James T. Cotton, one of the many aliases of employed by Tadd Mullinix, has just released his latest EP, Beats in Space, via Shaddock Records. The title track, a playful spin on the sounds of early techno and classic house, was apparently signed on the spot when Shaddock reps heard Mullinix playing it out at a gig in Berlin. The record also features a remix of the title track by New York City’s MadTeo, along with two new originals. “Love Canopy and Vessels” is one of those originals, and it offers a smooth take on the sounds of vintage Detroit and Chicago with its funky, ’80s-leaning bassline, swelling pads, and deep marimbas. Check out more from Shaddock Records on the label’s SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter.
One of Hessle Audio‘s three label heads, Pangaea (a.k.a. Kevin McAuley) has helmed a rare mix for Resident Advisor. The UK DJ/producer’s set features an all-star cast, including the likes of Hessle artists Blawan and Joe and techno and bass-music favorites Boddika, Andy Stott, Shed, and Planetary Assault Systems. There’s even a Bjork tune in there, plus fresh material from Objekt and fellow Hessle owner Pearson Sound. The mix arrives ahead of McAuley’s upcoming double EP, Release, which drops on October 29. You can check out Pangaea’s mix and the accompanying interview here.
When Citizen talks about the London scene which has fostered his budding career, there’s a sense of affection and grattitude in his tone. “It’s a small scene, really,” says the Nottingham-reared producer. “It’s friendly and approachable—which is something I never expected—but it was like that straight from the outset. It seems that everyone is supportive here and really appreciative of each other’s music.” In fairness, Citizen may have had an easier time getting heard than most, as his music followed years spent DJing around the city (as Laurencematthew, a form of his given name, Laurence Matthew Blake), something he did in part to keep up on emerging trends and ultimately “stay in the loop.” Still, once Blake got serious about his production project and decided to take on the Citizen role, his output has largely spoken for itself, the bass-loaded excursions quickly finding a unique niche that incorporates elements of classic and modern house, with an added soulful touch that undoubtedly perks up dancefloors.
“The whole Citizen thing is sort of an alter ego,” says Blake when asked about the origins of the project. “I’ve found that working in visual arts is an intense process, and you have to be able to let off a bit of steam. I think Citizen was created to do that, [to act as] a persona.” While Blake grew up with a healthy interest in music, obsessively listening to—and sometimes stealing—garage mixtapes from his older cousins before venturing into early attempts at production and DJing in his teenage years, his professional career eventually diverged towards the visual arts. Through it all though, Blake assures that his early love for garage has remained strong, even as he’s developed a wider appreciation for other types of dance music over the years. “I was really into garage from a super young age, and from there, house-music elements started drifting in. It just had another element to the sound that was a lot more sensual and sexual, which is what drew me more towards house music as I got older.” Furthermore, when it came time to take on the production project that has since become Citizen, Blake couldn’t move past this acquired affection for vibrant, soulful house, “I started out by making new-jack swing, but it kept sounding like house. After about six months of doing that, I just sped up the tempos of all the tracks and said, ‘Fuck it.'”
Blake is quick to admit that his first proper EP, Vanity (released by Austrialia’s Templar imprint late last year), was put together as he was still feeling out exactly what shape Citzen would take. With much of his inspiration for the release stemming from the dense, forceful tracks of fellow UK producer Blawan, Blake describes the EP’s three original tunes as “harder” and “more experimental” than the sound he’s mapped out since. Even so, the songs provided an alluring first glance at the project, one highlighted by a propensity for thick, rolling low end that has since become a trademark of Blake’s songcraft. To this end, the London resident says there was never a preconceived notion or conscious effort to craft a consistent sound in the low-end spectrum. Blake explains further, “From listening to garage all those years ago, I’ve always been attracted to bass, but there was not something in the Citizen manifesto or an attempt to be part of the ‘bass-music’ sphere. I just try to make everything as—for lack of a better word—emotional as possible in terms of the structure. I try to put myself on the dancefloor to see how I’d be reacting to the arrangement and the sounds that are there.”
