Saul Williams‘ politically-charged concept album MartyrLoserKing was released via FADER Label at the end of January this year to great acclaim. Centered on the fictional story of a hacktivist in the third world country of Burundi, MartyrLoserKing is arguably Williams’ most fierce, genre-warping album to date, presenting a collection of songs with a punk heart and a global message at its core.
Now, Saxophone-driven producer Masego flips atmospheric album cut “The Noise Came From Here” in his signature jazz-infused style. Beautifully composed, Masego’s remix compliments William’s style perfectly, adding gorgeous Saxophone fills, chords, and a great deal of good vibes.
You can stream Masgeo’s remix in full below, with the single set to be released on iTunes on March 25.
Following the announcement of his forthcoming album Become Alive as Dave Harrington Group, DARKSIDE’s Dave Harrington has shared a new music video for the LP cut “White Heat.” Directed by Artem Aisagaliev, the video was shot during a live recording session in and around Harrington’s studio in the Hudson Valley.
Harrington is best known for his work as one half of DARKSIDE (alongside Nicolas Jaar), an ambient project that was put on hiatus late in 2014. His forthcoming release as the Dave Harrington Group is the result of improvisation and jams with some of “favorite musicians and closest friends,” and was inspired by late ‘60s jazz albums (which tended to use contemporary recording methods and effects to manipulate live music). Much of the album, Become Alive, was mixed and edited whilst touring with DARKSIDE, and was co-produced by former bandmate Nicolas Jaar.
Harrington explained that the record is “very personal,” and “the result of improvising with different combinations of people, and then processing and re-sculpting those improvisations—isolating passages, turning them into something new, overdubbing layers of myself, maybe taking something from another piece and superimposing it out of its original context. But each track is always me interacting with other people, sometimes just one or two… sometimes ten. There was flute, vibes, organ, Fender Rhodes, guitar, bass, two drummers, percussion, sax…just full-on, over-blown energy. I took all that and treated it as raw material in the mixing stage… but when you have ten people in a room, you can only edit so much. Everything is in every microphone anyway—it’s all connected, so it’s about turning it into whatever it wants to be.”
Become Alive will be released via Other People, on April 15. You can stream the title track here.
Tracklist:
01.White Heat 02. Slides 03. The Prophet 04. Cities of the Red Night 05. Steels 06. Become Alive 07. Spectrum 08. All I Can Do
Parachute Records was launched in 2014 in Milan, Italy, and has thus far focussed mainly on techno releases, with a back catalog featuring the likes of CW/A (a.k.a. Clockwork and Avatism), Answer Code Request, Deadbeat, and the late Max_M.
Songwriter Fatima Camara (a Canadian musician of Portuguese descent, now based in Berlin) now presents Before We Sleep, an LP thatis new territory for the imprint on the whole. Listeners should expect melancholic tunes, with strong influences from new wave, downtempo, post-punk, and electronica. It is described by Parachute as “a collage of the diverse musical influences that have defined each chapter of her storied life.”
You can pre-order Before We Sleep from the label’s Bandcamp. The first single from the LP, “Just Waking Up,” is dropping on March 25. It can be streamed in full below.
Berlin-based Kris Wadsworth is back with his first full-length since 2014’s Popularity on Hypercolour. In the years following that record, he has released a string of EPs on his own Uranus, as well as coordinating releases by Mr. G, Shady P and The Friend on his other Breed imprint.
Ultramajic was founded back in 2013, and has hosted the likes of Truncate, Danny Daze and Lando. It is no coincidence that Wadsworth ended up on Edgar’s imprint with this record, as the pair grew up together in Detroit, sharing a friendship that goes back to when they were only 11 years old. Wadsworth has since emigrated to Germany, and this album is informed by “Wadsworth’s personal path of self-discovery,” with “the eight tracks telling the story of his days as an expat in Berlin.”
You can stream snippets from the album via the Ultramajic Soundcloud below.
Galdoors was set up in 2013 by Berlin-based brothers Junes and Tames, who have since used the imprint as an outlet for their own music, as well as releasing EPs by Audio Werner and Elgato. Their next cut comes after a small break, and is by Freerotation resident Leif Knowles—a musician known for his atmospheric take on house and techno, who has recently put out music through the likes of Idle Hands, Sudden Drop and his own UntilMyHeartStops.
Knowles is no stranger to Galdoors, having previously provided a remix of Junes’ “Colours” back in 2013. According to the label, he has taken “his woozy grooves and lush atmospherics for a trackier spin” on the forthcoming record.
