Earlier this year, we mused on the ambiguous nature of the Russian musical landscape. That being said, it has undeniably been the case that more and more material has begun to make its way out of the country. Take “On the Street,” the latest offering from Shampoo Voyagers, a duo comprised of Maxim Ananyev (a.k.a. Tree Bosier) and Nikita Moor (a.k.a. Nikola), respectively based in the extremely geographically divided locales of Moscow and Khabarovsk (over 5000 miles apart!). Creating a slick and jazzy downtempo flow, “On the Street” brings to mind the unlikely pairing of Dam-Funk and Cornelius as its blunted G-funk bassline meets sunny chord progressions and chime-like guitar tones. Download the track below and if you like it, check out the outfit’s soundcloud for more similarly jazz-minded tunes.
RVNG Intl. has just announced the seventh installment of its experimental FRKWYS series, FRKWYS VOL. 7. Following the release of FRKWYS VOL. 6, with its avant-garde explorations courtesy of Julianna Barwick and DNA’s Ikue Mori, comes a group of improvised ambient pieces from the all-star ensemble of Daniel Lopatin (pictured above), David Borden, Laurel Halo, James Ferraro, and Samuel Godin. Comprised of spacey highlights from a two-day long jam session, FRKWYS VOL. 7 promises to be an exercise in densely layered sonic texture. Dedicated collectors can pick up FRKWYS VOL. 7 July 17 as either a limited-edition LP or limited-edition CD; non-collectors will be able to snag a digital copy July 30. In either case, your best bet for purchasing a copy is via RVNG Intl.’s website, but in the meantime check below for the album art and tracklist.
Side A 1. People of the Wind Pt. 1 (12:26) 2. Internet Gospel Pt. 1 (5:59)
Side B 1. People of the Wind Pt. 2 (4:55) 2. Internet Gospel Pt. 2 (8:18) 3. Twilight Pacific (7:20)
Dutch record hub Rush Hour just posted this incredible mix by Lazer Sword cohort and recent Berlin transplant Lando Kal, and it’s a bit of a departure from his band’s usually blappy sound. This time around, Lando (a.k.a. Antaeus Roy) threads together a set of housier jams from the likes of BNJMN, Cosmin TRG, and more. Check out the tracklist and grab the mix below.
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1. BNJMN – Tunnel Flight 2. Aardvarck – Respoken (Nubian Mindz Demo Mix) 3. Falty DL – All In the Place 4. BNJMN – Blocks Jon Dasilva feat Donald Waugh – Love Is All We Need (Braille Mix) 5. Cosmin TRG – Liebe Suende 6. Aardvarck – Nosestep 7. Policy – Specialty Party (Vox) 8. Cosmin TRG – A Universal Crush 9. Falty DL – Groove 10. Cosmin TRG – See Other People 11. Falty DL – St. Marks 12. Lando Kal – Run It 13. Policy – Lights Over Fort Lee 14. Braille – The Year 3000 15. Lando Kal – Maneuver 16. BNJMN – Plastic World
This week has turned out to be Mute week at XLR8R HQ. Yesterday’s chat about the longstanding underground label took place with Moby and today’s features electronic music pioneer and Mute friend Thomas Fehlmann discussing Mute’s influence. A long-time friend of label head Daniel Miller, Fehlmann and his first band Palais Schaumburg performed at Mute’s first label night decades ago, so it only makes sense that he’d be back for last month’s Short Circuit Festival in London. Check out the interview, enter this week’s Mute contest, and then come back tomorrow for a chat with Daniel Miller himself.
Over the past few months, UK producer Lapalux has been quietly taking over the XLR8R website, thanks to the steady stream of quality remixes and tracks he’s been sending our way. One of those was “Time Spike Jamz,” a spacey gem from his Many Faces Out of Focus EP on Pictures Music. We certainly enjoyed the songs’ stop-and-start rhythms and fluttering melodies, and apparently so did Portland’s devonwho, a like-minded beatmaker who has remixed the track with a sufficiently larger dose of funk. He’s stepped up the percussion and also inserted some icy synth lines, upgrading “Time Spike Jamz” from thoughtful chin-scratcher to certifiable head-nodder.
