Podcast 125: Martyn

At this point, an artist like Martyn needs no introduction. Widely hailed as a leader when it comes to pushing sonic boundaries, particularly in the world of dubstep, we here at XLR8R are simply ecstatic that he’s put together an exclusive mix for our weekly podcast series. Fresh off the release of his genre-hopping Fabric 50 mix, here Martyn gets even more schizophrenic, somehow assembling a cohesive listen while delving into classic house and techno, heady hip-hop, avant-garde beats, new-wave pop, and more—he even kicks things off with a little bit of chillwave. Refusing to limit himself to a single sound or style, Martyn always pilots a unique course—the fun part is following along on the journey.

01 Washed Out “Get Up” (Mexican Summer)
02 Lukid “Veto” (Werk)
03 King Midas Sound “Lost” (Hyperdub)
04 Rotating Assembly “Orchestra Hall” (Sound Signature)
05 Anthony Shakir “Shake it Up Dub (Remix)” (KMS)
06 Robert Owens “Bring Down the Walls” (Trax)
07 Lone “Once in a While” (Werk)
08 Jacob Korn “Grosskariert” (Permanent Vacation)
09 Joy Orbison “The Shrew Would Have Cushioned the Blow (Actress remix)” (Aus)
10 Prince “When Doves Cry” (Warner Bros)
11 Dez Williams “Abandoned Emotions” (Cheap)
12 DJ Duke “Future Blast” (Music For Your Ears)
13 Glass Domain “Interlock” (Clone)
14 Drexciya “Lost Vessel” (Tresor)
15 The Future “Daz” (Black Melody)
16 Aardvarck “Tulti” (Eat Concrete)
17 Motor City Drum Ensemble “Raw Cuts #5” (Faces)
18 Basic Soul Unit “Hopy Unity Vision” (New Kanada)
19 Adonis “No Way Back” (Trax)
20 K-Alexi “Vertigo” (Transmat)
21 J Dilla “Nothing Like This” (Stones Throw)

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XLR8R_Podcast_Martyn_2010_02_25

Jose James “Code (Produced by Flying Lotus)”

Nu-jazz crooner Jose James continues to soothe with his smokey intonations on this track from his latest album, Black Magic. There’s something of the late Marvin Gaye in James’ voice on the piece, whose crackling beats and vintage organ samples could only come from LA’s Flying Lotus. In short, “Code” is perfect for some sexual seduction, but if you want a more immediate experience of FlyLo’s musical prowess, the producer is also making some limited live appearances in the coming months, which you can check out below.

Flying Lotus Tour Dates:

03-17 Austin, TX – The Phoenix [Warp SXSW Showcase]
03-27 San Francisco, CA – Mezzanine
03-30 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
04-01 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
04-02 Chicago, IL – Double Door
04-03 Minneapolis, MN – BarFly Loft

01 CODE

Take “Soul Particles”

Taken from the second of All City’s set of 10 collaborative 10″ releases highlighting acts from LA’s burgeoning beat scene, Take‘s “Soul Particles” begins with a soulful disco sample, then launches into a shuffle that would make Flying Lotus proud. Snippets from the original sample form the regal melodic backdrop for the piece, with echoing female vocals and a nice, lilting synth line doing most of the work in front of secondary blips. With his more sample-heavy, experimental approach to crafting beats, Take is on track to become one of the most unqiue artists to emerge from what is an increasingly crowded genre.

Soul Particles

Lightning Bolt Earthly Delights

Rhode Island duo Lightning Bolt is one of the rare groups you don’t want to change. Their m.o. is so potent, it would be misguided for them to deviate from it. Drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale and bassist Brian Gibson make hyper-tense, swarming noise rock that moves with exhausting speed and power while avoiding cartoonish macho posturing. A somewhat-maddening OCD quality animates Lightning Bolt’s no-wave speed-metal jams, but they somehow make that vein-bulging repetition more exciting than it has a right to be, through sheer mercurial dexterity on their instruments. Earthly Delights, their fifth album, offers yet more artful vandalism of musical decorum and acutely rendered aural apocalypses. As ever, one needs to gird one’s nervous system for the band’s whirlwind tour of textural extremities, rhythmic complexities, and skin-rippling velocities (save for the relatively sludgy “Colossus”). Earthly Delights for some, surely, and otherworldly torments for others.

