Barcelona trio Oso Leone have shared a transfixing video single from their new LP for Apollo Records.
The album, Gallery Love, follows five years after the release of their acclaimed sophomore release, Mokragora, and is an affecting odyssey touching on soul, funk, R&B, and left-field pop. Following the album’s first single, “Virtual U,” is the brilliantly melancholic title track, which arrives coupled with a dream-like video directed by Mau Morgó and María Sosa Betancor, who created the film as a tribute to light, as they explain:
“The film is a tribute to the light in all its phases and shapes. A small trip that spreads from the most cosmic to the most internal, triggering a transformation in all form that crosses its path.”
You can watch the film below, with the album available to pre-order here.
Novation has announced its latest offer for members of its Sound Collective community, a free download of Tracktion’s BioTek and a 30% discount off BioTek 2.
The download of BioTek will be available to members from now until April 4, with the discount for BioTek 2 running to May 4. For those unfamiliar, BioTek is a powerful virtual instrument that combines synthesis and sampling across four morphable layers. The instrument includes four-operator FM, oscillator sync, PWM, ring modulation, and waveshaping, as well as two multimode filters, 200 modulation and 32 modifier routing options, four envelopes, eight LFOs, and much more.
AIROD‘s Voltage EP will drop via Lenske on February 8.
Voltage follows on from a breakout 2018 for AIROD, real name Dario Brkic, who dropped outings on Dax J’s Monnom Black, Molekül, Perfusion, and his own label Elixyr Records, which he also launched last year. Comprised of four cuts, Voltage is a devastating collection of wrecking-ball techno. From the pummelling acid of the opening cut, “Acid Effect,” to the title track’s frenetic energy and the old-school rave-flavored “Frozen Zone,” it’s a collection of cuts designed for high-octane dancefloors and towering soundsytems.
Ahead of the release, AIROD has shared a full stream of “Acid Effect,” available via the player below. You can pre-order the EP here.
Live 10.1, which is currently in beta, adds a whole host of new features, including user wavetables, which allows producers to extend the capabilities of Wavetable’s oscillator section by importing their own wavetables or samples into the device; Channel EQ, a flexible and simple EQ with curves and gain ranges suitable for a variety of audio material; and Delay, which now combines Simple Delay and Ping Pong Delay and adds feature upgrades.
The update also features a new range of automation shapes to choose from, the ability to stretch and skew automation and enter values with a keypad, and easier access to clip modulation in Session View. Ableton has also made improvements to zooming and scrolling, and now allows track freezing for tracks with sidechain routing. Other updates include VST3 support and the option to export single tracks and groups with return and master effects applied.
Live 10.1 will be available for free to all Live 10 owners. You can find more details about the update here, with a promo video below.
XLR8R is offering XLR8R+ subscribers free passes to the upcoming VBX party at Warehouse Elementenstraat in Amsterdam, taking place on February 15 with legends of Romanian minimal RPR Soundsystem, Gene on Earth, and local Dutch talent Spokenn (Ferro & Reiss), Ingi Visions (Samuel Deep & Julian Alexander), and Benny Rodrigues.
VBX is now into its seventh year of throwing parties, promoting local Dutch talent alongside globally renowned artists such as Ricardo Villalobos, Nicholas Lutz, Sonja Moonear, Fumiya Tanaka, and many more. VBX’s label arm, VBX Music, launched in 2015 and has released five EPs since, from Ferro, Makcim & Levi, and Spokenn. VBX has become a stalwart event in the underground minimal techno and house scene, consistently churning out top lineups and quality music in incredible venues.
As a token of appreciation, we are offering XLR8R+ subscribers and those who sign up before the event a limited amount of free guestlist passes.
For those who haven’t yet, SUBSCRIBE HERE and email your full name, subscription confirmation page, and “VBX” to [email protected] to claim your event pass. For those that are current subscribers, simply email your full name and VBX.
Due to limited availability, passes will be offered strictly on a first-come, first served basis. Subscribers are eligible for one pass only.
You can find more information on XLR8Rplus, the offer, and the event below. The eighth and current edition of XLR8Rplus is here, with subscription details here.
XLR8Rplus is a monthly subscription service that allows XLR8R to continue to support independent music and journalism. Every month, we release a package for our subscribers, which includes three exclusive tracks from three different artists, a dedicated artwork and PDF zine, ad-free browsing of XLR8R.com, and other goodies along the way (sample packs, discounts, content etc.). So far, we have released eight editions, featuring tracks from Roman Flügel, Wata Igarashi, SIT (Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia), Vril, Janeret, Alex Smoke, Scuba, Huxley Anne, Fred P, Homemade Weapons, John Dimas, Cosmin TRG, Hunter/Game, Einzelkind, Robert Dietz, Forest Drive West, Julia Govor, and u-Ziq, plus sample packs from Daedelus and Levon Vincent. XLR8Rplus costs $5 a month and each package is only available to download for one month and only from XLR8Rplus—you won’t get the tracks on Beatport, Spotify, or any other platform, and only subscribers for that month will get them. At the time of writing, edition eight has just launched with exclusive tracks by, Levon Vincent, Lawrence, and Bruno Pronsato. Don’t sleep on this offer.
After sharing Quelle Chris’ “Brain Of The Ape,” Dublin’s All City Records has shared two new tunes from Kaytranada and Kojaque from its epic 27-track compilation curated by Gangster Doodles, entitled Gangster Music Vol. 1. The compilation features exclusive new music from Madlib, Kaytranada, Father, MNDSGN, Chester Watson, and more, out March 1.
