DJ Rashad TEKLIFE Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi

The strain of Chicago dance music known as footwork or juke has been an unavoidable influence on electronic music since Planet Mu released its Bangs & Works Vol. 1 compilation back in 2010. DJ Rashad‘s two contributions to that compilation were located, fortuitously, near the very beginning of the album—prime real estate for an uncompromising collection that threatened to induce whiplash if heard in one sitting. Following closely behind another potent 2012 release, Traxman‘s Da Mind of Traxman, TEKLIFE Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi is DJ Rashad’s first full-length and offers another push into the arist-album world for the formerly hyper-local scene.

Rashad’s Bangs & Works Vol. 1 tracks demonstrate two tendencies that wend their way through TEKLIFE—futurist techno on the one hand and backwards-looking soul on the other. Bangs‘ “Teknitian” and “Itz Not Rite” correspond, more or less, to TEKLIFE‘s “Fly Spray” and “Feeling,” but you’re just as likely to encounter twitchy avant-garde and mollifying humanity in a single track. Rashad’s reconfigures himself restlessly, morphing songs in sly but absolute increments and leaving you in a radically different place from where you started. It’s a neat effect, and at times he does so with orchestral bombast: check out how he flips “Kush Aint Loud” from typically hard-ass juke to psychedelic funk and back. Usually, longer track lengths in dance music accommodate a relatively consistent rhythm and vibe, but while TEKLIFE‘s tracks average around four minutes, they regularly feel around 50% longer than their runtimes thanks to their stylistic fluidity. Those tonal contrasts do as much as the soul influence to give shelter from the punishing barrage of aggressively lopsided 160-bpm drums and asphyxiating vocal samples. These 20 tracks are busy, yet feel really spacious; they’re alive with ideas and brutal contradictions. This is particularly true of the second half of “Walk for Me,” which marries “Swims” to a long soul loop, the relaxed electric piano and vocal harmonies sitting uneasily astride a militant take on the Boddika & Joy O tune. With the following track, “CCP,” Rashad goes in for gleeful and unchecked overdrive, with spattered tom patterns and samples warped into a frenetic wall of glossolalia.

Rashad’s control over his materials adds a great deal of momentum to tracks that already feel fresh and innovative. This volatile quality, spending as much time bothering groove as locating it, is what distinguishes Chicago juke from the music informed by it. Even when Rashad approaches familiar songs, turning “Niggaz in Paris” into “Welcome to Chicago,” the industrial pistoning of the drums and a wandering, pricking woodblock undermine the familiarity of Kanye’s exhortations to not let him get in his zone. Some of the same points could be made about the Traxman album mentioned earlier—his riff on Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” sermon, “Lifeeeee Is for Ever,” accomplishes something similar to “Welcome to Chicago”—but you’d be hard pressed to confuse one producer with the other.

Juke has been around substantially longer than the two years it’s been on the global radar. As thrilling as Planet Mu’s compilation was, it didn’t foreshadow what Rashad, and by extension the genre, would be capable of over the course of a dedicated album. In the case of TEKLIFE, what could have been a step toward museumification feels instead like the future arriving in its own time.

Keith Fullerton Whitman Announces Second 2012 LP

Just months after Keith Fullerton Whitman released his Generators LP via Editions Mego, the experimental musician will return with Occlusions, another full-length for the same label. Although his second album this year only contains two tracks, the record is over 35 minutes long—both tracks were recorded live in February of 2012, one at a festival in France and one in the Netherlands. According to Whitman, each recording is an entirely improvised “realization” made on modular synthesizers. The first track, “Occlusion (Rue de Bitche),” expresses what Whitman refers to as “mildly inebriated bliss,” which contrasts with his description of the second track, “Occlusion (Weteringschans),” as “arbitrarily triggered blind rage.” Four days before Occlusions is released on June 19, Whitman will be performing at Brooklyn’s Public Assembly.

