Shame on us for letting this one slip through the cracks for a few weeks, but earlier this month, burgeoning dancehall MC Popcaan and Dre Skull dropped the first in a planned series of releases, a new single called “Get Gyal Easy” (artwork above). After paying his dues as a Vybz Kartel protege, Popcaan broke out on his own in 2011 and appears set to continue building his reputation as a man who knows his way around funky riddims and steamy bashment tunes alike, and it’s hard to think of a better producer for him to link up with than Mixpak boss Dre Skull, who was behind the boards on last year’s Vybz Kartel album, Kingston Story. You can listen to a stream of “Get Gyal Easy”—a tune for which Mixpak has even gone so far as to make t-shirts for—below.
Because Travis Stewart (pictured above) clearly didn’t have enough on his plate, the prolific New Yorker behind Machinedrum (and one-half of Sepalcure) has teamed up with like-minded Brit Om Unit to form Dream Continuum, a collaboration brought together by the producers’ mutual goal of “finding the sweet spot between mid-’90s euphoric jungle and footwork.” The newly minted duo has plans to drop its debut endeavor, a three-track EP entitled Reworkz, via the ever-growing Planet Mu imprint on March 26. You can check the artwork and tracklist for the forthcoming effort below and head here to stream previews of all three tracks.
LA-based label Coral Records, partially responsible for the nascent and stylistically nebulous “seapunk” movement, has released a split EP (pictured above) by Curtis Vodka and Unknown as its fifth release. Germany’s Unknown is behind “Tru Luv,” a track that borrows heavily from old-school jungle while nodding to recent trends in the world of bass music. By combining the fast percussion of ’90s drum & bass with atmospheric synths and R&B vocal samples, this hi-octave raver constructs a sort of bridge between 1994 and 2012.
San Francisco is an interesting place. When it comes to electronic music, it’s unquestionably one of the best cities in the US, a place where DJs from around the globe excitedly want to play, knowing they’ll be greeted by enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowds. In terms of quality parties and audiences with an open-minded attitude to all sorts of sounds, it’s honestly hard to top San Francisco, at least in terms of places situated on American soil. That said, it’s not a city that’s generally celebrated as a hotbed of producer talent. Yes, San Francisco was ground zero for the ’90s West Coast house scene and is also the home base for labels like Om and Dirtybird, but overall, the City by the Bay still lags behind places like New York and Detroit, not to mention London and Berlin, at least in terms of respect for its current musical output. So where does that leave an artist like Bobby Browser, whose Just Browsing EP is his first proper solo release?
In all likelihood, Just Browsing most likely isn’t going to propel San Francisco to the top of the respectability charts, especially when it’s being released on 100% Silk. The label, which has been undeniably impressive in its single year of existence, has yet to shake the perception that its core audience largely consists of reformed indie rockers and people who have only recently discovered dance music. Granted, this sense of lighthearted naivete, not to mention the label’s unmistakeably loose, handcrafted sound and DIY spirit, is a big part of what makes 100% Silk releases so enjoyable—and fashionable—but it’s safe to say that a portion of the dance-music community remains a bit skeptical.
Moving back to Bobby Browser, this sense of skepticism isn’t exactly alleviated by his previous affiliation with Party Effects, a dubiously electro-indebted Bay Area quartet that often seemed more preoccupied with taking silly group photos, building jokey websites, and indulging in internet memes than actually producing quality music. Thankfully, Browser’s post-Party Effects activities have been much better, as he’s been working both as a solo artist and as one half of relaxed house duo WAV DWGS. He’s always been a bit of a gear hound, often performing live with the assistance of an array of classic drum machines, and the songs on Just Browsing definitely display that affinity for vintage sounds.
“Smooth Cruise” kicks off the four-track release, bringing together washy synth melodies with a subtly funky disco bassline, percussion lifted from the early days of house, and just a few hints of acid. The song is definitely a throwback, perhaps even to an imagined era where disco, house, and ’80s funk breezily mingled on exceptionally cool dancefloors. Nonetheless, while “Smooth Cruise” certainly borrows from the past, it doesn’t sound dated. The same can be said for “Airbody,” which leans closer to old-school piano house and is undoubtedly the EP’s strongest cut. Like “Smooth Cruise,” the track emanates an ultra-hip, Pacific-Coast-at-sunset vibe, even with its more overt dancefloor inclinations.
