The XLR8R Office Top Ten Album Picks, July 16
Bruce HaackThe Electric LuciferThe Omni Corporation
If there were anything more compelling than a Canadian man singing about magic and love over Moog-driven, ’60s pop, we’d love to hear it. The Electric Lucifer crossed the threshold of electronic psychedelia far before a majority of “classic” analog acts, first hitting shelves in 1970. This Bruce Haack reissue is a timeless metaphysical journey to the stars. FM
Aesop RockNone Shall PassDefinitive Jux
Most of the tracks on Aesop’s newest don’t deviate from his bellowing funk past. But with the dub-style guitar lines on “Coffee,” the dark jazzy vibes of “No City,” and Cage’s brutal vocals on “Getaway Car,” None Shall Pass deserves its place at the top of the indie-rap empire. FM
Sunset RubdownRandom Spirit LoverJagjaguwar
If the Arcade Fire stepped into a grassy field, took a few caps, and attempted to improvise Xiu Xiu tracks, the result might sound like Sunset Rubdown. This Canadian quartet makes indie rock that beckons to no one, curtailing between acoustic Americana and lo-fi classical (if that’s at all possible). You’re friends may call you a sensitive man/woman for rocking this, but at least you can marvel over the weird (slightly out of place) goblin on the album sleeve. FM
Various Vintage Grooves: Funk Vol. 1Seamless Recordings
The Vintage Grooves series doesn’t exactly dig too deep with its latest two-disc comp of classic funk tracks, but in a way, that’s what’s makes it so great. Every single track on here is an iconic, funk-party classic. Sly Stone, Cymande, WAR, Jackie Mclean, Positive Funk–everyone should own this. RH
Ewan PearsonPiece Work!K7
At this point, Mr. Pearson needs no introduction. His latest release on !K7 showcases two discs’ worth of the dude’s remixes, and there isn’t a weak cut in the bunch. Whether working with bands like The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand or dark-dance babes Goldfrapp and Röyksopp, Pearson has a knack for transforming any type of track into a stretched-out dance monster. RH
UusitaloKarhunainenHuume
Many producers record under multiple names, but no one does it quite like Vladislav Delay, who uses each moniker to wholeheartedly represent a different side of his musical abilities. With the latest album under his Uusitalo disguise, Delay showcases his usual mastery of low-end techno intricacies, but Karhunainen (named after a play by his late father), is more introspective, haunting, and–dare I say it–poignant than anything this veteran producer has released to date. JM
The OscillationOut Of PhaseD.C. Recordings
With an admiration for dark space-disco and psychedelia, London’s D.C. Recordings has quietly become one of the best contemporary dance labels. The latest release from The Oscillation is certainly no exception. Filled with layered shoegaze drones, Kraut rhythms, and echoed vocals, Out of Phase is truly mind-fuck of a debut. RH
Zion TrainLive As OneUniversal Egg
The ninth full-length from the UK-based collective is steeped in the sounds of dub, but still makes room for a few unexpected twists in the song structures. Zion Train founding member Neil Perch lays his top-notch production skills alongside socially conscious lyrics, and guest appearances from veterans Tippa Irie and Earl 16, as well as newbies like YT and Lua, make this an album worthy of an immediate rush to the record store. ‘Nuff Respect! JM
Prefuse 73PreparationsWarp
No one makes relaxed, cinematic, cut-and-paste beats quite like Mr. Guillermo Scott Herren, and while his releases under other monikers are always intriguing, his best work always seems to come from his Prefuse project. While Preparations is perhaps not as epic as 2005’s Surrounded By Silence, its layered intricacies and textures are arguably Herren’s most mature and interesting yet. RH
Cut Copy “Hearts On Fire” 12” Modular
Whew! Now this piece of wax was a doozey to get our hands on. The first single from Cut Copy’s upcoming sophomore LP, “Hearts On Fire” finds the perfect medium of ’80s synth-pop references and modern production techniques (via DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy). I can’t even remember the last time a sax solo got us so stoked. (Okay, it was when editor Ken Taylor did karaoke to “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant.”) RH
Ross Holland
Fred Miketa
Jennifer Marston
Catalina Estrada: Spinfluences
It’s half past midnight and Catalina Estrada has just strolled in the door from a long evening on the Ramblas. Long, sun-drenched days and wine-soaked nights are standard for this Barcelona-based illustrator, whose work takes life’s love and light and amplifies it by thousands of watts.
