Red Bull Music Academy Now Accepting Applications, Offers Goodies From Zinc and Heatwave

This year’s installment of the infamous Red Bull Music Academy will take place in October and November in none other than Tokyo, Japan, and now, you can apply to be a part of this potentially life-changing, two-week-long immersion into the world of music production. Up until April 4, both aspiring and seasoned artists can apply here to take part in the slew of recording sessions, musical lectures, workshops, and jam sessions offered by RBMA. To make sure you get a good idea of what you’re applying for, the fine folks at Red Bull sent over a video of veteran DJ/producer Zinc talking about his love for the Academy. Along with that informative interview, we’ve been handed a truly epic mix from London dancehall crew The Heatwave. You can check out both of those bits of media, along with the mix’s tracklist, below.

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Rihanna & Vybz Kartel – What’s My Name (Federation Remix) – Federation/FME
Beenie Man & Fambo – Rum & Red Bull (One Day Riddim) – Seanizzle
Khago – Nah Sell Out (One Day Riddim) – Seanizzle
Mr G – Swaggarific (One Day Riddim) – Seanizzle
Aidonia – Tek It Off (Catalog Riddim) – Big Ship
Mr Lexx – Punaany Riddim (The Heatwave Special) – Heatwave Exclusive
Vybz Kartel & Gaza Slim – Like A Jockey – Head Concussion
Keida – We Ready (Dancehall EFX Riddim) – ZJ Chrome
Liquid – Inna The Middle (Dancehall EFX Riddim) – ZJ Chrome
Vybz Kartel – Dancehall Hero (Dancehall EFX Riddim) – ZJ Chrome
Mavado – All Dem A Talk (Dancehall EFX Riddim) – ZJ Chrome
Busy Signal – Up In Her Belly – Jukeboxx
Scatta – Coolie Dance Riddim – Kings Of Kings
Spice – Jim Screechie (Jim Screechie Riddim) – Equiknoxx
Aidonia – Jackhammer (Jim Screechie Riddim) – Equiknoxx
TOK – Everybody Clap (Jim Screechie Riddim) – Equiknoxx
Vybz Kartel & Robin S – Picture This (Refix) – Blaxxx
Supa Jigga TC – Speaker Boxx – White Label
Natalie Storm & Footsteps – Play Di Ting (The Heatwave Refix) – Prodigal Ent
Vybz Kartel & Major Lazer – Wine To The Ground (KLJ Refix) – White Label
Ms Dynamite & Sticky – Booo! – Social Circles
Crissy D, Lady G & B-15 Project – Girls Like Us – Relentless
Lea-Anna & Wundah – Kisses (Transition Riddim) – Blessed Youth Ent
Mavado – Feeling Lonely – Daseca
Vybz Kartel – Yuh Love (Smoke Machine Riddim) – Mixpak
Vybz Kartel, Mad Cobra & Mr Lexx – Touch A Button (Heatwave Refix) – Stainless
Mad Cobra – Press Trigger (The Buzz Riddim) – Black Shadow
Cutty Ranks – Limb By Limb Refix (The Buzz Riddim) – Black Shadow
Mr Vegas – A Nuh Di Same (The Buzz Riddim) – Black Shadow
Sean Paul – Give Me The Light (The Buzz Riddim) – Black Shadow
Kelis, Beenie Man & TOK – Trick Me Twice (The Heatwave Refix) – Punchline
J Boog – Let’s Do It Again (Major Riddim) – Don Corleon
Busy Signal – Night Shift – Jukeboxx
Gappy Ranks – Longtime – Hot Coffee
Zagu Zar – Welcome To England – Whitel Label
Mr Williamz & Curtis Lynch – London (Jam 1 Riddim) – Necessary Mayhem
YT – England Story (The Heatwave Special) – Heatwave Exclusive
Pinchers – Amazing (Turn It Up Riddim) – Madhouse
Cham, Mykal Rose & Bounty Killer – Stronger – Madhouse
Mims, Jr Reid & Cham – This Is Why I’m Hot – Capitol
Jah Cure & Rick Ross – Like I See It – Sobe/Maybach
Super Cat – Mud Up – Skengdon
Jeremy Harding – Playground Riddim – 2 Hard
Sean Paul – Infiltrate (Playground Riddim) – 2 Hard
Beenie Man – Who Am I (Playground Riddim) – 2 Hard
Beenie Man – Dude (Fiesta Riddim) – Madhouse
Sean Paul – Give It Up To Me (Vinyl Shotz Refix – Show Off Riddim) – White
Mavado – Last Night (Show Off Riddim) – TJ Records
Liquid – Hold A Vibe – Breadback

Video: How To Dress Well “Suicide Dream 2” and “Suicide Dream 1”

