Nina Kraviz’ трип ‘Celebrates the New’ with Latest Concept Album

Nina Kraviz‘ трип label will release a new concept album in January, happy new year! we wish you happiness!

The eight-track release follows July’s entry in the concept series, Don’t Mess With Cupid, and features label regulars like PTU alongside new voices such as Carlota and Vladimir Dubyshkin. Also appearing is label head Kraviz, who contributes a collaborative track with Snazzy FX’s Dan Snazelle, and Buttechno, who delivers his’s first material for трип. 

трип 23 also ushers in a new visual era for the label. In Russia, New Year is the most anticipated celebration, with lots of snow, joy, and dreams. The intricate crystalline hexagonal snow-like drawings are actually detailed ’60s soviet era architectural plans for a school that was never built. The drawings were shown to Nina by the creator’s grandson. The futuristic look of these “industrial snow flakes” are “the perfect visual compliment to the musical theme of the album,” the label explains. 

трип describes the release as a “fantastical celebration of the new” and explains that it represents “a fresh new visual outlook for the label,” coinciding with its release in the first month of the new year. 

The final release on трип in 2018 will be трип 22, Vladimir Dubyshkin’s debut solo EP, cheerful pessimist, out on December 17.

Tracklisting

A1. Buttechno “Rostokino Acid”

A2. Nina Kraviz vs Snazzy “U Ludei Est Pravo!”

B1. PTU “Mstera”

B2. Carlota “Your Destination” 

C1. Carlota “Moise Psychosis” 

C2. Vladimir Dubyshkin “Soviet Film”

D1. Buttechno “Dubstepping Progression Fast” 

D2. The Mover “Track 1”

Happy New Year! We Wish You Happiness! will land on January 14, with clips below. 

Nils Frahm Announces New EP, Shares Stunning First Single

Nils Frahm has announced Encores 2, the second EP to accompany his acclaimed All Melody LP.

The announcement arrived with an official video preview of the EP and the release’s gorgeous first single, “Spells,” a 12-minute ambient epic full of spiraling synth lines and engrossing textures. While the EP’s predecessor, Encores 1, focused on just a solo piano and harmonium, Encores 2 explores more ambient pastures and was recorded through an amplified stone well Frahm found on Mallorca. The idea for the Encores series actually predates All Melody, as Frahm explains:

“The idea behind Encores is one we had from before All Melody; to separate releases each with their own distinct musical style and theme, perhaps even as a triple album. But All Melody became larger than itself and took over any initial concepts. I think the idea of Encores is like musical islands that compliment All Melody.”—Nils Frahm

Ahead of the release, Frahm will play two shows at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on December 4 and 5, followed by a sold-out four night residency at Funkhaus Berlin from December 11 to 14. 

You can pre-order Encores 2 here, with the video preview and first single streaming below.

Premiere: Hear an Ethereal House Cut From Yard One

Tomorrow, November 30, Naissance Musik returns with its third release, a remix package of Dream Scoring (a.k.a. Hakim Murphy and HEAR) cuts.

Returning to the label’s inaugural release, Dream Scoring’s Images Of A Myth, the new remix package presents four new interpretations, including outings from Perlon trio Wareika, Chicago DJ and producer Amir Alexander, Fantome De Nuit’s Nesta, and Tact Recordings label heads Yard One. True to form, Wareika deliver a psychedelic percussion workout, while Amir goes down a deeper and gritty route. On the flip, Yard One twist “Blowed Out” into an ethereal dancefloor bomb, with Nesta rounding out the package with a groove-laced melodic house refix.

Ahead of tomorrow’s release, you can stream the Yard One remix in full via the player below.

Pixelord “Hypnorave”

At the end of last month, Pixelord released his latest LP, Hypnorave.

