Last we heard from David Kennedy (a.k.a. Pearson Sound) and his Chicago house alter ego, Maurice Donovan, was the “Babeh” b/w “Satisfied” record back at the end of April. Now, a one-sided 12″ has dropped under the Donovan moniker for the tune “Call My Name.” The white-label single is available in vinyl format only from Phonica, where you can also stream a clip of the frantically percussive dancefloor burner. (via FACT)
Distal‘s Embassy imprint is set to drop its eighth release next week, a five-song EP by Houston producer Wheez-ie (who happens to be living in Boston these days, where he’s a student at the prestigious Berklee College of Music). Titled Keep Yer Chin Up, the EP features three frantic, juke-leaning originals and a couple of somewhat toned-down, but no less bass-heavy, remixes from DJ Assault and Salva. Here we have the latter, which finds the Frite Nite founder adding some groove while taking the pace down a notch, ultimately winding up with a creative and danceable piece of bass music that owes a lot more to old-school electro than new-school footwork.
London-based record label, event producer, and artist collective Earnest Endeavours is set to release its first record, a five-song EP by San Francisco’s B. Bravo (pictured above), on Monday, October 24. Although this is the imprint’s first release, Earnest Endeavours has already thrown parties in Barcelona, Los Angeles, and London, produces an ongoing radio program on NTS, and also has a print magazine in the works. Next month, the label will be releasing an EP from LA hip-hop duo Widows (formerly Brother Reade), and plans to release material by Darkhouse Fam and MFP in the near future. Check out the artwork and tracklist for B. Bravo’s Kiss ‘n’ Tell EP below.
A1 Kiss ‘n’ Tell feat. Zackey Force Funk
A2 Right on Time feat. The Gent$
B1 Substance feat. Lady Alma
B2 Swang
B3 Right on Time (Synth Dub)
On November 7, UK imprint Planet Mu will release Bangs & Works Vol. 2 (pictured above), a compilation of Chicago juke and footwork and the follow-up to last year’s first volume. According to the label, this release is less experimental than the first, and seeks to show how the juke and footwork aesthetic is blending and cross-pollinating with techno, hip-hop, and bass music. The complete tracklist for the compilation can be found below.
01. RP Boo – Heavy Heat
02. Jlin – Erotic Heat
03. DJ Earl – Hit Da Bootz
04. DJ Rashad & Gant-Man – Heaven Sent
05. DJ Metro – Burn Dat Boi
06. DJ Clent – Ball’em Up
07. DJ MC – Y Fall
08. DJ Spinn – Crazy ‘n’ Deranged
09. Traxman – Funky Block
10. DJ Rome – Showtime
11. DJ T-Why – Finished
12. Tha Pope – When You
13. Boylan – Bullet Proof Soul
14. Jlin – Asylum
15. DJ T-Why – Orbits
16. DJ Roc – Get Buck Juice
17. Traxman – Brainwash
18. DJ Clent – DJ Clent #1
19. DJ Metro – Smak My Bitch Up
20. Young Smoke – Space Muzik Pt.3
21. DJ T-Why – Juice
22. DJ Solo – What Have You Done
23. Young Smoke – Psycho War
24. Young Smoke – Wouldn’t Get Far
25. DJ Metro – Tekno Bangz
26. RP Boo – Off Da Hook
Dre Skull’s Brooklyn-based record hub, Mixpak, just dropped a batch of remixes for French producer Koyote‘s Midsummer Tales EP, which features the likes of Altered Natives, Ceephax Acid Crew, and, featured here, Marble Players (a.k.a. Para One, Bobmo, and Surkin). The French trio’s version of “Night Train” employs pulsing club rhythms, rolling basslines, and a large number of percussive sounds to create the core of their tune, and wraps the skeleton with airy synth melodies and recordings of rain and thunder for a truly unique dancefloor sound.
There is one over-arching question at the core of any examination of M83‘s fifth proper studio album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming: What artist in their right mind would write, record, and release a double LP in 2011? The answer to this question is also the single most important reason why French mastermind Anthony Gonzalez’s 22-song epic (yes, the E word is applicable here) is a contemporary feat of musical craft: He’s a uniquely inspired and wildly talented artist with absolutely no stock in the way music is currently perceived, who is driven, above all things, by pure, childlike emotion.
The records in M83’s discography have always been widescreen cinematic experiences, and Gonzalez retains his tenderly commanding grip on that skill throughout his latest effort. But if Before the Dawn Heals Us and Saturdays = Youth were beautifully crafted indie flicks (making Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts a lovely student film), Hurry Up is a blockbuster masterpiece, the uncompromised vision of a master artisan. Gonzalez has described this album as a “tribute to his childhood” and a “retrospective of himself,” facts that are made readily apparent in the numerous stylistic cues it takes from ’80s pop—which are preciously utilized without the slightest tinge of irony—and its overwhelming sense of wide-eyed wonder. Yet there is something else, something intangible and almost indescribable that makes this dizzying musical sprawl the tour de force that it is. Hurry Up, despite its deep nostalgia and modern production quality, just might be a truly timeless album.
