One of the wistful tracks taken from Brighton-based outfit Regal Safari‘s freeR G L S F R EP, “Light,” is given a mesmerizing video here. While the precious electronic sounds of the group’s EP opener play out, we navigate the skeleton of virtual cartography from the air—making occasional pit stops to take in whatever captivating spectacle is in front of us.
Ryan York “If I Am This Forest”
Last year, LA beatsmith Asura (a.k.a. Ryan York) splashed onto the music scene with a string of well-received singles and, Asura, his debut full length. Not content with just a big entrance, the Topanga Canyon resident is currently hard at work on a proper follow-up and a collaborative album with Ana Caravelle. Considering such a busy workload, it’s a pleasant surprise that York has announced the imminent release of If I Am This Forest, a brand-new EP to be released on Non Projects. As a teaser, he’s offered up the title track, which features a wild combination of haunting vocals, organic atmospherics, and shambling 8-bit rhythm synthesis. If I Am This Forest will see release September 13, and pre-orders for the limited-edition vinyl pressing are currently being taken on Non Projects’ website. The perpetually curious can check out the album art and tracklisting after the jump.
1. If I Am This Forest
2. Sea Water
3. As the Darkness (After the Crash)
4. Me and You
Sherard Ingram to Release New DJ Stingray EP
It’s putting it lightly to say that Sherard Ingram has an impressive resume. Famously kicking off his career with a residency at a motorcycle bar in Detroit (with Moodymann of all people), Ingram later went on to be Drexciya’s tour DJ, DJ Stingray. As a producer, Ingram’s no slouch either, and he’s recently supplemented the seminaltracks made under his Urban Tribe alias by reviving the DJ Stingray moniker to create unfathomably funky electro cuts. With an album on the way, he’s just announced the imminent release of Electronic Countermeasures, a four-track EP out August 30 on his own Micron Audio Detroit imprint. Check below for the album art and tracklisting.
A1. 2 Point 4 GHz ISM
A2. Signal Analysis
B1. VLF Device
B2. Spread Spectrum
Update: Apparently, Ingram has been quite busy on the production front, as we also received word that another EP, Misinformation Campaign, is in the works. Composed under the moniker Stingray313 and set for release in September via the Austrian Trust label, the four-track record can be previewed here. The artwork and tracklist have been posted below.
A1 Herd Instinct
A2 Street Theatre
B1 Who’s Watching the Watchers
B2 Defect
Listen to Todd Edwards Chat With Resident Advisor
New Jersey-based garage icon Todd Edwards recently sat down for an interview with electronic music hub Resident Advisor as part of the website’s ongoing RA Exchange podcast series. The DJ/producer talks about his signature sound, his career-defining work with Daft Punk, his recent accomplishments, and more throughout the hour-long discussion, which you can listen to in full here.
Wiley “Link Up (Alex D Remix)”
Forgive us for stating the obvious, but London-based grime MC Wiley is exhaustingly prolific. With last month’s just-dropped album, 100% Publishing, in the bag, he’s now going into full-on promo mode for his next LP—previously announced as an EP—Evolve or Be Extinct. The lead single is called “Link Up,” and Wiley has offered up the “Alex D Remix” of the track as a way of whetting our appetites. Taking the original song’s detuned bassline and replacing it with a fuzzy, overdriven synth-bass, Alex D’s remix turns the track out, doing the party-rap vocals justice with an overhaul that’s simultaneously stripped down and amped up. “Link Up” is out now. Evolve or Be Extinct drops later this summer.
Gescom Skull Snap EP
One of the most alluring aspects of the anonymous UK production outfit Gescom is the stylistic freedom the group exhibits from one release to the next. This is likely due to the constantly shifting personnel responsible for the project’s 16-plus-year-spanning discography, a roster that has been known to include Sean Booth and Rob Brown of Autechre. Nevertheless, despite the fluidity of Gescom’s sound and cast of producers, there’s always been a disjointed, hip-hop-indebted framework tying it all together. Four years after the release of its last record, the acid-tinged A1 – D1 EP, that inherent style is apparent as ever on the new, five-track Skull Snap EP, although it’s been skewed this time with samples of horns, strings, and other live instrumentation.
