Ralf Schmidt (a.k.a. Aera) is set for another release on Dixon and Âme‘s Innervisions, following on from his 2014 appearance on the Secret Weapons compilation.
The Berlin-based artist—who is perhaps most widely known for a string of EPs around 2010/2011, followed by his 2013 LP—will release a double 12″ featuring four original tracks, along with two remixes from Dutch techno head Steve Rachmad.
Tracklisting: A1 Running Hot A2 Krystal Close B1 Keeping The Book B2 Odessa Step Sequence C Keeping The Book (Steve Rachmad Version 1) D Keeping The Book (Steve Rachmad Version 2)
Running Hot EP is scheduled for May 13 release via Innervisions.
Weekend Circuit has got the next Ground-Fault-Interrupt compilation prepped and ready to go, for release at the end of May.
Michael Wells’ London-based imprint was founded in 2013. Following the label’s success with last year’s Ground-Fault-Interrupt compilation, it is back with a second volume, which is described as “a mix of pulsating, essential, bottom heavy, and ultimately diverse techno.” Selections come from a host of familiar faces—Stanislav Tolkachev, Developer, P.E.A.R.L., Alderaan, Jeff Rushin, Antonio De Angelis and I/Y—as well as a Weekend Circuit debut from Pär Grindvik.
Ground-Fault-Interrupt Vol. 2 will arrive as a double vinyl pack, and can be purchased from May 31.
Tracklisting: A1. Pär Grindvik “The Act” A2. Jeff Rushin “Graphite” B1. P.E.A.R.L. “Azul & Oro” B2. Developer “Lost Moments” C1. Alderaan “Sequel” C2. I/Y “Nara” D1. Stanislav Tolkachev “Framing” D2. Antonio De Angelis “Anomaly”
Over the past four years, the sound coming from the Madrid-based DJ-producer Jamie Tellado (a.k.a Skygaze) have increasingly caught the attention of reputable festivals and labels from all over Europe. Having released music on labels such as Neonized Records, SoullessLab Records, and Solid Tapes, Tellado has also performed at events such as MIRA, L.E.V., Sonar, and Boiler Room. This coming September, the UK-based free download label known as Love Our Records is set to release release Skygaze’s sophomore album Weightless Landscapes.
Ahead of the sixteen-track LP release this coming autumn , Tellado has graciously offered up the album cut “Darjeeling” as today’s XLR8R download. The collaborative track, which features the producer and woodworkerAbrigo De Pelos, uses a consistently expressive bassline and a ligneous, off-center beat which melts alongside the watery, chime-like percussion that is peppered throughout the tune.
You can download “Darjeeling (feat. Abrigo De Pelos)” via WeTransfer below.
Following contributions from the likes of DJ Koze, Actress, and Moodyman, DâM-FunK is set to become the next artist to bestow his musical prowess and reflection to the esteemed DJ-Kicks series. Known all around the world for his multi-layered, G funk-laden style and adored in his native Los Angeles for his consistent contributions to the city’s nightlife and preferred sound, DâM-FunK can be credited with the revamping and revival of the sound that is now known as “Modern Funk.” In a press release, he explains the genre plainly by saying “Modern-Funk is a combination of all the sounds on the mix: Funk, boogie, electro, house, modern-soul, ambient tones… A push and pull of nostalgia and progressiveness…”
DâM-FunK‘s contribution to the series is set to drop on May 27 via !K7 Records. Ahead of its release, you can get your first taste of this dynamite collection of tunes by streaming a new DJ-Kicks exclusive from the man himself, titled “Believer,” in the player below.
You can view the albums tracklist in full below along with his forthcoming tour dates.