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Love Remains, the touching and visceral debut album by Brooklyn’s lo-fi-obsessed R&B experimentalist How To Dress Well, didn’t quite make it onto our year-end favorites list for 2010, but that’s not to say we weren’t avid fans of artist Tom Krell’s shattered ethereal pop. We even had the opportunity to premiere HTDW’s music video for the lovely “Ready For the World” cut, and now we’re pleased to give you two more clips for “Suicide Dream 2” and “Suicide Dream 1.” Like Krell’s first video, these two smooth and entrancing pieces were directed by Jamie Harley. In “2” you’ll find close-up shots of women seemingly mourning from inside a television, while “1” features what appears to be the plunge of a person on fire into a body water shown in reverse. Make sure to catch those two videos above and below this text, and if you haven’t yet, check out the re-release of How To Dress Well’s Love Remains, which is out now via the Tri Angle label.

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Labels We Love: R&S Records

It’s hard to imagine the techno world of the late ’80s and ’90s without Belgium’s R&S Records. The Ghent-based label not only first introduced Aphex Twin to the world, but it was also the home of some of the era’s biggest names and releases, from Derrick May to System 7 to Joey Beltram, whose “Energy Flash” might be the label’s most famous single. The story of Renaat Vendepapeliere’s and Sabine Maes’ imprint is well-known by now: After more than 10 years of mostly excellent releases, the label succumbed to trends (such as D&B), oversaturated the market, and its founders became disgusted by commercial elements in the music industry. For nearly eight years, R&S lay dormant, though its legacy never decreased: It became the sort of label that’s talked about reverently by both producers and partygoers alike.

But in 2006, the label was reborn, and has been churning out new music and reissues ever since. Favorites like May’s Innovator best-of compilation and Model 500‘s Classics have been re-released in new packages, but they come along with exciting new work from Radio Slave, Shlomi Aber, Pariah, and James Blake. While the Radio Slave and Model 500 releases still assure that the label is entrenched in techno, it is perhaps the post-dubstep aesthetic of Blake which is most representative of the label’s new curatorial aim, as Blake’s skittering sonic experimentations and Pariah’s exemplary take on UK funky show that R&S isn’t resting on its laurels, something that can’t always be said of other imprints with such astounding history behind them. And wiith upcoming cuts from five-piece Vondelpark and wonky dubstep master Blawan, R&S has once again cemented its place in the electronic dance music pantheon. Here are a few of the label’s finest to date.

Various Artists
PCP EP (1992)
Though Joey Beltram and Aphex Twin might have more famous releases on the label, this EP of tracks by different pseudonyms of producer Marc Trauner was one of the key records of the era. “Nightflight (Nonstop to Kaos)” and “We Have Arrived” are classics of dark, minimal hardcore—some have even called the latter a proto-gabber track. The b-side embodies a sunnier Detroit vibe on “Illuminated” and gorgeous moodiness with “Energy Tanks,” rounding out an EP that has a bit for every techno taste, a prescient formula for its time.

“Energy Tanks”

James Blake
CMYK EP (2010)
The London producer’s third proper release made him into the poster boy for the more experimental intersections of IDM in the post-dubstep landscape. Thus, while the title track contains samples from Aaliyah and Kelis, it also rides a skittering 140 bpm beat and a crackling layer of sound that recalls Burial. Pieces like the gospel-tinged “Footnotes” sound like thoroughly dissected LA boogie. While not necessarily a dancefloor record, the EP’s subtlety and balance is mesmerizing, especially considering Blake’s youth.

“CMYK”

Model 500
“OFI” b/w “Huesca” (2010)
One of the artists that made R&S so well-regarded in the 1990s recently returned with a new 12″. It goes without saying that Juan Atkins is one of techno’s undeniable geniuses, and this record brilliantly displays his Motown colors to a new generation. “OFI” is a space-themed piece of standard Detroit elements, and includes a gorgeous, bell-laden breakdown not normally associated with Atkins. “Huesca,” on the other hand, sounds like it could be a long-lost Los Hermanos track—lush synths swell behind high-frequency flourishes and D-style skitter. Excellent new work from one of the best.

“Nightflight”

Consor “The Windtalker (Asura’s Fur Ana Mix)”

From the forthcoming The Windtalker EP (pictured above) by Swiss-French artist Consor, we have this remix of the title track by LA beatmaker and Non Projects acolyte Asura. Seeing as how both producers have distinct interests in organic sources and texturally dense music, bringing together their individual takes on those sounds for “The Windtalker (Asura’s Fur Ana Mix)” is basically a no-brainer. Asura dips the whole song into a warm bath of synth pads, hushed vocal melodies, and overwhelming spatial atmospheres and injects the once-beatless tune with a clattering, rhythmic pulse—effectively giving Consor’s original track a serene-yet-driving vibe, the likes of which we haven’t heard much of since Aphex Twin’s ambient days. Make sure to keep an eye out for the rest of the eight-song release when it drops on March 7.

