The next release on LA-based TAR comes in the shape of a six-track double-EP from Norfik, titled The Light.
Norfik, an Illinois producer with two previous release on TAR, has been cross-breeding genres with his work since 2009. This latest release is described as an “intense mix of jungle and ambient tracks.” Cut four, “Obliterate,” has been a staple in PBDY‘s sets while on tour with Flying Lotus.
Tracklisting
01. Harm’s Way 02. Dreaming In Unison 03. Obliterate 04. Blind 05. Slums 06. Paranoia
The Light will land on April 20, with “Dreaming In Unison” streaming in full below.
Lapsus Records has “closely followed” the career of the Georgian producer since he contributed to the 2014 DEU compilation with the track “Blackout” as Winter Flags, his more ambient moniker. Outside of this, Gacha has become something of a mainstay of the Belgian label Apollo, a sub-label of R&S Records. He also runs Transfigured Time.
He’s now set to release Word Color, a nine-song mini-LP in which Gacha “gives free rein to his most introspective electronica.” The album is described as “a cinematic arrangement of captivating melodies, rhythmic experimentation, textured landscapes, and micro-vocal samples.”
The release will be the Lapsus’ first of 2018.
Tracklisting
A1. Leaf A2. The Prayer A3. Stray A4. The Single Hound A5. Oneself B1. Word Color B2. Sarphi Rocks B3. Clarinets B4. Dream Debris
Word Color will land on April 13, with the title track streaming in full below.
OddMann Recordings is a new London-based label run by Half Baked’s Greg Brockmann and production partner Odd Soul under their OddMann alias. Having worked on forging their own minimal techno sound, they’re not set to release a new EP, inaugurating their label with a three-tracker aimed “aimed squarely at the dancefloor, both at peak time and also those creepy dark after-hours moments.”
OMR 001 will land on April 9, with an exclusive XLR8R edit of “Track 1,” titled “Genereux,” available to download in full via the WeTransfer button below.
Tel Aviv’s Deep’a & Biri (Yaron Amor and Itai Biri) are arguably Israel’s most dedicated techno heads. As resident DJs and bookers at Barzilay Club, over years they’ve provided a diet of underground beats for the city’s serious club goers, bringing over Detroit and Berlin’s biggest hitters, from Robert Hood to Rødhåd. In parallel, they’ve developed an individual production sound, steeped in electronic traditions but with distinctive features of its own.
Since they began releasing tracks in 2009, Deep’a & Biri’s music has appeared on Derrick May’s Transmat label and DJ Hell’s Gigolo Records, as well as on their own label Black Crow. Now based in Berlin, an influence of the German capital is never far on their second album, Dominance, though the moodier techno elements are often tempered with more melodic qualities. “False Memories” is a hypnotic helix of interwoven arpeggios and warm pads, with a stepping beat and a masterful sense of restraint. “Flow Diverter” is typical of their current style, with its heavy linear kicks, hats, and astral bell melodies, gradually overshadowed by a darker electronic drone.
Unlike their 2016 track “Echoic Memories, a dancefloor dub techno cut with more than a nod to Basic Channel, Dominance is for the most part designed for atmosphere rather than club play. Nevertheless, “École de Nancy,” soaked in delay and skittering rhythms, is a relentless rumble of kicks, toms, and reverberant metallic hits heard best in cavernous spaces through giant sound systems.
Dub techno is a recurring trope that crops up several times on Dominance. The opening track “Theories of Loneliness” is an ambient piece where aquatic melodies swim through echo deck rhythms and submerged pads, not a million miles from the work of Deepchord. “Voltage” hisses and whispers with ricocheting, barely-there synth notes over a mechanical techno beat, and “Alpha Cephei”, with its ascending, fluttering keys, has the dubwise, psychedelic feel of one of Sabres of Paradise’s early ’90s numbers.
On the whole, Deep’a & Biri’s sound on Dominance is similar to that of their 2013 debut album, Emotions, Visions, Changes, showing their predilection for certain sounds. Still, their new record has a more spacious character. “Avicenna” is as dark as they get, where an abstract, tense loop looms over typically hard drums and a kinetic ride cymbal. “Alkalinity” is similarly brooding, with acidic notes bumping over almost-electro beats.
