After unveiling our profile of one Washington, DC-based house music entity today, we’ve discovered yet another treat from our country’s capitol, a fresh mix by DJ/production duo Benoit & Sergio. The boys dropped their latest DJ set—featuring tunes from the likes of Virgo Four, Seth Troxler, New Order, Air, Metro Area, and plenty of others—over on RA, along with a brief interview. You can check out the whole thing here, and if you’re in the mood for more than one B&S mix, make sure to revisit the pair’s XLR8R podcast from last year.
Portland-via-San Francisco producer Eprom has long been obsessed with the future of music and its production methods, consistently issuing loads of EPs and singles boasting his obsessively updated style of beat work ever since 2007. The artist born Alexander Dennis recently appeared on our radar once again, this time with news of his first full-length album, Metahuman. (Not to mention, he also commandeered our Downloads section with his well-received “Realization” tune, and subsequently scored sixth place in our Top 20 Downloads of May.) Before Eprom’s LP arrives on July 2 via Amsterdam’s Rwina imprint, we’ve been treated to the exclusive stream of its 13 mind-bending productions, all of which you can listen to, after the jump.
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Future Times began simply with a 7″ from Maxmillion Dunbar, the solo alias of DC-area DJ/producer Andrew Field-Pickering. After putting out the “Outrageous Soulz” b/w “Dreamerzzz” single himself towards the end of 2007, Field-Pickering eventually got to talking with friend and fellow DJ/producer Mike Petillo. Petillo explains further, “Andrew had put out a single of his own and had called the label Future Times. I really liked the music, and we were talking one day—literally shooting the shit on some bus ride—and we both said, ‘Let’s just put out more records, fuck it.'” Initially pulling from a fertile crew of local musician and producer friends, Future Times has built a reputation for continually evolving releases landing somewhere along the more adventurous threads which tie together disco, boogie, and house. Now on its 13th release, the label has established itself as a consistent hub for genuinely creative, fun, and often cleverly weird electronic music, christening outfits such as Beautiful Swimmers and Protect-U along the way.
Both men behind the label cite DC’s “ex-punk” scene as the origin of their friendship and, largely, that of the core group of producers, DJs, and beat freaks which made up the early Future Times crew. “We were just a relatively small group of friends working together and feeding off each other, getting each other excited about a track we were making,” says Petillo. Indeed that crew seems rather tight-knit when you consider the label’s first six offerings—five singles (two 7″s and three 12″s) and a four-track compilation—all of which stemmed from alternating combinations of only five people. Within that group of releases, Field-Pickering appears twice as Maxmillion Dunbar (alternately referred to simply as Max D), and three times as Beautiful Swimmers alongside Ari Goldman, while Petillo puts in time as one-half of Protect-U with his partner Aaron Leitko, and Jason Letkiewicz contributes under two different handles—first as Rhythm Based Lovers and later as Sensual Beings.
Perhaps that explains the sonic relation between the releases, though it is hard to pinpoint exactly what styles and themes each Future Times artist manages to touch on. Vibe 1, the label’s debut compilation, displayed this best, as everything from galactic funk and ’90s East Coast house to new-age beats and Herbie Hancock-style boogie popped up within the collection’s four cuts. Still, each tune seems to come from a similar place and is clearly aimed at some strangely inviting cosmic dancefloor. “The first comp [Vibe 1] was sort of our way of being like, ‘Yo, there’s a crew here and we have a sound that’s cohesive and different at the same time,'” notes Petillo.
Eventually, Future Times reached outside of its DC circle, tapping the unpredictable Brooklyn resident Slava for a pair of tunes together known as the “Dreaming Tiger” 12″. Meanwhile, new work from the rest of the crew was not far behind, and as the catalog expanded, so did the sonic territory—Slava’s explorations landed him on Latin-kissed, synth-heavy house; Protect-U dipped further into its dancefloor ready new-new age on the “World Music” 12″; and Beautiful Swimmers ran in three separate directions on its “Big Coast” 12″, turning in a title track that was one part slow-burning, ’80s-era electro, one part world-music boogie, and one part stoney island dub.
In short, pinning down the Future Times catalog to a specific genre is ostensibly impossible. The label heads acknowledge that there isn’t some sort of grand scheme or any specific sonic guideline behind their imprint. That said, their tastes do seem to lean towards the funkier side of dance music, especially those producers who are (or at least appear to be) well versed in classic electronic music. Field-Pickering offers a bit of insight as to what makes their crew tick: “We all like to DJ, it’s a heavy part of what we do. We’re all big devotees of certain parts of dance music and electronic music. Really, we’re freaks for it.” Petillo goes on to add, “We’re drawn to people that are straight-up music freaks. Straight-up heads—that’s who we want to surround ourselves with as a label and as musicians.”