Just Browsing only has one real misstep, and it’s a small one. “No Appointments” utilizes the same sort of retro sound palette as the rest of the EP, but also places the vocals of Mara Barrenbaum front and center. Although her singing chops are just fine, something about Barrenbaum’s voice comes off a bit thin and doesn’t quite jive with the production. The end result isn’t terrible by any means, but a singer with more soulful heft could have really hit it out of the park. That said, Browser quickly rights the ship on EP closer “Always Many,” a tune which balances twinkly melodies and tweaky acid lines over a pleasantly trundling bassline.
In the end, it may be unfair to evaluate the whole of San Francisco’s dance-music credibility on the basis of a single EP from a producer who’s only just beginning to strike out on his own as a solo artist. That said, San Francisco is a high-profile place that could certainly use an influx of recognition for its local production talent. Just Browsing may not be perfect, but it is rather good, and is hopefully just the first in a string of quality releases from Bobby Browser. In the meantime, he can rest assured that he’s done his city proud.
Back in 2010, the tireless London shop/label Honest Jon’s revealed a collection of extremely fast-paced dance tunes from South Africa on a buzzed-about compilation entitled Shangaan Electro (artwork above). Following its release, the imprint then commissioned reworks of these exotic electro cuts from the likes of Actress, Anthony “Shake” Shakir, Demdike Stare, and more, issuing the results on a number of 12″s. Now, Honest Jon’s has taken the next logical step, compiling all those reworks onto one LP, Shangaan Shake. Along with the aforementioned producers, the likes of Hype Williams, Theo Parrish, Peverelist, and juke dons DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn were tapped to find a pathway between their own styles and the blitzing sounds of Shangaan Electro. You’ll find the artwork and tracklist for the collection—which will see a release on March 13—below, along with a stream of Anthony Shakir’s contribution.
01 Mark Ernestus Meets BBC 02 Oni Ayhun Meets Shangaan Electro 03 MMM Meets Tshetsha Boys 04 DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn Meet Tshetsha Boys 05 Burnt Friedman Meets Zinja Hlungwani 06 Actress Meets Shangaan Electro 07 Old Apparatus Meets Shangaan Electro 08 Theo Parrish Meets Mancingelani 09 Demdike Stare Meets Shangaan Electro 10 Peverelist Meets Tshetsha Boys 11 Anthony Shake Shakir Meets BBC
12 RP Boo Meets Shangaan Electro 13 Actress Meets Shangaan Electro 2 14 Hype Williams Meets Shangaan Electro 15 Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer Meet Shangaan Electro 16 Mark Ernestus Meets BBC Version
The latest slice of hiss-drenched production to come from Portland’s Grouper is a cover of sorts, although we couldn’t fault you for having no idea what song was being reimagined here solely based on listening to the track. Really, who is to say exactly what is happening beneath the massive layers of slow-moving noise on Grouper’s version of Dead Moon’s “Demona?” Fortunately, the reward here is not in the details, but instead in the lush, textured sonics that culminate from the fuzzed-to-11 guitars, billowing pads, and soft, expansive vocals, which are so overcome with reverb that they barely reach our ears. This cover is available as part of the four-track 7″ which comes with the latest edition of the art/culture-centric Yeti Magazine. (via FADER)
Walls recently dropped a three-track effort for Kompakt, led by “Into Our Midst,” a song which also kicked off the duo’s 2011 LP Coracle. Now, to celebrate this fresh release, “Into Our Midst” has received a video treatment which pairs the floating slice of electronics with bright-colored lights and extensive footage of pastries being made. The “Into Our Midst” single—which features the title track, a reprised version (which you can stream below), and a new tune, “Idle Sway”—is out now.
NYC artist Nicolas Jaar is set to expand his Clown & Sunset record label into a more comprehensive multimedia culture house called Clown & Sunset Aesthetics, which will launch with a five-hour live performance by Jaar and other members of his collective. The performance, christened “From Scratch,” will take place at MoMA PS1 in New York on Sunday, February 5, and will cap a weekend of music from Jaar that also includes a sold-out Clown & Sunset label showcase at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, February 3. Jaar will be performing in MoMA PS1’s geodesic dome alongside musicians Will Epstein and Sasha Spielberg, with sound-derived video art from filmmaker Ryan Staake and a movement piece by Lizzie Fiedelson.
