Veteran house and techno producer John Tejada is taking us back to 1995, when he operated under the moniker Lucid Dream. The Phthalo label recently salvaged some of the Lucid Dream material and put together an album entitled Recovered Data 95. In conjunction with that release, they’ve also tapped artists like Bodycode, Broker/Dealer, and Dominik Eulberg to put their own spin on these vintage Tejada tunes. Here, fellow Southern California producer Daedelus interjects his own love-soaked synth styles onto the 8-minute “Imbroglio,” morphing it into a brief electro-tinged ballad that clocks in just under the 3 minute mark.
You’d expect Norwegian disco-rock revivalists to warm up the vintage synths and Nu-Romantic croon and deliver a loosely conceptual album about a future where music technology stopped in 1983, right? Datarock slings relentless disco beats and clean, Afrobeat-ish guitars, but a lack of true hooks makes Red a pleasantly forgettable listen. Fredrik Saroea’s writing is clever on “True Stories” (every line is a Talking Heads title) and “Back in the Seventies,” with his fantasies of Northern Soul brooding, but too many returns to the same well make “Molly” (a love letter to Ringwald, naturally) cross the line from precocious to gross.
Anticon broheims and one-time bandmates in cLOUDDEAD, the members of Themselves and WHY?, recently got together to record “Canada,” a plinky pop tune that finds Doseone putting his rapid-fire raps on the back burner and sweetly singing alongside Yoni Wolf. The tune may not be enough to quell the rising anticipation for the bands’ respective forthcoming albums, but it’s certainly a nice taste of what’s to come.
WHY?’s Eskimo Snow will be released on September 22. Themselves’ CrownsDown will be released on October 20.
Schlachthofbronx, German purveyors of all bass wobbly and tings nasty, has made some club-ready tunes with South Africa’s ghettotech MCs Slush Puppy Kids. Their collective work, the Belly Full of Pills EP, is sure to become a party favorite for lovers of wonky bass, but before buying that download from their label, Disko B, the Schlachthof crew is offering a promo mix chock full of the EP’s originals, remixes, and special tidbits for free download here.
Shortening his stage name from Ghislain Poirier to simply Poirier, the dancehall reppin’ Montreal-based producer has shared the opening track off of his freshly released EP, Run the Riddim. Featuring the vocal stylings of frequent collaborator Face T, “Enemies” is a bass-bumping warm-up that could just as easily start a party as it does the producer’s new record.
Taken from her recently released sophomore album, My Guilty Pleasure, “Dying in Africa” is a swirling slice of dance-pop. Marked by Shapiro’s pixie-like vocals and just enough Italo bounce to keep you moving, the song is a sweet sample of the delectable full-length.
San Franciscan Alland Byallo is a builder. Since 2004, he’s been producing and releasing music on his own digital Nightlight label. In 2005, he co-founded Kontrol, arguably the best monthly techno party on the west coast, still hot more than four years later. Not surprising, then, that Byallo’s first full-length is called Brick By Brick, a 10-track testament to the hard work of pushing club music forward, one hip-shaking groove at a time. Byallo is an elegant dark lord of the dancefloor, as evidenced by smooth, minimal acid accents on “Ring in the Dead,” “Rarebird,” and “Casual Sax,” which recall classic productions by artists like Carl Craig and Laurent Garnier. The tough and sexy closer, “War Zero,” stands up nicely against next-generation house rhythms by like-minded brethren Lee Curtiss and Seth Troxler.
XLR8R’s Inbox takes a knee with modest British electro-bass DJ and producer David Morris (a.k.a Boy 8-Bit). Morris talks a bit (…) about Swedish metal, imaginary retro soundtracks, hovercrafts, Christmas shenanigans, socks, and more socks. Boy 8-Bit’s Baltic Pine EP is out now on This is Music.
XLR8R: What are you listening to right now? David Morris: The sound of a twin engine jet outside as I wait for my flight to Victoria mixed with the door alarms that keep going off much to the confusion of the staff here. The last album on my iPod was Like an Ever Flowing Stream by Swedish metal act Dismember.
What’s the weirdest story you have ever heard about yourself? There aren’t any really. In fact, I need some more. Most of the weird things you hear about me are probably true anyway.
What band did you want to be in when you were 15? Chemical Brothers.
Worst live show experience? Nothing catastrophic, just the usual. I got a bottle thrown at me in Amsterdam. That was cool(ish). Playing to almost no one—those [situations] are bad, as you feel awkward for the promoters.
Favorite city in which to play? I really like going to Paris. Malmo in Sweden has always been good, as has Berlin. Can’t really pick one.
Favorite studio toy? I recently bought a Moog Voyager. Haven’t actually used it on anything; I just sit there for hours playing crap solos or making soundtracks to imaginary ’70s kids’ shows.
What is one thing you couldn’t live without (excluding the obvious essentials, i.e. air, water, etc.)? Socks.
What is your favorite item of clothing? Socks. It’s amazing how good a fresh pair of socks can make you feel.
If you could reduce your music to a single word, what would it be? Passable.
What is the most British thing about you? My modesty (see last answer).
