Cofaxx is the moniker of up and coming house and beat producer Joe Magee. Hailing from East Harlem in New York where he originally developed his sound, Joe’s promising musical breadth has wandered far and beyond the borders of Manhattan. Having just released his Clouded Instinct EP on the NYC-based audio/visual ensemble and record label Cadence Collective, Cofaxx has demonstrated a knack for crafting warm, nonchalant club tracks with an unruffled underbelly and a cavorting yet self-commanded energy.
To celebrate the release of this fine EP, Cofaxx has offered up the track “Sip Lushly” as today’s XLR8R download. Carried by a blurred-out drum pattern wrapped in fur-like background noise, the track struts along on with satisfying cowbell percussion, approving vocal hits with spontaneous shoutouts to New York, and a even-tempered synth that completes the tracks mellow and danceable atmosphere.
Providing both the tools and the motivation to pursue production and DJing, Native Instruments is renowned for setting up in-depth workshops, lectures, and discussions around the world to help foster sonic creativity and promote a learned understanding of their tools.
The brand’s Native Sessions series has landed in cities and festivals all around the globe, centered around production advice and broader musical discussions from some of the world’s leading electronic artists. The most recent session, titled “Sonic Hooks,” explores “the tools and techniques for creating sonically unique hooks with MASCHINE and KOMPLETE.”
The seven-part series, which took place in both Berlin and New York, invited the likes of Pitchfork journalist, musician, and DJ Philip Sherburne to provide a history lesson surrounding the evolution of the sonic hook, while other artists such as Hyperdub‘s Fatima Al Qadiri, Tri Angle Records‘ Lotic, NYC-based producer Brenmar, bass-music specialist Kabuki, and more discuss their approach to sound and creating hooks in their own music.
Furthermore, the series features a number of demonstrations from lead project specialists from both MASCHINE and KOMPLETE, who share hands-on tips regarding microlooping, randomization, sound layering, and much more.
Watch the full in the player above or choose a particular episode in the list below.
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MUTEK is a name that any electronic-music aficionado should be familiar with. Launched over 16 years ago in Montreal, it’s a festival that’s been unwavering in its mission to showcase innovative and avant-garde electronics and art.
In addition to gaining these welcomed and admired acts, Mutek has announced the programing for its outdoor stage at the Parterre of the Quartier des spectacles, featuring an amalgam of both international and local talent. Open and free to all ages, the programing is set to last between Thursday June 2 until Saturday June 4 from 5pm – 11pm. You can check out the schedule below.
THURSDAY, JUNE 2: Riohv (live) / Vertigo Inc (live) / Blue Hawaii (DJ set) / Frits Wentink (DJ set) FRIDAY, JUNE 3: Ex-Terrestrial / Burundi Index / Booma Collective (live) / Claire (live) / Lee Gamble (DJ set) SATURDAY, JUNE 4: Multi Culti (DJ set) / Peder Mannerfelt (DJ set) / Nautiluss (live) / Machinedrum (live) / Jlin (DJ set)
Sunday afternoon will see a joint effort between Mutek and Boiler Room who will be taking over the permanent modular dome theatre that is Montreal’s Satosphere with a free lineup of audiovisual oriented artists. Details regarding this project are coming soon. Additionally, all of those with a Mutek Passport and Weekend Pass are encouraged to attend MUTEK at Piknic Electronik on Sunday, June 5 at Parc Jean Drapeau. The lineup will be revealed during their launch on May 10.
A plethora of free activities including artist Q&As, panels, presentations, workshops, showrooms, and virtual reality salons will be taking place throughout the city. Companies such as Roland and Moog will be setting up modular showrooms while many respected names in music and technology will be hosting lectures and in-depth discussions surrounding a variety of fascinating topics. You can learn more by going here.
The last announcement of the day coming from Mutek, and perhaps the most exciting, is that the forward-thinking festival will be setting up shop in Tokyo for a two-day event come November. You can learn more by following the Mutek Japan Facebook page here.
