Manchester/Leeds-based beat craftsman Darren Williams (a.k.a. Star Slinger) has been blowing up some of our favorite blogs as of late, and we’re starting to understand why. Along with making a ton of tunes and handing them out like so much Halloween candy, the producer’s work is all over the musical map—making remix stops in Deerhunter, Small Black, and Cocteau Twins territory when he’s not crafting his own glistening, sample-based hip-hop locales. Our first offering on behalf of the up-and-coming artist is the R&B-heavy “Baby Mama,” an ecstatic head-nodder that brings to mind the wonky, neon sounds of Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, and the like, although this tune is perfectly quantized. Comparisons aside, Star Slinger shines not only as an expert sample user, but also as a musician who knows how to use a catchy, memorable melody to keep the listener coming back to his songs again and again.
Well, now you know what held the places between numbers 26 and 50 in the year’s top downloads, as chosen by the readers of XLR8R.com. So today we share with you your own best of the best, numbers 1-25. (And yes, we’re sure that Jimmy Edgar is indeed worthy of the number one and 20 spots, and that it has nothing to do with a bunch of pervs Googling “Hot” “Raw” “Sex” and unwittingly ending up on XLR8R.com.)
Cologne’s Kompakt imprint has been a leader in all things techno since its inception in 1998, so it is only right that a record compiling the work of one of its founding members, Jürgen Paape, be regarded as something special. “Take That,” which originally appeared on this year’s Total 11 compilation and now again as part of Paape’s upcoming retrospective album, Kompilation, is an anthem with one foot placed firmly in the future and the other in the past. The track is dark and heavy, recalling some classic techno aesthetics in its sound and structure, but something seems to also be reaching out to the unknown. Maybe its the lazery rhythmic lines that carry the track along, or the stripped down, minimal bounce that Paape employs; either way, as you listen it becomes clear why taking a look at the work of one of techno’s most influential label heads/artists is a worthwhile endeavor. Paape was also known as one of techno’s most secretive artists, as he never did any interviews, played any shows, or published any pictures, until now. The image above is Paape’s first published photo which, not surprisingly, looks like a German guy who has been making techno for over a decade. Kompilation will be released exclusively from Kompakt on December 17 physically and January 10 digitally.
Ann Arbor’s now-legendary Ghostly International and sister-label Spectral Sound are set two release two new giant digital compilations next week with We’ll Never Stop Living This Way (album artwork above) and Spectral Sound Vol. 3. The former is a 30-track collection which spans Ghostly’s rich and diverse output over the last 11 years. The comp, which was put together as a companion to The Ghostly Book, includes all the standouts, new and old, from their roster such as Matthew Dear, Gold Panda, Kate Simko, Dabrye, and Tycho as well as a track from newcomer Com Truise. Spectral Sound Vol. 3 is also quite an ambitious endeavor, the 50-track compilation will include one song from every Spectral release starting with SPC-51 to SPC-99. Expect 50 Midwestern-leaning techno tracks from the last two or so years from the likes of Audion, Broker/Dealer, Benoit & Sergio, Seth Troxler, and an unreleased track from James T. Cotton. You can check the complete tracklists below and stream We’ll Never Stop Living This Way over at NPR. Both comps are set to be released December 14. (via Resident Advisor)
We’ll Never Stop Living This Way Tracklist: 01. Gold Panda – Peaky Caps 02. Shigeto – Eternal Life 03. Outputmessage – Bernard’s Song 04. Matthew Dear – Fleece On Brain 05. Dabrye feat. Waajeed – Jorgy 06. Mobius Band – Multiply 07. Tycho – Coastal Brake 08. Daniel Wang – Berlin Sunrise (Diskjokke Version) 09. School of Seven Bells – Half Asleep (Lusine Remix) 10. Aeroc – My Love, The Wave Break 11. Lawrence – Five Leaves 12. Choir of Young Believers – Hollow Talk 13. Tadd Mullinix – Exchanging Modes 14. The Sight Below – No Place For Us 15. Loscil – Union Dusk 16. Benoit Pioulard – Little A Strongly More Go I 17. Pale Sketcher – Dummy (Bahnhoff Version) 18. Cepia – Tape 19. Midwest Product – Clarity 20. Osborne – Outta Sight (Luke Vibert Remix) 21. Lusine – Double Vision 22. Solvent – Loss For Words (Solvent’s CompuRhythm Mix) 23. JDSY – Horizon Line 24. Deastro – Tone Adventure #3 25. Michna – Redline Flights 26. The Reflecting Skin – Traffickers 27. Mux Mool – Crackers 28. Kiln – Flycatcher 29. Kate Simko – The Creative Part 30. Com Truise – Cyanide Sisters
