Photos: Proyectual
Photo Gallery: Diynamic Off Week Edition 2016
Boorane Thru Jazz To Mars
When you consider the surreal amount of hype surrounding the electronic music that has been coming out of Russia as of late, hip-hop is a genre that doesn’t really spring to mind. Despite this, however, instrumental hip-hop has actually played a vital role in the growth of the country’s thriving music scene. One of the key players in this movement is Boora, an artist who is widely recognized as “the father of the Russian beat scene.” For his latest outing, Boora has teamed up with long-term acquaintance Krane; together they form Boorane.
Their first release as a duo, Thru Jazz To Mars, is an eclectic collection of tracks that pays homage to their humble hip hop beginnings while simultaneously venturing into a sphere of swinging house—resulting in a collision of timeless and refreshing sounds. The EP is coupled with an aesthetic that touches Soviet space exploration, using samples from long-forgotten science documentaries from the Cold War era with two classic hip hop tools: the Akai MPC 3000 and E-Mu SP-1200. The duo cites a wide-range of influences from Theo Parrish to Pete Rock, Miles Davis and James Brown, and it stands out that they have accurately captured and reinterpreted the sounds of their heroes in a manner that is instantly catchy, rare, and charismatic.
The EP’s opening cut, “Intro Kusuk,” starts off with a blast, sampling the sound of a rocket shoving off into space before sliding into a laid-back, bass-driven groove—which sets the tone for the ensuing easygoing journey to Mars. “Find The Way”—featuring fellow Russian beat junkie and label owner Lay-Far—is an optimistic dance-inducing pacifist manifesto that repeatedly states the incantation, “Love has got to find a way,” alongside swooning Rhodes. Sinking further into the dancefloor, “Floor Work” takes on a darker, galactic attitude with its hulking 4×4 pattern and a bulky bassline. The A side of the release is concluded with a brief intermission titled “Space Skit,” keeping us on course with our mission to Mars.
The B side of the EP takes a more relaxed approach, pushing off with “V Rhytmah Jazza,” the release’s most notable gem. Crafting a bewildering collage of jazz piano, saxophone, and soulful drum breaks, Boorane employ precise and frequent layers of pause that add a great deal of grace and depth to the straightforward tune. “Starlight” turns off the thrusters for a drift through the cosmos with phosphorescent synths and a repurposed g-funk low-end, before the release plummets into sluggish hip-hop closer “Nocturne Outro.”
Thru Jazz To Mars is as deeply-rooted in music history as it is with fresh ideas; and although repetitive at times, the EP admirably presents a dizzying amount of musical influences in a concise blend of everything that makes jazz, hip-hop, house, and the cosmos so enchanting.
Thru Jazz To Mars will be released on June 27 via the Russian imprint In-Beat-Ween-Music. You can purchase the EP by going here.
Tracklisting:
01. Intro Kusok
02. Find The Way (with Lay Far)
03. Floor Work
04. Space Skit
Side 2
01. V Rhytmah Jazza
02. Starlight
03. Nocturne Outro
Meakusma Launches New Festival
Thomas Brinkmann, Ben UFO, DJ Nigga Fox and more will play the first edition of Meakusma Festival this September.
Belgium’s Meakusma imprint was founded back in 2008 (after the same brand had already been organizing club nights since around 2004), and has since put out music by the likes of Madteo, Ryo Murakami, Bryce Hackford, and Mix Mup.
This year, the label has turned some of its attention to the production of a festival in the town of Eupen. The now complete lineup features performances from the likes of Mark Ernestus & Mark Ainley, rRoxymore, Substance (a.k.a. DJ Pete), Elektro Guzzi, Resom and Roger23. The musicians will be spread five separate stages in the rural setting of the Belgian town, with films and lectures also scheduled to supplement the other proceedings.
For the full lineup and more information, head to the festival’s site. You can buy tickets here.
Matthew Ryals ‘We Could Make The Ride Better For Everyone’
Formerly producing under his Asound moniker, Cleveland-based producer Matthew Ryals has released his lush debut album We Can Make The Ride Better For Everyone under his own name via his Behind Glass imprint. Packed with numerous silken layers, the eight-track LP is a sparse and sweet journey into pop and synthesis. Although it may not sound like it, Ryals crafted his entire LP using his laptop. “For live shows, I use quite a bit of analogue gear, but at the time of making this album I had nothing” explains Ryals. “The entire LP is made on soft-synths that come bundled in Logic Pro.”
To help celebrate this phenomenal release, Ryals has offered up the album’s title track as one of today’s XLR8R downloads. Building with care and precision, Ryals piles one soft-synth on top of another, making dense droning soundscapes that sit on top of and intricate, hissing drum arrangement.
Ryals gave XLR8R some further insight regarding the inspiration behind the title-track, saying: “A lot of tracks of mine have their beginnings in wanting to try out particular technical ideas in the studio. With this track, I was inspired by a James Holden interview discussing his first LP to stick multiple compressors all over everything, which had this cool effect on the three synths allowing different ones to emerge to the top at different moments. They kind of bubble in and out, making room for each other in this expressive manner.”