Bombastic opener “Seventh Stone Triangle” sounds like a warped Kanye West b-side, boasting anthemic string arrangements, operatic bursts, warbling organ chords, and heavily treated guitar crunch over the top of a head-knocking beat. “Seventh Ace Deuce” could be described in much the same way, but the remaining three cuts on Gescom’s EP find the nameless artists working in more esoteric realms—with better results. Standout tunes “R Zee Oner Panix” and “Cake Mic” utilize diced-up drum recordings and a bit of indiscernible noise for a handful of pared-down grooves, which, no matter who is doing the knob twiddling, have long been Gescom’s strong point. Though nothing on the Skull Snap EP is all too surprising or even that exciting when it comes down to it, it is nonetheless a welcome update from the elusive IDM veterans.
Video: Apparat “Black Water”
Impatient fans of mercurial German producer Apparat will be happy to know that he’s just released a brand-new video in anticipation of The Devil’s Walk, his forthcoming album slated for release on September 26 via Mute. Directed by Ben Reed, the video for lead single “Black Water” (available as a download here) is a perfect visual representation of the track and features a towering, slowly smoking junk-art sculpture. Mimicking the song’s lack of horizontal movement, the video approaches, but never reaches, its climax, as all progress is eventually thwarted by the rewind button.
HGLDT “Mo(ve)ments in Time”
Poutine. MUTEK. Smoked meat sandwiches. Montreal is known for a lot of things, and thanks to the efforts of producers like Jacques Greene, LOL Boys, Hissy Fit, and HGLDT, the city may soon be able to add forward-thinking bass music to that list. HGLDT (a.k.a. Henry Goury-Laffont) heads up the Swing and Skip imprint, which recently dropped its second release, a split 12″ from UK beatmaker Damu and the label head himself. “Mo(ve)ments in Time” may not appear on the record, but it does offer the same kind of boundary-crossing spirit, combining snappy, Neptunes-style hip-hop drums with a whimsical synth melody and an adorably creepy vocal that kind of sounds like a mogwai—the creature from Gremlins, not the band.
Lemonade “The Place Where You Belong (Shai Cover)”
Leave it to Brooklyn trio Lemonade to seek out a relatively unknown (and most certainly forgotten) cut from the Beverly Hills Cop III soundtrack, and rework it into a fresh tune with slow-grooving dance rhythms, hazy equatorial vibes, and plaintive vocal hooks. The inherent elements of ’90s R&B and the infusion of tropical motifs could come across as a bit über-trendy, even kitschy in the wrong hands, but Lemonade makes this cover sound like it comes from a place of true sincerity, without as much as a knowing wink to discredit their efforts. The band is playing tonight in San Francisco and later this month in New York, the details of which are after the jump.
Thurs. 8/18 – San Francisco – Popscene @ The Rickshaw Stop
Sun: 8/28 – Brooklyn – Out In The Streets Festival @ Brooklyn Fireproof
Grab Jackmaster’s & Spencer’s ‘Detroit Special’ Mix
Two of the many conspirators behind Glaswegian tune hub Numbers, Jackmaster and Spencer, recently dropped a live mix of strictly classic Detroit house and techno on Rinse FM. During their two-hour DJ set, the mixmasters drop tunes from the likes of Derrick May, Model 500, Robert Hood, Omar-S, Paperclip People, Anthony Shakir, Jeff Mills, Rick Wilhite, and plenty of other Motor City heavyweights. You can download the whole thing here, and check out the full tracklist below.
Derrick May – Rest
69 – Sound On Sound
Arpanet – Infinite Density
Cesaria Evoria – Angola (Carl Craig Remix)
Marcellus Pittman – Somebody’s Out There
Erotek – Tek Slo
Rick Wilhite – Blame It On The Boogie
Optic Nerve – The Gateway
Reese – Just Another Chance
Omar S – Psychotic Photosynthesis
Blake Baxter – Get Layed
Secret Tune
Blake Baxter – When A Thought Becomes U
Paperclip People – Oscillator
The Vision – Detroit
E Dancer – Banjo
Kenny Larkin – Integration
Drexciya – Sighting In The Abyss
Psykofuk – ???
UR – Codebreaker
Model 500 – Night Drive (Time Space Transmat)
X-101 – Sonic Destroyer
Robert Hood – Unix
Japanese Telecom – Character Maps (Perspects Remix)
Davina – Don’t You Want It
UR – Timeline
Aril Brikha – Groove la Chord
Seperate Minds – First Bass
Elecktroids – Remote Control Hornet
Rob Hood – The Protein Valve A3
Electric Soul – Come on Baby
Soletech – Jit remix
Anthony Shakir – Soundblaster
Infiniti – Game One
Robert Hood – ???
AUX Men – The Vibe
Complex – Midi Merge
Fix – Flash
Top Secret Detroit Belter
Tronik House – Up Tempo
Jeff Mills – Changes Of Life
Kenny Larkin – Amethyst