It would be an understatement to state that Pixelord has been an XLR8R favorite over the years—have a quick scan of the tag and you’ll be treated with a wealth of features. His music has always managed to transcend genre and sidestep trends with understated style, a freewheeling attitude the staff at XLR8R has always been drawn to. On his new album, this trend continues with 10 tracks that defy logic. As is the case with much of his music, there’s a futuristic heart sitting at the center of the album; from the ethereal opener “Dreams” to the spacey bass grooves of the title track and the closing cut’s pensive atmospheres, the music presented sounds like it’s beamed from an alternate future or a far off planet. Hypnorave is yet another standout album from a producer that can’t seem to do any wrong.

In support of the release, Pixelord has offered up the title track as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below. You can pick up the full album here.

Due to issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can download the track here.

Influences 12: Ripperton

A decade has passed since Raphaël Ripperton appeared under the guise of his second name. Born in the ’70s, an exciting time for music if ever there was one, he grew up in the small town of Lausanne, Switzerland and began DJing as a teenager with friends in 1992, before experimenting with production just a few years later alongside friend Sacha Unger. Much of his early tastes were defined by local radio show “Pump it Up Live” on Radio Couleur 3, which featured international guests such as Mandrax, Tony Humphries, and Mr Fingers, among others. “At that time I was making roller-skates and skateboards, and I guess those shows made me want to be a DJ,” he recalls.   

Ripperton’s Influences podcast covers these early years until his 30s, a period that’s seen him spend many hours scouring record stores, both as a worker and a customer, professional and hobbyist; tour the world as a DJ; indulge in any television and cinéma (a great source of new music); and amass a quite remarkable discography, solo and in various collaborations, encompassing house, soul, disco, ambient, and even indie-oriented works. Reflecting on the records that have influenced him the most over these 15+ years, Ripperton compiled a list and whittled it down to a select few that stand out in his mind. “I chose these records because I remember them vividly when I think about this period of my life,” he explains. “I wanted to be as true as possible, and not invent a past as a crate digger because it was not possible to find good records in Lausanne. Sometimes I had to wait five years just to get one 12″.” 

The result, therefore, is a thoroughly engaging and wildly diverse mix that you feel only someone with Ripperton’s sort of musical upbringing could compile. There’s something for clubbers, sure, but the beauty of this mix comes in the eclecticism: split into two sides fit for a tape for Ripperton’s children, it pairs contemporary artists like Massive Attack, Radiohead, Tricky, and Carl Craig with obscure French forgotten gems in a way that works though you know it really shouldn’t. Some tracks will inspire nostalgia, some a certain melancholy, and some sheer joy, and some all of the above. So put your headphones in and check out the records that made Raphaël Ripperton drop his first name. 

“When you asked me to do this podcast I said “Yes” without thinking but then I took it way too seriously. You brought me back to my early years, when everything was possible and exciting. I couldn’t put everything I wanted on; there’s too much of it and what a mess my inspirations are. I couldn’t do it as a usual podcast, so I figured out that 100 min k7 will be the best option and so I made a tape for my children. Like in the good ol’ days! I hope you’ll appreciate it for what it is: a period in time.” — Ripperton

Due to issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can download the podcast here.

01. Plastic Bertrand “Tout petit la planète” 

As teenager, I was exposed to a lot of French shit music (even if this one is from the always on point Belgium), it’s the advantage of living next to the country of “La Variété” and having access to the three French television channels. With hindsight, I realize how much it has influenced… and not just in “good” honestly and whether I like it or not; it’s part of my culture and you can also hear Daft Punk’s inspiration here. 

02. Vanessa “Ne Pars Pas, Je Veux T’aimer” 

Obviously I spent all my youth in the ’80s. Disco mobiles, the end of summer camp with “la boum.” With all the good and bad things that this implies. But what keeps me warm from this period is this naivety, nostalgia, and the positivity you can hear  in this Swiss ’80s synth-disco gem. 