This year, Blake has gone on a tear, releasing a trio of EPs that have solidified his place as one of London’s finest rising names. Combining a sumptuous take on rich, skipping house with the man’s proficiency for powerful low-end content, each release has showcased a slightly different angle of Citizen’s approach. In June, Blake’s contribution to the Madtech imprint (a sub-label of Kerri Chandler’s Madhouse endeavor), the Deep End EP, saw him leaning towards percussive, tech-infused house rollers, its four tracks complete with swooping chords and touches of garage-indebted shuffle. Two months later, Citizen appeared with Room Service, the second 12″ from Love Fever, the London-based party-turned-label which Blake affectionately describes as the city’s “best non-commercial party,” adding, “It has this private mystique about it; basically, it’s the only party I’ve been to where there are no dickheads.” The three-track effort has proven to be the producer’s most distinctive so far, its massive title track delivering classic house staples—reworked R&B vocals, lush chords, and hand-percussion melodies among them—wrapped in a loaded, ultra-modern package. The record also features “Deeper Touch,” a sharp slice of stripped-down house created alongside Berlin’s Jimmy Edgar. Most recently, Blake lent his skills to a limited 12″ of ’90s-indebted, vocal-led house on the aptly titled Diva EP. Released last month through Five Easy Pieces, the effort saw Citizen dive headfirst into his garage-loving side to come up with three pieces of retro-minded smoothness.
Despite the various leanings displayed across his output this year, it’s safe to say that Citizen has a sound. His songs can be heavy handed in their low-frequency density, but remain exceptionally alluring, even sexy, in their dedication to only the most warm and soulful of progressions. This, to Blake, is exactly where he’d like to be. “I feel like I’ve arrived at what I want to be putting out. I’ve been on a bit of a roll lately, and made so many songs. I feel that I’ve definitely found the sound that I want,” adding, “The key being that I am always trying to make emotional house music.”
What exactly the future holds for Citizen is unclear. Aside from his professional obligations and general creative endeavors (the man co-runs a future-thinking online culture magazine called Ribbed and directs his own music videos in his spare time), Blake plans to spend “as much time as possible” on new Citizen material. A follow-up 12″ with Love Fever is in the works, as is a collaborative project with the Joe Ashworth—half of London duo Joe and Will Ask—which Blake describes as “really throwback house stuff.” And with people like Ben Westbeech and others starting to knock on his door for remixes, Citizen has good reason to stay optimistic about the future for himself and the London community, “It’s a positive atmosphere and vibe here at the moment. I hope it stays this way into 2013.”
London producer Tropics (a.k.a. Chris Ward, pictured above) has been pretty generous with “Popup Cinema,” a track from his upcoming EP of the same name. Last week, he shared a stream of the song when he announced the release date of his forthcoming record, which will be available on November 5 via Svetlana Industries, and now he’s unveiled a remix by fellow Londoner Kelpe (a.k.a. Kel McKeown). “Popup Cinema (Kelpe Remix)” presents the original’s vocals as cut-up blips that bubble up between soft claps, sparse percussion, organ tones, and the sound of dripping water. Eventually, Kelpe allows Ward’s soulful vocal melodies the room to fully leak out over his surging synths.
The latest release from Lapalux picks up where his last EP, When You’re Gone, left off. That record found the UK beatmaker fitting an astonishing number of components into his tracks, all the while crafting them into tighter, smoother, and more elegant song structures. On Some Other Time, Lapalux continues that effort by expanding upon the prettier components he has played with in the past—the folds of whirring or cooing synths, microsounds that click and chirp, sweeping, cushion-like bass tones wrapped around lulling beats—and working them into soothing, song-like forms.
While When Your Gone occasionally flirted with unnerving and pleasant noises, like the razor-sharp synth on “Gone” or the heavy-handed blasts of bass on “Gutter Glitter,” Lapalux devotes a lot more attention to the softer side of things on his latest release. With the exception of the hard-hitting stomp and bleating bass notes on “Strangling You with the Chord,” the EP revels in warm and inviting sounds. For instance, opening track “Close Call/Chop Cuts” builds swells of low end that carry tides of gleaming synths and hooting vocal samples. When the beat bursts into the mix from the depths of an ambient fog, Lapalux uses it to cradle the medley of sounds that come and go while guiding the song’s minutiae into a sleepy, nodding rhythm.
Lapalux’s beats help to coax his busy soundscapes along, but it’s the way he uses vocalists that truly shapes his productions into “songs.” “Forgetting and Learning Again,” which boasts some seductive singing from Kerry Leatham, is the most pop-friendly number of the bunch. Although Lapalux’s productions are still captivating and brimming with details, they don’t prevent Leatham’s voice from taking center stage when she delivers her lines. Even as the rich layers of sound threaten to overpower her voice toward the end, the singer’s sticky hook, “So I guess I’ll have another,” still pops out. The song progresses without fully adhering to a typical verse-chorus-bridge format, but it bends and builds while nonetheless allowing space for jazz-influenced walking basslines and infectious vocal performances.
