It’s been a busy few months for Nottingham bass music stalwart Geiom, who just finished a new record for DJ Oslek‘s Frijsfo Beats imprint after releasing an LP in November. The Black Screen album is a hectic blend of a variety of genres—ranging from juke to jazz-inspired house to UK garage—while his latest EP, called Glesprin, is a more tame and genre-friendly 12″ comprising three cuts of stylish house and techno. Somewhere in between Geiom’s two records lies “Algo Riddim”; with some grating arpeggiated synths, heavy percussion, and low-bit bass frequencies, it’s a surprisingly soft and textured mix that also manages to offer plenty of grooves.
Next May, a new music festival called We Are FSTVL will take place in the middle of a 122-acre, former-WWI airbase in Essex with over 70 acts on 10 different stages. From the looks of the first artist announcements, the festival’s curators seem keen on grabbing a balance of artists from the the deeper ends of house, techno, and bass music, with DJ/producers like Joy O (pictured above), Ricardo Villalobos, Kerri Chandler, and MK being joined by a good portion of the Crosstown Rebels crew as well as the likes of Huxley, Art Department, Dixon, and Deetron, among many more. To check out the full roster of artists announced so far, as well as the rest of the pertinent details, look no further than the flier below.
Within the past year, UK duo Bondax has been restlessly adding beat-driven pop music to its singles chart. Now, only a few months after dropping the fluttering Baby I Got That EP, the young producers are primed to release yet another sun-dazed pop jam. Called “Gold,” the track will see an official release via Bondax’s own Justus imprint on January 27, and comes buttered with wood-knocked percussive beats and romantic lyrics like “Gold is not enough.” You can stream the forthcoming single below, and if you’re in the US, still catch Bondax on the last few days of its North American tour.
After gracing our pages with an impressive podcast just last week, the brotherly duo Disclosure has offered up another glance into its world of sumptuous house and slippery bass with a remix of “Please Don’t Turn Me On,” a decade-old tune from UK garage maven Artful Dodger. Made available by the Public Demand imprint as a way to spread the word that its entire catalog (which houses some classic garage and UK house tunes) is now availible digitally. Disclosure’s remix is free for a limited time—the next seven days to be exact—so grab your download below before it’s too late.
The inaugural release from Born Electric arrives today, courtsey of founder James Zabiela. The Southampton-based house veteran has set the bar high for his new imprint with The Healing EP; in addition to remixing his own tune, the DJ/producer enlisted top-notch UK producers to rework “Healing,” like Hot Chip, Midland, and, featured here, Gang Colours (you can check out the remixes from the other aforementioned artists here). “Healing (Gang Colours Remix)” adds warm, thick kicks and powerful sub frequencies to Zabiela’s original production, and transforms the vocals from lead melodies to delicate, distant, and airy pads.
Veteran UK DJ/producer Marcus Intalex (a.k.a. Trevino) has been quite busy as of late, releasing a handful of records this year via the likes of Apple Pips, 3024, and Klockworks, as well as delivering a remix for James Priestly & Marco Antonio’s secretsundaze single. Adding to his 2012 output, the artist has dropped a sizable mix for FACT. The hour-plus DJ set arrives weeks before Trevino’s appearance at secretsundaze’s New Year’s Eve party, and can be streamed and downloaded in the player below.
To kick off our Best of 2012 coverage, we’ve compiled a list of the 100 most popular tracks that graced our Downloads section during the past year. The first half were presented in Part One, while songs #50-1 can be streamed and/or downloaded below. At the end of the post, readers will also find a link to download all 100 songs in a single ZIP file. Happy listening.
XLR8R‘s Best of 2012 coverage will continue for the next two weeks, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to vote in our Best of 2012 Readers Poll.
As another year rapidly comes to a close, we here at XLR8R have once again put our heads together to evaluate all things we liked—and didn’t like—over the past 12 months. In the process, we’ve also cooked up an entire slate of Best of 2012 coverage, which we’ll be rolling out gradually over the days and weeks ahead. That said, we’ve actually elected to kick things off with something that has very little to do with our own opinions—a list of the top 100 songs from our Downloads section. Even casual XLR8R readers have likely noticed our dedication to giving away free music, as we make a point to post several tracks on the site each day. Now that 2012 is winding down, we’ve checked the stats for the whole year and compiled a list of the 100 most popular tunes, the first half of which can be streamed and downloaded below. The second half can be found in Part Two, along with a link to download all 100 songs in a single ZIP file; those who simply want the whole package of tunes will be able to grab it with a single click.
It’s a diverse collection of music, and while many XLR8R regulars (Shlohmo, Lapalux, FaltyDL, etc.) do appear on the list, many newcomers also populate its ranks. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Lianne La Havas, whose savvy selection of remixers earned her four separate slots on the list. Scroll down and dive in; there’s plenty to explore and a lot of great music to hear—even better, it’s all free.
XLR8R‘s Best of 2012 coverage will continue for the next two weeks, so check back each day for additional year-end round-ups. In the meantime, don’t forget to vote in our Best of 2012 Readers Poll.
Russian up-and-comer Ivan Erofeev (a.k.a. Aleph) is set to release his Fourteen Dreams Per Night EP on December 11 via Rotterdam label Lowriders Collective. The hefty seven-track record fuses together genres ranging from hip-hop-influenced bass music to more airy and gentle grooves, making stops at just about every sound in between. Here, we have an edit of Aleph’s “Saint Killer,” which sounds just as brutal as its title suggests. Beginning with deceptively mellow pads and Rhodes licks, the tune grows into a percussive banger driven by a wild triplet conga rhythm and backed by ruthless subs. You can also check out a video for this version of Aleph’s tune, along with a sampler of his upcoming EP, after the jump.
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Brand-new Russian imprint Bekas is poised to drop its inaugural release courtsey of Saint Petersburg newcomer Nocow. Called Gather Strength, the 14-track record ranges from techno-leaning jams to ambient, cinematic soundscapes; lead track “No Vacancy” is a collaborative effort which features Moscow producer Lapti. The tune is dominated by mostly dark sounds like the forboding arpeggiations, cinematic strings, saw-wave bass tones, and murky, reverb-drenched vocals. However, “No Vacancy” does manage to find the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel with the help of an ’80s-sounding pad that lifts the mix out of the shadows. You can stream the rest of Nocow’s album over on the Bekas Bandcamp page.