Mutek’s ability to nourish enthusiasm for contemporary electronic and digital artistry continues to spread like wildfire around the world, further proving the brand’s unwavering dedication to its noble mission.
You can buy tickets for the event here, or check out the full lineup.
On May 6, Danny Berman (a.k.a. Red Rack’em) will kick off Nettles, his new vinyl-only imprint, with Bill George.
Focusing on unreleased, sample-heavy disco-house from Berman and his close friends, Nettles will release tracks he’s road tested in clubs over the years. Kicking things off will be one Berman’s most requested unreleased tracks “Bill George,” which originally popped up on Crazy P’s Beats In Space mix in 2010. The cut will drop on a three-track EP, sitting next to “Timm,” a disco jam built from a “piece of incidental music from a long lost German children’s television series,” and the hip-hop-infused “Transfer List.”
Ahead of Friday’s release date, you can stream “Bill George” in full via the player above, with the EP available for preorder here.
Last month, UK producer Matt Cutler (a.k.a Lone) posted a phone number that eager fans could call in order to get a lo-fi taste of his latest single,”Back Tail Was Heavy,” on R&S Records. A throwback to UK rave hotlines which would provide directions to anyone trying to find various clandestine dance events, the track itself shows off a wicked and nimble sound that is intrinsic to the underground.
The exciting new taste of Lone’s sought-after sound had his loyal following buzzing when the moment they have all been waiting for arrived just yesterday. Cutler made the announcement that he would be releasing his seventh full-length album Levitate on May 27 via R&S Records. After a six-month period when his musical flair had seemed to run dry, Cutler’s sonic epiphany came during a hallucinogenic and delirious state whilst bed-ridden with an illness in NYC.
When shedding light on the inspiration behind the album, Cutler said: “It was pretty terrifying – I’d try to go to sleep and I’d be hearing these mad rave tunes form in my head. When I recovered I was left with all these ideas for fast, feverish tunes. Following that we went to LA and hung out with friends, driving round all day in the baking sun playing these jungle and hardcore edits – all the best bits from rare jungle tunes, spliced together…there was something that really seemed to fit hearing these ridiculously energetic tracks whilst speeding around LA under perfect blue skies, that was amazingly similar to the music I’d been dreaming up whilst in New York. I couldn’t wait to get home and start putting this together – I had a new theme. After making a record as mellow as Reality Testingit was important to me to not repeat myself – I wanted it to be an intense blast”
You can stream the new single “Vapour Trail” in the player below.
Hip-hop and house music have had a turbulent relationship since their beginnings, though the genres aren’t really so different. In fact, their similarities have coaxed many artists to produce compounds of the two. It’s been commonplace to find hip-hop cuts on dance producers’ albums in recent times. Equally, the grainy funk loops, vinyl crackles and EQing of hip-hop now regularly feature on the 4/4 dancefloor beats craving its organic matter and grit.
What has not yet really happened in any meaningful way though, is for a hip-hop producer to have tapped into house, blending the two worlds in a credible, original way. Montreal, Canada’s Kaytranada seems to be that artist, and accordingly the hype around him has been huge.
What if J Dilla had made house too? That’s Kaytranada’s shtick and he wears it well. His debut album 99.9% lands on UK label XL Recordings—canny talent spotters who’ve recently returned to the dance beats with which they first earned their reputation. Loaded with the kind of guest rap slots you’d expect from the hippest 2016 Stateside hip-hop record, it features names like Anderson .Paak, Vic Mensa, Odd Future/The Internet’s Syd and erm, Craig David. 99% may have its share of rap tempo beats and concessions to trap, but what’s exciting here is how Kaytranada switches up the pace from track to track.
