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Download Madam X’s ‘Kaizen Movements Vol. 1’ Compilation

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June 2, 2014
New Music
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As one of the key stones in Manchester’s growing grime foundation, Madam X has proven more than capable on major outlets like BBC 1Xtra, but her efforts have always filtered into her label Big People Music and the Murkage collective she takes part in. Her latest efforts were announced over the weekend and take the form of Big People’s first compilation, the finger-on-the-pulse heavy Kaizen Movements Vol. 1. Rumbling soca from Murlo, orchestral patois from Samrai and metallurgic electro from Sudanim take center stage on Kaizen Movements, but the rest of the 10-tracker (Trap Door, Timbah, Dark0 and more) is far from a slack-jawed effort. Download the full comp or individual tracks below and be sure to throw the Madam some praise on her Facebook or Twitter.

DJ Marfox’s ‘Lucky Punch’ EP Out Now On Lit City Trax

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May 30, 2014
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Earlier this week, DJ Marfox‘s Lucky Punch EP was released on Lit City Trax, a massive artistic step forward for both artist and producer. Lisbon’s hybrid dance system has been percolating through Internet locales for around a year now and Marfox acts as the foremost purveyor of the fascinating sounds emitting from the Portuguese capitol. For Lit City Trax, Lucky Punch represents new horizons and a geographical expansion beyond Chicago, New York and London. The EP mostly plays out at 140 BPM and proportions an array of kuduro, tarraxhina, house, hip hop and more into a frenetic, aggro blends that breaks any and all existing molds. If you’re in New York tonight, find a way to finagle your way inside Lit City’s RMBA Festival event, featuring Marfox, DJ Deeon, Mumdance and more. Stream “Noise” and “Beat and Break” below and get your own copy of Lucky Punch through Boomkat.

New Filter Dread – “Stolen Dub”

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May 30, 2014
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Taking cues from pirate radio and the Cubase DAW, Filter Dread will make his much anticipated debut on RAMP Recordings with the MIDI Space EP. Set for a June 23 release date, the EP matches the frantic breakbeat-led madness of jungle with off-kilter grime futurism, drawing impressive directness out of potential disarray. A few weeks ago, we heard “Stolen Dub” in the Birmingham-based producer’s Astral Plane mix and the iniquitous song sets the stage for MIDI Space perfectly. It’s dark and industrial, but also brings to mind technological prowess and other worlds. Firmly grounded in the work of outlaw technicians years past, the song encapsulates the inherent ephemerality of the pirate radio form.

Download Boxed LDN’s Second Compilation of 2014

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May 30, 2014
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It was only two months ago when London’s Boxed club night, led by Slackk, Mr. Mitch, Oil Gang and Logos, released their eponymous, scene defining Vol. 1, but it appears that grime’s premier shapeshifters weren’t totally satisfied with their first offering. Boxed Vol. 2 picks up where the first edition left off, drawing from London’s rich musical fabric and subsequently tearing it apart, reconfiguring it and presenting it in a perfectly coherent melange of dancefloor and non-dancefloor oriented songs. The Boxed usuals all appear as do Dark0, Strict Face, Rabit, Chemist and Murlo, and the track list actually mirrors many of our most recent Astral Plane mixes. We’ve never had the pleasure of attending a Boxed night, but if Vol. 2 is anywhere near an approximation of Dalston’s finest instrumental grime happening then all of the hype is spot on.

New Kid Antoine – “Expected Encounter”

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May 14, 2014
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To this point, the Her Records crew has remained almost entirely insular with each of the last five releases coming from the label’s three core members: Miss Modular, Sudanim and CYPHR. FACT Mag recently sat down with the aforementioned trio, as well as the latest addition to the crew, Fraxinus, and dished on comparisons to other labels, the reductive nature of calling a song a drum track, and the upcoming Her Volume 3 compilation. FACT also premiered “Expected Encounter” by new Her signee Kid Antoine, the first track from the upcoming comp. Hailing from Copenhagen, Antoine wraps twinkling synth keys around protean, kuduro-inspired production on “Expected Encounter” for a ruggedly ebullient effect. Look out for more Antoine material and the upcoming Her comp on the horizon.

