Ahead of an upcoming LP on Items & Things, Berlin producer Marc Houle has offered up a music video for the album’s title track. The video, directed by Turkish filmmakers Ahmet Said Kaplan and U?ur Engin Deniz, features a rectangular, lighted robot mouthing the lyrics to Houle’s “Undercover.” Houle has also just released an EP featuring the track and remixes by Bruno Pronsato and Miro Pajic; the artwork and tracklist are below.
1) Undercover (Original Mix) 2) Triple E (Original Mix) 3) Undercover (Miro Pajic Mix) 4) Undercover (Bruno’s Electric Blanket Dub)
Since the release of last year’s excellent Routes full-length, LV has been fairly quiet. Nonetheless, the group’s intrepid infusion of South African house rhythms into a UK funky-inspired template has often proved interesting—not to mention enjoyable—so we jumped at the chance to have the UK trio put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series. The group certainly can’t be accused of phoning it in, as the mix whips through more than 40 tracks in a little over an hour. Along the way, LV explores a wide variety of sounds; South African house and various shades of the UK bass spectrum are of course represented, but the trio actually begins in more leftfield territory and later caps off the podcast with a frenzied dose of footwork and drum & bass, two worlds that are increasingly being thrown together by low-end loving DJs. Throughout the mix, regardless of what genre is being explored, LV’s love of drum-heavy percussion and thick rhythms is a constant, resulting in a listen that is quite possibly without a single dull moment.
01 Raffertie “Brevity” (Ninja Tune) 02 Trestle “You Can’t Get” 03 TreeFNGR “Fine Fright” 04 Gulls “Miami Coom” (Boomarm Nation) 05 Joakim & Bambounou “Wizard Battle” (Sound Pellegrino) 06 Beneath “PVO” 07 Fenbred “Back Home” 08 DJ Clock “Chynaman” (Soul Candi) 09 Mogringo “Heavyweight” (Shelter) 10 Jook 10 “Get Low” (Soulserious) 11 LV & Mumdance “Broadcast” 12 Professor “Imoto (feat. Character)” (Kalawa Jazmee) 13 Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka “Creeper” (50 Weapons) 14 Scratcha DVA “Polyphonic Dreams” (Hyperdub) 15 DJ Mphulo Presents Angelp Agnelli “Off the Wall (Tshwara Lebota)” (Shelter) 16 Basement Jaxx “Untitled” 17 Portico Quartet “City of Glass (LV Remix)” (Real World) 18 LR Groove “Device” 19 Mock the Zuma “Black Puddle” (Full Fridge) 20 LV & Joshua Idehen “Primary Colours” (Keysound) 21 CHLLNGR “Well Good” (Time No Place) 22 Seb Rochford with Ranjana Ghatak and Gina Loring “Love Is a Sacred Path (LV Remix)” (Days & Nights at the Takeaway) 23 Nico Lindsay “Haunted” 24 Pixelord “Drinky” (Hit and Hope) 25 Visionist “Sodium” (Liminal) 26 Lamin Fofana “Brokedown City” (Sticks ‘N Stones) 27 Crakk Nicholson “Whenever You’re Here (LDFD Remix)” 28 Mz Bratt “Tear It All Down (LV Remix)” (Atlantic) 29 Africa Hitech “Out in the Streets” (Warp) 30 EQ Why “Back 2 This Track” (Moveltraxx) 31 DJ Earl “Troniklife” (Electropix) 32 Mushroom Buttons “Ice Climbirr” 33 Zomby “Riding with Death” (4AD) 34 Jon Phonics x Pete Cannon “Romes (Pedestrian Remix)” (PRISM) 35 Becoming Real “Like Me (Rashad Remix)” (Moshi Moshi) 36 Stereotyp “Juke My Name” 37 Danny Breaks “Droppin’ Science Vol. 1 (Phillip D Kick’s Jungle Edit)” 38 Rockwell x Untold “Rekohu Sunrise” (Critical) 39 Bad Company “Night Train” (BC) 40 LV & Mumdance “Steak Night” 41 LV & Dandelion “CCTV (Epoch’s Ten Tonne Dub)”
Fronted by Canadian-born DJ/producer Mike Shannon, Berlin trio Blue Fields is set to drop its debut album, a 13-song offering called Ghost Story (pictured above), via Haunt Music on February 13. The outfit preemptively shared this outtake from its upcoming LP, which sounds just about as haunted and full of twists as that record’s title insinuates. “Frozen Linien” is based around a dark, churning techno core, but is surrounded with subtly brighter elements, like sparse guitar noodling and chilly synth melodies. If Blue Fields’ debut holds much of the same, we wouldn’t be upset about it.
It’s been a whirlwind two years for Toronto-based new-school house duo Art Department. In that stretch of time, the pair has put out four singles and The Drawing Board, its critically acclaimed debut LP. Through that span, Art Department has created a dark musical world that reflects the seedy underbelly of nightlife, portraying it as a pleasure zone lost in the excess and abandon of a month spent below the surface on ketamine. Druggy to the extreme, their music is a patchwork of dark basslines, out-of-tune vocals, and an arrangement style that emphasizes length and atmosphere over movement and tightness. Perhaps it’s this last reason that some of Art Department’s strongest moments come when the group hands the controls over to someone else. A prime example of this was last year’s “We Call Love,” which featured total reworks by Daphni (a.k.a. Caribou) and DJ Harvey, both of which injected a sense of momentum that was missing in the original recording. Now, with “Touch You Gently,” the duo’s latest on Crosstown Rebels, Art Department is back with a two-track single that seems to bear this out once again.