03. Betty Wright “If You Abuse My Love”

Much of our electronic knowledge and culture has come from tapes, VHS, and radio broadcasting. You know when you left the family table at Christmas to go launch a recording in your room, when each shared tape gave the big thrill. Tony Humphries, Kid Batchelor, Jack’Omollo, Djaimin; just talking about it gives me the chills because I have made a large part of my culture like that. I was a teenager in front of his radio and his most precious possession that moment was his walkman. I had to leave home early enough to go to boarding school and music has always been my escape. I’ve always been lonely and I’ve always enjoyed it. 

04. Arthur Russell “Get Around to It”

There’s finally little doubt that Arthur will find himself in every other mix here and there. Pure genius, unique sounds, and new discovery with each listening. It’s an endless source of inspiration. 

05. The KLF “Chill Out” 

The first time I heard the KLF, it was in a hotel by the sea in Tuscany. I’ve never heard that before and I remember asking the bartender to make me a copy of his tape for my walkman. I listened to this cassette over and over throughout the holidays. I must have been 16 years old. God knows I hate the name chill out because of what it encompasses now. But this…

06. Julie Cruise “Into the Night”

I mean, when we saw Lynch’s Twin Peaks arrive at 8:30 PM on a Tuesday night on national TV I think my world just stopped. For me music is very much linked to memory and cinema. 

07. Björk “Hyperballad” 

Bjork is the sorcerer. My favorite… I like everything about her. Even if there have been some painful albums, she has always made her own path in music. She is so different TO everyone else, she is magical. 

08. Mc Solaar “La concubine de l’hemoglobine” 

French music is an integral part of my musical culture. Thanks to guys like MC Solaar that I found that French could be graceful and direct. I have done some songs with my friend Van Hai who has the same writing skills on tracks like Dernier amour or Chaos Calm. Those years were also very dark, with the explosion of hard drug use and AIDS. I think we’ve all lost friends like that. Not just good memories.   

09. Carl Craig “At les”

Carl is the prince of techno, he’s already done everything, he is humble, he’s an example. He’s in my top three of my favorite producers of all time. 

10. Craig Mack “Flava in y’a Ear” 

We spent our evenings at the leisure centre listening to Tribe, Digable Planets, Solaar, or De la soul. We danced or skated outside, breakdance was fine too. It was an incredibly fertile and positive time. I loved it when those albums came out, those new directions…

11. Herbert & Dani Siciliano “I Hadn’t Know (I only heard)”

Herbert was also a huge slap in the face. A genius without equivalent in electronic music. When I heard his remix for Moloko I thought I was dying. I saw him several times live disguised as Dr. Rockit with his sampler, his boilers and his packet of chips. I saw him with his jazz band in Montreux or in Barcelona cooking music. How to put everyday life into music with everyday instruments. I enjoyed his work with Dani Siciliano so much… the perfect beat. You can refer to him as Mr. AKAI S612.  

12. Nina Simone “Live at Ronnie Scott”

The most fascinating woman. Not even a Lion has his presence. 

What a shitty life, what an injustice until the end. But what an artist… I really like live albums more than studio albums. If you’ve never seen Nina’s DVD live in Montreux you’ll see what I mean. 

No compromises. Never, ever.

13. Tricky “Black Steel”  

This album is just great. Fusion of good taste. I ate next to him not long ago at the Michel Berger. I didn’t dare say hello… Tricky is a fascinating musician.

14. Fennesz “Rivers of Sand”

How to make a world out of a guitar.

15. Massive Attack “Protection”

The first time I heard protection was at night in my car on the radio with my friend Van Hai. I think we stopped the car so much we were hallucinating (thanks to the weed). Tracey Thorn is so amazing on this song and the piano from Craig Armstrong….. You know that time when the radios played incredible songs late at night and you had to wait a month before the records came out… An essential reference since then, as much for the work of Nellee Hooper, emotion, collaborative work as for quality over the length. 