Estrada, a 32-year-old Libra, was born in Colombia, and the richness of its natural landscapes has never left her mind–the country’s striking colors and vibrant flora and fauna are re-imagined in her highly symmetrical and incredibly ornate graphic worlds, where doe-eyed girls and boys (and does) nestle among candy-colored flowers, hummingbirds, and hearts.
Though satirical and nihilist attitudes are en vogue, Estrada isn’t afraid to make things that are heartfelt and positive; she says she prefers to create dreamlike utopian escapes rather than respond to squalor and suffering as seen on the nightly news. Her eye-pleasing work has not gone unnoticed, adorning everything from Coca-Cola bottles to snowboards to clothes from Custo Barcelona and Paul Smith. We asked this consummate dreamer to tell us about inspirations from the past and the present.
XLR8R: When did you realize you had your own style?
Catalina Estrada: A few years ago I was doing volunteer work helping foundations in Colombia. I was not getting paid so it allowed me to really think of how I wanted images to look. I decided to put lots of emotion and feeling into the images and that was the point where I created my own style: using lots of colors, lots of light, vivid elements. When you’re working for free, you better be sure you like what you are doing.
What are your inspirations?
I’ve always been very fond of religious imagery. I have been lucky to travel most of my life, and I’ve been collecting images of folk art from different countries. In Barcelona, the modern art museum is great, and so is the architecture–it has a lot of ornamentation and decoration. I also like lots of Latin American artists and naïve art.
What is your greatest treasure from your travels?
I’ve been trying to pick up small things so I don’t carry around a lot when I travel: stamps and small prints, little pieces of fabric, pieces of wallpaper and patterns from wherever. Since I was little, I’ve always collected wrapping papers and things like this. My grandmother collected stamps from all over the world, and it was always a great treasure to look at her albums and the art from different countries. Now, I have a box full of papers from everywhere and it’s my biggest treasure.
You’ve recently designed a jewelry collection, Katika, with your brother Nicolas, as well as wrapping paper for Nineteen Seventy Three. What is your dream product to make?
I want to design wallpapers for interiors and houses. And you know what else? I would love to design a whole china set. That’s my dream.
Do you ever get the urge to do darker stuff?
As far as a commercial graphic style, this is what clients have seen of my work and this is what they want. In my personal art’ did have darker periods and there have been these other images. You just go through different stages and you feel like painting or drawing different subjects. You feel different every day. I have some older stuff that has a lot of wolves in it; for me, they represent fear, either suffering from it or getting over it.
What was your most difficult moment as an artist?
When I lived in Colombia, I wanted to create interesting projects but there was never the budget. I got out of school in 1993 and a graphic design education was not common. You could never achieve what you had in mind. Mostly, I feel very lucky and very thankful to be an illustrator. I don’t see it as work so much; it mixes a lot with my art projects so I cannot tell the difference anymore.
Your husband, Pancho Tolchinsky, is a photographer. As a creative person, do you think it’s important that your romantic partner be someone creative?
Absolutely. Actually, my husband is a mathematician. He’s doing his doctorate in artificial intelligence. He’s helped me like crazy in my work. I would have never come to this stage without him. I’m very emotional and he’s more rational. He’s more analytical, more calmed down. It’s a good balance. He’s also very critical, and I think that’s been very important for me.
What do you listen to while you work?
I listen to music all the time. I love M. Ward, and I just went to see Edith Piaf. The best concert I went to recently was [by San Francisco folk outfit] Vetiver. It was in a really small place and it was so beautiful. Since then, I’ve listened to them every day. Such a beautiful voice that guy has.
Who are your heroes?
