Leifur James is Back with a “Collaborative” and “Personal” New Album

Leifur James will release his third album on Night Time Stories in November.

Magic Seeds is a rebirth of sorts, and his most collaborative and personal offering yet. “It feels more vulnerable and open,” James says. “I’ve never felt like being front and centre, but I found myself there on this record.”

At the origin of the recording of the album, James went into the studio in London with drummer Leo Taylor (from Floating Points Ensemble), violinist Raven Bush (Speakers Corner Quartet), and producer/engineer Oli Bayston.

“It was just the four of us in a room for one day, improvising and enjoying the thrill of playing together,” James says. “I wanted that feeling of a real room of musicians, nothing too sampled—like the old records.”

He was thinking of the Talk Talk record Spirit of Eden, “the way they wrote it for months in the dark and then heavily edited it afterwards,” James adds. “I wanted that feeling of a real room of musicians, rather than using samples.”

Relocating to Lisbon, Portugal in 2022, James embarked on the mammoth task of editing those sessions down, rearranging everything over the following two years.

Alone in a new place, he could focus on rearranging everything “with laser-like precision.”

The live recordings, as well as the analogue synthesisers, “lends the album an organic pulse and rhythmic looseness,” we’re told, “while its cavernous atmosphere and grainy layers call to mind trip-hop giants Massive Attack and hip-hop producer Madlib.”

Alongside the announcement, James has shared “Smoke in the Air.”

We’re told that the album illuminates James as a composer who is “capable of taking listeners to great highs and plunging them into inky depths; moody and moving music that feels equally airy, as if it was composed outside, under the moon.”

James released A Louder Silence, his debut album, in 2018, and Angel in Disguise followed in 2020.

Tracklisting

01. Smoke In The Air
02. Magic Seeds
03. Measure Of Mind
04. Euphoria
05. Forest Of Love
06. Inner Child
07. Lay
08. Wake Up Spring
09. Room 68
10. Alive

Magic Seeds LP is scheduled for November 8 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Smoke In The Air” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Influences 27: Rabit

Rabit—the artist born Eric C. Burton in Houston, Texas—is a storyteller documenting the American South primarily through sound. He grew up on the East Coast before moving to Texas aged 21. Before making music, he was a prolific graffiti artist, but gave it up as costs started to spiral. “It became really expensive to keep getting arrested,” he told Mixmag. He began making music after listening to to Madlib and Pete Rock, and later he discovered the grime scene and producers like Zomby and Burial, who felt like an evolution of the dark electronic acts like Massive Attack, Portishead, and Björk that he listened to during his teenage years. After dozens of white-label releases, he officially appeared with his debut album, Communion, in 2015, and after that he has worked with Björk on her Grammy-nominated Utopia album and has since ventured more deeply into grime, hip-hop, post-industrial, and dream pop with a series of mix-tapes—most recently with LIL BOY, a collection of music he produced and recorded over the summer. (His latest album of original music, What Dreams May Come, is a collaborative multimedia record on his label, Halcyon Veil.) All this has established him as one of electronic music’s most bold and experimental artists and, on this edition of Influences, he delivers a selection of his favorite tracks from artists that continue to inspire his work.

“Sometimes the feel of a track hits you in the right moment and it resonates for a long time—
drum machine patterns, chants, bells, and whirs. Empty space, ephemeral noise locked in a tight coil, then moments with not a lot of space to breathe. In this mix you’ll hear some sounds that compel me to keep scraping the fringes of what we call electronic, dance, and rap, or more broadly the umbrella of street culture for me. Just your regular everyday beat geniuses telling their stories through loops, hitting buttons and keys.” — Rabit

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Art of Noise “Moments In Love”
02. Kstylis “Booty Me Down”
03. UGK “She Luv It”
04. DJ Blaqstarr & Rye Rye “Shake It To The Ground”
05. DJ Tylermania “Borkulator”
06. M.I.A. “Bird Flu”
07. 50 Cent “Ayo Technology” (Instrumental)
08. Ms. Cristal “Hoe You Just Mad”
09. Skyshaker x Samantha James x OG Maco “U NEXT”
10. Sugur Shane “Soulja Cunt”
11. Sugur Shane “Buddah vs Sugur”
12. Byrell The Great “Aktivate”
13. Skream “Midnight Request Line”
14. Logos “Alien Shapes” (feat. Dusk & Blackdown)
15. Zomby “Dusk & Blackdown Minimix 2009” (Eski Showcase) (Slowed)

