Last month, we tipped you to Tropics’ upcoming Mouves EP on Planet Mu. Those of you left hungry by the release details and a stream of the title track will be happy to know that there is more where that came from, as Tropics has just revealed the official video for “Mouves” and it fits the track perfectly. Featuring lush Japanese cityscapes being torn through by two western hipster beardos in what appears to be an intense footrace, the “Mouves” video feels something like being in the calm center of a tornado. Give it a shot and keep your eyes peeled for the release of the Mouves EP on July 18. (via FADER)
Loco Dice to Release New Single on M-nus
Dusseldorf-based producer Yassine Ben Achour (a.k.a. Loco Dice) has just announced the imminent release of his upcoming single, “Knibbie Never Comes Alone” on Richie Hawtin’s M-nus label. Marking his first release for M-nus since 2006’s striking “Seeing Through Shadows,” “Knibbie Never Comes Alone” represents an effort by the artist to further explore the sparse and cerebral territory demarcated by his recent releases on Cadenza, Cocoon, Ovum, and his own Desolat imprint. The track drops on vinyl July 11 with digital release following shortly on July 13, but while you wait, check below for album art and a full tracklisting.
A. Knibbie Never Comes Alone
B. Loose Hooks
Juan Maclean Announces Peach Melba and “Can’t Let Go”
Shifting his focus away from constructing tight new-wave pop songs, Juan Maclean has just unveiled a new project in the form of Peach Melba. Working as a collaborative duo with New York-based vocalist Amy Douglas, Peach Melba promises to be an outlet for Maclean’s house-music excursions. The first release from Peach Melba is the “Can’t Let Go” single, which features three takes on the track and goes through a variety of flavors from Prescription-style deep house to dubby, Basic Channel-like techno. “Can’t Let Go” will be released on DFA July 25, but in the meantime check below for the album art and tracklist.
1. Can’t Let Go
2. Can’t Let Go (Dub)
3. Can’t Let Go (Dub of Dub)
Matthew Herbert’s ‘One Pig’ to Be Released This October
As the final installment of musique concrète auteur Matthew Herbert‘s One Trilogy (which previously included the One One and One Club albums), the artist will release One Pig, a nine-song LP “made entirely from recordings of a modern pig’s life cycle from birth to plate,” via his own Accidental label. Not surprisingly, Herbert’s forthcoming album has already been singled out by PETA, who is trying to stop the release of the record, claiming that it’s trying to turn animal cruelty into entertainment. The organization’s statement reads, “No one with any true talent or creativity hurts animals to attract attention, but we are sorry Matthew Herbert couldn’t include the screams of pigs being made into bacon on his record, as they would have instantly turned some people into vegetarians… Pigs are inquisitive, highly intelligent, sentient animals who become frightened when they are sent to slaughterhouses, where they kick and scream and try to escape the knife. They are far more worthy of respect than Matthew Herbert or anyone else who thinks cruelty is entertainment.” Herbert was reportedly “puzzled and dissapointed” by the response, as it seems its authors did little to no research of the intents and methods behind his album. If PETA doesn’t have its way, we can expect One Pig to arrive on October 10, the tracklist of which is below.
1. August 2009
2. September
3. October
4. November
5. December
6. January
7. February
8. August 2010
9. May 2011
Bubblin’ Up: Swedes Skudge Take Techno Into Darker, Complex Realms
There’s something quite beautiful in the simplicity of the mindset of Skudge, a Sweden-based duo that makes profoundly complex and challenging techno. “We sit in front of the computer and try out different sounds until we find something,” says Elias Landberg, humbly. “In the first process, we think in loops of all the elements, longer and shorter.” His partner Gustaf Wallnerstrom chips in: “We often start with the kick drum. Then it’s about feeling if something is missing. Then we record synths and effects live to bring more life to it.”
