Artist to Watch: L-Vis 1990

Who:L-Vis 1990
Where: London, UK

Few artists can bump heavy-bass tunes while nimbly sliding between genres quite like L-Vis 1990 (a.k.a. James Connolly). With partner Bok Bok, he whips together dubstep, bassline, funky, B-more, grime, and more at London’s Night Slugs party, which has played host to friends and guests like Oneman, Kode 9, Crazy Cousinz, Brackles, and Dexplicit. L-Vis 1990‘s production work has also been causing quite a stir, from his bootleg “dubblestep” remixes to last year’s self-titled EP to the recently released United Groove EP on Mad Decent.

Listen: “Murder” (exclusive track for XLR8R)

Download This Track

Watch: “United Groove”

Watch: “Come Together”

2020 Celebrates 15 With Mix

U.K. house label 2020 Vision celebrates its 15th year of releasing music for artists Crazy P, Silver City, and 2020Soundsystem, among many others, with a mix compiled by label founder Ralph Lawson. With a tracklist that ranges from Ricardo Villalobos to Basement Jaxx, the celebratory DJ set “15 Years of 2020Vision” is available for free download here and the tracklist can be found below.

Blaze – Lovelee Dae (2020Vision Accapella)
Ernesto Ferreya – Ground
Jacoozi Boys – Boccadillo (Ekkohaus Remix)
Moritz Piske – Dirt Cabana
Loko – Scarlet House
Bruno Gauthier – It’s Love (Simon Baker Remix)
Mark Broom – Life
Lil Louis – I Called You
Ekkohaus – Brian Said
Saro & Black – We Were There
Ricardo Villalobos – Easy Lee (Random Factor Unreleased Mix)
Gruber & Nurnberg – Traffic
Salvatore Freda – Bombolone
TBD – What Is This?
Basement Jaxx – Flylife
Julien Chaptal – Collider

pictured Ralph Lawson

Tim Saccenti Mounts First Solo Show

The photographer/filmmaker behind the floating cube of mirrors in Battles’ “Atlas” video and the bodiless ears and noses in Jamie Lidell’s “Another Day” video has received his first solo exhibition. Timothy Saccenti will unveil Garden of Unearthly Delights at the Diesel Denim Gallery in the Aoyama district of Tokyo this Friday, August 14. The installment consists of new moving images and prints based around a story that Saccenti has been writing about a lone creature that slowly comes to understand its own existence and, through a series of mind-altering events, its purpose for living. Heavy stuff. A video preview for the exhibit can be found here.

Image from Garden of Unearthly Delights

Ethernet “Kansai”

Californian Ethernet (a.k.a. Tim Gray) brings some blissed-out washes of sound with “Kansai,” a track that owes as much to White Rainbow as it does to the genius of the Chain Reaction label—syncopated synths swirl amidst hi-frequency throbs, with an insistent kick filling out the low end with quite a rumble. Look forward to a full-length on Kranky this autumn!

06 Kansai

Zomby “Helter Skelter”

Always ready to provide a soundtrack for the nights of the living dead, the U.K’s Zomby comes at us again with a sinisterly simple track from his upcoming mini-album, One Foot Ahead of the Other. “Helter Skelter” feels far more inspired by Charles Manson than The Beatles as the arpeggiating, 8-bit synth juxtaposes with a strong, shuffling beat to create a tension that sounds as if Zomby himself is steadily chasing after you.

02 Helter Skelter

ApSci Best Crisis Ever

Let’s just get this out of the way now: Dana Diaz-Tutaan’s breathy, sinuous, and fierce voice is easily the best thing about Bronx duo ApSci’s second album, Best Crisis Ever. It’s the one truly original aspect of their sound, an ambitious mish-mash of new wave, electro, and hip-hop, with both futuristic aspirations and retro influences. ApSci hints at their schizophrenic approach on their ode to psycho chicks, “Crazy Crazy Insane,” but this Sybil-like rhythmic fragmentation can be hit or miss; when it works, as on “Easy,” “Camera On,” “The Tradeoff,” and “Rip the Town Up,” it works well. The broken-beat cover of R.E.M.’s “Swan Swan H” is another nice touch.

