Neon Dreams, the debut full-length from L-Vis 1990, is still more than a month away, but the album’s first video was unveiled today. Shot in Las Vegas, the clip chronicles the love-filled adventures of a young couple and finds camouflage-clad vocalist Javeon McCarthy trudging alongside the Nevada highway. The “Lost in Love” single will be officially released on September 26, with Neon Dreams coming the following week on October 3. (via FACT)
Incubate Festival Announces Full Line-Up
Remember when we dropped the news a few months back that XLR8R had been tasked with curating three nights of The Netherlands’ Incubate festival? Well, we did, and we’re happy to say we’ve put together a line-up full of top-notch, forward thinking DJs and producers including Theo Parrish, Julio Bashmore, Motor City Drum Ensemble (pictured above) and a whole lot more. Now, with the seven-day festival less than a month away, the full list of Incubate’s scheduled acts is finally here. In addition to the stellar line-up we’ve got planned for our three-night reign, the likes of Battles, Rainbow Arabia, Omar Souleyman, Nosaj Thing, Ford & Lopatin, and many, many more will be descending upon Tilburg, Netherlands from September 12 through September 18 for what should prove to be an amazing week of music and art. You can check the festival’s complete line-up here, and we’ve gone ahead and laid out the details of our showcase below.
XLR8R in Residence at Incubate
Midi Theater, Tilburg
Friday, September 16
9:00pm Holy Other
10:00pm Demdike Stare
11:00pm Ghosts on Tape
12:00am Boddika
1:00am Untold
2:00am Loefah
Saturday, September 17
8:00pm Shawn Reynaldo
9:00pm Contakt
10:00pm Brackles
11:00pm Oneman
12:00am Ben UFO
1:00am Girl Unit
2:00am Theo Parrish
Sunday, September 18
4:00pm Rem Koolhaus
5:30pm Space Dimension Controller
7:00pm Motor City Drum Ensemble
8:00pm Julio Bashmore
9:00pm Jackmaster
Champion Readies New EP
Hard-edged UK funky artist Champion, whose low-end heavy, drum-filled productions are often favorably compared with those turned out by people like Roska, Cooly G, and Lil Silva, has a new record on the way, the three-track Lighter EP. Following on the heels of his Motherboard EP, which came out earlier this year on Terror Danjah’s Hardrive imprint, the Lighter EP is being released via Champion’s own Formula Records. Vinyl afficionados can grab the record on September 5, while those looking for a digital version will have to wait until September 12. The tracklisting is below.
1. Lighter
2. Lighter VIP
3. Bongoshot
Sun Glitters “Too Much To Lose (Halls Remix)”
The combination of Sun Glitters and Halls seems almost too obvious a pairing, but the two burgeoning producers have in fact joined forces for a new, four-track EP entitled Swan / There (artwork above). This heavenly remix of Sun Glitters’ “Too Much To Lose” (the video for which we posted earlier this week) serves as the closing number on said EP, and finds Halls stretching the tune into even more blissed-out territory with a seemingly never ending supply of ghostly pads which float around the song’s skittering beat. The collaborative EP also gives Sun Glitters a chance to return the favor with a remix of Halls’ “Chakra Drums,” alongside one new original track from each artist. You can stream/purchase the whole affair here.
Hyperdub to Release New Funkystepz 12″
Premiere UK funky trio Funkystepz is set to release its next 12″, once again via the illustrious Hyperdub. The three-song Trouble EP (pictured above) follows the production outfit’s “Fuller” b/w “Hurricane Riddim” record and self-released Face Off EP from earlier this year, and will be available on October 3. You can check out the tracklist, and preview the tunes, below.
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A1. Trouble
AA1. Dirty Dutch
AA2. John Wayne
Magda, Marc Houle, and Troy Pierce Collaborate on ‘Down & Out Vol. 1’
A few contemporary techno giants, Magda (who just last week gave us this excellent podcast, and is pictured above), Marc Houle, and Troy Pierce, have joined forces for a three-track record named after their collaborative party series, Down & Out. Items & Things, the label run by all three of the Minus expatriates, will drop the 12″ on September 19. Before then, check out the label art and tracklist below.
A1. Troy Pierce “Majikal”
B1. Magda & Suade “Fixation”
B2. Marc Houle “Slowpe”
Ayshay “WARN-U”
The Tri Angle imprint is set to take us on yet another intense sonic adventure next month with the debut release of vocal sculptress Ayshay. The Senegalese-born, Kuwait-reared, and now New York-based artist aspires to reconfigure the “sacred” music of her international past, utilizing only her own voice—which does receives its fair share of manipulation and layering. “WARN-U,” the title track of Ayshay’s forthcoming EP, is a meditative exercise of sorts, one in which she re-pitches her own ghostly vocals up and down the sound spectrum to achieve a chorus of droning tones which seem to move in the kind of intricately methodical pattern that ultimately only makes true sense to its creator. The WARN-U EP, which comes with this tune, two other originals, and a remix from LA production outfit Nguzunguzu, is slated for release September 26.
