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Earlier this year, the analog-obsessed space ravers of Blondes announced a three-part 12″ series on the RVNG label. The series’ second volume, “Business” b/w “Pleasure,” will be released on June 6. Ahead of that, the Brooklyn-based duo has unveiled this video for the latter track, an epic journey put together by video artist Farley Gwazda. This clip is composed entirely of animated GIFs, primarily “scientific diagrams, mathematical figures, representations of data, and renderings of simulated systems.” While we’re not sure about the PR’s claim that “this video explores irrational paths to knowledge and investigates how information is processed into meaningful experience,” it is quite nice to look at and Blondes’ marriage of perception-expanding sonics and old-school warehouse vibes is on point as always.
Over the next month, people in Europe and NY will have plenty of chances to experience Blondes’ stellar live show. The dates are as follows.
5/26 The Camp, London 5/27 Solyanka Club, Moscow 5/28 Stereo, Glasgow 5/29 Villette Sonique, Paris 5/29 Nitsa/Primavera Festival, Barcelona 6/11 Museum of Modern Art, New York City 6/18 285 Kent, Brooklyn, NY 6/26 Space/We Love with Caribou, Ibiza
Would it be cliché to lead off a piece on Cosmo Vitelli by commenting that despite the name of his label—I’m a Cliche—the man is anything but? Probably. In any case, the Cassavetes-obsessed Frenchman is back with Night Dogs, a brand new EP and his first since 2007. Featuring the Korean vocal stylings of Nakion, Night Dogs sounds a lot like what you would imagine Miss Kittin & The Hacker would sound like if they put out a record in 2011. We recently got our hands on Cómeme sensation Daniel Maloso‘s remix of “Night Dogs” to share with you. Taking the open space of the original and tightening it down, his remix turns the track into a sparse and funky electro-funk workout. Check out Maloso’s remix below and pick up the full EP over at Beatport.
Fresh off his collaborative track with NYC genre-benders Battles, the world-travelling Matias Aguayo has just announced he will soon drop a brand-new EP via the illustrious Kompakt label. I Don’t Smoke will feature four tracks on the vinyl 12″ version, with six tunes available digitally, and will hit retailers on June 6. A preview of Matias Aguayo’s title track is available to stream now, which you can listen to in full below.
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Our resident stylist Andrew Porter waxes casual on men’s and women’s must-haves.
ASOS dip-dye shirts I’m really into dip-dyed t-shirts. Actually, I’m sort of into dip-dyed everything. Unfortunately, if you hit the town in a full-blown dip-dyed outfit, you’d look like a used-cellphone salesman. That’s not a look I’m promoting. However, a dip-dyed t-shirt on its own is something I can get behind. It’s the kind of thing I want to wear when I’m watching the sunset, drinking a Campari-based beverage, listening to “Barefoot in the Head” on a Balearic island 20 years ago. Not sure if anybody is going to feel me on that one, but that pretty much sums up what I dream about. These ASOS dip-dyed striped shirts sort of hit that vibe right on the head.
North Face Verto jacket The North Face was really the tops when I was in high school. Unfortunately, post-1998, their product sort of went downhill with their crossover into more mainstream markets. The other day I decided to check out their website to see if there was anything new or interesting, and I came across these Verto jackets. They pack down to the “size of an energy bar” in their own front pocket and they’re water-resistant. Pretty handy to carry around during the summer should you find yourself caught in an afternoon shower. At first I was on the fence about the shiny body—kind of looks like a trash bag—but upon further thought, I’ve decided that I’m feeling it in a 1992 sort of way. Makes me wanna activ-8 and e-vapor-8.
Personalized jewelry When I was 13 years old, I saw La Haine for the first time—life-changing experience. I thought Vincent Cassel’s character, “Vinz,” was just about the coolest. I was particularly envious of his two-finger name ring. Some 10 years later, I got a gigantic “Andrew” script ring made at the Fulton Street Mall. I loved it with all my heart until a crazy red-haired Brazilian girl commandeered it from me a few years ago. I’ve been meaning to get another one made ever since, but never felt like paying Fulton Street Mall prices. As per usual, the internet has the answer. Better Jewelry will make you a solid 14k plated script ring for $90. I’m sold. Might turn my finger green, but I can deal with that. I also recommend checking out the two-finger block name rings for $90—very Do the Right Thing.
LL Bean Signature Downeaster bag I don’t know if you plan to travel anywhere this summer. I, myself, have huge travel plans. By which I mean, I plan to travel from home to work and back five to seven days a week. For those of you with real travel plans, such as romantic weekend getaways and the like, check out this L.L. Bean Signature duffel. The nautical print is perfect for trips to Maine, and it’s big enough to fit all your weekend essentials. Best of all, this jammer is on sale. Hello! Nothing like a Friday internet bargain.
