Page 444 – XLR8R

Troy Next on Klockworks

Troy will release a new EP on Ben Klock‘s Klockworks label, titled Klockworks 21.

Troy’s last release came in the shape of an appearance on the Klockworks 20 label compilation, curated by Ben Klock himself to showcase tracks from familiar faces to the label as well as newcomers and up-and-coming artists. The Amsterdam-based producer now returns with a solo 12” which “explores complex textures to create a powerful techno record ready for the dancefloor.”

This release also marks the first edition of a new series of artwork, designed by Ben Klock, with a full printed sleeve featuring the new Klockworks design.

Tracklisting

A1. Algol
A2. Ariamis
B1. Redshift
B2. Ceres

Klockworks 21 is due out February 19 on vinyl and digital formats, with snippets streaming below.

Pangaea Lines Up New Hessle Audio EP

Pangaea, real name Kevin McAuley, will return to his Hessle Audio label with a new EP, Bone Sucka.

The two-track release will be the British producer’s first appearance on Hessle since his debut LP In Drum Play, which arrived in October 2016. We can expect two club tracks exploring different textures and “designed for impact.”

Tracklisting:

A. Bone Sucka
B. Proxy

Bone Sucka EP will land on March 2, with clips streaming below.

Len Sander ‘Moving Into Love’

Last week, Zurich-based quintet Len Sander released their sophomore album, The Future of Lovers, via Mouthwatering Records.

The new LP follows the band’s standout debut, Phantom Garden, and a handful of singles (“Places” and ‘”Another Man” are of note), presenting 11 left-field pop tracks that reference the golden age of ’90s songwriting while exploring the social dimensions of love and physicality.

In support of the LP release, Len Sander have offered up “Moving Into Love” as today’s XLR8R download, which looks to the unpredictable nature of relationships, as singer Blanka Inauen explains:

“This song for me is like a viscous liquid that slowly expands and contracts and then suddenly things get shaken up fast. It’s all about movement and pace. We wondered if we could make a song with two completely different temporalities and were quite happy when we realised not only that it worked musically but also perfectly fit the lyrics. When you’re intensifying a love relationship things can suddenly go so fast, you can lose your direction to a point where you can get insecure whether you are still moving into love or actually moving out of it.”

You can pick up “Moving Into Love” below, with the album available here.

Moving Into Love

Premiere: Skudge’s New Remix Hypnotizes with its Dubby Brilliance

RAAM‘s seventh release will arrive on February 9 with a remix from Skudge.

Already picking up steam via support from artists such as Laurent Garnier, Mosca, Ivan Smagghe, Jacques Greene, Maya Jane Coles, and Carl Craig, RAAM 7.7 presents a grittier, more raw side to RAAM’s productions, from the rolling rhythms of “7” to the melancholic atmosphere of “777.” For their interpretation of “7,” Skudge deliver a dubby club weapon that hypnotizes with its fathoms deep groove.

You can pre-order RAAM 7.7here, with Skudge’s remix streaming in full via the player below.

Podcast 527: Peter Van Hoesen

Belgium’s Peter Van Hoesen has never been that typical techno artist. Growing up in Belgium, having been inspired by the country’s thriving EBM scene, he began producing techno and DJing, while also throwing his own events through university. Over ensuing years, he delved into more experimental sonic explorations, including drum & bass and dubstep, before returning to become one of techno’s modern-day tastemakers.

As an artist, he is one who sculpts sounds for different environments—the club, the home, the gallery, or the museum. In the former, the area in which he is most widely known, he lays down dark and arresting techno sets and captivating live musical journeys that have made him a widely acknowledged favorite at renowned institutions such as Panorama Bar and Japan’s Labyrinth Festival. His released output, too, is full of highly creative, masterfully executed pieces of club music packed full of personality—most of which has landed on Tresor, Komisch, and his own Time To Express.

