XLR8R’s Favorite Tracks of 2010, Part One

Much like yourself, surely, we listened to a whole hell of a lot of songs this year. And it’s never easy to even make a short list of favorites, let alone rank them all, too. But would you expect anything less from us? Eff, no. Right? So, here’s the bottom 20 of our 40 favorites tracks from 2010. We’ll finish off the list tomorrow. Oh, the anticipation!

40. Roska & Untold “Myth”
[Numbers]

39. Zinja Hlungwani “Nwa Gezani My Love”
[Honest Jon’s]

38. Mount Kimbie “Carbonated”
[Hotflush]

37. Kingdom “Fogs”
[Night Slugs]

36. Julio Bashmore “Footsteppin'”
[Ten Thousand Yen]

35. Jacques Greene “(Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want”
[Night Slugs]

34. Balam Acab “See Birds”
[Tri Angle]

33. Brenmar “Taking It Down”
[Discobelle]

32. Magick Mountain “Plains”
[The Pop Manifesto]

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31. Teengirl Fantasy “Dancing in Slow Motion”
[True Panther]

30. Jam City “Ecstasy Refix”
[Night Slugs]

29. Brackles “6AM El Gordos”
[Brainmath]

28. Lindstrøm & Christabelle “High & Low”
[Smalltown Supersound]

27. Mosca “Square One”
[Night Slugs]

26. James Blake “I Only Know (What I Know Now)”
[R&S]

25. Jamie Woon “Night Air (Ramadanman Refix)”
[Candent Songs]

24. Hyetal “Phoenix”
[Orca]

23. Oneohtrix Point Never “Returnal”
[Editions Mego]

22. Beach House “Norway”
[Sub Pop]

21. Lone “Pineapple Crush”
[Magic Wire]

Go here to check out part two and see our top 20 tracks of 2010.

Salva “Mag Clips”

Back in October, XLR8R offered up both halves of a remix swap between Montreal-based producer and LuckyMe affiliate Ango and San Francisco-based Salva. One of those efforts was Ango’s remix of Salva’s “Mag Clips,” which has once again been made available as part of a new digital release series by SF imprint Frite Nite called Frite Nite Trax. The first volume was released last week, and includes Salva’s original “Mag Clips” along with the Ango remix. Both are available free from Frite Nite’s Bandcamp, and honestly, the original’s intro drums alone are worth the price of an e-mail address.

Mag Clips (Ango Remix)

Bok Bok Drops a FACT Mix

Anyone with a pulse who’s checked out XLR8R in the past year knows that we’re big fans of Bok Bok and the Night Slugs imprint he runs with L-Vis 1990. The label’s role in reshaping bass music is undeniable, but Bok Bok also happens to be a damn fine DJ—in case you missed it, we recently put his XLR8R Podcast atop our list of the Best Podcasts of 2010. Now, the man has delivered another scorching-hot DJ session, this time for our counterparts across the pond, FACT. Go here for all the details (and the download link), but rest assured that the mix is stuffed with exclusive and previously unheard gems that should send internet trainspotters scurrying in hopes of tracking down these tunes for themselves. They’d better act fast, as the mix will only be available on the FACT website for the next three weeks.

PTN to Release Second Hackman EP in 2011

Throughout 2010, UK producer Hackman seemed to both be around every corner and yet easily overlooked during a year when the quality and quantity of UK bass music has been so high. Between a slew of remixes posted here at XLR8R and EPs for PTN and Well Rounded released in a span of two months, Hackman’s prolific output was matched by his consistently engaging takes on house music. True to form, Hackman continues his productivity with a second PTN-released EP titled Made Up My Mind, due February 7. Word on the street is it will be the last of his EP releases before a full-length album comes later in 2011. Stream a low-bit version of “Made Up My Mind” from Hackman’s Soundcloud below as you check out the EP’s sleeve and tracklist.

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Made Up My Mind (96 kbps) by Hackman

Tracklist:
01. Made Up My Mind
02. Bam Bam

Watch Natalie Beridze/TBA’s Stunning New Video

Over the summer, Georgian singer/producer Natalie Beridze (a.k.a. TBA) released a five-track EP on Monika Enterprise entitled What About Things Like Bullets. The title track of that EP now has an illustrious, imaginative music video created by Nika Machaidze that features Beridze as a comic book version of herself. The video makes clear the political intent of Beridze’s lyrics as Cold War-style animations depict her as both general and soldier in an unidentified war, fighting for who-knows-what. On March 15, Monika Enterprise will also release Beridze’s next full-length, Forgetfulness, building off the tracks released on last summer’s EP. Check out the video above and the tracklist for Forgetfulness below.

