Oneohtrix Point Never “Blue Drive”

Last week, the New York-based sound sculptor Daniel Lopatin (a.k.a. Oneohtrix Point Never) released a collection of his hard-to-find past works, including his first three full albums—Betrayed in the Octagon, Zones Without People, and Russian Mind—and a number of rare productions previously availible only on limited CD-R and cassette releases. Pulled from Lopatin’s Rifts box set (artwork above), “Blue Drive” is one such rarity which again displays the artist’s patient craftsmanship and adeptness at venturing into the most gorgeous depths of ambient music—likely a recurring theme across the entire retrospective collection, available now from the Software label as five pieces of wax or a three-CD set.

Blue Drive

Night Slugs Readies Second ‘All Stars’ Comp

Over two years since Bok Bok‘s and L-Vis 1990‘s Night Slugs label released the first installation of its All Stars compilation series, the UK bass hub has announced the second edition will arrive in 2013. The 12-song tracklist features quite a few recognizable tunes—like Girl Unit’s excellent “Ensemble (Club Mix),” “How We Relate to the Body” by Jam City, and one of the few tunes released by Helix in 2012, “Drum Track”—as well as a handful of never-before-heard cuts, like “Adult” by Egyptrixx and Kingdom’s “Bank Head.” The aim of All Stars Vol. 2 is said to be showcasing the label’s “move away from the early-digital world in which our music spent its infancy, and into a more developed, more textured universe.” Before hearing exactly what that sounds like when the record is released on February 4, you can check out All Stars Vol. 2‘s artwork above and its tracklist below.

01. L-Vis 1990 – Lost In Love (Night Slugs All Stars Street Mix)
02. Girl Unit – Ensemble (Club Mix)
03. L-Vis 1990 – Not Mad
04. Lil Silva – The 3rd
05. Kingdom – Stalker Ha
06. Bok Bok – Silo Pass
07. Jam City – How We Relate To The Body
08. Helix – Drum Track
09. Kingdom – Bank Head
10. Egyptrixx – Adult
11. Girl Unit – Double Take Part 2
12. Morri$ – White Hood

XLR8R’s Best of 2012: Features

Each day, XLR8R is populated with all sorts of information, most of which can be consumed fairly quickly. And though news stories, videos, and MP3 downloads are all essential parts of keeping tabs on the rapidly moving world of electronic music, that doesn’t mean we’ve lost our taste for long-form reporting. We make a point to dig deeper in our Features section, making sure to always provide a steady diet of artist interviews, scene profiles, studio visits, festival reviews, and more. The articles may vary in scope and tone, but they all offer something more substantial than a simple blog post. Not surprisingly, we have our favorites from the past 12 months, which is why we’ve put together a top 10 list. That said, we didn’t want our editorial staff to have the definitive final word, so we’ve also included a list of the year’s 10 most popular features. A few articles appear on both lists, but the results are actually quite different. Let’s just put it this way: the XLR8R audience really likes our In the Studio series.

10. High Five: Pinch

9. Trainwreck: DVA

8. Holy Other: Underneath the Hood

7. In the Studio: Claude VonStroke

6. Sónar 2012: Winners and Losers

5. Rewind: Mouse on Mars

4. Deep Inside: Actress

3. Welcome to… Russia

2. High Five: Squarepusher

1. Deep Inside: Mala

1. High Five: Squarepusher
2. In the Studio: Tycho
3. In the Studio: Machinedrum
4. In the Studio: Magda
5. In the Studio: Claude VonStroke
6. Sónar 2012: Winners and Losers
7. In the Studio: Nosaj Thing
8. Welcome to… Russia
9. Labels You Love
10. In the Studio: Teengirl Fantasy

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:

XLR8R‘s Best of 2012: Top Downloads
XLR8R‘s Best of 2012: Podcasts

XLR8R’s Best of 2012: Podcasts

Over the past few years, the XLR8R podcast series has become one of our calling cards, something that our audience can always be counted upon to devour with an unparalleled sort of enthusiasm. This isn’t all that surprising—after all, each chapter of the series offers an exclusive, brand-new DJ mix from an artist whose work we’re excited about. Whether helmed by a veteran producer or a fresh-faced newcomer, the podcast format gives the artist the room to stretch his or her creative legs, which is likely why the results vary so wildly from week to week. Sometimes, the mix will be stacked with exclusive dubs and unreleased tunes. Other times, DJs use the opportunity to raid their record stacks and delve into the past. Regardless of the approach taken, it’s fascinating to see how different artists approach the opportunity, especially when they’re only allowed to take on the XLR8R podcast once—repeat appearances are not allowed. With so many mixes over the course of the year, selecting our favorites of 2012 was no easy task, but we’ve managed to put together a list of the 10 that we enjoyed the most. For the sake of comparison, we’ve also included a list of the 10 most popular podcasts, and it’s interesting to see just how much our tastes overlapped with those of our readers.

