Les Points Looks to Fight Neo-Liberal Nightlife Frameworks With New Music Video

Zurich-based artist collective Les Points—comprised of Audino, Barbir, Louh, and Nicola Kazimir—has released its first music video for Occult Anti-Neo-Liberal Acid Squad Vol.1.

Occult Anti-Neo-Liberal Acid Squad Vol.1. is the label’s 10th release, and stems from a desire to “make a solid EP devoted to rave culture.” It consists of “dark ambient, experimental interludes, and obscure acid tracks made for free minded clubbing.” The release’s accompanying video follows suit and looks to provide critical discourse on today’s nightlife-culture while raising awareness against top-down nightlife-interdependencies and neo-liberal clubbing frameworks.

You can watch the video in full via the player above, with the EP available here.

Premiere: Hear a Gritty Bass Cut From ZULI

Egyptian multi-instrumentalist, producer, and DJ ZULI will drop his latest EP on Haunter Records on May 5.

The EP, titled TriggerFinger, will be the third release of the year on Haunter Records, following on from Ossia & Giant Swan’s split 12″ with Not Waving and Broshuda’s Jemi EP. Keeping in tune with Haunter’s warped electronic aesthetic, Trigger Finger presents six shadowy cuts that employ inspired sampling and field recordings to construct an extreme sonic palette that touches on grime, jungle, and ZULI’s own roots as a beatmaker for the Cairo rap scene. From the weightless ambience of opening cut, “Everyday,” to the title track’s frayed, gritty grooves, Trigger Finger is a standout record that is sure to turn some heads.

Ahead of the release, you can stream “Trigger Finger” in full via the player below, with the record available to pre-order here.

Hear a Mind-Bending Techno Cut From Steve Bicknell

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Steve Bicknell‘s latest release, Mind Patterns, is out now on his own 6dimensions imprint.

The EP, which features three devastating techno cuts, is based on Bicknell’s thoughts on human mind patterns and “a human cycle of suppression, how things can rarely change when in this repetitive cycle, and how difficult it can be to abruptly awaken from this mindset,” Steve explains. “The cycle can usually be broken by subtly shifting patterns over time.” Due to this, the tracks on the EP are heady, swirling concoctions that bend the mind as much as they move the body. From the propulsive grooves of “Preset Minds” to the rippling, disorientating synths of “Vein Injection,” Bicknell’s latest offering is techno of the highest order.

In support of the release, you can stream “Vein Injection” in full via the player below, with the EP available here.

You can find Steve Bicknell’s upcoming tour dates below.

Tour dates:

May 5 – Korner, Taipei, Taiwan

May 11 – Heart Beat, Saigon, Vietnam

May 12 – Interstella, Singapore

May 19 – Paramount Festival, Kanto, Japan

May 25 – Darkroom, Montreal, Canada

May 26 – Elsewhere, Brooklyn, USA

May 27 – Movement, Detroit, USA

June 2 – Warehouse, Los Angeles, USA

June 8 – Le Diskret, Lyon, France

June 9 – Junction 2, London, UK (as part of LSD)

June 16 – Corsica Studios, London, UK

July 7 – Astropolis Festival, Brest, France (as part of LSD)

August 4 – Dekmantel Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands (as part of LSD)

August 11 – We Can Dance, Zeebrugge-Beach, Belgium (as part of LSD)

Photo: Manbo Key

Yussef Kamaal Co-Founder Kamaal Williams Shares New Album Track

London-based jazz fusion artist Kamaal Williams has shared “High Roller,” the latest track from upcoming debut album The Return, scheduled for release next month.

Williams is perhaps best known for his Yussef Kamaal collaboration with Yussef Dayes, which resulted in 2016’s Black Focus LP on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings. Elsewhere, he’s shared a catalogue of 12″s for imprints such as MCDE, Eglo, and Rhythm Section as Henry Wu, establishing himself as a key figure in his thriving international scene for the past few years.

The Return sees Williams playing keyboards as part of a group that includes bassist Pete Martin and drummer MckNasty, along with sound engineer Richard Samuels. It’s described “a natural evolution” of the Yussef Kamaal project, “mining the influence of visionary jazz but blended with all kinds of texture, sounds, and signals from the over-saturated London streets.”

In the US, the likes of Kamasi Washington and Thundercat have made great strides in opening a whole new dialogue between jazz and hip-hop, drawing in a young, highly engaged new audience in the process. Kamaal Williams mine a similar seam on the other side of the Atlantic alongside other exciting London talents such as Ezra Collective, Ruby Rushton, and Shabaka Hutchings.

“High Roller” features that signature Henry Wu funk keys, accompanied by a smooth walking bassline from Pete Martin and restrained drums from McKnasty.