Floorplan Sanctified EP
Though generally more thought of as the pioneering godfather behind minimal techno, Detroit’s Robert Hood also has another side. Complementing the lean machine funk of classic albums like Internal Empire and Minimal Nation, Hood released a whole string of minimal-influenced house records under the name of Floorplan. Exposing the funky roots at the heart of the Hood sound, Floorplan—for the most part—eschewed the synthetic in favor of a more organic, sample-based sound. Yet, while the Floorplan side-project was well received, Hood seemingly abandoned the alias in 2002.
Then in 2010, Hood’s side-project popped back up on the radar thanks to the high-profile reissue of 1996’s classic “Funky Souls.” Following that release came the techno-hued single “Move It” on last year’s EPM 10 compilation, and now, finally, Floorplan’s first EP since 2002, Sanctified. Featuring three tracks, Sanctified contains all the hallmarks of previous Floorplan releases but also manages to touch on territory that Hood had previously left alone. This is immediately apparent on standout opening track “We Magnify His Name,” which takes the driving minimal skeleton of Hood’s work and builds on it to create an epic, maximalist gospel-house anthem. It’s the obvious highlight from the release, and will undoubtedly find its way into many DJs’ peak-time sets—we can only imagine what this would do to a Shelter dancefloor.
Joining “We Magnify His Name” are the more sparse b-sides. Of the two, “Baby Baby” takes pride of place with its bizarre, hyperactive disco- and jit-influenced sound. Riding a hectic 138-bpm rhythm, “Baby Baby” combines the spastic tempo of jit with an infectious orchestral part, creating a unique sound that might lend itself well as a DJ tool, albeit one that might require some pitch-control work. Less stellar, though not by much, is “Basic Principle,” which loses its footing and regresses into repetitive and moody, organ-led house. It’s not terrible, just not nearly as surprising or as interesting as the rest of the EP.
Trax Records Celebrates 25 Years with Compilation and Documentary DVD
Arguably one of the most influential house-music labels of all time, Trax has reached its 25th year of existence and is celebrating the occasion with the release of a compilation CD and documentary chronicling the Chicago label’s history. The collection of tunes is, for the most part, a look back on the vintage house that defined the label’s early output, with cornerstone gems like Virgo’s “Do You Know Who You Are?” and Jamie Principle and Frankie Knuckles’ collaborative track, “It’s a Cold World,” adorning the tracklist. The compilation also takes a look towards the imprint’s future with a few select tunes from the current Trax roster. The documentary, entitled The House That Trax Built, is said to be a “a candid look into kids coming together, making music, pressing records and having the times of their lives,” which most likely means essential viewing for anyone even remotely interested in the early days of Chicago house. The album and DVD hit the streets on October 18, but in the meantime, you can check the tracklist and ambiguously minimal preview video below.
Tracklist:
01 Chuck Roberts “In the Beginning”
02 Two Of A Kind “Happiness”
03 Jamie Principle and Frankie Knuckles “It’s A Cold World”
04 Mr. Lee “I Can’t Forget”
05 Jungle Wonz “Time Marches On”
06 Housemaster Boyz “Trax You Lost”
07 Virgo “Do You Know Who You Are?”
08 Hula “Hot Hands”
09 Hercules “Lost In The Groove”
10 DJ Rush “Help”
11 Ralphi Rosario “You Used to Hold Me 2011” vocal by Screamin’ Rachael, Remix by DJ Gem
Bonus Tracks:
George Clinton and Screamin’ Rachael “Our House Is Funkatified”
“Hip That House” featuring Bloodties
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DZA “Zoo Keeper (Salva Remix)”
Maybe someday far off in the distant future there will be an intergalactic equivalent to the “booze cruise,” where passengers can get drunk and party on board some sort of spaceship contraption while the inner workings of the galaxy unfold outside the ship’s windows. But until then, we have the sounds of Salva. The man has an undeniable knack for funky, futuristic sounds, which he puts to good use on this remix, seamlessly weaving plenty of lazery vibes into DZA‘s stomping ADD dubstep tune, “Zoo Keeper.” And, even better, Salva makes sure the whole affair is super smooth, even taking some of the original’s more obtrusive elements—like the quasi-turntable scratching “Ahhs”—and throwing them so far into space that they come back polished enough to neatly fit right into his rework. DZA’s eight-track Zoo Keeper EP is out now.
