CFCF “Exercise #3 (Building)”

Taking a brief break from his usual disco-inclined production, Canadian producer CFCF has put together a mini-LP of sorts, one that’s surprisingly made up entirely of sprawling, piano-based compositions inspired by the hybrid pieces of Phillip Glass, Ryuchi Sakamoto, and other such artists. The eight-song effort, Excercises (artwork above), is said to show a much more introspective side to CFCF than we’re used to seeing, but if “Exercise #3 (Building)” is any indication, the songs will likely yield some rather enjoyable results. The full mini-album is still a ways out from dropping, as its release date is April 24, so, for now, we’ll just have to savor this gorgeous slice of vast, spacious electronics in all its melodious, meandering glory. You can check the full tracklist for Exercises after the jump.

Tracklist:
01 Exercise #1 (Entry)
02 Exercise #2 (School)
03 Exercise #3 (Building)
04 Exercise #4 (Spirit)
05 Exercise #5 (September)
06 Exercise #6 (December)
07 Exercise #7 (Loss)
08 Exercise #8 (Change)

Exercise #3 (Building)

Exercise3 (Building)

Magnum All Over Me EP

Brixton’s 92 Points label quietly crept on to the scene last year, dropping the one-sided “Mr. 67” single from Visionist, one of several producers behind the young imprint. Now, 92 Points has offered up a sophomore effort, tapping Puerto Rican producer Magnum to put together a five-song EP, All Over Me.

Although it’s certainly not a fair expectation, many people will likely assume that a young producer from Puerto Rico is bound to be turning out some sort of Latin or “tropical” music, yet Magnum’s tastes are more in line with his contemporaries in the UK bass continuum. All Over Me begins with the title track, which takes notes from artists like Pearson Sound and Girl Unit while lining up 808 percussion with lurching basslines and cresting synth melodies. It’s a quality production, yet one that is held back by its diva-ish vocal sample, which not only never quite jels with the rest of the track, but is also presented as its centerpiece. A similar fate befalls the Visionist remix of “All Over Me,” as the UK producer strips down the rhythm and thickens up the low end nicely, but his attempts to warp the vocal, while initially interesting, ultimately prove distracting.

“Dense” is a stronger effort, one that relies on a similar sound palette while creating a sultry atmosphere with its female vocal harmonies and filtered pads. The vibe is slightly hypnotic, and contrasts nicely with the steppy percussion on the track. On his remix of “Dense,” French Fries steps up the drums even further, sounding a lot like Pearson Sound (or perhaps A1 Bassline when he’s mimicking Pearson Sound). Nonetheless, his effort is the most dancefloor-friendly offering on the EP, and most likely its strongest cut. Rounding out the EP is “Baby,” an R&B-indebted tune that layers pitched vocal snippets and warbling synth tones over stuttering drum patterns. It’s a solid effort, although one that doesn’t exactly stand out in the current musical landscape.

Overall, the All Over Me is a quality outing, and one that proves that 92 Points has a solid handle on what’s currently popping in the world of bass music. That said, it’s not an especially innovative record, and will likely fade into the ether relatively quickly. Nonetheless, with innovative producers like Visionist at the helm, there’s a good chance that future efforts will delve into slightly more adventurous waters.

Teebs, Sonnymoon, and Time Wharp Announce Spring Tour, Offer New Mix

LA beatsmith Teebs (pictured above) has gathered up like-minded outfits Sonnymoon and Time Wharp for an East Coast tour beginning in March. Kicking off in Georgia in support of electronic stalwart Four Tet, Teebs and company will then make their way up to Canada and back over the span of a month, with more dates to be added in the coming weeks. You can check the current list of confirmed dates below, along with the tour’s official flier and a new, 30-minute mix which grazes over the kind of bass-laden, bliss-oriented sounds one can expect when the crew of production outfits swings through your town.

March 22 Georgia Theatre, Athens GA (with Four Tet)
March 23 Emerald Lounge Asheville NC
March 24 529, Atlanta GA
March 25 Balliceaux, Richmond VA
March 26 DC9, Washington D.C.
March 27 St. Mary’s College, St. Mary’s City MD
March 28 Soft House, Baltimore MD
March 30 Santos Party House, New York NY
April 2 TBA, Buffalo NY
April 3 The Drake Hotel, Toronto ON
April 5 Le Belmont, Montreal QC
April TBA, Boston, MA
(More Dates TBA)

Tracklist:
01 Sonnymoon “Near Me”
02 Teebs “Pretty Poly”
03 Time Wharp “mdat (feat. Divine Interface)”
04 Stereolab “Diagonals”
05 Kuhn “Slime Beach (The Range Remix)”
06 Avila Santo “Punic Wars”
07 Sir Froderick “kungfu”
08 Arthur Russell “I Like You!”
09 Teebs “Cook, Clean, Pay The Rent (New House Version)”
10 Four Tet, Burial, & Thom Yorke “Ego”
11 Time Wharp “BLK (Obey City Remix)”

Tyga “Rack City (Taz Buckfaster Remix)”

Last week, 2012’s most ubiquitous hip-hop hit thus far, by Tyga, got the official remix treatment, replete with guest drops from Wale, Meek Mill, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, and T.I. Not to be outdone by the Young Money crew, Glasgow’s Taz Buckfaster (pictured above) has released his own (not-so-official) remix of the tune, with more bass than you’re likely to hear on the radio. This hard-hitting piece of hip-hop takes Tyga’s rap, pitches it both up and down, and places the two versions side by side over skittering hi-hats for a heavy and full bit of bass music.