Macro Beat is out April 11, and can be pre-ordered at Juno and Deejay.de. Check out snippets from the EP below.
Korg continues its course of developing affordable, yet fully analog and compact devices designed for live performance and studio purposes, with the Minilogue. In line with the ultra-compact Volca series and the much-praised Electribe series, Korg kicks off the year with an analog polyphonic synthesizer. With its four voices and interesting added functions, its a very exciting little synth with loads of potential.
How it looks and feels The synth wears a slick, modern aluminium jacket, indicating that the Minilogue is, or should be seen as, something more than just another reinterpretation of a classic analog poly-synth, yet it still has hints of its ancestors with a real wooden backplate. The circuit of the synth is fully analog, with added digital functionally, such as OLED screens and an effect unit.
The big black rubber coated rotary knobs, wooden backboard, metal shaft potentiometers, and tiny OLED displays give the synth a minimalistic modern look. The sturdy housing and knobs make the synth fit to accompany you on the road, with only the raised keyboard posing durability concerns when travelling frequently. In this case design was chosen over functionality.
How it works The interface is obviously designed for accessibility. If you have ever used a basic additive synth before, it won’t take you very long to figure out the Minilogue.
The structure is basic and familiar: two voltage controlled oscillators, one voltage controlled filter, two envelope generators, and one LFO. In addition, there are some added functions that should set the synth apart from the vintage synths that we are all so familiar with. One of those functions is the “wave shape” capability, which allows you to fine tune the oscillator’s harmonics, with the wave shape cleverly displayed on the sim-card sized OLED display (the oscilloscope).
The interface has a traditional layout, following the route of the signal from being created on the left (OSC) to being shaped, amplified, and edited towards the right. A tape-delay style delay unit sits on the far right, as well as the “mode selector,” which lets you shift between modes such as mono, poly, arpeggiator, chord hold, and step sequencer.
Step sequencer and arpeggiator This is where it gets really interesting: the onboard 16-step sequencer has a record, playback, and overdub function, and an arpeggiator that functions with all four voices. This makes the synth very apt for jamming, as well as making it more fun to play with as a standalone unit, or in combination with a rhythm or groove box.
Memory The synth is equipped with a memory of 200 preset locations, which lets you edit one of the 100 factory presets in real time, or gives you the chance to save your best patches in the 100 empty locations—a luxury that many analog synths don’t offer. On the back of the synth you will find a USB connector, the standard midi connectors, as well as a special sync connector that can easily be connected to Korg’s groove machines (such as a unit from the KORG Electribe, Volca series, or the SQ-1). The synth does lack a MIDI-THRU port, which you will miss if you want to link all your machines via MIDI without using a dedicated MIDI-Interface. On the whole, this adds up to a whole lot of functionality for an analog synthesizer in this price range.
How it sounds The sound is warm, bright and controlled. The Minilogue’s low-end is impressive, from a really tight sub bass, to a deep pad or wobbly bass. It has the tightness you would expect from a modern synth, but with the warmth you would expect with a fully-analog circuit. When playing in mono mode, it has similarities in sound with the Dave Smith Mopho, but being a poly synth the Minologue offers way more, and is in the same price range.
It is incredibly versatile—with its four voices and eight function modes, you can do anything from tight mono basses to evolving pads or effect sounds. The envelope generators are very accurate and let you create sounds with no attack and very short decay, making it perfect for programming drum or percussion sounds.
Going through the factory sounds, it becomes even more apparent which market Korg were targeting. There are some very recognisable and familiar sounds skilfully pre-baked by the Korg team. References of modern house, dubstep, and Detroit come to mind. The time that the synth would come with a terrible ‘electric piano’ or ‘birds’ presets is over. These sounds are ready to be made into tracks.
In line with the whole identity of the synth, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the sounds are already very tight and efficient, and therefore likely to be efficient in your mix-down. This should help you to get a good result without a lot of precision EQing and post-production. Korg did everything to make your life easier.
The only thing the Minilogue lacks is a bit of edge—when used to less convenient analog synths from the 70s and 80s, the Korg comes off a bit clean. Compared to a similar sized Moog Prodigy or Realistic MG-1, the Minilogue suddenly sounds very decent. The oscillators are tuned perfectly, the filter is relatively modest and the whole synth is brilliantly calibrated (as to be expected from a synth produced in 2016). Unfortunately this does deduct all the unintended artefacts that make some of the old synths so interesting and unique.
