DJ T. Unleashes New Single

Full details have yet to be announced for DJ T.‘s next full-length, but word on the street is that the producer and Get Physical co-founder, born Thomas Koch, has been hard at work in the studio, collaborating and experimenting for the upcoming album.

The first track to trickle out of these sessions comes in the form of “Outbreak,” and possibly hints at what’s to come later in the year from Koch. The single will feature the slick, streamlined house he’s known for on the a-side, then a b-side that finds him delving into Detroit techno territory.

DJs, pick this one up on August 6 via Get Physical, and stay tuned for details on a new full-length.

“Outbreak”
A “Outbreak”
B “Outbreak (True School Mix)”

Bugati Force “Shake & Pop Bitch”

Bugati Force–the Berlin-based trio of Cashmaster Diamond, Droopy Goldberg, and Spänk–knows its way around a dance party. This exclusive offering from Shir Khan’s Exploited imprint finds the DJ/Production crew grabbing elements from two of the most fail-proof club jams in history, Green Velvet’s “Shake and Pop” and 2 Live Crew’s “Shake Dat Ass Bitch,” and seamlessly mashing them together into one ultimate peak-hour tune. Originally released as a now out-of-stock 7″, “Shake & Pop Bitch” is already seeing play from heavyweights like Stereo MCs, Edu K, and Daniel Haaksman.

Bugati Force – Shake & Pop Bitch

Out This Week: Atlas Sound, Fabric 41

This week, soul chanteuse Stacy Epps drops her debut, The Faint’s new one is out so we can finally stop talking about it, and Bradford Cox one again proves why he’s most deserving of the label “prolific.”

The Faint
Fasciinatiion
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The newest full-length from the Omaha, NE dance-rock five piece, who split from their longtime home at Saddle Creek and self-released this one.

Stacy Epps
The Awakening
New Directions in Sound/JapaNUBIA Musik

This soulstress had a lone leaked single to her name until this album came to fruition. Madlib-style beats meet Coltrane-like musings here, with a cool, confident flow.

Various
Fabric 41 Mixed by Luciano
Fabric

Cadenza boss Luciano assumed mixing duties for the latest Fabric compilation, which is finally seeing its Stateside release. All things minimal and tribal abound here.

Ulrich Schnauss
Stars EP
Domino

This came out digitally at the end of June, but the physical version drops on Tuesday, in the form of a lovely DRM-free CD. A master of shoegaze ambience, Schnauss pulled the track “Stars” from his Quicksand Memory EP and, along with Maps and Andrew Prinz, gave it a couple re-workings.

Atlas Sound
“Atlas Shrugged” 7″
K Records

So the story goes, Bradford Cox stopped into Dub Narcotic studios in Olympia, WA, made a song up on the spot, played all the instruments, then handed it off to studio head and K Records’ boss Calvin Johnson, who put a few finishing touches on the single. If only it were that easy for the rest of us.

Brazilian Girls
New York City
Verve Forecast

Neither Brazilian or female (except for the lead singer), this band outfit from New York unleashes its third full-length this week. The album features Senegalese singer Baaba Maal on a track and jazz percussionist Kenny Wollesen on three.

Out Last Week

Photo of Brazilian Girls by Michael Weintrob

Vivian Girls “Where Do You Run To”

On their way to becoming one of New York’s favorite new underground pop acts, Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls craft seductive lo-fi melodies that bring to mind jean jackets and summertime makeout sessions. Previously only available on limited-edition vinyl, this track is taken from the band’s self-titled debut album, slated for a proper re-release this October via L.A.-based imprint In The Red. Meanwhile, catch them on their U.S. tour, which kicked off last Friday in their hometown, with fellow Brooklyn psych-rockers Crystal Stilts.

Vivian Girls – Where Do You Run To

Black Kids Partie Traumatic

This Florida five-piece has gotten so much press it’s hard to remember that this is their debut album. Their post-racial/hipster/whatever name doesn’t hurt, either–it’s like catnip for critics trying to figure out What These Things Mean. They’re so hyped that it’s almost easy to forget their music–a pity, because they make brash, fun retro-synth rock/pop that’s sweetly sexy. Their range is a little narrow, but there’s lots good here anyway: the chant-dance title track, the ’80s-ish electronics on “Listen to Your Body Tonight” the rock/R&B of “Hurricane Jane,” and, of course, “I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance.” Who cares what it means? Just dance already.

Eliot Lipp The Outside

Nomadic beatsmith Eliot Lipp has wandered and recorded all across the States, absorbing regional sounds with ease. Now living in Brooklyn, the Tacoma, WA-reared act is back with The Outside, an album that’s both futuristic and gritty. Pushing the limits of his old-school synths, Lipp draws from a range of glitchy and gleaming effects. And when he’s at his most speaker-conscious he taps into classic Brooklyn bounce, backing tracks like “The Machine and the Wind” and “Baby Tank” with body-rocking riddims. More straightforward selections, like the electro-inspired “The Meaning,” aren’t quite as fun. Although even among the unsurprising moments, Lipp still kills it.

Black Ghosts: Skeletons in the Studio

The Black Ghosts’ Simon Lord and Theo Keating have got skeletons in their closets… in the form of hoodies and gloves printed with skinny white bones. They’ve also got a supernatural amount of experience under their own pasty skins. Signed to Wall of Sound as The Wiseguys, Keating (a.k.a. DJ Touché) was responsible for such massive tracks as “Ooh La La!” and “Start the Commotion” (tracks heard in Zoolander and ads for Budweiser and Mitsubishi). And any electro-house fan worth their Day-Glo sunglasses is familiar with Justice’s career-defining remix of Simian’s “Never Be Alone”–that’s Simian ex-frontman Lord on vocals.