“Convolution”
Complex life resides within the intricacy of their sound worlds, but its origin is hard to say—perhaps it’s beyond them, as their biography suggests: “Machines do speak a language understood and appreciated by humans,” it reads. Until recently, the machines and their music have done most of the talking for them; the duo has stayed in the shadowed corners of anonymity, allowing the strength of the members’ collective output to shine through. Their analog take on dub-laden techno locks into dense grooves that are stylistically pristine, with weighted detail aimed straight at a solid set of speakers (“We make dancefloor music, absolutely,” Elias states). Besides a flurry of EPs (including 2009’s omnipresent Convolution) and remixes, and an extraordinary debut LP (Phantom, which was released in March), the duo has also invited other scene-straddling artists, like Aardvarck, Jared Wilson, 2562, Marcel Fengler, to re-interpret their productions on a series of Skudge remix 12”s. And there’s the DIY label that’s housed their prolific sprint of music-making since the end of 2009, Skudge Records. They just released the forth remix 12” with Boddika and Substance, with SKUDGE005, “Man on Wire,” soon on the way, Wallnerstrom reveals.
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PREVIEW ”Man On Wire” SKUDGE005 by Skudge
With separate beginnings in electronic music, painter/photographer Landberg stumbled upon rave culture via Sweden’s graffiti scene, while music collector Wallnerstrom entered through “everything from experimental stuff, ’80s Chicago house to German techno.” Concurrently stumbling upon synths and sampling around the same time (“always learning by mistakes,” as Wallnerstrom puts it), a chance meeting through a mutual friend sparked the pair’s sonic experimentation. “Our taste in techno is very similar,” Landberg tells. “In the beginning we tried out a lot of different sounds and inspired each other. Later on it got more intuitive, our way of working.” Wallnerstrom describes their chemistry further: “Elias is more a musician and I’m more a technician or programmer.”
With tightly programmed productions that sound destined for dancefloors in London or Berlin, the duo seems content with keeping its ideas grounded. “We don’t feel connected to a certain sound, and that gives us more freedom,” Landberg admits. “That’s a nice feeling.”
The Man on Wire EP is due out in September.
Ital Tek “Ulysses”
Brighton’s Ital Tek just released a four-song EP on his own Atom River imprint, called Whip it Up. Though “Ulysses” won’t be found on that record, it’s still a solid account of the UK artist’s style of “space bass” music—airy, smooth, sophisticated, and deep as can be. Ital Tek’s synths twinkle in the distance while his skittering beats and bulbous basslines work out the various sections of the track’s massive, undulating backbone. (via Nutriot)
Nicolas Jaar Remixes Vol.1
With Nicolas Jaar’s debut LP, Space Is Only Noise, still standing as one of the year’s most provocative and inventive takes on dance music—admittedly, the term is being used loosely here—it was only a matter of time before someone would be tapped to bring his songs just a little closer to the dancefloor. Fortunately, Circus Company has enlisted two like-minded producers, France’s Pépé Bradock and San Francisco’s Dave Aju, to reimagine two of the album’s tracks with the same sense of adventurous exploration originally displayed by Jaar himself.
Prolific French-house stalwart Pe?pe Bradock, apparently energized by a chance to remix a young contemporary or perhaps overwhelmed as to which direction to venture, delivers no less than three reinterpretations of Jaar’s dramatic “Too Many Kids Finding Rain In the Dust,” the first two of which fall in step with the kind of work found on Bradock’s comprehensive 2009 remix collection Confiote De Bits. The EP’s opening track, dubbed the “Blind Pig Mix,” sees the Parisian incorporating a steady breakbeat and fusing his flair for abstract jazz into the ghostly guitar and vocals of the original, while his second contribution, referred to as “Train Fantome Poke,” finds Bradock in the midst of a much darker exploration, utilizing a relentless kick drum along with a collage of ominous tones to pull the remix through its six-plus minutes. The closest thing to a misstep from Bradock comes in the form the of EP’s digital-only bonus track, which marks the release’s sole attempt to make one of Jaar’s compositions more ambient. Entitled the “Mirandapella,” it’s unoffensive but also unnecessary, an effort unable to match the richness in depth and fluidity which characterized the original “Too Many Kids.”
While Bradock spreads his ideas over multiple efforts, Dave Aju has elected to focus his might into one brilliantly straight-forward rework, tackling “Space Is Only Noise If You Can See” with an expert efficiency. The California resident seems to have decided to meet Jaar a little more than halfway to his New York home, landing this remix firmly in the realm of retro-futuristic, Detroit-style techno. Using Jaar’s eerily disengaged vocal as the leader of the procession, Aju throws down a host of cold, mechanical drums and percolating background synths, all held together by a deliciously simple bassline.
