And now for your monthly Gold Panda update: UK producer and micro-techno lover Derwin has a brand-new track to share with the world, called “MPB,” before he continues on with another tour of the world. The crunchy, lighthearted production brings to mind the airy bell sounds and flitting electronics that made up a large part of the artist’s lovely Lucky Shiner album, with a decent helping of bouncing beat work and wonky percussive sounds to freshen his sound up a bit. While you bob your head along with this one, check out Gold Panda’s forthcoming tour dates, below.
06.22 Cologne, DE @ C/O POP FESTIVAL 06.25 Glastonbury, UK @ GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL @ CUBE HENGE 06.30 Tromoya, NO @ HOVE FESTIVAL 07.02 Winchester, UK @ BLISSFIELDS FESTIVAL 07.03 Roskilde, DK @ ROSKILDE FESTIVAL 07.09 Oeiras, PT @ OPTIMUS ALIVE FESTIVAL 07.14 Dour, BE @ DOUR FESTIVAL 07.15 Berlin, DE @ MELT FESTIVAL 07.17 Suffolk, UK @ LATITUDE FESTIVAL 07.22 Split, HR @ ATLANTIS FESTIVAL 07.23 Rome, IT @ MIT FESTIVAL 08.05 Bungalowdorf Olganitz, DE @ NACHT DIGITAL FESTIVAL 08.13 Cannes, FR @ PANTIERO FESTIVAL 08.14 Hamburg, DE @ DOCKVILLE FESTIVAL 08.27 Katowice, PL @ TAURON NOWA MUZYKA FESTIVAL 10.05 Bristol, UK @ THEKLA 10.06 London, UK @ KOKO 10.07 Leeds, UK @ BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB 10.08 Glasgow, UK @ KING TUTS 10.24 Los Angeles, CA @ ECHOPLEX 10.25 San Francisco, CA @ THE INDEPENDENT 10.26 Seattle, WA @ THE CROCODILE 10.27 Ann Arbor, MI @ BLIND PIG 10.28 Chicago, IL @ THE EMPTY BOTTLE 10.29 New York, NY @ GOOD UNITS 10.30 Asheville, NC @ MOOG FESTIVAL
It’s no secret that the disco-tinged sound of Norway has had its flirtations with ambient music. Going through the scene-encompassing Full Pupp back catalog can at times reveal a surprising diversity of dubbed-out space noises that wouldn’t feel out of place on an Orb album. While in the past this side of the scene was traditionally paired with a four-on-the-floor beat and chugging Italo bass, it seems as though now things are changing. Take Sagara, the new album from Diskjokke, which represents a radical and surprising departure for the artist away from the dancefloor and towards a floating and more-or-less beatless soundscape.
This sound comes as a surprise for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most obvious is that Diskjokke has built a reputation for himself as a producer of relatively straightforward tunes. Standing among similar artists like Prins Thomas, Lindstrom, Todd Terje, and Blackbelt Andersen, Diskjokke helped shape the Norwegian “space disco” sound of the ’00s.
On Sagara, he takes the melodic exploration of that sound and strips it of most of its beat, creating an extended exercise in harmonic composition best heard on tracks like “Sengon” and “Namida,” which construct massive drone cathedrals populated by Music For Airports pianos, Gamelan chimes, and other seemingly randomly patterned noises. Yet while these sounds represent starkly different directions for Diskjokke, these sonic spaces are well traveled, and although a retread is kind of charming, going through them again isn’t a particularly fresh experience.
Sagara also breaks with Diskjokke’s previous material in that it seems to follow a programmatic narrative logic. The songs melt into one another to construct a larger sonic structure that functions better as a whole-in-flux than as isolated songs. This is unfortunately where the album runs again into a few problems with consistency and originality. On “Panutup” (but honestly through its entirety), Sagara mines territory dangerously close to the no man’s land of yoga studio music and the Pure Moods series.
Ultimately, while it does have its moments, Sagara feels more like a road sign than a destination. It points the way towards a possible new sound but lacks the polish, originality, and final touches that would make it stand out as a serious work of its own.
