Propellerhead Announces Reason 6, Reason Essentials, and Balance Audio Interface

The Swedish software masterminds over at Propellerhead have officially announced the release of Reason 6, an updated and expanded version of its widely used software, as well as the release of a more compact and streamlined version of the program called Reason Essentials. Along with the standard components that have served Reason users throughout the years, the new version totes three brand-new devices: a combination compressor/distortion/filter/envelope-follower known as the “Pulveriser,” a triple-filtered gate called the “Alligator,” and a hybrid digital/analog modeling stereo delay called “The Echo.” Reason 6 also furthers the program’s evolution into a full DAW by incorporating all the features from Propellerhead’s Record software, allowing users to fully record and edit audio for the first time in the Reason platform. The company has also announced plans to release Reason Essentials, a paired-down, more economical version of Reason that comes with a smaller but more focused assortment of instruments and features.

The Swedish company has also passed along the news that it will be making its first foray into the land of digital audio hardware with the Balance Audio Interface. Featuring two channels of input and output, the sleek interface is said to incorporate high-quality converters and pre-amps for both line and mic-level signals, and will seamlessly integrate with Propellerhead software, but is also compatible with other DAW platforms.

Both Reason 6 and Reason Essentials are currently in the “limited public beta testing” stage right now, with a full release for each program and the Balance Audio Interface slated for September 30. In the meantime, you’ll find a video below to introduce you to Reason 6’s new features in more detail.

Stream Soft Metals’ Debut LP

The Portland synth-pop duo Soft Metals is still a week away from issuing its debut LP for the Captured Tracks imprint, but you can listen to all 10 tunes that make up the self-titled endeavor now. If you’ve been paying attention, you would have noticed two tracks from the forthcoming album, “Psychic Driving” and “Eyes Closed”, make their way to our download section over the past month or so, but now we can offer you a complete picture of the pair’s work in all its tenderly danceable, synthed-out-electro glory. You’ll find a stream of the record (thanks to the good people at Altered Zones) below, and make sure to be on the lookout for Soft Metals when it’s set loose next Tuesday, July 19.

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Loose Fit “Table Beggar”

Loose Fit, a duo of reportedly life-long friends Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith, has just unleashed a new release for the relatively young UK label Join the Dots. Here we have the EP’s lead track, a slow-brewing, piano-driven outing that floats between artsy house and delicate future-pop. “Loose Fit” is built from a base of looped chords, to which the pair adds layers of percussion, arpeggiators, and distant synth swells to the deep bass and sparse beat that move “Table Beggar” at a solemn, steady trot. The final touches come in the form of understated vocals and rich string arrangements, which result in a dense and rewarding effort. The Table Beggar/Magnetise EP, which comes with another Loose Fit original as well as remixes from Manuel Tur, Ripperton, King of Town, and Ruf Dog, is available now in digital format.

Table Beggar (Radio Edit)

Hype Williams Kelly Price W8 Gain Vol. II EP

If we’re being absolutely frank, there’s not too much difference between a good Hype Williams track and a bad one. The enigmatic duo of Dean “Roy” Blunt and Inga Copeland (or maybe Karen Glass, if you like) make a nebulous kind of aimless, lo-fi ‘pop’ that could be the current epitome of an “acquired taste” in music; they basically use the same ingredients—an oversized bassline, deep synth pads, preset drum-machine sounds, dusty vinyl samples, and (presumably) a shit ton of weed—on each track they create, and you either like the recipe or you don’t.

The Kelly Price W8 Gain Vol. II EP is the latest batch of Hype Williams’ special blend (released via Hyperdub, oddly enough), and as you might expect, it’s not much different from previous outings. In fact, the four-track record might as well be called One Nation Vol. II. Not only does it share the same kind of low-slung grooves (like on standout opener “Rise Up”) and surreal soundscapes (just try to make sense of “Farthing Wood Dub”) with that Hippos in Tanks-released LP, but the same deadpan orator makes an appearance on EP closer “Badmind,” too. Whether or not this is a collection of b-sides isn’t terribly important, though; if you’re pleased with Hype Williams’ previous work, you’ll likely enjoy this record. But if you’re a newcomer to the Blunt & Copeland fanclub, we’d suggest you start somewhere not so half-baked.