Marcel Everett won’t be able to enter a club until Obama is wrapping up his second term, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in making music that brings people to the dancefloor. The 16-year-old Orlando native, who records as XXYYXX, recently cooked up “Eclipse,” a fun, blooming number that’s bursting at the seams with melody and teenage naivete. The influence of a producer like Star Slinger is evident here, as ecstatic synths and vocal samples drive the song through a maze of hi-hat trills.
Earlier today, the storied Mute imprint announced the launch of a new label, Liberation Technologies. Since its founding in 1978, Mute has been at the forefront of electronic music, releasing music from acts like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Goldfrapp, and Moby, along with acts such as Plastikman, Speedy J, and Luke Slater via its now-dormant NovaMute arm. These days, it continues to drop forward sounds from the likes of M83 and Apparat. Liberation Technologies looks to expand on that, and plans to operate much more like a traditional electronic-music imprint, with a commitment to vinyl and a focus on EP and 12″ releases. The new label’s first release, the Spring EP, is slated for March 19 and comes courtesy of King Felix, a new moniker taken up by Brooklyn’s Laurel Halo. To find out more about what the young imprint has in the pipeline, we spoke with Mute founder Daniel Miller and Liberation Technologies A&R man Patrick “Paddy” O’Neill, who shared some insights into their aims and aspirations.
XLR8R: Mute has been operating for more than 30 years. Why start a new sub-label now?
Daniel Miller: Well, since the mid-’80s, we’ve been involved with—I don’t really like the word “sub-label,” it makes it sound like it’s beneath us, or something—associated labels. We worked with Rhythm King from the mid-’80s to the late-’80s, and that was [during] the beginning of house music and we had artists like S’Express and Bomb the Bass. Since that time, I’ve always enjoyed the concept of having associated labels. When [the relationship with Rhythm King] finished, we started NovaMute, which was an experimental electronic-dance label with artists such as Plastikman, Speedy J, and Luke Slater. That came to a kind of natural end a few years ago. I very much miss being in that world. When I say “that world,” very broadly I’m talking about electronic-dance music. The time was right to think about starting again, and I met Paddy. I thought he was the ideal guy to run it, because of his knowledge, connections, and ideas. I got him on board, so that’s what we’re doing.
XLR8R: Paddy, can you elaborate a bit about your background? How did you meet Daniel and come up with all of this?
Patrick “Paddy” O’Neill: I’ve been working within electronic music for about five years now, with various people. The most fun I’ve had was working with Honest Jon’s, where I signed Actress and worked with him on his Splazsh album. The label worked with Moritz Von Oswald closely, T++, and a lot of Berlin-based, Hard Wax-type artists, for whom I have a lot of respect and admiration for the way they work. So, I came out of that world and through that, I started putting on nights at places like Berghain and Panorama Bar. I was involved in a label called Doldrums with Joy Orbison, and I also managed an act now signed to Warp, previously to Hyperdub, called Darkstar. So, my passion has always been with electronic music. I came to meet Daniel just because Mute was pretty much number one in terms of labels that I’d love to work for. Two years ago, Daniel and I met for the first time, and stayed in touch after that for various reasons. It took a year and half for me to actually come and work for Mute.
Daniel Miller and Patrick O’Neill
XLR8R: Why start a new associated label instead of just putting out new releases under the Mute banner?
DM: I think it’s important because Mute has a particular way of working with artists. We’re album oriented, signing artists to fairly long-term [deals], [in a] career-path kind of way. [Liberation Technologies] is a bit more flexible. It’s [for artists] who maybe put out records on their own label, or a couple of other labels. It’s kind of a one-off, the idea of being a little creative space for people to do what they want that’s maybe different from what they otherwise do. It’s very much an EP- or single-based label—for the moment, anyway. It may develop into something else. Also, the way people would perceive a Mute artist is different than how they would perceive a Liberation Technologies artist. As the years have gone on, Mute has been quite [varied] in terms of genre, from electronic music to folk music, basically. We want [Liberation Technologies] to be focused, in a broad sense, on electronic music.
XLR8R: Daniel, you’re in your 60s?
DM: I’m 60, so there’s no plural there. (laughs)
XLR8R: Is the club still an environment you enjoy?