Podcast 867: Dan Ghenacia

The influence of Dan Ghenacia—a kingpin of the Paris underground music community—on global electronic music can hardly be overstated. He fell in love with music whilst spending a year in California in his early 20s and upon his return to Paris he opened up his own record store and started a series of afterparties, where he honed his distinctive techno-meets-deep-house sound as a DJ. It was at these parties that he met Dyed Soundorom and Shonky, both of whom he released on his own Freak N’Chic label, and with whom he would go on to form Apollonia, a DJ trio that delivers a mix of disco, house, and minimal that transcends time, inviting listeners to forget reality. With Soundorom and Shonky, Ghenacia became a resident at DC10 in Ibiza, rocking a prime-time Terrace slot almost every other week, but if he’s not there he can often be found at a villa after-hours or daytime beach party, getting deep into everything warm and groovy. Next week, Ghenacia will release an EP called Rouge Ou Noir—a collection of house and disco fusions—via Stratasonic and to mark the occasion he’s delivered a much-anticipated XLR8R podcast. Tune in for one hour of irresistible groove.

01. What have you been up to recently?
It’s been a busy summer season for me. I’ve been performing at gigs all over Europe, with many dates in Ibiza, where I was based. I’ve also been working on a side project called “Have a Good Trip: Ibiza,” an exhibition which involves aerial photography and videography captured from planes.

02. What have you been listening to?
Lately, I’ve been preparing playlists for my son Isaac on Spotify—he’s six years old. The playlists feature classic music from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, as I’m trying to bring quality music into our home. We’ve been enjoying a lot of funk, soul, and some classic French pop songs. Of course, I’m also constantly digging into my own music collection and exploring new tracks on the internet and in record shops to feed my DJ sets.

03. Can you tell me some more about your recent EP?
The EP is titled Rouge et Noir. I recorded it at Martin Buttrich’s studio in LA. I went in with a lot of samples and a clear vision of what I wanted to create. We used vintage gear, and the whole process was spontaneous and fun. Martin invited me to work in his studio between two of my gigs, and we managed to complete everything in just five intense days. I’m really pleased with the outcome.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded this mix at my place in Ibiza just a week ago, so it’s very fresh.

05. What setup did you use?
I used two Technics SL-1200 MK2 turntables, two CDJ-3000s, and an Allen & Heath XONE:96 mixer.

06. How did you go about choosing the tracks that you’ve included?
I wanted to include tracks from my EP Rouge et Noir, as well as another track called “Chili.” I built the mix around these tracks, focusing on creating a cohesive one-hour set.

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
The mix reflects what I typically do in a club, but with special attention to how it will be heard in a home environment.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
My schedule is looking good for the rest of the year. I’m focused on the upcoming gigs, in solo and alongside Apollonia. Now that summer is over, I’m looking forward to spending more time in my studio and making new music. I can’t wait to dive back into creating and experimenting.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Paolo Driver / In_To_The_Funk” (Unreleased)
02. He did “Proveedor” (Franco Cinelli Remix) “Spas Records”
03. Dan Ghenacia “Chilly” (Stratasonic)
04. Newington Heights “Smoke” (Instrumental) (Truelove electronic Communications)
05. Nonna Fab “Rough culture” (Feelings Worldwide)
06. Dan Ghenacia “Rouge ou Noir” (Stratasonic)
07. Sound Set “So in Love With You (Redub) (Oversky Records)
08. Dexter “Lazey Bones” (Sushitech)
09. DC (Rabbit in the Moon ) “Hazed Disconnected” (Hallucination)
10. Ricky Montanari & Davide Ruberto “Let You Heart Beat” (Time less)
11. Infra-Red “Metamorphosis” (R2R Mix( Strobe Records)
12. Unknown “Unknown” (Unreleased)

Moin’s Third Album is Incoming

Moin—the collaboration of Valentina Magaletti and Raime’s Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews—will release a new album in October on AD 93.

You Never End marks Moin’s shift into a new phase with vocal collaborations across the album from Olan Monk, james K, Coby Sey, and Sophia Al-Maria.

Across 11 tracks, Moin re-contextualise grunge, shoegaze, and indie rock with a “weirdly comforting melancholy while still sounding direct and alive,” we’re told.