Actress “Parallel World”

Now, we’re usually wary of tracks that come along with absolutely no information, which is why we had to take a second glance at this one when it popped up on Actress’ Twitter account yesterday with nothing but a brief note reading “Sleeping in the next werld,” but all signs seem to point to the Werk Discs label head. There’s that inherent uneasiness Actress seems to weave into all his tracks present on “Parallel World”—the slightly off-kilter rhythms that slowly make sense as they’re pulled apart and piled back together. And then there’s the intricate melody, which floats and revolves as if spinning around the song at its own pace, yet somehow still miraculously fitting into place when needed. Then to top it off, the track clocks in at a jaw-dropping nine and a half minutes, surely a mark of the one producer who can weave slow-burning abstraction for such an elongated period and continue to effortlessly hold our attention all the same. Let’s hope this tune is a hint at more similarly enveloping pieces from the South Londoner to make their way to our ears sooner rather than later.

Parallel World

Laurel Halo “Constant Index (Actress Violet Remix)”

One of our favorite labels of late, Hippos in Tanks, recently released the latest record from one our favorite synth auteurs of late, Laurel Halo (pictured above). The original version of “Constant Index” comes from that Hour Logic LP, and here we have an entirely flipped remix of the expansive tune by UK bass experimentalist and Werk Discs label head Actress. Producer Darren Cunningham boils down Laurel Halo’s high-flying vocal melodies and churning synth sounds into a more insular piece that juggles broken grooves, negative space, and thumping, four-on-the-floor beats with a lackadaisical skill few others seem to possess. “Constant Index (Actress Violet Remix)” starts out a bit alienating, but once the beat drops, this is one most people should be able to get down to. (via Stereogum)

Constant Index (Actress Violet Remix)

Constant Index (Actress Violet Remix)

Walls Announces New Album, Shares First Single, Preps Tour

London-based production duo Walls has announced it will soon follow up its self-titled debut album from last year with a new full-length record, called Coracle. The LP is scheduled to drop on September 26 via Kompakt in the middle of the outfit’s world tour, which will see them sharing the stage with Battles throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, along with a date at the ATP festival in the UK with Flying Lotus. In advance of Walls’ new album, the duo has shared the first single, “Sunporch,” before it’s released on August 29. You can stream that track, as well as check out Walls’ upcoming full performance schedule, below.

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07/28/11 – Trailerpark Festival DENMARK
08/12/11 – Dockville Festival, Hamburg GERMANY
08/13/11 – Pantiero Festival, Cannes FRANCE
08/26/11 – Nowa Musyka, Katowice POLAND
09/17/11 – The Arches, Glasgow, SCOTLAND
10/1/11 – Cameo Gallery, NYC
10/2/11 – Royale Nightclub Boston +
10/3/11 – Le National Montreal CANADA +
10/5/11 – Grog Shop Cleveland +
10/7/11 – Vic Theater Chicago +
10/8/11 – Fine Line Music Cafe Minneapolis +
10/10/11 – Starlite Room Edmonton CANADA +
10/13/11 – Wonder Ballroom Portland +
12/10/11 – ATP – Nightmare Before Christmas UK=

+ supporting Battles
= supporting Battles & Flying Lotus

Video: REL “On My Way”

We always dig when instrumental hip-hop takes a turn for the experimental, chill-wavy end of the spectrum. Case in point: Drums & Ammo compatriot REL‘s new “On My Way,” a nice and succinct beat-and-rhythm combo that owes more to Toro Y Moi than Dilla. Check out the clip above, which takes you on a psychedelic-tinged trip through San Francisco, and grab the full-length that it’s taken from, Out of View, when it’s released later this summer via SWTBRDS.

Stream a New Track From Balam Acab’s Forthcoming LP

Since we first heard the spectral, waterlogged beauty of “Oh, Why” from Balam Acab‘s forthcoming debut LP for Tri Angle Records, entitled Wander / Wonder (pictured above), we’ve waited just as patiently as we can for another taste of its eight tracks (not to mention the whole record itself). Thankfully, the powers that be are an understanding bunch, and have unleashed another cut from the album. You can stream the touching and deeply melodic “Apart,” the second song on Balam Acab’s Wander / Wonder, before it’s released on September 6, below.

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Listen to Newcomer Ifan Dafydd’s Debut 12″

It’s a bit out of the ordinary for us to post streaming music from an artist we’d previously never even heard of, but it was quickly made apparent to us that Welsh producer Ifan Dafydd isn’t all that ordinary himself. His music is a well-developed, soulful strain of bass music that seems to effortlessly invoke CMYK/Klavierwerke-era James Blake, and has already been touted by the likes of Jamie xx, Oneman, and Gilles Peterson. The newcomer will drop his debut record, a two-song 12″ featuring the tracks “No Good” and “Miranda,” as a vinyl-only, white-label release on August 15, with something more official scheduled to follow from the brand-new Push & Run imprint. That’s the artwork for it up top, and you can listen to both tunes below.

“No Good”

“Miranda”

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