Tracklisting

01. Salaam
02. Broken Theme
03. The Return
04. High Roller
05. Situations (Live In Milan)
06. Catch The Loop
07. Rhythm Commission
08. Medina
09. LDN Shuffle
10. Aisha

The Return LP will land on May 25 with “High Roller” streaming in full below.

Jon Hopkins Singularity

Score: 8.5/10

The cover of British electronic musician Jon Hopkins’ new album depicts a serene desert dawn with a constellation of stars twinkling above. This star cluster, however, doesn’t appear in the astronomy books. It’s in the shape of a DMT molecule, the active ingredient in psychedelic drugs such as ayahuasca. And Singularity, intended by its creator to be heard as a whole, is a trip, with moments of intensity and harshness tempered by blissful beauty and meditative introspection. Singularity is Londoner Hopkins’ ninth album (if you include his collaborations with Brian Eno and King Creosote, and several film soundtracks), and it’s certainly his most eagerly awaited.

His previous record, Immunity, saw Hopkins lauded as a dance music star, capable of selling out big concert venues and appealing to fans outside of the typical electronic music sphere. Hopkins also crystallized his sound on that record, with glitchy, broken techno beats that nodded to both IDM and two-step garage, and captivatingly weird rhythms underpinned by distorted, almost trance-like patterns. Next to intense tunes such as “Open Eye Signal” sat gentle, melodic piano works like “Abandon Window”; Hopkins’ merging of emotional material with hypnotic, physical grooves appeared effortless. Singularity continues in the vein of Immunity, though its depth of feeling is greater, and rhythmic power more potent.

Influenced by Hopkins’ adoption of transcendental meditation as a means of coping with stress after his last bout of live touring, and also by his spending time in the California desert taking in the landscape and embarking on a series of magic mushroom trips, Singularity is psychedelic from the start. “Singularity” itself begins the album on an ominous note with distorted tones, arpeggiated bleeps, and a cavernous atmosphere, but even if the opening mood is fearful, the rest of the record beckons us towards a far more welcoming lysergic portal. “Emerald Rush,” the first single, begins with a spiraling synth riff with a viridian hue like its title, though from this ambiance emerges a hulking techno piece full of bittersweet trance riffs, swirling layers, and fractured beats. It builds and builds with backwards vocals into a spine-tingling assemblage of blissful noise. “Neon Pattern Drum” is a delightfully off-kilter slab of leftfield 4/4, where deep synth tones echo through an arrangement that could easily populate a set by Bicep or Four Tet.

Best of all on the album though are its quieter moments. “Feel First Life” (the title of which was inspired by a friend feeling her unborn baby kick for the first time) is a truly poignant piano piece with layers of echo and susurrating sounds in the backdrop. As it progresses, a choir of voices rises like a synth pad. It’s really beautiful. “Echo Dissolve” is another quiet piano composition, coated with a delicate layer of tape dust, this time with a more bittersweet air.

“Luminous Beings,” though, is the album’s centerpiece. Fusing otherworldly ambiance and a twisting analog bassline that swims among gorgeous melody and techno drums, it’s the heartbreaking peak of a psychedelic journey, and also the moment when Hopkins fuses his disparate influences into a devastating whole. And although it’s possible to pick out this individual highlight, it’s when you take in the record in one sitting—with its subtle shifts of mood, highs, and lows—that you arrive on the other side mentally revived.

Tracklisting

01. Singularity
02. Emerald Rush
03. Neon Pattern Drum
04. Everything Connected
05. Feel First Life
06. C O S M
07. Echo Dissolve
08. Luminous Beings
09. Recovery

Singularity will land on May 4 via Domino.

Pépé Bradock Returns with New EP

Parisian DJ, producer, and remixer Pépé Bradock will release a new EP next month, titled Exodus 8.

The two-track release will arrive via his own Atavisme label and follows two EPs in 2017, namely #12″@last and Baby Steps, which he released under his Braccio D’Oco alias.

We’re told to expect “two classique straight-up, long and burning four-to-the-floor house tracks.”

Tracklisting

01. Is This Really A Party?
02. Grandgousier

Exodus 8 will arrive on May 28, with clips here.

Balance—Club / Culture Festival Launches with DJ Stingray, Umfang, Bill Kouligas, and More

May 31 will see the launch of Balance—Club / Culture Festival in Leipzig, Germany, featuring the likes of DJ Stingray, Umfang, Bill Kouligas, Aïsha Devi, and many more.

We’re told Balance will present a multi-faceted program of concerts, exhibitions, artist talks, panel discussions, and club nights, all spanning across four days and multiple venues and cultural institutions in Leipzig, Germany. The event will also provide a platform for discussion of diverse topics that consider the influence of club culture on larger social landscapes, technological advancements, and economies. The project stands for the experimentation, critical questioning, and the definition of modern club culture on the intersection of society as a whole,” the organizers explain.