The single’s a-side is the titular “Touch You Gently.” Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes, it’s a standard Art Department production that brings to mind the outfit’s first single, “Without You.” Per usual, singer Kenny Glasgow wails a dirgish line over a low bassline, swirling Rhodes chords, and sparse, clap-heavy percussion. Yet, unlike “Without You,” it drags on for a good seven minutes before finally settling into a loose groove. Even then, the track never finds a footing to justify its length. Similarly, Kenny Glasgow’s vocals just don’t hold up on such a long cut, as his sloppy and creepy pleas of “Let me touch you gently” become grating with repetition. Granted, previous Art Department tracks have revolved around playing with the boundaries of tonality, but in this instance, it’s just too much.
Thankfully, the failings of the a-side are nullified by Brennan Green‘s excellent b-side remix of The Drawing Board album cut “Tell Me Why.” Like previous Art Department remixers, Green works effectively as an outside influence coming from a place far removed from gloomy tech house. Fittingly, he draws on his experience in New York’s disco and house community to craft a mix that blends the original’s futurist sound palette with heavily reverbed layers of crashing pianos and a dancefloor-friendly rhythm dominated by busy hi-hat work. It’s a breezy and dubbed-out cut, but one that, unlike the a-side, never feels as though it’s overstayed its welcome. Perhaps another remixer will eventually work some similar magic with “Touch You Gently.”
UK producer Guido has put together a new mix for FACT, his second in the site’s long-running series. The Bristol native puts his hometown in the spotlight, highlighting tracks by Joker, Baobinga, Gemmy, and others. The mix also features two tracks from Guido’s new label, State of Joy, as well as a few fidgety R&B cuts from Janelle Monae and Missy Elliott. Take a look at FACT’s original post, or simply check out the stream and tracklist below.
XLR8R Couldn't find the embed function for type: "soundcloud" and source: "<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http://soundcloud.com/factmag/fact-mix-314-guido-jan-12/s-fll4z" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%">".
State Of Joy Rough Intro Guido & Baobinga featuring Buggsy – Ballin’ VIP Baobinga & I.D. – Elastic Guido – Africa (forthcoming State of Joy) Gemmy – Get down Guido – Micro X (State of Joy) Goth Trad – Sublimation (Deep Medi) Rustie – After Light (Warp) Redlight – Get Out My Head (Joker remix) Janelle Monae – Many Moons Stargate – Black and Yellow Instrumental Baobinga & Guido – IceBlack Missy Elliott – Hit ‘Em Wit Da Hee (feat. Lil’ Kim) Interface Feat. William Cartwright – Truth Beyond (Clear Skyz) Rob Smith – Golden Vision Type Sun – Last Home Nosaj Thing – Night Crawler Laszlo – Lydias Dream (Lydian Label)
UK dancehall crew The Heatwave has put together a documentary about the history of Britain’s dancehall scene and the convergence of Jamaican reggae with UK club culture. Titled Showtime, it focuses on a stage show of the same name which took place last summer and featured icons of jungle and grime MCing over classic riddims. Artists in the film include such heavy-hitting names as Wiley, General Levy, Riko, Lady Chann, Flow Dan, and more. In support of the documentary, which is out now, The Heatwave has remixed “Leader” from rising star Stylo G (pictured above) into a more cavernous and compressed dancehall number. Download the new version below, and also take a look at the Showtime trailer, which is posted after the jump
For the last three years, Moscow’s Nina Kraviz has appropriated Detroit and Chicago’s tradition of sparse, analog house into a handful of brilliantproductions, and now, she’s utilized that same sensibility in a new mix for Resident Advisor. Kraviz drops in selections from Farley Jackmaster Funk, Ron Hardy, DJ Sneak, and Omar-S, but this isn’t purely a “throwback,” as the hour-long mix incorporates early house with modern deep-house from STL, DJ Qu, and more. The mix, ahead of a her debut LP that drops next month, can be found here, along with a short interview.
Following a stellar 2011, Levon Vincent has announced that he will be mixing Fabric 63. Last year, the New York native released the fiery “Man or Mistress,” capping a decade-long streak of acclaimed deep-house productions. Vincent joins the elite group of DJs who have mixed Fabric’s long-running mix series recently, including Jamie Jones, Shackleton, and Derrick Carter. There’s no word yet on a release date or tracklist, but Vincent will begin recording the mix today, according to an announcement made on his Facebook page. (via FACT)
While the world patiently awaits his forthcoming Personality LP, UK tune specialist Paul Rose (a.k.a. Scuba) has shared the b-side from his 12″ single for “The Hope.” “Flash Addict” is a heavily percussive and densely atmospheric cut that exhibits Rose’s knack for combining sonic subtlety, infectious rhythm, and unique sound design in one propulsive club production. If the b-side of Scuba’s single sounds this good, you can imagine what the main event will bring when it drops on February 6.
London duo Maribou State—who we heard from a bit towards the end of last year—just unveiled this video for “Olivia,” the title track from its forthcoming EP for the Fat! label. Throughout the course of the video, a story unfolds that is akin to a bad trip or some sort of waking nightmare, but the track itself is more of a moody affair, one marked by melodic percussion, an almost tribal drum pattern, and an instantly memorable combination of vocal chops. The Olivia EP will drop on Feburary 6, but in the meantime, you can check its artwork and preview clips from the two-track endeavor, below.
