and LEDs, in the process proving just how immersive and rewarding 45 minutes’ worth of thumping, overdriven analog techno can be when Karenn is at the helm. Glenn Jackson
2. Disclosure No emerging outfit had a more succesful rise in 2012 than Disclosure (seriously, the group’s XLR8R podcast momentarily shut our site down when it first appeared). Over the past 12 months, the brotherly duo went from being an impossibly young pair of promising London producers to becoming a full-on sensation, beginning with the somewhat overlooked “Tenderly” b/w “Flow” single and capping the year off with the vocal-driven pop/bass hybrid “Latch,” which—perhaps not so unexpectedly—gained the group loads of crossover success, radio play, and a place high up on the UK singles chart. Still, setting aside Disclosure’s commercial achievements, 2012 did triumphantly see the pair solidify its sound: a sumptuous mix of garage, vintage-tinged house, and the more accessible veins of bass music. To our ears, this mixture was most strongly displayed on the four-track Face EP and Disclosure’s irresistible rework of Jessie Ware’s “Running,” releases which fused dancefloor prowess and pop sensibilities together with an expert touch. Whether they intended to be there or not, Guy and Howard Lawrence are now caught in a balancing act between their club-music roots and the continually growing mainstream attention they’ve garnered, and while we aren’t likely to see which way the scales will be tipped until the duo’s debut LP drops sometime next year, we’re glad Disclosure’s 2012 run yielded such a fruitful collection of tunes. Glenn Jackson
1. Vessel The brilliantly peculiar thing about the warped interpretation of dance music that Vessel (a.k.a. Seb Gainsborough) presented on his debut album, Order Of Noise, was that the more one listened to it, the harder it became to define. On the surface, it was a record tied together by an affection for the same strains of dark soundsystem dub that featured heavily throughout the radio shows and DJ sets of Young Echo—the collective of Bristol-based producers which counts Gainsborough amongst its core members. But beneath the layers of cavernous reverb was an album that touched upon everything from glitchy, minimal techno and dark house grooves to industrial soundscapes and thick, evolving drones. More than anything though, it was a record that saw Gainsborough step past his influences and out into a league of his own; incorporating the garage experiments of his debut EP, Nylon Sunset, and the lo-fi techno of January’s Standard EP, the album amalgamated them under the umbrella of Vessel’s distorted, haunting vision of dance music. The resulting sound was more than just sprawling eclecticism though; it was unique, imaginative, and light years ahead of most things we heard in 2012. Si Truss
XLR8R‘s Best of 2012 coverage will continue through the end of this week and all of next week, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to vote in our Readers Poll, and take a look at the other Best of 2012 pieces we’ve posted already:
For the past several months, NY street shaman Nick Hook has been working as our resident advice columnist, stepping in every Thursday morning to assist our readers with their questions about music, production, DJing, travel, romance, and living life. That said, this week we’re letting Doctor Nick take a break from helping the masses, as we’ve asked him to put together his thoughts on the Best of 2012. Fear not, he’ll get back to doling out wisdom in 2013, so keep sending your questions to doctornick@xlr8r.com.
Yooooooooooo.
Year-end lists suck. Superlatives suck. Everything sucks. No, I’m just kidding. It’s been the wildest year—so dark and so bright at the exact same time. I saw more things than ever before, watched so many of my peers take strides that I couldn’t imagine in my wildest dreams, and somehow, it all felt completely normal. I feel like Forrest Gump every day. Anyways, this year has been so exciting and inspiring, but in many ways, it was the year of strength, holding on, and not being afraid of anything.
I’m looking forward to an amazing 2013. Be safe for New Years. Don’t do too many drugs and wrap it up if you find a pretty lady.
Best shows:
Björk at the Hall of Science, Queens NYC Azari & III at Sónar Barcelona St. Vincent at Coachella Rustie somewhere, I can’t remember TNGHT at Music Hall of Williamsburg That one afterparty at the warehouse in LA Boiler Room with Flying Lotus, Flatbush Zombies, Just Blaze, and Underachievers, plus me and Gaslamp B2B
Best records (in no particular order):
Kendrick Lamar Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City Deftones Koi No Yokan Frank Ocean Channel Orange TNGHT TNGHT Benjamin Damage and Doc Daneeka They!Live Gaslamp Killer Breakthrough El-P Cancer for Cure Killer Mike R.A.P. Music Para One Passion Jam City Classical Curves
Best tracks:
All of Andre 3000’s guest verses Les Sins “Fetch” Presk “Akola (Original Mix)” Kanye West “Mercy” L-Vis 1990 “Videodrone”
I can’t remember cuz I’m on a deadline and I spilled beer on my DJing laptop and I can’t look back. I suck.
Here’s some stuff that mattered to me:
Arthur King’s French boogie mix Danny Brown and Fool’s Gold taking their time to develop an artist right Moving to Chinatown Going to Japan, Berlin (for the first time), Korea, Barcelona, New Zealand, and the Dominican Republic Being in LA for three months and really being inspired by the whole thing going on there (Do Over, Low End, Mike B, Body High, etc.) Jean-Paul Goude exhibit in Paris Yayoi Kusama exhibit in NYC Seeing La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Finishing my studio Making my first record and releasing it Becoming a hypeman for the Boiler Room Becoming an advice columnist for XLR8R Feeling like I have an actual career and I’m not gonna work at a restaurant and quit in three years Being inspired by more stuff that wasn’t music than ever before.
New shit that will make the next step in 2013:
Kilo Kish Color Film Flatbush Zombies Zebra Katz Rood Andrea Balency Salva
What I’m looking forward to:
Hudson Mohawke literally ruling the world Machinedrum in general always killing it Hamburgers The gym New York taking over
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.
