Los Angeles based music label Invert Music has curated first-rate techno event to help usher in 2016. Taking place between 9pm – 7am at a location that is TBA, Diversion NYE will host DJ, producer, and label operator (Infrastructure NYC/Counterchange) Ed Davenport (aka Inland) will make his Los Angeles debut to graciously help in providing the LA-based techno community the soundtrack for their New Year celebration.
On top of releasing music on Ostgut Ton and playing a handful of times at Berghain since moving to Berlin, he has helped re-launch the imprint Infrastructure New York with American techno mainstay Function. Marking a new chapter of artistic development for both of them, Function and Inland have started to collaborate on both DJ sets and live shows and are expected to have new music coming in early 2016.
The supporting lineup for this NYE extravaganza includes Brooklyn-based act The Long Count Cycle, local Los Angeles techno linchpin Raiz, and a b2b set from Ed Vertov and Lena Deen.
You can purchase your tickets to this event via XLR8R!
Rekord 61’s Berlin-based Konstruktiv imprint has steadily gained exposure over the past two years, with stellar remix packages coming from the likes of Spencer Parker, Radio Slave, Perc and Rolando. Late June saw the label release an incredible record by Rekord 61, Vremya—and now Konstruktiv is back to deliver a fresh remix package for the record, featuring new interpretations from Underground Resistance’s Rolando and Russian producer Unbalance (a.k.a. Alexander Matlakhov).
For the final track on Vremya Versions, Unbalance delivers his Viscous remix—offered today on XLR8R for direct download. The track is a menacing seven-minute workout with penetrating sub-wobbles, vacillating stab echoes and fluttering snippets taken from the original cut. The remix also breaks up the rhythm aspects of the original while implementing a ghostly, ethereal vibe via soaring pad lines.
You can pick up your copy of Vremya Versionshere, and you can grab a copy of Unbalance’s “Viscous Remix” of Rekord 61’s “Vremya” by clicking on the media player below.
Native Instruments has just released iMASCHINE 2, the updated version of the powerful and portable music application which is now available for iOS devices in the App Store for a limited time price of $4.99. New features include an arranger, which allows you to seamlessly organize your various loops and scenes to help you create full tracks on fly and the step mode which enables the user to browse the hundreds of incorporated drum sounds efficiently and construct rhythms with great ease. The updated version also includes a smart play functionality which maps the notes of a scale, making sure every chord, melody, and bassline remains in key.
You can learn more about iMASCHINE 2 by going to the Native Instruments website here.
Grab your copy of the app by heading to the App Store here.
Watch LA-based producer TK Kayembe create an entire track in one day using iMASCHINE 2 in the video below.
Thomas Mullarney III and Jacob Gossett, who make up the New York-based duo Beacon, have been taking a wholehearted and traditional approach to both their production and their live shows. Having toured the U.S. five separate times since the release of their debut album, The Ways We Separate, Mullarney and Gossett show no lack of dedication and their tireless efforts have paid off in what will be their sophomore album, Escapements. The LP is scheduled for release on February 6 via Ghostly International.
The unique, swooning sound of Beacon’s Escapements, which was crafted over a period of nine months, makes it clear that Gossett and Mullarney poured a great deal of time into crafting this album. Subsequently, the theme of the album itself revolves around the concept of… time. The title of the LP, which is taken from clock mechanics, has to do with the transfer of energy at a constant pace, a concept Mullarney became attracted to because of “the entropy it implies.” Mullarney explains that “friction and changes in amplitude over time mean every escapement, no matter how well crafted, will lose its accuracy and effectively slow down time via its own decay.” This theme is explored with absorption and yielding throughout the album as the duo explores their new sonic possibilities, free of any and all limitations. Often constrained by their electronic production, the duo brought Tycho‘s drummer, Rory O’Connor, into the fold to help bestow a fresh, live element into Beacon’s new found sound.
You can learn more about Beacon by going to Ghostly International’s website and be sure to check out more from the duo on their Soundcloud page here.
You can stream the album cut “Preserve” in full below.
Dekmantel 2015 was widely regarded as one of the top European festivals of this past summer, with DJs ranging from Rush Hour‘s San Proper to Detroit’s own Mike Servito and Carlos Souffront taking to the Selectors Stage to show off their favorite records.
To further showcase the sounds of the fest, which ran over the first three days of August in Amsterdam, the Dekmantel crew has now taken to their Soundcloud account to upload eight Selectors Stage sets.