1. Nothing Ever Changes…Just Rearranges
2. Forever Has No Shadow
3. What About Things Like Bullets
4. Whatever Falls Is Sumptuous
5. Blue Shadow
6. In The White
7. The Face We Choose To Miss
8. When Dreams Become Responsibility
9. Future Will (Never Come)
10. Best Burden
12. Deeply Superficial
13. Silently
14. Give My Thoughts No Tongue
15. Half This Game Is Ninety Percent Mental

Garage Rockers The Dirtbombs to Release Album of Detroit Techno Covers

Detroit’s Dirtbombs have had their hands in the electronic-music pot before, trading sides with Adult. back in 2004, when the two groups released a split 7″, with each covering a track from the other. Now The Dirtbombs, hot on the heels of releasing this killer animation below for their cover of techno classic “Sharevari,” are set to put out an entire album of tracks from their hometown’s electronic music legacy. Party Store (what Detroiters would call a bodega or convenience store) will be released on garage-friendly label In the Red on February 11, on CD, digital, and 3xLP formats, and will feature covers of everything from Inner City’s “Good Life” to the somewhat lesser-known DJ Rolando banger “Jaguar 1.” Check the artwork, tracklist, and video below.

Party Store Tracklist
1. Cosmic Cars
2. Sharevari
3. Good Life (Basement Roots Mix)
4. Strings of Life
5. Alleys Of Your Mind
6. Bug In The Bass Bin
7. Jaguar 1.
8. Tear The Club Up
9. ?????-???(Detoroito Mix)

Low End Theory Expands to San Francisco

LA’s now legendary Low End Theory club night has been showcasing some of the best minds in the converging worlds of leftfield electronics, hip-hop, and of course, the LA beat scene for a while now, along the way garnering a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking nights of electronic music anywhere. Not satisfied to rest on its accomplishment, the Low End crew (including residents Daddy Kev, The Gaslamp Killer, Nobody, D-Styles, and Nocando) has announced that they will be bringing its night to San Francisco the first Friday of every month starting in March, with a kick-off party scheduled for January 21 at SF’s 103 Harriet. The residents will be accompanied by Low End veterans Daedelus and Baths for the January night and we can hardly wait to hear what other nights they have in store for our neck of the woods in the coming months. If you haven’t had a chance to make it to a Low End night, check the video of Gaslamp Killer below to get a quick taste. (via SF Weekly)

Deepak Sharma & Dieter Krause “Wolkenreise (DJ Qu Remix)”

The latest single to come from cross-continental production duo Deepak Sharma & Dieter Krause for Sharma’s Hidden Recordings label is “Wolkenreise,” a somber house tune whose title translates quickly to “travel clouds.” The single comes complete with remixes from the likes of John Tejada, Rene Breitbarth, and featured here, DJ Qu (whose mix for Little White Earbuds also made it onto our list of favorite non-XLR8R podcasts from 2010, and is pictured above). Just like the title says, Qu’s remix is immediately set on a forward trajectory, the lightness of which would be aptly described as cloudlike. The soft pulse of the incessant kick rhythm pushes the subtle synth sounds and other ethereal elements along a designated dancefloor path, occasionally running into the odd atmospheric flourish as it travels. But Qu’s “Wolkenreise” remix is most like a cloud because it doesn’t take off or touch down throughout its six minutes; it just floats high up in the atmosphere from start to finish.

Wolkenreise (DJ Qu Remix)

Banjo or Freakout Releases Free Christmas Album

Here over at XLR8R HQ, we’re usually extremely hesitant to listen to anything titled “Christmas album” because, well, most Christmas music is pretty damn shitty. However, this album from London-based producer Banjo or Freakout caught our attention with its take on 10 Christmas standards, all tastefully reinterpreted into sparkling, melodic electronics. Yes, all the classics are here from “Oh Holy Night” to “White Christmas” and even “Frosty the Snowman” (seriously), enabling you to throw away whatever Mannheim Steamroller album is playing at your relative’s house during the holidays and hit them with melancholy reimaginings of some songs that we probably would have left for dead otherwise. Perhaps Banjo or Freakout is building up some goodwill with Santa so that he’ll receive a new moniker in his stocking, or maybe he’s just really into Christmas. Either way, we appreciate the chance to actually enjoy some holiday music for once. You can download the album for free over at Banjo or Freakout’s Bandcamp.

Sun Araw and Matthewdavid “Side A Track 3”

Two Los Angeles-based producers of all things spacey and ambient, Sun Araw (pictured above) and Matthewdavid, have collaborated on a new cassette entitled LIVEPHREAXXX!!!!, presumably put together during a “party” of sorts at Sun Ark Studios. The third movement on side A is an eight-minute excursion through the minds of its creators, one in which various drones and sounds come together with impossibly loose rhythms, only to be manipulated endlessly as layers of off-beat drum machines and percussion fill the spaces in between. Like most things from the Leaving camp, the track leaves you wondering if there’s a secret message to decode, perhaps some sort of hidden melody or rhythm trapped behind the veil of fuzzy processing. Even if there isn’t a message waiting for us at the end, we’re pleasantly confused with where this outing goes and are left to wonder how weird the other 20-plus minutes of this tape must be. (via Altered Zones)

Side A Track 3

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