Once we got the tip over on FACT that Actress was hooking up the web with a free track, we were happy to help spread the good word about producer Darren Cunningham’s latest innovative tunes. Truthfully, we though it would be a bit more of the slow-burning, subtly nuanced electronics that we’ve come to expect from Actress, but “Git It” is something entirely different—it’s as close to club music as Cunningham is likely to get. A strong IDM vibe runs through the hurried clicks, disjointed thumps, and hypnotic melodies of the tune, which appropriately kicks off with a vocal stating, “This one’s for the ladies.” And while we wouldn’t mind “Git It” kickstarting a new direction for Actress, the MP3 was initially tagged with “HAZYVILLE LP” in the “Album” section, so this is likely a cut that didn’t make the cut on his 2008 debut. We’re glad to hear it, anyway.
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In recent months, we’ve been getting all hot-and-bothered about LA/Montreal duo LOL Boys, even though the guys had only turned out a handful of remixes and bootlegs. But as of this week, that’s all changed, as the pair has entered the world of ‘official’ releases with their debut single, “123,” which comes courtesy of Palms Out Sounds. The song actually leans on a tribal guarachero beat before unleashing a playfully whimsical, high-pitched melody. It’s all a bit goofy, but if the video populated by scantily-dressed Second Life fly girls is any indication, it seems like that’s the point.
The dark, ethereal soundscapes coming from Portland’s Grouper are about to grow two songs stronger with the release of a limited-edition tour 7″ on the Australian label Room40. The lead number on the two-song disc, “Hold,” is available to stream before the Hold/Sick 45 comes out on October 6, and finds solo artist Liz Harris waxing existential about “[observing] one’s own emotions… You’re in that space where you’re not sure whether to follow or reel them in.” Not surprisingly, all this takes place in the midst of relatively formless atmospherics made of subtle guitar strums and swirling synth washes. You can pre-order this special record over here, and listen to “Hold” below. (via Gorilla vs. Bear)
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Veteran MC Roots Manuva is set to unleash his seventh album of dubby hip-hop gems next month via his decade-plus home, Big Dada, and we’ve got its opening track right here. “Butterfly Crab Walk (feat. Riddla)” ushers you into Duppy Writer with some strong irie vibes; low-slung bass plucks, a simple drum pattern, stabbing organ melodies, and Manuva’s trademark rasp—occasionally fed through a healthy bit of delay—all offer a good-natured and welcoming start to this long-awaited record. It’s easy to hear that producer Wrong Tom, who shares the artist credit with Manuva, is sticking to his, um, roots on the instrumentation for Duppy, which is ideal seeing as how most of the upcoming record is a series of re-works from Manuva’s back catalog.
If ///Y/ sounded even a fraction as rad as M.I.A. (and the rest of the video) looks in this clip for “XXXO,” maybe it wouldn’t be one of the most disappointing albums of the year.
To say that there’s a mythology surrounding Wolf + Lamb‘s parties is a gross understatement. “Eli from Soul Clap always says that [it was] only after they came to one of our parties that they really got what we’re about,” explains Gadi Mizrahi, one half of the NYC-based promoter/label/producer/DJ duo.
Along with partner Zev Eisenberg, Mizrahi has been honing what can only be referred to as the Wolf + Lamb brand over the course of eight years, and it’s grown out of some unlikely places—like Burning Man, for one, where the pair infects the Playa with actual tasteful music and good DJs. “The first year, we had a small soundsystem set up outside our RV,” Eisenberg recounts. Then they met an artist who’d constructed a 40-foot replica of Marcel Duchamp’s urinal, and moved to the party to his camp. “People would climb in from this drainpipe into our little party.” Five years later, W+L’s desert outing has become an oasis of good music in Black Rock City. But do they take shit from serious music folks for their sand-covered soirées? “We get flak from techno people about all sorts of shit,” says Eisenberg. “So it’s okay.”
Zev – “Forget The World”
Their “whatever works” mentality for their music doesn’t mean they ever eschew good taste. Their 50-person-capacity residency at Brooklyn’s Marcy Hotel brings only the most diehard fans, and Mizrahi notes that it’s these parties that have the greatest influence on what they release on their label. “It’s really tough to find a better atmosphere,” he offers, waxing ecstatic about current and former residents like Lee Curtiss, Soul Clap, and Deniz Kurtel going deep on the tiny dancefloor—all of whom have, in different capacities, seen their names on Wolf + Lamb releases. “If we play a new track and impress a seasoned morning shift at the Marcy, you know it’s gold,” Eisenberg intones.
