Apple MacBook Air Laptop

While Apple’s iPad has gotten quite a bit of attention from musicians, it’s the company’s new MacBook Air ($999) that represents one of the most portable music-production machines to date. For one thing, it’s infinitely more portable than the relatively bulky MacBook Pro: The 11″ Air weighs 2.3 lbs (the 13″ is 2.9 lbs), resulting in a machine you’ll barely notice in your bag (the iPad 2, by comparison, weighs 1.3 lbs). Working in Logic and Ableton was speedy and responsive, particularly when remaining careful about freezing and unfreezing tracks. Both weight and speed are improved greatly by the inclusion of the built-in SSD (64 – 256 GB), and the 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5–based processor ably carries its weight. Complex sessions with plenty of plug-ins and bussing beg for a heftier machine (think of this as a great companion to your main workhorse), but still, for traveling producers, it feels like a breakthrough moment: Once you go Air, it’s tough to go back.

Rustie Announces Debut LP, ‘Glass Swords’

It’s been a good while since Glasgow’s beat-making wunderkind Rustie signed with electronic music giant Warp and dropped his first EP with the label. Now, word has finally come that the producer has finished work on his debut LP, Glass Swords. The 13-track album is scheduled for release on October 10, and is preceded by a teaser of the title track, which also opens Rustie’s forthcoming record. You can check that out, along with the artwork and tracklist for Glass Swords, below, and pre-order the album here.

1. Glass Swords
2. Flash Back
3. Surph
4. Hover Traps
5. City Star
6. Globes
7. Ultra Thizz
8. Death Mountain
9. Cry Flames
10. After Light
11. Ice Tunnels
12. All Nite
13. Crystal Echo

Chrome Sparks “

A young producer currently calling Ann Arbor, MI home, Jeremy Malvin makes tender, beat-centric pop tunes under the name Chrome Sparks. Some tracks on his recently self-released My <3 EP bring to mind summery sounds heard from the likes of contemporaries Toro Y Moi, Hard Mix, Star Slinger, or Blackbird Blackbird, while others seem to dive a bit deeper into the emotional pool, touching on more somber themes. “<3 & Soul” is one such cut, and juxtaposes flitting xylophone melodies with downtrodden vocal hooks, broken drum patterns, and smooth synth chords for a subtly moving effect. What makes the tune even better is that it’s followed by a flipped version, called “Soul & <3,” which immediately earns Malvin brownie points for making such a classy move. You can stream and download all of Chrome Sparks’ My <3 EP on Bandcamp, here.

_3 & Soul

_3 & Soul

Autre Ne Veut Body EP

Autre Ne Veut is easily the hardest pill to swallow when it comes to the extremely nebulous indie-R&B thing. Though his nasally, often grating voice stands apart from his peers first and foremost, the music that drives the Brooklyn artist’s discordant pop also requires a certain amount of patience; at first, you may need to give it the benefit of the doubt. But as we experienced with Autre Ne Veut’s self-titled LP for Olde English Spelling Bee from last year, the more time one spends with his strange sounds, the more one can appreciate what he is doing. On the new four-song Body EP, a record largely about personal relationships and identity, that process is streamlined to great effect.

While “Not the One” and upbeat closer “Your Clothes” are both decent tracks in their own left-of-center ways, opening slow jam “Just Return” and lead single “Sweetheart” make up the meatier portions of Body. The first tune on the EP starts out employing a crunchy beat reminiscent of James Blake’s “Unluck,” which is soon after paired with a couple of melodically unhinged synths and Autre Ne Veut’s inimitable rasp. These mismatched pieces somehow quickly coalesce into an exciting and uniquely coherent pop song, which sets a precedent for the remainder of the Body EP, one that its creator consistently follows in a variety of his own twisted ways.

Slava “Florida”

For this hot-footed track, multifaceted Brooklyn producer Slava chops up bits of Marshall Jefferson’s slow-burning “Mushrooms” tune, and crafts something a lot less deep house-y and a whole lot more juke-y out of the sounds. Apparently, more trippy sounds (not to mention psychedelic GIFs ) will soon be available from the artist’s gifpumper website, which is currently a work in progress. Here’s to online multimedia projects! (via Altered Zones)

florida

Paul Weller “Starlite (Deadboy Remix)”

It’s an odd pairing to say the least: mysterious 2-step kid Deadboy (pictured above) remixing iconic British pop star Paul Weller. And yet the odd couple seems to blend together ideally, which likely speaks mostly to the deft skills of the producer behind this shimmering version of “Starlite.” Amongst clattering dance rhythms and dark, bouncing basslines, Weller’s smoky croon is jacked up into chipmunk territory, and laid amongst dubby piano hooks. Deadboy’s remix is practically void of any discernible link to its original source, which could very well be the case for the rest of the tweaked versions of “Starlite” that will drop on August 7 via Island.

Starlite (Deadboy Remix)

Starlite (Deadboy Remix)

DJ Koze, Tensnake, Isolee, and More Show Up on New Hamburg House Compilation

The Hamburg-based Hafendisko imprint has just announced that it will be treating listeners to a digital-only comp of artists from the label’s fair German city this fall. On September 9, they’ll release Hamburg Elektronisch Vol. 1 – Von House Zu House, a 20-tracker featuring the likes of DJ Koze (pictured above), Stimming, Lawrence, H.O.S.H., Tensnake, and a few more that’s sure to keep those chilly months warm. Check out the artwork and tracklist after the jump.