Spectral Sound Vol. 3 Tracklist: 01. Audion – Fred’s Bells (Onur Ozer Remix) 02. James T. Cotton – Got To Let You Know 03. Osborne – Ruling 04. Osborne – Afrika 05. Matthew Dear – Hammers 06. Matthew Dear – Killjoy 07. Kate Simko – She Said (Ryan Elliott Edit) 08. Daso & Pawas – Det (Shatrax Beats Plus Remix) 09. Daso – Chair And Table 10. Audion – Snap into It 11. Sami Koivikko – Sapphire (Daso & Pawas Remix) 12. James T. Cotton – Electronic Justice 13. Broker/Dealer – Soft Sell (Thomas Fehlmann Remix) 14. Matthew Dear – Dog Days (DJ Sneak Remix) 15. Lawrence – Forever Anna 16. Kate Simko – Margie’s Groove 17. Jonas Kopp – Cero 18. Osborne – Wait A Minute [Instrumental] 19. Audion – I Am The Car 20. Audion – Look At The Moon 21. Bodycode – Imitation Dub 22. Bodycode – Immune 23. Kate Simko – Take You There (Bruno Pronsato’s Break-Up Day Remix) 24. Seth Troxler – Hurt (feat. Matthew Dear) 25. Seth Troxler – Panic, Stop. Repeat! (Paco Osuna Remix) 26. Audion – Stoplight 27. Audion – It’s Full Of Blinding Light 28. Jabberjaw – Safety Flirt 29. Lee Curtiss – Black Door Beauty 30. Lee Curtiss – Smoking Mirrors 31. Audion – That’s That 32. Jabberjaw – The Connie Shake 33. Audion – Push 34. Gadi Mizrahi – Oh Love 35. Audion – Instant In You 36. Ryan Crosson – Don’t Look Further 37. Gadi Mizrahi – She Don’t (Lowtec Remix) 38. James T. Cotton – On Time 39. Childproof Man – Whose Been Meaning To? 40. Birds & Souls – Birds & Souls 41. Birds & Souls – Birds & Souls (Runaway’s Mountain & Ground Remix) 42. Mike Parker – Protolanguage 43. James T. Cotton – Jak Your Own Stars 44. Osborne – 5th Stage (John Roberts Remix) 45. Childproof Man – Fat Head 46. Shonky – KorgM1 47. Hieroglyphic Being – Got No Place To Go 48. Benoit & Sergio – Midnight People (Technasia Dub 2) 49. Benoit & Sergio – Midnight People [Vocal Version] 50. James T. Cotton – Blast Reed [Unreleased]
Well, it looks like the Inception ripples are starting to hit the shore. But what better pairing could those kinds of mind-bending visuals have than the hyperreal 3-D sounds of Bay Area producer Eskmo? Director/animator Cyriak Harris plays with some footage of a New York City street to the slow groove of producer Brendan Angelides’ crunchy “We Got More” track from his recently released Eskmo (Ninja Tune) album. Things get more and more intertwined, psychedelic, and all around unreal as the piece moves on, and just like the movie that must have inspired Eskmo’s music video, it ends with no confirmed return to reality. Is it all a dream?!
For the third release on burgeoning Czech imprint Mean Bucket, Prague-based DJ/producer Tvyks crafted a two-song single, Prague to Berlin, filled with the skittering bounce of UK club rhythms, the airy pads of old-school rave tunes, and the expertly delivered verbiage of UK MC C.Monts. Here, we’re given the opportunity to pass on one of those tunes, the solid dancefloor heat of “Mitte Riddim.” The song kicks off already in high gear—a shuffling future-house beat follows some introductory blips and clicks, which is quickly joined by a handful of hyped-up synths and lyrical gymnastics. Just about everything thereafter climbs higher into the realms of late-night revelry, though Tvyks still makes way for a somber breakdown around the midpoint before he builds it right back up to the heights where we started. You can check out the whole Prague to Berlin single here.
Brooklyn techno veteran Alexi Delano (pictured above) has a new podcast available thanks to Berlin’s Mobilee imprint. Delano’s podcast comes on the heels of his recently released single, “Un Do Me” b/w “Watch Out,” from Leena (a Mobilee sub-label) and he’s delivered an hour’s worth of slippery dancefloor burners to help spread the word. The podcast finds Delano bouncing through a few different veins of the techno spectrum: from the minimal and melodic to the funky and soulful, all while keeping everything worthy of the sweaty dancefloors he’s been rocking for years. The purveyors of the podcast (the 20th in their series), Mobilee, appear to have a busy 2011 already scheduled; Miss Kittin will be dropping her first track in over a year with “All You Need”; label co-founder Anja Schneider will have a new EP, Pushin’; and relative newcomer to the techno scene, Maya Jane Coles, will be following up her excellent 2010 with her Beat Faster EP in January. You can stream the podcast below or head over to Mobilee’s Soundcloud to take a listen.
