High Five: Scuba

Until recently, it seemed that Hotflush label boss Paul Rose (a.k.a. Scuba) was content to quietly put together a solid 2011, dropping the “Loss” b/w “Futureunknown” single (as SCB) and the Dance for Me EP (as Spectr). Apparently, quiet wasn’t actually part of the plan, as the last six weeks have seen Rose unveiling an effort to finish the year in a much grander fashion, including the release of another SCB single, a forthcoming DJ-Kicks mix, and a much-hyped new Scuba single, “Adrenalin,” which came out earlier this week. The latter has particularly caught our attention with its clear nods to ’80s-era electro, funk, and freestyle, so we asked Rose to put together a list of five tracks that influenced the making of the record and tell us a little bit about each one.

Midnight Star “Scientific Love”

One of my favourite bands ever, most people know them for “Operator” and “Midas Touch” and those tracks were also my way into them, but their whole catalogue is amazing, all the ’80s albums are great. I’ve had this track on constantly for the last few months. The classic sounds are all there, but they deliver the whole thing with a proper dose of attitude.

Madonna “Lucky Star”

I always thought she was far better before she learned to sing properly. This is an amazing song, but it wouldn’t sound nearly as good if she’d sung it a few years later. The bassline is unbelievable, that style of bass has been one of the things I’ve been playing around with over the past year or so in the studio. Plus, there’s a lesson in arpeggios that some contemporary producers could learn a bit from.

Alexander O’Neil “Criticize”

Again, the bassline is what does it on the basic track here, but the chorus is absolutely unreal—when the backing vocals drop, it’s just too much. Also featuring pretty much the definitive gated snare drum.

Paul Hardcastle “Nineteen”

I was given some compilation of number-one singles when I was about 10, which also had [Pet Shop Boys’] “West End Girls” on it, and I remember being totally flipped out by the vocal cut-ups. I shudder to think what a 2011 version referencing Iraq would almost certainly sound like, [at least] one that would have a hope of getting to number one these days. Yup, I’m a hater.

Pet Shop Boys “I Want To Wake Up”

Actually is by far their best album and I’ve had a few different favourite tracks from it over the years. I’ve pretty much settled on this one. It’s definitely the best of the upbeat tracks on the album. The synth line that comes in towards the end gets me every time.

Toddla T “Streets So Warm (Zed Bias Old School Remix)”

Toddla T‘s latest album, Watch Me Dance, is an exercise in forward-thinking nostalgia. The young UK producer dropped 11 tracks that touch upon a variety of Jamaican-influenced dance music, from dancehall to grime. Now, a month after the album’s release, he’s prepped “Streets So Warm,” the third single from the album, which features four divergent takes on the track courtesy of Zed Bias, Ross Orton & Pipes, and Serial Killaz. As a teaser, we’ve been slipped Zed Bias’ “Old Skool Remix,” a version that takes the original’s stoned dancehall groove and layers it on top of a quick-footed 2-step rhythm accented by ’80s arcade noises. “Streets So Warm” comes out October 17, and this week Toddla T is wrapping up the last leg of his North American tour with Roska. Check below to see if they’re playing near you.

WED 9/28 San Francisco, CA – Vessel
THU 9/29 Denver, CO – Cervantes
FRI 9/30 Vancouver, BC – Celebrities

Streets So Warm (Zed Bias Old Skool Remix)

Jamie Jones Fabric 59

There’s a definite thread of playfulness that runs through Jamie Jones’ work. The London-based DJ and producer has exploded in popularity off the strength of oddball dance cuts like “911” (which sampled an infamous stoned police call) and “Whiff it Yawl” (which creatively appropriated a line from the Dazz Band). With such a strange—yet funky—discography behind him, it seems appropriate that Fabric 59, his entry in the venerable mix series, would sound the way that it does: eclectic while still retaining a cohesive dancefloor aesthetic.

This eclecticism spans across the entire mix, which manages to cover a striking amount of ground in roughly an hour. In that small amount of time, Jones takes the listener through a juxtaposed world of disco, deep house, minimal wave, new wave, and electroclash. The experience is akin to peeling back the curtain and looking at the skeleton of inlfuences behind the Jamie Jones sound.

