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New Strict Face – “Highbury Skyline”

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April 7, 2014
New Music
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“Highbury Skyline”, the b-side of Strict Face‘s new release on Mr. Mitch‘s Gobstopper Records, has been floating around the Rinse.FM universe for some time now, but that doesn’t mean that the Australian producer’s most high-profile release to date is any less profound. Along with a-side “Fountains” (peep after the jump), the single sees Strict Face expounding upon an eski sound palette and utilizing melodramatic pads for an orchestral effect. Whereas “Fountains” falls more into the devil mix category touched on by contemporaries Visionist, Rabit and Logos, “Highbury Skyline” is exactly the type of song that critics refer to as the new wave of grime. More specifically, “Highbury Skyline” isn’t really grime at all. It’s a hybrid along the lines of Mssingno’s self-titled EP and Nguzunguzu’s latest Skycell EP, an entity that looks and sounds like grime, but doesn’t act like it. Fountains/Highbury Skyline is out now on Gobstopper.

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Premier: Imaabs & Tomas Urquieta – Jam City Reworks

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April 4, 2014
New Music, Remixes
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Last year, Chilean producer Imaabs released the Baroque EP on Diamante Records, replete with a remix package that included ballroom kingpin MikeQ and Atlanta bass specialist Distal. It was the eighth release on Diamante, but easily garnered the most attention from American and European dance music fans alike (the label has also released music from Daniel Klauser, Hood Dreams and others). The label filters sounds from America’s East Coast, namely club and ballroom, and the UK into unruly, ill-tempered dancefloor bombs that rarely conform to the strictures of traditional dance music. While Tomas Urquieta does not have an official release on Diamante yet, he is a key member of the Chilean scene and has made a name for himself through an impressive array of remixes that touch on grime as much as they do the breakbeat crunch of Bmore.

Jam City remixes aren’t a new phenomenon by any means, but it’s still rare to come across reworks that disorganize and subsequently re-orient the original. Imaabs and Urquieta have done just that in their fresh-off-the-press Jam City Reworks EP, a two track affair that sees the former take on Club Constructions Vol. 6 track “500 Years” and the latter give his hand to Classical Curves standout “How We Relate To The Body”. The Chilean duo were kind enough to allow us to host the reworks and, to be honest with you, it’s an honor to work alongside such talented and earnest musicians. Download both reworks individually below or grab both in a zip file here.

Murlo Remixes Tinashe’s “2 On”

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March 25, 2014
New Music, Remixes
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While “Vulnerable” might have been Tinashe’s don’t-stop-looking-at-me statement, 2014 single “2 On”, featuring Schoolboy Q and produced by DJ Mustard, was the commanding singer’s clear breakout moment. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Murlo let loose his “2 On” refix the same day as the original’s impossibly sexy music video hit the web and the London producer’s filled out, chugging riddim is a perfect addendum to the visual component. Without losing the luster of Mustard’s sultry bassline, Murlo brings a slightly sunnier disposition to “2 On”, making the easier-than-you-might think jump into soca territory.

CYPHR’s ‘Brace/Gloss FInish’ Out Now

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March 20, 2014
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Last June, Her Records caught our attention with the unique, R&B-inflected club vibes of CYPHR’s Girl Shake, a free EP that set the stage for Miss Modular’s wildly popular “Reflektor Pack”, although hasn’t received nearly as much popular acclaim. With Sudanim’s The Link EP already under their belt, it’s clear that the Her crew are looking to flex their shit in 2014 and today brings  release of CYPHR’s Brace/Gloss Finish single. More unbridled than Girl Shake, both “Brace” and “Gloss Finish” abandon the R&B trappings of CYPHR’s first Her release, the former opting for a growling, percussive monster and the latter straining ebullient vocals and analogue synth work into a techno framework. Both tracks are wildly efficient club efforts and allow CYPHR the room to remove himself from the shadow of his fellow Her artists. The single is out now and can be bought at the Her store.

New DJ Nigga Fox – “L.X.M.B. Noites”

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March 14, 2014
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Last year, DJ Nigga Fox’s O Meu Estilo EP blew many a mind with its percussive basis and dub-y, dank flair. In the time since, Nigga Fox has become the heir apparent of Lisbon, not only as scene figurehead DJ Marfox’s apprentice, but as a global ambassador of the tarraxinha, kuduro, funana, etc. sounds that arise from the city’s periphery lusophone communities. “L.X.M.B. Noites” is actually one of the more linear Nigga Fox songs, lacking some of the polyrhythmic madness that pervaded O Meu Estilo. Nonetheless, the uncanny synth work and a steady four-on-the-floor pattern opens the door for a second “chorus” as infectious as they come. It’s a real pleasure to cover Nigga Fox and the whole Principe crew these days.

