In case you missed our glowing review, Genre-Specific Xperience, the freshly released EP from Brooklyn’s Fatima Al Qadiri, is one special record. “Hip Hop Spa” leads off the five-track EP, and quickly establishes a serene, tropical vibe with its simple steel-drum melody and ghostly, new-age atmosphere. Hints of percussion and zooming synths begin to appear as the song progresses, but the proceedings remain mellow throughout, as “Hip Hop Spa” is a superbly crafted piece of chillout retro-futurism.
This brooding-but-touching production from UK tunesmith Hackman just dropped in our inbox moments ago with the unlikely message that we could give it away for free. We say unlikely because, well, releasing label PTN and the Leeds-based artist are more or less on fire right now, and we’re sure you wouldn’t mind spending a small handful of your hard-earned dollars on one of their fine cuts of dancefloor music. That’s not to mention that “You Deliver” is an excellent tune from the get-go. Make sure to keep an eye open for Hackman’s next 12″, “Agree To Disagree” b/w “Sunburst,” which drops via PTN on November 7.
Asura (a.k.a. Ryan York) may be affiliated with the increasingly nebulous “beat scene,” but the young artist is not the typical LA producer. While he now crafts intricately detailed electronic compositions, his formative years were spent enmeshed in the world of jazz. He clearly brings a formally trained ear to his production and creates music that’s as equally informed by ambient and classical sounds as it is the more hip-hop-oriented sounds favored by many of his contemporaries. After issuing his debut full-length on the Non Projects label last year, York has turned out a steady stream of releases, the most recent being the If I Am This Forest EP, which came out last month under his own name. Plenty more music is on the way, including a second Asura full-length, a collaborative album with Ana Caravelle under the name Gold and Soil, and and jazz album with a trio in which York plays double bass. Clearly, he’s a busy man, but he somehow found the time to put together this exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series. It’s an eclectic listen, one that delves into a variety of genres and eras while featuring a few of York’s own productions alongside an even greater number of his edits and remixes. Although it’s not something for the dancefloor, the tempos do shift and change, and York’s penchant for pristine melodies and delicate sounds remains strongly evident throughout.
01 Ryan York “The Child/Sea Water” (Non Projects) 02 Mimerose Beaubrun “Ogou O Wa De Zanj (Asura Voodoo Drums Mix)” (Smithsonian Folkways) 03 Zomby “Digital Rain (Asura Edit)” (4AD) 04 Asura “Mammal Milk” (Disques Corde) 05 Kid Prince Moore “Sign of the Judgement” (Mississippi) 06 Ryan York “Please (Asura Edit)” (Leaving) 07 Rom-Dos “Running Up That Hill (Tearing You Asunder)” 08 Psychic TV “The Orchids (Asura Mix)” (Thirsty Ear) 09 Arthur Russell “Let’s Go Swimming (Coastal Dub)” (Audika) 10 Nyjah Huston “Candle Musculatures” 11 Gold and Soil “See You Again” 12 Morton Feldman “For Stefan Wolpe” (Hanssler Classics) 13 Ryan York “If I Am This Forest” (Non Projects) 14 Anchiskhati Choir “Alilo (Asura Edit)” (Soul Jazz)
LA-based producer Urulu (pictured above) delivered this edit of High Places’ “Dry Lake,” a bouncy cut taken from the duo’s brand-new Original Colors LP. His version elongates the original tune by a couple of minutes in order to make room for extra bits of percussion, denser washes of reverb, and understated dance breaks. As Robert Barber of High Places puts it, “When we write, we have a tendency to make the songs jump from part to part, maybe a little too fast sometimes. It is nice to see how somebody else can feel it out and extend it, without worrying about ‘the song.'” The man has a point, but we still very much hear a song in this mix. It’s a good one, too.
Could there be a better icon for the current state of future-leaning dance music than Hotflush label head Paul Rose? The British-born Berliner neatly inhabits the now-crumbling borders between dance music’s disparate genres. His past couple of releases, under the monikers Scuba and SCB, have explored a vast territory of music that includes such hybrid singles as “Adrenaline” (recently championed by Sasha) and “Loss.” Yet, while he’s now known for his crossover appeal, he’s spent a better part of the ’00s releasing dubstep and honing the edges of his rhythmic prowess. Considering his wide-ranging interests, it’s unsurprising that Rose has turned in such a varied document with his entry for K7!’s DJ Kicks series.
