Copenhagen-based producer S.A.M. (a.k.a. Samuel Andre Madsen) will soon release his debut album, titled Dream State Of A Bellmaker, as the eighth release on his own label Delaphine.
Ever since his first EPs in 2007, S.A.M. has become widely known in the club scene for his classic and dubbed-out house cuts. He quickly proliferated into minimal, experimental, and ambient releases while keeping his signature sound in a soulful house niche.
The 66-minute debut presents eight tracks of soothing electronic-acoustic experimentation aimed at “exploring machine music with a human feeling of composition,” according to the label.
Samuel explains, “I set out to experiment with the classic, analog gear used in most techno productions—I wanted to use it to make something humane with nods to my personal interest in jazz but also with more or less direct references to my own personal life. It was a struggle to decide if I revealed too much of myself with this album, or if I should just dare to show a fragile side of me. In the end, I didn’t see a reason to hide from the truth.”
Tracklisting
A1 Baby I’m Sorry A2 Alone In A Crowd B Out Of Touch C1 Pour Aisha C2 Two Hearts In Doubt D Mirror E Better To Have Loved F1 Thank You F2 Dream State Of A Bellmaker F3 Big Sur
In advance of the its February 13 release, Dream State Of A Bellmaker is exclusively streamable in full below.
Early march will see the release of Philadelphia producer Cory Wilson’s (a.k.a. Fortune West) How Did We Get Here? EP on regular XLR8R contributing label Abandon Building. The first single from the forthcoming EP is “The Ghost,” a feel-good, beat-driven cut being offered as today’s XLR8R download.
Like much of Wilson’s work, “The Ghost” utilizes a stunning blend experimental textures, well-placed samples, and chunky hip-hop beats to deliver its message. Ahead of the March release, you can download “The Ghost” via WeTransfer below, with an EP preview video also streaming below.
Sweet Temptation will follow last October’s Doornroosje EP and expands on his sample-heavy style by bringing melody, rhythm, and chords to the foreground. In true Hawkes fashion, the EP is full of solid vocal lines and cracking drums, four tracks of varying moods and intensities aimed squarely at the floor. From the big-room punch of “Burning Light” to the soulful “Zapper Bluesky,” the EP manages to traverse various moods while staying coherent.
Ahead of the release later this week, you can stream “Zapper Bluesky” in full via the player below.
As part of its innovative TMA-2 Modular Headphone System, Danish audio company AIAIAI has launched TMA-2 Discovery, an interactive music-driven feature powered by Spotify and Moodagent that guides users to a headphone configuration that matches their individual music profile.
The modularity aspect of the TMA-2 means you can create your own unique, personalized AIAIAI product that is specific to your needs. But how do you decide on your favorite modular headphone set, when you have the option to choose between more than 1000 different configurations?
“All of that choice can be overwhelming unless you know exactly what you’re looking for already. What if your taste in music—and the data from that—could help you narrow it down and decide on the perfect headphones for you?” says AIAIAI CEO, Frederik Jorgensen.
The feature is based on data from Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist—a weekly roundup of recommended songs chosen for you, tailored to your tastes, and based on your listening habits. Moodagent analyses each individual playlist to reveal detailed track data and characteristics. Customers then have the opportunity to explore their weekly music list, to learn more about the genres, moods and the tempo of the selected songs; before being presented with a headphone configuration that matches their individual music profile.
In order to try it out, you can visit the test page here—though you’ll need to have a Spotify account and follow your Discover Weekly.
Ed & Tom Russell (known respectively for their solo Tessela and Truss projects) will return to XL Recordings as Overmono with their second EP, titled Arla II.
A follow-up to last year’s Arla EP, Arla II is said to further “crystallize the duo’s immense and innovative sound,” according to the label.
The project is born of the brothers’ collective creative impulse and staking out its own defined place in the contemporary landscape of electronic music. Instead of searching for commonalities between their earlier individual work, Overmono combines the duo’s talents in order to reach the spaces between ambient, techno, and UK hardcore dynamics.
After a breakthrough 2016, Heisenberg‘s first release of 2017 will come in the form of a three-track V/A compilation.
A1 comes from the rising German artist Reyam; while A2 comes from Adjustment Bureau, who have already released on Pleasure Zone, Hypertone, Body Parts, and more. The full B-Side comes from Jamahr & Riciar Ghir.
The Stockholm-based electronic imprint, run by Kornél Kovács, Petter Nordkvist and Axel Boman, is set to launch a new sub-label. Barnbarn, which means “grandchild” in Swedish, will be a vinyl-only imprint dedicated mostly to the works of Boman. Two-tracker Geeks / Voodoo is first up, set to drop at the end of February.
