We caught wind of a brand-new single on its way from Detroit-born, Berlin-based techno/electro provocateur Jimmy Edgar early last month, which also brought word of an album that Hotflush would soon release as well. Now, we have the details of that forthcoming full-length. Edgar’s third LP is called Majenta, and is said to feature 13 productions full of “futuristic sleaze” and “erotic robo-pop.” (We’d expect no less.) The new record is scheduled to drop on May 8, but before then, you can check out the artwork and tracklist, as well as a brief-yet-revealing Q&A we did with the accomplished artist, below.
1. Too Shy 2. This One’s For The Children 3. Sex Drive 4. Indigo Mechanix (3D) 5. Attempt To Make It Last 6. Let Yrself Be 7. Touch Yr Bodytime 8. Hrt Real Good 9. I Need Your Control 10. Heartkey 11. In Deep
What’s changed in the world of Jimmy Edgar since the release of XXX?
Everything. I went deep into meditation as an explorer, and discovered a shard of human potential. I got really into hypnosis and regressions, and made galactic contact with the community. Time is going much faster these days, so we have to go with the flow.
How did you link up with Hotflush to release Majenta?
Travis (Machinedrum), Praveen (of Sepalcure), Paul (Scuba), and I had dinner, and it sort of came up in conversation. It was all a surprise to everyone, but we got on well and decided, ‘Why not?’ Hotflush has been great so far. I think it’s a good match. A good relationship starts with letting me do whatever I want, and vice versa, then compromise.
What can fans expect from the new album?
Color change. Something more concise and raw. The album was finished within weeks, so it has that feel of spontaneity. A lot of the ideas are based on consciousness shift. I think I will always attempt to make sexuality, love, and deepness [a part of] what I do, but [Majenta is] a departure from what I was previously known for and I will continue on this journey this year. It’s a personal letter. I ripped myself open a bit more [in order] to relate to other people. It’s not as selfish.
West Coast beatmaker Devonwho has a fresh, four-track 12″ on the way from Dublin’s California-loving All City label, called StrangeBrew. The silky “Cactus” is taken from that forthcoming record, and finds the producer knee deep in the kinds of rubbery synthlines, bubbly rhythms, and spacey sonic accoutrements that fellow LA funkster Dâm-Funk probably wouldn’t mind calling his own. Look for Devonwho’s StrangeBrew, which arrives complete with a remix by B. Bravo, on April 2. (via Pitchfork)
Well, this is certainly a surprise. Next week, New Jersey garage legend Todd Edwards will be dropping an all-new, five-song EP, his most substantial release in years. And what label will be bringing his new creations into the world? Believe it or not, the Shall Go EP (artwork above) is coming courtesy of upstart LA imprint Body High. Granted, we’ve been singing the praises of Body High since the label first surfaced late last year, but the addition of an artist like Todd Edwards is quite the “get” for the young SoCal record hub. The Shall Go EP comes out on March 13, but Body High has passed along the record in the meantime, which is streaming in its entirety below. Listen for yourself, but Todd Edwards undoubtedly still sounds like himself, as the EP’s five songs are full of shuffling drum patterns, cut-up vocal samples, and stunningly positive vibes.
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As a native Long Islander, Blind Prophet (a.k.a Joseph Burns) likely knows a thing or two about coastlines, and judging from this track, he seems to know quite a bit about production work, too. “Coastline” is a slice of dreamy garage, with various synth pads and a light-hearted melody soaring over punchy drum work. The tune feels soothing and peaceful, something like a breezy afternoon on a mid-Atlantic beach, despite its rather fast pace. This track isn’t part of any specific release, although it’s worth noting that Burns has previously released music on Car Crash Set, L2S, Gradient Audio, and DubKraft.
Although he’s been making music for years, 2011 saw American-born, Valencia, Spain-based Maceo Plex riding a meteoric rise from relative obscurity. Now, he’s being tabbed as one of the world’s top house producers. While his flurry of infectious tunes from last year will be hard to match in 2012 (in quantity, at least), his first record of the year is bound to be a hit with his ever-growing fanbase. The single, “Frisky” b/w “Sex Appeal” (artwork above), will show off more of his seductive grooves and is set for an April 9 release on Crosstown Rebels.