DM: If the music is really good. I love watching people enjoy great music. [I DJed at a Raster-Noton night last November at Berghain], for instance, which had brilliant music from 10 o’ clock in the evening until 8 o’clock in the morning, all great stuff. It was quite experimental and leftfield, but people were totally into it and really getting off on it. Apart from loving to listen to great music, it gives me pleasure and hope and makes me optimistic about the future when I see that people are into that kind of music. I don’t mind staying out late, I’m just not very good at getting up in the morning. Apart from that, I enjoy it. In London, you wouldn’t see anyone who was 60 years old in a club, but definitely in Berlin, there are people of my generation, whatever that is, who are still really into that kind of music. So, I don’t feel completely out of place.
XLR8R: Liberation Technologies, is there any particular meaning to that name?
DM: It’s a name that’s actually been around Mute since the early-’90s. When the internet started to become meaningful, it was ’93, ’94, around then, and other digital technologies like the early days of DVD and software synthesizers [were coming of age], we recognized the liberating possibilities of the digital world. So we had an umbrella name for all of our digital activities at that time, and that was Mute Liberation Technologies. As those digital formats diverged, it didn’t really make sense to have an umbrella across all of it, so it became the group name for our website. Paddy, who’s new to Mute, he’d never heard the name before. Someone suggested it, and he thought it was a great name for a label, so I went with it.
XLR8R: What are your plans for the label?
PO: The plan is to work with really great, pioneering electronic artists. We have a list of people that I really admire and love and, hopefully, we’ll have an opportunity to work with over the next few years. That’s the intention, really, is just to have a relationship and put out music by those brilliant artists.
DM: And to discover some.
PO: Of course. That’s as important, if not more important. It will give us the opportunity to work with new artists that haven’t put anything out previously, and that’s a really exciting prospect.
King Felix (a.k.a. Laurel Halo)
XLR8R: The first release is from King Felix, which is a new Laurel Halo pseudonym, and the label announcement stated that many artists on the label might be working anonymously or under different names. Is that an important part of what you see Liberation Technologies being about?
PO: In a sense it is, because I think working under a pseudonym, particularly in regards to [someone like] Laurel Halo, it gives artists the space to do something completely different from what they’re accustomed to. When Jan Jelinik releases music under Farben or releases music under Jan Jelinik, they are two completely different things. That’s the approach to the label. That freedom of expression and being able to do something that’s not tied to any one name or moniker or genre. That’s keeping with what we plan to do.
XLR8R: So many labels are focused on a tiny portion of the musical spectrum or chasing a particular trend. How do you go about finding something that’s more timeless, or is that even a concern?
PO: That’s absolutely the main and most important aim of the label, that we work with the artists that really transcend those genres. I think they exist. There are so many of them now. Someone like Actress, he’s a very prominent artist within every genre of electronic music at the moment. It’s people like that who we absolutely intend to work with. Someone like Laurel Halo, who is not attached to any one genre of electronic music—she’s very broad in what she does. Different artists in different contexts, that’s really important. I think that’s where we’re different from other labels. We have the space to work with whomever with we choose, and those people will have to be of the highest quality.
Patrick O’Neill and Daniel Miller
XLR8R: Daniel, you’ve seen so many waves of electronic music and stylistic changes over the years. Do you feel like right now is a particularly fertile time for electronic music?
DM: When I started 34 years ago, I guess this is what I wanted [electronic music] to be. It’s more universal now than it’s ever been before. Electronic music was my first love, and I wanted to be a part of trying to promulgate that and to get people to understand it and enjoy it. It is a liberating kind of music. You don’t have to play a musical instrument to make electronic music. You never did have to, really. You just have to have some good ideas and press a few buttons. Having great ideas, that’s the most important thing.
I think it is [a fertile time]. There are loads more people making electronic music than ever because of the accessibility of the tools. With sites like Beatport and Juno, the music—it used to be very specialized in small shops in big towns. It was hard to get ahold of. Now, everybody can get ahold of it. The quality control is ultimately what it’s all about. There’s a lot of good electronic music around, but there’s still not a lot of great electronic music. Great electronic music requires somebody with particular talent to do. That’s what our goal is, to find those people, whether they have been around for awhile or they are brand-new artists, to find those special people who can make that difference.
The Spring EP will be released on March 19. The artwork and tracklist are below.
