We’ve been fans of Chicago’s Ghetto Division crew since it turned in an impressive mix in honor of its hometown for our City Guide podcast series back in March of last year. Now the collective (comprised of founders Rob Threezy, Maddjazz, Charlie Glitch, and Rampage, among others) has announced it will be releasing a new LP, Booty Clappin, through its own Ghetto Divison imprint February 25. Being Chicago natives, it seems only right that the crew’s second LP finds the contributing producers crafting tracks inspired by the city’s exploding juke scene. Ghetto Division has been nice enough to share a mini-mix sampler of the LP which you can check out below along with the LP’s artwork and tracklist.
1. Lorenzo Vektor – I Am The Shit 2. MadDot3 – Chipstackin’ 3. Lorenzo Vektor & Louie Cue – Drop It Low 4. MadDot3 – Putacabrona 5. D-51 – Down Low 6. Louie Cue – Ghettotranced 7. Sigma – Pick That Ass Up 8. M-Dok – Acid Up 9. Charlie Glitch – Jukework 10. Rampage – Arcadian
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Most of us don’t know a whole lot about London/Berlin-based avant-lo-fi-electro-pop duo Hype Williams, and it seems likely to remain that way for sometime; their music is just about everything but a window into the artists’ heads, and more like the memory of some of our favorite songs filtered through the stoner sensibilities of two artists who really like being inside. Like on “Businessline” from their forthcoming LP for Hippos in Tanks, One Nation (pictured above), Hype Williams lets a simple hip-hop beat carry a few precious synth melodies that simultaneously sound lifted from the love scene in a late-’70s sci-fi B movie and like two kids just jamming in their basement on a rainy day. The pair’s music may not be the most well-planned, intricately orchestrated, or revealing material coming out these days, but it is certainly some of the most evocative and oddly intimate we’re hearing lately. That said, we can’t figure out if it’s because of or despite Hype Williams’ inherent lack of identity. For now, we’ll let the music speak for itself. (via Altered Zones)
Tom Trago, one of Amsterdam’s many vintage-disco obsessives, has been hard at work over the past 10 years, honing his classically inspired sound on a number of singles and EPs. Only now is he finally offering the world his first proper full-length album, a 15-track LP called Iris. The DJ/producer will release his record, which is described as “a futuristic soul album,” on April 12 via the Rush Hour label. Many tracks on Iris will feature guest vocalists, including Olivier Daysoul and Om’mas Keith of Sa-Ra, and are said to incorporate not only the sounds of disco, but techno, electro, hip-hop, and even classical music. You can check out the tracklist and artwork for Tom Trago’s debut LP below.
1) Life Of Plants & Flowers 2) Being With You 3) Space Balloon 4) What You Do (feat. Tyree Cooper) 5) Rootstopia 6) Suckers for Fools (feat. Olivier Daysoul) 7) Watch Me (feat. Meikbar) 8) Gave Me The Love 9) Soon In A Cinema 10) So Cold (feat. Om’mas Keith) 11) Steppin’ Out (feat. Romanthony) 12) Scent Of Heaven 13) Joys of Choice 14) We Like Noam 15) Corrupt (feat. San Proper)
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We’re not usually too keen on posting every bit of breaking gear news here at XLR8R, but when Pioneer announced the next generation in its DJM mixer lineage, one that is said to improve upon the DJM-800 which has been more or less the industry standard for the better part of five years, we thought it’d be worth informing the masses. We present the DJM-900nexus (pictured above), a four-channel 96khz/24bit mixer that comes equipped with an array of high-quality “sound color” and beat effects to ensure your mixes are of the highest quality. It appears Pioneer has been listening closely to the demands of the DJ community in developing this new mixer, adding some new effects such as a Space Reverb, Dub Echo, and a side-chaining, pitch-shifting sampler dubbed Melodic among others. The new mixer also comes completely compatible with Native Instruments’ Traktor software, which can connect to any Traktor-equipped computer via a single USB port. There are plenty more new features worth wrapping your mind around which you can check out over at the Pioneer’s site and get a quick taste of what the new mixer is capable of by watching the DJM-900nexus preview video over at DJ Sounds.
