Vancouver dubstep producer Max Ulis has launched a new label with fellow British Columbian LorneB, called 10Pin. To commemorate 10Pin’s birth, Ulis sent over the free track “D.I.Y,” a crisp, dark garage production that’s full of cut-up, brooding vocal samples and sparse bass flourishes. You can also stream snippets of the imprint’s first release, Calamalka‘s Gooey EP, which features a remix by the ever-bassy XI, after the jump.
About a year after her first LP appeared via Crosstown Rebels, Turkish-born artist/DJ/producer Deniz Kurtel has announced that she will release her sophomore full-length this summer, courtesy of NY’s Wolf + Lamb label. The 12-track record, called The Way We Live, is made up of many collaborations Kurtel produced with friends, including tracks with the likes of Soul Clap and Gadi Mizrahi, among others. Look for the album to drop on June 4, and check out its tracklist— along with a teaser video for Kurtel’s new touring art installation that features album cut “Wake Me Up”—before then, below. (via Resident Advisor)
01. I Knew This Would Happen with Tanner Ross feat. Pillowtalk
02. You Know It’s True with Gadi Mizrahi
03. Love Triangle (Instrumental) with Wolf + Lamb
04. The Way We Live with Gadi Mizrahi
05. Hypocrite with Gadi Mizrahi
06. Right On with Gadi Mizrahi feat. Michael Franti
07. Don’t Wanna Be with Kenny Glasgow
08. Safe Word with Soul Clap feat. Navid Izadi
09. Wake Me Up with Pillowtalk & Thugfucker
10. Blackness with Pillowtalk & Thugfucker
11. Thunder Clap with Voices Of Black
12. The Beat Drops with Tanner Ross feat. Jules Born
While both Benjamin Damage and Doc Daneeka entered 2012 with solid track records, it’s fair to say that the Welsh duo’s debut full-length, They!Live, far exceeded everyone’s expectations. Last year’s “Creeper” b/w “Infamous” single—like the album, released via Modeselektor’s 50 Weapons imprint—was an impressive, techno-leaning first outing, but they They!Live is an especially accomplished effort, one that finds the producers streamlining their sound while applying their penchant for crafting infectious rhythms to a framework more suited to their newly adopted Berlin surroundings. In the wake of releasing one of 2012’s best albums (granted, it’s only March), we figured now would be a good time to invite the pair to put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series. Technically speaking, Doc Daneeka did put together a pretty stellar podcast for us back in May of 2010, and XLR8R generally doesn’t allow artists to have a second go-round, but this collaboration with Benjamin Damage is essentially a brand-new project, even if it does bear both of their names. As for the duo’s mix, it finds Benjamin Damage and Doc Daneeka skating along the nebulous territory where so-called “bass music” intersects with classic techno and house sensibilities. Much like the pair’s own productions, their selections here are often the sort of tunes that breathe new life, not to mention unique rhythms, into the standard techno template. It’s a compelling listen, and something that provides an interesting preview of where many bass-music refugees might be heading in the not-so-distant future.
01 John Talabot “So Will Be Now” (Permanent Vacation)
02 DBX “Beat Phreak” (Accelerate)
03 Hayden Andre Project “Broken Chains” (Strobe)
04 Joy O “Wade In” (Hotflush)
05 Untold “Little Things Like That” (Clone)
06 Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka “No One” (50 Weapons)
07 Presk & Cinnaman “Sweat (Doc Daneeka Remix)” (Audio Culture)
08 Armando “Downfall” (Trax)
09 Sepalcure “Breezin” (Hotflush)
10 Ken Ishii “Extra” (R&S)
11 Midland & Pariah “Untitled”
12 Doc Daneeka “Tobyjug (Lando Kal Remix)” (Ten Thousand Yen)
13 Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka “Deaf Siren” (50 Weapons)
14 Cosmin TRG “De Dans” (50 Weapons)
15 Dexter “Juno Fest” (Rush Hour)
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Belgian imprint Vlek has been on our radar for some time now, particularly after dropping a stellar EP by Ssaliva (a.k.a. Cupp Cave) this past January. Now, the label has introduced a new, digital-only series of free releases in order to “better represent the incredibly creative people [they are] surrounded with,” starting with a new full-length from Wanda Group, called Cleaners (artwork above). Formerly known as Dem Hunger, Wanda Group is the new moniker of UK sound collagist Louis Johnstone, who will also release a 7″ via Vlek in the fall. Word has it that the burgeoning label will drop new EPs from the likes of Ssaliva, Sagat, and Squeaky Lobester, in addition to more digital releases, throughout spring and summer. For now, you can stream and download the subtle noise and crackling ambience of Cleaners for free, below.
Slava‘s latest genre-hopping feat is “Speechless,” a three-minute excursion into ambient drum & bass. The Brooklyn producer imbues the track with a sense of cosmopolitan disarray, combining galloping drums with a slew of vocal samples which express confusion in a variety of accents and languages. Those vocal samples are in fact taken from recorded phone conversations with numerous international art galleries about their interior architecture, which is the unifying thread on World Wide Gallery Traxx, a mixtape compiled by Croatian visual artists Dora and Maja. Besides featuring “Speechless,” that nine-track offering also contains contributions from Brenmar, Pictureplane, M.E.S.H., and more, and is available to stream in full, after the jump.