Steven Julien (a.k.a. Funkineven) shared news with us earlier this month about a brand-new single he plans to drop later this year via Floating Points’ UK imprint, Eglo. Though we still have to wait until July 18 for that 12″, we’re now treated to a music video for the pulsating “Roland’s Jam.” The b-movie-inspired clip features Julien and his friend/collaborator Fatima acting out a sort of psychedelic day in the life of the tune’s namesake, Roland Wolfman. Other than that, we’re not entirely sure what happens during the video’s nearly seven-minute runtime. There are plenty of shots of Roland walking about in slick duds with a drum machine in one hand and a sequencer in the other, and we think he goes to a club at some point and eats some eyeballs. To be honest, the VHS footage isn’t the only thing that’s unclear here, but we don’t think it’ll take away from your enjoyment of Funkineven’s nostalgic images and sounds.
At this rate, we might as well offer the entire five-song Feeling Today EP by Texan producer Botany before it actually drops in physical formats this coming August. We’ve already let loose with “Waterparker” and record closer “Agave”, and now, we’ve got another slice of lush, beat-centric soundscapes to share with you. “Benefactress” owes its calming mood mostly to lilting bell melodies, warbling birdsong, subtle electronics, and distant vocal coos that altogether sound more like a perfectly haphazard collection of sounds you happened to hear all at once from a distance. If that appeals to your tastes, we think you should give Botany’s Feeling Today EP a full listen through.
More quality house music has recently arrived from Amsterdam’s Rush Hour label, and this time it’s from Auckland-based artist Recloose. The veteran Detroit producer born Matt Chicoine released his Saturday Night Manifesto EP, a four-track record of smooth, Chicago-style grooves and other bubbling analog sounds, just yesterday, and is also letting the world stream it for free from his SoundCloud now. Listen to Recloose’s latest tunes below.
“Electric Sunshine”
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“Paraquet”
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“Tecumseh”
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“Tecumseh (Bonus Beats)”
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When it comes to second acts in the world of music, success can be hard to come by, but 33-year-old Finn Matti Pentikäinen has managed to completely reinvent himself in the past few years. His first musical go-round was as a member of late-’90s hip-hop outfit Ceebrolistics, which emulated—and collaborated with—the underground West Coast rap scene of the same era. As the group wound down over the next decade, Pentikäinen shifted his attentions, folding in dubstep and techno influences and creating raw, stripped-down, percussive dance music under the name Teeth. In recent months, people have really taken notice, largely because of “Shawty,” a seductively lurching single released on Oneman’s 502 imprint. Another 12″ will come soon on Noppa, to be followed by an EP on Ramp this summer. Teeth has also been busy on the remix front, previously reworking tunes for Top Billin and Black Acre, with plenty more on the horizon. Not bad for a Finnish guy who cites Project Blowed as a major influence.
“Shawty” / “Shawty (FaltyDL Remix)”
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The Genoa-born, London-based producer Antwerp has a fresh EP coming down the pipeline via UK label Make Mine on July 27. This housey piece of electronic pop is one of that release’s four bubbly tunes, and exhibits the burgeoning artist’s love for upbeat tempos, catchy basslines, and smooth, synth-heavy soundscapes; think Four Tet remixing some of the latest material from Hercules & Love Affair. It’s a versatile sound, to be sure, one that will likely bode well in club soundsystems and home stereos alike.
When we hit Toronto’s 17th annual NXNE Festival last week (yeah, it’s sort of the north’s answer to SXSW), we discovered that there’s plenty to love about the city, to be sure. Super food, tons of walkable neighborhoods (provided it’s summer, natch), patio bars, and all sorts of wonderful things make Toronto a pretty solid option for summer chillin’. (But beware: Downtown traffic on the weekend—both in cabs and on transit—is an unfortunate mess to contend with, and it often kept us from getting across town to see shows we were psyched about.)
As it regards the festival, there’s seriously way too much to write about, so we’ve done our best to distill our coverage down to an easy-to-digest Five Things to Love About NXNE.