Andrews and Halstead are best known for their work as Raime, through which they present a uniquely bleak take on post-dub music, with each work grounded in live instrumentation, gloomy synth lines, and unsettling, abstract vocals. The pair met Magaletti, an Italian multi-instrumentalist, just before the project started out, and in 2013 they put out an EP on Blackest Ever Black. They put out Paste, their second album, in 2022.

You can read more about the project here, alongside the group’s XLR8R podcast.

Tracklisting

01. Guess It’s Wrecked feat. Olan Monk
02. Cubby
03. Family Way feat. Sophia Al-Maria
04. What If You Didn’t Need A Reason feat. james K
05. Lift You feat. Sophia Al-Maria
06. It’s Messy Coping
07. We Know What Gives feat. Coby Sey
08. C’mon Dive
09. Anything But Sopo
10. Happy In The Wrong Way
11. Just Married

You Never End LP is scheduled for October 25 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Guess It’s Wrecked” in full via the player below, and pre-order here.

Photo: Amy Gwatkin

Murcof Next on InFiné Music

InFiné Music will release Twin Color (Vol 1), the new album from Murcof, born Fernando Corona.

Twin Color (Vol 1) marks the Mexican-born, Spanish artist’s first full-length album after nearly two decades, following the release of Cosmos in 2007.

Known for his minimalist classical textures and ambient soundscapes, Corona takes a bold step in this new album, embracing “a cinematic, dystopian sound,” we’re told, influenced by 1980s sci-fi films like “Blade Runner.” Across nine tracks, he intertwines “dark atmospheres with nostalgic brightness, drawing on post-punk and synth-wave influences.”

The album came to life in 2020, shaped by the early days of the pandemic lockdowns. Corona had just turned 50 and found himself in a wistful mood while revisiting his poppier material from the ’80s.

“I continued working in my studio, as I always do, but even more so because of being locked down,” he remembers. “I was fooling around with some ideas, mostly with my synthesizers, and introduced a few tracks with a bit of a nostalgic vibe to them.”

All of a sudden, Corona found himself sitting on a body of tracks that were more direct than atmospheric.

We’re also told that the album’s narrative structure is akin to a film, with each track unfolding like a scene in a larger story.

In collaboration with Brussels-based visual artist Simon Geilfus, Corona has also developed an audio-visual performance that premiered at Mutek Montreal in August 2024.

Corona started dabbling in music in the 1980s. He found his footing in the influential Nortec Collective before unveiling his Murcof alias in 2002, after moving from Tijuana to near Barcelona.

Ahead of the release, Murcof has shared “All These Worlds (Part II),” a track that was originally conceived as part of a video game soundtrack, which was canceled.

“When the game fell through, I revisited the music I had been working on. ‘All These Worlds’ fitted perfectly within the emerging concept of Twin Color, so I developed it further, aligning it with the album’s aesthetic,” Murcof explains.

Tracklisting

01. Going Home (IRCAM version)
02. Cosmic Drifter
03. All These Worlds Part. I
04. All These Worlds Part. II
05. Night Break
06. Tomorrow Part. II
07. They Glow
08. Enemy
09. Fight

Twin Color (Vol. I) LP is scheduled for November 15 release. Meanwhile, you can stream

Photo: Phillipe Barbosa

Podcast 866: Van Boom

Born and raised in Kuwait, Van Boom is an outsider at home—an artist inhibited by the obligation to limit his self-expression due to the top-down restrictions local to the region. He pursued music after discovering techno music online. “As an artist in Kuwait, I often feel that there are many limitations that others may not fully understand,” he told XLR8R. “However, being exposed to the scene abroad from online communities has been a privilege, helping me pave a path I never expected to gain recognition for.” His music was first unleashed on the EP frown in 2019 and the following year’s MORFEUS EP for London’s ANBA label, and in the years since he’s featured on a number of shows on NTS and been tapped for Boiler Room‘s Hard Dance mix series. In 2022, his debut album, Prosthetics, found a fitting home on Varg2TM’s Cease 2 Exist label, representing his dedication to exploring the wide-ranging possibilities of hard-hitting techno music. For this week’s XLR8R podcast, he has compiled an hour of various strains of typically abrasive sonics.

01. What have you been up to lately?
I’ve been away from the scene for nearly a year, and now that I’m back in my hometown, Kuwait, things feel more peaceful and different – almost surreal. I recently released my EP, NUBORNE, and I’ve been pouring my energy into new projects with a stronger focus on live performances.

