It was only a matter of time until every music genre had its chance to be melded with the omnipresence of electro. Kitsune’s latest addition to their ever-growing roster, Spain’s Crystal Fighters, juxtaposes the eerie flavor of traditional, Basque folk music with churning basslines and catchy, energetic vocals. What their unique culture clash produces can be witnessed in Crystal Fighters’ hour long mix they recently did for broadcast on Le Mouv in France. You can check out the mix here, and the tracklist below.
Tracklisting Gianni Rossi – Gutterballs Phoenix – Listomania (Holy Ghost Loves Paris Remixomania) Beni – My Love Sees You Renaissance Man – Spraycan (Sharkslayer’s Respect to Nassau Remix) Siriusmo – High Toghether Autokratz – Always More (Goshi Goshi Remix) Captain Funk – Stereo Funk (Fukkk Off Remix) Patrick Wolf – Hard Times (Jack Beatz Remix) Crystal Fighters – Xtatic Truth (Arcade Remix) Crystal Fighters – Xtatic Truth (Renaissance Man Remix) Giuseppe – White Waves Magic Wands – Black Magic (Crystal Fighters Remix) MayBB – Touring in NY (short tour edit) Kelley Polar – Rosenband (Magic Tim’s Instrumental version) Harvard Bass – 81 (Renaissance Man Remix) Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Bournemouth Datarock – Give it Up (Kissy Sellout Remix) Steve Angello – Gypsy (Alvaro Remix) Laidback Luke – Generation Noize (Riva Starr Rechunk) James Braun – Spanish Fly Minimorph – Spanglish Chuckie – Let the Bass Kick Michael Cleis – La Mezcla Popof – Serenity (Noob Remix) Crystal Fighters – With You (Acapella) Juan Luis Guerra – Vale La Pena Golpes Bajos – Fiesta De Los Maniquies
Whereas Sigur Ros builds their ambiance around structured songs, Jonsi & Alex, the side project from guitarist/vocalist Jonsi Birgisson and his boyfriend Alex Somers, relies on the ambiance alone for their debut album for XL, Riceboy Sleeps. Like Panda Bear, but on even more Quaaludes, “Boy 1904” coasts along gracefully with unintelligible vocals guiding you from its reverberated core.
Patron of the dark, shoegazing arts and lead singer for psych-pop outfit Deerhunter, Bradford Cox has has also explored the more introspective and quietly epic elements of songwriting with his solo monikerAtlas Sound. Today, the Chicago-based Kranky label announced that Cox will be releasing his sophomore Atlas Sound album, entitled Logos, on October 20. In the album’s press release, Cox notes the change his music has undergone: “The view is a lot more panoramic and less close-up,” he says. “I became bored with introspection. This was also the case Deerhunter’s Microcastle LP, which was written during the same period.” If Logos turns out to be even half as good as Microcastle, you can count us as quietly stoked about the whole ordeal. The tracklist for Logos is below.
Tracklisting: 1. The Light That Failed 2. An Orchid 3. Walkabout (w/ Noah Lennox) 4. Criminals 5. Attic Lights 6. Shelia 7. Quick Canal (w/ Laetitia Sadier) 8. My Halo 9. Kid Klimax 10. Washington School 11. Logos
Global party professionals tell you the best places to get buck wild.
It’s common knowledge that the best way to experience a city is to have a local take you around. And since our summer party schedule sees us touching down in some pretty exotic locations, we decided to ring up a few fearless natives to see where they hang out. In Helsinki, Finland, we tapped the renaissance men of the Top Billin crew—DJ/producers, label owners, promoters, bloggers, and all around wild and crazy guys—to take us to rockabilly barbershops and afterhours bars. Isis and Grahmzilla of tropical club-rap phenoms Thunderheist show us the best shops and oxtail-eatin’ on Toronto’s Queen Street West before we head south to heat up the parks and food stalls of Buenos Aires with cumbia nueva crew Zizek. And just when you think you’ve seen all NYC has to offer, DJ and dairy lover Derek Plaslaiko gives you a tour of the city’s secret techno hotspots, with a side of mozzarella. Vivian Host and Ken Taylor
Zizek Urban Beats Club Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentinian firestarter Villa Diamante shows you the cumbia bass crew’s favorite places to chill, eat, and dance in Buenos Aires. Photos by El Nido Fotografia
El Chapulín, Av. Intendente Noel, Costanera Sur A few years back, Sonido Martines decided to celebrate his birthday at this cart by the coast, so he brought his turntables, his records, and started playing cumbia. With Landero and Destellos songs playing, Zurita (pictured far right), El G, and DJ Campeón all showed up. Only Oro11 was missing—he was late because he ran into one of the guys from TV on the Radio on the street in San Telmo and invited him to the party to eat a choripan.
