Like a dirtier, less-conceptual Matthew Herbert or Soft Pink Truth, the elusive Parisian producer known as Ass of Bass (yeah, we’re not keen on the name either) makes dubby, housey, disco-flavored dance tunes full of twisted vocal snippets, musical randomness, and deep vibes. There are plenty of sampled treasures and random sounds to be heard throughout “Duee Connexion #2,” but it’s the slamming four-on-the-floor and bouncing low-end that remains in the forefront—carrying the energetic tune for over seven minutes. You can discover how else the musicmaker twerks that sticky sound palette on his debut for Salon, a four-song EP with two original takes on “Duee Connexion” and two remixes from DJ Donna Summer, here.
Portland video production team Into the Woods has been culling musicians touring through PDX for short live performances. Past guests have included Abe Vigoda, Big Freedia, and Teebs—each new artist a more recognizable one than the last. Yesterday Into the Woods debuted its latest video, this time from Monome-master Daedelus. Sharing a love of arcade games with the video’s producers, Daedelus puts his preternatural button-pressing skills to the test in Street Fighter before spending the rest of the video triggering his way through hip-hop, IDM, and house. With Portland behind him, Daedelus continues his Magical Properties tour with a series of dates in the Southwest. Check the locations and Into the Woods’ video below.
11/16 – Trees, Dallas, TX w/ Free the Robots & Samiyam 11/17 – Escobar, Houston, TX w/ Free the Robots & Samiyam 11/18 – Club 101, El Paso, TX w/ Free the Robots & Samiyam 11/19 – Club Red, Tempe, AZ w/ Free the Robots & Samiyam 11/20 – House Of Blues, Los Angeles, CA w/ Free the Robots, Samiyam & Teebs
One of the few Chicago-based labels offering support for the burgeoning juke/footwork scene, Ghettophiles, just dropped a fresh compilation of tracks by the tunesmiths of its hometown. Following the label’s release of DJ Spinn & DJ Rashad’s 4 the Ghetto EP, the eight-song Overkill is available exclusively through the Zero” website, and features the likes of DJ Manny, Arpebu (a.k.a. RP Boo), DJ Earl, Traxman, Spinn (pictured above), Rashad, and more. Overkill may not be as expansive as Planet Mu‘s 25-track Bangs & Works Vol. 1 compilation, but the quality of its rhythmically amorphous music is sure to remain on par. You can preview the whole thing, and nab it for about a buck a track, here. The tracklist and artwork are below.
01 Arpebu – Munsta From Kavain Space 02 DJ Earl – Get Off Yo Ass and Jam! 03 DJ Spinn – Jazz 4 Ya Azz 04 DJ Tre – No Mo Playin 05 DJ Manny – Chase 06 DJ Clent – Next Shit 07 DJ Rashad – Ghost 08 Traxman – WTF?
Washington, D.C., chill-groove electronica trio Thunderball gets a serious makeover here, courtesy of San Francisco’s tropically inclined bass excavator Ghosts on Tape. However, for his re-work of “Runaway,” the original of which is taken from the forthcoming 12 Mile High record to be released on Thievery Corporation’s ESL label, DJ/producer Ryan Merry switches out his percussion samples and low-end rumbles for something better fitting of an illegal warehouse party circa 1993. But it’s not all glowsticks and Blow Pops on this track; Ghosts on Tape toys with ethereal vocal sampling à la UK bass music’s finest, drops in some classic clubby synth melodies, and flips his production halfway through for an ominous finish that’s purely his own. At nearly 10 minutes, it’s certainly the longest song we’ve heard from Merry, but it might very well be his best, too.
