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Eats Tapes – San Francisco’s mutant shred-machines come armed with a mass of hardware synths, modified drum machines, and a MIDI Nintendo, stampeding the noise-techno meets art-rock gamut.

Meanest Man Contest – The jazzy hip-hop duo switches things up on Split, where MMC’s Quarterbar and Eriksolo offer up a healthy dose of futuristic, semi-ambient, guitar-heavy hip-hop ballads.

Terry Poison – This offering from the all-girl band of protégés is a hyper-active pop-ascent into the new French sound. “24 Hours” may be that pre-peak track that gets swanky warehouses and clubs locked, loaded, and ready for departure.

Dr. Space and Mr. Hunt – House-pioneer Gene Hunt has returned–this time with pianist prodigy Dr. Space. “Play That Song” finds the TRAX veteran at the top of his game, with a dense percussive track that fuses latin drumming,piano-driven melodies, and melodic vocals.

Dark Romantics – These minimalists make poppy, post-goth that rekindles the spirit of Iggy Pop and the tone of Echo and the Bunnymen–all without falling into the “Interpolish” category.

Following a pilot episode that followed French 8-Bit masters DAT Politics and took a glance inside the studio of Zion I, XLR8R launches the second installment of XLR8R TV. In conjunction with the folks over at Revision 3 (yes, the same people responsible for digg.com), we’re taking you on the quintessential shopping experience with the legendary (and well-versed) techno audiophile, Carl Craig.

For this week’s edition, Craig ventures into a world far removed from his familiar techno empire–one imbued with black metal, spiritual jazz, and all things experimental, namely, the S.F. underground’s favorite record store, Aquarius Records. Unsurprisingly, old C2 has got tons to say on everything from 8-Bit-metalcore, to pygmy chanting, to Bloc Party.

Check back weekly for new installments of XLR8R TV, including interviews, tour stories, live performances, and maybe even our latest venture into the land of debauchery (South by Southwest, duh). Watch it now!

Thrill Jockey is working its bands to the bone this summer, with a healthy heap of tours from Adult., Trans Am, Tortoise, and now, The Sea and Cake–and that happens to rule.

For over a decade, the Chicago-based four-piece has set the standard for all music that’s completely rocking, yet delicately poppy. On their seventh venture, Everybody, the boys (men, rather) stay the course. “Crossing Line,” for instance, finds the same fuzzy guitars humming alongside introspective basslines, and vocalist Sam Prekop’s lush, lyrical vocals.

These busy vets are giving both coasts a taste of their return, and also plotting a nationwide tour this fall, with more dates soon to follow. In the meantime, audiences from N.Y. to S.F. should be stoked to see fellow Chicago minimal-pop rockers The Zincs supporting their new gem, Black Pompadour, alongside the pop-masters.

Everybody is out May 8, 2007 on Thrill Jockey.

Tourdates
5/14 Vancouver, BC: Richard’s on Richards w/ The Zincs
5/15 Seattle, WA: Neumo’s w/ The Zincs
5/16 Portland, OR: Crystal Ballroom w/ The Zincs
5/18 San Francisco, CA: Bimbo’s w/ The Zincs
5/19 Los Angeles, CA: Troubadour w/ The Zincs
5/20 Los Angeles, CA: Troubadour w/ The Zincs
5/21 Solana Beach, CA: Belly Up w/ The Zincs
5/31 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle (2 shows)
6/2 Toronto, ON: Mod Club w/ The Zincs
6/3 Montreal, QC: La Sala Rossa w/ The Zincs
6/5 Boston, MA: Paradise w/ Loney, Dear, The Zincs
6/7 New York, NY: Webster Hall w/ Loney, Dear, The Zincs
6/8 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre of Living Arts w/ Loney, Dear, The Zincs
6/9 Washington, DC: Black Cat w/ Loney, Dear, The Zincs

On April 20, 2007, San Francisco’s 111 Minna Gallery will host The Werks, an event designed to showcase emerging electronic artists from San Francisco and its surrounding areas. Bay Area Beatdrop–founders of Fukwerk Fridays, Low End Saturdays, and a new monthly called Filter SF–is the promotional force behind the event, whose previous guests include Pheek, Miskate, and Butane. Co-producing The Werks will be Compression LA, a monthly techno party and DJ residency of John Tejada.

Pokerflat’s Limacon, Ruoho Ruotsi of De’fchild Productions, and Jason Emsley of Platzhirsch will bump the electronic goodness for this installment of The Werks, which takes place beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 before 9 p.m. and $10 after.

The nearly impossible-to-categorize Finnish artist Sasu Ripatti returns next month with the latest release under his Vladislav Delay moniker, Whistleblower, a musical reworking and repackaging of the concepts behind ambient music, house, and techno. But whereas other artists involved or influenced by dance music seem content to fill the dancefloor, Ripatti happily gleans from the elements of the club after-hours.

Whistleblower’s emphasis on politics stands in contrast to Ripatti’s previous work, the focus of which was process-oriented, the human fused with machine. Today’s tense, dark political climate has, according to the press release, resonated with Ripatti, and in the last few years “it’s been impossible for him to not let some current global events sneak into the work, as an underlying influence shaping his creative atmosphere.” While certainly not aspiring to lead a movement, his work deals with the current state of the world and modes of being, an implicitly political engagement.

Whistleblower is out May 15, 2007 on Huume.

Tracklisting
1. Whistleblower
2. Wanted to (Kill)
3. Stop talking
4. I Saw a Polysexual
5. Lumi
6. He Lived Deeply
7. Recovery Idea

Listen to Elijah Prophet’s heartfelt 2006 single “Piece of Ganja” (Irievibrations) and you’ll hear what sounds like voice of a lion. Stout and growling, with a measured, sophisticated timbre, Prophet (born Devon St. Patrick Hoggart) transforms the roots riddim into a spiritual ode. Such a blessed vibe is hardly surprising, as Prophet was born in the country parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica, and studied music with guidance from roots singing legends Utan Green and Garnet Silk.

Singing since 1991 and recording since ’96, Prophet scored early hits like “Burn Down the Walls of Babylon” and “War A Gwaan” after winning the Best New Artist award in the Stone Love star search contest. From there he began attracting international ears with singles for Germany’s Rootdown, Austria’s Irievibrations, and Jamaica’s Kennedy International.

Prophet eventually linked up with German imprint Pow Pow Movement and forged a strong relationship with the label, followed by dubplates and tours throughout Europe. The crew and label, responsible for big riddims such as Blaze, Superior, and First Sight, had previously worked with reggae artists like Gentleman, Jah Mason, and Anthony B. The German-Jamaican partnership between Pow Pow and Prophet lead to the 2006 album King of Kings, produced by the talented Ingo Rheinbay. 

Although Prophet’s career is now moving apace, with regular singles on a clutch of labels, his remarks to Germany’s Reggae News prove that he’s still a humble country soul: “Reggae is really expanding to another level. Believe me; the music itself is bigger than us. What I’m doing is only a fraction.”