The self-titled album will be his second full-length LP, following on from his most recent EP, Oasis and Time—released via Superconscious Records, the label James runs with Fantastic Man—which looked to late ’80s/early ’90s dream house records from Italy for its inspiration. Veranda Culture sees James shift gears slightly, focusing on ethereal new age ambience, pulsating rhythms, and shimmering synth lines on an album that unfolds with patience and a subtle beauty. The record was recorded over a period of three years between Melbourne and London after James chanced upon the debut album of Greek-born composer Iasos, titled Inter-Dimensional Music.
Ahead of the release on October 6, you can stream the entire LP in full via the player below, with the record available for pre-order here.
On October 6, Somne will debut on Just This with his latest EP, Metropolis.
The Italian producer’s latest arrives after somewhat of a hiatus, presenting his first release since last year’s contribution to the Afterlife compilation Realm Of Consciousness and 2015’s Vertere collaboration with Mind Against on Life and Death. Like those two previous outings, Metropolis is full of rolling grooves and meditative atmospheres that feature Somne’s dancefloor-ready flare and his more heady, left-field leaning tendencies.
Ahead of the forthcoming release, which can be pre-ordered here, Somne has offered up a full stream of “Divided Love,” the EP’s warped, broken beat cut, via the player below.
There’s a soothing quality running through the work of Belgian artist Alexander Cornelis (a.k.a. Moodprint). Built from delicate, subtle drum programming, smooth-as-silk chords, and inspired sampling, his music feels timeless and free, touching on hip-hop, soul, funk, and rare groove, with a Moodprint signature sitting at its core.
The eclectic nature of his work made him an obvious fit for Tangram Records, the Belgian record label on which Moodprint’s debut EP, Storyboard, landed in 2013. That EP opened the floodgates for Moodprint, with two more EPs, several bootlegs, collabs with Yellowstraps, Elaquent, PhaRo, Le Motel, LTGL, Up High Collective, and Brihang, and his debut self-titled album—released by Los Angeles-based record label Cold Busted—following in quick succession.
Outside of his releases, Moodprint has also built a reputation as a respected digger and curator via his bi-monthly night ‘Oddities,’ which he runs alongside fellow Belgian DJ Hassel; ‘Interviews,’ an interview series in which he asks five questions to someone he shares the lineup with to gain insight into their habitat, personal taste, and history (each interview guest is also drawn by Cornelis’ favorite street artist, Dzia); and ‘B-Sides,’ a monthly mix series hosted on the Tangram Mixcloud that invites artists to share personal tastes, inspirations, and music that lies beyond what’s expected from them—this, too, has beautiful artwork attached to every release.
Next month, Moodprint will play a selection of shows in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Leuven for the five-year Tangram Records anniversary tour, alongside Tangram founders Up High Collective and guests such as Nature Boy Flako and Moses Boyd. A new EP is also scheduled to drop via Tangram on November 17—some of the EP cuts can be heard in the below mix.
Moodprint’s podcast contribution is a perfect summary of his many facets: across 56 minutes, he stitches together a collection of free-flowing, swinging grooves and worldly gems with a feel-good nature.
When and where was the mix recorded?
I made this selection in September in my home studio in Leuven (Belgium) where I do most of my work.
What equipment did you record the mix on?
I used an Ecler NUO 3.0, 1 Technics SL1200, another pretty crappy Numark turntable, my Serato, and vinyl.
Was there a particular mood or idea you were looking to convey?
Last year, I became heavily intrigued by the typical Italian soundtrack sound and vibe of the ’70’s. After watching some classic Italian movies, I decided to do something with these inspirations.
After making the EP Oasi, XLR8R gave me the chance to do this mix, so it was a great way to conclude my endeavors of the last year. Hopefully people will get the idea of the strong analog feel and endless experimenting of those times in Italian history.
When digging, what is it that draws you to a record? Is it a feeling you get when listening, or something else?
I don’t want to sound like an arrogant fool, but I do believe you create a sixth sense when digging for records—although, you have a head start when you pick out covers with hazy women on them.
When listening, it’s all about waiting for that goosebump moment.
Tell us about the B-Sides concept.
B-Sides is a monthly mix series I’m hosting on the Tangram Records Mixcloud page. This one is all about bringing forward personal taste and inspirations.
The purpose is to give the guests a chance to show what music lies beyond what’s expected from them, anything goes really.
The artwork that accompanies the B-Sides mixes is stunning, can you tell us more about the visual artists you have partnered with? Do you give them a brief, or like the music, is it free reign?
All the visual artists I worked with in the past are personal friends or became friends. Like every guest, I always ask them to share their work in an honest way without limitations or expectations.
What else do you have coming up this year?
Really excited to do the five-year Tangram Records tour with the guys. It’s always a great way to stay involved with each other’s work and struggles. Besides the tour, I also want to do another exhibition, finish some music I made with Sokoto and PhaRo, amongst others, and keep pushing great music in general.
DJ Seinfeld’s debut album Time Spent Away From U will land on Lobster Fury November 3.
DJ Seinfeld is the alias of Armand Jakobsson, an artist also known as Rimbaudian and Birds of Sweden. Under these aliases, you’ll find sweeping emotive cuts, verdant dancefloor workouts, and discerning dips into jungle and breaks. Releases have come on respected labels including Meda Fury, Ectotherm, UN.T.O, and Lobster Fury, the collaborative label from Lobster Theremin and Meda Fury started for the explicit purpose of releasing his tracks.