Jardín Botanico (Botanical Garden), Santa Fe 3951, Plaza Italia Landscaper Don Carlos Thay created the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden in 1892. Home to a great variety of species, it also happens to offer one of the most beautiful strolls in the city, right in the middle of the urban landscape. A few months ago, the garden was closed when some of its employees were suspected of accepting money in exchange for permitting the deposit of human remains on the grounds. Some high-society neighbors wanted to keep their family members close by—money talks in Buenos Aires.
La Aromática, Bulnes 873, Almagro People are always talking to me about this delicious little Colombian spot in the Almagro neighborhood. King Coya (pictured far left) remixing Petrona Martinez is the best analogy I can think of for La Aromática, a place where they play gaitas and other ancestral American music while putting delicious food on your plate.
La Fabrica del Taco, Gorriti 5062, Palermo Last year I was with fellow Zizek DJs Chancha Vía Circuito, Fauna, and El G in Mexico. After some initial problems adapting to the food, I dove in, tried everything, and my perception of those flavors was changed forever. Later, when we returned to Buenos Aires, I tried a bunch of Mexican restaurants and always left feeling cheated. Our label coordinator, Anna (pictured here), told me about La Fabrica del Taco, and there I found the flavors that I had been searching for.
Zizek Club, Every Thursday at Voodoo Motel, Dorrego 1735, Palermo The club night that I have been doing for more than two years with DJ Nim and El G is the dance laboratory we always dreamed about, where people go to dance and ZZK Records’ producers experiment with their new beats. Our slogan has always been “For the love of dance.” Pictured above is the Zizek Crew (from left to right): Negro Gran Faso, VJ Centero, Pablo de Fantasma, Anna Browne, El Remolón, DJ Nim & Luz, Daleduro, Villa Diamante, VJ Sol Del Rio, Tremor, and Lucas Luisao.
Metropolis, Av Santa Fe al 4300, Plaza Italia “This city is a ghost city/All the clubs have closed already/This city is like a ghost town/There are no places to perform,” goes the chorus of Fantasma’s “Ghost Town,” a cumbia version of The Specials’ classic. It’s a reflection of what’s happening to the Buenos Aires underground, as it keeps getting harder to open new spaces, whether it be for cumbia, rock, or electronic music. Metropolis, one of Buenos Aires’ cumbia meccas, closed several years ago.
Mitte & Purr, Av. Santa Fé 2729, local 30 y local 32 When you combine an art gallery with a bookstore and put it in the highest part of an old gallery on Avenida Santa Fe, you’re going to get some interesting results. This place also hosts a mini-rave called Rom Rom on various Saturdays during the summer: hot (really hot) afternoons, dance, art, and tropical fruit smoothies. Here, gallery owner Neeco Demo stands in front of a drawing by Elias Santis.
A new collaboration from Eliot Lipp and Leo 123, Dark Party‘s “Status” is an electro-funk dream—a DJ could place it next to Newcleus or Dam-Funk effortlessly, its lush synth pads and sample-based hook bringing memories of Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo to mind.
Catch Dark Party on tour this summer.