There’s a unique momentum to the mix that’s largely a function of the amount of territory covered. It opens with the beatless “Time Intro (Feat. Ali Love & Kenny Glasgow)” by Jones’ project Hot Natured. From there, it moves through Sebastian Tellier’s Klein & MBO-like “La Ritournelle (Metronomy Mix)” before riding a filter sweep into a big chunk of deep-house cuts that include a healthy sprinkling of Jones’ edits (such as his to-the-point edit of Coat of Arms “Is This Something”) as well as a few looked-over classics like Cajmere’s jackin’ “God Sent (’10) feat. Jamie Principle.”

It’s about 20 minutes into the mix that things take a turn towards the unexpected. Easily the peak of the mix, Jones does a slow blend from Cajmere’s Chi-town house into Felix Da Housecat and Miss Kitten’s minimalistic (and almost Italo-like) 2002 electroclash anthem “Madame Hollywood.” The track sounds remarkably fresh, its bassline’s funky bounce reminiscent of early Jamie Principle. Jones inclusion of the track hints at a larger project of connecting all the dance-music dots in spite of cultural (or generational) prejudice.

Jones’ adventurous spirit serves him well as he finishes the mix far removed from the chunky house tunes that open it. Jones drops into a mini-set of disco with Crazy P’s recent “Open For Service” and Holy Ghost!’s 2008 remix of Panthers’ “Goblin City.” The latter is one of the mixes few stumbling blocks, as its indie-leaning vocals, arpeggiations, and glockenspiel riffs seem out of place. Disco-wise, Jones does the best with Soho808’s soft “Get Up Disco,” which lends a feminine touch that’s missing from the rest of the mix.

Listen to Gui Boratto’s Exclusive Rdio Playlist

For the latest installment of XLR8R‘s ongoingRdioplaylistseries, we are graced with a handful of track selections from Brazilian house/techno auteur Gui Boratto. The producer’s playlist follows not long after the release of his vibrant third album, III, and an excellent XLR8Rpodcast, which is more or less a home recording of Boratto’s much-lauded live performance. You can check out his playlist and a brief Q&A below. (You can also listen to the playlist on Rdio, here.)

Tell us a little about your playlist.
I just picked music from the past that I love, and from the present that I love, too. 🙂

What are some of your favorite picks?
I’ve picked up 808 State’s “Plan9” because it reminds me one of the best moments of my youth. 🙂 And I’ve chosen “Swim” by Caribou because I really identify myself there. I could easily do that track, especially the harmony. Totally on my vibe!

You just released your new album, III, via Kompakt. What’s something you did differently when making that album compared to, say, Take My Breath Away?
The process was very similar, but III has more of a rock vein. It’s darker, but more punchy compared to the others. And I’m singing there!!!! We never forget the first time… Hehehe…

What can people expect from the new Gui Boratto live show?
They can expect 10 LED columns that are synced with my music, the reactable, and guitar and/or bass on some songs. Like this:

How’s São Paulo these days?
Perfect weather, amazing restaurants (yes, I’m a foodie), a few great clubs, like D-EDGE and Clash. Also great events, like Rock In Rio.

Howse “Porch”

Altered Zones tipped us off to this tune from Baltimore resident Howse, who just dropped the Trackz EP as a “name-your-own-price” download, here. “Porch” is one of the smokey, spaced-out tunes in that nine-track collection, which features four remixes and five original cuts. You can stream Howse’s own productions after the jump.

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Porch

Medlar “Terrell (Bicep’s Brooklyn Shuffle)”

Medlar’s “Terrell” hit dancefloors hard when it dropped back in June with its Moodymann-like atmospherics. Now, Wolf Music has enlisted UK production duo Bicep to turn in some remixes for the upcoming Wolf 009 sampler EP. Made during the New York leg of the pair’s recent tour, “Terrell (Bicep’s Brooklyn Shuffle)” moves the track in a subtly different direction. Gone is the original’s Tammi Terrell sample, replaced instead by echoed car horns and a spoken word sample that reaffirms the obvious, “New York is the shit man.” Musically, the remix retains the original’s chunky chords but gains some finger snaps and a strobing ’90s US garage snare pattern. The resulting track blends the best of ’90s Detroit and gay New York to create a fresh-sounding hybrid that will easily work discerning dancefloors the world over.

