Just this past Friday we shared with you the news of Omar-S‘s forthcoming new EP for Scion A/V, called High School Graffiti, and now we have an exclusive first taste of that record to share with you. Below, you can download “Who’s in Key,” the fifth cut from the Detroit producer’s forthcoming EP, which also features fellow veteran tunesmith Theo Parrish. Look for the rest of Omar-S’s High School Graffiti EP when it drops on August 9.
XLR8R Couldn't find the embed function for type: "topspin" and source: "<iframe id="tsFrame91607" src="http://cdn.topspin.net/api/v2/widget/player/91607" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe>".
XLR8R Couldn't find the embed function for type: "blip" and source: "<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLK0yIC" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="530" height="331" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">".
With Martyn‘s forthcoming Ghost People LP on the way (to be released in October to be exact), the good people at Intruders TV took the opportunity to discuss a few things with the heralded sonic adventurer. The 10-plus-minute interview covers topics such as Martyn’s new LP, his 3024 imprint, how he got hooked up with FlyLo and the Brainfeeder camp (who will be releasing his forthcoming album), and a few other bits and pieces that fall in between.
San Francisco’s Kush Arora has put together a new EP of international proportions, tapping the UK’s Lady Chann, NYC’s Jah Dan, Chicago’s MC Zulu, Oakland’s Undah P, and reemerging Kingston legend Mega Banton to contribute their vast vocal flavors to Arora’s funky, futuristic dancehall. For Banton’s featured track (which, coincidentally, kicked-off Chrissy Murderbot’s XLR8Rpodcast a few months back), the enigmatic MC rips through an astonishing amount of phrases while bombastic horns and pummeling drums charge behind him. Of course, no Arora production would be complete without the right touch of sinister synth work, and “Shake Sitten” is no different, save for the fact that its intensity is perfectly matched by Banton’s blistering vocals. The Spanish Street Riddim EP (artwork above) sees its release August 10, with a special release show—our Bay Area readers will be happy to notice—going down in SF that night (full details here).
It’s that time again, folks—that time when we reveal to you the most downloaded tracks from XLR8R‘s highly curated selection of MP3s (and let you download them again, of course!) for the month. July, as always, featured some of the usual suspects (Burial, Shlohmo, Miracles Club, Actress, Laurel Halo), some out-of-nowheres (Baron Von Luxxury, Albert Swarm), some aging rockers (Paul Weller? Dennis Coffey? WTF?), and some returns to the fray (Solvent, M83, who is pictured above). So, without further ado, we present to you, in descending order, July’s 25 most clicked-on MP3s for your listening pleasure.
For anyone who’s had the pleasure of seeing Richie Hawtin’s alter-ego Plastikman in its recent incarnation around the world, it should be fairly obvious that there is quite a complex system behind the multimedia experience that is Plastikman Live. Hawtin recently shared some in-depth insight into the elements that make the show possible with Burn Studios (who also had the techno legend briefly discuss his thoughts on art, technology, and success in another video, which you’ll find after the jump). Sure, maybe it’s all a little over our heads, but it still proves immensely interesting to see how much work and organization goes into the Plastikman Live experience, and to hear Hawtin’s refreshingly genuine take on the state of electronic music.
Over the past 14 months, the Irish Hsüan imprint has been carving out its own space in the bass music world with releases from up-and-comers Drop/Dead, Blacktee, and EOMAC, among others. Now, the label has passed along a track from another burgeoning producer, Pneumatic, who has a forthcoming release for Hsüan slated for later this month. Humbly beginning as a sparse, soulful beat of the futuristic variety, the Irish producer takes to chopping a pitched-up female vocal amongst a host of cyclical synth lines for the first half of the six-plus minute track. Then a few hints of what’s to come start to appear—sped-up percussion, a brooding bassline—and finally Pneumatic lets it all go, launching the track into garage territory at just the right moment.
Although JTRP hails from Germany, the duo’s relatively short career to date has found the group seemingly inextricably tied to London, most likely because of its relationship with the Deep Teknologi collective. The Hypnotise EP is JTRP’s second release on the label, the first being a self-titled EP which dropped early in the year. In line with the rest of Deep Teknologi’s output, the pair has once again cooked up a trio of tunes rooted firmly in deep, dark house, showcasing a potent yet stripped-down sound that also folds in elements of UK funky, techno, dubstep, grime, and garage. The EP’s title track is a near-perfect encapsulation of what JTRP (and by extension, Deep Teknologi) is all about, a deep and detailed song that classily rides along clattering, organic drum sounds and a thick, underwater acid bassline. “Hypnotise” is short on melody and may appear to not do a whole lot on the first listen, but there’s little doubt that the track sounds huge in a club setting. “Ceddybu” starts in a similar fashion, but actually displays a lot more flash once the tune’s big snares and synth melody hit nearly three minutes in. It’s still dark, an atmosphere helped along by the pitched-down vocal sample, but it’s undeniably the closest thing to a banger here. Rounding out the release is “Shady,” a swampy number with woozy synths and nervous, stuttering percussion that never settles into a steady 4/4 groove. Like the rest of the EP, there’s nothing over the top happening, but the music is unquestionably solid.
The purple-dinosaur-suit-wearing producer known as Mochipet is a week away from releasing his latest LP, Chicxulub (artwork above), for the 1320 label. Here, we have the record’s first single, an energetic slice of epic beat work that matches videogame-style arpeggiators (check the title) along with an over-powering breakbeat and a healthy dose of low-end rumble. Considering “Yoshi’s Dinosaur Egg Hunt” is only the second track of the album, which is said to serve as “the soundtrack for an animated novel in which the dinosaurs make their way through the impact of the comet believed to have destroyed them,” it’s safe to say that Chicxulub is going to be one propulsive collection of boom-bappery when it drops August 16. You can check the full tracklist (which begins to outline the dinosaur novel’s plot line) after the jump.
Chicxulub Tracklist: 01 Dinosaur Anthems 02 Yoshi’s Dinosaur Egg Hunt 03 Pterodactyl Spaceship 04 The Battle of Dinotropolis (Featuring Ben Samples) 05 Fossils 06 A Home Away From Home 07 Ghost Ride the Ark 08 I Really Don’t Think We Are Ok… Ace
XLR8R Couldn't find the embed function for type: "vimeo" and source: "<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/27273208?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="530" height="298" frameborder="0"></iframe>".
One of the many standouts from burgeoning LA beatsmith Teebs‘ debut album, Ardour, “Moments” recently received a whimsical video treatment from director Paul Trilo. Reportedly using over 200 smoke bombs in the making, the visuals match the effortless tenderness of the track with a series of constantly morphing landscapes (of both the urban and natural variety), which fade away and appear via billows of smoke. Ardour is out now on Brainfeeder.
Air France is so good. However, they aren’t exactly prolific, last releasing a single in 2009 and only a couple of EPs before that. Earlier this morning, the Swedish dream-pop duo arose from its lengthy slumber and offered up “It Feels Good to Be Around You” as a free download via the Sincerely Yours website. The song doesn’t have any real surprises, as the pair fills the track with wispy, vaguely Balearic synths, steel drum samples, subtle dance beats, and pleasantly melancholy vocals. Unfortunately, the group didn’t offer any clues as to whether more new music is on the way. That said, these guys are Swedish. Can’t we start some kind of petition for the government over there to finance an Air France full-length? That’s how those Scandinavian countries work, right? (We admittedly have no idea.)