It all very much depends on what you are looking for. If you are producing modern sounding dubstep or house, you can almost hardwire the synth’s output into your computer. If you are looking for a more dusty, organic sound with irregularities, you might have to run your signal through some pre-amps or tape delays, to give some edge to it. The great thing about this synth is that it has the potential to do both. And with the added wave shape function, as well as several modulating functions (such as the ring modulator), you can even give your sounds a little bit of that edge within the synth.
The bottom line That Korg lends one ear to the street was already proven with the products released in the previous years. For the ever-growing league of semi-professional bedroom producers seeking the best sound and most functionality out of their hard-earned money, the Minilogue is a perfect fit. Where for the Volca series Korg had to compromise a few too many basic functions (making the units as small and affordable as they are), they have now found the perfect balance between price, sound, and size with the Minilogue. It can compete with synths double its price, both in sound, building quality, and functionality.
Don’t expect a synth that is going to shape your sounds or set you apart from other producers. The unique sound of the machine is not designed for that. What you can expect is a great sounding, incredibly functional, and rugged synth. Learn every function, and you will be able to get that individuality out of it.
Italian producer Fabiano Valli (a.k.a. Pisetzky) has revealed details of his second EP, Elevation, out later this month via Just This.
Just This is the Milanese label run by techno duo Hunter/Game, which has so far put out music by the likes of Christian Löffler, Primal and Landside. For the imprint’s seventh release, they look to Pisetzky, a fellow Italian who gained popularity with last year’s Off The Map EP. According to the label, Elevation is packed with “darkly lit, dystopian soundscapes amidst pounding bass, piercing synths and deep textures.” It also features a collaboration with Just This favourite Brynjar Bjarnfoss (a.k.a. Primal), and remixes by Distant Echoes and Ed Davenport under his Inland alias.
Elevation will be released digitally and on vinyl, andcan be pre-ordered at Deejay.de and Juno. Stream snippets below.
The NYC-based artist team known as Bob Moses has made frequent appearances on XLR8R‘s pages over the past year or so, and over the weekend, its members delivered their first session for BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix series. “This mix was a great tool for us to define the next steps of where we want our sound to go,” they are are quoted as saying, “and to revisit where we currently see ourselves among our favorite music.”
The two-hour session features cuts from the likes of Session Victim, Roman Flügel, and Brian Eno, and nods to some fellow producers from Bob Moses’ hometown of Vancouver. Stream it in full and view the complete tracklist here.
Veteran french artist Gregory Darsa (a.k.a Point G) is set to release a retrospective of his live shows, titled Point G Live,on March 11—the release will also comprise a triple-vinyl pack. The album will also be the first time his music has officially been available in the digital world.
Since restoring his Point G project back in 2013, Darsa’s notoriety climbed and every vinyl release sincesold out in short time. In addition to Point G Live, Darsa is also set to unveil several exclusive and special remasters via The Unreleased Files triple vinyl, along with a digital album, and bundle of raw live material. When asked about the forthcoming album, Darsa had this to say:
“I started the POINTG project back in 96 and relaunched it three years ago. The whole idea behind Point G Live was to keep that Raw 90’s analog feel with a twist of today on a continuous mix. I wanted it to give that feeling of what’s going on in the parties, the motions and emotions.”
You can check out an exclusive stream of Point G’s forthcoming album in the player below.
Tracklist: Point G Live 01. Rumi 02. The Walk 03. You 04. Balea 05. Muz 06. What’s The Point 07. Delta
Tracklist: Point G Retrospective Mix 01. Braka (Revamp) 02. Druker (Revamp) 03. Peggy (90’s NYC interview) 04. The walk (Live revamp) 05. You 06. Melik (Amour) 07. Balea (Live) 08. Muz 09. Rumi 10. Indian (Epic dub)
Point G Live – Sampler (Beatport Digital Release) 01. Braka 02. Underwater 03. Balea 04. Have You
Tracklist: Point G Live – ‘The Unreleased Files’ Triple Vinyl LP 01. Braka (revamp) 02. Indian (revamp) 03. Druker (revamp) 04. Druker (revamp dub) 05. Melik 06. Hands (Lazare Hoche reshape)
David August has announced the release of his first original music in two years, a single set to land on Ninja Tune sub-label The Counter at the end of the month.
Although he has not released music in two years, the Berlin-based artist has been anything but quiet. Recently, he collaborated with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin (Berlin Symphony Orchestra)—where he wrote and performed an original symphony for them alongside Frieder Nagel, titled “OSTINATO.”
Ahead of the release of the full EP next month, “J.B.Y.,” can be streamed via the player below.