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UK micro-techno specialist and creator of the lovely Lucky Shiner LP, Gold Panda has finished up a brand-new video for album cut “Marriage” and shared it with the world post-haste. The video mirrors producer Derwin’s emotive song quite perfectly with its precious imagery (good-looking people carrying around paper lanterns), up-close-and-personal vantage point (most shots have a very tight depth of field), and its wide array of colorful goings-on (fireworks, snow, and the beach all in one video?). All of the scenes and shots crafted by director Roni Shendar were obviously tailor made for Gold Panda (on location in India, Germany, and Israel, too), but one gets the sense that maybe the two artists worked together quite closely on the project. We’re not sure how else such an ideal pairing could’ve come about. And if the video isn’t enough, the musicmaker will be releasing this song as a single, along with remixes from Baths, Star Slinger, and Forest Swords, on March 1, and is currently on tour, as well. You check out those dates below.
02.17 Leuven, BE @ GILKE VANUYTSEL (ARTEFACT FESTIVAL) 02.18 Luxenbourg, LU @ EXIT07 02.24 Praha, CZ @ PALAC AKROPOLIS 03.01 London, UK @ XOYO 03.02 Amsterdam, NL @ MELKWEG (5 DAYS OFF FESTIVAL) 03.15 – 03.19 Austin, TX @ SXSW 03.22 Vancouver, BC @ FORTUNE SOUND CLUB 03.23 Seattle , WA @ NECTAR LOUNGE 03.24 Portland, OR @ ROTTURE 03.25 San Francisco, CA @ 103 HARRIET 03.27 Los Angeles, CA @ TROUBADOUR 03.29 Chicago, IL @ SCHUBAS 03.30 Toronto, ON @ TBA 03.31 Philadelphia, PA @ THE ARCH 04.01 Washington, DC @ RED PALACE 04.02 Brooklyn, NY @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY 04.20 Laval, FR @ LE 6 PAR 4 04.21 Lille, FR @ LE GRAND MIX (LES PARADIS ARTIFICIELS FESTIVAL) 04.22 Nancy, FR @ L’AUTRE CANAL 04.23 Paris, FR @ POINT EPHEMERE 05.28 Barcelona, ES @ PRIMAVERA FESTIVAL (PITCHFORK STAGE)
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Back in 2002, UK outfit Horsepower Productions graced the cover of XLR8R, an issue that has become somewhat infamous for being one of the first publications to mention the word dubstep in print. Nine years later, even as the genre they helped create has mutated wildly, Horsepower Productions’ Benny Ill is still at it, so we asked him to pass along a few studio tips from a low-end master. He was more than happy to oblige. “Did you ever dial up that tape-delay simulation plug-in on your DAW or digital FX unit, and find that although it provides a great effect, it just doesn’t sound quite as good what you heard on that classic ’60s or ’70s material that inspired you to use it in the first place?” he asked. “Well, fear not, because we have some great ideas for you tape-delay lovers out there. If you can’t fake it, make it for real!” he enthuses. According to Ill, it’s true that to make good dubstep, you’ve got to be a steady hand at dub.
The Bare Necessities First, you need a mixing board with at least two working channels, and one auxiliary send (which will be your FX send) and some channel EQ. You’ll also need a tape machine that has variable pitch (speed) and separate record and playback outputs (i.e. one in which you can record and listen to the playback at the same time). So many options, so experiment with what you can find. The cheapest is probably a studio cassette deck like a Tascam, which you can pick up for $30-$50. The more expensive choices range from multitracks to 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch reel-to-reels. We happen to use the Studer A80 two-track deck, which you can find for under $300 if you look hard enough.
The Connection Is Made Send your source sound to one of the channels on the board and connect the tape deck record input to the auxiliary (FX) send. Now connect the playback output of the deck to another channel on your board.
The Fun Part While your source sound is playing, hit record on the tape deck and begin to send some of the source sound to the tape from the aux send control of its channel. You will now hear the delayed version accompanying the sound coming out of the other channel, which you can adjust levels, EQ, and pan as desired. Now that will give you a single delay and you can adjust the tape speed (pitch) to make the delay longer or shorter depending on the range of the pitch control. You can also modify the pitch control to extend the range if you are handy with a soldering iron and some cheap components.
Repeat If you want repeated delays, which is the usual choice, all you have to do is send the tape channel back to itself using the aux send on its channel. With this control, you can vary the length of the feedback by adjusting the level carefully. This is akin to the feedback setting you will find on your delay plug-in or delay unit. Watch out! Big feedbacks can get very loud, so to make sure you don’t blow your speakers, I recommend using a limiter for that channel, or a quick hand on the monitor level.