What’s up next, though, is their brand-new debut full-length, Love Someone. “It’s 10 tracks that work their way across a lot of different moods,” Eisenberg explains. “It’s an intimate picture of our music, and definitely a lot of music that only fits on an album.”
No, this isn’t Mariah Carey’s Shake it Off, but Pollyn’s tune by the same name certainly carries the same sentiment put forth by the pop diva; don’t let the bad times get you down. James Pants takes the idea to heart with this revelrous remix taken from the LA-based band’s fourth and final remix EP, Shake Out the Other Way. Huge drum beats, uproarious horn stabs, thick synth melodies, and loads of busy percussion all contribute to the hyperactive vibe on Pants’ driving production, which could just as easily find its way into a Broadway musical soundtrack as it could motivate you to get your sad self off the couch and out of those sweatpants. You can find more hotly tipped treatments of tracks off Pollyn’s debut album, This Little Night, from Nosaj Thing, Exile, and Them Jeans when the Shake EP is released on August 31.
Continuing with his long-stretching career working with musique concrète and delivering the second part to his One trilogy, Matthew Herbert is set to change the way you think of the term ‘club music.’ The producer’s new album, entitled One Club, “is a return to Herbert’s roots in dance music,” says the record’s press release. “It is also, in its simplest form, club music made out of a club. The music on Club was constructed entirely from sounds created by the audience and the building at the Robert Johnson nightclub in Frankfurt on a single night.” For the 10 songs constructed on Herbert’s upcoming record, all of which are named after people in attendance the night he miked the club, he captured the sounds of kissing, singing, whistling, beatboxing, dancing, and whatever other various things go on in the club, on the dancefloor, in the DJ booth, at the bar, in the cloak room, and wherever else he could squeeze a microphone. Herbert’s own Accidental label will release the full-length record on September 20, but before that, you can check out the album artwork and tracklist below.
Robert Johnson Jenny Neuroth Alex Duwe Oliver Bauer Marcus Bujak Marlies Hoeniges Nicolas Ritter Jalal Malekidoost Rafik Dahhane Kerstin Basler
We’re glad to hear James Ford and Jas Shaw are ditching the vocal-pop inclinations showcased on their most recent record for the kind of depraved, mechanical churning that made parts of Simian Mobile Disco‘s debut, Attack Decay Sustain Release, so insidiously catchy. As the title for “Nerve Salad” might insinuate, SMD’s new single sounds something like the random firing of impulses resonating from within a robot programmed to kill (or at least maim). Barren clicks, bleeps, and bloops surround the consistent chug of the song’s meticulously rhythms. “Salad” rises and falls in intensity without ever reaching a boiling point, but will likely stand as a bit of downtime when heard within the context of SMD’s inaugural mix album for a new series curated by NYC jump-off Fixed.
Simian Mobile Disco is Fixed comes out October 12.
Romanian producer Cosmin TRG is bringing his next-level garage tunes to the Fabric club’s Room One on Friday, August 20, along with Redlight, MJ Cole, Addison Groove, and others. The night is sure to be a doozy, but if you happen to be skeptical or simply can’t get your fill of smooth, forward-thinking club music, FABRICLIVE cooked up just what you need. The club’s website recently posted an interview with the DJ/producer that ran with a promotional mix of songs you’re likely to catch in TRG’s upcoming set. Tunes from Doc Daneeka, FaltyDL, Lone, Soul Clap, and the DJ himself all made the cut, and are mixed with the expected finesse and sensibility of a burgeoning talent like TRG. Stream or download the DJ set and check out the full tracklist below.
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1. Unknown – Unknown 2. FaltyDL – St. Marks (Cosmin TRG remix) 3. MRSK – Close to Me 4. Nick Lawson – You Look Good 5. Ezequiel Sanchez – Going to Dance (Catz n Dogz Remix) 6. Soul Clap – Break 4 Life 7. Cosmin TRG – Sores of Attraction 8. Frozen Border – FB05 A 9. Glimpse – Employable Enjoyable (Marcel Dettmann Remix) 10. STL – Subway Hustle 11. Recloose – MYM 12. Cosmin TRG – Liebe Suende 13. Heartthrob – In My Room 14. Doc Daneeka – Hold On 15. Oracy – Bass Mood 16. Pfirter – Arcon 17. Lone – Pineapple Crush