But some of the best moments of the record are its most ambient. “Astral Trails” takes early ’90s IDM as a reference point, with an evocative bassline, spooky pads, and skittering percussion helping to weave its spell. Deep’a & Biri are particularly good at this kind of abstract electronic music, and it’s a shame there’s not more of it on Dominance. Nevertheless, fans of dub techno will find plenty of oceanic textures to swim in here.
Tracklisting
A1. Theories Of Loneliness A2. Voltage A3. Alpha Cephei B1. Avicenna B2. Alkalinity C1. École de Nancy C2. Flow Diverter D1. False Memories D2. Seeking Solace D3. Astral Trails
Tel Aviv’s Deep’a & Biri (Yaron Amor and Itai Biri) are arguably Israel’s most dedicated techno heads. As resident DJs and bookers at Barzilay Club, over years they’ve provided a diet of underground beats for the city’s serious club goers, bringing over Detroit and Berlin’s biggest hitters, from Robert Hood to Rødhåd. In parallel, they’ve developed an individual production sound, steeped in electronic traditions but with distinctive features of its own.
Since they began releasing tracks in 2009, Deep’a & Biri’s music has appeared on Derrick May’s Transmat label and DJ Hell’s Gigolo Records, as well as on their own label Black Crow. Now based in Berlin, an influence of the German capital is never far on their second album, Dominance, though the moodier techno elements are often tempered with more melodic qualities. “False Memories” is a hypnotic helix of interwoven arpeggios and warm pads, with a stepping beat and a masterful sense of restraint. “Flow Diverter” is typical of their current style, with its heavy linear kicks, hats, and astral bell melodies, gradually overshadowed by a darker electronic drone.
Unlike their 2016 track “Echoic Memories, a dancefloor dub techno cut with more than a nod to Basic Channel, Dominance is for the most part designed for atmosphere rather than club play. Nevertheless, “École de Nancy,” soaked in delay and skittering rhythms, is a relentless rumble of kicks, toms, and reverberant metallic hits heard best in cavernous spaces through giant sound systems.
Dub techno is a recurring trope that crops up several times on Dominance. The opening track “Theories of Loneliness” is an ambient piece where aquatic melodies swim through echo deck rhythms and submerged pads, not a million miles from the work of Deepchord. “Voltage” hisses and whispers with ricocheting, barely-there synth notes over a mechanical techno beat, and “Alpha Cephei”, with its ascending, fluttering keys, has the dubwise, psychedelic feel of one of Sabres of Paradise’s early ’90s numbers.
On the whole, Deep’a & Biri’s sound on Dominance is similar to that of their 2013 debut album, Emotions, Visions, Changes, showing their predilection for certain sounds. Still, their new record has a more spacious character. “Avicenna” is as dark as they get, where an abstract, tense loop looms over typically hard drums and a kinetic ride cymbal. “Alkalinity” is similarly brooding, with acidic notes bumping over almost-electro beats.
But some of the best moments of the record are its most ambient. “Astral Trails” takes early ’90s IDM as a reference point, with an evocative bassline, spooky pads, and skittering percussion helping to weave its spell. Deep’a & Biri are particularly good at this kind of abstract electronic music, and it’s a shame there’s not more of it on Dominance. Nevertheless, fans of dub techno will find plenty of oceanic textures to swim in here.
Tracklisting
A1. Theories Of Loneliness A2. Voltage A3. Alpha Cephei B1. Avicenna B2. Alkalinity C1. École de Nancy C2. Flow Diverter D1. False Memories D2. Seeking Solace D3. Astral Trails
Aztek will release a new full-length, Summit, his first for new label Courteous Family.
Originally from Chicago, Aztek relocated to Utah, which became the source inspiration for the album. On his way home from working in Park City, Utah, Aztek would drive down the mountain pass and experience an inversion on the horizon, seeing the buildup of pollution sitting on the mountain. The haze that he continued to see night after night became a “symbol” for what he wrote in Summit.