The plan for the BLNRB-NRBLN project was set in motion back in 2009: Berliners Modeselektor, Jahcoozi (pictured above), and Gebrüder Teichmann would travel to Nairobi, Kenya to “meet, mix, and mingle with artists from the local music scene.” Two years later, the project has fully come to fruition with the impending release of BLNRB—Welcome to the Madhouse!, due out July 8 on Outhere Records, in which the aforementioned musicians collaborated with some of Nairobi’s finest hip-hop voices, including Mister Abbas, Kimya, Lon ?Jon, and Nazizi. While it started off as a simple joining of forces, when word spread through East Africa, even more artists came out of the woodwork to get in on the project, thus naming the studio that housed the revolving cast of characters the “Madhouse” and giving birth to the album’s eventual title. Attempting to describe the cornucopia of sounds that resulted could never do it justice, so instead, check out the artwork, tracklist, video teaser, and 17-minute sampler below, and then grab the record when it hits shelves next month.
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1 “Goldbreaks Variation” Abbas, Kimya, LJ, Teichmann 2 “Madhouse” Nazizi, Jahcoozi, Abbas 3 “Dirty Laundry” Teichmann, Abbas, Kimya, LJ 4 “Msoto Millions” Jahcoozi, Ukoo Flani 5 “Very Necessary” Necessary Noize, Teichmann 6 “Room For Me” Just a Band, Jahcoozi 7 “Ma Bhoom Bhoom Bhoom” Jahcoozi, Ukoo Flani, Radi 8 “Everyday Without You” Teichmann, Alai K 9 “Living Room” Teichmann, Ukoo Flani, Dogs 10 “Monkeyflip” Modeselektor, Nazizi, Abbas 11 “Goldbreaks” Teichmann, Kimya, LJ, Abbas 12 “Take It Higher” Jahcoozi, Little King, Robo 13 “Kumbuka” Jahcoozi, Michel Ongaro, Abbas 14 “Richie Interlude” Teichmann, Ukoo Flani 15 “Kibera Benga” Massai Mbilli, Modeselektor, Just a Band 16 “Away” Just a Band, Jahcoozi, Teichmann, Michel Ongaro 17 “Zamaney” Jahcoozi, Ukoo Flani 18 “Whateverman Dub” Teichmann, Ukoo Flani
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After running a podcast from fellow Norwegian space-disco maverick Diskjokke just two weeks ago, it might seem like it’s a little soon to post an exclusive mix from Lindstrøm. However, while Diskjokke put together a solid, dancefloor-oriented DJ session, Lindstrøm has gone in a completely different direction. Rather than simply showing off all of the latest dubs or showcasing his limited-edition vintage gems, the veteran artist has assembled a diverse collection of tunes, and although it has not been officially tabbed as an “influences” mix, the varied styles on display—primarily late-’70s and early-’80s prog rock, psych, jangle pop, and disco—all reflect a small piece of the sound that has come to define Lindstrøm’s artistic output. It’s certainly not what we—or probably anyone, for that matter—would have expected from a Lindstrøm podcast, but it’s certainly an interesting listen.