16. Mood II Swing “Searchin” (Dub)

These two have radically changed my life. It’s certainly the guys who have influenced me the most. This unique way of mixing feelings, house and what a beautiful name “Mood 2 Swing”. They wrote beautiful songs, it’s also with this kind of garage music that I started as a dj and when I started producing they were always in a corner of my head. 

17. A HOMEBOY “A Hippy”

For me a beautiful evening is a small club, a mixed audience, gays everywhere, dark corners, drag queens and that was the kind of anthem from these parties. I miss this madness too often nowadays. 

18. Silicon soul “Who Needs to Sleep Tonight?”

First time I heard this I was working behind the counter at Tracks Records store in Lausanne in the ’90s. It has become a bit like my personal anthem. This song is pure magic. Thanks to Disco B! 

19. Depeche Mode ” Enjoy the Silence”  

I remember running into my cousin Laurent in a record store and it was my birthday. He bought me Violator. 
God, what a slap. The same cousin also had an ATARI and a synthesizer at home. Something I could never have even dreamed of owning. 

My first home studio excitement.  

20. Radiohead “Everything in its Right Place 

Radiohead have been with me all my life. This is definitely the perfect opening track to a perfect album.

Ripperton recently returned to Drumpoet Community with a six-track EP, his first release under his Headless Ghost moniker in two years. Info here.

Acronym & Kali Malone ‘The Torrid Eye’

Score: 7.5/10

Let’s not call Acronym and Kali Malone a supergroup, but anyone with a close eye on the Scandinavian electronic and experimental scene will have been duly excited by the pairing on Stilla Ton’s third EP. With his label still in its inaugural year, Swedish techno maestro Acronym—real name Dan Vicente—has challenged himself with each release on the imprint, exploring minimal synth as producer on POST.23’s Whispers, acid on his own Burgundy EP, and now drone techno on The Torrid Eye. 

His collaborator here is the exciting Kali Malone, an American who moved to Stockholm at 18 with fellow drone artist Ellen Arkbro, where she met Vicente and creative sparks inevitably flew. The result of those sparks is as intriguing as anything in either artist’s oeuvre, and largely centres around the Buchla 200 synthesiser pictured on the record sleeve. The instrument is synonymous with drone music, with a complex system of modules that make it ideal for examining a single, sustained note from any conceivable angle.

The combination of Buchla and beatmaker indicates an experiment in drone techno, which is a surprisingly fallow genre considering the fairly logical marriage of sounds. Daniel Avery’s wonderful Drone Logic is perhaps the style’s defining work, not just because of its title (which may or may not refer to a London mephedrone epidemic of the time) but because of the constant bed of noise fizzing beneath the album’s clubby loops. The Torrid Eye is not quite as dingy as Drone Logic though, as its elements of darkness are frequently won over by evocations of light. 

That contrast is clear in the record’s opening two tracks. The vacuum-cleaner hum of opener “Call from the Tower” is brooding, sombre, unremarkable, and all but forgotten within the first four bars of the subsequent “A Sunspot.” Easily the EP’s standout, the track is a vintage Acronym synth loop and kick drum set against Malone’s wailing drone-tones, testament to a winning collaboration on its own. When the beat is drowned at the track’s conclusion, I can’t help but yearn for it to rise again, ushering in another five minutes in which to bask gloriously.

A quick primer to the world of Scandi techno might be to imagine Kompakt-style microhouse at a few degrees below freezing. Acronym frequently finds rewards in the cold, as in the frosty June, but Malone here provides a contrasting element of hygge (for the uninitiated, “hygge” is a Scandinavian word for cosiness that’s popped up in recent years everywhere from the Guardian to adverts for rubbish beer). “Legs of the Fly,” for instance, is carried by a chugging steam train of a beat that might feel relentless without the comforting drones which rumble underneath. 

Another of the record’s successful combinations is that of Buchla and human voice on “Tarmar.” Whether you can understand the lyrics or not—and I most certainly cannot—the effect of the echoey intonations is sublime, like hearing a distant Cocteau Twins rehearsal in an underground station. It nods towards the cold wave inflexions of POST.23’s Whispers EP, as well as recent records from contemporaries like Curses and Boy Harsher. 

