Sepehr to Release New Album

Sepehr, real name Sepehr Alimagham, will release a new album on Garmo, a sub-label of Canada’s NAFF.

Pomegranate Skies explores sonic themes of heaven and hell, dualities, split identities, and chaos.

The music is a reflection of “the ever-constant existential chaos in his mind,” we’re told, reflecting a musical journey through all the different influences and inspirations of genres and electronic music eras throughout Alimagham’s life but also a nod to the “amorphous weight of divine weirdness” that inspires his music.

Sepehr is an Iranian-American DJ-producer based in New York City. In 2020, he released Shaytoon, an album of left-of-center electro and sludgy psychedelia on Dark Entries. For more information on him and his work, check out his XLR8R podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Pomegranate Skies
02. Fall From Grace
03. Styx River
04. At The Gates of Heaven
05. Blood Red Sun
06. Shimmering Waves
07. Isfahan Sinistra
08. Til Death Do Us Apart
09. Concrete Labyrinth
10. Diazepam
11. Samsara (Mortality Mix)

Pomegranate Skies LP is scheduled for October release. Meanwhile you can stream “Fall From Grace” in full below and pre-order here.

Actress Reveals Ninth Album

Actress album, real name Darren Cunningham, will release his ninth album in November.

LXXXVIII, incoming on Ninja Tune, is partly inspired by game theory, a mathematical framework studying strategic decision-making. This deep strategic thinking, which is more readily associated with economics and chess than artistic practice, affected the British artist’s material interactions in his studio.

The album includes the recent single “Push Power ( a 1 ),” a track which laid the groundwork for the coming album and acts as “the first move in an intricate chess game.” And today Cunningham shares “Game Over ( e 1 ),” which signals the “final, closing move.”

The release follows 2022’s Dummy Corporation. Prior to that, he released Karma & Desire, which saw guest collaborations with Sampha, Zsela and Aura T-09.

Tracklisting

01. Push Power ( a 1 )
02. Hit That Spdiff ( b 8 )
03. Azd Rain ( g 1 )
04. Memory Haze ( c 1 )
05. Game Over ( e 1 )
06. Typewriter World ( c 8 )
07. Its me ( g 8 )
08. Chill ( h 2 )
09. Green Blue Amnesia Magic Haze ( d 7 )
10. Oway ( f 7 )
11. M2 ( f 8 )
12. Azifiziks ( d 8 )
13. Pluto ( a 2 )

LXXXVIII LP is scheduled for November 3 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Push Power ( a 1 )” and “Game Over ( e 1 )” in full below and pre-order here.

Photo: Black Country Type

Podcast 817: Jorkes

Austria-based DJ-producer Jorkes hasn’t been making or playing out music for long but already they’re making quite a splash. La Porc De La Discoteque, a fusion of disco sounds with house and electro, landed on Freeride Millenium, the label they run with their partner, Daniel Rajcsanyi (a.k.a ParisBöhm), in 2016, and in the years since they’ve launched a popular monthly radio show on Radio 80000 and a DJ residency at Stuttgart’s Romantica. Outside of this, Jorkes has put out EPs on Frankfurt imprint Live at Robert Johnson and Munich’s Permanent Vacation, and there’s more coming soon. (A new single on Aus Music, “Free From Desire,” will also land at the end of the month.)

Jorkes also runs the all-gender sauna parties in Vienna, hoping to provide a place for marginalized communities to come together in a safe space, and this is something they also try to do with their music. However and wherever it’s played, Jorkes music is feel-good and free-wheeling, laced with enthusiasm and positivity, and his XLR8R podcast is no different. Across its 80-minute run-time, you’ll hear some of his favorite tracks of the present moment—an energetic but tender selection of house and disco with soaring, bittersweet melodies and plenty of groove.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve had a very cozy and relaxed summer so far. Just hanging out with family and friends, with my partner Daniel and our dog, Victor. Visiting family, riding the ferris wheel and some rollercoasters.

I’ve been reading a lot of Foucault again lately and I’ve also started writing a diary again, which gives me stronger and more intense dreams. I also took mushrooms and LSD a lot this summer, which I sense has made me a more sensitive and also more psychotic human being. Also, I’m making and consuming music. A very nice and joyful ride!

02. What have you been listening to?
Just right now, while I am writing this, the Bee Gees “Love You Inside Out” and Michael Jackson’s Music And Me. Also there was the anniversary edition of Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope circulating. I think it is one of her most personal albums. Kind of her coming out in some way. Although she not has literally came out, the album transports this coming out feeling for me. I love her.

I was in my favorite gay sauna lately called Apollo City Sauna in Vienna and there was this song playing, called “Wunderwelt” by Austrian composer Klaus Prünster. It was a very intense moment that underlined the surreality this microcosmos inside the sauna had. And then my hubby started listening a lot of Wagner lately and “Lohengrin” kind of became an evergreen on our turntables.