Big shows Much like SXSW, there’s the draw of unsigned indie bands looking to catch the eye of next-big-thing tastemakers, but there are just as many big name indie acts in the lineup, many of which, like Stars and Fucked Up, played the free stage at Yonge Dundas Square, smack dab in the middle of downtown. But for our money, Deerhoof (pictured above), who performed Thursday night at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, was the band to see. Deerhoof’s been at it for a while, of course, so it’s never surprising to see them deliver their powerful experimental pop. But when it happens with a super-thick crowd on a humid night, it’s an altogether different story, and it felt nothing short of epic.
Reunion shows Curious as to where all your favorite acts of the ’80s and ’90s went? Look no further than the main stage at NXNE, where folks like Men Without Hats, Devo, and Descendents all reappeared for a moment to get youngsters and oldsters alike singing along. Suffice it to say, we were most excited about the brief Swervedriver reunion show (pictured above), which, alas, was plagued with sound difficulties and a less-than-tight band. Half way through the highly anticipated set, close to a third of the room had cleared out, leaving the band’s struggle that much more an uphill battle that proved too much to surmount.
Daytime shows Let’s face it: When it’s ridiculously hot outside, and every patio in town is filling up with beer-swillin’ revelers, there’s little that goes down better with it than indie rock. This year’s NXNE seemed to feature a lot more daytime shows, and it’s a great addition to the already impressive list of events. Our favorite discoveries on Saturday afternoon happened over at Reposado, where Modern Superstitions (pictured above) poured out trashy, high-energy pop-rawk before The Two Koreas delivered some convincingly Wire-esque post-punk.
Basement shows Knowing our proclivity towards music made and played in warehouses and basements, the smaller shows that happened at venues like 918 Bathurst (the downstairs rec room of a Buddhist temple) turned out to be the most welcoming to us. And knowing our love for Montrealer singer/producer Grimes, it’s probably not surprising that we dug her set more than anyone’s on this visit to Toronto. Grimes (a.k.a. Claire Boucher) may not have drawn the festival’s largest crowd, but she no doubt shook the room down with her heavenly vocals and pulsating mini-beats. Brooklyn’s Prince Rama (pictured above) took the stage next, with some cool visuals, hipster-gnome howls, and off-kilter instrumentation, but Grimes was without a doubt a tough act to follow. Check out our interview with her later this week.
Garage rock shows This festival would consist of precious few bands were it not for the resurgence of garage rock. SF stalwart Ty Segall and local rockabilly-infused act CATL (pictured above, top) seemed to be on the lips of many festival goers, but thanks to a tip-off from occasional XLR8R contrib Ben Rayner, San Diego’s Crocodiles (pictured above, bottom) turned out to be our best bet. Hardly just a garage band, this young foursome melted the stage at The Silver Dollar on Thursday night (and subsequent nights, we’re told), with their rough-and-tumble Velvets-meet-Mary Chain wall of sound.
Well, it seems that German artist Sascha Ring has a brand-new Apparat album called The Devil’s Walk coming on September 26 via the Mute label, but you already knew that, didn’t you? Here’s something you may not have known: The second track to drop from that LP is called “Black Water,” and you can download it for free right here. Obviously, the song is a bit more ‘indie’ than XLR8R normally covers, but something about Ring’s combination of electronic subtleties, soothing vocal melodies, and driving rhythms just speaks to our inner softies. We think you’ll agree.
Before New York’s Hidden label drops the Antiz EP by French production duo M.A.D.A. & Plankton, we’ve got one of its eight cuts of refined techno goodness to share with you. This “Cold Version” of the title track booms with a massive bass thump straight from the get-go, only rising higher and higher into the stratosphere with searing white noise, spellbinding grooves, and a heavy wash of dubby percussive sounds. The label is calling this one a more “icy, deep, [and] melodic” version, which makes sense in comparison to the original jam, but M.A.D.A. & Plankton’s “Antiz (Cold Version)” is certainly massive and energetic enough to drop in any peak-hour setting.