XLR8R‘s Best of 2012 coverage will continue through the end of this week and all of next week, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to vote in our Readers Poll, and take a look at the other Best of 2012 pieces we’ve posted already:
UK-based production outfit SecondCity has offered up this slamming house track, which instantly makes a strong case for its inclusion in the list of contemporary dancefloor classics. Though it starts off sounding like yet another 808 zombie, “A1” eventually drops into a pool of robotic synth womps, relaxing a bit before it builds up and drops into a massive bassline. SecondCity’s top-notch tune is embellished with a hauntingly dehumanized voice, which echoes throughout the hurried number during its five-minute runtime (we wouldn’t mind if it went on for 20). And if you like this tune as much as we do, we suggest that you check out a couple more of SecondCity’s productions after the jump.
Both for those who hopped on once “Critical Distance Pt. 2” landed and the people who’ve been following the ventures of Tom Demac for years now, it’s good news that the London producer has effectively closed out his stellar year with yet another solid EP, Little Bits That Matter.
Over the course of 2012, Demac has carved a space for himself directly between the concurrent rise of house and bass music. Though it was likely more of a coincidence than something Demac plotted to achieve, it’s hard to deny that Demac’s sound is well suited for cross-genre appeal—his heavy constructions are intelligent and adventurous enough to keep the home-listening beard-strokers interested while also being immensely robust and full of dancefloor power. On “Little Bits That Matter,” Demac goes so far as to include a vocal collaborator into the fold, one Phil Kay, who delivers an appropriately withheld vocal performance that glides along the somewhat gloomy production in a bath of muttered phrases. In tandem with Kay’s voice, Demac cultivates a contemplative atmosphere, but doesn’t neglect to implement the solid rhythmic and low-end components which have marked his recent run of tunes. Still, despite its rolling momentum and powerful bassline, “Little Bits That Matter” doesn’t try to repeat the big-tune dramatics of “Critical Distance Pt. 2”; it’s a more reserved piece of work that instead demonstrates a greater depth to Demac’s production talents.
Joining “Little Bits That Matter” on the a-side is “Tanners,” a disco-sampling slice of skipping house that picks up the energy a bit and again showcases Demac’s proficiency in the low-end realm. Building from its filter-house-esque beginnings, “Tanners” eventually kicks into full force when Demac unfolds an absolute gem of a bassline that hops around the jacking groove with just the right touch of movement.
Really, the a-side cuts deserve the emphasis here; final offering “Rain of Colours” is a decent enough tune, but it seems more likely that listeners starting with “Little Bits That Matter” and “Tanners” will bring the needle back to the beginning more often than they flip the record over.
Empt has put together quite a smattering of beats and sounds for his remix of Long Arm‘s “When Children Sleep.” Crinkling, rattling, and clapping rhythms make up the initial layer, rapid hi-hats and quick snare rolls fill in the middle, and saucy synth melodies pour over the top of luscious vocal notes. Electronic bells and harp strums provide the finishing touches to this sweet song, which Project: Mooncircle will release as a part of Long Arm’s deluxe edition of The Branches on December 17.
Slugabed may hail from the UK, but for the first outing on his newly christened Activia Benz label, the inventive producer set his sights eastward, dipping into Eastern Europe’s fertile beat scene and scooping up Belarusian beatmaker Deech. His new EP, Urnite, is not only Activia Benz’s inaugural release; it’s also the Minsk-based producer’s debut.
Urnite is an EP rooted in equal parts experimental beat music and garage. He opens with “Lady86,” a bouncy number replete with wonky bass tones and a straightforward piano melody. It’s catchy, but ends on a slightly cheesy note with a closing guitar solo. Things get back on track with the title cut, which starts off with pinging synths before its backbeat escalates into a skittery, club-worthy bounce. It’s certainly hard hitting, an effect that stems from its hip-hop underpinnings and its snarling, phaser-coated low end. Slugabed’s remix of the track, which closes out the EP, takes “Urnite” into different territory, maintaining its Southern rap vibes but imbuing it with a juke-like freneticism and briskness via the addition of polyrhythmic wooden percussion and a growling slap bass.
Urnite also ventures into other genres; the clicking shuffle and requisite pitched-up vocal samples of “Beach’N’Vine,” for example, showcase Deech’s experiments with garage, to which he adds an icy, crystalline lead. The pretty sounds of “Windwave,” on the other hand, are indebted to gliding synths, which hover over assorted stabs and squalls, an arpeggiated lead, and a meaty low-end.
Taken as a whole, Deech’s debut effort is an enjoyable one, but it isn’t perfect; the producer takes a frenetic approach to production, and the sheer amount of sound that he packs into his tracks can sometimes make them sound a tad busy. With that said, Urnite does mark a solid start to Deech’s discography and hopefully heralds a series of interesting sounds to come from both his and Activia Benz’s future releases.
It seems Ableton doesn’t want a day to go by without reminding us of its forthcoming Live 9 software and Push controller. Today, the Berlin company unveiled the latest video to help in this effort, a piece which details the basics of creating beats with Push. Aside from showcasing the playing and sequencing of beats via the controller’s 64 pads, the video also shows off the multiple ways Push minimizes the need for users to interact with Live with their mouse, as access to things like quantization settings, loop sizes, and more is available via Push. You can take a look for yourself in the player below.
Following the release of his ICU EP, Reilly Steel has given us an exclusive house offering. While “Audrey’s Theme” leans on the simplistic side of the club-ready sound, the Brooklyn-via-San Francisco artist nonetheless packs in plenty of punchy kicks, a lively keyboard melody, and a fiery dancefloor rhythm throughout his fresh and classy tune.
