Clash Lion will reportedly focus on a wide-ranging electronic sound, pushing releases that range from “techno to retro electronica.” For the first drop, the label are presenting a very special release from Eric Estornel’s Maetrik moniker, featuring two typically twisted club cuts with fierce low ends, deep, searing synths, and weighty percussion.
The EP, which is titled Return, will be available on vinyl and digitally on September 29 and can be pre-ordered here, with “Ninex 7-C” streaming in full below.
Lustful Truth is Evident’s new alias for seductive downtempo and slow-house fused together with cultural, noise, and pop sounds.
Evident belongs to the younger generation of electronic musicians. Born at the end of Yugoslavian era into newly established Slovenia, he was raised in the small town up in the north, surrounded by forests and mountains. It was here that he developed a strong interest and passion for electronic music. In recent years he’s become influenced by the artistic, melancholic, and explorative side of electronic music while remaining firmly connected to the club core that for him resides between house and techno. At the start of 2017 he released his debut album titled Mysteries We Don’t Have Time To Think About which journeys through fifteen tracks, that span from ambient beginnings and slow electronica, to break infused house into classier deep-tech rhythms.
As Lustful Youth, he’s revisioned the track “Strawberry Letter 23” with a signature touch on top of 105 bpm beat and a feel-good driving result. The original track is by Shuggie Otis in 1971 and made famous with the cover version, recorded by The Brother Johnson in 1977 (produced by Quincy Jones).
Kllo have unveiled the new video for recent single “Downfall” taken from their debut album, Backwater, coming out October 20 via on Ghostly International.
“This clip is a gentle journey from the cold urbanscapes of Melbourne city to the golden hues of the sunny coast, Australia,” Kllo say of the video. “It follows Chloe through from a place which she must escape, to a nostalgic place of familiarity. We end in a burning sugar field, which is symbolic of those hostile feelings to be released.”
Directed by photographer and filmmaker Freya Esders, the video for “Downfall” explores the need to isolate and return to the familiar. “The Sunshine Coast represents this space for me, I wanted to visually explore the warmth and comfort that only a nostalgic environment can provide and how that sense of emotional isolation is represented in the surrounds,” Esders says.
“The cane fires are a pungent part of my childhood memory. A truly dual sensory experience, I recall afternoons where sickly sweet air would spill from a fast and brilliant blaze. Always at dusk, flames melting into sunsets. I’d been wanting to harness this memory on film for a long time, cane fires are a rare thing now in the cane farming industry and luckily we were able to find a farm that was going to be burning right when we were going to be shooting – using film for the project helped solidify what I’d hoped to evoke, a saturated, vibrant memory and in the clip, a finale about letting go.”
Backwater LP is scheduled for October 20 release, with the video for “Downfall” streaming above.
London-based experimental publisher Split Music has gained a reputation for its expertise in placing music in audiovisual projects, from Hollywood movie trailers like Blade Runner 2049, The Dark Tower & Mother, to brand films for globally recognized designers Adidas, Dior, Puma. Now, from their headquarters at London’s Village Underground, they have launched their latest project: the Research label. This new label will showcase the artists they represent by challenging them to “push the boundaries of their production process to new levels.”
With its introductory compilation LP Spheres, Research has assembled a group of artists specializing in rhythmic experimentalism and psycho-acoustic investigation. The LP focuses on music that is capable of transporting beat-driven music beyond the social environment of the club.
Spheres is the first in a series of “documents” by Research, which intends to unite a diverse selection of artists around a common theme. The inspiration for this initial “document” comes from artist and mathematician Timothy Cresswell, whose carving of spheres covered in mathematical figures – a holistic, meditative process he refers to as “tuning” – has taken place for over fifty years and has inspired the art direction of his son Daniel.
The Ekster label will soon present the third edition of its EXO series, featuring another double 12″ containing 15 tracks.
Antwerp-based Ekster is the label of graphic designer Victor and producer Roman (a.k.a Hiele). Together they’ve launched a sharp and smartly curated imprint that focuses as much on style and substance. Each of their releases lands as a vacuum-packed limited edition with impressive artwork and EXO3 is no different. Contributions this time come from the likes of Suzanne Kraft, Jonny Nash, Gigi Masin, Hiele, Polysick, Elko B., Milan W, and more.
It features a sleeve design by Victor Robyn. Pressings are limited to just 500.
Tracklisting
A1. Hiele “Birdwatching” A2. Polysick “Misolidio” A3. Rembrandt Redandt “Blankenberge” A4. Soft Focus “Momentum” B1. Aloïs R. “Twee Beren” B2. Milan W. “Glaasjes” B3. Fregnacciarius “Ferragosto” B4. Elko B. “Verletztes Reh” B5. Hantrax “Walking With Raven” C1. Jonny Nash “Head Is Clearer” C2. Gigi Masin “Starshine” D1. Suzanne Kraft “Still Sick” D2. Hiele “Buchla For Sunday” D3. Componium Ensemble “Kats” D4. Roger 3000 “Nuptiale”
EXO3 is scheduled for November 28 release, with Suzanne Kraft’s “Still Sick” streaming in full below.