The latter label recently celebrated its 30th release, Nine At The Beginning, presented by Van Hoesen himself, and in support of the release—and the upcoming 10th label anniversary—he’s compiled a mix for the XLR8R podcast series. An hour in length, its an exemplary set of deeply psychedelic contemporary techno, featuring tracks exclusively from Time To Express.

Where and when was the mix recorded?

The mix was recorded in late November 2017 in my studio in Berlin.

The mix is made up of all Time To Express material—how did you choose the records you included?

That was actually the most difficult part of the entire process. When I started preparing the selection for this mix it was very much a question of “kill your darlings.” There are many tracks I wanted to include in the mix but as I wanted to keep it within a certain timeframe I had to eliminate many tracks. In the end, the mix came together the way it is now but I strongly believe that, given one or two alternative choices made along the way, the actual result would have been radically different. One track leads to another, one choice leads to another, so I guess it was all very much something that happened in the moment. It showed me that there are many alternative realities possible when the releases are combined with each other. As a label owner that is a rather nice feeling to have.

Time To Express has just hit its 30th release—how has the label evolved over the years and what do you have in store for 2018?

The label has slowly evolved, not with radical changes but through a more gradual approach. What has always been there is a certain fondness for abstract sounds and grooves. It is not really a label known for hard as nails industrial techno; I believe it has a more psychedelic vibe. Some of the releases are very different to each other but I do think that in the end there is an overall narrative. That said, I strongly feel that 2018 will bring another change, a different perspective to what has come before, and I look forward to that. One of the rewarding aspects of the label is that I get to run it like some sort of musical laboratory: basically, if I have an idea I can immediately test it out.

How was 2017 for you?

In many ways, it has been a very intense year. I was fortunate to play some really special shows this year, as a solo artist and alongside Yves De Mey with Sendai. I’ve also produced a lot of music, most of which has not been released or is not even entirely finished. I have the feeling that in 2018 much of this material will be completed in one way or another. A lot of new music is coming.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on several projects, one of them a new solo album. Yves and I are also preparing a new Sendai release, and we’re looking at releasing some older material through our Archives Intérieures label. It will be a busy year, but in a good way so I’m looking forward to it.

Tracklisting

01. Bee Mask “Headband” (Peter Van Hoesen remix) [Time to Express]
02. Donato Dozzy & Cio D’Or “Menta” [Time to Express]
03. Peter Van Hoesen “Seven, Green and Black” (SCB remix) [Time to Express]
04. Dario Zenker “Insirer” [Time to Express]
05 Peter Van Hoesen “Protagonist” [Time to Express]
06. Samuli Kemppi “Rymd” [Time to Express]
07. SP-X “E.T.A” [Time to Express]
08. Peter Van Hoesen “Objects From The Past” (Neel remix) [Time to Express]
09. Wata Igarashi “Night” [Time to Express]
10. Peter Van Hoesen “Coast To Coast” [Time to Express]
11. Convexion “Oil On Metal” [Time to Express]
12. Object “Nocpy” [Time to Express]

Houghton Festival Announces First Names

Houghton Festival has confirmed the first names for its 2018 edition.

Curated by Craig Richards and produced by the Gottwood Festival team, Houghton Festival will return after an extremely successful debut edition.

All artists have been personally invited by Craig to play, and are a true reflection of his expansive musical taste. This is just the first wave of artists to be announced with further lineup additions, and a food and wellbeing showcase, to follow in the coming weeks.

Ricardo Villalobos, Andrew Weatherall, Seth Troxler, Nicolas Lutz, Ben UFO, Ivan Smagghe, Roman Flügel, Joy Orbison, Magda, Sonja Moonear, Optimo, Margaret Dygas, and Midland are just some of the DJs returning in 2018. Joining them will be Zip, Objekt, Prosumer, Call Super, Pearson Sound, Jane Fitz, DJ Fett Berger, The Mole, Luca Lozano, Barac, Intergalactic Gary, and Shanti Celeste.

