Bubblin’: Balam Acab

Who:Balam Acab
Where: Ithaca, NY

18-year-old Alec Koone originally started Balam Acab a few years back as a noise/drone project, but got caught up in other musical gigs and things like, you know, high school. It was only last winter that Koone, now a music student at Ithaca College, revived the moniker after crafting new songs that married elements of dubstep and UK bass music with the washed-out gloom-and-doom of acts like Salem and Grouper. Although the haunting tones and ghostly vocals of Balam Acab can currently only be enjoyed via MySpace and various blog posts, an EP is coming on Tri Angle Records, as are several of his remixes.

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Download “See Birds”
Download “Heavy Living Things”

Black Milk “Don Cornelius”

Detroit’s Black Milk has a new album coming out in July, and though “Don Cornelius” didn’t quite make the cut for the full-length, its sunny beats recall Dilla, and Black Milk’s wordplay is as furious as ever. Though the content is the usual “big-ups-to-me” lyric we’ve all gotten used to, how can one deny lines like “He was the game like a relay/but still not a game like E.A./I’m on the right path like slow lanes on the freeway“? Fans will definitely get down with Black Milk’s command to “keep your lighters up!”

Don Cornelius

Jamie Lidell Compass

Since breaking out as a retro-minded soul singer amid futuristic techno tunes, Jamie Lidell has struggled to reconcile musical identities. Is he the British Maxwell, doomed to slightly update R&B with minor innovations as he did on Jim two years ago, or the energized, knob-twiddling illegitimate spawn of Prince and Aphex Twin of his invigorating live performances? Lidell wields the force of his distinctive quaver on Compass to meld his many personas into one, emerging with a chronicle of romantic dislocation that tumbles seamlessly from simple, sharp balladry to chaotic, distorted blues.

It’s easy to initially roll your eyes at the list of guests on Compass, with Beck and Feist headlining, but Lidell absorbs them and players like Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and R&B percussion vet James Gadson into an oddball crew providing the raw material that Lidell ultimately shapes into a new vision of mid-tempo electro-funk-rock. When “She Needs Me” threatens to soar off into faux-Luther Vandross territory, a rubbery funk bassline keeps it bound to Earth. Feist’s and Nikka Costa’s backup vocals cement “Enough’s Enough” as a credibly sunny workout in a classic Motown vein. But it’s the defiantly weird edges that make Compass cohere, like the distorted, looped vocals wiggling behind the piano-and-horn stomp of “The Ring,” or the sneaky, icy shuffle of cheating-hearts tale “It’s a Kiss.” Lidell’s no longer donning and ditching genre exercises like so many ironic t-shirts; he’s the outsize, unpredictable soul villain holding the compass.

Tobacco “Six Royal Vipers”

Where Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Seven Fields of Aphelion has gone the way of dreamy, ambient soundscapes, Tobacco, the group’s de facto frontman, has been busy crafting beat-heavy, psychedelic fuzz stompers. Recalling mid-period Beck at his finest, “Six Royal Vipers” features crisp handclaps, an ever-warping piano loop, lazer arpeggiations, and heavily-filtered vocal harmonies. Though the lyrical content is undeniably melancholic, it is vocalized in a way that renders it more of an invocation of hazy, summertime bliss. Tobacco’s second record, Maniac Meat, came out last week on Anticon, and he’s pulling some extensive tour dates out of his hat for the early autumn, which you can check out here.

Six Royal Vipers

Six Royal Vipers

Stream Converse’s Band of Ballers Mixtape, With Of Montreal, Jim Jones, The Black Lips, and Other ATL Faves

Bringing its love of b-ball, music, and Atlanta to the world, Converse presents Band of Ballers, a one-day three-on-three tournament featuring the likes of Jim Jones and The Jones Family, Jermaine Dupri and the So So Def Family, The Black Lips, Of Montreal (pictured), the Bad News team (Jay Electronica, Donnis & Sean Prince), and the Southern Hospitality team (OJ Da Juice Man and Shawty Lo). The games are all set to happen in a tiny gym, giving every fan a court-side seat to check out all their favorite musicians from the ATL slammin’ and jammin’ their way to victory. Naturally, live music and hearty southern BBQ round out the round-ball proceedings.

For more info on the one-of-a-kind tournament click here, and stream the mixtape featuring these artists below.

Band of Ballers Mixtape

Jim Jones featuring Logic – “International”
Yung Bean featuring Jermaine Dupri – “Mr. Bandman” –
Shawty Lo – “Foolish (Clean)”
Oj Da Juiceman – “I’m Gettin Money (Clean)”
Black Lips – “Feels Alright”
Steel Train – “Turnpike Ghost” –
Of Montreal – “An Eluardian Instance”
Donnis – “Gone”
Sean Price – “Get Ya Team”

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Delorean Host 2nd, Bigger Off-Sonar Party, Plus Download a Free Mix

A little bit more than a week ago, we gave you the lowdown on Hyperdub’s off-Sonar party along with a free mix from a friend of XLR8R favorites Delorean, K**O. Now, their Desparrame blog is co-hosting an even bigger, wilder post-Sonar event on June 20, featuring L-Vis 1990, Bok Bok, Rustie, Untold, Swindle, Deadboy, Slackk, and Elijah & Skilliam, the Rinse FM-associated duo who have prepared a grime mix in anticipation of the event, which you can download here. Check out the tracklisting and the flyer for the event after the jump!

