Following 2014’s Whorl LP, Simian Mobile Disco are back this year with the promise of four new EPs, coming out through their own imprint, Delicacies.
James Ford and James Shaw (a.k.a. Simian Mobile Disco) first released music together back in the mid-noughties, and have developed their sound from electro, through to more techno-focused material today.
Having already dropped the first release in this series of four—titled Staring At All This Handle which features a remixes by Perc and Volte-Face—the duo’s second EP, Remember In Reverse, features a remix from Chicago’s very own DJ Hyperactive who delivers an uncompromising taste of his techno sensibilities.
You can stream the remix in full via the player below.
You can pre-order Remember In Reverseby going here.
Roger Semsroth (a.k.a. Sleeparchive) has announced the closure of his self-titled imprint.
Launched back in 2004, the Sleeparchive label has since served as a vehicle for the release of the techno pioneer’s releases, which have generally tended to push a loopy, minimal aesthetic. The most recent was Archive Number 016, a three-tracker also featuring material from Jannik Aßfalg and Sydney-based producer Allan Nonamaka.
According to a statement made by Semsroth via Facebook earlier this week, he has made the decision to shut the label down based on “sales.” In a subsequent post, he reassured fans that he will however continue to make music and remixes, and to play live.
Ibiza-based Juan Corbi is no stranger to the European house music scene. As an A&R man at FINA Records, former director and programmer at Pioneer DJ Radio, and a seasoned pro on the decks with DJ crew Melon Bomb, Corbi has worked for over a decade on both sides of the club experience. In addition, since his recent relocation to the Balearic sphere, the multitalented figure has been quietly honing his own production chops.
With a forthcoming release on Anna Wall‘s most recent label undertaking, The Bricks, Juan will add an original house anthem of his own to an expansive resume. In conjunction with The Bricks, Corbi has offered up a dub of his first venture for today’s download. Entitled “Cosmo,” Corbi’s Ibiza influences are made clear with a mellowed-out, deep house excursion through his tropical surroundings.
Freerotation is the vinyl-only label arm of the Freerotation Electronic Audio Visual Festival. Run as a ‘not for profit’ organisation, the Wales-based festival has deservedly earned a reputation for being one of the most forward-thinking events in electronic music.
Following on from the first two releases—which featured tracks from Move D, Juju & Jordash, Soulphiction, Steevio, and Monoak—the next EP to land from the label is another VA, titled Kith, which brings on board festival regulars Anthony Child (a.k.a. Surgeon), Duckett, festival organiser Steevio, and Tom Ellis.
As expected, the release is full of beautifully trippy, left-field cuts; from Childs’ swirling ambient cut “Unconscious Fearless Determination” to Duckett’s fathoms deep “Breaks My Heart When I Remember That Day,” it’s a heady journey to truly get lost in.
The EP can be purchased here, and with the festival set to take place this weekend, Freerotation has offered up an exclusive preview of all four cuts, streamable via the player above.
The coming together of Adrian Sherwood and Nisennenmondai earlier this year was an exhilarating proposition. Though both are well-respected acts at the top of their game, they are worlds apart in many ways. Tokyo-based instrumental trio Nisennenmondai have coursed through a career that has taken them from post-punk and noise-rock origins, through industrial sounds and various reductionist revamps, to a current sound that resembles tight minimal and techno-oriented music. Englishman Sherwood on the other hand has firm roots in reggae, and has been a staple in the world of dub since the ‘80s, pushing ideas through his imprint On-U Sound for the thick end of four decades (as well as working as a producer and involving himself in a diverse array of other alternative projects over the years).
And what do they share in common? It’s got to be that innate musical capacity. Their collaborative full-length #N/A dropped in April of this year, the product of a live session together in Japan earlier this year. Where Nisennenmondai’s recent albums had grown increasingly tight, loopy and disciplined, #N/A is much more unpredictable and irregular. Sherwood’s touch behind the mixing desk had stripped the trio’s improvised jams further down, and opened them up to new, erratic episodes. All in all, it seems they had a lot to learn from each other.
So, it’s only natural that a mix that they worked on together would be of a similarly varied ilk. Their podcast contribution dips between countless styles and tempos across its 90 minute course: noise, new-wave, techno, hip house, rock, acid, and plenty more. It’s a masterly collage that pulls together their broad histories, and as exciting as they come.
Can you both talk to me about the inspirations behind this collaboration? Nisennenmondai: Last year we were asked to do a gig in Tokyo with Adrian doing a live dub mix, which led to recording some songs with him in the studio. This developed into the album #N/A(Nisennenmondai + Adrian Sherwood). It’s the first time we’ve worked with an outside producer, but it has been a really positive experience.
