Music Submissions Roundup: May
A selection of our favorite music submitted by XLR8R+ members last month.
Music Submissions Roundup: May
A selection of our favorite music submitted by XLR8R+ members last month.
With July upon us, we’re ready to share with you the latest list of our favorite XLR8R+ submissions, this time coming from May. What we’ve been digging for this particular edition have been some hard-hitting tracks from Alonzo, whose album on Cultivated Electronics draws influence from bleak urban landscapes and old city ruins, but there’s also “Section 30” by CSV, which is almost certain to have you jumping around. For the softer touch, you might head towards Adam BFD’s “Sonar,” taken from the French producer’s latest release on Lost Palms, or “Thick Of It,” a taste of the debut album from Boy With Boat. In terms of mixes, the bass-heavy, warped out sounds of Erica Van Berger’s podcast caught the attention of the entire XLR8R team, so do, please, dig in, but there’s much more. As always: thanks for all your submissions. We’ll be back with our latest picks soon.
For those unfamiliar, XLR8R+ is a member-supported music community and curated music experience. Every month, you will get three exclusive tracks—sometimes more—by a wealth of amazing artists that XLR8R has supported over the years, as well as access to the member’s area where you can submit tracks and DJ mixes to be showcased in this feature series and to the XLR8R+ community. There’s also exclusive editorial content, mixes, FREE passes to music festivals and events, playlists, and more. You can find out more here.
^L_ “LONER”
^L_ is the moniker of the Brazilian producer Luis Fernando, who started making music as a teenager, citing bands like My Bloody Valentine or Nine Inch Nails as the inspiration for his first shoegaze-leaning excursions. In 2014, he released his debut album, Love Is Hell, through the Berlin label Antime, the same place he released a more dancefloor-focused EP called The Outsider in 2016. The older he has grown, the more eclectic his tastes have become, and his output now oscillates between film score-inspired sounds, acid techno, and noise. “LONER,” an acid techno track, is taken from Luis, his fourth full EP for Antime.
Alonzo “Animal Control”
Originally from Miami and now based in Brooklyn, New York, Alonzo has previously released on W.T. Records, Zement, Phormix, and Lost Soul Enterprises. He also forms part of Lithium Parasites alongside Vidrio. Earlier this month, he put out They Come In Twos, a new album on Cultivated Electronics, the London based Electro label headed up by Sync 24. Across eight hard-hitting electro jams, Alonzo drew influence from bleak urban landscapes and old city ruins, turning in a must-have album for fans of bass music.
CSV “Section 30”
With “Section 30,” CSV—an alias of Chris Speed Visuals—has released another genre-bending cut into his garage-infused collection that spans labels like Sheffield’s Off Me Nut, Human Error, and The Games We Play. The London artist’s dark sound comes from his teenage years spent immersed in dingy east London club nights. Nowadays, he draws on a myriad of influences including grime, jungle, and dubstep, plus algorithmic compositions, to make boundary-pushing results. “Section 30” pulls in samples from around his home, which he combines with intense bass, bullet casings, sword slashes, and pitched down vocal chops.
Boy With Boat “Thick Of It” (Original Mix)
Will Olsen, better known as Boy With Boat, is an Australian producer based out of Brisbane. His dynamic take on melodic techno, progressive house, and electronica has attracted the attention of labels like Recovery Collective, Interfonic, Ballroom, and Open Records. “Thick Of It,” scheduled to land on Open Records in late July, is the first taste of Olsen’s debut album, which is filled with “14 stellar tunes across the full spectrum of his sound,” we’re told. Olsen wrote each one of them while juggling working on the frontlines of the pandemic as a pharmacist and studying for his PhD.
Listen/Buy
Sensitive Golgoth “SwingPool 84”
Guillaume Marie, better known as Sensitive Golgoth, is a scientist in ecological modelling by day and musician by night. Based in Avignon, France, he releases a breed of house music that’s smooth and warm, and in March he released the beautiful “SwingPool84” via his Bandcamp. If you like that, we’d also recommend “Echoes in the Storm,” which you can stream here.
Anthony Manning “#38”
The career in music of Anthony Manning, from France, dates back to the ’90s but his new music represents a departure from anything he’s released before: it makes no use of synthesizers. There is no plan to this project, besides Manning’s desire to reconnect with the joy of interacting with a physical instrument. “#38,” the first track from this collection, started as an experiment, and a first attempt at using microphones. 10 months passed between the first notes being struck and this version emerging, but we can’t wait to hear more.
Marcio McFly “Portofino“
Marcio McFly is an electronic artist based in Italy whose music is based around the intelligent use of his vintage analogical synthesizers. “Portofino,” a dreamy synth-pop track, is taken from Conservare le Macchine è un Dovere (meaning To Preserve Machines is a Must), an ambitious release where dancefloor tracks are with techno-pop songs. It’s almost eight years old but it still sounds good today.
Adam BFD “Sonar”
Originally from Normandy but now residing in Paris, DJ-producer Adam Boufeldja (a.k.a Adam BFD) has made a name for himself with his emotional breakbeat productions that fuse tear-jerking melodies and cinematic euphoria. In March, he put out an EP on Lobster Theremin but “Sonar,” with its assertive kick-drums that punch beneath a wistful melody, is the standout cut from his debut on Shall Not Fade’s Lost Palms label. Innervisions, the release, is Boufeldja’s fourth EP of the year.
SMYAH “XLR8R Guest Mix”
Yavor Zografski (a.k.a SMYAH) is a music producer based in Bulgaria whose sound draws from broken beat, left-field bass, and movie scores. Earlier this month, he submitted a mix that he recorded especially for XLR8R, exploring the depths of dubstep and grime, and featuring a lot of his own material. We highly recommend.
Erica Van Berger “Phormix Podcast #232”
Erica Van Berger is a researcher of experimental electronics and, earlier this month, he delivered a podcast filled for Phormix, a Greek platform. Filled with bass, beats, and tribal sounds, it’s a warped out mix that we highly recommend.