A relentless beast of a mix, Scuba’s DJ Kicks moves through a 32-song playlist that neatly balances itself with a blend of abrasive tones, complex rhythms, and straightforward dance music. It all starts with a flash from the depths; Sigha’s beatless and alien “HF029B2” ominously gives way to the harsh, percussive drive of Surgeon’s “The Power of Doubt.” Right away, Rose establishes a layered mixing style that leaves no room for air, as tracks blend in and out of the mix almost every minute. It’s a style vaguely reminiscent of Ramadanman’s Fabriclive 56 mix, with breathing room sacrificed for perpetual motion.
This direct drive plays to Rose’s favor when he uses long, percussive chapters to build into an eventual release. Probably the best example of this is the three-song passage that flows from the lurching dubstep of Beaumont’s “CPX11” to the grounded rhythmic storm of Function vs. Jerome Sydenham’s “Two_Ninety_One” and finally into the sweet vocal garage of Braille’s “Breakup.” It’s an effective blend and one of the few moments on the mix that feels truly dynamic. This three-song segment also marks a shift in style toward the more straightforward second half of the mix, which delves into sounds closer to those he’s been exploring more recently in his own production. Highlights include selections from Detroit oddball Recloose, Ostgut Ton’s Marcel Dettmann, and Mr. Beatnick. As is the case with previous DJ-Kicks, Scuba’s entry features plenty of exclusive material. All six exclusives are excellent works in their own right, but highlights come in the form of Boddika’s electro-funk-tinged “Acid Battery,” Scuba’s deep, house-esque “M.A.R.S,” and the aforementioned “CPX11.”
However, despite the fact that it’s an incredibly strong showing, the mix does have its faults. Rose’s DJ style leaves little room for dynamics or any form of narrative flow. Moving along at an almost-constant 128-130 bpm, the siege of rhythm grows a little tiring. So too do the completely seamless (and mostly similar) blends, which grow repetitive after the initial powermix novelty wears off. However, in terms of song choice, and as an exercise in breaking boundaries, Scuba’s DJ Kicks stands as a solid effort on par with the good work he’s done with his recent productions.
You all should know very well—and hopefully agree with us—that T. Williams is a standout producer. Between everything he’s done for the Local Action label, the work on his own Deep Teknologi imprint, and the stellar podcast he sent our way back at the very beginning of the year, the producer’s track record is pretty solid, and this mix he did for FACT is no different. The nearly hour-and-a-half-long DJ set premiered on the UK website just yesterday, and features cuts from house and garage producers from across the board—including Zed Bias, Kenny Dope, DJ Zinc, Bugz in the Attic, and the mixmaster himself. You can stream FACT Mix 294: T. Williams and check out the full tracklist below, and read the writeup for the podcast here.
Zap Mama – Bandy Bandy (Bobby E Remix) Kerri Chandler – I’ll Send It (I Promise) Bear Paw Mix Chez Perez Project – Singularity Smokin Beats – Dreams (Vocal Club) Somore feat. Damon Trueitt – I Refuse (What You Want) RIP Deep Dub Mix Classic Cliche ft Mpho Skeef (Wahoo Mix) T.Williams ft Terri Walker – Heartbeat (Paul Woolford Rewurq) Kenny Dope – Krash T.Williams – Break Broke Solid Groove – Flookin (Solid Groove Remix) T.Williams – Hard Cash Jazztronik – Samurai Sinden – Spaces (Dub) Justin Martin & Sammy D – Legend of Papachongo (Beats) Bugz In The Attic – Once Twice Urban Myths – Makin’ Me feel (Dj South Central Remix) Zed Bias – Standard Hoodlum Issue (Z Bias Mix 1) Wookie – Far East El-B Ft Rumpus – Bubble Groove Chronicles – Millennium Funk SRC – Gold Coinz Dread D – Invasion Joker – Gully Brook Lane Baby D – Casanova (Down to Earth Remix) M-Beat – Just A Little Adam F – Circles DJ Zinc – 6 Million Remix (Mix 2) Gang Related/Mask ft Bigger Star – Ready or Not
Steve Hauschildt, who splits time between his eponymous solo project and the Cleveland, OH-based Emeralds trio, gives us this taste of his forthcoming Tragedy & Geometry LP before it drops on November 14 via Kranky. “Batteries May Drain” boasts much of the same drifting analog synth melodies and indelible warmth that we loved on Emeralds’ Does It Look Like I’m Here? record, but without the guitar noodling and with some driving, krauty rhythms carrying it all into spacey oblivion.