Then it’s over. Though it’s at standard EP runtime, it’s hard not to wish that The Torrid Eye was just a bit longer. Perhaps because drone music is typically conveyed in languorous dirges, the record feels a bit like an album truncated into EP length. Whether a long-player might some day materialise from these two is unclear, but with them both in this kind of form we’ll certainly be hoping it does. 

Tracklisting

01. Call From the Tower

02. Legs of the Fly

03. A Sunspot

04. Tarmar

05. Tempest of Joy

The Torrid Eye EP is out now via Stilla Ton, with “Tempest of Joy” streaming in full below. 

Acronym & Kali Malone ‘The Torrid Eye’

Score: 7.5/10

Let’s not call Acronym and Kali Malone a supergroup, but anyone with a close eye on the Scandinavian electronic and experimental scene will have been duly excited by the pairing on Stilla Ton’s third EP. With his label still in its inaugural year, Swedish techno maestro Acronym—real name Dan Vicente—has challenged himself with each release on the imprint, exploring minimal synth as producer on POST.23’s Whispers, acid on his own Burgundy EP, and now drone techno on The Torrid Eye. 

His collaborator here is the exciting Kali Malone, an American who moved to Stockholm at 18 with fellow drone artist Ellen Arkbro, where she met Vicente and creative sparks inevitably flew. The result of those sparks is as intriguing as anything in either artist’s oeuvre, and largely centres around the Buchla 200 synthesiser pictured on the record sleeve. The instrument is synonymous with drone music, with a complex system of modules that make it ideal for examining a single, sustained note from any conceivable angle.

The combination of Buchla and beatmaker indicates an experiment in drone techno, which is a surprisingly fallow genre considering the fairly logical marriage of sounds. Daniel Avery’s wonderful Drone Logic is perhaps the style’s defining work, not just because of its title (which may or may not refer to a London mephedrone epidemic of the time) but because of the constant bed of noise fizzing beneath the album’s clubby loops. The Torrid Eye is not quite as dingy as Drone Logic though, as its elements of darkness are frequently won over by evocations of light. 

That contrast is clear in the record’s opening two tracks. The vacuum-cleaner hum of opener “Call from the Tower” is brooding, sombre, unremarkable, and all but forgotten within the first four bars of the subsequent “A Sunspot.” Easily the EP’s standout, the track is a vintage Acronym synth loop and kick drum set against Malone’s wailing drone-tones, testament to a winning collaboration on its own. When the beat is drowned at the track’s conclusion, I can’t help but yearn for it to rise again, ushering in another five minutes in which to bask gloriously.

A quick primer to the world of Scandi techno might be to imagine Kompakt-style microhouse at a few degrees below freezing. Acronym frequently finds rewards in the cold, as in the frosty June, but Malone here provides a contrasting element of hygge (for the uninitiated, “hygge” is a Scandinavian word for cosiness that’s popped up in recent years everywhere from the Guardian to adverts for rubbish beer). “Legs of the Fly,” for instance, is carried by a chugging steam train of a beat that might feel relentless without the comforting drones which rumble underneath. 

Another of the record’s successful combinations is that of Buchla and human voice on “Tarmar.” Whether you can understand the lyrics or not—and I most certainly cannot—the effect of the echoey intonations is sublime, like hearing a distant Cocteau Twins rehearsal in an underground station. It nods towards the cold wave inflexions of POST.23’s Whispers EP, as well as recent records from contemporaries like Curses and Boy Harsher. 

Then it’s over. Though it’s at standard EP runtime, it’s hard not to wish that The Torrid Eye was just a bit longer. Perhaps because drone music is typically conveyed in languorous dirges, the record feels a bit like an album truncated into EP length. Whether a long-player might some day materialise from these two is unclear, but with them both in this kind of form we’ll certainly be hoping it does. 

