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.
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.
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.
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
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Another month and another round of festivals to detail—and this roundup is particularly strong with some of the world’s most decorated events in the diary. Those in Europe can enjoy the likes of Nuits Sonores and Lighthouse, in France and Lyon respectively, while those more experimentally inclined can travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for Mapping Festival, one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary events dedicated to audio-visual art and digital cultures. Rounding off the European side is Prague’s UP Festival, a new event that brings some of the leading names in contemporary house and techno to the Czech capital for the first time. Elsewhere, Detroit will once again host Movement, which needs little introduction, while San Francisco will see a debut edition of Mutek, featuring the solo live premiere of dub techno innovator Moritz Von Oswald, live sets from Detroit techno-electro innovators Aux 88 and Cómeme label head Matias Aguayo, and sets from Lee Gamble, Tim Hecker, Equiknoxx, Telefon Tel Aviv, Underground Resistance’s Galaxy 2 Galaxy, Kyoka, Convextion, Francesco Tristano & Derrick May. Rounding up the US side is Moogfest, a gem in the US festival market. More info below.
Nuit Sonores—May 6 to 13, Lyon, France
As pointed out in last year’s review,” few festivals can propose a diversity as rich in programming as Nuits Sonores.” The annual event boasts both a day and night program, with events running in various industrial and historical locations across the city from May 6 to 13 in Lyon, France—although the main day and night events are planned Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (9 to 12).
This year’s day programming will once again feature A Day With, a four-day run of artist-curated lineups—this year it will run over four days instead of three—with curation by Four Tet, Paula Temple, Daniel Avery, and Jennifer Cardini. The night programming features a range of both DJ and live sets from Maetrik (a.k.a Maceo Plex), Laurent Garnier, The Black Madonna, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Kerri Chandler, Bicep, Mr. Fingers a.k.a Larry Heard, Lee Gamble, Margaret Dygas, DJ Boring, Palms Trax, Avalon Emerson, and more.
XLR8R will also host a party this year at roof-top venue Le Sucre in the city’s center, headed up by WHITE artist Edward (DJ), Serbia’s Tijana T, and Leeon.
UP Festival—May 11 to 13, Prague, Czech Republic
From May 11 to 13, Prague’s UP Festival will take over one of the city’s oldest—and most famous—landmarks Vystaviste Holesovice. This is the festival’s inaugural edition and the first Prague event to feature techno, house, and electronica in one place. You can expect 72 hours of high-quality dancefloor music by an array of highly-regarded talents in the scene, including Ricardo Villalobos, Magda, Sonja Moonear, Ion Ludwig, Barac, Vera, Luigi Tozzi, Nils Weimann, Fatty M, Schwa, Ellen Allien, Apollonia, Praslesh, Bella Sarris, Molly, Anthea, Oshana, Topper, Varhat, Janeret, Brothers Black, and local acts Jorgos, Oliver Torr, Em Ju Es Aj Si, and Bruno Curtis, among others.
With ticket prices topping out at 50 euros, UP Festival provides an affordable alternative to many of its competitors in Western Europe—and with its base in a country that has been relatively dormant in the scene, the festival will look to put Prague and the Czech Republic on the map with a bang.
Mapping Festival—May 9 to 12, Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva’s Mapping Festival is an annual multidisciplinary event dedicated to audio-visual art and digital cultures. The event will run from May 9 to 12 in the new urban campus of the Haute Ecole d’art et de design Genève (HEAD), in the Charmilles district of Geneva, with scheduled performances from the likes of Plaid and Felix’s Machines, Alessandro Cortini, Inga Mauer, Moritz Simon Geist, Tobias, Lanark Artefax, Tolouse Low Trax, N.M.O., NSDOS, and Patrick Russell.
There will also be two 12-hour days of workshops and lectures (May 9 and 10) followed by two 12-hour evenings specifically devoted to live performances (May 11 and 12). This includes Paradigm_Shift, an international forum featuring a series of talks, keynotes, and discussions from artists, creatives, curators, philosophers, and scientists on the theme “Human + Machines by Design, not by Default”; 13 workshops curated by Alexander Scholz of the CreativeApplications.net platform, offering education on new creative coding and machine learning, synthesizers, embodying data, and augmented reality; and live audio-visual performances, including a visual symphony that illuminates buildings (Antoine Schmitt), a musical creation played by robots (Moritz Simon Geist), an invention that transforms and levitates water with the help of sound (Evelina Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand), and an installation that produces music thanks to tennis balls launched at a speed of more than 150 km/h (Philip Vermeulen).
