It was only last week when we announced that James Blake was readying a single for Untold’s Hemlock imprint (artwork above), and today both sides of the forthcoming release have found their way to the world wide web for all to stream. The “Order” b/w “Pan” single, which is slated for a July 11 release, can now be heard in its entirety and, as promised, the pair of tunes finds the Londoner mining much darker, heavier productions than we’ve heard from him in recent times. Hear for yourself over at Pitchfork.
Witness the fitness of a man that just won’t stop: Rodney Smith (a.k.a. Roots Manuva), one of the UK’s most well-respected MCs, has just announced his latest studio album, 4everevolution. Moving through a kaleidoscope of styles, the new album promises to touch on everything from pop-locking funk joints to sultry ballads crooned by the man himself. He won’t be doing it all on his own, though. He’s gathered a full cast of guest support, which includes artists like Ricky Ranking, DJ MK, Daddy Kope, Skin and Cass Lewis from Skunk Anansie, Elan Tamara, and Spikey T. 4everevolution drops October 11 on Big Dada, but in the meantime you can check below for the tracklisting and the video for lead single, “Watch Me Dance.”
TRACKLIST: 1. First Growth 2. Here We Go Again 3. Skid Valley 4. Who Goes There? 5. Watch Me Dance 6. Revelation 7. Wha’ Mek? 8. Takes Time To 9. Beyond This World 10. Go Champ 11. Get The Get 12. Crow Bars 13. In The Throes Of It 14. Noddy 15. Much Too Plush 16. The Path 17. Banana Skank
You may recall us recently telling you about Caribou and Jacques Greene taking on some Radiohead tracks for remixing. Well, we’re pleased to announce that you can hear them right now, a few days before they are officially released on July 4. So, what are you waiting for? Stream below, and read more about future remix 12″s featuring Nathan Fake and Mark Pritchard here.
The Northern England Lake District is such an idyllic place that folks like Wordsworth and Coleridge would go there to pen some of history’s finest literature and poetry. So it’s maybe a little jarring to think that its pastoral environs will soon house the not-so-peaceful sounds of some of the electronic music world’s most inventive artists at this year’s Full of Noises festival. From August 5 to 6, FON will host the likes of Dopplereffekt (pictured above), AGF, Lone, Philip Jeck, Boxcutter, and more at various venues spread across Cumbria. A weekend pass is a measly 20 pounds, so head to the festival site now for tickets and more info.
Irreverent German production duo Modeselektor has announced the October 4 release of Monkeytown, its latest LP and first in four years, on its own Monkeytown Records. Containing a star-studded cast of guest artists that includes Thom Yorke, Busdriver, PVT, Anti-Pop Consortium, and Miss Platinum, Monkeytown promises to focus on the dancefloor while continuing the tradition of the duo’s schizophrenic sonic explorations. Not content to just release an album, they’ve also announced a North American tour as a part of the Identity Festival starting with a date at Chicago’s historic Lollapalooza festival. Check below for tour dates and keep your eyes on the Modeselektor website for more information about Monkeytown.
Modeselektor DJ Gigs: Sun. August 8 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza Thu. August 11 – Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center Fri. August 12 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre Sat. August 13 – Burgettstown, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion Sun. August 14 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center Tue. Aug. 16 – Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Thu. Aug. 18 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live Fri. Aug. 19 – Cambden, NJ @ Susquehanny Bank Center Sat. Aug. 20 – Mansfield, MA @ Comcast Center for the Performing Arts Sun. Aug. 21 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Afrofuturist leftfield beats producer and Poobah Records co-founder Ras G has been pretty busy in the past couple months. Always seeming to release a steady stream of material, it’s obvious he’s not showing any signs of stopping, especially with the just-announced imminent release of his new album, Down 2 Earth. Keeping up the pace, he’s announced that he’s been tapped to kick off Dublin-based All City Records‘ Views of Saturn vinyl-only series of Sun Ra reworkings. With a release timed for mid-July, the first Views of Saturn sees him recording as Ras G & The Alkebulan Space Program and taking “Nidhamu,” a synth-heavy track from Sun Ra’s ’70s catalog, and turning it into the deliriously spacey “MDU NTR.” The single is currently available for pre-order, but for now you can check below for album art, tracklisting, and a full streaming version.
A. Ras G & The Alkebulan Space Program – MDU NTR B. Sun Ra – Nidhamu
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Last week, we broke down all the details of Kingdom‘s new Fade to Mind label and the young imprint’s first release, the Timesup EP from LA duo Nguzunguzu. The five-track EP officially drops next Tuesday, July 5, but you can listen to a couple of selections right now. Below you can find streams of the inventive “Water Bass Power” and Kingdom’s own R&B-flavored remix of “Timesup.”