Rack City (Taz Buckfaster Remix)

Video: Nicolas Jaar “Materials”

With only a few days before Nicolas Jaar and the Clown and Sunset Aesthetics collective premier a five-hour multimedia performance in New York, it seems only right that a new video should surface. “Materials”—which seems to have only seen a release on a special double-disc version of last year’s Space Is Only Noise LP—is standard Jaar fare, and the Pondr-directed video is fitting, following a kid while he explores a dark, twisted building only to end up in a forest and eventually confront Jaar himself.

Ifan Dafydd “Treehouse” b/w “To Me”

It’s absolutely no surprise that when Ifan Dafydd first appeared on the scene with a couple of bootleg remixes streaming on YouTube, people thought it was James Blake operating under a pseudonym. The bubbly rhythms, the rich synth chords, the fractured vocal blips, the soulful musicality, the big sub frequencies; it was all a bit too coincidentally familiar. (Hell, the Welsh producer even looks a bit like Blake.) “Miranda” and “No Good” sounded like an ideal mix of the sullen ballads heard on the divisive James Blake and the percolating post-you-know-what offered by cuts like “CMYK,” but, as it turns out, Dafydd is certainly his own man with his own tunes. His debut 12″ for Push & Run, however, doesn’t exactly prove it.

“Treehouse” and “To Me” are first and foremost the work of a talented producer, one who can balance spacious compositions with punchy, soundsystem-specific sonic quality. Oversized bass tones rumble underneath every piano and percussion bit that Dafydd recorded with a hefty dose of room tone, and for every gauzy, distant vocal utterance there’s another clearer sound right beside it or atop it. “To Me” smooths things out a bit more after the a-side’s brightly colored, baroque arrangements with lush string accompaniments and a more poignant melodic theme. After the song’s slow-grooving first half and brief rhythm break, Dafydd takes things in a more straightforward direction with a few bars of a four-four beat and some steady melodic elements. It’s probably the farthest he gets from his musical doppelganger on the whole record, and hopefully a path the producer will travel as his career continues.

Venetian Snares Readies New EP

Next month, veteran IDM/breakcore producer Venetian Snares (a.k.a. Aaron Funk) will follow up last year’s Cubist Reggae with another set of patently spastic sounds. The four-song Fool the Detector EP can be previewed over on Planet Mu, where you can also read a little bit about what inspired some of the record’s tunes. Funk’s EP will be released through Timesig, his own Planet Mu imprint, on March 5, but you can check out its artwork and tracklist before then, below.

01 Ego DSP
02 Fool the Detector
03 Chriohn
04 Index Pavillion

Galapagoose “One Who Can’t Move”

Melbourne’s Galapagoose has announced the impending release of his debut LP, Commitments, on March 13 via Daedelus‘ Magical Properties imprint (via Two Bright Lakes in Australia). The Aussie producer has shared the arresting “One Who Can’t Move” in advance of that record, a two-minute song that mashes together a vocal and piano sample with airy synth lines and turns the side-chain compression up to 11. It all results in a unique crossover between frozen-in-place beat music and a sort of downtempo house. You can check out the artwork and tracklist for Commitments, after the jump.

1. Don’t Break The Spell
2. Planting the Seed
3. A Time For Us
4. Winkler
5. Unintended Consequence
6. One Who Can’t Move
7. She
8. Attraction and Influence
9. Rhizome
10. Attachments
11. Hard Swallow
12. Snuffclutch
13. Dark Rooms, Illuminate
14. Weight
15. Multiplicities

One Who Can’t Move

Champion Announces New 12″ Featuring Princess Nyah

London-based UK funky patron Champion has announced a forthcoming new single, “Crazy,” which features the vocal stylings of Princess Nyah and a remix from Terror Danjah & D.O.K on the flip. The record is set to drop on March 5 through the producer’s own Formula Records, and will also contain an instrumental version of the track. While you wait for Champion’s “Crazy” 12″ to drop, check out a preview of its tunes below.

Maribou State “Olivia (MAO Remix)”

With the release of Maribou State‘s Olivia EP only days away, this remix of the title track from mysterious newcomer(s) MAO is quite timely. The memorable combination of chopped vocals from the original remain in tact, but the melodic marimba melody is cut to bits as the already moody tune turns even darker on this garage-leaning remix. MAO—which will release its own record, “Emeralds” b/w “Harken,” on April 2 via Bad Life—tailors this tune for the late-night dancefloor, with a steady rhythm throughout and a mix-friendly intro and outro.

Olivia (MAO Remix)

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