“Track Uno” is a wicked 4/4 piece made up of glinting twilight boogie loops and electroid bass, which resembles something you’d expect from Leon Vynehall or Theo Parrish more than a guy associated with rap. “Bus Ride,” featuring drummer Karriem Riggins, is a contemplative, string-laden trip-hop piece, loaded with beats which suddenly catapult into double time drum & bass flourishes. “One Too Many,” with Little Brother’s Phonte, is a loose, synthy disco cut, with vocals that flit between silky R&B and raw rap flows, while “Breakdance Lesson No.1” is all ’80s funk guitar licks and arpeggiated synth details (almost a broken beat/disco fusion). “You’re the One,” though, is the perfect mix of funked-up house and modern R&B vibes—its played-in, unquantised synth bass and loose swing makes perfect sense with Syd’s honeyed vocals.
Even Kaytranada’s straight up rap tracks are unconventional, such as the loping trap beat of “Drive Me Crazy.” Its cascading, ethereal synth loop in the backdrop sounds suspiciously like Origin Unknown’s hardcore/jungle classic “Valley of the Shadows”—something that smacks of deliberate intertextual reference, demonstrative of the producer’s dance culture knowledge and attachment. Even if it’s not, it bangs like a barn door.
99.9% is a brilliant, well-realized combination of styles, with more than its fair share of memorable and addictive songs. It’s also a genre-trouncing exercise that you feel, and hope, will have an influence upon other producers Stateside. Kaytranada is certainly a talent to watch.
99% is due to hit stores May 6. Pre-order it at the XL Recordings store.
Simon Shreeve (a.k.a. Mønic) will release his second EP with Berlin’s Tresor this May.
UK-based Shreeve released one EP with Tresor last year, as well as a couple on his own Osiris Music imprint—a label he launched a decade ago. Recently he also debuted on Regis‘ Downwards imprint with a record under his own name, though the bulk of his work has been put out under his Kryptic Minds alias. He returns to Tresor with his next effort, Four Sides Of Truth, an EP that promises to be slightly heavier than his last, which also features a remix from Kamikaze Space Programme (who also has an EP on the way for Shreeve’s Osiris Music).
Four Sides Of Truth will be released on May 13, and can be pre-ordered at Deejay.de and Juno. Check out snippets below.
Italian label Seekers has shared details of its next release—a full-length entitled Turning Night Into Day.
Seekers has been throwing parties across Europe for the past couple of years. More recently, it launched as a label too, with releases so far by Alex Picone and Ewan Jansen. Its next record is a double LP, which according to the imprint’s Facebook comes “straight from the ’90s.” Following its usual anonymous approach, the producer behind the tracks is unknown at this point.
Stream snippets from the full eight-tracker below, which will be released June 27.
Having retired from music, Detroit’s Terrence Dixon has returned with a new digital eight-tracker, following on from several EPs under his Population One alias.
This release is the first LP under his own name since 2013’s Badge Of Honor.
Tracklisting: 01. State Of Detroit 02. Our Progression 03. From The Hood 04. The Rain Fall 05. What I Mean 06. Narrowed Streets 07. Down Linwood 08. In Motionless
Minimal Detroit Album Vol.1 is out now via Bandcamp.
Philipp Gorbachev has announced the release of his sophomore solo album.
Entitled Unlock the Box, the release continues the narrative of his previously released trilogy on Cómeme, while at the same time celebrating standing as the debut LP on PG TUNE.
Tracklisting: 01. 5th New Century ft. Polina В Пятом Новом Веке 02. Without You ft. Polina & Interchain Без Тебя 03. Orbit Сколько Ещё Вёрст 04. Lazer Лазер 05. Ivan, Come On, Unlock, The Box Иван, Давай, Открой Коробку 06. Light and Sound Свет и Звук 07. 5th New Century (Version) 08. Orbit (Version) Vinyl Only: To The Last Station До Последней
In advance of the LP’s June 27 release, “5th New Century” ft. Polina can be streamed in full below.