As for the music, local talent will be showcased alongside internationally acclaimed artists, creating a mix of experimental electronic music, genre-transcending works, clever debates, and a consideration of club Cultural possibilities.

The lineup is as follows:

Thursday, May 31

DJ Stingray
Mor Elian
Neele
DJ Minusminus

Präsens Editionen Showcase with Brandon Doughtery and L. Zilberberg

Installation “I Dance Alone” by Bogomir Doringer

Friday, June 1 

Schwefelgelb (live)
Ikonika
Coucou Chloe (live)
Bill Kouligas
Shygirl (live)
XVII

Saturday, June 2 

AtomTM (live)
Aïsha Devi (live)
UMFANG
Bonaventure
Lyra Pramuk
RUI HO (live premiere)
Black Nakhur
Nadine Talakovics
Ana Bogner

Sunday, June 3 

Networking Meeting
ByeByeBarbecue

This year’s debut edition takes place from May 31 to June 3 in Leipzig, with more information tickets available here.

Shunaji Shares New Video for ‘Red Honey’

Lagos born, London-based MC Shunaji will soon self-release her debut EP, titled Midnight Movie.

We’re told that the EP is an introduction to the MC and producer’s sound. As the title of the EP—as well as “Fellini,” one of its track titles—suggests, it’s a release buoyed by references to cinema, reflecting an upbringing immersed in movies.

In her lyrics and delivery, she takes cues from Andre 3000 and Missy Elliott, striking a balance between lyricism, rhythmicality, and character. The beats reflect a wide span of influences. She often uses jazz samples, but in ways that aren’t immediately obvious; it’s a style which employs familiar approaches in unfamiliar ways. Her formative years were spent absorbing sounds from ambient to folk, and it’s only in the time since moving to London that she’s become more interested in hip-hop—a sound she associates with the city where she’s now at home.

Tracklisting

01.Welcome
02.Girls
03.Fellini (feat. Emiko)
04.Red Honey (feat. Amahla)

Midnight Movie will land on May 4 with “Red Honey” (feat. Amahla) streaming in full above.

Hitman ‘Dot’

Projekt LAB is a music club from Poznan, Poland located in a 100-year -old distillery. Born of out a love for the sound system culture, it has been promoting alternative electronic music for five years, inviting artists like Ancient Methods, Kangding Ray, Fis, Headless Horseman, Emptyset, Aisha Devi, Vatican Shadow, Spirit & Amit, Xosar, Kahn, Terence Fixmer, Edit Select, Legowelt, Schwefelgelb, and Umwelt, just to name a few.

The club is now set to release a V/A compilation called 5 Years Of Projekt LAB. The record is dominated by a multi-genre sound, this diversity characterizes the venue from the very beginning. It’s composed of songs from the artists close to the club, showing a cross-section of the Polish club scene, with an emphasis on artists from the venue’s home city, Poznan, and a very special foreign guest: Alexey Volkov.

In support of the release, which arrives on May 5, you can download Hitman “Dot” via the WeTransfer button below.

Tracklisting

01. Raq “Aether”
02. Figiel & Rraph “Hermit”
03. Michal Gutkowski “Synth Tribe”
04. MELANIA. “This Is All We’ve Got”
05. Alexey Volkov “Rotten Consumer”
06. Cosmaya “Compulsions”
07. Sept “Ransome”
08. Michal Nowak “Murora Atoll”
09. Concept Of Thrill “Consist”
10. Kuba Sojka “1998”
11. Michal Wolski “Medallion”
12. Dw4ll “Onaut”
13. Julian Kulczynski “untitled1”
14. Tawbaq “Catacombs”
15. MRTN. “Warehouse Jam”
16. Szatt “Moon Landing”
17. Qubey “psysetter”
18. Hitman “Dot”
19. Hitman “Mantra” (Paszczak Remix)
20. Krypt “Organic Patterns”

Dot

RoboKnob ‘Pr4k III’

RoboKnob is a live experimental techno duo from Sofia, Bulgaria. Tomorrow, the duo will release Pr4kaneokastrna, a confounding, future-facing EP on Faster Than Music, a new label dedicated to showcasing the underground/experimental scenes across the Balkan countries.

With the EP, RoboKnob look to combat “a world dominated by greed” with four tracks of warped, downtempo techno—a rebellious message that states: “We have no border. We are all connected.” The EP opens with the tense, machine-driven “Pr4k I,” before rolling through speaker-shredding bass (“Pr4k II”), alien-like broken beat (“Pr4k III”), and futuristic ambient (“Pr4k IV”). Pr4kaneokastrna, as a whole, is a remarkably creative statement that signals a new talent in experimental electronics.

In support fo the EP, the duo have offered up “Pr4k III” as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below.

You can pre-order the EP here ahead of tomorrow’s release.

Pr4k III

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