I believe in admiring people, but I don’t know about heroism–it sort of takes the human aspect out of the person. There are people in my family that I admire like crazy but I wouldn’t think of them as heroes. I prefer them that way. I like to see people as human with defects and everything.
What is your favorite holiday?
The 7th of December. This is the Virgin’s Day in Colombia. My grandfather had a tradition of lighting many, many candles on this day. He was kidnapped for many months and he said if he lived, he would light 2,000 candles for the Virgin Mary. He was returned on December 7th, so every year, this day was like a fairy tale for me.
Are you religious, and how much does that affect your art?
In Colombia, most people are religious. My father’s family, especially, was very religious but there was a point where me and my brother just said, “That’s enough.” It was becoming suffocating. When you go to church, all the paintings are like torture. It’s crazy that you wouldn’t let your kids see a horror movie, but you’ll let them see this. It’s terrifying. I love the images for what they are, and they are great pieces of art, but it’s crazy that from the time you are a kid, you are looking at so much suffering. As if it was just not enough looking at the news, you go to church and it’s all covered with blood and suffering and tears. I prefer to go outside and see nature and take a look at beautiful things.
Justin Martin Drops Chaos Restored
San Francisco isn’t a surprising place to find producers making European-stye house, but few accomplish this sound with as much originality as Connecticut-born, S.F.-based Justin Martin, co-founder of the dirtybird imprint (Claude VonStroke, Christian Martin), and also a member of Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly label.
Martin’s now set to drop Chaos Restored on the latter label, with tracks from Martin himself as well as Tanner Ross, Martin Landsky, and Jamie “Jimpster” Odell in the mix. As its name suggests, the sampler is all about breaking down house norms, keeping the intensity of standard house while adding a little quirk and wit into peak-time dancefloor smashers.
Chaos Restored is out October 9, 2007 on Buzzin’ Fly.
Tracklisting
1. Justin Martin “Chaos Restored (Intro)”
2. Dan Drastic “Somebody’s Touching Me”
3. Justin Martin “Nightowl”
4. Justin Martin “Ghetto Train”
5. Spincyle “Drug Games (Audiofly Dub)”
6. Tanner Ross & Kilowatts “Kruger Fingers”
7. Motorcitysoul “Aura (Jimpster Remix)”
8. Martin Landsky “Let Me Dance (Sebo K Remix)”
9. Catz ‘n Dogz “Fixation”
10. Pete Doyle Presents The Rock Solid All-Stars “What God Has Chosen (Jimpster Bonus Beats)”
11. Shlomi Aber “Freakside”
12. Robag Wruhme and Rolk Oksen “Dopamin”
13. Worthy “Crack-El (Justin Martin’s Stoopid Crunk-III Hyphy Mix)”
14. Tricky Disco “Tricky Disco (The Martin Brothers’ Thizzy Disco Remix)”
15. Christian Martin “Elephant Fight”
Tour: Jesse Rose
Jesse Rose must be in the middle of his busy season, because the Berlin-based house producer has been touring like mad and releasing singe after single for the better part of 2007. Not only has homeboy remixed everyone from Armand Van Helden to Ben Mono, but he also has reinterpretations in the works for Simian Mobile Disco, Underworld, E-Dancer, and Swag. If you can’t wait for the release of Rose’s new vinyl annihilators, satiate your appetites with one of these dates.
Tourdates
08/24 Dublin, UK: Tripod
08/25 Edinburgh, UK, Ultragroove
08/26 Hull, UK: déjà vu
08/27 London, UK: The Lodge
09/01 Tokyo, JP: Wire festival
09/08 Berlin, DE: Panorama Bar
09/13 Toronto, ON: The Social
09/14 Chicago, IL: Smart Bar
09/15 Vancouver, BC: Lotus Street Lounge
09/18 Newport Beach, CA: Tapas
09/20 San Diego, CA: Bar West
09/21 Denver, CO: Vinyl Rooftop
09/22 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon
Daily Download: Sage Francis “Got Up This Morning”
Human the Death Dance is rapper Sage Francis‘ fourth solo effort. Somewhat conceptual in its nature, the album is is comprised of two “halves”–the first being a relaxed, playful bunch of tracks, and the second something akin to a pensive breakup album. “Got Up This Morning” is off the first part, and features sultry vocals from Jolie Holland and laid back beats from pal Buck 65.
Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.
Mavado Gangsta for Life-The Symphony of David Brooks
Mavado’s voice strikes the perfect balance between melody and menace; it drips with sincerity without ever sounding maudlin. His debut album is peppered with his instantly recognizable catchphrases (“anyway” and “gangsta for life”) and filled with his most successful singles of the past few years, including his 2004 breakout smash “Real McCoy.” In addition to wicked gun tunes, the disc also showcases his intensely personal lyrics. On the haunting “Don’t Cry,” the native of Kingston’s Cassava Piece gully implores his mother to hold her tears “even if them kill me,” while on “Sadness,” he openly mourns his slain father. On the energetic “Pon Di Gully Side,” he addresses wars between artists, presumably a reference to his now-squashed beef with Vybz Kartel. And on “Amazing Grace,” he gets bonus points for perhaps being the first dancehall artist ever to use the word “inveigle” in a badman tune.
Sage Francis “Got Up This Morning feat. Jolie Holland”
Human the Death Dance is rapper Sage Francis‘ fourth solo effort. Somewhat conceptual in its nature, the album is is comprised of two “halves”–the first being a relaxed, playful bunch of tracks, and the second something akin to a pensive breakup album. “Got Up This Morning” is off the first part, and features sultry vocals from Jolie Holland and laid back beats from pal Buck 65.
Prinzhorn Dance School Prinzhorn Dance School
Despite their name, Brighton, UK’s Prinzhorn Dance School fits in the Black Dice camp of DFA bands that don’t cause eruptive dance parties. The bass and guitar usually play the same staccato notes atop first-drum-lesson-style beats, while Tobin Prinz and Suzi Horn exchange vocals. One look at The Shaggs proves that poor instrumentation can work sometimes, but Prinzhorn Dance School’s boring-for-the-sake-of-boring style exudes a cool hipster air that swallows their likeability. Sure, “Up! Up! Up!” is an okay knock-off of today’s Dischord bands, and “Worker” makes the most out of its slow, brooding bassline, but this debut only works if you want to listen to the same idea for 42 straight minutes.
The Week In Music, August 17
Dan Deacon is featured in a recent episode of The Daily Fix.
Getting Used to Awful
Next time you rip a file from CD to iTunes, consider this: an article from seattlepi.com states that, due to the compression that happens during the CD-to-MP3 process, the latter actually contains less than 10 percent of the original music file. As record producer Phil Ramone so eloquently states, “You can get used to awful. You can appreciate nothing. We’ve done it with fast food.”
Speaking of awful, Virgin Megastore is hosting its first-ever Battle of the Bands contest. Should you stoop so low, you can submit songs to all 11 stores, until August 31. Chosen bands will battle via live performance in select locations, and the grand-prize winner gets to meet, uh, some Virgin executives.
The oh-so modern entrance of the Tate Modern.
Desperate to be Hip
When he’s not campaigning for global warming with Leo, Al Gore is apparently getting hip to what the cool kids are listening to. Sort of. His viewer-supplied content channel, Current TV, launched The Daily Fix this week, television’s first music blog that will “help to break emerging artists from a slew of genres.” But with the inaugural features being Dan Deacon, Dizzee Rascal, and Josh Ritter, it seems there’s a little more digging to do before the station hits the cusp of cutting-edge.
Rarely do fine art and hipster counter-culture cross paths, but the Tate Modern is trying to change that, with the Tate Tracks series. New Young Pony Club makes for the latest signing to the series, which invites bands to walk around the museum, choose a work of art, and write a song inspired by the piece. The gallery also launched a competition that invites the lowly public to create and upload their tracks. Winners get to meet the Basement Jaxx. Yeah.
Finally, Happy 25th Birthday to the Compact Disc. Remember those?
