We imagine this is what Alexis Taylor (and probably the rest of the Hot Chip bunch) would look and sound like if he was about 20 years younger and kept making tortured white-boy dance-pop tunes. That’s not necessarily a dig at Taylor or Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (a.k.a. Orlando Higginbottom), though the comparison remains even in the kind of precious imagery—such as funny hats, sullen looks, and brightly colored shapes—used in this piece for “Household Goods.” It’s not quite as darling as the last TEED video, but we still can’t help but wonder exactly what age/gender the video is aimed at. Still, like those thankless parents that take their whining kids to see the latest animated Pixar blockbuster, there are certainly enough “grown-up” sights and sounds in this one to keep most of our cynicism at bay.
Nathan Fake “Xmas Rush (Dub)”
It should probably be done at least once a year: share a little bit of seasonal spirit in our not-so-holiday-friendly download feed. It’s not that we’re Grinches or anything, but really, when was the last time you heard a Christmas song that was anything but barely tolerable? That’s probably why we’re totally okay with posting this jam from UK tunesmith Nathan Fake; it hardly sounds like a holiday song. The only thing somewhat related to Christamas—other than the title—on “Xmas Rush (Dub)” is the tweaked vocal loop that Fake plays with throughout most of his track. And while that age-old voice goes on about “greeting cards,” the rest of the production fires off wonky noise experiments, blown-out bass frequencies, and flitting dance rhythms—sounding like some sort of traditional Christmas carol for footworkers. And if you’re still in the mood for more “Xmas Rush,” check out the original track on the split single that Fake shared with Pampa boss DJ Koze, which came out earlier this week on Pampa. (via Pitchfork)
Signaldrift “Yesterday’s Tomorrow (Strategy Remix)”
“Yesterday’s Tomorrow” is a long-winded way of saying “today,” and Strategy is a shorthand way of spelling out “amorphous ambient compositions hailing from the Pacific Northwest for the betterment of your mind, body, and soul,” or something along those lines. Put those things together and you have this touching remix of Signaldrift‘s Krauty synth-pop tune, the original of which we posted earlier this year, rendered beatless and sublime by Portland producer Paul Dickow. As Strategy, Dickow explores the swirling synth moods, bubbling aural textures, and finger-plucked guitar sounds of the Signaldrift track, though he delivers those sounds with the freedom to waft about in his expansive soundscape.
Yesterday’s Tomorrow (Strategy Remix)
Yesterday’s Tomorrow (Strategy Remix)
Podcast 176: Oro11
There are a handful of ways by which you may know of DJ/producer Oro11 (a.k.a. Gavin Burnett). Whether as co-owner—with XLR8R‘s Managing Editor, Shawn Reynaldo—of the equatorially inclined Bersa Discos label (a featured imprint in our last Labels We Love issue), head of the LA division of the Tormenta Tropical party (which is celebrating its third birthday in San Francisco this Saturday), or one half of the burgeoning Banana Clipz outfit (the other half being NY-via-Bay Area artist Chief Boima), Burnett’s love for the sun-soaked genres of cumbia, reggaeton, tribal guarachero, and other global sounds remains at the core of his work—this exclusive mix he’s just assembled for the XLR8R podcast series included. His DJ set may seem obscure, even to those well versed in the sounds of tropic zones (hell, one track is just labeled “Zacatecas Mix de La Calle” because it’s from a CD he bought from a street vendor in Zacatecas, Mexico), but recognizable names like Nadastrom, Diplo, and Oro’s own Banana Clipz—fresh off the release of the project’s free debut EP—does give his vibrant mix a slightly more familiar flavor. Though as a DJ who played the first-ever ZZK party and a producer who honed his chops by combining cumbia with hip-hop, dancehall, and other electronic sounds while living in Buenos Aires, Oro11 is an artist who obviously knows his way around bumping basslines and international dancefloor rhythms. So who better to give us a taste of unheard, culturally rich soundsytem gems we’d likely not hear otherwise? Maybe we all ought to be taking notes.
01 DJ Negro “Sabor A Gaita” (Bersa Discos)
02 DJ Panik “Pillz (Remix)”
03 Unknown “Zacatecas Mix de La Calle”
04 Cosculluela “Perreo Pa Las Gatas”
05 Rudeboy feat. El Ivis “El Passa Passa del Marciano”
06 El Nosotros “Mar, Sexo y Sol” (Bersa Discos)
07 Proxy “8000 (Diplo Remix)” (Planet Turbo)
08 Nadastrom feat. Oro11 “Trompaton” (T&A)
09 Joyce Muniz & Shanti Roots “Cumbia Lolita” (Sol Selectas)
10 Victor Magan & Jason Tregebov “Jandinha (Juan Magan & Marcos Rodriguez Remix)”
11 DJMouse & Manuel Palafox “The Sixteen’s Guitar (DJExperiens Reconstrucción Tribal)”
12 El Negro 5 Estrellas “Plomo”
13 DJ Pesado “Hino Delo Pesado”
14 Banana Clipz “Push Am” (Bersa Discos)
15 DJ Paul “Acordeon y Arpa Huajuapeos (Original Mix)”
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Modeselektor Modeselektion Vol. 1
After two hotly tipped albums wedged into the grimy alley between dubstep and IDM, German duo Modeselektor emerged in a collaborative mode, teaming up with Apparat, touring with Radiohead, and remixing everyone from Ninjaman to Björk. Now Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary are taking a curatorial turn with Modeselektion Vol. 1, a compilation that delves deep into dubstep’s offspring and relatives, finding common threads across Europe and the States and uniting them through hard-edged glitch, savage edits, and an excess of bass.