Elijah & Skilliam’s Epic Grime Mix Tracklisting:

Royal T – Stop Messing With The Radio
Teddy – Samurai
R1 Ryders -Hydraulic
Terror Danjah – Sidechain (D.O.K Remix)
Trc – Bandit
D Double E – Woo Riddim
Terror Danjah – Air Bubble (Teeza Remix)
Joker – Psychedelic Runway (Mensah Remix)
Swindle – Airmiles (Terror Danjah Remix)
Dok & Spyro – Missing
P Money – Slang
Terror Danjah – Stomp Test
Swindle – Sally
D Double E – Street Fighter
Src – Sex On The Beach
Guido – Mad Sax
Wiley – Born On My Own

Uproot Andy Tours Europe, Plus Download an Exclusive Mix

Brooklyn’s Uproot Andy brings his post-geographic electronics to Europe starting tonight, and with dates alongside ZZK, Bomba Estereo, Schlachthofbronx, and others, his eclectic sounds are certain to reach even more ears. In anticipation, he’s also created the Brousse Criminal Mixtape in conjunction with tour mates Douster, Jay Weed, and Tête de Tigre, which you can download here. Check out the tour dates after the jump!

Uproot Andy European Tour Dates:

28.05 // Uproot Andy @ Bomb Diggy //AMSTERDAM (NL)
29.05 // Uproot Andy @ Worm // ROTTERDAM (NL)
02.06 // Jay Weed+ Tete de Tigre + Douster + Bison @ Social Club // PARIS (FR)
03.06 // Solo + Uproot Andy + Jay Weed + Tete de Tigre +Guests !! @ La Marquise // LYON (FR)04.06 // Schlachthofbronx + Uproot Andy + Douster @ Distorsion Festival //COPENHAGEN (DK)
05.06 // Uproot Andy + Douster + Mowgli @ L’Autre Canal // NANCY (FR)
10.06 // Uproot Andy + Jay Weed+ Tête de Tigre @ Hinterhof // BASEL (CH)
11.06 // Uproot Andy + Jay Weed+ Tête de Tigre @ Altes Wettbüro //DRESDEN (D)
12.06 // Uproot Andy + Jay Weed+ Tête de Tigre @ Superkronik // LEIPZIG (D)
18.06 // Uproot Andy – “Dublin Tropical”Birthday Party w/ ZZK Club : Fauna, El Remolon, EL G @ Twisted Pepper-DUBLIN(IR)
19.06 // Uproot Andy – “Muevete” w/ DJ iZem (Groovalizacion) @ Notting Hill Arts Club / LONDON (UK)
24.06 // Uproot Andy + Bomba Estereo @ Glazaart // PARIS (FR)
25.06 // Uproot Andy + Tête de Tigre + Schlachthofbronx + Daniel Haaksman @ Zoo (Usine) // GENEVA (CH)

Madleen Kane “Cherchez Pas”

From Horse Meat Disco II, the forthcoming second compilation curated and mixed by the fellas of the UK club night, comes this gem of flamboyant diva disco, “Cherchez Pas” by Madleen Kane. The Swedish model-turned-singer recorded the burning dance tune—complete with horn stabs, octave bass lines, and all sorts of pattering percussion—with Jean-Claude Friederich back in 1980, but the song still sounds just as fun and club-appropriate today as it did then. The classic number resurfaces towards the end of Horse Meat Disco II amidst equally old-school grooves from Bravo, Kasso, and El Coco, to name a few, and fulfills its duty to keep the party mix going strong throughout its entire six minutes.

Cherchez Pas

Video: Juan MacLean “Feel So Good”

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We can’t decide if the guy busting a move in this video is a total dweeb, totally awesome, or maybe a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B. Regardless of the answer, there is always room in our hearts for upbeat piano house, so The Juan MacLean‘s “Feel So Good,” a new track made especially for his new DJ-KiCKS compilation, definitely hits the spot. Check the goofy dance video and then make your way to one of MacLean’s numerous North American DJ gigs happening in the next month. Those have been spelled out below.

June 3rd – The Moct, Milwaukee
June 4th – Green Dolphin Street, Chicago
June 5th – Fixed Party @ Public Assembly, Brooklyn
June 8th – Beauty Bar, Austin
June 9th – Square One, Jacksonville
June 10th – Makin’ Time @ Voyeur, Philadelphia
June 11th – Wrongbar, Toronto
June 12th – TBA, Los Angeles
June 13th – Days Inn @ Camelback, Phoenix
June 20th – La Santernera, Playa Del Carmen
June 24th – PM, Dallas
June 25th – Boondocks, Houston
June 26th – Respectable Street, West Palm Beach
June 30th – W. Lounge, Salt Lake City
July 2nd – La Rumba, Denver

Decibel 2010 Features Ikonika, Luke Hess, Fennesz, Detroit Legends

While we already know that Detroit legends Kevin Saunderson, Theo Parrish (pictured), and Carl Craig are making appearances at this year’s Decibel festival in Seattle, we’ve been wondering which other acts will augment the early autumn celebration of electronic music and arts, and with today’s announcement of a preliminary line-up, it is certain that this year’s fest will be its best edition yet. Not only are bass-heavy upstarts Starkey, Ikonika, and Untold making appearances, but deep techno heads such as Luke Hess and ambient legends like Fennesz are also bringing their acts to the northwest. With the the more blissed-out sounds of Mount Kimbie and Grouper also included in the line-up, the festival features a bit of something for every palate. Check out the full line-up on the event site, and buy your tickets now!

Decibel 2010 will take place September 23-26 in Seattle, WA.

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