Change It Up If you mess with the EQ on the tape channel, combined with the fader and aux levels, you can achieve a multitude of different combinations. Increase the high-freq EQ and reduce the lows and you’ll saturate the tape with the high feedback and get a rising filter effect on the delays. Likewise, if you EQ the lows and drop out the tops, you get a falling filter effect—the echoes get duller as they fade away. Of course, there are thousands of possible settings. By manipulating the controls “live,” you can achieve variable effects such as letting the echoes almost die away and then increasing the feedback so they come back slowly—a popular dub trick. The possibilities are limitless, so have fun with it but watch your input levels!
Horsepower Productions’ Quest for the Sonic Bounty is out now on Tempa.
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Jacque Polynice is yet another musician/composer/producer working just outside the relatively well-known beat communities across the globe—operating out of Miami, Florida, as opposed to the bustling hubs of LA, NYC, or the Bay Area. But here, Brooklyn tunesmith and LuckyMe standard Mike Slott pushes the producer’s name closer to the limelight with his inclusion on the “Skidda” single (out now on Bandcamp). Slott’s version of “Obama O’s” takes its time to grow into a fully formed track—sonic treats flicker and fly about from the onset, allowing plenty of space for the stuttering hip-hop rhythm to get its bearings before the low-end frequencies start to wiggle their way in. It makes an ideal companion to Polynice’s own monster beat composition on the a-side.
LA’s Alpha Pup label will be releasing an album of remixes for producer Take next week, and were kind enough to give us a preview of the kinds of electronic beat jams we can expect from the 16 tracks that make up Only Mountain: The Remixes with this re-interpretation by instrumental hip-hop staple Tokimonsta. Using a bulbous bass tone, a grab bag of slick drum-machine samples, handfuls of synth melodies, and a wide-open sound space, the producer crafts a spacey and emotive remix of “Horizontal Figuration” that’s not too far off from its original form. And if you’d like to see what other surprises are in store on Take’s remix LP, you can check out the full tracklist after the jump.
1. Begin End Begin (Take Remix) 2. Quartz For Amber (Mono/Poly Remix) 3. Don’t Look Now (Alex B Remix) 4. Horizontal Figuration (Tokimonsta Remix) 5. Incredibright (Anenon Remix) 6. Paper Garden (Griffi Remix feat. Aqeel) 7. Neon Beams (Dibiase Remix) 8. If We Don’t All Go Insane (Mux Mool Remix) 9. Before You Think (Free The Robots Remix) 10. Implosions (Shigeto Remix) 11. Neon Beams (The Clonious Remix) 12. Quartz For Amber (Leonard Dstroy Remix feat. Reggie B.) 13. Paper Garden (Low Limit Remix) 14. Neon Beams (Eliot Lipp Remix) 15. Juniper (Om Unit Remix) 16. Begin End Begin (FaltyDL Remix)
In the midst of gearing up to celebrate 20 years of releasing solid house and techno music, Carl Craig’s Planet E label is also readying the first release in a forthcoming monthly series of remix 12″s, a three-song record (pictured above) featuring Recloose’s “Can’t Take It” track from 2000 with new remixes from producers Luciano and Milton Jackson. On being asked to craft a new version of the song, Swiss/Chilean artist Luciano says, “I’ve been following Planet E since my early days. I could only say ‘Yes, thanks’ when Carl asked me to do this remix for the 20th birthday of the label.” The single will drop in March, and more remixe records are expected down the line from the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Richie Hawtin, Seth Troxler, Francois K, Mad Mike Banks, Dennis Ferrer, and others.
Recloose “Can’t Take It”
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Norway’s Dødpop label has been at the forefront of the funky, synth-driven music called skweee since its inception in 2008. Now, three years later, the imprint gathers together its handful of 7″ releases to be reissued on the forthcoming compilation Dødpop: A’s & B’s. Oslo producer Sprutbass contributes “Ulykke”—from a split 45 with fellow Norwegian Beatbully—to that record, which we also have to share with you today. The playful track has an almost comically, not to mention cosmically, sinister vibe, almost like you can picture the tunesmith grinning ear to ear in a not-so-maniacal way while he drops the crunchy synth fragments and skittering beat work of his production. It’s a welcome change of mood, as opposed to the über-seriousness often plaguing artists with a similar sound pallette. We’ll see if the rest of Dødpop: A’s & B’s will follow in suit when it drops on February 25.