Released on Modeselektor’s own label, Monkeytown, Modeselektion dodges the “one-label” or “artists we personally know” restrictions that often result in sound-alike comps, and ties together established names like Apparat and Tadd Mullinix with newer artists (Ikonika, SBTRKT), all of whom display their own creative takes on dark, twisted dubstep. 2562 offers a loopy thumper calling back to the earliest days of the hip-hop/house merger, eLan throws a glammy party that sounds like electroclash at quarter speed, and Housemeister’s “Kristall” backgrounds some spoken philosophy on the divine with shimmering keys, all enough to make you forget the sole misfire, Ramadanman’s droning “Pitter.”
True to their “more is more” philosophy, Modeselektor went utterly berserk in this first volume, presenting a 77-minute disc plus digital bonus tracks, videos, 12″s, and an LP limited to 666 copies. That’s your cue to get into a dubsteppy stomp and throw up the devil horns as Gernot and Sebastian intended.
Brenmar “Taking it Down”
It’s here: the first official release from Brooklyn-via-Chicago DJ/producer Brenmar, entitled At it Again. As longtime lovers of the talented artist’s R&B- and hip-hop-infused house tunes, not to mention good music everywhere, XLR8R is pleased to bring you the first free taste from the six-track EP, the engaging dancefloor bubbler “Taking it Down.” If Brenmar’s tune is anything, it’s evidence that he knows how to turn relatively dubious source material, like, say, Top 40 radio fodder heavy with potential guilty-pleasure vibes, into music with relevance, substance, and new ideas. The producer nabbed snippets from “Clubbin'”, the 2003 debut solo single by Marques Houston (of Immature and Sister, Sister fame), for “Taking it Down,” and applied the slick vocal melodies to his own fresh, club-ready instrumental—resulting in a stand-out tune that further validates his growing importance in the world of dance music. You can hear what other great tracks Brenmar has to offer by streaming all of At it Again, which also features collaborative remixes from Ikonika & Optimum and DJ Rashad & DJ Earl & DJ BMT, here, or buying the EP here.
Cassie “Me & U (Brackles Remix)”
Last week, we told you about the latest remix EP presented by on-fire UK bass hub Local Action, which features a load of remixes for R&B starlet Cassie from a few of the biggest names in forward-thinking club music and is now available for free download. Along with DJ/producers Jacques Greene, Altered Natives, Svpreme Fiend, The Blessings, and an undercover Shortstuff (moonlighting as Mickey Pearce), the other Blunted Robots honcho, Brackles, served up this soulful house rendition of Cassie’s classic “Me & U” single. The plinking melody of the original’s lovable hook never makes an appearance throughout the five-and-a-half-minute version, but those notes are certainly alluded to in the quick stabs that pop up behind the bubbling bassline, skittering dance beat, thick synth pads, and the relatively untouched silken voice of the song’s star. “Me & U (Brackles Remix)” easily remains the truest to its source material on the nine-song Skydiver EP while it simultaneously presents a fresh vibe almost as infectious as the hit single itself.
Watch a New Flying Lotus Music Video for “Zodiac Shit”
In this Lilfuchs-directed video for Adult Swim, Lilfuchs imagines Flying Lotus‘ “Zodiac Shit” as the twisted, neon-colored-animal visions of a wise samurai. This and other interpretations of Flying Lotus’ Cosmogramma have tended toward more literal translations of FlyLo’s beat-psychedelia, and with the right intoxicating substance, we can’t blame them. (via Pitchfork)
Download Natalie Storm’s ‘Song’s 2 F@#K and Fight 2’ Mixtape
This weekend Natalie Storm touched down in NYC to begin a short stint of shows in New York and San Francisco. And while you bide your time until she plays New York tonight, or later this week for the XLR8R-sponsored Tormenta Tropical, you can listen to Natalie Storm’s free mixtape, Song’s 2 F@#K and Fight 2, now available for download (which was originally going to be sold on tour, as we had previously posted). Produced by Federation Sound and Prodigal Entertainment, the mixtape lives up to Storm’s name with 33 tracks, nearly all of which clock in at under two minutes. Check the mixtape’s back cover below for a tracklist, and download the mix here.
Listen to Discodeine’s New Single With Jarvis Cocker
A couple weeks back we got word of the first DFA release from electro-pop project Discodeine, a collaboration between French producers Pentile and Pilooski. To anticipate their upcoming full-length for the label, today the duo is releasing its first single, “Synchronize,” featuring vocals from Brit-pop crooner and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, in both vinyl and digital forms, with a set of remixes from Jam Factory. Stream the entire release from DFA’s Soundcloud and check out the sleeve below.
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Discodeine – Synchronize (Extended) by DFA Records