MUTEK San Francisco—May 3 to 6, San Francisco, United States
The first edition of MUTEK San Francisco goes down from May 3 to 6 across nine different venues in the city, taking in audiovisual performances, parties, and outdoor events. It’s also helmed by two experienced co-directors in Surefire Agency founder Miroslav Wiesner and Gabrielle de Villoutreys.
Key drawcards include the North American solo live premiere of dub techno innovator Moritz Von Oswald, live sets from Detroit techno-electro innovators Aux 88 and Cómeme label head Matias Aguayo, and sets from Lee Gamble, Tim Hecker, Equiknoxx, Telefon Tel Aviv, Underground Resistance’s Galaxy 2 Galaxy, Kyoka, Convextion, Francesco Tristano & Derrick May, Honey Soundsystem’s Jackie House and Bézier, Russell E.L. Butler, and Solar (who will play alongside C.L.A.W.S.). There will also be a contingent of some of the Bay Area-finest, including 8ULENTINA, Christopher Willits, DIBIA$E, Foozool, King Most, and Only Now.
As is the case with MUTEK, there will also be a variety of audiovisual and experiential artworks, including iAltar from Brian Reinbolt, The Chamber of Cerebral Geometry from Craig Dorety, Immersive Constructions from Last Faith Studio and Subpac, Strobe Piece from Greg Zifcak, and Lux Aeterna from Joey Verbeke & Yağmur Uyanık, among others.
Movement Detroit—May 26 to 29, Detroit, United States
Detroit’s Movement Electronic Music Festival is one of the longest-running music festivals in the world, and, as Reisa Shanaman stated in her 2016 review, it’s the embodiment of “Detroit’s unique character; it is also a declaration of Detroit’s claim to techno—a resounding proclamation that can literally be heard in Canada.” As always, Movement Detroit takes place over Memorial Day weekend (May 26 through 18), this year featuring Claude Von Stroke, Loco Dice b2b Martinez Brothers, and Wu-Tang Clan in the headline slots, with Detroit represented by Andrés, Black Noi$e, Blake Baxter, Delano Smith, Mark Flash, Mike Huckaby, Ectomorph, DJ Stingray Kevin Saunderson, and Saunderson’s Inner City (live). Other acts on the bill include festival favorite John Digweed, Modeselektor, Avalon Emerson, Anthony Parasole, Beautiful Swimmers, Aurora Halal, Helena Hauff, Radio Slave, KiNK, Marcel Dettmann, Nina Kraviz, Laurent Garnier, Ellen Allien, Tiga, and Maceo Plex.
MOOG Fest—May 17 to 20, Durham, North Carolina, United States
Moogfest is a gem in the US festival market, providing an often overlooked synthesis of music, art, and technology. Since its inception in 2004, the event has brought an inspired list of artists, futurist thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, scientists, and musicians to its Durham, North Carolina, home base. This year’s Moogfest runs from May 17 to 20. By day, Moogfest acts as a platform for conversation and experimentation; by night, you’ll find forward-thinking music in various venues throughout the city. This year’s lineup features early electronic pioneers and pop and avant-garde experimentalists, including LCD Soundsystem, synth explorer Gavin Rayna Russom, gender-ambiguous theremin virtuoso Armen Ra, Fatima Al Qadiri, DJ Maliibu Mitch, left-field pop maven SOPHIE, and the US debut of revered Japanese multi-instrumentalist Midori Takada—leading on from previous years, these artists will participate in Future Sound performances by night and lead Future Thought workshops and conversations by day. There’s also a focus on female, non-binary, and transgender artists, including a keynote conversation with privacy rights and political transparency activist Chelsea Manning on The Future of Creativity. If experimental, future-facing music, technology, and critical thinking is your thing, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better offering then this year’s Moogfest.
Lighthouse Festival—May 30 to June 3, Porec, Croatia
Details of Croatia’s Lighthouse Festival 2018 are yet to be revealed but it’s sure to be another memorable few days. The annual event, now on its sixth edition, is led by the Viennese team behind Pratersauna but is an international effort, with crew coming from all over Europe. Previous editions have seen the event gain a strong recognition in what is a saturated market in Croatia, so much so that this year’s edition is already in part sold out, with only 300 remaining festival-only tickets set to be released. Capacity is limited to 3500 guests, and to keep the family spirit they’ve created a closed community with a special “friends of friends” invitation system. On the bill are Avalon Emerson, Bambounou, Or:la, Ryan Elliott, Moodymann, e/tape, so many more—easily one of the finest lineups out there. If you can go, go.