New Celestial Trax – “Swallowing Smoke”

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May 8, 2014
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if you’ve spent any time on Celestial Trax’s Tumblr, it’s easy to see where the Brooklyn-based producer draws inspiration from. Fluttering GIFs, Grecian imagery and a fixation on facial disfigurement dominate the page and offer a startling visual complement to deeply affecting take on grime, hip hop and other club forms. Vocals bring human form to his music, but are utilized more as a foil for rounded kicks and sizzling synth work than a singular, evocative entity. Last month’s Paroxysm EP, out now on Rinse, established the former London resident’s grime credentials, comprising four tracks of clicking, gun waving action that seems to explode in every possible direction. “Swallowing Smoke” sees him take a breath and step down from Paroxysm‘s spastic intentions, twisting a spindly vocal sample around Angelic pads. It’s tense and tightly wound, but also ephemeral, seemingly on the verge of blowing away at any time. Don’t sleep.

New Salva – “Drop That Bitch” (Feat. Schoolboy Q, Problem, Kurupt, Bad Lucc)

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April 29, 2014
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Disclaimer: I’ve spent the past few months as an intern at Friends of Friends.

What a way to start a label. Los Angeles veteran and Friends of Friends representative Salva jumpstarted his latest venture, Peacemaker, earlier today with a rejuvenated version of 2013’s “Drop That B”, aided by the vicious quadrumvirate of Schoolboy Q, Problem, Kurupt and Bad Lucc. While some of Salva’s recent output has trended towards the populist and watered down, the upcoming Peacemaker mixtape will make strides in establishing him as an genre-straddling entity that will allow him to feel equally comfortable in the rap and dance music worlds. And what better way to do that than four and a half minutes of cutthroat raps from some of LA’s brightest stars. Salva’s hydraulics-laden original is slightly revamped with brief, chugging guitars, while the MC’s provide the requisite rappity rap heat to keep heads nodding.

New SPF666 – “Scorpion Cache” (Neana Val Venis Mix)

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April 29, 2014
New Music, Remixes
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Previewed in mixes for the past several months, Neana’s wildly creative “Val Venis Mix” of SPF666‘s “Scorpion Cache” has finally reached daylight. Part mashup, part interpolation, the prodigious London producer wraps King L‘s C-Sick produced “Val Venis” for a percussive ride, drawing its menacing melody out over a vexing kick drum pattern. Discharged of its youthful fury, C-Sick’s beat takes on a playful, 8-bit quality that allows Neana to flex his four-on-the-floor grime-meets-ballroom into a deadly club projectile. It’s the type of track that transcends its various influences and it embodies the reason why so many producers are attempting to replicate Neana’s production stylings. Its quality also represents why so few of those producers have managed to come anywhere near his prowess. Download the remix below and look out for the Scorpion Cache EP, out next month on Club Chemtrail.

New Mumdance – “Take Time” (Feat. Novelist)

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April 29, 2014
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South London MC Novelist has been making some major waves this year, gracing a number of radio shows with his instantly recognizable snarl and razor sharp bars. Mumdance has certainly taken notice and recently recruited the 17-year-old to lace a track off of his upcoming Rinse EP. “Take Time” features Mumdance at his finest, all razor sharp snares, modulated spin backs and frantic hats. While Novelist espouses the value of taking time and relaxing, there’s barely enough space to take a breath on “Take Time” amid the spastic percussion and brick-in-your-face bass stabs. The yet-to-be-named EP will be hitting the streets on June 16 courtesy of Rinse.

Download/Stream The Fast Life EP From RIVA

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April 23, 2014
New Music
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Self-described “NEW BAROQUE DIGITAL BITCH TRAP AMBIENT BALL” artist RIVA released his Fast Life EP yesterday through the record label/club night/clothing line/post-physical place to be, SEAPUNKGANG. While SPG is #tumblrwave, they have created a very real, very tangible place in this world recruiting Groundislava, Cid Rim, and Panteros666 to be poster children. 

“Fast Life / 速い 人生” starts off the EP with pikachu crying over four on the floor bass before a stuttered euphoric wash leads the way for RIVA to riddle off “fast life, chemical addiction.” The song comes together with a space battle sounding hardstyle beat that clears all misconceptions about what Fast Life is. “1993” might be RIVA telling us his life story over a slow, but the slow, growling techno beat and occasional kandi dipped synth explosions make sure we don’t get too close. The three-piece ends with “White Magic / 白 マジック”. Heavier in sound and content than the other two, White Magic is the emotional breakthrough from the Milanese producer; ascending out of the party that traps the other two. Stream RIVA’s Fast Life EP below and download for the price of a like here.