The recordings include festival sets by Motor City Drum Ensemble; Solar; Volcov; the aforementioned Servito, Souffront and San Proper, Orpheu; and Sterac. Check out the Dekmantel Soundcloud page for more info about the sets, and go to their website to find out about next year’s edition..
Also on Friday, Steve Rachmad begins a North American five stop tour with a Canada debut performance at Stereo, the Montreal club staple which also celebrates its 16 year anniversary this month.
Saturday night in Brooklyn, MATTE Projects presents BLACK Music & Arts Project – a one-night, multifaceted experience set to explore the expression of music, design, and art through the aesthetics of black – main music acts include Gesaffelstein and Jon Hopkins.
To find more events in your city or to submit a new event visit our events page. XLR8R is now offering ticketing for U.S. events, promoters interested in participating during our beta-testing can get in touch here.
Following on from Chevel’s recent LP Blurse, Stroboscopic Artefacts (run by fellow Italian Lucy) will release a remix package of tracks lifted from the album.
Dario Tronchin (a.k.a. Chevel) has released on the likes of Non Series, and his own labels Enklav. and Monday Night Records. His most recent output, Blurse (which took a route into more abstract sounds and experimentalism), has now had a handful of cuts from it remixed. The EP begins with Paula Temple’s version of “Stranded” on the A-side, followed by Lee Gamble’s revamp of “Watery Drumming.” On the B-side “Heimweh” is remixed by Perc, and things are rounded off with Minor Science’s take on “Loop #42,” completing a package brimming with variety.
You can pre-order the EP at the Stroboscopic Artefacts site. We spoke to Chevel himself ahead of the December 4 release, with snippets of the original album streamable below.
So this was your debut full length on Stroboscopic Artefacts—what led you to arrive at this sound, which is so different to your other releases? It seems like there is more of a story behind Blurse—can you explain it to us? I am not sure, but I guess it depends on the different lifestyle I have been living for the past couple of years, which is basically the timeframe it took me to work on the album Blurse. I saw myself changing quite a bit—I was living alone in a new flat where I recorded the album, and I started seeing my music as something others actually consider, listen to, or familiarize with, whereas at the beginning I was doing it just for myself. I also moved on from playing in a completely dead wine bar in my hometown, to performing live or DJing in front of thousands of people. I started to put more effort in my work. Moreover, I’ve begun to feel a bit bored of house and techno sounds, which is what my roots are in.
After releasing Stroboscopic Artefacts first Monad series back in 2010, how did you maintain your relationship with Lucy, and how did Blurse find a home on the label? Lucy is a long time friend, first of all. We both moved to Berlin in 2008 and spent loads of time together then. I learnt a lot from him, no doubt — simple as that. We are often in touch, and when I have something finished, he’s one of the first people who gets to listens to it. I think this album perfectly fitted the label in terms of the feeling of creative freedom, and with the final product design too.
Do you think the four tracks chosen for remixing make a good representation of the album? I suggested Lee Gamble (who is one of my all time musical heroes) as well as Minor Science to the label when they told me they wanted a remix edition. When Paula Temple and Perc were added to the list I was delighted. I think the remix EP is a must have, and explores completely different angles of the current electronic music available out there. It’s so eclectic!
The Sacramento-born-and-bred, Brooklyn-based unit known to the world as !!!—or “chk chk chk,” if you’re verbally inclined—has just released their latest long-playing missive on Warp, As If. It’s an album that might be perceived as a continuation the band’s journey from turn-of-the-millennium punk-funk royalty to something more recognizable as a straight-up disco combo (which is fine by us, as we always hated the term punk-funk anyway). In truth, though, !!! was always a bit more disco, albeit disco with something of an alien, no-wavey edge, than most of their contemporaries—As If, the band’s sixth LP, simply cements that point with its beefy four-to-the-floor grooves, maximalist arrangements, and majestic, glitter-ball choruses.
To mark As If’s release, !!!’s Nic Offer (he’s the fellow on the far right in the above photo) has kindly picked out a quintet of his favorite tracks from the West African style known as azonto—actually, he’s so enthusiastic about this music that he gave us six selections, but this stuff is infectious enough that we’ll let it slide. But first, a few words from Offer himself.
