What we’ve previously only experienced in the form of a free download and as a sentence from an album review is now also a music video. Slow-moving and monochromatic, this visual accompaniment for “Saturn” by Wolfgang Voigt’s and Jörg Burger’s collaborative project, Mohn, may not be the most exciting thing you see all day, but it just might hook you into a trance with the help of the enticingly warm and cyclical synth music. (via Resident Advisor)
I:Cube “M” Megamix
House, techno, disco, boogie. As musical currency, these formats generally stretch furthest on the dancefloor—at least with DJs, the club overseers with the deepest pockets of them all. Impressively, Parisian producer Nicholas Chaix (a.k.a. I:Cube) exists in all of these spheres simultaneously. He’s also acutely aware of the nuance required to translate his music for casual listening.
Too often in the world of electronic music, LPs get weighed down by the superfluous minutes of slow builds and elongated breakdowns meant specifically for DJs at the height of a blend. For his fifth full-length (his first in five years), Chaix has confronted this issue head on. With “M” Megamix, he’s married the concepts of album and DJ set, expertly arranging and mixing 24 tracks so diverse in nature that they do nothing if not live up the name of the label he’s called home since 1996.
Chaix is not a revolutionary for formatting his latest effort this way, but he’s still chosen the road less traveled and should be recognized for that. When it comes to dance beats, a DJ mix is a better listening experience than your typical long-player. But, given its nature, it does mean that some tracks don’t get their full due, only seeing airtime for a minute or two. That said, Chaix does make sure that the right cuts are given the chance to shine, including the cosmic massage of “Le Rocher Aux Singes” and the record’s first true high point, “Transpiration,” which sounds like a jacking pledge of allegiance to classic Chicago and Detroit.
Other tracks come off as mere teases. “Cadence III” is an Italo nugget that comes and goes too soon. The minimal pads and snare taps of “N’Dololo X M” serve more as an airy interlude than a stand-alone song. Every DJ needs his tools, and with “M” Megamix, Chaix is clever enough to craft his own. These morsels can leave you aching for a more substantial serving, but they do serve the bigger purpose of propelling the album through its many movements. Like any number of his Parisian brethren, Chaix has always been as indebted to early house and techno from the Midwest as he has disco, hip-hop breaks, dub, and Daniele Baldelli’s cosmic Italo; “M” Megamix finds him remaining resolute in his conviction to put his stamp on each.
The variety here is both a boon and a curse for I:Cube. One minute we’re treated to the dubby, deep house of “Jah Menta,” while the next brings the Afro techno of “Magnetic Mambo.” All of it culminates brilliantly with the Faustian Krautrock drive and demonic chanting of “Lucifer en Discotheque.” Not every track is this enjoyable. The choice to mimic a DJ set meant including certain half-complete thoughts that could have been left in the studio had Chaix approached this like a traditional album. But like the best mixtapes—those ones that you could pop in the deck and instinctually fast forward or rewind to their precise sweet spots—“M” Megamix‘s finest moments are worth returning to.
d’Eon “Al-Qiyamah”
Montreal’s d’Eon will release his debut full-length, LP (artwork above), early next month via Hippos in Tanks, but has been maintaining a stream of free music in the meantime. Following his second volume of the potentially ongoing Music for Keyboards mixtape series, the talented artist has bequeathed an actual album cut to the online masses. “Al-Qiyamah” is the final track from LP, and offers an ideal balance between d’Eon’s loves for ambient synth music and turn of the century R&B and pop music—not to mention heavy pan-religious references. (via FADER)
Video: Modeselektor “This (feat. Thom Yorke)”
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The UK-based “multi-disciplinary creative agency” Future Deluxe is responsible for this impressive-looking piece for “This,” a cut off of Modeselektor‘s Monkeytown LP which features the inimitable vocal sounds of Thom Yorke. Director Andrew Jones appears to be borrowing a little from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and a little from Final Fantasy throughout his music video, as a dark-haired girl donning a hood transforms from a dancing puppeteer into a CGI-rendered celestial being while the German duo’s moody, bass-driven tune plays on. (via Pitchfork)
Last Magpie “I Need U”
The mysterious Leeds-based producer who goes by Last Magpie has only one release using that moniker, but the quality of his EP, No More Stories (artwork above), suggests considerable experience under his other alias, which purportedly exists and is quite well known, but has yet to be revealed. No More Stories was released back in March via Hypercolour offshoot Losing Suki, and the title track was notably featured on Maya Jane Coles’ DJ-Kicks mix. “I Need U,” an exclusive cut that will not appear on any official releases, shows off Last Magpie’s well-developed production skills in the form of a bouncy bit of UK garage. The song incorporates a subtle synth melody and soft chords over a 2-stepping drum pattern, accompanied by intriguing manipulations of Destiny Child’s tender 2001 cover of “Emotion,” originally written by the Bee Gees.
Eliot Lipp Signs to Pretty Lights’ Label for New LP
PLM, the label run by prolific dance-pop try-hard Pretty Lights, has signed Brooklyn producer Eliot Lipp for his forthcoming album, Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake. The full-length is scheduled to drop on May 22, and will feature 14 new productions from the longstanding artist. You can download the LP’s first leak, “The Sunset,” here, and check out its tracklist and artwork below.
