Released on Monday, Hackman‘s (pictured above) new record for the PTN label is a 10″ slab of vinyl featuring two solid cuts of funky and deep futuristic house music from the burgeoning producer. This remix by Bristol’s Hodge could be described just the same; instead of transforming the bouncing groove that carries “Made Up My Mind,” the remixer restructures its clattering percussion elements and 8-bit sound effects around the bulbous bassline—making for a roomier mix of the dancefloor burner. You can’t get this version on Hackman’s new record, but his original tunes certainly warrant a listen or two at the very least, which you can do here.
With the release of a brand-new single this February, veteran French house duo Cassius returns once again to the dance music fold after a four-year lull since its last single, “15 Again.” The production pair will drop the I <3 U So single, a record which comes with remixes from Skream, L-Vis 1990, Bowski, and Gesaffelstein, on February 28 via French party-tune imprint Ed Banger. As the press releases states, “I <3 You So” is a “giddy concoction of vocal samples and dubstep-influenced beats.” You can check out the artwork and tracklist for Cassius’ new single below.
1 “I <3 U So” 2 “I <3 U So (Skream’s Made Zdar Feel Like He Was 20 Again Remix)” 3 “I <3 U So (Bowski 2 a.m. Remix feat. Tom Cowcher)” 4. “Shark Simple (L-Vis 1990 & The Neon Dreams Regeneration Remix)” 5. “Les enfants (Gesaffelstein Remix)”
Flying Lotus once described LA beatmaker and Brainfeeder artist Teebs’ lush compositions as sounding “the way Avatar looks.” Now, if comparing that hyperreal 3-D movie with those glistening MPC experiments is accurate, then that would make the work of veteran chopper Prefuse 73 (pictured above) practically a virtual reality experience. And that goes for this remix of “Always” by the José González-led Junip band, too. In between his work on mixing the upcoming Games LP, Guillermo Scott Herren crafted this vibrant collage of nearly palpable sounds that jump out at you and swirl around your headspace. The beat of “Always (Prefuse 73 Remix)” is broken, distant, and cavernous, which appropriately leaves the focus of the track on the churning milieu of crunchy sonic bits and thick atmospheres that comprise most of the virtual world Herren created here. (via Pitchfork)
Bristol’s promising Punch Drunk label continues to sink its teeth deep into dubstep’s pulsing, low-frequency core with more tasteful tunes coming down the pipeline, this time from newcomer Kahn. The UK producer will drop his first record for the imprint on February 28, which will feature the tracks “Like We Used To” and “Helter Skelter.” You can pre-order Kahn’s 12″ here, and check out bits of the deep and soulful bass productions, along with the vinyl label, below.
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Scottish-born, Berlin-based producer Rudi Zygadlo had himself a stroke of generosity over the weekend, which resulted in his offering two eclectic and funky bass-centric tunes via Bandcamp. Don’t Disturb the Beasts is two tracks of impeccably produced, forward-thinking dubstep from the tunesmith that he couldn’t “justify” releasing physically because they are “essentially reworks,” but for our money, “Kiss the Braille Mirror” and its lengthy counterpart “Filth, Hounds of Hades” are just as good as—if not much better than—many of the crates of CDs and records our office is inundated with on the daily. Zygadlo’s “Mirror” tune is punchy, hyperactive, and catchy, like many of its club-ready dubstep contemporaries, but maintains a certain musicality and futuristic soul that isn’t quite as common. You can check out more about Beasts on the artist’s Tumblr.
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Easily one of the first things to come to mind when settling into a smooth, ethereal ambient album (or track, for that matter) is space. Whether it be travelling through space or just floating in its vacuous environs, the feeling of what those experiences might be like can often seem tantamount to the music itself, and as made apparent by this space-friendly music video for LA sound sculptor a.d.l.r. (a.k.a. Nicholas Morera), we’re certainly not the only ones with dreams of interstellar travel. Director Kim Asendorf pairs tweaked clips of what looks like NASA stock footage with the pulsing thuds and vaporous synthscapes of “Supreme Sunlight,” resulting in a lovely and entrancing effect. The song itself comes from a.d.l.r.’s brand-new album for Non Projects, entitled Foam on the Waves of Space-Time…, which is out now. To celebrate the record’s release, Anenon, yuk., and Leaving Records boss Matthewdavid will join Morera for a video webcast of live performances this Thursday from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. PST. You can check out more info on that shindig here.
Who doesn’t love a good compilation? There’s nothing quite like a handful of your favorite artists brought together with some surprising new favorites and obscure discoveries, all dropping a song or two that may not have been available to you otherwise. So, needless to say, we’re excited about a couple such releases from the Get Physical and Ed Banger labels. Released yesterday on Get Physical, Full Body Workout Vol. 7 is a 10-song disc featuring an array of house and techno styles from the likes of Pele, Smash TV, Bjorn Wilke, and Martin Dawson. And from our French friends at Ed Banger, a new compilation called Let the Children Techno will drop on February 14 with 19 tracks, including new songs from L-Vis 1990, Flying Lotus, Skream, Mr. Oizo, Sebastian, Discodeine, and many more. Also, those party-loving folks will be celebrating the new release about a week before it’s available at XOYO, with performances from Busy P, DJ Mehdi (both pictured above), a “very special guest,” and others. You can check out more details on that party here, and the artwork and tracklists for both compilations are below.
