Music videos are a bit more of a rarity in dubstep than with most other genres, so we jump at the chance to post them. This one’s courtesy of Cardiff-based producer Stagga, who kept the visuals minimal (very minimal) and the bass heavy on this track.
Mala, Ricardo Villalobos Join MUTEK
One need only scan the recent news on XLR8R.com to know that MUTEK Montreal preparations are infulleffect. The multi-day electronic music festival will celebrate its tenth birthday this year, and another round of artists was added to the bill (which already includes the likes of Carl Craig, Akufen, Ghislain Poirier, and a couple dozen others) this morning.
Deadbeat, Mala (of Digital Mystikz), Robert Henke, and The Mole now join the festivities. Die-hard Ricardo Villalobos fans will be thrilled to know he’s playing a seven-hour DJ set alongside German producer Zip, and and the aforementioned Henke will unveil his ATOM project, in which compositions will be played on “a matrix of 64 illuminated helium balloons.” Wrap your head around that one, then visit the MUTEK site for ticket info.
Lineup Additions:
Deadbeat & Paul St. Hilaire
Mala
Martin Tétreault & Michael Langevin
Matt Thibideau
NSI
Ricardo Villalobos & Zip
Robert Henke & Christopher Bauder
SND
Stephen Beaupré
The Mole
Turzi
Pictured: Deadbeat. Photo by Lars Borges.
Jeremy Jay “In This Lonely Town”
The lovable Jeremy Jay releases his sophomore album, Slow Dance, today. Like his debut from 2007, the new record combines post-punk guitar riffage—as heard on this track—with music that often sounds like it was plucked straight out of the 1950s.
Podcast 79: Future Perfect with The Juan MacLean
The Juan MacLean‘s single “Happy House” was released in 2008, thusly gearing up the dance-music world up for the release date of his latest full-length, The Future Will Come
That day hasn’t quite arrived, as the album won’t drop until April 14 (on Juan’s longtime home at DFA), but in the meantime, he’s prepped this exclusive mix of, well, happy house music. Whether it’s an upbeat, horn-drenched version of Hercules and Love Affair’s hit single, “Blind,” or MacLean showcasing his own tracks (wherein the aforementioned “Happy House” single is included), the energy stays high here, the beat rarely strays from 4/4, and that future that’s coming looks very bright indeed.
Future Perfect:
01 Hawkwind – “10 Seconds of Forever” – (United Artists Records)
02 The Juan MacLean – “The Simple Life” – (DFA)
03 Force Of Nature – “I-Ight” – (Mule Music)
04 Putsch 79 – “Gibson” – (White Label)
05 Hercules and Love Affair – “Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)” – (DFA)
06 Todd Terje – “Wanda Rode Again” – (RVNG)
07 Cashmere – “Say U Will” – (Data Records)
08 The Reese Project – “Direct Me (Joey Negro Remix)” – (Network)
09 The Juan MacLean – “Happy House” – (DFA)
10 Soulwax – “NY Excuse (NY Lipps Version)” – (PIAS)
11 Charles B – “Lack Of Love” – (Desire Records)
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Jeremy Jay Slow Dance
Can Jeremy Jay be any more adorable? On his second album, the Los Angeles singer/songwriter has put together another collection of catchy little songs that recall everything from squeaky-clean ’50s pop to Factory Records-era post-punk. Seriously, who else could get away with plaintively delivering lyrics like “Giddyup, horsey/Giddyup”? “We Were There” features synths that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Simple Minds song, while “Slow Dance” could double as the backing track to a ’70s-style dream sequence. Throw in his melancholy style of speak-singing and Jay has somehow become one of the most oddly compelling pop songwriters in recent memory. Damn you, Jeremy Jay!
Baron Zen Rhythm Trax Vol. 3
Taking heavy cues from breakdancing tournaments of yore, mall-punker Baron Zen’s hip-hop and electro rhythms often sound like they were programmed 25 years ago on dusty Roland drum machines (witness the Cybotron-meets-Man Parrish jaunt of “Rocket Ship!”). His wet, synth squelches and vocodered party calls are godlessly cheesy (“Robert Funk”), and while there are some amusing moments here that could fatten a sampler, the Trax are not strong nor clever enough to be more than filler for DJs looking to provoke smirks and chuckles. Some rhythms also suffer from sluggishness and need their pitches cranked up on the turntable. File in the novelty breaks bin, please.
Kid606 “Mr. Wobble’s Nightmare”
Producer, DJ, and label owner Kid606 can cite just about anything as an influence on his music—from house to punk to jungle, hip-hop, and horror films. Find all of those elements and probably more on this track, off his forthcoming full-length, Shout at the Döner, which will drop April 28 on his own Tigerbeat6 imprint. Careful of that wobbly bassline, now.
XLR8R TV’s Exclusive New Track Series
As part of a new XLR8R TV series called “Tune In An Afternoon,” XLR8R challenged anticon. artists Jel and Odd Nosdam to collaborate and produce an exclusive track. The catch: it had to be done in a single afternoon, using samples culled from $40 worth of records bought at Nosdam’s local junk shop in Berkeley, CA.
The episode follows the two producers, from the shopping spree through the track’s creation process, and finally winds up at their local bar, where they premiere the completed song at their regular DJ night. The track, also titled “Tune In the Afternoon,” is a beat-heavy breeze—hazy, psychedelic, and totally reflective of the sunny West Berkeley afternoon during which it was created.
“Tune In An Afternoon” is a new ongoing XLR8R TV series that pairs two musicians together and tests their collaborative and creative mettle by putting varying limitations on them (budget, time, genre, etc). The resulting track from each episode will be available as an exclusive, downloadable MP3.
Pontiak “Honey”
As with many Thrill Jockey artists, Virginia-based trio Pontiak doesn’t make music that lends itself to easy classification. Indie rock this is, but warped, staggered, and made dissonant through what sounds like was a painstaking recording process for the Carney brothers.
“Honey” is off Pontiak’s sophomore album, Maker, out April 7.
Glitch Mob, Busy P Join Movement 2009
No less than 25 more artists join the lineup for the previously announcedMovement 2009 festival, which will take over Detroit’s Hart Plaza from May 23 – 25. The longtime electronic music festival is both a multi-day and multi-genre affair this year, with dubstep star Benga, electro producers Busy P and Krazy Baldhead, and future-blappers Glitch Mob joining Ellen Allien, Flying Lotus, The Prodigy, and Steve Bug.
According to Jason Huvaere, president of Paxahau, who organizes the festival, the 25 additions to the bill make up most of the remaining artists scheduled to perform, but it’s likely one or two more will join the list over the next few weeks. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, pick up a weekend pass, now going for $40.
Additional Lineup:
Al Ester, Anthony Attalla, Anthony Rother (Live), Benga, Busy P, Chuck Gibson (a.k.a. Perception), Craig Gonzalez, Delano Smith, Drumcell, Exchange Bureau (Live), Glitch Mob (Live), Henrik Schwarz, AME and Dixon Present Innervisions Live: A Critical Mass, Jay Denham, Kevin Reynolds (Live), Krazy Baldhead, Lusine, Marc “MK” Kinchen & Scotty Deep, Mieka du Franx, Mike Clark, Neil Landstrumm, Nic Fanciulli, Nikola Baytala, Octave One, The Sight Below, Will Webb
Pictured: Glitch Mob.