Beat Dimensions 2 on the Horizon

Beat Dimensions 1, the expertly curated compilation of European and American beat headz from 2007, help changed the rules for what was possible in late-’00s instrumental hip-hop. Now label bosses Cinnaman and Jay Scarlett of Amsterdam have done it again! Beat Dimensions 2 is genius: 20 tracks ranging from the clubby to the more chill, but always filled with lazer sounds and complex stuttering beats. About a third of the artists are from the extended L.A./Brainfeeder camp (including Nosaj Thing, Pudge, Samiyam, Mono/Poly, Ras G, and Exile), the rest from all over the world, including Lazer Sword’s Low Limit, Danny Breaks and DJ Adlib, and Dimlite. Tee-shirts and slipmats are even available along with the CD and several pieces of vinyl. Essential listening, so check it out here!

Full tracklisting:

01. Dorian Concept – Be Tween
02. Nosaj Thing – FWD
03. Zo (a.k.a. La Chauve-Souris) – The Peacock Revolution
04. Low Limit – Turf Day
05. Danny Breaks & DJ Adlib – The Sound
06. P.U.D.G.E. – Reign Dancing With…
07. Dizz1 – Konotakosuke Yaro
08. Samiyam – Swamp Tarts
09. Mike Slott – Cadeting
10. Mono/Poly – Distant Form
11. Ras G – Crazy Alien
12. Dimlite – Ravemond’s Young Problems
13. Devonwho – Welts
14. Erik L – Soularp Suite Pt. 2
15. Kenlo Craqnuques – ZoÏd
16. Tiago – Babel Fish
17. Dalt Wisney – R2FUX
18. Fulgaence – Haggis
19. Exile – Super Robot
20. Busy – Ecliptic Armilla

Also, check out the video for Dimlite’s “Ravemond’s Young Problems” here:

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Dimlite – Ravemond’s Young Problems from Ehstrawlogy Produkte on Vimeo.

pictured Nosaj Thing

Italoboyz to Release Bla Bla Bla

This September, San Francisco-based DJ/producer Claude VonStroke will release the first album for London’s Italoboyz on his Mothership imprint. Coming more than two years after Mothership unveiled Italoboyz with their first single “Viktor Casanova,” the duo’s debut release, Bla Bla Bla, is a nine-track affair of organic and electronic sounds colliding in the forms of jazz, opera, folk, house, and techno. In addition, John Coltrane samples, a 12-minute track of minimal techno-meets-tango, and live recordings from Tokyo are some of the highlights found on the Boyz’ forthcoming record. The tracklist is below.

1. Where is London?
2. Taka Taka Tashhh
3. Chinese
4. Edo Breiss
5. Techno Tower
6. L’anagramme
7. Bahia
8. Oh Mio Dio
9. The Pink Unicorn

Arturia Celebrates 10 Years With Contest

Electronic gearheads Arturia are celebrating 10 years of software and hardware manufacturing with a contest featuring some of the company’s finest products. Though complete details can be found here, the rules are simple enough: send a video, musical number, or creative expression detailing how Arturia changed your life. Submissions will be accepted anytime before September 30, and you get the chance to win an Origin synth, humongous software packages, and other tech goodies.

L-Vis 1990 Offers Free Mix

The mind behind yesterday’s XLR8R exclusive MP3 “Murder,” London’s L-Vis 1990, has another goodie to bestow upon our ever attentive ears. On the beautiful-looking Curb Crawlers blog (to which he contributes), the house-loving producer debuted a new set, given the timely title “Mid Summer Mix,” of 17 tracks featuring his own sinister productions and some of our favorite producers as of late, including Bok Bok and Brackles. You can check out the percussion-heavy, summertime party starter here.

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