01. Smash TV – Baby Got Me Open 02. Martin Dawson – What The Fuck 03. SIOPIS feat. Mr. Brean – Dog Or Dusta 04. Bjorn Wilke & Someone Else – Guten Morgen 05. Javier Logares – Proyecto Lazer 06. Jona – Silver 07. Miguel Toro & Argenis Brito – Sweet Spot 08. Pele – My Boogie 09. Israel Sunshine – Pickles 10. Findling & Lihab – Shaft Of Sunlight
01. MR OIZO – Let The Children Techno 02. BUSY P – Procrastinator 03. DUKE DUMONT – Hipgnosis 04. SIRIUSMO – Idiot 05. PARA ONE & TACTEEL – Infinity Riser (Remix of Bernard Fevre’s Dali) 06. BREAKBOT – Shades Of Black 07. SEBASTIAN – Enio 08. MATTIE SAFER – Is That Your Girl? feat. Telli from Ninjasonik 09. GESAFFELSTEIN – The Voice 10. CASSIUS – Shark Simple (L-VIS 1990 & The Neon Dreams Remix) 11. DJEDJOTRONIC – The Invisible Landscape 12. DISCODEINE – Grace 13. FEADZ – Far From Home feat. Claude Violante 14. BRODINSKI & TONY SENGHORE – Anagogue 15. BOBMO – Control 16. ZOMBIE NATION – Relax 17. RITON – One Night Stand 18. SKREAM – Boat Party 19. DJ MEHDI – TragicoMehdi 20. FLYING LOTUS – Caravan Of Delight
We’re not going to lie. When XLR8R first caught wind of The Miracles Club, we had our doubts. Granted, we were already fans of Honey Owens and her droney, experimental work as Valet and as a member of Nudge—we even made her the subject of an episode of XLR8R TV a couple years ago. But Honey Owens… doing house music? In Portland? And claiming classic Chicago sounds as an influence? No offense to our pals in the Pacific Northwest, but the City of Roses isn’t exactly known for its love of DJ culture. Vintage stores, organic eats, and DIY noisemaking? Yes. Thumping, club-friendly beats? Not so much. So imagine our surprise when the outfit’s debut EP, Light of Love, came out last year and was actually… good. Since then, the group—which also features synth/drum-machine wizard Rafael Fauria and dancer Ryan Boyle—has been featured in our Bubblin’ section, continued running its Ecstasy blog/label, released a second EP, A New Love, via Mexican Summer, and also put together a goofy music video inspired by ’90s TV dance parties. Simply put, we’ve been convinced, which is why we tapped The Miracles Club to put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series. Given that the band wears its love for old-school, piano-driven Chicago house on its sleeve, it’s a tad surprising that the mix contains so much new music, while also finding time to explore some more ambient, blissed-out offerings. Not that we’re complaining; The Miracles Club might be new to the game, but they manage to skillfully weave together house, electro, disco, and more on this exceedingly pleasant mix.
01 We Like Cats “No Ordinary Dub” (Marriage) 02 Seefeel “Spangle” (Warp) 03 Wav Dwgs “Global Age” 04 Das Moth “Wrong (KiNK & Neville Watson Remix)” (Cutters) 05 Storm Queen “Look Right Through” (Environ) 06 Kim Ann Foxman “What You Need” (Mr. INTL) 07 The Miracles Club “Light of Love (Neurotic Drum Band Mix)” (Cutters) 08 Finesse “Elevate (Kendig’s Lifted Remix)” (Ecstasy) 09 Coral Way Chiefs “Release Myself” (Murk) 10 Emotion 2 Emotion “Right Here (feat. Justin Green)” 11 Corinne “Dream A Little Dream (Runaway Remix Dub)” (On the Prowl) 12 Jon Hassell “Dream Theory” (Editions EG) 13 Golden Retriever “Golden Retriever 2” (Bucket Factory) 14 The Miracles Club “Can You Feel It” (Mexican Summer)
If you’re at all like us (you are reading this, so you’re probably at least somewhat like us), you’re a bit tired of the bands/producers/etc. tweaking the names of famous people for use as musical monikers—Joy Orbison, Ill Gates, Dananananaykroyd, and Wevie Stonder immediately come to mind. Easily the most unlikable of the bunch is the awkwardly re-imagined name Com Truise, a bedroom producer hailing from Princeton, New Jersey born Seth Haley and who recently signed to the lovely Ghostly label. This little slice of homegrown synth-pop, called “Slow Peels,” is featured on a remastered version of Haley’s Cyanide Sisters EP (pictured above), originally released by AMDISCS and soon to be reissued by his new label on January 25. The song is fuzzy and not exactly of the highest fidelity to be sure, but the many different analog synth sounds and super-compressed drum beats wouldn’t really sound right any other way. Obviously, Com Truise knows his way around a melodic soundscape and a pop-friendly groove, so despite the laughable name, we’ll be keeping a keen eye on whatever emanates from his home studio next.
San Francisco’s Mi Ami lost one of its three members to other pursuits not too long ago, leaving founding members Damon Palermo and Daniel Martin-McCormick to soldier on into the next phase of their dubby, punky, dancey, post-whatevery musical outfit. Well, that new phase has come a lot sooner than we expected with the announcement of Mi Ami’s forthcoming 12″ EP, Dolphins. Set for release on March 15 via Thrill Jockey, the four-song EP is purported to be “A melting, dystopian refraction of left-field new age, lush soundscapes and Italo daydreams.” The press release continues, “Simultaneously ingesting and rejecting pop pleasure, wide-eyed optimism and modern despair, it is equal parts improvisatory winging it and forceful, fully-realized vision. Blurring the line between the tainted and the sublime, Dolphins is the sound of a band thrillingly re-imagining itself.” It also promises a lot less ferocious guitar and thundering drums, and a lot more Roland 707. Sounds good to us. You can check out the artwork and full tracklist for Mi Ami’s new EP below.