Fidser “Activate (Space, Ladies Remix)”

This week, Warsaw-based label Concrete Cut will release the first record from Krakow’s Fidser, the Check This Out EP. In addition to introducing four original tracks from the producer, Fidser’s EP showcases the talents of three other Polish producers—Space, Ladies, Hatti Vatti, and Artfruit—who remixed Fidser’s work. Space, Ladies’ rework of “Activate” slows the original’s breakneck tempo down, but retains its skittering, arpeggiated melodies and maximalist tendencies toward thunderous kicks and bursts of sound. The remix goes through multiple transformations, at times employing creaky synth squawks that resemble those used in Baauer‘s “Harlem Shake” or RL Grime‘s “Trap On Acid,” and focusing on a tinkling chime melody at others.

Activate (Space, Ladies Remix)

Activate (Space Ladies Remix)

Sinden Keep it 1000

Back in 2007, we referred to Sinden as a “British Diplo” for his wide-ranging, world music-influenced DJ sets and bass-centered dance production with tropical flair. Since, he’s grown into something of an icon in the UK, influencing a host of producers and achieving a modicum of success along the way. But after founding a record label and moving to Los Angeles, it doesn’t appear that he’s content with simply hitting the big time on Europe’s largest island. Sinden’s output has always skated the line between the underground and big-room bangers, and with the current explosion of dance music in the US, Sinden could be primed to make the leap into the mainstream. His newest single, “Keep it 1000,” won’t be the track that takes him there, but it may prove to be an essential step along the way.

“Keep it 1000” kicks off with a dose of tropical percussion, highlighted by Sinden’s hi-hat production, which takes an open hi-hat sound, pitches it down, and places it between beats for a propulsive, bouncy effect. As with much of Sinden’s work, the song’s main component is the bass, which has been tuned for a large sound system equipped with significant sub-bass power. Synthesizer pads don’t enter the mix until the song begins to build up over two minutes into the proceedings, adding a stabbing melody with a ravey house feel. The song begins to close out with arpeggiating staccato synth blips, bringing in yet another diverse element to the song, which in less than four and half minutes seems to cover quite a bit of ground. The vocal sample is the tune’s primary constant, predictably growling in a pitched-down male voice to “Keep it 1000.” The same vocal snippet is looped repeatedly throughout the song with very little variation, and seems like a half-hearted addition to a track that probably deserved a better hook.

Remixes from Duke Dumont and Night Slugs boss L-Vis 1990 take wildly divergent paths, although both versions fully eviscerate Sinden’s signature bass. On his “Construction Mix,” L-Vis 1990 replaces the summery, booty-shaking vibes of “Keep it 1000” with hollow and metallic sounds. The percussion becomes extra crunchy, and the song’s main emphasis shifts toward a series of electro blips that barely registered in the original. While the production quality of the track is superb, it’s unlikely this taut, stripped-down version will find widespread appeal, not that it was meant to. Duke Dumont chooses to build his remix around the synth stabs from the original, using loops and beat repeats to give the chords an even ravier feel, while additional electro noises add to the track’s frenzied energy. The somewhat indulgent filter sweeps and three distinct builds and drops in the remix seem to indicate that Duke Dumont’s electro-house roots continue to influence his current productions.

Clams Casino Drops Second Mixtape of Instrumentals

Today, New Jersey producer Clams Casino, one of the best new artists to emerge last year, dropped his second mixtape of instrumental productions as a free download. Michael Volpe took to his Twitter account to announce the new package of tunes, which includes his work found on A$AP Rocky’s LIVELOVEA$AP record, his remixes for Washed Out and Lana Del Rey, his production for The Weeknd, an unreleased tune, and much more. You can download the 14-song offering here.

Randomer Drops Mix for FACT

A little less than four months after his “Scruff Box” b/w “Get Yourself Together” 12″ was released via Untold’s Hemlock label, North London producer Randomer (a.k.a. Rohan Walder) has put together the newest installment of FACT’s weekly mix series. Randomer blends a number of different genres and styles into his dancefloor-friendly mix, starting off with the Miami booty-bass stylings of 2 Live Crew, making forays into electro and dubstep, and even dropping a few of his own tracks—including his release for Numbers, “Real Talk.” You can check out the tracklist below, and stream/download Randomer’s FACT mix here.