Tracklisting

01. Call From the Tower

02. Legs of the Fly

03. A Sunspot

04. Tarmar

05. Tempest of Joy

The Torrid Eye EP is out now via Stilla Ton, with “Tempest of Joy” streaming in full below. 

Loop Exposure Debut on Zendid’s Timeframe

Adrien Doumenge and Lenny Mailleau (a.k.a Zendid) have welcomed Loop Exposure to their Timeframe label. 

Loop Exposure is a young French production and duo, based in Paris, with previous releases on Rakya Records and Basse Resolution. This is their fourth release, and features four playful minimal house and troche tracks 

Zendid launched Timeframe last year with their Am Isobho EP. 

Tracklisting

A1. Take Care

A2. Arkufen

B1. 6PM

B2. Elastic Harmony

Elastic Harmony EP is out now, with clips below. 

For more information on Zendid, read our feature here or listen to the podcast here. 

David Firth Returns to Brainfeeder Films for Retrospective Animation Film

David Firth has returned with Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder Films for the release of full-length retrospective animation film Umbilical World.  

We’re told that various styles of unreleased and previously released animation sequences are stitched together, boldly exploring regions of the psyche rarely presented in cinema. The label describes it as “13 years worth of animated madness, stitched together to form a single stream of nightmare consciousness.” 

Umbilical World is the follow up to last year’s short-film Cream, with Firth producing, directing, writing, animating, and voicing the entire work. The DVD version includes a making-of documentary, complete with audio commentary from Firth. 

Last year, Firth released the Drownscapes album with Brainfeeder under his Locust Toybox moniker, joining the ranks of the label as one of the more seasoned and experimental artists to start a new path with them. Firth also co-wrote the Flying Lotus film Kuso, solidifying their creative relationship. 

David Firth is a British animator, musician and writer best known for creating dark, comedic, bizarre shorts. He’s been disturbing the internet since the early 2000s and scored a viral hit with the Salad Fingers series.

Umbilical World is available now, with the trailer below. 

Angelo Repetto “Tomorrow Never Knows”

Earlier this month, Angelo Repetto released his debut album, Roboto, via Default Mode Records.

Most known as one-half of Wolfman, a duo formed in 2013 with Katerina Stoykova, Repetto now steps out in solo mode, presenting an album that looks to capture his ambivalent relationship with techno via brushes with ambient, synth-pop, wave, kraut, IDM, and acid. As the first release under Repetto’s given name, Roboto is a marked step in his career, and was birthed from a stint living in Berlin, as he explains:

“Before I started working on this LP, I released a couple of EPs under the pseudonym Nkelo, so this one is actually the first release under my real name. I think I couldn’t release under my real name before because I was still searching for my sound. In fact, I’m still searching, and probably always will be, but the difference now is that I know where to look for it.

“I spent half a year in Berlin in 2017 and it was there that I started to work on this material. I finished the tracks back in my studio in Zurich. Looking back on the process, I have to say that the significant work happened here. I somehow had to get rid of all the cool music that I absorbed in Berlin and find my own musical language again.

“I’m quite a maniac when it comes to releasing music. I’m super happy in my studio working on new stuff but every time I’m about to release something I somehow start to freak out and keep telling myself that the world doesn’t need more music and that there’s no reason why anyone should listen to my music. It’s a nightmare. As an artist I think it’s important to question myself in order to grow, but sometimes I also need to relax… Not everything is a matter of life or death, even though it sometimes feels like it. But this time I told myself not to freak out—I did anyway—and to do it right from the beginning.”

In support of the release, Repetto has offered up album cut “Tomorrow Never Knows,” an emotive synth-driven track that sounds like the soundtrack to a sci-fi film from another dimension. 

You can pick up “Tomorrow Never Knows” via the link below, with the album available here.

Due to issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can download the track here.

Page 297 of 3781
1 … 295 296 297 298 299 … 3,781