07/10 Charleston, SC – The Pour House 07/12 Philadelphia, PA – Silk City 07/14 Richmond, VA – Canal Club 07/15 Savannah, GA – Live Wire 07/17 Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre 07/18 Asheville, NC – Stella Blue 07/19 Columbia, SC – The White Mule 07/20 Boone, NC – Boone Saloon 07/22 Raleigh, NC – The Pour House 07/25 Miami, FL – The White Room 07/26 Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub 07/28 Tampa, FL – The Crowbar 07/31 Austin, TX – The Parish 08/02 San Antonio, TX – Limelight 08/03 Dallas, TX – The Lounge On Elm St 08/07 Birmingham, AL – Zydeco 08/08 New Orleans, LA – Dragon’s Den 08/11 Chattanooga, TN – The Lowdown 08/13 Lexington, KY – The Dame 08/14 Knoxville, TN – World Grotto 08/15 Nashville, TN – Exit/In 08/20 Milwaukee, WI – Apartment 730 08/21 Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle 08/23 Columbia, MO – TBA 08/24 Chicago, IL – Pritzker Pavilion, Millenium Park 08/28 Detroit, MI – TBA 09/04 Breckenridge, CO – Three 20 South
Irish-born Marcus Lambkin (a.k.a. Shit Robot) may be one of the lower-profile members of the DFA crew, but that doesn’t mean the man doesn’t have some serious DJ chops. Now living in Stuttgart, Germany, Shit Robot may not emerge from the shadows too often, but when he does, we here at XLR8R are sure to pay attention. His latest single, “Simple Things (Work It Out),” is an ace offering of new-school disco that features a WTF? guest vocal from post-hardcore hero Ian Svenonious that just might make us pee in our collective recovering-fanboy pants. This Simply Shit mix features not only the original, but a Todd Terje remix of that track, along with some choice disco- and electro-tinged house selections, both old and new.
01 Shit Robot – “Simple Things (Work It Out)” (Todd Terje remix) – (DFA) 02 Chicken Lips – “Feast of Freaks” (Kotey’s Tape Edit) – (Lipservice) 03 Suburban Knight – “The Groove” – (Transmat) 04 Black Meteoric Star – “Death Tunnel” – (DFA) 05 X-Ray – “Let’s Go” – (Transmat) 06 Crazy P – “Love on the Line” (Unabombers Remix) – (20:20 Vision) 07 Bangkok Impact – “Premature Ejaculation” – (Crème Organization) 08 Joris Voorn – “Sweep the Floor” – (Rejected) 09 Cobblestone Jazz – “Traffic Jam” – (Wagon Repair) 10 Crazy P – “Stop Space Return” (Unabomber Dub) – (20:20 Vision) 11 Shit Robot – “Simple Things (Work It Out)” – (DFA)
In a double nod to New Order’s “Confusion” video , as well as Arthur Baker (the producer of that famous single), New York’s Holy Ghost! has a new video out for their track “I Will Come Back.” The Green Label Sound-backed video not only features Baker himself playing, but a virtual recreation of the “Confusion” video. These nods to history, along with the group’s vintage electro-disco sound, make for an entertaining and aurally pleasing experience.
Honestly, Toeachizown is like most, if not all, of Dam-Funk‘s productions—it makes you want to cruise down Wilshire Boulevard smoking a fat blunt. Slow-motion boogie kicks, low-end bass groove, and bright analog harmonies make this quintessential Dam-Funk—and that is a damn good thing.
It is hard to listen to Silk Flowers’ first record without thinking of Ian Curtis—Aviram Cohen’s baritone inhabits the same timbre with a bit more croon. Place that voice in the murk of lo-fi, Ralf und Florian-era Kraftwerk, and you have an idea of the New York band’s sound. Instrumentals “Night Shades” and “Birds of Passion” are the album’s highlights, with brightly washed keyboard harmonies and percussion that sounds like a Hammond organ’s rhythm machine. Noisier moments, such as the hissed-out electro-punk grit of “Cheap Shot” and the narcotic shuffle of “Running Out of Rope,” find Silk Flowers on a good, if well-worn, Teutonic path.
Battles frontman Tyondai Braxton brings a similar sound to his upcoming second full-length, Central Market, though the more orchestral flourishes evident on “Uffe’s Woodshop” might surprise fans. With soaring, looped string and piano sections and kazoos galore, the track is a bit of intensely syncopated whimsy that will simultaneously please fans of contemporary classical and indie-dance.