Tracklist:
01. Moon B – Oof 02. Nicci Gable – Close To Who? 03. Randell & Schippers – Love Jam 04. Verticle Lines – Theme From Beach Boy 05. Brandon – Suzy Hijack 06. Take Three – Tonite’s The Night (All Right) 07. Index – Starlight 08. Uncle Jams Army – Dial-A-Freak 09. Gemini – Log In 10. Nexus – Stand Up (Instrumental) 11. Reggie B – Poison Candy 12. L33 – Keepin It Tight 13. Gaussian Curve – Broken Clouds 14. Tony Palkovic – True To Yourself 15. Henning – Arrival / Departure 16. Nite-Funk – Can U Read Me? 17. DaM-FunK – Believer 18. True Design – I Wanna Break 19. Crystal Winds – Funk Ain’t Easy
DâM-FunK Tour Dates:
April 15. San Francisco, CA – 1015 Folsom April 17. Palm Springs, CA – The Saguaro Hotel May 6. Oberlin, OH – Oberlin College May 12. Joshua Tree, CA – Joshua Tree Music Festival May 14. Los Angeles – L.A. Family School benefit June 2. London – Jazz Cafe June 3. Amsterdam – Paradiso Noord – Tolhuistuin June 4. Barcelona – Primavera Sound June 5. Paris – We Love Green Festival July 2. Okinawa, Japan Corona Sunsets Festival
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 forthcoming LP, Peaking in the Pitch Black, via The Playground.
Luebs explains his inspiration behind this particular project, saying: “These tracks were made over a two month period hopping around between Osaka, Tokyo, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York. I’ve never felt at home with a specific genre or scene, which is a curse and a blessing. Perhaps the change in geography is evident in the malleable genres of the tracks themselves. Post-rock, techno, drone, IDM; snippets of what’s influenced me musically throughout my life.”
You can stream the first single from from this forthcoming album, titled “Annihilated,” in the player below.
Check out these previously featured XLR8R downloads from Magical Mistakes:
Multi Culti—the half-Australian half-Canadian label run by Dreems and Thomas Von Party—is set to release its latest VA EP, Moon Faze II, on May 9.
Featuring original cuts from Red Axes, Von Party, and DJ Ground, as well as a stellar remix of Zsou by Dreems & Peret Mako, Moon Faze II continues the galactic explorations set by its preceding releases: Sun Gaze I, Moon Faze I, and Sun Gaze II. Dropping as a series of six EPs, the releases feature warm, fuzzy, and ambient cuts under the Sun Gaze umbrella and more dark, tribal-infused outings under Moon Faze—which is exactly what you get from Moon Faze II, four downright trippy tracks from the assembly of sonic explorers. From Von Party’s chant-filled “Cobra Kush,” which features Tel Aviv artist Naduve, to Dreems & Peret Mako’s hallucinogenic rework of Zsou’s “Admiral Byrd,” it’s another world-class release from the rising label.
Out on May 9, Moon Faze II can be streamed in full via the playlist above, with the entire box set available to preorder here.
There aren’t many electronic musicians alive today that possess the same aura and pure fan wonderment as William Bensussen (a.k.a. The Gaslamp Killer). His worldly, psychedelic musical offerings pull from a wide-ranging pool of influences, from Turkish psych to Ethiopic jazz, Middle-Eastern rare grooves and beyond, and have landed on labels such as Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder, Alpha Pup, and his own Gaslamp Killer Music. In November, 2013—just four months after his near-fatal scooter accident—he worked with some of Los Angeles’ best instrumentalists, including Kasamai Washington, Amir Yaghmai, and Gene Coye to name a few, to create new arrangements of Gaslamp Killer’s original compositions for The Gaslamp Killer Experience, which would be performed live at LA’s Mayan Theatre. Needless to say, the sold-out show was a mind-blowing performance for those lucky enough to attend, and the one-take recording has since been released to great acclaim, with the show also travelling throughout the world.
A founding member of LA’s notorious, genre-bending collective and club night Low End Theory, Bensussen’s chops behind the decks match that of his production output, resulting in a frenzied and often polarizing melting pot of disparate rhythms and bass-heavy beats. His record collection is rumored to be sitting around the 14,000 mark and his mixes are some of the most eclectic and celebrated in electronic music—you’ll likely hear Portishead sitting next to Kutmah, DJ Shadow, Can, and Placebo. And that’s exactly what you get with his edition to the XLR8R podcast series: A brain-melting amalgamation of his latest and greatest avant-garde cuts, with tons of exclusives, all mixed with his surgical precision.
How and where was the mix recorded? I recorded the mix at my home studio here in Mount Washington, California on two turntables and a Pioneer S9 deejay mixer using Serato and Pro Tools.
What were your intentions for the mix? I wanted to give my worldwide listeners a current selection of tunes I’ve been playing every week at Low End Theory. This mix contains a bunch of world premiere exclusives that I’m honored to have flipped.
