It looks like our friend finally got evicted from the Playboy Mansion. It was for the best-entertaining an octogenarian sultan and his harem with disco magic can be depressing. A decade ago, Dimitri made hipsters smile ironically with the splendors of French-themed lounge and psychedelia of the ’60s. Here he indulges in ’70s orchestral disco that befits naptime for cruise-line drunks. Standouts: the J. Elliott Group’s bastardization of Martin Denny’s exotica classic “Quiet Village” and Charlie’s Roots’ disco for the guy who’s crying alone on a beanbag chair. Dimitri’s mix grows middle-aged, but the music opens up ripe fantasies of the good times that you never had in the Me Decade.
Cosmic Times: Thee Majesty, Juan Trip, Turzi
There’s a troop of psych hypnotists coming to steal the throne from dance minimalists. From the quiet-yet-loaded compositions of Portland’s White Rainbow to the trippy expeditions of Turzi (Kemado) and Zombi (Relapse), each outfit’s tracks tie sleek, Euro-style club to guitar-meets-analog-synth brutality for transcendent results.
Zombi
Along the same lines, forthcoming long-players are expected from Genesis P-Orridge’s Thee Majesty and Kim Hiorthøy (Smalltown Supersound), both albums influenced as much by Nitzer Ebb as Mahavishnu Orchestra, which is still a cosmic understatement.
Thee Majesty
France-based perception-bender Juan Trip can take you to the less cluttered–but decidedly maximal–world of modern psychedelia. Trip’s Consolation (Citizen) is very cinematic in sound, with shades that recall the Far East as well, but its presentation–presumably swayed by the vintage electronic music–is nearly impossible without modern digital-editing techniques.
Even London’s former Trash resident and worldly DJ Erol Alkan is on the psych train. Bloggers have been going crazy over Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve, Alkan’s prog-dance project with Richard Norris. Check the Psyche Out EP for journey time.
Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve Psyche Out Artwork
Speaking of recently hyped phenomena, this week also saw the release of New Young Pony Club’s debut full-length Fantastic Playroom, which may expand the scope of the UK-based outfit’s ultimately adolescent audience.
Kranky has also been releasing more and more groundbreaking records. Two upcoming releases of note include To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie’s The Patron, and Cloudland Canyon’s Silver Tongued Sisyphus EP. The former delves deeply into psych, but also includes a well-tempered fusion of noise and shoegaze feedback. As for Cloudland Canyon, the duo’s new two-track EP offers Klaus Schulze-style synths and experimental Krautrock–well, droning experimental Krautrock fury, that is.
Kobwebs
Klaxons
Klaxons hit the States hard this year with their incredibly catchy brand of apocalyptic pop. We caught up with the wry Brits in the midst of a massive world tour to talk about Armageddon and the one thing that scares them even more than the End of Days: dogs.
XLR8R TV Episode 17: Klaxons
Klaxons hit the States hard this year, with their incredibly catchy brand of apocalyptic pop. XLR8R caught up with the wry Brits, who are in the midst of a massive world tour, to talk about Armageddon and the one thing that scares them even more than the End of Days: dogs.
Previous Episodes
Episode 13: Detroit Ghettotech
Episode 14: Black Milk
Episode 15: Crafting with Adult.
Episode 16: No Age
Maps Tour America
James “Maps” Chapman has made quite a name for himself in the UK. The pop-gaze protégé has already headlined a sold-out show at London’s ICA Theater, performed at the acclaimed Leeds and Reading Festivals, and enlisted Sweden-based artist The Field to remix the second single, “You Don’t Know Her Name,” from Maps’ debut album We Can Create. Now, Mute’s new one-man army is heading out West.
For one week, Chapman will infect a few select cities (with the first date opening for Blonde Redhead) with his textured guitar-driven anthems. Unlike his album, however, he’ll have some back-up with a full four-piece band. Put on earplugs and a helmet, because space rock is back!
“You Don’t Know Her Name” is out July 31 on Mute.
Tourdates:
09/22 Seattle, WA: Crocodile Café
09/24 San Francisco, CA: Bottom Of The Hill
09/26 Los Angeles, CA: Spaceland
09/28 New York, NY: Mercury Lounge
09/29 Brooklyn, NY: Luna Lounge
Daily Download: DatA “Morphosis”
DatA is a 21-year old Frenchman caught in the electro-house paradigm, but that doesn’t mean that his production skills aren’t on point. With tracks in playlists from Justice to Guns ‘N’ Bombs, this whiz-kid is causing a serious stir. “Morphosis” is the synth-solo answer to your banger prayers.
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.
Various Artists Disco Deutschland Disco
Nu-disco jocks would have you believe that they’ve got disco’s feel-good vibes and horn-blessed sounds down, but when you crank up Disco Deutschland Disco, an honorable excavation of German disco classics from 1975-1980, one might think that maybe folks like Prins Thomas are faking the funk a little bit. Here, diva-esque croons and gentle-but-consuming string sections (Su Kramer’s “You’ve Got the Power Pt. 1”) mix with clunky-yet-funky space-synth thumpers (Supermax’s “Lovemachine”) and dancefloor archetypes (ooh-oohs throughout) in a hedonistic, Wall-era haze. Perhaps it’s more than a bit novel to hear these tracks now-often kitschy, often sung in German–but as a sampling of the dance-music nation’s earliest offerings in the genre, it’s nothing short of brilliant.
DatA “Morphosis”
DatA is a 21-year old Frenchman caught in the electro-house paradigm, but that doesn’t mean that his production skills aren’t on point. With everyone from Justice to Guns ‘N’ Bombs rocking his tracks, this whiz-kid is causing a serious stir. “Morphosis” is the synth-solo answer to your banger prayers.