Also “Lazy Boy” by Jona Rain touched me. Love him.

03. Where and when did you record this mix?
At home in the morning soaked full of sun.

04. What setup did you use?
Two Pioneer XDJ-700s, an Allen & Heath XOne 23:C, Sennheiser HD-25 headphones, and my laptop.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks that you’ve included?
They are songs that I really enjoy dancing to. They make me move, they make me happy. I hope the mix does the same to you too.

06. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
It is pretty similar. Although I tend to be more versatile while playing.

07. What’s next on your horizon?
I am preparing for a busy fall and winter. In September AUS Music will release my song “Free From Desire.” Then there will be follow up EPs coming on Permanent Vacation and on Live At Robert Johnson.

We continue with our monthly Freeride Millenium label night at Romantica in Stuttgart. And we also have our monthly show at Radio 80000 with ParisBöhm. And we will have some amazing artists coming up on Freeride Millenium and also a new Queer Base charity compilation.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Inka King “I Feel Love” (103.5 Mix) (Nervous Records)
02. Deep Dish & DC Deepressed “Come Back” (FD Underground Mix) (UMD)
03. Abdul Raeva “Navigator 3000” (Permanent Vacation)
04. CYRK “Woof” (Polari)
05. Rosa Red “Tear My Heart” (Permanent Vacation)
08. Alan Fitzpatrick “On My Mind” (White Label)
09. Redshape “Release Me” (Running Back)
10. Dart “Only The Strong” (X-Coast Da Vibe Mix) (DART)
11. Whitney Houston “Step By Step” (Junior Vasquez Deep Dub) (Arista)
12. Jorkes “Free From Desire” (AUS Music)
13. The Knife “Pass This On” (Dahlbäck & Dahlbäck Mix) (Rabid)
14. Raphael Schön “I Feel The Power” (Freeride Millenium)
15. Club Winston “Summer” (Self-Released)
16. Amber “Sexual” (Thunderpuss 2000 Club Mix) (Substance Records)
17. Junior Vasquez “Get Your Hands Off My Man” (Nush Chocolate Factory Mix) (Positiva)

Honour Next on Bill Kouligas’ Pan Label

Bill Kouligas’ PAN will release the debut album of Honour, Àlàáfía.

Honour is an anonymous act who previously released two mixtapes on PAN which sold out very quickly.

They may or may not have grown up in the United States, making beats with a cousin who sang in a church band; they might have toured as a roadie with platinum-selling R&B outfit Pretty Ricky; they could have sold their life story to children’s book author C.S. Adler; and maybe they ended up stationed in London, working as a runner on music promos.

Àlàáfía is dedicated to Honour’s late grandmother, and the title track began to take form after their last embrace and remains steeped in her influence and spirit.

Sonically, it brushes “the darker hues of blues, hip-hop, free jazz, ambient, gospel with Christian mythology, and Yoruba folklore.”

As cinematic as it is painterly, Àlàáfíà is a “meditation on themes of life, death and love” that pulls inspiration from the casual conversations, field recordings, literature, ephemera, or personal archives.

“The ghosts that sit on the artist’s shoulders have never been more tangible than with this emotive debut,” the Berlin label says.

Tracklisting

01. Hosanna (Greeting2MYPPL) (Meridian)
02. First Born (Redeemed)
03. When Angels Speak of Love
04. dubbleUpptown (La Rocque)
05. W-I-S (Above Every Other)
06. Pistol Poem (Lead Belly)
07. Whip Appeal V6 (PIPN8EZ)
08. Seven Trumpets
09. Giz’aard ($uckets)
10. Helpmeet (Iyadunni)
11. FLIR2A
12. U&Me (decemberseventeen)
13. ILLBETHERE, 4EVERANDEVER
14. Àlàáfía (Cita’s World)

Àlàáfía LP is scheduled for November 3 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “U&Me (decemberseventeen)” in full via the player below.

Fantastic Twins to Release New Album

Julienne Dessagne, better known as Fantastic Twins, will release a new album next month.

Two Is Not A Number chronicles a pair of imaginary twins from their birth, “across entwined lives and fates, via schizophrenic dreams, small dramas, and big tragedies.”

We’re told that it shares characteristics with the deep futurism of Carl Craig’s Landcruising, Underground Resistance’s cosmic electro, Boards Of Canada’s “uneasy hauntology,” Angelo Baldametti’s “uncanny suspense,” Andy Stott’s “stark machines,” the “sensual electronics” of Man Parrish’s Forbidden Overture, and Fever Ray’s “haunted, otherworldly voice.”

