CORIN is the alias of Corin Ileto, an electronic music DJ-producer and performer based in Sydney, Australia. XLR8R readers will probably be familiar with her name from Lux Aeterna, her latest album on Lee Gamble‘s UIQ label, or its predecessor, Enantiodromia, which is also an assemblage of converging styles moving somewhere between IDM, EBM, trance, and baroque-laden ambience. Whatever project she’s working on, she draws on her background in classical piano and an interest in creating a sonic space in which western classical music is hybridized with contemporary electronic production and non-western forms. Recorded in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month, Ileto’s XLR8R podcast does exactly this, while shining a light on some of her favorite tracks and labels including Indonesia’s Yes No Wave Music, Iran’s Zabte Sote, and Ukraine’s Standard Deviation. What this equates to is one hour of ambient vocal-based music with textural club energy—a mix that draws you in with suspense, tension, and release.

01. What have you been up to lately?
I’ve just released a full-length album on Lee Gamble’s UIQ. It’s my second release on the label and I’m really happy with how it’s been received.

02. What have you been listening to?
I’ve been listening to a lot of vocal-based folk music. I’m interested in non-western tuning systems, pitch systems outside of western equal temperament, and I also love this sliding, pitch-bending effect in vocals. It can be so beautiful.

03. What is it that appeals to you about dance music?
I think the most interesting thing about dance music is the communal role of clubs in communities. Although I’m more on the festival circuit nowadays, a lot of my earlier gigs were in small clubs run by DIY collectives. I appreciate having this support. But generally speaking, I love the euphoric nature of dance music, particularly trance. It has always been an appealing genre to me because of the synth melodies.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded this from my hotel room in Barcelona.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks?
I wanted to create some sort of thread, a storyline compiling some favorite artists and labels of mine, such as Yes No Wave Music, Zabte Sote, and Standard Deviation. My favorite discovery was the opening track by Sote and Mazdak: it’s so hauntingly beautiful, I love the combinations of the detuning vocals and synth. I also came across this amazing track by Raja Kirik: it’s so ecstatic, and I love the vocal lines, in addition to the new album from Kasimyn (from Gabber Modus Operandi) under his alias Hulubalang. There’s also a track from Safa who released a great album last year on UIQ as well.

06. What can the listener expect?
Suspense, tension, and release. A mix of ambient vocal-based music with textural club energy in between. Usually I make more straightforward club-based mixes, but I’ve started to return to the way I made mixes in the past, which was a bit more narrative.

07. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
I think the pacing of this mix is similar to the moments and moods I’ve created for my current Lux Aeterna live set.

08. What’s next on your horizon?
I’ll be playing some more international shows to promote my latest album, including a live audio-visual show with visuals by my long-time collaborator and friend Tristan Jalleh. I’ve also started working on some material for future albums.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Sote & Mazdak “Unseen Minorities” (Zabte Sote)
02. Fursaxa “Alone In The Dark Wood” (ATP)
03. Akira Yamaoka “Ice” (Silent Hill Shattered Memories)
04. Fatima Al Qadiri “Stolen Kiss Of A Succubus” (Hyperdub)
05. Pan Daijing “A Found Lament” (Pan)
06. Katarina Gryvul “Ocean” (Standard Deviation)
07. CORIN “Sunta” (UIQ)
08. Deena Andelwahed “Insaniyti” (InFiné)
09. Rani Jambak “Fosarune” (Nusasonic)
10. Raja Kirik “Act. V. Waru Doyong” (Yes No Wave)
11. Hulubalang “Piso” (Drowned By Locals)
12. Safa “Gazelles” (UIQ)
13. Soheil Shayesteh “Suspense” (Zabte Sote)
14. Сум “Думки” (Standard Deviation)
15. Flora Yin Wong “The Sacrifice” feat. Adam Sherry (First Light Records)
16. Mabe Fratti “Dirección + Concepción Huerta” (Self-Released)