Just as When You’re Gone saw Lapalux refining his ability to manipulate a jumble of individual sounds into coherent and captivating songs, Some Other Time reveals the new ways he has further refined his techniques. His latest release doesn’t seek to uncover new sonic territory; instead, Some Other Time dives deeper into a more limited sonic palette. Directing his attention to the pretty, sparkling, and warm elements he has experimented with previously, Lapalux manages to work them into even tighter songs.
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from London-based producer Offshore, but he’s resurfaced with “Summer Hits.” The tune comes courtesy of Oslo-based label Fine Grains, which will be including the song as part of its aptly titled new compilation, Fine Grains Vol. 1. “Summer Hits” sees the London lad exploring new sonic realms, as it’s quite different from his his menacing “Pepper” or the timpani-heavy “Round and Round.” Using fewer elements, Offshore still manages to create an emotionally provocative hip-hop beat. Beginning with an unusual percussion and cheap synth combo, the vibes immediately feel contemplative and nostalgic, as if the producer was reminiscing over a long-lost summer love. As the song develops, the beat quickly takes fuller form as a thudding kick accents the softer percussive synth before Offshore introduces a minimalistic, clave-led rhythm. Fine Grains Vol. 1 won’t be released until November 1, but “Summer Hits” can be downloaded below and the song’s video can be viewed after the jump.
Seattle’s Chris Roman has a discography stretching back to 2002, but only in the last few years has he truly come into his own. He’s spread his productions as 214 and J. Alvarez across a variety of labels, seemingly releasing every record for a new company. This nomadism should not imply that Roman is a dilettante, however. He’s forged a take on electro that’s both flexible and tough as nails, and that list of labels is a testament to the various pockets his sound slots into. That said, Submanoevers finds him returning to Frustrated Funk after a turn for its Harbour City Sorrow sub-label last year, and the EP’s four tracks sit comfortably in its catalog.
Roman opens with “First Descent (FF Edit),” a short, ominous piece that takes a page from the book of Gerald Donald, as he lets its delirious, luffing arpeggiation do most of the talking. On the creeping “Bluetooth Clone,” a hostile bassline darts amid a slathering of hi-hats and cowbells, the drooping synths in the background lending some intrigue to an otherwise grimly metallic arrangement. The title track picks up the pace, its croaking, robotic vocal and caustic synthlines underlaid with bumping, frenetic drums. “Frostbite” closes proceedings with a bit of contrast—its chirping arpeggios and volatile rhythm are paired with solemn, filtered-down chords that engulf the track in melancholy. All this may read like a laundry list of electro motifs, and to be sure, Roman is operating within the genre’s parameters. Recent efforts like Plastic Spokes, recorded for Fortified Audio, found him introducing motifs culled from R&B, deep house, and UK bass; those styles barely rear their heads on Submanouvers. But while they may not overtly cross any boundaries, Roman’s tracks here are built with momentum in mind and imbued with a crisp bounce that’s often lacking in the work of his more po-faced peers.
Toronto producer Bassmynt (a.k.a. Jeff-Antoine Cote) is set to release his Blind Night EP via Aufect. Ahead of the two-track release, we bring you “Keep It Pretty,” the darkly futuristic b-side that leans on a variety of genres yet settles on none. The tune opens up with airy, cinematic pads and soon falls into an almost dub-sounding break with window-shattering subs and chilling, reverb-drenched snares, over which Cote’s skittering beat and lead synths lightly dance. Before Bassmynt’s Blind Night EP drops on October 16, you can stream the remaining a-side after the jump.
Later this month, veteran beatmaker Photek (a.k.a. Rupert Parkes) will be releasing a new album, KU:PALM (artwork above). Although the name Photek will likely always be primarily associated with jungle and drum & bass, the man’s sound has gone through several permutations during his nearly 20 years as a producer. And If the new song he’s offered up for free download today is any indication, that evolution is still ongoing. “Pyramid,” which can be streamed and downloaded below, certainly bears traces of Photek’s drum & bass past, but it also operates at a chill tempo and experiments with various drum patterns while moving through moody atmospherics. At the risk of being blasphemous, there’s definitely a trip-hop current at play here. We’re not sure if it’s something that will be present throughout KU:PALM, but we suppose that we’ll find out when the album drops on October 23, with a digital version to follow on October 30.
The London duo Mak & Pasteman is gearing up for a gig at the Upfront Project on October 26, and it looks like the two UK producers have been working on some new dancefloor-ready cuts in preparation, as the pair sent over this edit of Cassie’s practically timeless “Me & U.” Equipping the sultry tune with a 2-step beat and speeding up the pointed melody, Mak & Pasteman offers its own take on the well-worn R&B refix game. The pair’s work is well-executed, too, and successfully revives the pop burner with an infusion of fresh hand drum sounds and big, bouncing club rhythms.