It came as quite a surprise that Martyn‘s sophomore album, Ghost People, was something of a polarizer between fans of the techno-informed dubstep (or was that dubstep-informed techno?) that characterized his first full-length, Great Lengths. Maybe his second record was more or less “basic,” stylistically speaking, but it was also responsible for providing 2011 with two of its strongest floor-fillers: the unprecedented choon of a tune “Masks” and “We Are You in the Future,” an epic homage to dance music’s history that claimed the LP’s last nine minutes. So, despite whether you think Martyn’s latest could or could not have been better, the DC-based producer certainly deserves a victory lap, which is basically what the “Hello Darkness” 12″ is.
This time around, the naysayers are in luck; “Hello Darkness” is an ominous cut that finds more in common with Martyn’s debut album than its follow-up. He builds the production around a skipping rhythm that knocks incessantly with hollowed-out kicks and messy claps fashioned from the leftover wooden shards. It brings to mind the mysterious chill of “Natural Selection,”“Seventy Four”‘s cyclical bassline, and the heavy sway of “Far Away”—though with more of the neon sheen Martyn used throughout Ghost People. From a distance, “Hello Darkness” sounds like it could’ve been a fitting b-side for both albums, but repeated plays solidify its place as a sort of missing link between the genre experimentalism of the former and the bouts of classicism from the latter. That said, it’s not a huge shock that—for whatever reason—the song didn’t make it onto either tracklist.
The b-side of the 12″ holds two remixes, a massive rework of “Bauplan” from Night Slugs honchos L-Vis 1990 and Bok Bok and an even lengthier version of “We Are You in the Future” by fellow 3024 compatriot Redshape. While the masked producer’s heavily percussive track takes the prize for the most dancefloor-friendly of the two, the “Bauplan” remix is kind of a force to be reckoned with. L-Vis and Bok Bok transformed what was essentially a long interlude from Ghost People‘s tracklist into a larger-than-life tune—complete with churning drum machines, oversized bass growls, infectious synth melodies, and snappy percussion. It doesn’t necessarily overshadow Martyn’s original production on the flipside, but damn if it doesn’t rival the sonic weight and stylistic inventiveness of “Hello Darkness.”
French house producer Surkin is preparing to release an EP via his own Marble imprint, a record of new mixes of “Lose Yourself” by Rustie and Brodinski. The original track is ripped from the USA LP that Surkin dropped last fall, and features vocals from Ann Saunderson (who has worked with the likes of Inner City and Octave One). Surkin also has a full-on remix album of that LP—called USA Club Mixes and featuring contributions from L-Vis & Bok Bok, Canblaster, Das Glow, Para One, and A-Trak, among others—in the works for release next month. The Lose Yourself EP hits retailers on April 2, but you can check out its artwork and tracklist before then, below.
1. Lose Yourself (Radio Mix)
2. Lose Yourself (Brodinski Remix)
3. Lose Yourself (Rustie Remix)
4. INYN (Live Mix)
5. Lose Yourself (A Capella)
After first appearing on the scene with its debut release last month, the fledging Amadeus imprint has already returned with a new EP from British producer Tomas Rubeck. The Midland-based artist’s Glass Plates EP (artwork above) is touted as a work of “spatial techno,” one that “hints towards the experimental side of the 4/4 spectrum.” While that’s an adequate summary of the original tunes found on the label’s newest endeavor, this remix from Lawrence Black has its feet firmly planted in house, as it infuses Rubeck’s title track with touches of warm chords and a skipping, infectious beat. And if you’re interested to hear what the rest of the Glass Plates EP has to offer, you’ll find a streaming preview of the release if you follow the jump.
01 Glass Plates
02 Lattitude
03 Midnight Gallery
04 Glass Plates (Lawrence Black Remix)
Acid house and drum & bass pioneer Gerald Simpson (a.k.a. A Guy Called Gerald) has mixed the 303rd installment of Resident Advisor‘s podcast series. The mix is styled as a tribute to Roland’s massively influential TB-303 bass synth, and features tracks that harken back to the classic era of 303-driven Chicago house. Phuture, Maurice, Pierre’s Pfantasy Club, and more appear in the mix, but Gerald forgoes a tracklist, effectively leaving listeners to identify the sources of his set’s rampant acid squelches themselves. You can download the mix and check out a short interview with the DJ here.
Today, Raffertie‘s Super imprint dropped the “You’re So” single from young production duo Bondax, and has passed along this bonus track to help spread the word. “All Inside” is an icy, introspective production lead by chords that move in and out of earshot at a pace not far from taking a relaxed breath. The 17-and-18-year-old Lancaster-based pair proceed to build a pristine post-everything beat that is marked by tuned percussion, side-chained whirls, and thick, gooey chords. The crowning feature is a beautifully chopped-and-rearranged R&B vocal that sounds like it could have stemmed from some forgotten neo-soul record, or perhaps even further back into the days of early rhythm and blues. After giving this tune a spin, you can stream a preview of Bondax’s new single, after the jump.