Bill Salas is a Chicago boy through and through. Sure, the producer better known as Brenmar resides in Brooklyn these days, but his tracks clearly demonstrate that the guy brought his hometown’s love of hip-hop, R&B, house, and juke along with him. Over the past year, he’s built a name for himself on the back of bootleg remixes of DJ Deeon, Cassie, and Aaliyah, not to mention a few of his own originals. Early next month, he’ll be dropping an official release—the At It Again EP on Discobelle—but that’s just the beginning; another single is planned for Ikonika and Optimum’s Hum and Buzz imprint, as are collaborative efforts with LA duo Nguzunguzu and Washington producer Cedaa. (The latter project is known as Amber, and the collabo’s first offering appears right here on this mix.) On top of his work in the studio, Brenmar is also in the process of starting up a NY version of London party So Bones. (The UK edition is headed up by Robin Carolan of Tri Angle Records and 20 Jazz Funk Greats.) Given his busy schedule, it’s borderline miraculous that we pinned Brenmar down long enough to put together this exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series, and it’s fair to say that he’s gone above and beyond our expectations. To be honest, we would have been pleased with a standard-issue DJ mix, but Brenmar included several new edits, all of which are exclusive to the podcast and will never appear anywhere else. On top of that, he even took our (admittedly dated) podcast intro and fashioned his own remix out of it! Oh yeah, he also found the time to tour through UK bass, house, hip-hop, R&B, and more. The transitions are quick and Brenmar serves up plenty of different flavors, but we’re happy to taste them all.
01 Brenmar “Intro” 02 Prince Club “Body Holly” 03 Jay Sean “Like This Like That (Brenmar Edit)” 04 French Fries & Chaos In The CBD “With You” (Young Gunz) 05 JTRP “Moon” (Deep Teknologi) 06 Nehuen “Intriga” (Altobajo) 07 DJ Znobia “Bonus Track” 08 Brenmar “Taking It Down” (Discobelle) 09 T. Williams “Getting Mine” (Enchufada) 10 Amber “Empire” 11 Deborah Cox “It’s Over (Dubbel Dutch Remix)” 12 Brenmar “Boy You Got Me” 13 Christoph Andersson “Tuxedo (Brenmar Remix)” (Hurst) 14 Velour “Booty Slammer feat. Marques Houston (Brenmar Edit)” 15 Brenmar “You Make Me Say (Ikonika & Optimum Remix)” (Discobelle) 16 HeavyFeet “Are You Dumb? feat. Miski (Dre Skull Remix)” (Stamp! Beat) 17 Psychonaught “One Wish” 18 Electrik Red “Put Ya Money On It (Africa)” 19 Twista “Cocaine feat. Yo Gotti” (EMI) 20 Fatima Al Qadiri “D-Medley (Physical Therapy Edit)”
Among many other things, Gold Panda‘s first full-length, Lucky Shiner, is a veritable curveball. The young Essex-based producer had unintentionally set himself up to join the expansive beat-scene continuum with the release of his “Quitter’s Raga” single in 2009, and “You,” from early this year. The music world thought it had Gold Panda pegged, and happily so, until this record surfaced. Within the first three songs of Lucky Shiner, a trio of different musical styles emerges: shuffling, sample-heavy beatscapes; preciously crafted micro-techno; and vivaciously homespun field recordings. Gold Panda harnesses those distinct sounds over the course of Lucky Shiner‘s 11-song tracklist with an emotional grace exceeding that of most other producers, especially those with only three years of experience.
Excursions into mesmerizing ambient techno make up the bulk of the album, and are at the core of its most rewarding songs. “Snow & Taxis” travels on an incessant pulse of bass decorated with layers of carefully diced audio—samples which make up the track’s elated melody and still allow enough sonic space for the skittering snares to dance unimpeded around the thumping four-on-the-floor rhythm. Tunes like “Marriage” and “Same Dream China” apply similar approaches, and yield equally heartwarming results. In the end, Lucky Shiner stands as a proper introduction to a producer who cares as much about moving your body as he does your soul.