Terrell (Bicep’s Brooklyn Shuffle)

Plaid Scintilli

Plaid is something of an unclassifiable institution, both in the history of modern electronic music and the discography of Warp. While the production duo of Ed Handley and Andy Turner undoubtedly have a compositional aesthetic all their own, you rarely hear them returning to a particular genre or sound from album to album. The music could be generally called IDM, but that term seems to mean even less now than the day it was coined. Similarly, Plaid’s sixth proper studio album, Scintilli, is hard to place stylistically, but nonetheless offers plenty of enjoyable head-scratching moments, along with a straight-up tune or two.

The key to identifying the latest incarnation of Plaid’s music lies within its intricate, sometimes convoluted melodies and its pristine production style, which often utilizes some kind of plinking synthetic sound, a tightly crafted beat, and a treated sample or two. “Thank,” “African Woods,” and “Talk to Us” make the best use of that formula—infusing a bit of dancefloor energy into Handley’s and Turner’s cerebral recipes—while the beatless “Craft Nine” and “35 Summers” sound like someone left a sequencer running on random.

Plaid flirts with a few uncharacteristic genres, as well. “Sömnl” is an awkward stab at dubstep, “Upgrade” sounds like Autechre toying with classic electro, and “Eye Robot” might as well be ripped from a Radian album. But despite the disparate sounds and styles offered on Scintilli, Plaid manages to place an indelible fingerprint into each production—making for a record that comes off more like a couple of electronic music veterans revisiting their own musical histories rather than forging new ones.

Download a Free EP From Arkist

It’s far from uncommon to grab loads of free music from the pages of XLR8R, but it’s certainly not every day that we get a chance to exclusively offer you a free EP—not to mention one from an exciting artist like Bristol’s Arkist. The DJ/producer describes his Double Zero EP as “a rough history of dubstep” that explores genres like grime, garage, and dub-techno. You can nab the gratis five-track offering here, and preview one of its tunes, “Rephlex Blast,” below.

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Download a Free Compilation Featuring Burial, Ikonika, Zomby, SBTRKT, Cooly G, and More

Major corporations have been gradually inching their way into electronic music circles for some time now (e.g. Mountain Dew, Red Bull), but the new collaborative compilation from Adult Swim and Scion A/V just might be one of the best exhibitions of reputable, independent electronic artists ever put forth by huge, non-music-related businesses. The 18 tracks featured on [unclassified] come from the likes of Burial, Zomby, Untold, Starkey, Actress, Ikonika, SBTRKT, Cooly G, Kode9, xxxy, Ginz, and more, some of which are previously unreleased. You can stream and download the free music, as well as watch two video interviews with contributors Actress and Pinch, here. The full tracklist for [unclassified] is below.

Ikonika – “World On Mute”
xxxy – “Kerpow”
Untol – “Peaky”
Geiom – “Pure Bristle”
Ginz – “Chrome”
Lukid – “Running from the Demons”
Geeneus feat. Riko, Wiley, and Breeze – “Knife & Gun (Dusk & Blackdown 2-Step Mix feat. Farrah)”
SBTRKT – “Golddigger”
Starkey – “Eris”
Actress – “Murder Plaza”
Zomby – “Hexagons”
Dauwd – “Ikopol”
Boxcutter – “Waiting For The Lights”
Babe Rainbow feat. Ashley Webber – “Give You Time”
Burial – “Street Halo”
Kode9 – “Just Inside”
Pinch – “Blow Out the Candle”
Cooly G – “R U Listening”

Video Premiere: RBMA World Tour in Berlin

Here, we continue our series of video premieres—each featuring interviews and highlights from the 10 stops of the Red Bull Music Academy World Tour 2011—with a transmission from Berlin, Germany. The filmmakers behind this piece sit down with Radioslave and take a tour of the famed Hansa Tonstudio before sharing clips of live performances from Brent Bauer Frick and Mortiz Von Oswald Trio. Keep your eyes peeled for more of the mini-docs to come.

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