When Keating started to record his last DJ Touché record, he sought out Lord to do guest vocals. A mutual friend delivered a few one-minute taster tracks to the former Simian member, who quickly returned them with lyrics. “They weren’t even meant for him to write to!” Keating exclaims. With the help of ye olde internet, the guys were working together immediately. “No time was wasted sitting around in studios while one guy is programming and the other is bored,” Keating describes. “It was probably the most painless way to make a record.” All that was left was for the duo to bond on tour (which they did, over Japanese horror flicks).

The Ghosts’ eponymous album is a refreshing, neo-gothic update of ’80s sensibilities; it boasts a collaboration with Blur’s Damon Albarn and a suite of clever remixes from Switch, Kissy Sell Out, and Fake Blood (rumored to be Keating’s side-project). The Black Ghosts is rife with Lord’s spooky lyrics, which bob up and down over ghostly 4/4s, as on “Any Way You Choose to Give It,” where he beseeches “Please appreciate the limits of the flesh/The spirit will not rest, will not be satisfied with anybody else.”

“I just try to show both sides,” says Lord of his grim couplets. “To me that’s a lot more interesting than making candy floss for 12-year-olds to dance to. I like songs that are a bit ambiguous.” This is particularly evident on the epic electro of album starter “Some Way Through This,” on which Lord gloomily whines, “If this house was on fire/Would you tell me your desire?/If my hands were ’round your throat/Would you tell me what I need to know” in a way that could be read as sexy or creepy… or both.

While the Ghosts have managed to differentiate themselves sonically, it must be hard competing with other rising hearts of darkness such as Black Keys, Black Lips, Black Kids, and The Blacks. Lord is undaunted, calling for them to band together into a coven of pop noir. “We should have a reunion, all the ‘black’ bands joining. A conference,” he says mystically. Daaark.

More on The Black Ghosts
Video: “Repetition Kills You
Feature: Interview with Simon Lord
Feature: Interview with Theo Keating

Atmosphere Announces Tour Dates

Here come Slug and Ant. With many a relationship woe and character’s sad story now told via Atmosphere‘s latest album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, the Minneapolis-based hip-hop duo will embark on its Paint the Nation tour.

Shows will kick off next week in Iceland, and from there the dynamic duo will hit Europe before the jaunt of U.S. dates begins. Stateside shows will include rapper/producer Blueprint, Abstract Rude, and DJ Rare Groove on the bill.

08/09 Reykjavik, Iceland: Tunglid
08/12 Berlin, Germany: Cassiopeia
08/13 Cologne, Germany: Stadtgarten
08/14 Hamburg, Germany: Waagenbau
08/15 Zurich, Switzerland: Tonimolkerei
08/16 Munich, Germany: Ampere
08/20 Oslo, Norway: Bla
08/21 Stockholm, Sweden: Nalen
08/22 Copenhagen, Denmark: Little Vega
08/23 Prague, Czech Republic: Hip Hop Kemp Festival
08/23 Helsinki, Finland: Tavastia
09/10 Fargo, ND: The Venue*
09/11 Sioux Falls, SD: Sioux Empire Expo Center*
09/12 Omaha, NE: Slowdown*
09/13 Denver, CO: Monolith Festival
09/15 Boise, ID: Knitting Factory*
09/16 Missoula, MT: Wilma Theater*
09/18 Eugene, OR: McDonald Theater
09/19 Sacramento, CA: Empire*
09/20 San Diego, CA: Street Scene
09/21 Bakersfield, CA: The Dome*
09/22 Santa Cruz, CA: Catalyst*
09/25 Los Angeles, CA: Wiltern*
09/26 Las Vegas, NV: House of Blues*
09/27 Phoenix, AZ: Edge Fest
09/28 Tucson, AZ: KFMA Fall Ball
09/30 Houston, TX: Warehouse Live*
10/01 New Orleans, LA: Tipitina’s*
10/03 Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Revolution*
10/04 Orlando, FL: Firestone*
10/06 Atlanta, GA: Masquerade*
10/07 Ashville, NC: Orange Peel*
10/08 Richmond, VA: Toad’s Place*
10/10 Baltimore, MD: Ram’s Head*
10/11 New Haven, CT: Toad’s Place*

* = w/ Blueprint, Abstract Rude, and DJ Rare Groove

Image by Mike Davis.

Soulwax to Play Stateside Dates

It’s a precious few dates that Belgium-based duo Soulwax is set to play, but these shows are sure to sell out. Brothers David and Stephen Dewaele will be making four North American appearances next week in support of their new DVD, Part of the Weekend Never Dies, which documents the music and mayhem involved with doing a world tour. The documentary is rumored to be out in September. In the meantime, catch them here:

08/06 New York, NY: Irving Plaza*
08/08 Philadelphia, PA: Transit*
08/09 Baltimore, MD: Virgin Festival
08/10 Toronto, ON: Time Festival

* = w/ JDH & Dave P

Photo by Alex Salinas.

Elzhi “Motown 25 feat. Royce Da 5’9″”

Ah Detroit. Land of abandoned buildings, shitty weather, and a highly esteemed hip-hop scene full of colorful characters and compelling music. eLZhi‘s a longtime member of this pack, having risen to success in the late ’90s with Slum Village and his work with the late Dilla, but The Preface, due out next month, marks his first solo full-length. A skilled MC who likes his rhymes perfect, he enlisted fellow Motor City veteran Black Milk to steer the production helm, then invited Royce Da 5’9″, Guilty Simpson, T3 of Slum Village, Phat Kat, and more to guest on the album. “Motown 25,” as its title suggests, features Motown flavors laid over heavy beats, and is warmer than a piping hot plate of soul food. Photo by Jeremy Deputat.

Elzhi – Motown 25 feat. Royce Da 5 9

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