Five Minutes with Holy Other at Primavera Club

After our visit to Madrid for this year’s Red Bull Music Academy, we decided to kick around Spain for a few more days and stop in Barcelona for the annual Primavera Club. Designed as an autumn counterpart to the massive Primavera Sound festival, Primavera Club features an array of acts—most of whom are not Spanish—scattered throughout smaller, more intimate venues in both Barcelona and Madrid. While many acts were only in Barcelona for a matter of hours, we managed to pin down a couple of them for a quick chat, including mysterious UK producer Holy Other.

Earlier this year, the anonymous artist—who closely guards his identity and always wears a hood when performing live—released his debut EP, With U, via Tri Angle Records, to a great amount of acclaim. Several months removed from the initial hubub, we asked Holy Other for his take on the EP’s reception, while also picking his brain about the development of his live show, the origins of the project, and where his music is headed.

XLR8R: Your EP has been out awhile now. How are you feeling about how it’s been received?
Holy Other: I’m happy with the reception. I thought it would be a bit more low key, that people would not pick up on it, that it would be a bit more restrained than some of the other Tri Angle releases. I think it’s been received quite well.

Are you happy with the categorizations involved? I’m sure you’ve seen the phrase “witch house” a number of times.
It’s always a bit unnecessary to subcategorize everything, but if people need to jump to generic conclusions about things, and cram loads of genres into one to try and create some sort cohesive picture of what I am about, because you can’t actually find things that sound similar, that’s fine. I don’t really have a problem with it.

You were supposed to come to the US a couple of times, but the tours have been postponed. Was that for any particular reason? Are you still planning to come play in the US at some point?
I’m still definitely planning to come play in the US. I’d like to have some really nice first live shows [over there]. The first tour was postponed because of illness.

You’re fine now?
[laughs] I’m okay. I’m okay. People get ill sometimes, and they recover. I’m planning on going back [to the US] next year.

Did you start playing live after With U had come out?
Yeah, I played my first show at Sonar.

So, now that you have been playing for a few months, have you been making any effort to transform, expand, or change the live show?
Yeah, I have. I need more time to spend working on it. It is sort of metamorphosing. I didn’t know what was expected, and I never really went to that many live shows, so I don’t really know what I enjoy seeing live, you know? I don’t really know what other people like. It’s changing as I play more shows.

What is your setup like when you’re playing live? Is it just you, a laptop, and a few devices?
It’s laptop-less. No laptop. It’s sequencers and samplers. It’s very minimal, and it’s equipment that is partially functioning as the basis of my production as well.

Do you have to disassemble your studio to play live?
Yeah, I do, which is a bit annoying. It’s really annoying, actually, having to reassemble everything when you come back. But I didn’t want to just take out my laptop and say, “Here it is. I’m playing out of my laptop and doing the bare minimum.”

Have you been working on any new music?
I’m currently starting on an album. It’s slow.

Are you still interested in the same sort of sound palette as the EP?
I think it’s more like an elaboration on that theme. What I’ve been doing recently, there have been more house inflections than anything on the EP. Things that strike the more downtempo house of “Yr Love.” [The new songs are] more like that than the more pop songs [on the EP], but they might be coming as well.

Would you ever like to make something that could be regarded as a full-on club tune?
I would like to! I don’t know, I’d like to make a quite restrained club song, but with the proper bpm. I’d like to maybe do that, but I’m not sure how well that would sit on a release. It would poke out a bit, because the album is going to be downtempo as well. It’s not going to suddenly be pumping house. It’s going to be super downtempo, but for just a single, [making a club track] could work.

R&B gets thrown around a lot as a touchstone of your music. Was that intentional? Did you grow up listening to R&B, or is it just happenstance?
I grew up listening to pop. There was R&B in the pop charts, but I don’t know. There was a little bit, but it’s not like I’ve been delving through my 12″ collection, picking out old R&B classics and trying to reappropriate them. It wasn’t necessarily a conscious thing.

Would you say that the influence is simply a product of growing up when you did, a time when R&B was simply a part of the pop-culture fabric, and that you took it in passively?
It was definitely passive. I haven’t made anything before [the EP], so it’s not like my reference points have been changing constantly. I guess [R&B] has just sort of seeped in.

Was Holy Other your first musical project then?
Yeah, except for school bands, like, playing bass. But that doesn’t really count for much.

What was the initial motivation to start the project?
Surprisingly, I was ill. [laughs] I needed something to occupy my time. I was fairly miserable, it was the winter, and I just started trying to make some tracks.

Were you living in Berlin at the time?
I was. It was quite a harsh winter, so I was spending quite a bit of time inside. I just started trying to make some music, and something clicked.