Adrian: I got invited by my label in Japan to work with them and really enjoyed it. I just let them do their thing and tried to capture what they were doing as accurately as possible, adding a bit of FX here and there. They’re a good band and I think it turned out great.
How did it work when recording this mix? Nisennenmondai: We just picked some tracks that we enjoy listening to and sent them to Adrian.
Adrian: I picked stuff that was on or related to the recent compilations of my production and remix work, Sherwood At The Controls and Science Fiction Dancehall Classics. Volume 2 of At The Controls has just come out and covers a lot of the industrial stuff I was doing in the mid to late ’80s with bands like Ministry and Tackhead.
When and where was the mix recorded? Adrian: Tracks were sourced from our respective record collections which live in Tokyo, Japan and Ramsgate, England, then assembled using Ableton.
How did you approach this mix in comparison to a regular set? Nisennenmondai: We are a live band, not DJs, so there is no such thing as a regular set!
Adrian: I guess this focuses more on the non-reggae stuff I’ve done, the metal dance and post-punk and electro type stuff. The first 50 minutes or so is my section of the mix, which is all stuff I’ve had a hand in producing or remixing. Then from Terry Riley onwards it’s all tunes that Nisennenmondai have picked.
What else have you got coming up this year? Can we expect any more releases? Nisennenmondai: We have an EP coming in September on On-U Sound which features a track from the sessions with Adrian that wasn’t included on the album, backed with a remix by one of of musical heroes, though we can’t say who just yet!
Adrian: I’m working on a new album with Pinch, a follow up to Late Night Endless, which is getting close to being finished and sounding great. I’ve done production work on the forthcoming Coldcut record which is dropping soon on Ninja Tune. We also have a Lee “Scratch” Perry retrospective planned to celebrate his 80th birthday, and more unreleased African Head Charge music from the On-U tape archives. I’m also hoping to get out to the United States before too long.
Tracklisting:
01. Nisennenmondai “A’ (live in dub)” [On-U Sound] 02. Skinny Puppy “Deep Down Trauma Hounds” [Nettwerk] 03. Nine Inch Nails “Sin (Dub)” [TVT] 04. Tackhead “Mind At The End Of The Tether” [On-U Sound] 05. Ministry “All Day Remix” [Sire] 06. I Start Counting “Still Smiling (Adrian Sherwood Mix)” [Mute] 07. Depeche Mode “Are People People?” [Mute] 08. Rinf “Big Bondage (Kinky Sex Wet Mix)” [Industrie Discografich Lacerba] 09. The Beatnigs “Television (On-U Sound Dance Mix)” [Alternative Tentacles] 10. Andy Fairley “Precinct Of Sound – excerpt” [On-U Sound] 11. Neneh Cherry “Dead Come Alive” [On-U Sound] 12. Akabu “Akabu Theme Dub (Trevor Jackson Edit)” [On-U Sound] 13. Fats Comet “DJ Programme” [On-U Sound] 14. Alan Pellay “Parasitic Machine” [Cherry Red] 15. Sherwood & Pinch “Music Killer Dub” [On-U Sound] 16. Sherwood & Pinch “Grimey Roller” [unreleased] 17. Keith LeBlanc “Mechanical Movements” [Blanc Records] 18. Mark Stewart “These Things Happen” [On-U Sound] 19. Higher Authorities “Abracadabra Version” [unreleased] 20. Prince Far I “Nuclear Weapon” [On-U Sound] 21. Dub Syndicate “Snatch A Style” [On-U Sound] 22. New Age Steppers “Animal Space” [On-U Sound] 23. African Head Charge “Good Things” [On-U Sound] 24. Vivien Goldman “Private Armies Dub” [On-U Sound] 25. The Fall “Middle Mass” [Rough Trade] 26. Terry Riley “Bird Of Paradise” [Cortical Foundation] 27. Allan Bryant ” A Bouncing People Planet” [CRI] 28. Throbbing Gristle “Hamburger Lady” [Industrial Records] 29. Throbbing Gristle “Hot On The Heels Of Love” [Industrial Records] 30. Peter Gordon & The Love of Life Orchestra “Beginning Of The Heartbreak/Don’t Don’t” [DFA] 31. Philus “Untiled” [Sahko] 32. Parasense “Ritual Of Drugs” [Acidance] 33. Panasonic “Murto” [Blast First]
Jack Revill (a.k.a. Jackmaster) is set to release his submission to !K7‘s DJ Kicks series this coming Friday.
Featuring exclusive tracks from Tessela, Alcatraz Harry and Denis Sulta, the Numbers cofounder and charismatic Glaswegian delivers an honest journey, unearthing a serious passion for the obscure boundaries of house and techno.