Hailing from Detroit, Magda—Items & Things co-owner (with Marc Houle and Troy Pierce) and former M_nus affiliate—is one of the most revered DJs around. Cobblestone Jazz is the improvised live techno project of Mathew Jonson, Danuel Tate, and Tyger Dhula. With close ties to Itiswhatitis Recordings and Wagon Repair, the Canadian trio, now working out of Berlin, are adored for their electric live performances that flow across the deepest house to wildest techno. Robag Wruhme is a key figure in modern, leftfield and melodious techno who recently headlined the Unleash Pampa Records Day & Night special.
As announced, Osaka’s Kohei Matsunaga (a.k.a NHK yx Koyxen) will debut on DFA with Exit Entrance.
Kohei has been making and releasing music since 1997 and has recorded for such iconic labels as Mille Plateaux, PAN, and Diagonal. He dropped his debut LP just last year via this latter imprint.
He’s now shared “Intention,” the first single to be taken from the LP, which is streamable in full above.
Not a lot is known of Morgan Friedrich. What we do know is that the man behind the character, Paris-based producer and choreographer Morgan Belenguer, explains that “Morgan Friedrich is a composer but also a character more or less imagined.” His music is as elusive as the character, never sticking to one genre or style and floating through a range of warped beats and textures.
His latest single, “Spell Drops,” which is being offered as today’s XLR8R download via WeTransfer below, along with a poem by Friedrich.
Spell, Drops. A handful of earth, because it’s mine, Drops. A banner on his back, he wanders through the field, Drops. A cigarette crushed in an empty holy shell, a habitat, Drops. A Home equipment barcode, labeled on a pebble stone, Drops. A shoe sole left in the sand, photographed by someone’s shadow, Drops. An aftertaste, a background, a reverse then a reversal, Drops. An empty look, on nothing, in particular, he leans, Drops.
By now, Russian artist Julia Govor‘s story should be quite familiar to XLR8R‘s readers. In short, it goes like this: Govor got her start as an artist in a small military town in Abkhazia, DJing cassettes at the town’s nightclub, as well as performing as the lead singer in the local military band Moryachka. Proper forays into DJ culture began in the early ’00s, before a relocation to New York—a move which in turn lead to gigs alongside Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, and Adam Beyer at Output, Time Warp, Awakenings, and Electric Zoo. More recently, Govor has found herself in headline positions around the world at revered venues such as Printworks London, and slots at festivals like Germany’s Melt Festival, and with releases now under her belt from some of the scenes’ most-loved labels, including Rhythm Cult, Hypertone, Cocoon, akkult, and Second State, it’s safe to say Govor is one of the most in-demand house and techno artists operating today.
For the latest Hi-Five, Govor has selected five of her all-time favorite emotive club cuts, available to stream below.
Julia Govor will be performing alongside Matthew Jonson, KiNK, The Black Madonna, Richie Hawtin, Dixon, Marcel Dettmann, Cut Copy, Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons, and Hito at CRSSD Festival, which takes place September 30 to October 1 in San Diego. You can grab tickets to CRSSD here.
It’s not easy to create a detailed sound in music, if it’s too busy it can be destructive. People like to hear clear and clean sounds. Personally, I like details and texture. I can name a few great composers/producers who can create these complex sounds skilfully, and one in particular is Kamran Sadeghi. When I listen to “Between Dreams,” I hear many things: warm pads, sharp hi hats, perfectly filtered snares, and powerful basslines. All those little sounds and synth lines rock me back and forth and I feel like I am floating in space, between the planets and stars. Weightless. Timeless.
02. DJ Slip “Every Time It Takes Awhile” [Sub Static]
I first heard this track about six years ago (four years after DJ Slip produced it) when Ricardo Villalobos played it. I remember the crowd didn’t know how to dance to the music but I was immediately taken by it. The real skill of a great DJ is not only hyping up the crowd to the point of clapping and screaming, but also to make them truly feel something! In the moment I heard this track, time stopped. I don’t think I had ever heard anything so beautifully produced in my life. It is a classic, minimal techno track. Its minimalism and craft are so complimentary it brings sound to a completely different level. It gives this feeling of creating your own space, using your imagination, and staying connected with reality.
03. Julia Govor “Litmus”
This one is dark and stormy, heavy and emotional. “Litmus” is one of my first solo-produced records. I can hear very clearly now how I was experimenting back then. I was really trying to find my sound and playing with a lot of different styles and genres.
This track holds a lot of emotion for me, I cry every time I hear it. It brings a bittersweet feeling, reminding me of times I didn’t express myself and my love for the people around me.
What an intelligent piece of music! The classic, gold trance track from the ’90s. I hear all of those crispy clicks, uplifting pads, warm kicks, and absolutely endless synths. I hear birds in the track and I feel like I am flying right beside them, happy and relieved as we soar in the music. I listen to this track over and over and it never gets old.
