If we’ve learned one thing lately, it’s that UK pop duo Alpines has great taste in remixers. First, we heard a shimmering version of “Cocoon” from London’s xxxy, and now we have deep, pulsating remix of the same tune by Maya Jane Coles (pictured above), who produces this one under the moniker Nocturnal Sunshine. The UK tunesmith mixes a dash of dark techno vibes into her dubwise track for a slick production that skirts simple categorization at nearly every turn.
For a 22-year-old, Briton Chris Ward, the lone soul behind Tropics, has absorbed his fair share of music made before he was even thought of. On Mouves, his second EP, a four-tracker for Planet Mu, Ward’s brand of gauzy, post-rocky electronic pop looks clearly in the direction of vintage Factory Records—”Celebrate” lightly mimics Durutti Column’s gorgeous guitar runs, while the title track harks back to The Wake’s gentle, but synth-heavy post-punk vibes. Of course, what this newcomer brings to those sounds is of utmost importance here, and it’s touches like the snappy snares on “Mouves,” which usher along a percolating, danceable synth line, Peter Hook-lite bass, and ethereal vocals, that make this such a forward-moving slice of electronic pop. Even Tony Wilson couldn’t have predicted the song’s slinky and icy remix from Keep Shelly in Athens, nor would he have imagined FaltyDL’s deep and vibey, almost Art of Noise-esque take on the track. But maybe what’s most surprising of all is that Planet Mu, the genre-defying record house run by Mike Paradinas, has decided to put out such an unchallenging (in a good way) release, so much in contrast with the label’s occasionally abrasive (also in a good way) experiments in sound. Either way, Mouves signals a exciting new direction for Planet Mu, and continues this promising youngster’s upward trajectory.
Right around the same time we got the surprising news that Zomby had signed with 4AD for the release of his excellent Dedication album, we were also informed that the prince of purple, Joker, had penned a deal with the imprint as well. Now, we get the first details of what will soon come from that exciting pairing. The UK tunesmith will first drop a 12″ featuring the tunes “Here Come the Lights” and “My Trance Girl” on September 12, which will be followed not long afterwards by Joker’s debut LP, called The Vision, on November 7. But before any of that music is readily available, you can stream the lead single, “Here Come the Lights,” which features vocals by Silas of Turboweekend, below.
Taken from his soon-to-be-released EP, One Hunned, “Guardian” finds Montreal beatsmith Lunice layering NES-era videogame melodies and the tiniest of vocal snippets over some laid-back, clap-heavy hip-hop beats. It’s a bit of a slow burner, the kind of track that’s less for the club and more for fondly remembering marathon childhood Nintendo sessions and the struggle to reach the next level while your mom was periodically yelling at you to put down the controller and finish your homework. Good times. The six-track One Hunned EP will drop on August 16. (via FADER)
Next Tuesday, Warp will release the first record to come from Glaswegian DJ/producer Hudson Mohawke since his debut LP, 2009’s Butter, but before the Satin Panthers EP drops, you can hear the whole thing now. Below, you’ll find a YouTube player streaming the five tracks that make up HudMo’s 16-plus-minute release. You can pre-order your copy of Satin Panthers EP here.
It seems a resurgence of interest in the history of American dance music culture is currently underway, with news of a documentary chronicling San Francisco’s ’90s rave scene popping up last week and now a documentary capturing New York’s blossoming house scene of the same era recently coming to our attention. The film, entitled Back in the House, is mostly comprised of footage captured by director Farid Slimani, who, in 1996, as a French teenager, visited NYC and absorbed as much of the house music culture as he could, and filmed the whole expedition along the way. If the trailer is any indication, he ended up with some uniquely fascinating footage, with virtually every name from the scene, including Junior Vasquez, Kenny Dope (pictured above), Louie Vega, Juan Atkins, and Roger Sanchez to name a few. You can watch the 12-plus-minute teaser, and get more info on the doc, here.
Washington, DC DJ/producer and 3024 label head Martyn gave us the details on a forthcoming single he’ll soon be releasing via Brainfeeder, earlier this month, and now, we’ve got the rundown on his second full-length, which will drop on October 10 courtesy of that same imprint. The album is called Ghost People, and will feature 11 tunes from the artist, which are supposedly less about “sorrows and melancholy,” including one collaborative track with Kode9’s partner in crime, The Spaceape. In talking about his forthcoming sophomore LP, Martyn says, “For this album, I chose things that are further away from me: the ‘ghost people’ theme. There are references to DJing in general. Not the jetset DJ life, but the old Paradise Garage DJ life, where people want to share and play the music they really love, regardless of if it’s trendy. Nothing fancy or flashy. Just back to the roots.” You can check out the full artwork and tracklist for Ghost People below. (via FACT)
01 Love And Machines (ft Spaceape)
02 Viper
03 Masks
04 Distortions
05 Popgun
06 I Saw You At Tule Lake
07 Ghost People
08 Twice As
09 Bauplan
10 Horror Vacui
11 We Are You In The Future
The venerable boss of grime (and former XLR8Rfeatured artist), Terror Danjah, has unveiled the details for a forthcoming single on his own Hardrive imprint to be released next month. “Full Attention” is about as “summer vibes” as Terror Danjah gets, enlisting the sweet, sultry voice of fellow London resident Ruby Lee Ryder to adorn the anthemic tune, which comes complete with a blistering breakbeat, customary grime breakdown, and even an array of melodious strings. The 12″ single, which sees its release August 15, comes with an acapella and two new Danjah tracks, but those who opt to purchase the digital version will be treated to a remix of the lead tune from Roska. How does one choose? You can check a radio rip of “Full Attention,” along with the full tracklist, below.
Tracklist:
01 Full Attention (feat. Ruby Lee Ryder)
02 Full Attention (Acapella)
03 East Village
04 Jeckle and Hyde
Digital Only – Full Attention (Roska Remix)
Today, the Moodymann-run Mahogani Music imprint released the third album from Detroit producer Andres (known in the hip-hop world as DJ Dez). The simply titled III LP has a considerably short tracklist, with just six songs, but like former Andres endeavors, there may be a CD version to follow with a more substantial tracklisting. No artwork has appeared for the album yet, but you can check the tracklist below and listen to snippets of each soulful outing over at Rush Hour.
Tracklist:
01 Be Free Baby
02 We Run Things
03 Baby
04 Make It Last
05 Don’t Fall In
06 Outta This Earth
Just over a week ago, we got news of the forthcoming sophomore LP from Texas-based artist Alan Palomo (a.k.a. Neon Indian), and now, we get to hear the first full track from Era Extraña. The hazy “Fallout” tune is available now as a free download—well, for the price of an email address, anyway. You can grab it from the widget embedded below.