How does your approach to a mix differ to one of your DJ sets? With my mixes I’m able to get surgical with it, rather than my usual wild style you’ll find from me on stage. It’s a different side of me that I rarely get to share.
How did you select the specific tracks you wanted to include? I have a few low end theory playlists that I pull from on Wednesdays at the club, so I already had a lot of the songs in mind for this mix.
What else have you got coming up this year? I am very happy to say that I am in the process of mastering my new album with Daddy Kev as we speak. I’m world premiering one of the songs on this mix actually. Can’t talk too much about it yet, but there will be plenty of announcements coming soon. This will be my second studio album and I think it’s my best yet. I’m very excited to share it with the world in the coming months.
The Roland MKS-50: a grittier-sounding version of the Alpha Juno series that first hit stores in the mid-80s. Three decades later, and it remains revered by producers for its timeless features and unique sound. With his latest EP, Steve Conner (a.k.a. Adapta) pays tribute to the machine.
Fans of old-school UK electro may be familiar with Conner for his work alongside brother Dave during the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, under their Bitstream alias. The duo put out a handful of sought-after records on Modern Love and Signal Recordings, which still sound fresh today. His solo output as Adapta (which was up until now confined to a tripartite series on Brutalist Sunset) is reminiscent of their later collaborations—bass-heavy, rough-around-the-edges acidic electro numbers.
With its roots in that one synthesizer, MKS-50 Tracks sounds like the product of a jamming session, comprised of four variations on a techno theme. Awash with choppy, fidgety basslines and arcade machine-type samples, the record is an exercise in no-holds-barred electronics.
“MKS-50_01” is the most conventional of the bunch—brimming with energy, it pops and buzzes along, with just the right amount of juice. “MKS-50_04” takes a similar four-to-the-floor approach, broken with loud, invasive hoover sounds (a feature that the synth was traditionally associated with, and a key component of the clunky “MKS-50_02”). Likely to be a bit much for some ears is the noisy “MKS-50_03,” a punchy and aggressive breaks workout that is the least restrained of the lot.
Over the past two years, Hawtin and Rigby-Jones have been working together on the development of new products for the electronic music market. Rigby-Jones is an expert in the field, having worked with Allen & Heath for over two decades, with particular focus on their Xone mixer range (which was the reason for his first meeting with Hawtin, just before the turn of the millennium).
The MODEL 1 is their first product together via PLAYdifferently—a six-channel professional mixer, which promises to fit just as comfortably in club surroundings as studio settings. Features include a per channel Hybrid Filter EQ & Input overdrive control, Master Resonant Filter (with both HPF and LPF controls), a Dual headphone Cue system, Tascam DB25 connector system, Dual Mixer linking capability and a Dual external PSU option.
On the mixer, Hawtin contends that “it’s time to accept that DJing has come a long long way over the past 25 years and introduce a Mixer that lives up to the expectations of the modern electronic music performer. A mixer more akin to an instrument with intuitive controls, uncompromising quality and features that can unlock a new wave of creativity.”
The MODEL 1 will be unveiled at tonight’s Boiler Room Berlin, from 8PM – 1AM CET. Alongside Hawtin, Chris Liebing and Dubfire (both of whom are ambassadors for the mixer) will be performing, amongst a host of other guests.
The PLAYdifferently MODEL 1 will be available to purchase from June 30, with a limited number retailing at £2,500.
Bristol-based LTO, a member of the Old Apparatus collective, will release his debut solo full-length this July via Sullen Tone.
Many will be familiar with LTO for his work as part of Old Apparatus—a group that have released on Honest Jon’s, Mala‘s Deep Medi Musik and Sullen Tone. LTO released his first solo EP, No Pasa Nada, last year, and returns now with an LP entitled The Number From Which All Things Come. According to the label,the album takes reference from “euphoric trance, 90s IDM, jungle, to grime,” and utilises “hardware, software, real instruments and found sounds.” It contains tracks that the producer began over a decade ago, alongside more recent efforts.
The Number From Which All Things Come will hit stores on July 8, and can be pre-ordered at iTunes and Boomkat. Ahead of the release of the album, LTO has exclusively made one of the cuts (“One Again”) available to stream here.
You can catch LTO performing at London venue The Waiting Room on June 16 alongside fellow Old Apparatus member Asher Levitas. Check out the event here.