One would hope that this remix collection comes with a “Volume 1” tag because there’s at least a “Volume 2”—if not a three and four—in the works. As long as they continue to bring in quality purveyors of adventurous sounds, any subsequent editions will surely be something to look forward to.
Virgo Four It’s A Crime (Remixes)
Ever since last year’s reissue of its 1989 debut album and the subsequent release of the retrospective Resurrection LP, Virgo Four has seen a steady rise in the popularity of its legend. The Chicago house production outfit comprised of Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis never really had too many releases in Chi-town’s heyday of ’85-’89, their only official releases being the Do You Know Who You Are EP on Trax Records and the shadowy Virgo LP on London’s Radical Records. Though both releases were well received and musically innovative, they were never remembered as fondly as say, the unrelated Virgo project by Marshall Jefferson, Michael A. Smith (a.k.a. Adonis), and Vince Lawrence (a.k.a. Z Factor). All that is irrelevant now, however, as Sanders and Lewis have had much of their unreleased catalog unearthed and issued and the duo is being celebrated as a lost but recently found aspect of Chicago’s masterclass. It’s this newly found status that has encouraged Rush Hour to continue to release works by and related to the group, such as this rework EP of moody and vocally driven Resurrection album cut, “It’s a Crime.”
Comprised of three tracks, It’s a Crime features the original cut, a deep-house remix by Hunee, and a complete overhaul by Caribou. The EP is a solid outing on all fronts, due in large part to the strength of the original material, although the novelty and scope of the two reworks is undeniable. Fans of Virgo Four will recognize that “It’s a Crime” functions as a more-or-less vocal rendition of the classic “Do You Know Who You Are,” maintaining a similarly sparse and loose vibe that is distinctly Chicago, with deep pads and noodly—but jazzy—leads. However, where the EP really shines is in the utility of the Hunee and Caribou versions. With the “Hunee Go Underground Remix,” you get a tight blend between classic Chicago house and Jersey garage by way of—what sounds like—an interpolated bassline from Ly’s classic, “Back 2 Zanzibar.” Going in a completely different direction is Caribou’s complete overhaul of the song, which translates Virgo Four into a wholly alien, indie-electronic world by way of Dan Snaith’s fresh and whispery vocal take. Along the way, he also teases the song into an eight-minute epic with a peak defined by 303 squelching and detuned digital synthesis.
As a whole, the EP works well, its three tunes covering enough ground to keep the experience novel from a pure listening perspective. From a DJ perspective, the release is doubly effective, as the variation in the individual tunes keeps the EP useful for a variety of situations from a mid-set groove (the Hunee Mix) to a possible peak (Caribou). All told, It’s a Crime is a winner that will only continue to build on the deserving legend and mystique of Virgo Four.
Listen to Seams’ New Single for Pictures Music
Young UK-based producer Seams is getting ready to drop his second record for the Pictures Music label, a two-track 12″ featuring “Focus Energy” and “Motive Order,” on July 18. The two new tunes follow the artist’s Tourist EP from November of last year, and find him still working with skittering micro-samples, 8-bit synth sounds, and upbeat dancefloor rhythms, albeit with a slightly skewed approach. You can preview both of the productions before they’re released on vinyl and digital formats in a couple weeks, below.
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Baobinga “Make Me Feel”
Joint Ventures is a 16-track LP that features headlining artist Baobinga collaborating with a slew of bass music’s finest producers, including Untold, xxxy, Roska, Hyetal, and others (read all the info here). That record is available now via the Bristol-based Build imprint, who were kind enough to offer us this download of “Make Me Feel” to mark the occasion. Oddly enough, this low-swinging tune is the sole production on Joint Ventures that Baobinga crafted without another artist, but it certainly goes to show why he’s a man that high-profile tunesmiths would be eager to work with. The track somehow brings to mind some of Timbaland’s finest moments; the slow-grooving rhythms have a definite hip-hop/R&B swagger to them, and the stuttering swell of arpeggiating synths uncannily evokes the super-producer’s Justin Timberlake single “My Love.” It’s that kind of attention to melody and harmony, not to mention the balance between emotive and club-friendly sounds, that puts Baobinga on another tier in the world of bass music. If you’re looking for a taste of something a bit harder from the musicmaker, you can download his collaboration with Randomer, “Crom2,” after the jump.