Gangster Doodles is the project of Marlon Sassy. He released his Gangster Doodles book alongside an ever-expanding array of prints, original works, apparel, and exhibitions. Topping that off with animation projects, a graphic novel in the works, and now, with this, he is about to debut his first ever music compilation.
Each track features an exclusive drawing from Gangster Doodle.
In forming the compilation, GD had this to say: “Every time a new track came in it was like running down the stairs on Christmas morning to open a present. What started as a slow trickle of work coming in soon turned into a tsunami with some of my heroes like Onra, House Shoes, Blu, Jeremiah Jae joining up with young guns Kojaque, Kean Kavanagh, Dream Panther and others to beef up the record.” However, there was one track that sealed the deal for GD: “When an email pinged through with a track from brothers Oh No & Madlib, it felt like the final gift and Gang$ter Music Vol. 1 was complete.”
Prague’s UP Festival has locked in its scheduled for its upcoming second edition, as well as announcing some new names, including Lamache, Ricardo Villalobos, Marcel Dettmann, and Margaret Dygas.
Beginning on Wednesday, July 10, the festival will host a seminar on electronic music, followed on Thursday, July 11 with a Boiler Room session. The venue and acts remain a secret but we’re told to expect an “open-air delight.” Access will only be available to festival pass holders. The next day, on Friday, July 12, there will be a chill-out session at Vnitroblock, a creative space for designers.
The actual festival begins on Saturday, July 13. XLR8R will be hosting a stage during the day, as will UP Festival, and in the evening the Komiks stage will be open. Closing on Sunday, the UP Festival stage and XLR8R will both host a little matinée programme, after which the doors to the festival will be closed. There will be an after-party, with details to come soon.
More names have been added to the first wave, which included Archie Hamilton, Maayan Nidam (live), DeWalta, Cristi Cons, Digby, and Zendid. The list of new additions is as follows.
Bruno Curtis
Dana Ruh
Dorian Paic
Edward
Fatty M & DJ Schwa
John Dimas
Lamache
Marcel Dettmann
Margaret Dyas
Ricardo Villalobos
Sam Bangura
Tikno
This year’s second edition takes place from July 13 to 14 in Prague, Czech Republic, with more information to be revealed soon. Meanwhile, tickets are now available here.
Métron Records returns to Japan for its second vinyl release, showcasing the works of Hiroshima-based artist Meitei.
Following the 2018 reissue of Kwaidan on cassette label Evening Chants, Komachi represents Meitei’s debut full-length vinyl release and first original material of the year.
Meitei considers himself an old soul, often preoccupied with the customs and rituals of the past. Recently, Meitei lost his beloved 99-year-old grandmother, a woman whom he considered to be one of the last remaining people to have experience and understanding of traditional Japanese ambience. His music and art is driven by a desire to cast light on an era and aesthetic that he believes is drifting out of the collective Japanese consciousness with each passing generation, what he has called “the lost Japanese mood.” He chose to dedicate Komachi to his late Grandmother. “I want to revive the soul of Japan that still sleeps in the darkness,” he says.
Haunting and delicate, distant and timeless, Komachi is awash with white noise, complex field recordings, and the hypnotic sounds of flowing water. Though contemporary, Komachi’s lineage can be traced back to the floating worlds of Ukiyo-e and Gagaku via the prism of ’80s Japanese ambient pioneers, and ’90s pastoral sample-based artists such as Susumu Yokota and Nobukazu Takemura.
Composed as individual sonic dioramas, each of the 12 tracks has been crafted to not only evoke feelings of nostalgia but to also explore the dichotomy of ancient and new in modern Japanese society.
The limited vinyl release, produced in collaboration with label and distributor Séance Centre, is set for release March 15, including a special edition complete with beautiful 12-page booklet featuring a number of prints in the Ukiyo-e style, a traditional style of woodblock print that dates back to 17th century Japan. The images were chosen by Meitei to showcase the old style Japanese sentiments that form a core inspiration to his musical output.
Tracklisting
01. Seto
02. Ike
03. Nami
04. Sento [Pt. II]
05. Kawanabe Kyosai [Pt. II]
06. Chouchin
07. Maboroshi
08. Sento [Pt. I]
09. Myo
10. Kawanabe Kyosai [Pt. I]
11. Shinkai
12. Utano
Komachi LP lands March 15 with “Kawanabe Kyosai [Pt.II]” streaming below.
Kelly Moran has shared an absorbing live performance of “Halogen,” a track taken from her recent Warp Records album debut, Ultraviolet.
The performance, captured in the Brooklyn-based experimental venue Future Space, features projection mapped visuals designed by Gabe Liberti, of the interactive installation studio Dave & Gabe.
The video is a glimpse of the show that Moran has been touring recently in support of Ultraviolet, which features her performing the album in its entirety using a prepared piano, synths, and a full set of visuals from Liberti. Following sold out shows in New York and Los Angeles at the end of 2018, Moran is heading to Europe this spring for a just-announced tour. You can find dates here.
For more information on Kelly Moran, read our feature here.
CÉCI is a Danish producer and singer-songwriter based in London. Her music—a stripped-back, skeletal type of pop—is built from mind-bending sound design, haunting vocals, and ethereal energy that draws you in on first listen.
CÉCI’s new EP, Vortex, follows on from her debut outing, 4/4—a tense and inventive collection of glitchy electronics—with six affecting cuts that touch on IDM, bass, RnB, and pop. Vortex invites the listener into CÉCI’s surreal sonic world via tracks that feel at once personal and completely alien.
In support of the forthcoming release, Astral Plane has shared the video for “Heartbeat,” a track full of atmospheric pressure and dizzying sound design, available to stream via the player below.