After the hustle and bustle of the first two nights of the Amsterdam Dance Event, I wasn’t quite ready for what happens in Amsterdam on Friday and Saturday nights—the population seems to double. All of a sudden, venues that previously had 100 or 200 bikes outside their ADE-associated shows now had 400 or 500. This meant that every club would be packed to capacity before the night was through, requiring some tough and hasty decisions as to who to see and where to go. Here is the slice of performances I was able to cut out of ADE’s weekend offerings.
Day 3
Simon Weiss
I decided to try to catch a few sets unique to the Amsterdam scene to start off my Friday night, and landed at Cafe Cox (a relatively small bar with a great sound system) for a party put together by the excellent Rush Hour label to celebrate the release of a new compilation, Amsterdam All Stars, highlighting talent from the city’s underground house scene. The atmosphere was pleasantly mellow with a small dancefloor forming toward the front while the rest of us enjoyed drinks and vibed with the unobtrusive selections coming from the DJ booth. Early on, Amsterdam’s own Simon Weiss impressed with a set of slow, syrupy house that seemed to channel the sounds of Dilla and Pete Rock as much as it did the more soulful side of classic Detroit techno. Next to step to the tables was Amsterdam duo Juju & Jordash, who switched off every 5 or 6 tunes to put together an all-vinyl set of intoxicatingly intricate techno which was as easy to dance to (albeit in a slightly slower fashion) as it was to be lost in its patterns of glistening arpeggios and warm bass.
Juju and Jordash
Julio Bashmore
Around midnight (which seemed to be the hour everything began to get started at ADE), I made my way to what I found to be the most rewarding club of the entire event, Trouw. Built in what may have been an old train station or some long-out-of-business manufacturing plant, the club is a mix between the teenage clubhouses of ’80s movie villains and a classic “underground” rave or punk warehouse with concrete on all walls and floors, and industrial touchstones littered throughout. Best of all, the venue featured an absolutely stunning sound system. Surely there couldn’t be a better place to walk in and find UK badman Julio Bashmore with three CDJs at his disposal. The absolutely huge crowd was basically in love with the man, and who could blame them, as Bashmore seemed to have no shortage of irresistible cuts, touching on all the strains of funky, house-indebted UK bass. Sure, Bashmore’s set came with few surprises, but it was Friday night, and the crowd didn’t need some intellectual mixmaster taking everyone through the fresh and new. We needed someone to drop tracks that were raw, heavy, and, most of all, fun, and the Bristol resident did exactly that. Thankfully, he wasn’t afraid to play most of his better known originals, dropping “Battle For Middle You” toward the end of his set.
Once Bashmore’s set came to a triumphant close, the party lost no momentum when 3024 label head Martyn took over for a live PA set. Taking a giant step away from the funky and fun toward the dark and deep, Martyn’s tunes came full force with incredibly visceral detail on Traum’s giant system. Whereas his predecessor’s set was marked by memorable chords, melodies, and vocals, Martyn’s was more distinguishable by the sheer magnitude of the colossal sounds he conjured from his laptop (and accompanying controller). The resulting voyage through futuristic bass was as rewarding sonically as it was rhythmically, with its sometimes off-kilter beats begging you to dance in a completely new fashion.
Martyn
Hudson Mohawke
The last ADE offering I was able to find on Friday night was clear on the other side of town, but the lure of Hudson Mohawke‘s manic beats brought me to Bitterzoet. By the time I arrived, the place was absolutely packed with people anxious to hear the UK producer bring the noise, and once Mohawke stepped behind his two turntables (running Serato or some similar program), the crowd turned into a raucous mash of bodies. Mohawke seemed to be playful with his selections, taking the crowd through futuristic hip-hop/dubstep hybrid bangers and even into some uncharted “out there” beat-head territory. Possibly in an attempt to make sure not to leave anyone behind, Mohawke also had a host of stateside hip-hop tracks and forgotten retro cuts at his disposal, even dropping a Prince track toward the end of the night. The results were all over the place and the set was a constant push and pull, but one that really commanded the crowd. Whenever his heaviest selections hit (most of them being his own original productions), Bitterzoet went absolutely crazy, even forming a pit of sorts in the middle of the floor where energetic young men and women alike were jumping into each other with frenzied zeal.