The label’s 2011 compilation, simply titled Vibe 2, is the most comprehensive document of these statements. Culling from an international list of like-minded producers, the nine-track record again moved in almost too many directions to count, with Steve Summers (yet another alias of Jason Letkiewicz) and Steve Moore holding down the new-age side of things while NYC’s L.I.E.S. (in conjunction with Max D), Berlin’s Hunee, Amsterdam’s Juju & Jordash, the LA-based Tom Noble, and more delivered synth-heavy tunes from all different angles of dance music. “On the second comp,” says Petillo, “we wanted to branch out and extend the original idea, take it to the next step. We had made connections with people around the world and had a chance to expand on the original idea by working with these new people.” These were connections made through years of musical digging and through the Future Times crew’s travels around the world, and to Field-Pickering it was a logical extension. “There’s an inherent scene that is around it [the compilation], those guys are all extended family.”
Now two records past Vibe 2 (one being an anonymous white label and the other a recent 12″ from Max D, “Orgies of the Hemp Eaters”), the label is set to continue pushing on in much of the same manner. Asking the pair of men at the helm what’s next reveals a flurry of names with no exact dates settled upon—Beautiful Swimmers has plans for a 2×12″ made up of new tunes and rare cuts; Steve Moore and Huerco S are set to officially join the label with 12″s of their own; and DJ Sottofet of Sex Tags Mania will be reworking some of the label’s catalog for a release. Protect-U is also eyeing an LP-length release that will “most likely end up on Future Times” as well. Clearly, the label is primed to continue moving in an even greater variety of directions, and with the lack of any exact sonic focus, Petillo’s thoughts on the label’s inspiration seems a fitting blueprint for the imprint moving forward: “There are just really good, solid, like-minded people kicking out some seriously sick jams that need to get out there, and we’re doing our part.”
A static-laden slice of peak-time house morphs into a funhouse of blips and swiveling synth stabs on this tune from Delect, a newly formed collaboration between electro-house veterans Chris de Luca and Leonard de Leonard. Out on Wednesday via the Berlin-based Leonizer imprint, “15Mid” revolves on a gyrating four-to-the-floor axis that constantly threatens to spin out of control, seemingly held into place by knee-buckling kick drums and an effortless cycle of tension-building crescendos and breakdowns. It certainly has a seething undercurrent of rave nostalgia in its veins, splashed with a dab of Ibiza-ready appeal for heated, peak-time play in big rooms. Delect’s Love Songs EP is a four-track take-no-prisoners approach to mainstream and underground dance music, the rest of which you can check out, along with a music video for the title track, after the jump.
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On Digital Native, the “first proper album” by Polysick, Italian hardware obsessive Egisto Sopor (or Paul Kersex, depending on where you look) presents a wide array of synth-centric music, ranging from lush ambient compositions to unhinged flurries of noise to squelching acid workouts to retro-minded techno jams. It’s a smattering of analog sounds that the producer has spent years quietly perfecting on small releases for labels like 100% Silk and Legowelt’s Strange Life imprint, and he presents them on his LP for Planet Mu in some of their finest forms yet. But with 15 tracks clocking in at a full hour, Polysick’s album is also his longest release to date, which presents an obstacle for any listener with a short attention span and a less-than-insatiable taste for modular synth noodling.
It’s not that Digital Native lacks compelling sounds, or that its producer meditates on a single idea for too long; some of the record’s best qualities are its diverse style flirtations and its reliably succinct track times. From the onset, “Totem” quickly delivers rickety beats and a host of ambling melodies with a loungy vibe, which is soon after complemented by the immersive synthscapes of “Taito” and “Loading…” and followed up with further explorations into the worlds of rounded drum-machine rhythms and noxious analog tones. Sopor switches back and forth between his more beat-driven work and his more formless pieces, as well as varying production lengths, throughout Digital Native. At first, the constant shapeshifting might be interesting, as Polysick delivers early-’90s IDM, ’70s-referencing kosmiche music, Moroder-influenced jam sessions, and vaguely new-age interludes. Shortly after the midpoint of Polysick’s album, however, its apparent lack of structure grows more and more dissatisfying.