London’s Plastic People Under Fire

Popular Shoreditch-area club Plastic People has come under fire from the local Hackney town council over concerns about crime prevention and public nuisance claims. Though the council hearing regarding the club’s license isn’t until March 31, the prospect of losing Plastic People has generated an outpouring of support and appreciation from club-goers all over the world. Perhaps what is most disturbing to many dance music enthusiasts and fans of the club is the regularity with which club closings seems to be occurring in London nowadays, mostly over specious claims of an all-pervasive drug culture. Plastic People, renowned for its world-class sound system and sophisticated clientele, has hosted every type of sound, from the legendary house of Theo Parrish to FWD, one of the original dubstep nights. For updates on the club’s status and to show support, check out the Facebook support group.

Dublab and Stones Throw Dig for Gold with Secondhand Sureshots

So here it is: the guys that run Dublab (Bryan “Morpho” Younce and Mark “frosty” McNeill) gathered up four LA-based beatsmiths (Daedelus, J.Rocc, Ras G, and Nobody), sent them on a journey throughout their hometown’s thrift stores to score all the dusty vinyl five dollars could buy, commissioned them to turn their uncovered records into new music, and transformed the whole experience into an album, documentary, and art piece to be distributed by Stones Throw. Sounds a little like one of our own Tune In An Afternoon episodes, doesn’t it? Well, the gang is taking the whole idea quite a bit further with some intricate, hand-screened gatefold packaging and limited-edition 12″ picture discs to accompany the Secondhand Sureshots film and album. All of the above will be available March 9. Check out more info on the project here, and watch the trailer below.

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Bubblin’: Shlohmo

Who:Shlohmo
Where: San Francisco, CA

Born and raised in Los Angeles, 20-year-old upstart producer Shlohmo (a.k.a. Henry Laufer) now resides in San Francisco, where he pulls double duty as a printmaking student and a wonky, leftfield beat specialist in the vein of Flying Lotus. Although he first discovered electronic music via the DJ Shadow and Amon Tobin tunes that populated the skate videos of his early teens, he quickly began producing his own beats and in 2008 founded the Wedidit collective with a crew of like-minded homies. Shlohmotion Deluxe, his debut album, came out last month on the Friends of Friends label.

Listen:”Hot Box the Cockpit”

Download This Track

Listen/Download: XLR8R Podcast

Shlohmo will be performing this Friday in San Francisco at the Terrorbird Noise Pop Happy Hour alongside fellow XLR8R fave Ghosts on Tape. Check the flyer below for details.

Ms. Thing & Psycho Tanbad “Bonify”

Here’s the latest in buzz-worthy NSFW internet drama. Dancehall MCs Ms. Thing and Psycho Tanbad have rallied their vocal skills atop of Brooklyn producer Dre Skull‘s Smoke Machine riddim, which was also the basis for last year’s “Yuh Love” track by Vbyz Kartel, and come up with the hyper-sexual “Bonify.” So what’s the controversy? Well, listen to the song. Over Skull’s upbeat, melodic riddim, Thing and Tanbad wax erotic—explaining every reason they prefer each other to their respective partners—in graphic detail. There’s a video for the track here, and a super raw, so-not-okay-for-the-office video floating around the internets as well. Lil Kim and R. Kelly, eat your hearts out. You can buy the “Bonify” single on iTunes.

Bonify

Bonify

dOP “Lighthouse (Youandewan Dub)”

This subdued piece of techno comes to us from the new Youandewan EP, Sub-Rosa, who crafted this dub of the original track by dOP. The Leeds-based producer’s sparse, reverberated percussion nicely compliments the subtle, throbbing low-end and serves as the perfect backdrop for the chopped-and-screwed vocal loop to dance about from one ear to the other.

Lighthouse (Youandewan Dub)

Lone Ecstasy & Friends

Used to be you couldn’t make a woozy, beat-driven track without garnering comparisons to Boards of Canada. Now, with a swagger in your step and some wonk in your bass, you just might take home the “reminiscent of FlyLo” prize. Each line drawn between those artists and Lone is sure to be valid, but the UK producer, born Matt Cutler, sidesteps a direct facsimile on his new album, Ecstasy & Friends, by adding a touch of old-fashioned R&B soul. Through shimmering haze, glowing synths, and chopped-‘n-screwed samples, the poignant basslines on tracks like “Sungrazer Cascade” and “Love Heads” pull you directly into a world where every day is summer and it’s okay to make out with everyone. It’s a happy place, and you’ll be glad Lone made it for you.

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