Day 4
Matt Tolfrey
My last night at ADE also meant only one more opportunity to hear music at the incredible Trouw venue, so I headed to the outskirts of Amsterdam to catch the early talent at the Resident Advisor showcase. UK resident Matt Tolfrey‘s early set was an entrancing mixture of genuine techno chops, infused with just the right touch of warmth and soul thanks to its lush chords and somewhat unexpectedly funky bass. It was just the thing to start Saturday night off right.
After reviewing the schedule of events (of which there were too many good choices), there was one I just could not miss—the R&S showcase. Truthfully, if your tastes are aligned with XLR8R‘s, you’re a bit in the minority at ADE (for instance, LMFAO and David Guetta were two of the festival’s biggest sold-out shows). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it gives you an intimate chance to see some really talented artists that you might otherwise have to fight through a giant crowd to get access to. Such was the case at Melkweg on Saturday, where a stellar line-up of forward-thinking Brits was on display, the first of who I was able to catch was Lone. Utilizing a laptop and controller, the Manchester producer ran through a set of only his own slightly off-tuned and altogether druggy house productions. Sure, a Lone live set isn’t much to watch, but I could hardly complain when two hours of his slippery creations were launched directly to my ears in the middle of 200-plus-person dancefloor.
Lone
Luke Abbott
Deciding to take a brief break from the bass-heavy offerings the R&S family, I walked to Melkweg’s other space, Oude Zaal, to see what the Border Community showcase had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised to walk into a set of colossal techno coming from one of the imprint’s usual suspects, Luke Abbott. Beginning in the vast, enveloping territory of side-chained pads and a steady kick drum, Abbot used a laptop along with a tray of pedals and processors to craft pieces of sparkling techno marked by masses of melodic bells and bloops and tuned percussion, ultimately yielding one of the most tender and moving sets of the whole festival.
The Chain
The closing sets of the R&S showcase proved to be its most impressive, beginning with one member of UK duo The Chain representing the pair with a mesmerizing set of dark rhythms. Piling and dismantling patterns of kicks, claps, and snares to hypnotizing effect, the DJ was able to whip the crowd into a melee of dancing that begged you to move in the same disjointed fashion as the beats he parlayed.
Blawan and Pariah
The last set performance of my ADE experience was a special collaborative DJ set from two rising names in the UK-bass world, Blawan and Pariah. Each with their own record crates in tow, the two switched off on the tables every few songs, allowing one to cultivate an atmosphere for the other to build on top of. The track selection was top-notch, with most of the tunes leaning towards the deep, techno-infused stylings they have been tinkering with as their collaborative project Karenn, but not without flashes of the post-dubstep UK soul most commonly associated with the R&S imprint. Although their mixing skills proved a little rusty toward the beginning, they eventually found the groove and didn’t lose it for the next two-plus hours, and neither did those of us in the audience, holding on to every heavy, propulsive beat with the intensity they demanded.
Lost in the subterranean grooves, the late-night hours turned into early morning without much notice and by the time I had made it out of Melkweg, around 6am, there were still parties planned for another two hours. How the people of Amsterdam find time to sleep, I do not know, but I do understand that they sure as hell know how to party.
UK producer Damu has had himself quite the year, dropping tunes on the Local Action and Keysound labels, and, of course, being tagged as a Bubblin’ artist here on XLR8R. (OK, maybe that last one isn’t that exciting.) He’s also just released his debut full-length, Unity, and sent over the LP’s closing track as a little taster. With its bright synths, shuffling beats, tweaked R&B vocal bits, and positive vibe, “Don’t Cry in My Bed” nicely encapsulates what Damu is all about. Give it a listen below.
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LA beatmaker and Low End Theory regular Jonwayne has completed a new EP, The Death of Andrew, which will be released October 25 on Daddy Kev‘s Alpha Pup label. Full of wonky drums, synthesized melodies, and spacey atmosphere, the six tracks that make up the release fall within the kind of leftfield hip-hop fare we’ve come to expect from the greater Los Angeles area. Still, within that framework, the young producer demonstrates his own distinct style, as well as a fairly impressive sonic range that includes cavernous bass-scapes, videogame noises, vocoded vocals, and more. The artwork and complete tracklist for The Death of Andrew EP is below.
1. King 2. Andrew’s Dead 3. Eulogy 4. Pillars of Sand 5. Escape 6. Immobile