02. What have you been listening to?
It’s a lot of Kali Malone music.

03. What is it that appeals to you about dance music?
It’s always been the atmosphere of an industrial landscape that draws me in. It captures the essence of sounds from raw blends and mechanical energy, with hypnotic rhythms that convey a powerful and cathartic layer.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
I record my mixes and tracks in my bedroom in Kuwait; it’s the only time and space where I feel comfortable to construct.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks?
It’s about finding the right balance in sound, whether it’s impactful or focused on complex sound design. This balance allows me to discover more and highlight the value within the scope of the artist’s work.

06. What can the listener expect?
A lot of noise!

07. What’s next on your horizon?
As of now, I’m working on multiple projects with new artists I’m quietly producing. I’m also gearing up for my upcoming Fall Tour in Europe, starting on August 30, which I’m really excited about. It’s a fantastic form of escapism, but we’ll see what the future holds.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Ship Sket “Perverting Baile” (Self-Release)
02. Teya Logos “THIS IS MY BODY” (Self-Release)
03. Shygirl “Slime” (Van Boom Remix) (Unreleased)
04. Klahrk “On The Circuit” feat. Kattie (Self-Release)
05. Lag Switch “Abyss Watcher” (Self-Release)
06. SlugoS “La Toca” (Gomboc Records)
07. Alex Farell “Dance Murderer” (NineTimesNine)
08. Spiderwrap “Downshift” (NO BORDERS)
09. Diasiva “Grappling” (Bedouin Records)
10. Rob Zombie “Superbeast” (Van Boom Remix) (Unreleased)
11. Chrissie “Loneliest Girl” (Self-Release)
12. 00ff1a “rusted ◌” feat. sv1 (KAVARI Remix) (Self-Release)
13. A Body Without “Sigil Mutant Modality” (Mutant Modality)
14. Maze DK “Tramp The Street” (Mutant Modality)
15. Varg2TM “DNA PLAY” feat. Bladee & Ecco2k (Oblinof Edit) (Self-Release)
16. Neurite “Black Eyes Caedite Eos” (Caedite Eos)
17. KLAUDIO “60 ⍕ X 60 8” (Self-Release)
18. Estoc “SAVE PISS!” (estoc x bbymutha x re4) (Self-Release)
19. KFR “There is Something I Can’t Find” feat.Maya Alkhateri (Unreleased)
20. Escha & Ytem “Knightsbridge Lady Soup” (Sea Cucumber)

Arsenal Mikebe, a Ugandan Percussion Ensemble, Next on Nyege Nyege Tapes

Nyege Nyege Tapes will release a new album from Arsenal Mikebe, a Ugandan percussion ensemble.

The band is made up of percussionists Ssentongo Moses, Dratele Epiphany, and Luyambi Vincent de Paul, and it was co-founded by Portuguese artist Jonathan Uliel Saldanha. They released and perform a heavy style of drumming interspersed with soul vocals and jungle-infused trance.

To make their music, they use a custom instrument dreamt up by Ugandan master sculptor Henry Segamwenge, better known simply as Sega. By reverse engineering Roland’s iconic TR-808 beatbox, they devised a steel-cast “percussion machine” that allows Arsenal Mikebe to seamlessly integrate bass-heavy electronic sounds into their frenetic performances.

Drum Machine is a “rhythmic masterclass that’s impossible to slot into any niche or category,” we’re told, on which kinetic beats “appear to bisect each other, slipping between time signatures as fluidly as they pierce the membrane between the organic and the digital.”

Tracklisting

01. Okuleekaana
02. Amazina
03. Omuzimu
04. Boiller Omukka
05. Masiini
06. Bell Ghost

Drum Machine LP will land on September 6. Meanwhile, you can stream “Omuzimu” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Podcast 865: CS + Kreme

CS + Kreme are Conrad Standish and Sam Karmel—two experimental Australian musicians. Over the past decade, they have released a series of disparate records on DIY labels that share their ethos: Total Stasis, Wichelroede, Efficient Space, Latency and The Trilogy Tapes, where they issued the Snoopy and Orange LPs in 2020 and 2022 respectively. On their third full-length, The Butterfly Drinks the Tears of the Tortoise—landing in September—the pair delve deeper into the meticulously designed rabbit hole of their combined psyche. Transcending style and space, CS + Kreme don’t follow a philosophy of making music, what they do is more fluid, taking in dub processing, sweeping post-punk, and chamber soundscapes. In Karmel’s words: “Inherently, there are influences that come through without us even realizing. It’s kind of that cliché where people put their two cents forward for what our influences are, but I don’t think we’ve set out to be like anyone or anything.” Ahead of the album’s release, they’ve recorded a long overdue XLR8R podcast, filling it with low, hallucinatory experimental tracks from some of their favorite artists.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been busy getting a new live set together for upcoming European tour.