10. Ben Sims

9. Jonwayne

8. Midland’s Dimensions Mix

7. Champion

6. Fantastic Mr Fox

5. Redshape

4. Krystal Klear

3. George FitzGerald

2. Tom Demac

1. Shed

1. Fantastic Mr Fox
2. Lapalux
3. Disclosure
4. George FitzGerald
5. Jonwayne
6. Throwing Snow
7. Shed
8. Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka
9. Max Cooper’s Decibel Mix
10. Krystal Klear

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:

XLR8R‘s Best of 2012: Top Downloads

Trikk “Midway”

It’s that time of year again—the time when people are swept up by the holiday spirit, overcome with a revived sense of generosity and kindness. In a small way, the London-by-way-of-Portugal producer Trikk is one of those folks, as he recently got in touch in hopes of giving away a “Christmas present” of sorts in the form of “Midway,” a new track he wanted to offer to the XLR8R faithful simply as a token of appreciation. In the case of “Midway,” it’s not just the thought that counts, but also the qaulity of the content, as the rolling bassline, dubbed synth stabs, and skipping beat make this another impressive effort of the sort Trikk displayed so well on the “Jointly” b/w “Fall Down” single for George FitzGerald’s ManMakeMusic earlier this year.

Midway

Basic Soul Unit Motional Response

Toronto’s Stuart Li, having spent the past decade operating under the moniker Basic Soul Unit, has produced a slew of singles and EPs over the years for labels like Ostgut Ton, Mule Electronic, Crème Organization, and Versatile. At this point, Li is something of a veteran of these smaller formats, yet Motional Response marks his full-length debut. Attacking this extended format with adroitness, Li offers a cross-section of his potent deep-house-cum-techno sound, resulting in a release that’s both hypnotic and visceral.

Motional Response is markedly accessible, never straying exceptionally far from familiar deep house or techno soundscapes. If anything, this digestibility could be the biggest mark against the album; while the whole thing goes down smooth, it’s difficult to pick moments or tunes that stand out from the rest.

Perhaps the main exception to this amalgamated quality is “Breathe,” the only track to feature vocals. It’s a slow burner that sits trepidatiously on a tense chord structure; the female vocals nearly land it in soulful deep-house territory, but the close harmonies and uneasy timbre prevent it from being marginalized as something so squarely traditional.

This slight tweak on traditional modes is pervasive in Li’s sound; “Sandpiper” begins with a 303 line that sounds sure to build into a stomping four-to-the-floor, but instead, a ghosted syncopation of kicks and delayed, off-grid hi-hats keeps the production even before it builds with an icy lead. “Across the Room” and “All Over Me” follow suit, taking subtle aural left turns while gradually rolling out disparate layers of percussion and clever synthwork without being jarring or cerebral.

Across Motional Response, Li showcases this exceptional ability to choose a palette that remains unobtrusive, but heady. “Intersection” progresses slowly from spare, buzzy bass kicks, adding a hyper-filtered rumble with glitchy artifacts over the top. A quavering pad fades into the mix, accented by a 303 jumping octaves with the ebb and flow of the arrangement. All of this happens without the listener really being aware—it’s more emotive than emotional.

The grit of Chicago and Detroit has a clear influence on Li—bit-crushing, distortion, acid, and acoustic drum samples on tracks like “Back Seat Lover” and “This” speak to an aesthetic informed by both an organic sensibility and warehouse grunge. At the same time, an aura of late-’90s San Francisco deep house floats over the record, even if it’s only present in ephemera. On “Mind Forest,” a clock-like, resonant ticking offsets a straight-ahead house groove; James Stinson meets Charles Webster with a pointed subtlety.

While Motional Response does tend to coalesce, it’s difficult to view that tendency wholly negatively. There’s an almost gestalt quality at play; it’s not the kind of album that’s going to be coveted because of a couple of big tunes. Instead, it’s an LP that will get played front to back, and with great regularity for those with a penchant for these sounds. Motional Response appeals to the listener on a somatic level with understatement, making it perennially fresh and engaging.

Jubilee “Dis Time”

Bass music bad girl Jubilee just sent over an exclusive new track called “Dis Time.” If you’ve attended one of her weekly Burn club nights on Sundays in NYC, or if you’ve heard her new mixtape for Hearty Magazine, then there’s a chance you’ve heard this track already. For everyone else, it’s a fresh half-time shuffle driven by punchy, dubstep-leaning drums and acid-inspired bass frequencies and topped off with sassy vocal clips.