Tracklisting:
01. DJ Phono: Paper Aeroplane
02. Kollektiv Turmstrasse: Schwindelig
03. RVDS: A Walk On The Moon
04. DJ Koze: Blume der Nacht
05. Tensnake: Congolal
06. David August: Hamburg Is For Lovers
07. Soukie & Windish: Small feat. Rayo **
08. Extrawelt: My Stupid (Dub Mix)
09. Solomun: Curesto
10. H.O.S.H. feat Ost & Kjex: Hamburg Nights
11. Kruse & Nu?rnberg: Lights Down **
12. Lovebirds: The Beast
13. Smallpeople: Meadows
14. Isolee: To?rn
15. Stimming: For My Girl
16. Christopher Rau: Do Little
17. Lawrence: Just Like Heaven
18. Wareika: Mold Area **
19. Remute: Atomic Bell Pt. 1
20. Vincenzo: Tasmania

** exclusively produced for this album

Mala and Kuedo to Appear on Forthcoming King Midas Sound Remix 12″

While we wait in anticipation for the follow-up LP to King Midas Sound‘s Waiting for You record, Hyperdub will drop a 12″ of remixes for two tracks from that soon-to-be-released album. On remix duty for the project are two heavy hitters in the bass scene, Kuedo (a.k.a. Jamie from Vex’d) and dubstep icon Mala (the man behind one of our two 200th podcasts). Hyperdub will release the double a-side 12″ on August 29.

Listen to The Count & Sinden’s Remix LP Featuring Lone, xxxy, Hot City, Canblaster, and More

It’s been a little while since the two fellows of The Count & Sinden dropped their collaborative debut LP, Mega Mega Mega, via Domino, but we suppose it’s never really too late to release a remix album, especially when you’ve got top-shelf producers on the job. Graeme Sinden and Josh Harvey will do just that next week, but are giving us a chance to hear the record in full now. Below, you can listen to versions of Mega Mega Mega‘s 12 hyped-up tracks from the likes of Hot City, Canblaster, Dave Nada, Throwing Snow, Lone (we featured his remix as a download last year), xxxy, and more. (via FACT)

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Junior Boys Announce Tour, Share New Remix

Canadian dance-pop duo Junior Boys recently released their fourth LP, It’s All True, and are set to follow with an extensive tour this fall and winter. Jeremy Greenspan and Matthew Didemus will travel from September through December, performing any number of their infectious tunes in the US, UK, Europe, and Canada. Before the pair embarks on their world tour (full schedule is below), they’ve shared a new remix of It’s All True single “Banana Ripple” by Manchester’s Stay+ (formerly Christian AIDS), which you can stream/download below.

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Sep 11 Minneapolis MN – First Avenue
Sep 12 Winnipeg MB – West End Cultural Center
Sep 14 Edmonton AB – Starlite Room
Sep 15 Calgary AB – Republik
Sep 17 Vancouver BC – The Commodore
Sep 18 Victoria BC – Sugar Nightclub
Sep 20 Seattle WA – Neumos
Sep 21 Portland OR – Doug Fir
Sep 23 San Francisco CA – Mezzanine
Sep 24 Los Angeles CA – El Rey
Sep 25 Tucson AZ – Plush
Sep 27 Austin TX – The Mohawk
Sep 28 Dallas TX – Granada
Sep 29 Houston TX – Fitgerald’s
Sep 30 New Orleans LA – One Eyes Jacks
Oct 04 Tampa FL – Crowbar
Oct 05 Orlando FL – The Social
Oct 06 Miami FL – Bardot
Oct 08 Athens GA – 40 Watt Club
Oct 10 Carrboro NC – Cat’s Cradle
Oct 11 Asheville NC – Orange Peel
Oct 12 Lexington KY – Buster’s
Oct 13 Columbus OH – The Basement
Oct 14 Pittsburgh PA – Altar
Oct 15 Buffalo NY – Tralf Music Hall
Nov 16 Helsinki FI – Tavastia
Nov 18 Stockholm SE – Strand
Nov 19 Oslo NO – Jaeger
Nov 20 Malmo SE – Debaser
Nov 23 Brussels BE – Orangerie
Nov 24 Amsterdam NL – Throuw
Nov 27 Leipzig DE – Conne Island
Nov 29 Milan IT – Magnolia
Nov 30 Bologna IT – Covo
Dec 01 Roma IT – Circolo degli Artisti
Dec 03 Warsaw PL – Stodola
Dec 04 Poznan PL – SQ
Dec 06 Berlin DE – Berghain
Dec 07 Stuttgart DE – Schocken
Dec 10 Dublin IE – Twisted Pepper
Dec 11 Minehead UK – Butlins Holiday Resort
Dec 12 London UK – Heaven
Dec 14 Istanbul TR – IKSV
Dec 15 Offenbach DE – Hafen 2
Dec 16 Basel CH – Sud
Dec 17 Lasuanne CH – Le Romandie
Dec 20 Barcelona ES – Razz 2
Dec 21 Madrid ES – Penelope

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