The Windtalker (Asura’s Fur Ana Mix)

13 & God Returns With ‘Own Your Ghost’ This May

The powerhouse outfit consisting of members of Subtle, The Notwist, and Themselves, 13 & God, has announced its return to the music world with its forthcoming sophomore LP. The 10-song Own Your Ghost album will be released via Anticon on May 17, six years after 13 & God’s self-titled debut, and will feature the various veteran talents of Doseone, Jel, Dax Pierson, Jordan Dalrymple, Markus and Micha Acher, and Martin Gretschmann. Below, you can check out the tracklist and artwork for Ghost, along with a video previewing album cut “Armored Scarves.”

1. Its Own Sun
2. Death Major
3. Armored Scarves
4. Janu Are
5. Old Age
6. Et Tu
7. Death Minor
8. Sure As Debt
9. Beat On Us
10. Unyoung

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A Lull “Weapons For War (Houses Remix)”

Many moons ago—if you’ll remember with us—we premiered a brand-new song from the burgeoning post-rock artisans in Chicago’s A Lull, entitled “Weapons For War.” Since that song went live on our website back in October 2009, the boys of that band gave it a bit of a facelift in preparation for its official release as the lead track on A Lull’s debut LP for the Mush label, Confetti—not to mention the Weapons For War EP (pictured above), which drops on March 1. Also on that EP are a handful of remixes, including this one from fellow Chicagoans Houses. The electro-pop-inclined pair reformat the original song’s baroque layers of percussion and busied melodic elements into a simple and bubbling tune that floats somewhere in between The Postal Service’s more sullen moments and that one song from the ’90s about a phonebooth by Primitive Radio Gods. But instead of sampling B.B. King’s bluesy vocal hooks, Houses nabs a lyric from singer Nigel Dennis—repeating “We’ll all lay down when it’s time to/Not one minute early/Not one minute early” before trailing off into the remix’s gradual comedown.

A Lull’s Confetti is out on April 12.

Weapons For War (Houses Remix)

Weapons For War (Houses Remix)

Benoit & Sergio to Release New EP Via DFA

The two fellows of the multinational Benoit & Sergio outfit are set to follow up last year’s 12″ single for the Ghostly label with a brand-new EP, to be released this time by the illustrious DFA imprint. On February 21, the tech-house duo will drop the Boy Trouble EP, a four-song slab of vinyl that features three original tunes and a remix of the title track by Seth Troxler‘s Visionquest project. You can check out that record’s label art and tracklist, along with some streams of two of the EP cuts, below.

1. Boy Trouble
2. Boy Trouble (Visionquest Remix)
3. Full Grown Man

4. What I’ve Lost

Pinch Collaborates With Loefah and Roska on New 12″

To be released through Tectonic, a forthcoming 12″ single from label boss Pinch (pictured above) will feature two collaborative tracks the DJ/producer crafted with the help of fellow UK tunesmiths, including Swamp 81 honcho Loefah and Rinse FM‘s Roska. “Broken” features Pinch and Loefah working from the vantage point of “the original dubstep vibe,” delivering a sparse, powerful, and classic track. On the other side of the 12″ is Pinch’s joint production with UK funky main man Roska. Entitled “Paranormal Activity,” the ethereal-yet-punchy tune highlights the musicmakers’ love of intricately programmed percussion and gut-busting basslines. Keep your eyes peeled in early March for this big 12″ to drop.

Rainbow Arabia “Without You (Nguzunguzu Remix)”

The fine folks over at Kompakt just unleashed this gem on their Soundcloud the other day, a patently bass-laden and hyped-up remix of Rainbow Arabia‘s “Without You” by fellow LA-based duo Nguzunguzu. The two groups’ musical ideas work almost perfectly here, as both the remixing couple and the couple behind the original track have insatiable hungers for tropical instrumentation, tribal percussion, and dubby soundscapes, and yet Nguzunguzu do much more than just up the tempo. What was once some kind of warped, islander dance-pop tune ready for radio rotation is now a club-friendly piece of cyclical space-juke ready for your next footwork battle on the moon. And don’t forget that Rainbow Arabia’s debut LP, Boys and Diamonds, will drop on February 29 via Kompakt.

Without You (Nguzunguzu Remix)

When the Saints Go Machine “Fail Forever (dOP Remix)”

Back in November XLR8Rposted “Fail Forever,” a single from Danish group When Saints Go Machine, a track that channeled Arthur Russell in lead singer Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild’s voice as much as the music channeled disco and baroque pop. Now with the release of their debut album of the same name, !K7 is offering up a remix of the track from nascent techno producers dOP. In this version, the French trio accentuates the most obvious elements of the original—further distorting and pitching Vonsild’s voice, updating the disco to techno, and allowing the original’s string sections to bask in their own soothing glory for the final two minutes.

Fail Forever (dOP Remix)

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