Full-length records coming from DJ/producers with a distinct focus on the dancefloor and no more than a handful of remixes and EPs under their belt are relatively few and far between, so when one surfaces—especially an album from a fresh tunesmith of notable caliber—it’s best you take notice. With that in mind, next year will see the release of the debut long-player from Toronto-based musicmaker Egyptrixx, the ten-song Bible Eyes. UK bass hub Night Slugs, which also dropped his excellent The Only Way Up EP, will bring the project to fruition on February 9, but before then, we get our first taste of Bible Eyes from the heartfelt “Chrysalis Records.” Named after the now-defunct imprint that once hosted luminaries like Blondie, Gang Starr, and Sinéad O’Connor, Egyptrixx’s new single flaunts woozy synths and a subtle crunch within its evolved pop format—sounding not unlike the vintage media released back in the UK label’s heyday. Singer Maya of Canadian band Trust threatens to steal the spotlight from the lush instrumental with her simple-yet-intimate vocal delivery, an unlikely pairing that works in subtle, affective ways. You can check out the full tracklist for Bible Eyes, and watch a slick video for album opener “Start From the Beginning,” after the jump.
1 “Start From The Beginning” 2 “Bible Eyes” 3 “Chrysalis Records (feat. Trust)” 4 “Liberation Front” 5 “Naples” 6 “Rooks Theme” 7 “Recital (A Version)” 8 “Fuji Club (feat. Trust)” 9 “Barely” 10 “Recital (B Version)”
Brooklyn sound sculptor Dale Parsons is Parsod, a beatsmith interested in spacey soundscapes, dissected hip-hop grooves, and thoughtful bass rumblings. His first offering of that sort is a self-titled, four-track EP, from which “Parade” is taken. As the EP’s lead song, “Parade” takes no time getting started. Disjointed rhythms, 8-bitty sound effects, arpeggiating synth melodies, and all kinds of floating cosmic transmissions launch into the forefront within in seconds of hitting play, and are over seemingly just as quickly. If the brief excursion perks your ears up without fully satiating your appetite for intergalactic sonics, you can find out what the rest of his blippy beat explorations sounds like over on his SoundCloud profile, where all of Parsod is available to stream.
New York’s longstanding club-tune patron and Trouble & Bass label head Drop the Lime is set to take over the bombastic Bugged Out jump-off this Saturday at London’s brand-new XOYO venue. Along with mixmasters Mumdance, Seiji, Raf Daddy, and more, DJ/producer Luca Venezia will be delivering an expectedly stellar selection of bass-heavy party jams, a few of which could very likely be included in this free promo mix he just sent over. Before you score your tickets for the shindig on November 20, make sure to grab the Drop the Lime Bugged Out Mix 2010, a 30-minute taste of DTL’s soundsystem skills that features tracks from Mikix the Cat, Zombies for Money, Steve Starks, the DJ himself, and others. We’ve got it streaming below, along with the tracklist, but you can download it here.
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Hasil Adkins – High School Confidential Drop The Lime – Dusty Roads (Club VIP) Steve Starks – Git Em Zombies For Money – Sururumba (Caribe Version) Da Fresh – Once Again Mikix The Cat – Deep Down Jay Robinson & Supabeatz – Screech Drop The Lime – Hot As Hell (Club Mix) Drop The Lime – Hot As Hell (Canblaster Remix) Drop The Lime – Sex Sax (Original) Drop The Lime – Sex Sax (TAI Remix) Marc Remillard – Downtown Piatto – MC202 Hasil Adkins – Chicken Walk (Drop The Lime Bootleg) The Coasters – Turtle Dovin (Drop The Lime Bootleg)
Just about two months ago, we gave you the heads up about San Antonio, TX, producer Sonora and his downloadable Siempre Fresco EP for the Austin-based party/blog/label Peligrosa. Now, we have a choice remix of one of those five tunes by the producer’s friend and fellow San Antonian Mexicans With Guns (pictured above). MWG’s booming rework of “Paraiso” grabs the cumbia- and reggaeton-inspired rhythms and equatorial sound palette of the original track and, after a slow build, wraps them around his own staples: eye-rattling 808 kicks, filthy low-end undulations, and a club-ready swagger. Maybe it’s because of their southern roots, but this pairing of the two producers shows us that Texas may have a thing or two to teach the world about sweltering Latin party music.