The album follows a year packed with EP releases on Endotherm, Natural Sciences, and E-Beamz.
It is described as an extended post-heartbreak love letter, “delivered via the medium of the dancefloor.” Channeling personal emotional content and shot through with DJ Seinfeld’s inimitable warm, nostalgic production style, the album therapeutically explores the theme of heartbreak through crunchy, raw house, classic ’90s and breakbeat rollers, hammering acid dance cuts, lush aquatic deep house, and emotive club anthems.
The label adds that there is “no album filler, no snippet ambient, just solid, concrete-slabbed impassioned bangers from the heart as DJ Seinfeld simply puts it: “There’s no room for ambiguity on this record.”
The extended thirteen track triple vinyl LP contains four bonus tracks, with the more concise digital bundle focusing on nine key tracks.
Vinyl Tracklisting
A1. I Hope I Sleep Tonight A2. I Saw Her Kiss Him In Front Of Me And I Was Like Wtf? A3. Bring U Back B1. Too Late for U and M1 B2. Forgiven C1. Time Spent Away From U C2 – With My Luv D1. Another Way Back D2. It’s Just My Luv E1. How U Make Me Feel E2. U Hold Me Without Touch F1. Come Thru For U F2. U
Online Tracklisting
01. I Hope I Sleep Tonight 02. I Saw Her Kiss Him In Front Of Me And I Was Like Wtf? 03. Too Late for U and M1 04. Time Spent Away From U 05. It’s Just My Luv 06. How U Make Me Feel 07. U Hold Me Without Touch 08. Come Thru For U 09. U
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Social Decay is described as simultaneously one of the Manchester duo’s “most overwhelming and most innovative efforts.”
Whereas AnD’s previous LP Cosmic Microwave Background utilized the duo’s intensity to pay homage to the enormity of the universe and the incomprehensibly violent processes involved in its creation, Social Decay takes things back to earth and right down to a “street view.”
Dan Snaith (a.k.a Caribou) will release his second album as Daphni this Friday.
Joli Mai consists mostly of extended versions of tracks from Snaith’s recent Fabriclivemix, which contained more Daphni material than the project’s entire back catalog.
It will land via the UK artist’s Jiaolong label.
Tracklisting
01. Poly 02. Face To Face 03. Carry On 04. Vulture 05. Xing Tian 06. Vikram 07. Tin 08. The Truth 09. Hey Drum 10. Medellin 11. Joli Mai 12. Life’s What You Make It
Joli Mai is scheduled for October 6 release, with “Carry On” streaming in full below.
Many of you will know Grant from his XLR8R podcast last year. His rise to acclaim has been quite extraordinary. It all started in 2014 with the unidentified producer dropping several precise, swinging deep house numbers via his own label, The Lauren Bacall. Up next was The Acrobat, a debut LP but one that hinted at someone who had already been deep in the game for years—and then came Cranks, a stunning EP that slipped comfortably into our Best Releases of 2016.
Releases have continued to land thick and fast, with three more EPs this year, but next is Perception, Grant’s third LP. We’re told that it’s “much more US house-influenced, with a Chicago kind of vibe.”
A release date is not yet known, but clips are available below.
Tracklisting
A1.Take a Chance A2. Get on B1. Structure B2. The Wait C1. My Definition C2. Scatered Knowledge D1. Reflection D2. Equilibrium
Perception will land on Grant’s new label, Duke’s Distribution.
Horo will release the debut solo EP from Maiko Okimoto (a.k.a Lemna).
Urge Theory follows on from the Japanese artist’s collaborative EP as Ourea alongside Sam KDC and caps a busy year for the Berlin-based label, which has already featured over eight releases.
We’re told to expect “a new sound and identity for modern techno.”
Urge Theory EP is scheduled for November 10 release, with “DLPFC” streaming in full below.
Equal parts songwriter, poet, singer, and lyricist, Sampa The Great first appeared on 2015’s The Great Mixtape ——and has since piqued a lot of global interest.
Rhymes To The East is Sampa The Great’s first new music to be released via Big Dada. Recorded in one take—”It was a standout track to me and one of the strongest lyrics I have captured to date,” she explains. “As soon as I heard this beat, I knew exactly what I wanted to say. I was immediately transported to the East. More substantial releases will land soon.
We’re told that more substantial releases will land soon.
Tracklisting
01. Rhymes To The East (edit) 02. Rhymes To The East
Rhymes To The East is out, with the title track streaming above.
Last month, LA-based duo Annabel (lee) dropped The Cleansing, their anticipated follow-up to their 2015 Ninja Tune debut, on Youngbloods.
The sophomore outing is a stunning collection of delicate cuts that ignore categorization and genre constraints. There are, of course, musical touchstones such as jazz and bossa nova, but the duo’s music seems to be a distant echo of inspirations, filtered through a noir-ish haze and a smokey lens. Graceful instrumentation and floating soundscapes provide the backing for singer and lyricist Sheila Ellis’ haunting and abstract vocal work across eight tracks and two sides—the release is split into two parts: Side A, Shades of Reverie, and Side B, Tones of Clarity.
The Cleansing is available now on limited-edition 12” vinyl and digitally and can be grabbed here. To celebrate the release, Youngbloods and Annabel (lee) have offered up “Far” as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below.