These musings are expressed “with assured clarity,” using a palate of icy deep techno, eerie soundtrack atmospherics, tranced-out dark wave and synth pop noir.

Fantastic Twins released Obakodomo, her first album, on Optimo Music in 2017—a soundtrack Dessagne created for a piece of contemporary dance.

Tracklisting

01. I Was First
02. Sisters at Odds
03. Land of Pleasure Hi Fi
04. Master & Disciple
05. Silver Moon Dial
06. Twins Can’t Love
07. From Above
08. All of This Is Resolved

Two Is Not A Number LP is scheduled for October 13 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Master & Disciple” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Sampha’s Second Album is Incoming

Sampha will release his second album next month on Young.

Spanning 14-tracks, with contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends and peers, including Yaeji, Léa Sen, and Yussef Dayes, Lahai sees Sampha (real name Sampha Lahai Sisay) exploring the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves.

Sonically, we’re told that the album defies clear categorization, but spans jazz, soul, rap, dance, jungle and west African music.

If Process, Sampha’s first album, was “an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss,” we’re told, Lahai is “an exercise in the radical acceptance and joy in the human condition, and the beauty in the journey itself.”

In June, Sampha returned to the stage for the first time in five years for his Satellite Business residencies in London and New York. The set up of Sampha and his band performing in the center of the room allowed fans intimate access to the improvisational performance of new, unreleased music and alternate arrangements of his catalog. This fall Sampha will take an elevated version of the Satellite Business live show on the road, with dates here.

Tracklisting

01. Stereo Colour Cloud (shaman’s dream)
02. Spirit 2.0
03. Dancing Circles
04. Suspended
05. Satellite Business
06. Jonathan L. Seagull
07. Inclination Compass (Tenderness)
08. Only
09. Time Piece
10. Can’t Go Back
11. Evidence
12. Wave Therapy
13. What If You Hypnotise Me?
14. Rose Tint

Lahai LP is scheduled for October 20 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Spirit 2.0” and “Only” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Photo: Jesse Crankson

Podcast 816: Jaymie Silk

Jaymie Silk doesn’t make straight up-and-down techno or house music. The Paris artist draws from a range of influences informed by his Afro-European heritage and his teenage years in rap, firstly as an MC but then as a beat-maker—before he moved to Montreal, Canada in 2013. While there, he became tired by the lack of flexibility in rap music. “I couldn’t find anymore the artistic, cultural, and social value that I loved in this music,” he told XLR8R.

Which is when he discovered ballroom culture and began DJing and releasing his first tracks, mixing multiple influences from house music to African rhythms, jersey club, and vogue ball anthems. In 2016, he released Trouble In Paradise, and he put out his latest album, The Rise & Fall Of Jaymie Silk & Rave Culture, on Shall Not Fade last year.

From his home in Paris, Silk has prepared an XLR8R podcast to coincide with his latest release, Free the Nip, an EP of five high-energy tracks on Sous Music. Like that EP, it’s defined by speedy, energetic percussion and layer upon layer of boisterous beats. It runs at just over an hour, and is focused on the essentials of Silk’s music: groove, soul, and energy. You’ll hear some of Silk’s latest tracks but also a wild remix of Beastie Boys.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been making a lot of music lately. As my motto is “Let’s bring back the groove in house and techno music,” I’m just making tracks and tracks. Blending percussive rhythms, elements of soul music. DANCEFLOOR ONLY! I produced a track called “Limitless” for Cerena, an artist from Toronto and Free The Nip is my new EP on Sous Music.

02. What have you been listening to?
As I need the energy of the dancefloor to produce my tracks and it’s not doable to go to see great artists everyday, I’m listening to a lot of DJ sets online, a lot of classic house and techno sets and more recent ones. After years of love and hate with Soundcloud, I’ve started to use it again and I’ve started digging through a lot of unknown artists making incredible music. I don’t listen to specific things; I’m just looking for groove and I enjoy the surprise of the discovery.

03. What is it that appeals to you about electronic music?
As an artist, it’s definitely the flexibility, the possibility of having access to a wide range of sounds, aesthetics. The possibilities are limitless. It’s not a genre to me. It’s more like a house with different family members in it and everyone participates in what we call electronic music. Especially nowadays; everything is electronic music when you think about it, whether it is rap or pop music.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
This mix was recorded in August during a hot Sunday in my Paris apartment.

What setup did you use?
As I’m waiting to upgrade my setup to use some Pioneer XDJs, this one was made with my Traktor Kontrol S2 controller.

06. How did you choose the tracks that you’ve included?
It’s all about energy. I just listen to a few seconds of a track, put it in a folder and then I freestyle with it. If I don’t feel that I’m in the zone and I’m having fun while mixing, it means that’s not good. I need to feel the groove and the energy first to share it. Simple as that!