2 Live Crew – It’s Time
2 Live Crew – Shake a lil’ Somethin
Indo G & Lil Blunt – Where Them Dogs At
2 Live Crew – Bring that Money to Me
Thrill Da Playa – Layaway (remix)
DJ Boobie – U Know How We Do It
2 Live Crew – Hoochie Mama
Rod Lee – Crazy Legs
Mr Oizo – Positiv
Randomer – Dance for Me
Alden Tyrell – Obsession Scratch
Maelstrom – Pool Chicks
Randomer – Warm Up
Randomer – Shank Potato
Randomer – Real Talk
Randomer – Search it Out
Cool House – Rock this Party Right (Fast Eddie Raw Mix)
I:Cube – Transpiration
Wheez-ie – Choke Hold
Foul Play – Survival (remix)
The Prodigy – We are The Ruffest
Foul Play – Ricochet
The Prodigy – Everybody in the Place (Fairground Remix)
Rod Lee – Your Hood
DJ Milton – Bang it Up
Robert Armani – Tear This MF Up
Unknown – Untitled
DJ Assault – Mr International
Blazin Squad – Standard Flow (DND Remix)
Subkutz – Feel Good
DJ Ride – Renegade Bass
Alias – Gladiator 4×4
Jon E Cash – Merc Riddim
Alias – Warriors Remix
Mala – Da Wrath (Souljahz VIP)
Randomer – Outside

Falty DL Shares New Mix

New York’s Falty DL (a.k.a. Drew Lustman) has uploaded his first summer mix of 2012, a selection he describes as “songs I’ve had on rotation that I really dig.” His Summer Mix for Heads and Toes includes choice cuts of hip-hop, ’60s R&B, Cuban jazz, and more eclectic sounds by the likes of Danny Brown, Objekt, Actress, Waajeed, and Squarepusher, whom Lustman often cites as one of his main influences. According to the DJ/producer, he’s planning to compile and release a new mix each month, so keep an eye on FaltyDL’s Mixcloud presence to soundtrack your summer with his diverse tastes. You can check out his first offering of the purported series in the player below.

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Video: Tomas Barfod “November Skies”

Following the release of his Salton Sea album and ahead of his new EP for Friends of Friends, Came to the Party, Danish producer Tomas Barfod has dropped a brand-new video for album cut “November Skies.” The busy artist’s glitchy clip arrives courtesy of the filmmakers at The Great Nordic Sword Fights, who present warped and lo-fi animations of a floating man experiencing all sorts of psychedelic hallucinations, sort of like a digitized DMT trip. Watch the colorful piece for Barfod’s bouncy tune above, and check out the details of his forthcoming record—which features remixes from Salva, Mark E, and Suzanne Kraft and is out on June 12—below. (via Gorilla vs. Bear)

1. Came To Party
2. Hyperion
3. Came To Party (Salva Remix)
4. Came To Party (Suzanne Kraft Remix)
5. Came To Party (Mark E Remix)

SpringerParker “Libretto (Rival Consoles Remix)”

London producer Rival Consoles (a.k.a. Ryan Lee West) crafts a delicate interpretation of German duo SpringerParker‘s “Libretto,” from the upcoming album There Are Places in Our Heads One Can Travel To (out on November 23). West preserves the warbling Norwegian vocals of opera singer Lilly Jørstad and the piano melody from the original, but he also puts his own touch onto the track, layering it with fuzzy synth bass, drums, guitar, and rustling noise. This track can be found on the recently released Polar Circle & Remixes, alongside a remix of “Arctic Flowers” by Benoît Pioulard and “Tundra,” an original track from SpringerParker’s upcoming album. You can preview that record over on Butterfly Collectors’ website, here.

Libretto (Rival Consoles Remix)

Five Minutes at MUTEK with Shlohmo

As always, this year’s edition of MUTEK offered a potentially overwhelming number of shows, parties, workshops, panel discussions, and more. Amidst all the activity, XLR8R also wanted to take the time to sit down with a few of our favorite artists, both to get their impressions of the festival and to check in about what’s happening with their music. First up was leftfield beatmaker and LA native Shlohmo, who spoke about his experience living in New York, his impending return to the West Coast, and the multiple sides of his musical personality.

XLR8R: This is your first time at MUTEK?
Shlohmo: Yes.

Is it a festival you knew about before?
No, I did not. It’s kind of how I found out about everything. [Someone says,] “Oh, you’re playing this,” and I’m like, “What’s that?” Then [they explain], and I’m like, “Sick.” [laughs]

Your musical career has been sort of a weird whirlwind. It was only about two years ago that your first record came out.
Yeah, I made it three years ago and it came out a little over two years ago. It just been a crazy coincidence world since then.