In recent months, there’s been a rush to anoint Newark’s DJ Sliink (a.k.a. Stacey White) as the new face of Jersey club, but these days, the 21-year-old producer isn’t always feeling the love at home. “I have a few people saying that I lost it, that I’m booty now, or that I’m wack, just because I’m not doing the same thing that I did when I first came out.” Nevertheless, he remains undeterred. “I’m trying to make [music] for everyone, and not just a certain crowd. There’s a lot of music in this world, and a lot of people, and I’m trying to serve to everyone, instead of just one crowd… I know [artists] that are just doing the same thing and just DJing in Jersey. That’s kind of wack to me.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Sliink isn’t subscribing to local orthodoxy, as he isn’t some kind of Jersey club lifer. Talking about his teen years, he explains, “The music… I wasn’t really into [it]. If I heard it, then I heard it, but I was always the sports type of person, playing basketball and just going to practice.” Sliink’s proper introduction to Jersey club actually came via his older brother, who was a DJ and producer in the Newark scene. “I used to watch him [DJ and make music] after school,” he says. Eventually, his brother taught him a few production techniques on FL Studio, and Sliink was hooked. He began researching club music, discovered the work of local icons like DJ Tameil and Tim Dolla, taught himself how to use Sony ACID Pro, and eventually dove headfirst into the scene.
For the uninitiated, the bulk of the Jersey club scene revolves around what Sliink calls “teen parties,” which usually take place in rented dance halls around Newark and can attract up to a few hundred kids. Beginning at 8 or 9 p.m. and wrapping up around 12:30 a.m., the parties are soundtracked by hip-hop, R&B, and all sorts of party music, but Jersey club is the predominant sound. Much like the related Baltimore and Philly club genres, the Jersey variant of club is a raw, hard-hitting sound centered around a flurry of shuffling drum patterns and a heavy reliance on repetitive vocal loops that are usually lifted from hip-hop and R&B. While club music up and down the East Coast is undoubtedly similar, Sliink is quick to point out that Jersey club is usually faster (around 134 bpm) than its cousins and also features bigger bass and more innovative sample-chopping techniques. In truth, where Baltimore club sometimes seems beholden to the “Sing Sing” break, Jersey producers are often capable of crafting unique drum patterns that are just as suitable for hyping up the dance.
Perhaps that’s why Jersey club parties are often such wild affairs. The “teen” events are usually dominated by local crews, all of whom put together elaborate dance routines and develop signature moves and songs. While Sliink states that he’s now somewhat graduated from the “teen party” circuit, it was in this world that he first began DJing regularly and networking with other artists, in particular members of the expansive Brick Bandits crew. Boasting members in three cities (Newark, Philadelphia, and Chicago) and a membership of DJs, producers, promoters, rappers, and graphic designers that’s nearing triple digits, the Brick Bandits invited Sliink to join their ranks in 2010. With the weight of his new crew, not to mention his own Cartel Music collective, behind him, Sliink kept working, turning out up to seven or eight songs a day from his home studio. Gradually, his tunes started appearing in the sets of DJs from around the globe, most of whom had nothing to do with the somewhat insular club scene.
“Vibrate”
“Soundcloud is a very strong site,” says Sliink. “I never really knew a lot of people to send my music around to the big names, but, somehow, good music gets around.” Eventually some of his good music found its way to Austin producer Dubbel Dutch, who introduced Sliink to the Body High crew, which just put out the first-ever official release from DJ Sliink. The five-song Vibrate EP dropped last week, and features a title track built around a sampled recording of Sliink’s cell phone. The internet also brought Sliink into contact with fellow New Jersey producer MikeQ. Although MikeQ lives only 10-15 minutes away in East Orange, he comes from the ballroom and vogue house scene, which Sliink states is completely separate from Jersey club. Nonetheless, the two producers quickly established a level of mutual respect, MikeQ tapped Sliink for a remix on his Let It All Out EP for Fade to Mind, and the pair is now working on a collaborative project together.
Moving ahead, 2012 is going to be busy for Sliink, as he estimates that 15 to 20 of his remixes will be released before the year is through. That news may sound good to Jersey club diehards back in Newark, but these aren’t the remixes of current hip-hop and R&B hits from the radio that the kids are craving. “That’s where the people in Jersey get mad at me,” says Sliink. “I’m not always doing [those kind of remixes]. I’m trying to train myself to do more original stuff. I did remixes for years, and it never got me nowhere.” After a pause, he considers. “It got me somewhere, but original production is the best.”