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
Recording a mix is always a special exercise but I always picture my mixes as something you’ll be able to listen to during your gym sessions, while you’re riding the subway or in your car. While playing live I can match the crowd energy.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
I’m gonna bring more happiness into the world by sharing more love and soul with music. Expect new music each month: a self-released EP in September, a big single on a dope UK label in October, new music in November and December with a remix by a legend of house and techno music.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Duty Paid “Black Tracksuit” (Self-Released)
02. Unknown “Just Be Good to Me” (Unknown)
03. Jaymie Silk “Keep Moving” (Sous Music)
04. Floorplan “Baby, Baby” (M-Plant)
05. Dj Tracksuit “In Vogue (Self-Released)
06. Beau Didier “Like That” (Mutual Rytm)
07. Jaymie Silk “Ghetto Carnival” (Self-Released)
08. Beastie Boys “Intergalactic” (Ang Remix)(Self-Released)
09. Dj Physical “Get Busy” (Molekül)
10. Chris Flannigan “Drive” (Eternal Damnation)
11. Jaymie Silk “Concentrate” (Sous Music)
12. Cajmere “Brighter Days” feat Dajae (Geo Baile Remix) (Self-Released)
13. Jaymie Silk “Brotherhood” (Sous Music)
14. Kerr Jack “Metalface” (Deadline Records)
15. Dispulus “Express Yourself” (Self-Released)
16. .mezer “How Much Money Ya Got” (A lot rejuked) (Self-Released)

Goiz to Inaugurate Nick León and Jonny From Space’s New Label

Pablo Arrangoiz, who releases music as Bauzer Vep, Señor Faxwater, Glue Boy, Goiz, and more, will release a new EP as El Gusano.

Saka La Bolsita will be the inaugural release of Impacto, the new label launched by Miami producers Nick León and Jonny From Space.

Sonically, we can expect a “sonic conglomeration” of acid cumbia with slivering jazz chords, microtonal reggaetón, demonic dembow, and a dash of house. It includes collaborations with Matt Angel (a.k.a El Descarao).

Arrangoiz is a Mexican native based in Miami, known for his ever varying aliases. You can read more about him in his XLR8R podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Donquicon
02. Arrebatao feat. El Descarao
03. Activao feat. El Descarao
04. Saka La Bolsita
05. Alberca

Saka La Bolsita EP is scheduled for September 15 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Arrebatao” featuring El Descarao in full below and pre-order here.

Voigtmann to Release Second Album

Voigtmann (born Claus Voigtmann) will release his second album on 20/20 Vision.

Crafted over three years, Life Miles reflects on his journey so far whilst looking forward to new ventures. Sonically, we’re told that it blends intricate textures, hypnotic rhythms, and micro sounds as well as delving into territories of low tempo, ambient, and dub, “showing off new facets to his artistry.”

“For me to create a real album is to strike a fragile balance between restraint and out-of-your comfort-zone, club and home listening,” Voigtmann says. “This album is a proud snapshot in time of my abilities as a producer, a snapshot of my mood and sound.”

Voigtmann is a staple of the London music community and a co-founder of Toi.Toi.Musik. He released his first album, Sublunary, on Subsequent in 2018. You can read more about him in his XLR8R podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Pinfire
02. Transitory Moments
03. North of the Sun
04. Lowrider
05. Abundance
06. Figures of Eight
07. Flight of Fancy
08. Send Love to the Future
09. Headlong

Life Miles LP is scheduled for November 20 release. Meanwhile, you can stream clips below and pre-order here.

Download: Past Palms “Looking for a Home”

NYC-based producer Past Palms will release a new EP titled Portraits late next month.

The Past Palms project is natured-inspired, presenting dreamy, introspective soundtracks best described as “ambient music for watering plants.” XLR8R has featured the Past Palms project since its inception, which started out as a more beat-driven undertaking before evolving into the mostly beatless territory of the current output.

The new EP will be preceded by its first single, “Looking for a Home,” which is being released today as an exclusive download for XLR8R Subscribers. “Looking for a Home” opens the EP with delicate soundscapes and textural field recordings, unfolding across its seven-and-a-half minute runtime with buried windswept melodies that bounce around the sonic spectrum, ebbing and flowing in and out of ear shot like a walk through a botanical garden.

The rest of the EP, which will drop in connection with the autumnal equinox, plays out in a similar fashion, soundtracking portraits of everyday life, such as “looking at sunlight through stained glass, running your hands under a warm faucet, or searching for a new home,” Past Palms explains.

Portraits will be released on Friday, September 22. XLR8R Subscribers can download “Looking for a Home” below.

Photo by Nuria Rius.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the track below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

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