You can download “We Can Make The Ride Better For Everyone” below via WeTransfer.
Warp Offers Up Download of New Re-Edit Series from patten
The latest edition in patten‘s Re-Edits series of free EPs has arrived, finding the Warp-signed producer repurposing the likes of Tim Hecker, Rihanna, Boards of Canada, Death Grips, Cypress Hill, Julianna Barwick and more.
Although misleading, Re-Edits Vol. 2 is the producer’s fifth remix EP that follows the same dense and abstract styling. Featuring visuals by 555-5555, each track has been uploaded onto Youtube for you viewing and listening pleasure. Watch the videos by going to patten’s website here.
Download Re-Edits Vol. 2here.
You can stream the tracks via SoundCloud in the player below.
Yair Elazar Glotman Set to Drop New Haunting LP; Stream it Now
Classically trained composer and sound artist Yair Elazar Glotman will drop his latest album under his KETEV moniker on July 1.
Titled I Know No Weekend, the latest LP from Glotman will land on Portals Editions and investigates “harmonic content in relation to rhythmic patterns.” Making use of his personal archive of field recordings, Glotman’s compositions twist and spiral in a coalescing wave of detailed patterns. Mechanical, trudging rhythms and thick atmospheres underpin the album with dream-like tendencies, floating around the sonic space Glotman has created with unbridled emotion and intensity.
I Know No Weekend can be pre-ordered over at Portals Editions, with the album streaming in full via the player above.
Magical Mistakes ‘Chemical Bath’
Originally from California and now based in Osaka, Japan, Erik Luebs (a.k.a Magical Mistakes) has further developed his bell-bathed, ethereal electronic stylings after briefly relocating to the rural Japanese village of Shiba-san to create his sound. Having previously released music on respected labels such as Astro Nautico and King Deluxe, the artist now prepares to dive further into his spiritual sonic mixture of western and eastern sounds with his latest LP, Peaking in the Pitch Black, via The Playground. According to Luebs, the release is a mixture of “post-rock, techno, drone, IDM; snippets of what’s influenced me musically throughout my life.”
With this latest album due out on July 1, Magical Mistakes has offered up the album cut “Chemical Bath” as today’s XLR8R download. Leading off with a crunching drum arrangement, the tune trips into a dense and luscious display of echoing vocal hits and bulbous synths that are as fretful as they are sprightly.
You can download the track “Chemical Bath” below via WeTransfer.
Check out these previously featured XLR8R downloads from Magical Mistakes:
Download: Magical Mistakes “Laid Out”
Download: We Cut Corners “Blue” (Magical Mistakes Remix)
Joy Orbison Previews His Latest Collaborative Effort
Joy Orbison teams up with meandyou co-founder Herron for his first musical undertaking of 2016.
Going under the moniker CO/R, the duo’s forthcoming release, titled Gudrun, will be released on Joy Orbison and Trilogy Tapes boss Will Blankhead’s slumbering, quality focused Hinge Finger imprint. Gudrun will be the label’s seventh official release, following Barnt’s His Name EP, released back in October of 2014. Joy Orbison’s status as a renowned Hessle Audio linchpin and his all-around formative productions have earned him the reputation as a post-dubstep mastermind who continues to distort and push new sounds onto enthusiastic dancefloors around the globe.
You can preview the forthcoming release below.
Pre-order Gudrun via Trilogy Tapes here.
Download a New Track from Philipp Gorbachev
Marking today’s release of his sophomore solo LP and his upcoming live set at Outline Festival, Philipp Gorbachev has offered the title track as a free download.
Entitled Unlock The Box, Gorbachev’s latest album continues the narrative of his previously released trilogy on Cómeme, and serves as the inaugural LP on his own PG TUNE imprint.
The track is avalable now to download from here.
Tracklisting:
01. 5th New Century ft. Polina
02. Without You ft. Polina & Interchain
03. Orbit
04. Lazer ft. Interchain
05. Ivan, Come On, Unlock The Box
06. Light And Sound
07. 5th New Century (Version)
08. Orbit (Version)
[VINYL ONLY] To The Last Station
Photo Gallery: FACT Music Pool Series Barcelona, 2016
June is a wonderful time to visit Barcelona. A combination of the food, the sun and the sand makes it a popular tourist destination for the full duration of the summer months—particularly so during mid June when thousands of music fans from across the globe arrive to enjoy their favorite artists in some of the most picturesque venues across the city.
Alongside Sonar, the famed festival of music and technology, run hundreds of satellite events hosted by labels, agencies and brands from all over the world—many of which are co-hosted by FACT, one of the leading promoters of the local area that throws a series of events each year. On the menu this year was Cocoon, Half Baked, Watergate, Mobilee and more; among the artists were Dana Ruh, Apollonia, Nicolas Lutz, SIT, Anja Schneider, Mathew Jonson, Josh Wink and many more.
A gallery for the entire series can be seen below.
Pictures by Valeriu Cătălineanu / Romanian Club Culture
