Stream Throwing Snow’s ‘Aspera’ EP

UK producer Throwing Snow (a.k.a. Ross Tones) is set to add another set of tunes to his diverse catalog next week with the release of the Aspera EP, a four-track effort which serves as a proper follow-up to the man’s impressive Clamor EP from earlier this year. Set to drop on December 3 via his own fledging Snowfall label, Tones’ latest effort is chocked full of the warm textures, inviting synths, and tasteful melodic touches which Throwing Snow has proved adept at handling. You can stream the Aspera EP in its entirety before it drops this coming Monday after the jump, where you’ll also find a brief Q&A we did with the artist about his new record and his plans for the Snowfall imprint.

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XLR8R: Is there a particular theme or approach that’s unique to this new EP?
Throwing Snow: I’m not sure I can claim anything in this EP to be unique, but I wanted it to fit with the Clamor EP, using similar sounds but taking it in a new direction. Aspera is meant to have a broken, smudged feel with an emphasis on melody rather than percussion. Again I focused on moving the arrangements away from anything too predictable, and hopefully that comes across.

Do you tend to have a set goal or sonic concept for each of your releases?
I do try to make each release work as a collection of tracks, and also show a progression from the other EPs on Snowfall. I suppose I see them together as a mini album, without the ebb and flow needed for an LP. I definitely want to show something different sonically in each of my releases.

What do you like about putting out records on your own label?
I like having the freedom to release what I like and forming an aesthetic for the label. Creating the artwork and design is as much a part of the process as [making] the music, and they are meant to complement each other. It’s just an excuse to create something that is just to my taste.

Are there plans to include other artists on the Snowfall roster, or is it just an outlet for your own music at this point?
At this point, it’s only for my output, as A Future Without and Left_Blank are for releasing other people’s music I love. However, I don’t want to discount [the possibility of] this in the future.

Lastly, as we come to a close on 2012, any particular reflections, memories, or lessons learned this year that you’d like to share?
2012 has been a great year for me, full of memories. I’ve met loads of amazing people while playing gigs both in the UK and abroad, and I feel extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity. It’s also been sobering because I’ve come across so much mind-blowing music that hasn’t got much recognition. I think this is because of how much [music] is out there and how fast the turnover of interest is. I only hope this forces music to become more unique in order for it to stand out. Having said this, people seem to be refreshingly open to a wide range of music, so I can’t wait to see what 2013 has to offer.

Video: Yosi Horikawa “Aotearoa”

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Sound sampler extraordinaire Yosi Horikawa released a video for his song “Aotearoa,” a two-and-a-half-minute excursion and peek into Horikawa’s creative method. Director Tom Gould transports us to a woodsy setting in his piece, where Horikawa sets up his recording equipment and attentively listens to the world surrounding him. He then talks a walk, and the clip ends with a gorgeous shot of the artist looking out at an oceanic horizon.

Download 12 Unreleased Tunes from Mr. Oizo

French electro-house weirdo Mr. Oizo is simultaneously clearing out his hard drive and giving the world a gift in the form of Unreleased Unfinished Unpleasant, a dozen of the longstanding artist’s previously unreleased tunes. Many of Mr. Oizo’s freebies reflect what most have come to expect throughout the course of his nine-year career, which is to say that they’re largely off-kilter, high-energy dancefloor cuts. The collection is available via the artist’s website in exchange for an email address, here.

Billow Observatory “Dim Language”

The Danish/American artists of Billow Observatory are back with another download from their forthcoming self-titled LP. “Dim Language” is a slightly more abrasive song than “Pankalia”; rather than painting an ambient dreamscape with glowing neon overtones, the duo opts for faintly sparkling static and pseudo-melodies drafted with metallic echoes and galactic rumbles. Felte will release Billow Observatory’s album on December 4, but you can stream it now, after the jump.

Dim Language

High Five: Gerry Read

As far as we can tell, no one has ever accused UK producer Gerry Read of being a normal guy. Fresh off the release of his debut full-length, Jummy, we asked Read to put together a list of five tracks that influenced the album’s production process, and his responses were, well… let’s just say that “odd” doesn’t quite cover it. Clearly, Read has a complex artistic vision, and although his entry in our High Five series doesn’t shed a whole lot of light on exactly what inspires his churning brew of dark and twisted house rhythms, he’s a least provided an interesting peek into his unusual psyche.

DJ Rush “Dawn of the Recent”

This tune reminds me of a nightmare I had where my bedroom turned into a stairwell and
a SWAT team rushed me all the way down the stairs. The SWAT team then disappeared and at the bottom was a dark forest with dead blue pornstars everywhere.

Cristian Vogel “Absolute”

I imagine this is what the black figure I see in my bedroom once a month is listening to.

Jandek “I’m Ready”

”If you want to know why you’re a woman,
It’s ’cause you don’t want to be a man,
Yeah, just wanna have one…

But if you got to be with him
I’ll say goodbye
You wonder why I’m a man
Oh, ’cause I don’t want to be a woman
I just wanna have one ”

Arthur Russell “That’s Us/Wild Combination”

The melodies in this take me back to my being in the bath at my nan’s when I was little in [her] cottage that was apparently haunted.

Hella “Biblical Violence”

Walking home from school in year eight across this bridge with flowers tied to it.