For what did you always get in trouble when you were little? Nothing on a regular basis, but I did once take all the gifts out of the Christmas crackers. I got caught on Christmas day, obviously.
With which other artist would you most like to work next? I want to work with bands. Calling all bands.
What’s the last thing you read? A book called Rats—not the James Herbert “classic,” but a book about a guy called Robert Sullivan who spent a year observing rats in New York.
Complete this sentence: In the future… We will have hover cars—and it will be awesome.
Stupidest thing you’ve done in the last 12 months? Buy the Moog.
Every day this month we’re rolling out a new feature on XLR8R‘s Labels We Love of 2009. Whether it’s the eye-catching aesthetics of Type or the model-for-the-future approach of Interdependent Media, these cut-making selections of the best in underground electronic, indie, hip-hop, and experimental imprints punch way above their weight. Feast your eyes on the features and then download many of the labels’ related podcasts here.
London producer Actress builds a nest for the best in experimental bass.
It’s nearly impossible to talk about what kind of label Werk Discs is. The inscrutable Brixton-based house has released the loping, loopy, some might say “wonky” electronics of London’s Lukid, the retro-rave-loving crowd-pleaser that was Zomby’s Where Were You in ’92 album, and Jahtari’s mind-boggling 8-bit dancehall, not to mention label head Darren Cunningham’s own mind-melted house album Hazyville, recorded as Actress.
The 29-year-old Cunningham hints that Werk’s aesthetic was probably informed by the tracks his cousin Crocodile would DJ at family weddings: a selection that spanned the full spectrum of reggae, plus disco, New Jack Swing, R&B, power ballads, and electro boogie. The well-rounded Cunningham doesn’t stop there, though, also name-checking John Carpenter movies, Detroit’s pioneering Underground Resistance, Rinse FM, Liverpool FC, Prince, and his cat Hiro in the course of the interview.
This ability to take in so many influences, draw important connections between them, and then present them lovingly to the public is certainly one of Werk’s strong points. It’s a talent Cunningham was able to hone between 2002 and 2006, when he and Gavin Weale promoted a series of unconventional club nights in Southeast London (some in conjunction with Matthew Herbert’s Accidental Records); the Werk parties became known for drawing unannounced guests including Modeselektor, Dabrye, and Anthony “Shake” Shakir.
“We didn’t believe in creating false hype, and stubbornly did everything to break the conventional method of promoting,” explains Cunningham of the nights. “Some of the rules we set were not publicizing the acts, and booking producers who had never played in the U.K. We always wanted the flow of information to be less giving to the public. If we gave less away, then you would only get the people who really made an effort—in doing that, we managed to create a vibe which I’ve never really felt anywhere else. It’s something that is still applied to the label. If you make the effort to find out what we’re up to, then it’s our intention to give you something special.”
If you’re getting the impression that Werk’s releases are well thought-out, you’d be right. While rooted in the bass-heavy sounds of the British “urban” underground, their releases—from the early Grim Dubs series (experimental dubstep 12”s) through to albums from Lone and Stacs of Stamina—are designed for a shelf-life way longer than the DJ- vinyl standard of two months.
“We don’t release music to suit consumption,” states Cunningham. “Every project we work on is treated like a movie production.” So what’s next to Werk out? “We’ve got something that involves extreme escapism, almost on a Neverending Story tip—so it’s perfect for the kids of slightly eccentric parents.”
This October, New State Music will release a retrospective of classic acid house tunes handpicked and mixed by Haçienda club co-owner and New Order/Joy Division bassist Peter Hook. Over 27 years in the making, the double-disc compilation spans the whole spectrum of dance pioneers featuring tracks from A Guy Called Gerald, Man Ray, Last Rhythm, New Order, and Phuture, among many more. The 26-track release will be available October 19.
Tracklist CD 1 01 Man Ray – Ways Of Making Music 02 A Guy Called Gerald – Voodoo Ray (HAC09 Manray Edit) 03 Hardfloor – Acperience 1 04 Frankie Knuckles ft. Jamie Principle – Baby Wants To Ride 05 Bassheads – Is There Anybody Out There? 06 Fast Eddie – Acid Thunder (Fast Eddie Mix) 07 Mr Fingers – Washing Machine 08 Phuture – Rise From Your Grave (Wake Da Fuck Up Mix) 09 Charles B & Adonis – Lack Of Love 10 Maurice – This Is Acid (Dovsa CD) 11 Josh Wink – Higher State Of Consciousness (Tweakin Acid Funk Mix) 12 Ralphi Rosario – An Instrumental Need 13 Mr Lee – Pump Up London
CD 2 01 Man Ray – We’re On It 02 Sleezy D– I’ve Lost Control 03 Phuture – Acid Tracks (Afro Acid Mix) 04 The Party Boy aka Bam Bam – The Twilight Zone 05 New Order – True Dub 06 Rhythmatic – Take Me Back 07 Victor Romeo – Acid Raid 08 Last Rhythm – Last Rhythm 09 Jack Frost and the Circle Jerks – Two The Max 10 Reese & Santonio – Rock To The Beat 11 Neal Howard – Indulge 12 Phortune – Jiggerwatts 13 Esctasy Club – Jesus Loves The Acid