02. What have you been listening to?
It’s mostly covered within this mix, but some other stuff that hasn’t made it onto here: the new Howard Thomas record, Skin Breaker, on Sound Signature; Nidia & Valentina; Ilaiyaraaja specials on NTS; PLO Man’s show on NTS (lots of NTS really); Covco mixes; new Klein; the latest The Trilogy Tapes cassettes.

03. You have a new album coming. What can you tell us about it?
Yes, on The Trilogy Tapes. It’s called The Butterfly Drinks the Tears of the Tortoise and it also features Yuki Nakagawa of KAKUHAN and Teguh Permana of Tarawangsawelas as special guests.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded it in bed last night. In Australia.

05. What setup did you use?
One laptop and a cat.

06. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
It’s just stuff I’ve been enjoying lately. Mostly newer stuff with some older bits in there, like Klaus. There’s no theme at all or DJ wizardry going on; it’s just nice music for you.

07. Where do you imagine it being listened to?
I would say in transit? Probably on the subway or driving at night.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
We both like to work and keep quite busy. We’re looking forward to the European tour next week and then there’s possibly some stuff in Japan a little later in the year. We will probably recharge a bit over the Australian summer, and then who knows?

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Monolake “Global Transport” (Unknown)
02. Specter “The Spirit” (Sound Signature)
03. CO/R “Dripback” (Hinge Finger)
04. Time Is Away “Turn On Arabic Radio Oscura” (Self-Released)
05. Sylford Walker “I Can’t Understand” (EBT Rock)
06. Cornell Campbell “You’re No Good” (Lee)
07. Stephen Chang “Always Together” (Dub Store)
08. Chico Mello, Helinho Brandão “Improviso II” (Black Truffle)
09. Gray/Smith “Verrazzano Tile” (Blank Forms)
10. ccAATHOLIC CHURGH “RENATALOOP” (CDR)
11. Obscuress “Nemesis” (Spencer Dobbs)
12. Zbigniew Preisner “Effroyables Jardins par Leszek Mozdzer” (2ème Version Piano) (A Colourful Storm)
13. Klaus “Cry Tuff” (Tanum)
14. Milan W. “Days In My Arms” (Stroom)

Soela Next on Scissor and Thread

Soela—the DJ-production alias of Elina Shorokhova, a Russia-born Berlin-based pianist and vocalist—will release a new album on Francis Harris‘ Scissor and Thread.

Having released material on such labels including Kompakt, Lawrence‘s Dial, and Shall Not Fade, Shorokhova joins the ranks of the Brooklyn, New York label for this “exquisite album,” we’re told.

Across Dark Portrait, a “complex mix” of emotions plays out with tracks that utilize Shorokhova’s musicality and ear for details with skittering beats, ambient soundscapes, and lose-yourself dancefloor moments.

For more information on Francis Harris, check out his XLR8R podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Unsuitable
02. Through The Windows feat. Francis Harris & Philipp Priebe
03. Drowning feat. Module One
04. Dark Portrait
05. Lost In The Fog
06. February Is Not Going To Be Forever feat. Lawrence
07. Spirits
08. Even If I Ask You To Stay
09. The Darkest Hour Before Sunrise

Dark Portrait LP is scheduled for September 6 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Even If I Ask You To Stay” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Flying Lotus Drops New Track; Hear it Now

Flying Lotus is back with a brand new track, “Garmonbozia.”

“Garmonbozia” is Flying Lotus’ first single since “The Room” in 2022, and it features his own singing.

Drenched in a sludgy bass line while riding a beat that lurches back and forth, he sings of “pain and sorrow.” Midway through, the synths bloom into full ‘80s sci-fi, softening the song until it eventually fades to an unsettling gurgle.

Tracklisting

01. Garmonbozia

“Garmonbozia” is streaming below.

Photo: Fabrice Bourgelle

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