You’re living in New York these days. What prompted you to move there after living in Los Angeles and San Francisco?
I’d been on the West Coast my whole life, grew up in LA, did three years in the Bay. I feel like there aren’t that many cool places in the US, other than New York, that you want to go after growing up in big cities. So I said, “Fuck it. I’m 21/22/whatever, I want to go do that before I don’t want to do it anymore.” I had to get it out of the way, you know what I mean? It sounds stupid like that, but it’s kind of true. I think I’m moving back to LA, actually, soonish. [I’ll be back] by the fall probably, so there’s not too much time left.

The music scene that you’re a part of seems so tied to Los Angeles, especially with Low End Theory. Musically, how have you found the transition to New York? Do you feel like a fish out of water.
I felt like a fish out of water in the Low End thing, too. Since then, my stuff has become less “Low End-y,” less what LA has become known for. All my shit is quantized. I got more into dance music. That’s [what ‘s] cool about New York—there’s a lot of cool dance stuff going on there. But the scene can be… Not intimidating, because it’s not, but too cool for me. I don’t really fuck with dressing up. Besides that, the electronic scene out there is kind of dismal. I don’t mean dismal in terms of who’s out there or what people are making, I mean dismal in terms of an actual scene, where [you can] go see shows and how often shows happen. It’s even gotten better since I moved there, but it’s still really rare to see a good electronic show at a good venue with a good soundsystem. Everywhere you’re playing is like a bar with an amp. [People ask,] “Will you DJ at the bar?” and no one gives a fuck who you are or what you’re spinning. It’s just a bar people go to. And people only go if… New York is just super fucking socialite, and I think I’ve come to realize that in my time there. In LA, I feel like the mass of people genuinely search for shows. In New York, I think that’s a minority, because there’s just so much shit to do.

When did you move to New York exactly?
I officially moved out there and signed a lease in October, but I also spent last summer out there, so it’s been almost a year.

What’s prompting you to move back to LA? Just because it’s home?
It’s home, but also I’ve been traveling a lot and coming back to New York is not resting. I come back there and it’s just on again. I miss the sunshine and I miss backyards. I’m really excited to own a backyard and have an animal or something.

Are you working on another album?
Sort of. I don’t really know what’s going on yet in my Ableton files. It’s just been a lot of remixes. I’ve been working a lot, but it’s been remixes and production for other people, which is rad because that’s something I’ve always wanted to get into. But it hasn’t left me much time to work on my own stuff and get in that zone. That’s why I’m not going to be playing very many shows. After MUTEK, I’m going to Europe, and then there’s nothing for awhile. I’m going to work.

The other people you’re making music for, are they singers? MCs?
Both. I’m definitely more interested in R&B. I just like making stuff with room for vocals and melody. I love rap music, but I’m a far better R&B producer than a rap producers. But I’ve also been working with some rappers, too.

There’s a difference between your production and your live show. The live show seems to be more hard hitting and clubbier. Do you feel like both of those represent you?
Yes. Definitely. Maybe it’s been a good thing, in terms of how people view me. They don’t know what box to put me in, which is always good. For me, it’s been hard to make a decision [about which way to go]. I’m still trying to force myself to not make a decision. The majority of music that I listen to on my down time is a mix between indie-rock shit and guitar music, but then I’ll go to the new Meek Mills mixtape or Rick Ross mixtape. I’m so all over the place with what I like. With Bad Vibes, that’s definitely me. But I also feel like all this newer stuff is me, and the live show is still me. It’s weird. I can’t please everyone. There’s always going to be a few people at the show saying, “Why didn’t you play Bad Vibes?” It’s like, we’re in a club, and you’re drunk, and you’re the only person that wanted to be a sad drunk. Everyone else wants to be Friday night happy drunk. When I’m playing a show, I want to be the Friday night happy drunk and not Tuesday night sad drunk. It’s like when your at home versus when you’re at a show. It’s the same thing for the audience. People can listen to Cat Power when they’re at home, and then go to some rap show and still be the same person. I feel very much like that.

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