New Young Thug – “Bossy” (Feat. Slug)

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March 14, 2014
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With 1017 Thug as the platform and “Danny Glover” and “Stoner” (which is being pushed by Atlantic) as the statements, Young Thug has quickly become the most fascinating man in rap. We all want to know who Young Thug is these days. Anyways, his latest cut features associate Slug (aka Lil Tick) and some triumphant horns at the hands of Starter. “Bossy” doesn’t have the indomitable hook of Thug’s past hits, but no one is touching him as far as  reconstructing the art of flow goes.

Tomas Urquieta Remixes DJ Tameil’s “Body”

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March 13, 2014
New Music, Remixes
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Hailing from Viña del Mar, Chile, Tomas Urquieta is one of several impressive South American producers channeling American and UK club sounds through their own unique filter. It would be silly to harp on it, but the proficiency at which Urquieta and Imaabs  ingest Bmore, ballroom and grime and spit out their own exciting results is remarkable. For his latest cut, Urquieta looks to Jersey, lacing DJ Tameil’s “Body” with a bevy of think breaks and whipping the original into a rumbling, squeaky clean lump of heat. Stream below and grab a free download in exchange for a “like” at Urquieta’s Facebook page.

DJ Marfox Just Jam Mix

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March 12, 2014
Mixes, New Music
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If you haven’t read Ryan Keeling’s long-form essay on Principe Records and the fascinating Lisbon scene it has helped foster, then you need to do yourself a solid and get up on it now. The names DJ Marfox, DJ Nigga Fox, Niagara and others have been circulating for a few years now, but it appears that the sound of Lisbon’s lusophone club scene is finally garnering the ears is deserves. Involving various aspects of kuduro, funaná, batida, tarraxinha and other genres, Lisbon-based Principe Records has gathered, pressed to vinyl and distributed the sounds of the city’s isolated outer-rim housing projects. Of course, the sounds of Lisbon have been percolating for years, but like many other minority, regional club scenes, the producers are often wary of outsiders. Regardless, the five releases Principe has pumped out to date have been wildly inventive, opening up a divide between the label and, well… just about anything else these days. For the uninitiated, Marfox recently made an appearance at the much talked about Just Jam party in London and you can check out 15 minutes of his set below.

Kingdom Remixes Glass Animals’ “Gooey”

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March 11, 2014
New Music, Remixes
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It’s still to be seen whether Glass Animals‘ signing to Paul Epworth’s Wolf Tone label will turn out, but in the meantime, it’s impossible to note the increased stature and attention the band has faced. The British act first caught my eye with the beatific “Cocoa Hooves” and have continued to hone their R&B-leaning pop compositions in the year and a half since. Most indicative of the new label is “Gooey”, a crisp, efficient arrangement that has garnered quite a bit of attention over the past few weeks. This week, the band is playing numerous dates at SXSW, including one at the vaunted Fader Fort. Despite all the hype surrounding the band and their upcoming American dates, this remix still comes as a surprise to this listener. It’s not like the song falls so far outside of Kingdom’s go-to sound palette, but culturally, it seems a far stretch from the Fade To Mind don’s regular remix subjects. Regardless, the cluttering hip hop refix adds the exact edge the original needed. The remix will appear on the Gooey EP, out April 8 on Harvest Records.

OH91 Mix For The Astral Plane

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March 11, 2014
Mixes, New Music
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The best club music possesses a certain level of immediacy. There’s a lot of squishy rhetoric surrounding the “togetherness” and shared experience of club and drug culture, but it’s undeniable that a certain sensation is widely felt when the DJ plays that song. It’s not the hand-in-the screams of festival kids or slack jaw grins of pill heads, but a quiet, resounding sense of submission among the crowd at-large. It’s the sentiment I felt when OH91‘s remix of Kahn’s “Percy” first graced my ears. It wasn’t the shear physical force of the song, or it’s head-spinning structure that struck me, but the immediate bodily submission I felt. It’s not that the song is universally adored, it’s the immediacy that those that know will almost undoubtedly feel.

Luckily for OH91, many others besides myself feel similarly and his name has been on the tongue of many a grime enthusiast over the past few years. Bred in the rich Bristol scene, the man born Omari Champagnie has only a few releases to his name, but each one has proved his talents in a different realm of UK music. He’s released fluttering, funk-infused hip hop (on Subdepth), bouncy house/garage, and roughneck, apocalyptic grime (on Coyote Records). Along the way, he’s garnered acclaim from some prime names, getting a Spooky remix on the Coyote release and receiving support from the likes of Kahn & Neek, Royal-T and Elijah & Skilliam. The “Percy” remix put his name on many a tongue, but this young Bristol representative is going to be taking his rightful place among the aforementioned tastemakers before too long. With assistance from Tomas at Coyote Records, OH91 has graced us with our 22nd Astral Plane mix. A quick glance at the track list, might lead an undiscerning listener to conclude that the mix is just an amalgamation of huge grime cuts from the past year or two, but that would be overlooking the expertly placed edits and skillful sequencing. Rather than coming off heavy-handed, the mix is one the most mellifluous 45 minutes you’ll hear all week. An unreleased collaboration with Sir Spyro doesn’t hurt either.

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