“Drowse,” “Worldcup,” and “Gondwana” are among the more memorable of the 15 tracks, productions that—despite not following any kind of obvious arc—seem to be slowly going somewhere instead of swirling around and wafting about stagnantly. “Transpelagic” is an alluring nine-minute jam that evokes the disorienting techno experiments heard on Autechre’s Incunabula, which is particularly good company to keep, but it’s immediately followed by what might be Digital Native‘s worst cut, closing track “Smudge, Hawaii.” A brief tune composed of a flat disco rhythm, a playful bassline, and a wavering synth drone, it sounds something like a Casio SK-1 demo song if it was drunk-dancing alone at the end of a party, all sloppy and smarmy in its efforts to convince you to take it home. Polysick’s choice to close his LP in this manner is a curious one, partially because there are plenty of more worthy send-off tunes on Digital Native and partially because it’s the only one that sounds so dully brainless. But then, in context, it also makes some sense: There is basically no rhyme or reason to this album other than its existence as a collection of random—albeit well-made—recordings crafted by a guy with some cool vintage gear. Outside of that, Digital Native is missing a large amount of the substance and general cohesiveness that any artist’s “first proper album” should rightly offer, and winds up coming off more like Sopor purging his hard drive than a new artist confidently staking his claim on your listening rotation.
Utilizing classic vocal samples and old-school Chicago sounds is pretty commonplace nowadays, but when the attention paid to these elements is as on-point as Reilly Steel‘s is on “Heart Beat,” it sounds less like just another fish in the electronic music pond. The SF-based producer comes off a bit like Jacques Greene in his deployment of seductively arranged synthesizers and desperately longing vocal edits, but what really jumps out about Steel’s work here is the clattering, syncopated rimshot that refuses to stay put. Its restless pitch shifting adds an interesting pseudo-hook to the track’s main breakdown, which helps lock the listener in for the remainder of the jam. “Heart Beat” is part of a free collection that Steel dropped today, called Post-Pillow Talk Vol. 1 and featuring four more sharply polished tunes. You can stream the release after the jump, or just download it here.
The DJ-centric internet music retailer Beatport has announced the beta launch of Mixes, a new webstore that offers DJs the ability to legally upload and sell their mixes. The new service, which will operate as an extension of the existing Beatport website, will sell DJ mixes that are completely legal and DRM-free, with even the proper royalties for songs used in the mix being allocated to the appropriate labels and performing rights organizations. But there is a catch: For tracks to show up on the tracklist and for funds to be allocated to the necessary parties, the tracks in the mix must be purchased from Beatport. DJs will still be able to upload tracks that aren’t on Beatport or are of their own creation, but these songs will not be able to properly show up in the tracklists and will be at risk of being taken down if any legal issues arise. In addition, any song that appears in a mix but was not purchased from Beatport (whether or not it was legally acquired) will not be eligible for royalties.
At this point, it seems like the Mixes project still has a few kinks to work out, but it nonetheless appears that Beatport’s heart is in the right place, as each mix will retail for around $5.29, with 10% of the profits going to the DJ, 60% to label royalties, and 30% going to PROs. A little bit of math reveals that Beatport is set to make no money on the sales of these mixes at this point (although, if you have to purchase tracks from them, they obviously see a bit of profit in the end). In talking with DJ Tech Tools, Beatport CTO Peter Siciliano says, “We’re not going to make a lot of money off of this. This is ‘Let’s find out what it actually takes and what the cost is to do a legal mix, and then carve out the space however it makes sense.'”
Clearly, Mixes is a work in progress, but considering that Beatport has fashioned itself into one of the leading online electronic music retailers, it’s a project worth taking note of and keeping track of how it unfolds. Mixes is currently in a limited public-beta release, but those who wish to apply to upload their mixes to the store, or are in search of more information, should head here.
Devonwho, the astrally inclined California beatmaker, receives a fluttering remix from Seattle-based producer DJAO (pictured above) of his latest single for All City, “Strangebrew.” Drifting synth tones and softly contoured chords billow back and forth across the track’s intro, sounding something like a sea anemone swaying slowly within its tropical environs. The aural landscape is subsequently placed in the shadow of a massive bassline, which pulses rhythmically to fill each and every pockmark around the track’s hollow percussion and robust melodies. A member of the Dropping Gems crew, DJAO has been featured on XLR8R previously, and after hearing this remix, we can only hope there’s more on the way.
One of Montreal’s most exciting producers, Jacques Greene is set to drop a new three-track EP via Martyn‘s 3024 imprint this summer. The new release will be Greene’s second this year, following the inaugural outing for his own label, Vase, back in January. The Ready EP (that’s the Erosie-designed artwork up top) will be available on July 16, but you can stream previews of each tune before then, below.
Harmonimix, the more hip-hop- and R&B-oriented pseudonym of James Blake, will soon release its proper debut in the form of a new single for R&S. Blake has previously used the Harmonimix moniker to drop bootlegs of pop hits like Destiny’s Child’s “Bills Bills Bills” and Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” but is working with Butterz affiliate and grime artist Trim for his new 12″. You can stream the two tracks, “Confidence Boost” and “Saying,” before they’re released this September, below.