Back in December, London’s New State Music finally made the release of MZO Bullet’s “Casablanca” official. It was about time too, as lo-fi YouTube rips of the track had been muddying up the sound of kwaito DJs everywhere. Though the song has been pressed and released, if you’re anything like us, then you probably still can’t get enough of it. As it turns out, Mite (pictured above) of Embassy Recordings has been thinking along similar lines. He recently sent us his light “Acid Re-Dub” that keeps the song intact while cleverly substituting the chaotic acid warble of a TB-303 for the original’s bumping synth-sax bass. You can give it a listen below.
Faithful XLR8R TV watchers will know that Berlin-based musician/visualist Planningtorock (a.k.a. Janine Rostron) is not your typical artist. Now the singer, producer, and occasional Knife collaborator has made her latest album, W, available for full stream via The Hype Machine. You can grab the physical version via DFA on June 14 (May 24 in Europe), but hell, you might as well preview it here first, right?
Do you often find yourself lamenting the absence of dub in your dubstep? If you do, then we might suggest worrying about more serious things, because Greensleeves is coming to your rescue. The seminal reggae/dancehall label has opened up its massive vaults and hired some of dubstep’s most in-demand producers to offer up fresh takes on proven classics. Observant readers will note that the project is already under way, with a couple remixes out and floating in cyberspace, such as Horsepower Productions’ remix of Yellowman’s “Zungguzungguguzungguzeng” and Coki from Digital Mystikz’s remix of Busy Signal and Mavado’s “Badman Place.” Next up for the series is The Bug (pictured above) and Flowdan re-interpreting Ding Dong’s seminal modern dancehall joint, “Badman Forward, Badman Pull Up,” which comes out at the end of June. The whole project will eventually be compiled on CD in September, but in the meantime stay on the lookout for vinyl releases of remixes from the likes of Mala, V.I.V.E.K., Cluekid, Kalbata, and others, and check The Bug and Flowdan remix artwork below.
We won’t mince words on this one—this warbling dance tune from Belgian producer Cupp Cave sounds a whole lot like Nottingham’s resident rave archivist, the excellent Lone, and that’s totally fine with us. “Pear Pressure,” which is an outtake from the artist’s forthcoming Dice Pool EP for hometown imprint Vlek, features all the classic sounds that his UK counterpart wields so well: thumping 909 beats, hypnotic analog basslines, and a touch of disjointed psychedelia to top it all off. Thankfully for for us, Cupp Cave uses these elements in his own creative ways, so as to make a fresh ripple in an already-familiar sonic pond. You can listen to four other examples of his musical efforts, and stream Dice Pool before it drops on June 13, here.
Steve Goodman is mostly known on this side of the Atlantic as Kode9, a wicked DJ/producer, the founder of groundbreaking dubstep label Hyperdub, and a recent XLR8R cover star. But take a trip to his native UK and you’ll find that he’s also known for his theoretical side. With ties to the University of Warwick’s Cybernetic Culture Research Unit, Goodman is a published author, lecturer at University of East London, and an artist with the group AUDint. Now, hot on the heels of Black Sun, his sophomore full-length release, he’s coming to America to exhibit and discuss his work, solo and in collaboration with AUDint, at limited engagements in New York and LA (with one DJ gig at Low End Theory). Check the full schedule below.
Wednesday, June 1: KODE9 DJ Set @ Low End Theory, Airliner, 2419 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 18+ / $10 cover
Saturday, June 4: STEVE GOODMAN @ Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, June 14: AUDiNT and others TBA: Panel Discussions @ TBA, New York, NY
Friday, June 17 – Saturday, July 23rd: AUDiNT: “Dead Record Office” exhibition @ Art in General, 79 Walker St, New York, NY
Here’s a novel endeavor: Start a club night, but instead of the usual promotional materials (DJ mixes, teaser videos, interviews, etc.), release a couple of tunes that feature your performing artists remixing each other’s work. That’s exactly what London’s Liminal Sounds—a party described as “a new night championing the myriad mutations of underground bass music, disregarding concepts of genre or scene”—came up with for its inaugural jump off, one half of which we’re sharing with you today. Opening act Elsewhere remixes “When You” by up-and-coming tunesmith and fellow performer Drop/Dead, crafting it into his own kind of bubbly, emotional, and low-end-centric club music. You can grab the other part of LS001, a Drop/Dead remix of “Cronos” by Throwing Snow, for free, here, and check out more details on the forthcoming Liminal Sounds party—which will feature sets from Throwing Snow, Ph0t0machine, Brey, and others—here.