1. Alive
2. Mountain
3. The Sunset
4. The Shark
5. Sneakin’ (Baby Part 1)
6. Fly Away (Baby Part 2)
7. The Wolf
8. Gettin’ Money (Feat. Michal Menert)
9. The Time Is Right
10. The Rabbit
11. On N’ On
12. Tonight
13. The Snake
14. The Chase
Review: Soniccouture Electric Pianos for Live
MSRP: $89, Soniccouture
A proper electric piano is not the cheapest or easiest thing in the world to acquire and keep in good, working condition, especially a classic like the Fender Rhodes Stage 73 or the Wurlitzer 200A. In an attempt to address this problem, Ableton has teamed up with the botique software instrument designers at Soniccouture for Electric Pianos, a Live-only instrument that aims to offer those low on funds access to pristine electric piano sounds.
Let’s just get this out of the way: No $89 piece of software is going to sound exactly like a real Rhodes or Wurlitzer piano in perfect condition, in an acoustically interesting room, with high-quality recording equipment (most likely being played by a professional). It’s just not going to happen. But what Electric Pianos does manage to deliver is access to a number of clean, entirely in-tune presets that get pretty damn close. The basics offer some unadulterated electric piano goodness, with access to simple parameter adjustments like “Tone,” “Bite,” “Reverb,” “Comp,” “Cabinet,” “Room,” “Delay,” “Tremolo,” and more depending on the particular patch you’ve brought up. These knobs (which are all, of course, MIDI-assignable) allow you to approximate your sounds rather quickly, and you can usually take the edge off or lather more effects and distortion on a particular sound with just a few turns of the dials. Digging further into the signal processing, you find that, in addition to the various proprietary objects the instrument utilizes, a lot of these effects and adjustments are simply stock Ableton EQs, compressors, and reverbs set to specific parameters. Thankfully, mostly all of the vital aspects of these individual objects can be changed, allowing for the user to have complete control over nearly every aspect of the sound and therefor rendering the patches that much more personal.
The 70 different Instrument Racks that come with Electric Pianos are divided into two categories: “Full” and “Lite.” The “Full” versions are more realistic sounding, but require more processing power (still really not that much overall), while their “Lite” counterparts are a bit easier on your CPU. There are even a good amount of preset patches that start off with a funkier, less-traditional sound, whether its a tape-delayed Rhodes or a Wurly rendered into an ambient mass. Unfortunately, these presets can be a touch kitschy for the most part, or require more work to finesse than they may be worth.
Overall, Electric Pianos is a solid software instrument. It’s versatile, it’s easy to use, and it’s light on your computer and wallet. If you’re looking for a piece of software to emulate Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzers with the most realistic and nuanced of sounds, then this is probably not for you. But if you’re looking for a high-quality basis of electric piano options to implement seamlessly into your Ableton rig, this is likely your best bet.
You can check out audio samples from Electric Pianos below.
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Sight “Piigs (Remember 96 Mix)”
With anti-austerity candidates making strides in this week’s elections in Italy, Greece, and France, the acronym PIIGS is once again rising to the lips of financial analysts, and will likely stay there for some time. While the wider world of electronic music tends towards the apolitical, producer Sight and the Hsuan imprint, both based in Ireland (one of the “I”‘s in PIIGS), are making their positions known with this apparent dig at government cuts to social services and benefits. In mid-June, the three-track Piigs EP will be released, and although it will not contain this particular mix, it will contain the original version of “Piigs,” a remix by British producer Walton, and the tune “Slow.” “Piigs (Remember 96 Mix)” straddles the line between bass and techno with an off-beat kick drum, floating layers of synthesizer notes and chords, and a thick bassline.
Listen to a New Remix by Maya Jane Coles
Less than two weeks ago, rising house music star Maya Jane Coles‘ remix of Lianne La Havas nearly blew up the XLR8R website. Clearly, the girl is in demand, as another MJC remix has surfaced, this time of Dutchman Bo Saris‘ “She’s on Fire.” Having quickly ascended the ranks as a DJ and producer, most recently for labels such as Hypercolour and !K7, the young Londoner has transformed Saris’ original into this Motown-referencing, groove-centric cut, which will be available on May 21. Stream Coles’ rework below, and get used to hearing it, as it’ll likely be soundtracking many a summer BBQ in 2012.
Kry Wolf “Under My Skin”
“Under My Skin” is a snaking, rhythmic number offered up by Kry Wolf, a duo from London with a new release out today on Sounds of Sumo, the Black & Blue EP. The tune is a rude one, with snaps and hand claps writhing under a Coki-like central riff, atop percussion that sounds like it was banged out on a bit of brass piping lifted from one of Brixton’s more run-down flats. The riddim is the focus of the tune, with plenty of variation dipping and diving through each section until the track’s menacing melody moves things firmly into gutter territory with a keen sense of dancefloor mayhem. There are no politely washed pads and chipmunk vocals here, just some raucous fun.