Hurry Up‘s trajectory is a complete rollercoaster ride, one fraught with the highs of both driving anthems and neon pop hits and the lows of somber balladry and choral hymns, not to mention a few inexplicable interludes that provide some much needed breathing room between each rise and fall. The swelling “Intro” guides us into M83’s first disc with starry synth arpeggiations and the inimitable voice of Zola Jesus, who acts as a sort of greeter at the gates of Hurry Up. She’s joined by the star of these 22 tracks: Gonzalez’s newfound singing voice, a yelping and plaintive quasi-falsetto that sounds far more alien than not.
Across songs like the standout lead single “Midnight City” (an easy contender for best track of 2011, if only for its triumphant sax solo), the revelatory “Reunion,” and the Peter Gabriel-inspired “Claudia Lewis,” Gonzalez delivers his unique vocal sounds like an interstellar traveller who has never known the concept of subtlety. It’s arresting, to say the least. The artist’s more restrained croon is still used to great effect throughout both discs (see the stratospheric “Steve McQueen” and playfully funky “OK Pal”), but its his new voice that ultimately steals the show and elevates the repertoire of M83 to uncharted levels.
The slower and more emotive moments on M83’s double LP are just as important as its upbeat counterparts, if not occasionally more so. “Splendor,” possibly the most transcendent of Hurry Up‘s songs, is an impeccably orchestrated composition of piano, acoustic guitar, synths, and choir vocals that boasts a beautifully twisting melody at its core. The album centerpieces, “Soon, My Friend” and “My Tears are Becoming a Sea,” are gorgeous, slowly building mini-epics that piece together the two parts of Gonzalez’s saga with heavenly horns, soaring string sections, hosts of angelic voices, majestic melodies, and lyrical promises from the lead singer (“I’ll be yours someday” and “I’m on my way”). You get the sense that you’re not just leaving this world, but that you’re already halfway to another galaxy.
And that is M83’s greatest accomplishment: With this album, he has crafted a singular musical realm that could exist only within himself and presented that world in vibrant, painstaking detail. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is indeed a dream, so much so that you can only sit back and allow its absurd, otherworldly beauty to unfold before you. It’s a fantastical story of aliens, spirits, and children told by one breathtakingly gifted artist, and it’s utterly remarkable.
Listen to Hurry Up, We’re Dreaminghere.
It’s always odd to hear a song and think, “this is really cool,” but then also realize that it’s something your mom might like. “Vatican Vibes” by New York’s Fatima Al Qadiri—who also records as Ayshay—is one of those tunes. On the one hand, it’s a slow-burning jam that pairs inventive drum-machine percussion with haunting synths, steel-drum melodies, and a decidedly futuristic vibe. On the other hand, it’s not that far from being the 2011 version of Chant. Admittedly, that makes “Vatican Vibes” sort of simultaneously tacky and awesome, but the song’s video definitely falls into the latter category. Part video game commercial, part movie trailer, part retro-futuristic, Lawnmower Man-style journey, it’s an impressive clip that nicely compliments the track’s foreboding feel. “Vatican Vibes” is taken from her upcoming Genre-Specific Xperience EP, which will be released on October 25 via the UNO label. (via FADER)
Veteran UK producer Zed Bias (pictured above) will release Biasonic Hotsauce – Birth of the Nanocloud via Tru Thoughts on November 1. The album features an all-star cast of collaborating beat makers, including Toddla T, Mark Pritchard, and Skream. Here, Brooklyn’s FaltyDL makes an appearance from across the pond on “Lucid Dreams,” a subtle piece of light-hearted 2-step. (via Pitchfork)
Following soon after the startling news of his suspected involvement in a murder conspiracy, Jamaican dancehall icon Vybz Kartel will soon release an EP of remixes for his “Half On a Baby” cut from this year’s Kingston Story LP. The remixers featured on the forthcoming record include bass-dedicated producers Funkystepz, Mosca, Schlacthofbronx, Dubbel Dutch, and Bert on Beats, whose versions come packaged with the original tune. Look for the Half On a Baby (Remixes) EP (pictured above) to drop sometime this fall via Mixpak.
We promise the awkward title of Renaissance Man‘s newest track, “What Do You Do When You Do What You Do” sounds better sung than spoken. Factor in some heavy vocal effects and a hypnotic, bouncing bassline, and the lyrics seem downright genius. The EP of the same name dropped yesterday via Turbo and contains remixes by Matthew Herbert, Sei A, Paul Woolford, and this one by hot Canadian prospects Gingy and Bordello. The Gingy and Bordello version is the most straightforward house track on the EP and offers a significant departure from the loopy techno you can expect on their own forthcoming EP, Body Acid, due out November 14.
What Do You Do When You Do What You Do (Gingy & Bordello Remix)