“I’ve talked about azonto online before, but I’m gonna do it again. I’m not Mr. Obscuro, so this is one of the things I know about that hopefully is fresh to you. I’m out of my element in describing this, but I explain it to people this way: Nigeria was to West Africa like what N.Y. was to hip-hop, and then Ghana came out like Atlanta and took over, so that even Nigerian artists began copying Ghana. It’s a weird rhythm— somewhere between a jacked-up swingy house often featuring a slight skank to it, a basic kinda dancehall click on the snare, a lot of autotuned vox, and a flow that fluctuates between candy R&B and their own flow based on hip-hop and dancehall toasting. That’s probably wrong but that’s what I got. It’s also a way of dancing that’s pretty awesome. If you’re good, you can find a lot of playful creative ground to work with, yet it’s still easy to do if you’re not a great dancer. I also like that everyone sings about azonto. Any style of music that sings about itself is cool to me. That’s why there’s so many songs that sing about “house” but no songs that sing about “indie.” Just facts.”
If you wanna hear more than the tracks here, you ca also check out a mix I did of it a few years ago.
Keche “Aluguntungi” Any song that starts with “Life is tasty” is already off to a good start. I love the drawn out “seiiiiiiiii,” the stuttered “gui, gui gui gui,” and the autotune freestyle in the middle. So sick when he lets it get all fucked at 2:19 and then cackles mischievously. A lot of these songs set up a basic song with a couple verses and hooks and then free up a bit in the middle, kinda getting your pumped to keep dancing. The video is a good example of the basic dance moves. The song is produced by E.L. who’s one of the premier producers of this genre.
E.L. “One Ghana (for your pocket)” Here’s one of his solo tracks. I kinda prefer his other track, “Obuu Mo,” but that’s already on my mix. This one is sick too. A lot of this stuff reminds me of Da Real World–era Missy and Timbaland (underrated era, IMHO). I met him once, and he was really cool. We were supposed to do a track together, but he never called me back. : (
Sarkodie featuring Appietus & Kesse “Azonto Fiesta” I don’t know what to say, I just love this stuff. I’ve played this track a hundred times. Sarkodie is one of the biggest rappers in Ghana, and he also has another killer track with E.L., “U Go Kill Me.”
Mista Silva featuing Skob, Flava & Kwamz “Boom Boom Tah” Frenetic drum-machine rhythms, and sweet autotuned harmonies on the chorus—everyone’s flow is just spectacular on this.
Donae’o featuring Sarkodie “Move To Da Gyal Dem” A stone groove which I’ve DJed out, and it works out nicely into a house-ish set. Donae’o is Ghanaian but from London. I think this may have been a hit outside of West Africa. This one is cooled out, but you can just lose yourself into it while dancing. Perfect for the kinda casual, showy attitude that works well with azonto moves. Keep that look on your face like “ain’t nobody’s business”.
Olamide “First Of All” This is from Nigeria but obviously indebted to Ghana. A lot of azonto songs kinda have a ska-like skank to them. This is actually the first song on my mix, and I’ve already said, buuuuuuuuut the bass line is too sick. The lyrics appear to be hilarious, from what I can get. “First of all,” “in other news” “r u a learner,” “do I look like Awilo Logomba?” (a Congolese musician. I have no idea what this could mean. is he making fun of himself? whatever, it sounds pretty funny.)
Blueberry Records label head and Ninja Tune//Planet Mu veteran Drew Lustman (aka FaltyDL) is set to release his latest single ‘Viseral’ via Ninja Tune on November 27. This past March, Lustman dropped his FaltyDL moniker for The Crystal Cowboy, his latest album on Planet Mu, but returned to Ninja Tune as FaltyDL with the release of ‘Rich Prick Poor Dick‘ in September, making ‘Viseral’ Lustman’s second Ninja Tune single of the year.
Lustman employs his signature, hasty drum arrangements to a wide orchestration of sprite-like woodwinds, burnish mallet percussion, cutting synth arpeggios, and a tapering string composition which fuses together in creating this beautifully brisk and downcast piece of music. You can stream the track in full below.
The yearly Dutch event DGTL Festival has just announced the dates for its 2016 edition. Taking place at the NDSM-Docklands in Amsterdam between March 26 – 27, DGTL affirms that this years edition will consist of a “finely selected A-listing headliners, seasoned veterans, storming international talent and solid local acts.”
In addition to this, the Dutch festival has announced that the overarching theme of this years event will revolve around communication, focusing on “the relation that the progression of communication and technology has with electronic music.” Pre-sale tickets will be available on November 25 along with the full lineup for DGTL Festival 2016 which will be announced later this month. You can register for limited early bird tickets by going here.
You can watch the Gear Up trailer for DGTL Festival 2016 in the video below.