Roche “A Night at the Haç”

San Francisco producer Roche just dropped his latest 12″, the four-track A Night At The Haç EP (read our review here), via 100% Silk, and has shared its lengthy title cut to mark the occasion. Though he may be a relatively new name for most, Roche’s sound comes off as mature and developed as a veteran’s. “A Night at the Haç” is a perfect example of his crisp production quality and tasteful sounds, which are demonstrated by effortlessly smooth house grooves, ’80s-referencing synths, and bubbling basslines.

A Night At The Hac

Dusky Calling Me

Dusky has been on a good streak lately; earlier this year, the London-based duo delivered a dizzying one-two combo in the form of its Flo Jam and Henry 85 EPs. Now, Dusky has reared back and prepared a third blow, Calling Me.

From the get-go, it’s obvious that this record—which is also the inaugural release for Loefah’s nascent School imprint—is not just a jab; comparing it to an unanticipated left hook would be more apt. First of all, it’s much darker and tougher than previous Dusky material; title track “Calling Me” begins slowly and retains some aspects of the sound the duo has become known for (namely, the melding of garage and house with ethereal R&B samples), but it shifts the listener’s attention toward a new focal point in Dusky’s music: the bass. The bass tones on this track—and the record as a whole—are rich, resonating above the mix with an almost elastic-sounding throb. This sound resurfaces on vinyl-only track “Muriel,” a sweltering affair whose drums coalesce into a steady, club-worthy pulse that is ultimately subsumed by more sinewy low end.

Digital-only cut “What I Do” ventures into overt garage-house territory, which is perhaps the medium in which Dusky’s sound works best. The overall formula doesn’t differ much from the rest of the record’s offerings, but the bass tones seem to growl just a bit more, demonstrating a certain bite that the other tracks, as good as they are, seem to lack. The caustic sound also provides a counterpoint to the wistful R&B sample and the light, airy piano keys that occasionally surface later on in the track.

Although Calling Me does not disappoint, it isn’t perfect. Its tracks, which clock in at more than six minutes each, can sometimes drag on a bit. Additionally, Dusky isn’t exactly doing anything new. Nevertheless, the sounds offered on Calling Me are highly enjoyable, and ultimately result in both an interesting direction for Dusky’s output and a strong, solid debut for School Records.

Vlsonn “Dronology”

Toronto’s Vlsonn has just released his second EP via Vancouver outpost Aufect, calling it Dronology. The three-track record takes off where his first EP, Black Sea Influence, left off, with its moody, cold, and tense vibes. “Dronology” is slightly lighter and brighter than the rest of the cuts with the help of delicately chopped female vocals and filtered trance stabs. You can stream the rest of the Dronology EP after the jump.

Dronology

Duke Dumont The Giver Remixes EP

Duke Dumont‘s “The Giver” was hard to escape towards the end of summer, as the track’s juicy bassline and irresistible vocal were virtually guaranteed to sweep across the floor at some point in the night. So what does one do with a runaway club hit? Often times, the standard protocol is to gather up a handful of remixes and hope someone either finds a way to reinvent the magic or completely twist it into new territory. Enlisting Tiga, Lando Kal, Gingy & Bordello, and Locked Groove, Turbo does its best to do just that on The Giver Remixes EP.

The four reworks offered here can be divided into two categories: the first being the type of remix that attempts to reinforce the original track—fortifying it with new basslines or slightly tweaked melodies—and the second being the kind that looks to invent something entirely new from the song’s original parts. Of these two categories, Turbo label head Tiga and Belgian producer Locked Groove each turn in the former, keeping the vocal lines and basic chord structure of “The Giver” largely intact. Tiga’s production, which kicks off the release, takes Dumont’s heater into slightly more subdued and atmospheric territory, gradually building on a laid-back beat (at least by Tiga’s standards) with ever-increasing piles of synth melodies and pads. Locked Groove’s effort, however, actually attempts to inject the already upbeat song with a bit more energy; in theory, it’s a dubious proposition, but Locked Groove works it to perfection by constructing a thicker low end while infusing the track’s various elements with a dense sonic weight. His offering finds that remixing sweet spot by striking a balance between maintaining the original song’s familiarity and breathing new life into it.

The EP’s other two remixes take “The Giver” into uncharted territory. Berlin-based Lando Kal bends and shifts the song to fit his patented space-age soundscapes, removing any traces of smoothness from Dumont’s tune as he pieces together a massive, shuffling outing. Gingy & Bordello take the track in a similarly driving direction, leading with a punchy kick and hat as a new pattern is formed out of the original’s vocal sample. The eight-plus-minute rework takes its time, but keeps the listener in its grasp for the entire run.

Remix EPs don’t have a stellar track record, yet none of the outings here feel frivolous. In the case of Locked Groove’s take, there’s even a track capable of pleasing dancefloors just as effectively as the original. That said, with the caliber of producers involved, it’s hard to imagine how this release could have done anything but further the run of Dumont’s noteworthy track.

Kassem Mosse Readies Limited 12″, Shares New Track

As part of the ongoing series of limited vinyl releases from record-store-turned-label Sounds of the Universe, German producer Kassem Mosse will drop a new three-track EP through the imprint. Called Staat Aus Glas, the record—which is said to find Mosse “channeling wide and diverse percussive and rhythmic traditions”—will be limited to a pressing of 300 and is accompanied by some particularly alluring artwork from Portuguese sound-and-visual artist Diana Policarpo. Though we currently have no confirmed release date, you can check out the artwork and tracklist for the forthcoming record, as well as stream the b-side cut “Escape From Frankfurt,” below.

A1 Staat Aus Glas
B1 Escape From Frankfurt

B2 Nacht An Allen Tagen

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