Ahead of its release on July 8, the full compilation is available to stream here.
On July 8, Erased Tapes will be releasing the film score to Ellis, a motion picture that tells the story of Ellis Island, the former emblem of the United States’ immigration policy and now a crumbling, abandoned shell of itself.
The score, which was composed by Woodkid and performed/co-written by Nils Frahm, features two pieces, “Winter Morning I” & “Winter Morning II.” The first piece is instrumental, while the second piece features the narration of Robert De Niro taken from the film.
In advance of the score’s July 8 release, the two tracks are available to stream in full below.
Les Points seem to lead a bit of a charmed life. From the outside in, the Swiss producers look to be blessed with endless strings of gigs in their hometown of Zurich and beyond, while away their days knocking out trippy art designs, and sit on an ever-inflating discography of refined electronic productions. It’s an enviable lifestyle that the collective of Louh, Audino, Barbir, and Nicola Kazimir are enjoying.
None of it has come without hard work though. They’ve quickly stamped out an easily recognizable brand, while in the studio they’ve taken a considered and diligent approach to perfecting their style and sound. Last year’s YOUKNOWWHATMINIMALISCH taught lessons in restraint and reduction, across a range of genres; it also trumpeted their new jam-centred approach—rough around the edges and brimming with energy.
Anthoms picks up where that last album left off: one year on, and one year more zany. The day-glo smilies embossed on the earlier work’s cover have been traded for a bold black-and-white still of a nude male. The whole package is full of loud statements, not least within the tracks themselves: not one sounds the same as the next, though they are all unified by their slightly imperfect design. There’s a distinct lack of intros and outros and no common tempo. Elements come, go, and reshape themselves, and the guessing game continues.
There’s a good chunk of four-to-the-floor material in there for DJs: take the confident blend of graceful chords and rugged beat in “Sowaswotdochjede” for example, one of the album’s highlights. “Warpz” relies on a similar effect, carving and chopping up trancey synths into a sharp and pacy banger. “Motherearth Ohne” and “Kosmicspace” are their less angular counterparts, both stripped back to gentler, groovy basslines and tight hi hat combinations (barring a big room crash cymbal that briefly turns up in the former).
Those cuts aside, Anthoms is largely filled with deeper experiments in electronics. Some of the results are bound to split opinion: closing track “Finalboss” is loud and in-your-face, and the glitchy breaks of “Alphex” aren’t easy listening. Equally, the clunky, dark electro of “Bakteria” drags on slightly; however, the all too brief “8bit” should have looped on forever. As its title suggests, it sounds like it was built with a retro Nintendo machine—a bit of fun, but with some thoughtful sound design. The same positivity rings out of laidback opener “Dolphinhouse,” awash with wistful synths, dainty piano keys and perhaps even a sample of the waterborn creature.
In its murkier moments, the album also offers reasons to return. The hazy “Credittofbahyposampleditbabes” is crafted around a chugging beat and reverberating bells. “Attentionv2” is far darker—it chugs along, harangued by an echoing call to attention. Not a lot happens, though it’s got a certain mysticism, an anxiety-inducing quality, and is thoroughly hypnotic.
As a whole, Anthomsis the culmination of a few years of musical maturation. The Swiss producers have said good bye to convention, and hello to studio innovation. Looking back to their earliest releases though, it’s clear that if anything, Les Points have only grown more silly—let’s hope it continues.
Anthoms was released on July 5 as a 2×12″ vinyl pack. Purchase it now at Decks.de and Deejay.de.
Aus Music is set to release a remix EP following the release of Cassy‘s debut LP, Donna.
Scheduled for August 5 release, the six-track EP includes remixes by Marcel Dettmann and two from Radio Slave. Two others come from Ron Bacardi and Osunslade‘s Yoruba Soul project, while a D’Julz edit of “Keep Trying” appears on the digital version.
Ahead of the EPs release, Marcel Dettmanns’ remix of “Move” can be streamed in full below.
Having broken through with 2015’s Retrovision EP on Noir Music, Kevin Over has earned himself quite a reputation through the variety in his DJ sets and productions, the sub-genres of which span from fizzing main room techno to deeper house-orientated cuts informed by Chicago and Detroit.
In June 2016, the 25-year-old German DJ-producer reinforced his close connection with Anja Schneider’s mobilee crew by signing with them for bookings covering Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain—and he has recently followed this up with a new EP on the label, titled Dakota.
To mark the release, he has today shared “OK Villa,’ a track that has become a staple in his more recent DJ sets, as one of today’s free downloads.