Dis Time

Don Froth REflex

If anything has defined the output of the fledgling UNO label thus far, it’s been a willingness to get behind unsung producers of all stripes, from Fur’s smoothly contoured post-microhouse to Gobby’s outright psychotic takes on techno. Don Froth‘s UNO debut, REflex, is more than garish enough to sit among their madcap ranks. The four originals here show a producer attuned to current dance music trends—there are hints of recent UK mutations here, especially in terms of sub-bass—who’s also defiantly determined to put his own colorful, unpredictable stamp on it.

The title track’s groove comes in fragments, but never quite locks into comfortability. Bass and acid lines tentatively squiggle around the corners next to odd zaps and reverb-drenched stabs, and in spite of—or perhaps because of—this busy arrangement, its drums seem to stumble. It’s a depiction of some ungodly hour past peaktime, and its sluggishness feels like a symptom of overlubrication. The producer drops a deadpan, come-hither female vocal on top, but her beckoning is practically desexualized by the manic arrangement. “Vap,” meanwhile, is a build-and-release piece, alternating from subtle, wheezy drones to stepping electro laden with squashed rave chords. “Tunnelvision” has a similar step, but its simple main melody and pervasive vocals, which coo out into a kind of echo chamber, seem to lead it astray. It’s an odd combination of upfront, swaggering elements and a meandering runtime. Anthony “Shake” Shakir seems a wise choice to remix the title track, as the producer is certainly no stranger to crazed, chaotic pieces. Still, with practically all of the original elements intact, Shakir’s remix—which the label recently offered up as a free download—is more of a rearrangement, albeit with added shrill pads and a deeper pocket for the bassline. As a result, the listener is reinserted into Don Froth’s fantastically sloppy nightclub. It’s an interesting complement to Shakir’s recent remix of Lando Kal’s “Help Myself,” which tailored a similar sense of excess to a more svelte result. To close proceedings, Don Froth reins in his wildness for “Untitled B,” a gem of a track and the doubtless best on the EP. His usual loopiness is present, as panning congas, vocal chatters and “uh”s, and a delayed bird-like whistle all make appearances. But he smartly ties the track together with a slinky, ultra-low bassline and shimmering chords, both of which are fleshed out enough to temper his hectic eccentricity—without sacrificing liveliness.

Scuba “Hardbody”

Hotflush label head honcho Paul Rose (a.k.a. Scuba) may have started his career in the murky arena of mid ’00s dubstep, but more recently, the Berlin-via-London artist has committed himself to a comparably brighter realm, one that could be categorized simply as progressive house. For those who have followed Scuba’s evolution, it’s no surprise that “Hardbody,” his latest one-sided vinyl following February’s Personality LP and last month’s “Talk Torque,” is another foray into chopped-vocal house. This time though, Scuba has dialed things back from the arena to the club, trading anthemic bluster for a slightly more subtle and technical sound.

For listeners that were put off by the schmaltz of “Talk Torque” (there’s a certain audacity to repeating “I’m your fantasy” ad nauseum, but it’s not going to go down smoothly for everyone), “Hardbody” has a vocal loop that works more as a part of the track’s spacey bounce than a go-for-broke attempt at fist-pumping euphoria. If there’s a parallel to be drawn from “Hardbody” to Scuba’s past work, it’s probably 2011’s “Adrenalin,” a fantastic track that toyed with melodrama without fully giving in, and heralded Scuba’s progression to come. While “Hardbody” has less of that song’s trance-oriented mushiness (and little of its novelty), there’s a similar economy of melody working for both.

At this point, Scuba’s willingness to indulge his pop impulses has been made abundantly clear, so a track like “Hardbody,” which acknowledges those impulses without being completely over the top, is impressive for different reasons. For instance, the breakdown is a nice example of Scuba’s more experimental leanings, with a solid minute of melted synths and atmospherics that pool together before the bassline reawakens. Hyperbolic YouTube commenters may write things like “Scuba is the new Sasha” on his live videos, but the artist himself seems more interested in playing with preconceptions than fully committing to any particular formula. Interestingly, “Hardbody” ends with an odd tease during the last 30 seconds, as an electro-house synth line peeks out its head and then quickly fades. Perhaps it’s a sign that further stylistic changes on the horizon for Scuba, or maybe it’s just a meaningless one-off. Frankly, it’s impossible to tell, but the fact that we’re still inclined to speculate says a lot.

Check Out a New Video from Ableton 9

As part of Ableton‘s continued campaign to instill Live 9 fever in the hearts of producers the world over, the Berlin sofware developers have unveiled a new video showing off more of the forthcoming program’s new features, presented in part by German producer Robert Lippok of longstanding experimental outfit To Rocco Rot. Highlighting the new convolution reverb effect and the addition of clip-mode automation, amongst a handful of other mouth-watering improvements, Lippok delivers all of this exciting news in a calmly monotone voice. Still, despite his lack of outward excitement, this brief look is bound to have Ableton users chomping at the bit for 9, the release date for which surely must be just around the corner.

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