The album is described as a “beautiful blend between the primal and the abstract” that touches on “many landscapes within the electronic world,” including tribal, bass, electronic, trap, and zouk.
Courtesy Family is an LA-based artist collective that includes Huxley Anne and Woolymammoth, among many others. The label arm only launched last year.
Upon the release of Summit, Aztek will relocate to Los Angeles, with plans to work closely with Courteous Family and the area’s experimental electronic scene.
Tracklisting
01. That’s A Dead Guy 02. Gastown 03. CrumblyBumpkin’s Demise 04. Over There Is Water 05. Cunninglingus with Joan Sanders 06. Sushlord 4k 07. Summit 08. Disconnected 09. Romper 10. Ramsey’s Curse 11. Soulection Killed My Airplants 12. Edd Hardy Summer Kamp (feat. Tsuruda)
Peggy Gou will release a new 12″ on Phonica White series next month, titled Travelling Without Arriving.
The two-track release, which features a remix from New York DJ-producer Ge-ology, is Gou’s second appearance as part of the Phonica white-label series, following 2016’s Day Without Yesterday / Six O Six.
Her last release landed earlier this month with the Once EP for Ninja Tune.
Tracklisting
A. Travelling Without Arriving B. Travelling Without Arriving (Ge-ology Nite Stealth Ninja Mix)
Travelling Without Arriving will land on April 27, with clips streaming here.
Sonnymoon have released their latest single, “Root,” via their own Sonnymoon Music.
The new single, which follows recent outings “Ideas” and “Role,” is a song of deep reflection and intention, “looking at the present state of humanity without the filters and facetune, and instead with acceptance.” As with the previous two singles, “Root” was recorded during the group’s recording retreat in Upstate New York.
You can find stream and purchase options here, with the single also streaming below.
We last heard from Natch Elements, the sub-label of Berlin-based imprint Natch Records, back in 2016 with the release of Hydrangea‘s remix of a cut from BLNDR‘s Drone Capacity EP. Now, the label returns to XLR8R‘s pages with another standout release, once again from Hydrangea.
Titled Osmosis, the new EP dives into deep dub territory with four tracks filled with textured soundscapes, bone-chilling sound design, and enticing grooves. Osmosis gives a further glimpse into Hydrangea’s sonic universe, one full of intriguing depth and cohesion.
You can pick up the record here, with the EP’s digital bonus cut available via WeTransfer below.
Ivy Lab will release Death Don’t Always Taste Good, their debut album proper, on May 11, through their own 20/20 LDN label.
The North London outfit, originally consisting of Sabre, Stray, and Halogenix, came to prominence around 2012 as a drum & bass act working predominantly for the Critical Music label through which they released their debut single, “Oblique.” The years that followed have seen them go from strength to strength while propagating a new generation of hip-hop-inspired abstractions housed within the framework of their 20/20 LDN project. The label was unveiled with 2015’s pseudo-mixtape/compilation LP Ivy Lab presents 20/20 Volume.1, and subsequent follow-up EPs have been benchmark moments in forging the halftime / future beats genre—an assortment of actors from across the bass music landscape applying their sonic-heritage to experiments with hip-hop and drum machine electronica.
Now a duo, Sabre (Gove Kidao) and Stray (J. Fogel) will release their debut album proper, titled Death Don’t Always Taste Good. It’s described as their “most consistent body of work they’ve created so far” and “reveals a deeper dimension to Ivy Lab’s sonic palette than we’ve experienced before.” It will be the first music from them since they’ve become a duo.
Tracklisting:
01. Fortune Teller 02. Ugly Bubble 03. Jet Lag 04. Astral Pirate Theme 05. Cake 06. Vanity Fair 07. A & E 08. Death Don’t Always Taste Good 09. Snack Time 10. Calculate 11. Ozbo 12. Cadillac
Death Don’t Always Taste Good LP will land on May 18, with “Cake” streaming in full below.