Geeks / Voodoo will be released February 24. Check out Axel Boman’s XLR8Rpodcast for a taste of what the artist is about.
Over a long and storied career, Parisian DJ and producer Julien Veniel (a.k.a. D’Julz) has managed to stay relevant and ride through countless trends with understated confidence and style. The music he plays and produces has an undeniable timeless quality running through it; in principle, any of his tracks—or the tracks he releases or DJs—could easily be derived from any year in his 25-year career. On the release front, he’s dropped on, among others, 20/20 Vision, Circus Company, Robsoul, Ovum, and Rekids, while simultaneously DJing in every corner of the globe, including residencies at Circoloco in Ibiza and Rex Club in his home city of Paris.
Bass Culture—Veniel’s long-running club night at Rex Club and, since 2009, record label—is a testament to the timeless quality he pushes. This year, Bass Culture celebrates its 20-year anniversary, an astonishing milestone in an industry that, most of the time, seems to chew up club nights with considerable speed and ferocity. Over its 20-year run, Bass Culture has hosted some of electronic music’s most revered DJs including Terry Francis, Kenny Hawkes, Doc Martin, Josh Wink, Mr G, Sonja Moonear, Carl Craig, Daniel Bell, Octave One, Praslea, Ryan Elliot, and Seth Troxler.
With the 20-year celebrations on the horizon—the first event kicks off on Saturday, February 18 with D’Julz and Dyed Soundorom—we thought it was well overdue to invite Veniel to contribute to XLR8R‘s podcast series; and true to form, we get just over an hour of exquisitely selected house cuts.
When and where was the mix recorded? This mix was recorded around one month ago at my home in Paris, just before the end of the year party madness and a well deserved holiday break in Mexico.
Can you tell us about the idea behind the mix? How did you select the tracks you included? For this podcast I chose to show the deeper side of my sound. There are some more peak-time live recordings of mine online of late, but I think this mix is more suitable for home listening. The tracklisting is a combination of new and old music including a couple of unreleased tracks, and some secret weapons.
How would this compare to one of your club sets at Bass Culture? This mix is very representative of the music I’d play in a warm up set at Bass Culture. I also sometimes play like this at more intimate clubs, or at after parties if the vibe is right.
The mix has a very classic and timeless feel to it and seems to play a lot with restraint, is this something you’ve always looked for at Bass Culture? Thanks, I’ll take it as a compliment as creating something ‘timeless’ is the goal of most artists I suppose.
As for the restraint aspect, I would say it is linked to my approach of the warm-up set. I like to play with a certain tension to build the set up slowly and tease the crowd a little bit. The restraint lifts later in the night, once the crowd is warmed up and the dancefloor is hot.
Are there any particular memories or sets that stick out to you in the 20-year run of Bass Culture? I can honestly say I have enjoyed ninety per cent of the nights there, but sometimes there will be special ones, when the vibe is just perfect from start to finish and all the elements of a perfect night come together: the crowd is electric, I’m happy with mine and my guests set, and a back-to-back mix at the end takes it to another level. These magic ones always stay in my memory.
In its 20-year existence, Bass Culture has seen trends come and go and moved through generations. How have you kept it relevant? I approach the programming of the night the same way I approach my DJing and my production. It’s a balance between keeping my roots strong, but also keeping my ears open towards evolution, certain trends, and new talents. During the last 20 years, the foundation of the Bass Culture sound has never changed but there have been many interesting new influences and interpretations of the sound which have kept it fresh and relevant along the years.
What’s next for Bass Culture? 20 more years! I also have more plans for the outside of the six special parties at the Rex, as I’m planning to take Bass Culture on the road. Watch this space.
What else do you have coming up this year? My next EP will be coming out on Robsoul in April. I also did a few remixes including one for Rolando that should be released this Spring.
As for the Bass Culture label, this year there will be releases from myself, Sebo K, MP, Point G, and Ben Sims.
Darren Allen will join the Discobar family with a two-part release, titled Triamazikamno.
Discobar is the record label founded by French artists Guillaume Taillieu and Lamache, and boasts a small but impressive discography that includes Zendid, Alex & Digby, and more.
Scheduled for March 13 release, part one of the releases contains four “abstract grooves disrupted by distinctive sound interventions,” according to the label.
Tracklisting
A1. Initiation (Break It’s Broke It Remix) A2. Manitou B1. Obyvatel B2. Molecular
Triamazikamno—Part 1 is scheduled for March 13 release, with snippets streamable below.