And now you’re back in Manchester.
Yeah.

Do you see yourself as functioning within any kind of music scene there?
No. I’m definitely not an integral part of the Manchester music scene. [laughs]

Do you go out though?
I do, and I’ve met quite a few Manchester guys, producers. I don’t know though. I don’t feel like my music belongs there that much. I don’t necessarily feel like that’s where it is.

Where would you say that your music does belong?
I don’t know. [laughs] That’s a question.

It doesn’t have to be geographical. Do you see yourself as part of a larger music scene, or do you even contextualize it that way?
Pfff. I haven’t contextualized it that way. I mean…

That was a very music journalist sort of question. It’s fine to not intellectualize your music. Would you say that you just make it because that’s what you want to be making? That you’re not thinking about it in some kind of greater context?
Yeah. I’m not trying to fill some kind of gap in the zeitgeist, some chasm that needs to be filled. It’s just something that feels emotionally resonant to me. I don’t release a track if I don’t get some sort of emotion from it. It’s more about me trying to understand my emotions and emote in some way. Publicly. Publicly emote, but privately, hence the anonymity. [laughs]

Thavius Beck “Thavihaus”

While LA beatmaker Thavius Beck is primarily known for his leftfield hip-hop beats and general production wizardry, those who have seen his DJ sets know the broad-minded MC’s range of expertise extends deep into the realms of house and techno as well. To showcase Beck’s diverse talents, Mush Records is releasing a three-part series of EPs titled Amber Embers that will contain material more in line with his Ableton Live-crafted DJ sets than his previous wordplay-laden full-length albums. “Thavihaus,” taken from Amber Embers Vol. 1, is Beck’s take on tech-house and attempts to mine the minimalist aesthetic frequently associated with German labels such as Kompakt and Minus. Vol. 1 is out now, while Vol. 2 will see a release on December 12, with Vol. 3 to follow on January 25 of next year.

Thavihaus

Various Artists Rush Hour Presents: Amsterdam All Stars

Founded in the late ’90s, Rush Hour Recordings got its start not as a label, but as a record store and mail order catalogue. Through these beginnings, it acted as a vital link between Amsterdam and the world, importing the then-booming sounds of techno and deep house into the Dutch capital. Since then, Rush Hour has become much more than just a record store, and now, it’s a highly respected label that not only disseminates the deeper side of Dutch house, but also has come to stand as one of house music’s most reliable brands, with compilations and releases from such international heavy hitters as Carl Craig, Daniel Wang, and Anthony “Shake” Shakir. Yet, while the label has moved beyond regionalism, Rush Hour Presents: Amsterdam All Stars, its latest release, is an attempt to showcase the current scene of the city in which Rush Hour first made its mark.

A 12-song compilation, Rush Hour Presents: Amsterdam All Stars features exclusive works by both native Amsterdammers and those directly related to the scene. As such, the compilation serves as a snapshot of what’s currently happening in the city’s underground dance music scene. It’s an excellent release that mimics the scope of the label by offering up tracks that stretch from peak time to home-listening material.

Things start off strong with the trippy, mid-tempo groove of San Proper‘s “Caught on You,” which floats Mick Jagger-like vocal chants over a baroque disco-edit backdrop. From there, all bets are off as the compilation veers into the paranoid—and almost UK-garage sounding—techno of Maxi Mill’s “In No time.” The disparity between these two initial tunes is felt throughout the compilation, which seems to revel in contradicting any sense of stylistic cohesion. Chunky tracks (think Aardvarck’s “Just Washed That Pig”) like Simon Weiss‘ “Amsterdam Wave” and Melon‘s “Telephones” are neatly balanced out by jazzy and stoned head-nodders like Awanto 3‘s “Crappy Joyride” (what a name) and Young Marco‘s “Hoodoo.”

Ultimately, it’s a solid and well-balanced compilation. That being said, your enjoyment of this record really comes down to your appreciation of the Rush Hour sound and, also, house music in general. Though there is some rhythmic variation, the music is definitely slanted towards the classic and deep. For what it is, it’s a stellar release, but don’t look to it for anything particularly border-pushing or genre-bending. Yet, this is exactly what makes the release so good, as it offers a dozen tracks of quality house that will inevitably end up in many DJs sets for years to come.