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Our resident stylist Andrew Porter waxes casual on men’s and women’s must-haves. (Click here to see last week’s Summer Essentials, Part 1)
Sunglasses If you’re anything like me, you loose and break sunglasses. No real point in shelling out $100 plus on fancy sunglasses that I’m just going to leave on the yacht. There are a lot of cheap sunglasses options out there, but these are one of my favorites. The round frame is the move—a great way to differentiate yourself from every other human being in a pair of Wayfarers. As for the blue lenses…maybe they’ll help you better relate to your goldfish.
Hawaiian Shirt Straight up, I’m into the Hawaiian shirt. What’s more summery? Male or female, I think they look great. I can’t say the rest of the world is feeling me on this one, but such is life. I walked into an art-world party the other night wearing shorts with a striped tee and Hawaiian shirt on top. The record basically skipped and everybody looked at me like I was Eddie Murphy in Coming to America. All’s I can say is don’t worry about what other people think. Embrace the summer “tourist” look. Best accessorized with a camera around the neck.
The Summer Hat I have a fantastic head of hair, but some days I just wanna keep the sun off of my beautiful face. Last Saturday, I was downtown and the good people at aNYthing were kind enough to kick me down one of these hats. The ventilated side panels make this cap the perfect breathable summer number. Reminiscent of those ’90s Patagonia hats, but in more blissed-out summer colors. Shout out to aNYthing!
The Romper Women really win in the summer-comfort department. Skirts, dresses, rompers…easy breezy. I’m really jealous there’s no socially acceptable male equivalent to any of these. I suppose I could just go get weird in a sarong somewhere. Goa full-moon rave anyone? Anyways, there are a million romper options out there. In my humble opinion, nothing beats a good floral, but hats off if you can wear the above with confidence.
Sandals Again, ladies, you win. By the time fall comes around, summer will have basically destroyed my feet. I could easily solve this problem by wearing sandals. Unfortunately I don’t think I have the funds to get bi-monthly pedicures. As for the ladies, relish in the opportunity to let your feet breathe. Take those dogs for a walk and allow your feet to take in some vitamin D. I understand that the summer sandal decision is a big one, so no need to heed my advice. The female version of me would probably wear the above as both of my spirit animals are represented. Perhaps the male version of me wears the above in the privacy of my own home…who knows?!
Lexington, Kentucky might be known as “The Horse Capital of the World,” but it’s not exactly renowned as a hotbed for cutting-edge electronic music. As such, we’re not exactly sure how Milyoo managed to hone his beatmaking chops, but the boy has undoubtedly got skills. His next release is the “Colors” b/w “Games” single (artwork above) on Subeena‘s Opit label, which is scheduled to come out on July 28. Ahead of that, he’s elected to share “Lightbike,” a lurching, hip-hop flavored composition stuffed with sonic oddities and microsamples. The track showcases an inventive mentality not unlike that shown by the artists of LA’s beat scene, yet the song’s head-nodding slaps hint toward an artist who has also spent plenty of time taking notes on some of commercial radio’s best jams. It’s a winning formula, and one that has us excited to see what else Milyoo has on tap in the months ahead.
The storied R&S label has been on quite the roll since it rebooted last year, dropping a steady stream of heady, often bass-oriented releases from the likes of James Blake, Untold, Model 500, Lone, Space Dimension Controller, Pariah, and Blawan. UK duo The Chain doesn’t sport the same sort of name recognition as of yet, but its debut EP, Lostwithiel, displays the same high level of quality. Although Dan Foat (who happens to be one of the guys who runs R&S) and production partner Nathan Boddy both hail from a deep house background, the Lostwithiel EP eschews 4/4 beats for shuffling rhythms and explorations of leftfield bass sounds.
“Lostwithiel” kicks things off, and it’s a textured, mid-tempo track where the clattering, organic-sounding percussion takes a backseat to the song’s punchy bassline and a litany of melodic elements, including ghostly vocal snippets, vaguely Eastern instrumentation, and low-slung synths that glide through the proceedings. “Lostwithiel Dub” dials back the melody but is no less complex, pushing the bass and drums higher in the mix along with an ominous layer of crackling white noise. Rounding out the EP is “Maje,” a surprisingly lively tune that filters hardcore-era rave synths through the prism of UK bass. Pairing the track’s siren-like notes with some pounding, hyperactive beats, The Chain drives the song farther and farther upwards, leaving the listener waiting for a potentially amazing—or embarrassing—drop. Interestingly, that drop never comes, as Foat and Boddy take a third path and simply allow the song to suddenly melt into oblivion. It’s a smart choice, which isn’t exactly surprising for a record on R&S.