The alternative sounds of Houghton are also faultless. Mr Scruff, Vladimir Ivkovoic, Jonny Rock, and Mixmaster Morris return, and Idjut Boys, Ruf Dug, and Nick The Record debut. Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnson bring their ALFOS party to Norfolk for the first time. Plus disco sets will come from the likes of Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy, Felix Dickinson, Psychemagik, Rob Mello, Dave Harvey, and Horse Meat Disco. Calibre, dBridge, and Appleblim will also all perform.

This year’s edition takes place from August 7 to 12 in Norfolk, England, with more information available here. Meanwhile, you can see all the names included in this first edition via the flyer below, with a photo gallery of last year available here.

“By presenting music, art, and a promised experience in an honest and restrained way meant those four days in Norfolk last year were not only magical but they were believable. The setting proved to be nothing but perfect. Our aim is to build on the foundations of last year’s success, but instead of growing we’re sticking to the story with minor improvements and a strong belief in the initial concept. Artists, DJs, and musicians will be presented with meritocracy and equality. Everyone who performs will be given a chance to shine and everyone who attends will be treated to the best of everything.” — Craig Richards

Ripperton Shares Stunning Track From New Ambient Album

Next up on ESP Institute will be Ripperton‘s Sight Seeing LP.

According to the album’s accompanying text, Ripperton sent ESP Institute a collection of beautiful tracks produced with no agenda but to mirror the self and upon repeated listens the label pulled selected tracks to form the stunning LP. Inspired by expansive landscapes, Ripperton describes the album as “postcards to himself, messages from his subconscious recorded on tape (both conceptually and literally).” Instinctively absent of dancefloor moments, it’s an album geared towards introspection and reflection.

Sight Seeing will be released on February 9 and can be pre-ordered here, with “Hếlios” available to stream in full via the player below.

Zoë Mc Pherson ‘iv. Komusar (moving)’

Zoe McPherson has made an audio/visual album, String Figures, exploring the disappearance of cultures as they clash with Westernism and virtual spaces. Bringing in a range of equipment including hardware electronics, throat singing, live instrumentation, and a huge range of ethnographic samples, she uses the idea of “String Figures” (an early means of communication) as a metaphor for this clashing of worlds.

The album is fundamentally one of duality, exploring the traditional and the contemporary, organic and electronic, audio and visual, history, and the future. Rooted in this duality is also a core theme around string being one of the most ancient, and playful art forms and the seemingly infinite possibilities it offers in terms of shapes, structures, and figures lines up with this as a trans-global art project. One that over time will involve video art, choreography, 3D motion design, macro film, instrumental, and electronic sound.

Over the seven tracks (which are laid out as chapters), the record explores glitchy electronics, dub-tinged grooves, polyrhythms, and a huge array of instruments. This cross-pollinates with the throat singing and experimental field recordings. All in all, it’s a deeply rhythmic, immersive, and forward-thinking piece of electronic-leaning music that remains just as danceable as it does experimental.

Ahead of the album’s March 2 release via SVS Records, you can download “iv. Komusar (moving)” via the WeTransfer button below.

iv. Komusar (moving)

Andy Rantzen ‘Abandoned Surgery’

Spinning Plates is set to return with its fourth release, a split EP featuring returning Sydney-based artist Andy Rantzen and Pascal Stürmer (a.k.a. Laccy), both of whom provide two tracks each.

Keeping in tune with the label’s ethos, SP004 will be a vinyl only release, arriving with special screen-printed silkscreen artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl. The four cuts on the release sit in the stripped-back house realm; warped beat-driven outings you’ll likely hear played by artists such as Francesco Del Garda and Spinning Plates’ A&R Bruno Schmidt.

In support of the release, Andy Rantzen has offered up “Abandoned Surgery,” a trippy and minimalistic bonus cut, as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below.

You can pre-order the release here.

Abandoned Surgery

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