Autechre to Re-Release Rare First EP

Autechre—we assume you know who they are—released its first record back in 1991 via UK imprint Skam. Although it was crafted under the name Lego Feet, the self-titled EP was nonetheless produced by Rob Booth and Sean Brown, and now, following its 20th anniversary, the label is re-issuing this out-of-print classic. The 17-track record will be made available as a limited-edition CD and digital download on January 12. You can preview some of the music and pre-order Lego Feethere. (via FACT)

0311 “White Shadows”

Warsaw-based DJ/producer 0311 explores the realm of late-night garage on his forthcoming release through Concrete Cut, a digital label specializing exclusively in Polish producers. The Experience EP is 0311’s debut release as a solo artist, although he has previously put out collaborative material with Black Galaxy and is also a member of Warsaw’s Underground Perception DJ and promotion crew. Download “White Shadows,” one of five tracks from the EP, and, after the jump, take a look at the artwork and tracklisting for The Experience before its released on December 12.

1. System
2. Warsaw Dream
3. It’s Not True
4. White Shadows
5. Late Nite

White Shadows

Altered Zones to Cease Publishing

If you’ve looked at XLR8R on just about any given day through the past year and a half, you’ve likely seen something we’ve reposted from our friends over at Altered Zones. The website was a prime location for finding news and music from the more esoteric/DIY realm of independent artistry, so it’s sad to say that today, the editors have announced that its publishing will come to an end. In its final statement, Altered Zones says, “We don’t view Altered Zones closing as an end in itself, but rather the end of one chapter and the opening of another. AZ editors Ric Leichtung and Emilie Friedlander will contribute to Pitchfork, and will launch a new project together called Ad Hoc in 2012. In the meantime, Altered Zones will be signing off tomorrow and Friday with our favorite quotes, songs you might’ve missed, and albums of 2011.” We, for one, will miss the strange and alluring sounds often found on AZ’s pages, but also look forward to seeing what comes next.

Ernest Gonzales Readies New Album for Friends of Friends

San Antonio-based producer and middle school teacher Ernest Gonzales (a.k.a. Mexicans with Guns) has announced a new full-length album to be released (under his own name) via the Friends of Friends imprint. Natural Traits is set to come out on January 17, but before then, you can stream the album’s first track, “The Prudence of Evolution,” while checking out the artwork and tracklisting after the jump.

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1. The Prudence of Evolution
2. The Sentimental Sea
3. When Synchronicity Prevails
4. Peaks & Valleys
5. Beneath the Surface
6. The Heroic Lives of Particles
7. The Scattered Thoughts of Raindrops
8. The Voice of Fate (I ? You)
9. In The End
10. When Synchronicity Prevails (Dntel Remix)

ZZK Teams with Waxploitation, Plans New Releases, Offers Mixtape

Buenos Aires collective ZZK has come a long way since its days of throwing a small weekly party and eventually launching a fledging record label. More than five years into its existence, the digital cumbia torchbearer—who, it should be said, has greatly expanded beyond that core sound—has toured around the world several times, dropped dozens of releases, and helped solidify forward Latin rhythms as a key part of the musical lexicon. Now, ZZK is taking another step forward, teaming up with Waxploiitation to bring its music to an even wider audience. Seeing as how Waxploitation is best known for its work with artists like Danger Mouse and Gnarls Barkley, the drafting of ZZK is a bit of a surprise development, yet the two brands will be joining forces to bring forth a number of new releases in the months ahead. On December 13, Super Guachin will be releasing his debut EP, Piratas y Fichines, to be followed by Manshines, a new full-length from Fauna, on January 10. Mati Zundel, previously known as Lagartijeando, will also be releasing a full-length, Amazonico Gravitante, on March 27.

In the meantime, ZZK and Waxploitation have put together a new, 12-song mixtape. Featuring songs from the Buenos Aires crew’s past, present, and future, it’s meant to help introduce the ZZK sound to those who might not be familiar. The mixtape is streaming below.

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Roots Manuva “Here We Go Again (FaltyDL Remix)”

“Here We Go Again,” the upcoming single from 4everevolution, the recently released album from Roots Manuva (a.k.a Rodney Smith, pictured above), is a solid hip-hop track that doesn’t beg a lot of tweaking, but on December 5, Big Dada will be releasing this remix by Brooklyn beatsmith FaltyDL, along with two remixes by Dobie and another by grime producer Preditah. The original already features driving wobble bass, but FaltyDL takes it down a register and places the emphasis of the song on Spikey Tee’s backing vocals rather than Smith’s rapping.

Here We Go Again (FaltyDL Remix)

Hear the Debut Track From VCMG, “Spock”

As we reported last week, Depeche Mode co-founders Vince Clark and Martin Gore will soon release their first EP under the name VCMG via Mute, and now we can hear what that collaboration has yielded thus far. Below, you can stream “Spock,” a dark and driving beast of a techno jam that boasts the kind of analog warmth industrial-tinged energy we’ve come to expect from these seasoned artists. Look for the full Spock EP to drop on December 13. (via Pitchfork)

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