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Ed Upton has proven, for the past 15 years, that he’s a pious disciple of ’80s electro, but his 10th album as DMX Krew, Wave Funk, calls for an intervention to break his addiction. In the past, Upton and his arsenal of vintage analog synths and drum machines could easily melt away the 25 years since electro’s heyday. On Wave Funk, he departs from his vocal-driven electro pop and falls into abstract synth instrumentals that often don’t quite gel. “Flanging” and “Garden Gate” find Upton trying his hand at crunk rhythms, but the efforts come across as stale. He even indulges in ’80s kitsch with the sitcom-friendly funk of “Mr. Blue” and “Particle Burst,” and although both tracks can reap an initial chuckle or two, they don’t hold up beyond that. His ventures into dark moods fare worse, as queasy melodies and legless beats hinder “Byzantium” and the aptly named “Funeral Procession.” That said, there are still a few specks of gold in the muck—the strutting groove of “Gravity Boots” has a nice, sleazy vibe and “Get Down (To the Sound)” would have been fine, romantic acid-funk if it wasn’t for those annoying chord progressions. Ultimately, Wave Funk is the sort of record that follows each step forward with three steps back.
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While we’re over here at XLR8R HQ compiling, revising, and fine-tuning out year-end favorites lists, DFA just goes ahead and drops a new video for The Crystal Ark‘s massive “The City Never Sleeps” track on our lap, like we don’t already have enough on our minds. But we’re not too bothered by it, and now we might have to amend our Favorite Videos of 2010 list to include this well-made clip. While producer Gavin Russom and vocalist Viva Ruiz, who also directed the piece, sit amongst vintage equipment, sing in a bath of light, and dance around like they’re part of a religious ceremony, a handful of New York’s sleepless people come to find themselves in the company of some sort of celestial being, who then transforms them into… Well, you’ll have to see for yourself, but between the psychedelic visual effects, awesome costumes, and overall high production values, this is definitely a video worth your time—whether it’s best-of material or not. (via FADER)
Benoit & Sergio‘s 2009 debut EP, What I’ve Lost, is a lesson in sophistication, each song displaying a level of musical maturity rarely reached by producers in a whole lifetime of work. Vocals, melody, and dancefloor-ready rhythms all come together to create a vision of house music that could live in the club or the solitude of your bedroom. Their latest release, “Midnight People,” out now on Spectral, is a head-turning club track that uses a deep and dark piano melody reminiscent of Chicago house’s finest moments, and serves as an interesting follow-up to the romanticism of What I’ve Lost. The Berlin-DC duo’s ascendance may seem explosive given the pair’s limited discography—which will soon include upcoming releases on Vision Quest and DFA—but it’s all the more reason to see what they’re listening to these days.
John Roberts Glass Eights Dial It’s as if Arvo Pärt and Theo Parrish (at his most abstract) sat down at a cafe in Berlin, became good friends, and then decided to make a record. Every move on Mr. Roberts’ debut LP has the complex, deliberate feel of a chess game between elegant minds. Deep yet clear, gentle but not dull, strong without rage, full without overflowing.
Seuil & dOP “Prostitutes (Visionquest Remix)” Eklo We discovered this EP driving at night through the privileged neighborhoods of LA toward summer’s end. The Visionquest remix is perfect for the beast of any night. Epic and weird, its casino-style voice-overs and Dirty Harry hi-hats are underpinned by a tension between bass and kick that only a trip to that massage parlor on Wilshire Boulevard can release.
Woolfy “Looking Glass (Extended Mix)” DFA We wish we could go back in time with this song and play it for Charlotte Rampling around 1982, and then walk along the River Seine with her, talking of the future. We think she would love the song’s melancholy, and the way its synth lines grow slowly toward Woolfy’s forlorn plaint. The Canyons remix is beautiful and forlorn, too.
Matthew Dear “You Put A Smell On Me (Breakbot Remix)” Ghostly International Breakbot’s remix culls something unexpectedly light from the black-rock quarry of the expert original. There’s a neo-Prince flavor to the groove, the passing falsetto, and the big LinnDrum clap and snare.