01 Teen Inc “Fountains” (Teen Inc) 02 Kirsty MacColl “A New England” (Stiff) 03 Turns “Time” (VME) 04 John Klemmer “Ecstasy” (ABC) 05 Brian Briggs “I Want It” (Bearsville) 06 Intergalactic Touring Band “Heartbreaker” (Harvest) 07 Wally Badarou “One Day, Won’t Give It Away” (Barclay) 08 Bernhard Jobski “Pu 94” (Polydor) 09 Edward Larry Gordon “All Pervading” (Universal Sound) 10 Big Louis “French Kiss” (Living Beat) 11 Clair “Ya Papa” (Sun Trek) 12 Gino Vannelli “Appaloosa” (A&M) 13 Kowalski “Ultradeterminanten” (Virgin) 14 Phil Lynott “Yellow Pearl” (Phonogram) 15 Earth and Fire “Singer In the Rain” (Qcumber) 16 David Matthews “Space Oddity” (CTI)
Genre-hopping duo LOL Boys always seems to find new styles and sounds to explore, and “Porteil” is no different. It’s a laid-back number built around mellow percussion and a simple synth-pop melody, then bathed in a thick glaze of hazy, sunkissed pads. The song may not be peak-time dancefloor material, but it is well-suited to the compilation it’s taken from, SharkWaves Vol. 1. Commissioned by Scion in conjunction with the poolside Swimming with Sharks party series—which is happening all summer in both LA and NY—the collection also features contributions from Cosmic Kids, Pools, and Poolside. (We swear, there really are multiple groups with the word “pool” in their name.) The complete SharkWaves Vol. 1 tracklist and artwork is posted after the jump, as is the calendar of upcoming Swimming with Sharks events.
Swimming With Sharks dates Saturday, June 11, New York – The Standard Hotel, Le Bain Saturday, June 18, Los Angeles – The Standard Downtown Saturday, July 2, Los Angeles – The Standard Downtown Saturday, July 9, New York – The Standard Hotel, Le Bain Saturday, July 16, Los Angeles – The Standard Downtown Saturday, July 30, Los Angeles – The Standard Downtown Saturday, August 6, New York – The Standard Hotel, Le Bain Saturday, August 13, Los Angeles – The Standard Downtown Saturday, August 27, Los Angeles – The Standard Downtown Saturday, September 3, New York – The Standard Hotel, Le Bain
When a producer comes out of the gate with a series of impressive singles and then elects to create a proper full-length, it comes with lofty expectations and a certain amount of trepidation as to how the artist can translate his previous success to the long-player format. Such is the case with South London’s SBTRKT. Amazingly, his self-titled debut is not only an incredibly diverse yet cohesive record, but also an album that effortlessly walks the seldom-crossed and often-dangerous tightrope between UK bass music and modern pop.
SBTRKT’s productions have always been marked by a peculiar leanness. While many of his contemporaries pile layer upon layer to create their tracks, the notoriously masked beatmaker seems to get by with a less-is-more credo, and it is this approach which serves as the constant backbone to the album’s genre-shifting movements. Apart from the usual bubbling—at times emotive—strains of UK bass/post-dubstep he’s explored extensively on previous releases, SBTRKT also dips his hand in everything from the jazzy 2-step of “Sanctuary” to the milky disco of “Pharaohs,” all with an eye toward crafting a complete song rather than just a track. He was not alone in this ambitious endeavor, tapping a host of vocal collaborators including Little Dragon frontwoman Yukimi Nagano, fellow Londoner Jessie Ware, and, most notably, frequent co-conspirator Sampha. Really, it would be hard to imagine this album without the vocal contributors, whose collaborative efforts make up over half of the 11 tracks and, for the most part, are more memorable than SBTRKT’s solo instrumental efforts. With the exception of the shimmering standout “Pharaohs”—which features the glorious beltings of Roses Gabor—the LP’s finest moments always seem to feature generous amounts of Sampha’s raspy voice. Possibly because the two have worked together for years while running in the same South London circle, they seem to fit together seamlessly, crafting the most alluring and ambitious songs the LP has to offer, such as “Trials of the Past,” “Never Never,” and the epitome of the album’s club/pop-hybrid aesthetic, “Something Goes Right.”
In all, SBTRKT is an accomplished, if somewhat unexpected, undertaking, one that finds him expanding upon his established credentials and fitting into a more traditional producer role. By brilliantly folding the talents of others into his own workings, he’s created something greater than what may have been individually possible.
Last Friday, the XLR8R-approved TURRBOTAX® party brought London DJ Oneman down to WNYU’s studio for a live-to-air session on the Table Tennis radio show. So if you missed his recent appearances at the NYC event, or its West Coast kindred spirit, Icee Hot, you can listen to the whole radio broadcast of the recently featured DJ right here on Official.fm.