The release of Error Broadcast‘s Fly Russia compilation in 2010 certainly helped Moscow’s fledgling beat scene gain a larger international audience and some well-deserved praise. In particular, young Muscovite producer OL was a beneficiary of this expanded fanbase, as his Random Phrase EP was the label’s very next release. As Russian-made beats continue to grow in popularity, driven in large part by the work of artists such as Pixelord and DZA, OL is still turning out new sounds, having released a mixtape earlier this week ahead of a forthcoming new 12″ on Error Broadcast. This track, “IWM,” won’t make it on to the EP, titled Body Varial, but nonetheless features well-crafted, atmospheric beats similar to those of labelmate Shlohmo.
At first, it seems incongruent that South South Million hails from Detroit. The music that the duo makes under the moniker sounds breezy and carefree in comparison to the hard-edged, mechanical dance tunes which the Motor City is unequivocally known for, nor does it bear any direct resemblance to the timeless Motown legacy. Yet there is still something about the group’s debut album, Wind Hand Caught in the Door, that feels inexplicably connected to the kind of rigorous work ethic, gritty aesthetics, and classic sensibilities that are also among its hometown’s hallmarks. It’s not that the music is necessarily at odds with itself, as each cut is impeccably composed and often flows seamlessly into the next, but most of South South Million’s album sounds like the work of musicians attempting to create something new underneath the weight of the past. That sort of tug-of-war makes for a record that both excels and falters because of its ambitious displacement from its roots and its creators’ constant need to recall vintage sounds.
Trevor Naud’s and Daniel Clark’s LP touches on so many genres all at once (classical, folk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, ambient, and post-rock, to name a handful), but somehow retains a relatively cohesive sound. Actually, many of Wind Hand‘s 16 tracks bring to mind the sunny beat-folk and ’60s psych-pop appropriations of Bibio’s Ambivalence Avenue, and the airy, dual-vocal harmonies tend to evoke the tender croon of fellow Detroit native Sufjan Stevens (as do the ambling flute and string arrangements). All apt comparisons would be complimentary to any new act, though South South Million doesn’t subsist on similarities alone. Hummable tunes like the bubbly “Baff Speech” and instrumentals like “Silver Letters Written on a Page From the Book of Skies” exhibit the duo’s inherent musical abilities and premier skill: making samples and live performances sound like one and the same. Throughout the album’s 43 minutes of densely layered music, the listener is constantly confronted with the fact that South South Million is comprised of unusually talented artists who can jam and write songs with equal aplomb.
But what ultimately holds back Wind Hand is its relentless familiarity. No matter how many styles South South Million derives its sound from, and despite its members’ wild proficiency, the music still sounds more like a masterful collage of influences than a wholly unique work. Take the dark, jangly grooves of “An Airman to Common Birds” and the jazzy rhythms of “Sunvest Goest to Last Chance City”—while the songs are certainly well-crafted and compelling to listen to, the beats sound as though they were torn straight from the Daedelus/Flying Lotus playbook. Even the beautiful “A Shower of Stars 1920” composition keeps one foot firmly planted in the world of Tortoise’s retro-futuristic interludes. It’s almost as if, in the midst of trying to mesh together everything they love about music all at once, Naud and Clark forgot to include themselves. Suffice it to say that South South Million keeps top-notch company in the “Recommended if You Like:” category, but it wouldn’t be a shame if Wind Hand‘s follow up is built on less-traveled ground.
As was heretofore reported, UK producer and Rinse FM DJ DVA will be releasing his debut full-length album, Pretty Ugly, on March 20 via Hyperdub. In previousposts regarding the album, we’ve only alluded to the kinds of club-oriented, UK funky-leaning riddims you might find on the artist’s forthcoming work, but this time we have a full stream of all 12 tracks. You can listen to DVA’s Pretty Ugly in the player below.
DJ, producer, and Detroit native Kyle Hall‘s record label, Wild Oats, has re-released a rare, out-of-print 12″ by fellow Midwesterner and techno mastermind Anthony “Shake” Shakir, pairing it with unheard music from the same sessions and a collaborative track by the two artists. Shakir produced the music some time around 1997 as Da Sampla, and released it that year as the M3 Sessions 12″ via the now-defunct Record Time imprint. The Wild Oats re-release—dubbed Westside Sessions (artwork above), the tracklist of which you can check out, along with a stream of “Pursuit Mix 3,” below—is available now as a limited-edition vinyl package with one 12″ and one 7″. More samples of the record can be heard here.
01. Pursuit Mix 3
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