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New Music

New Jon Hopkins – “Breathe This Air” (Feat. Purity Ring)

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August 9, 2013
New Music
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jon hopkins

In the midst of our recent break, London-based cross-genre pioneer Jon Hopkins caused quite a stir with his 5th studio album Immunity (out now on Domino), a brilliant mixture of slumper techno and melodic classical reference points. The album hit on a number of levels and the word on the street is that Hopkins’ live show brings the LP to another level. Hopkins is embarking on a small North American tour later this month, including several shows with Purity Ring. We’re not usually big fans of the latter’s middling work, but we can give props where they are due and the below re-imagining of Immunity standout “Breathe This Air” is pure brilliance. Hopkins’ work normally exists on a purely instrumental plane, but Megan James’ minimal crooning reinvents the song as a crossover number, constantly transitioning between shuffling techno and piano-led chorus’. The song will appear on a limited run 12″ to be given away on a first come first serve basis at the two act’s headlining show at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre later this month.

Download Gunplay & Isaiah Toothtaker Remix EP

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August 9, 2013
New Music, Remixes
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gunplay isaiah toothtaker

A few months ago, we featured an interesting Blue Sky Black Death remix of a to-be-released song by Gunplay and Isaiah Toothtaker called “Frownin'”. The combination of Miami’s Gunplay and Arizona’s Toothtaker seemed left field at first, but both MC’s flow together impressively and the song is a cauldron of reckless abandon, vivid street realism and cutthroat punchlines. Yesterday, a full Frownin’ EP (mixtape?) was released featuring both the original measure and a bevy of remixes from producers as varied as Low End Theory regular Free The Robots and mashup bloggers The Hood Internet. It’s a mixed bag quality-wise, but their are quite a few interesting takes on the originals, the most engrossing coming from Robert Vaughn aka PrisonGarde’s (formerly retired?) Sixtoo alias. This isn’t a tape you’re going to want to listen to front to back, but the tape takes an interesting approach and the artwork is brilliant. Stream and download below.

New Visionist – “The Call” (Feat. Fatima Al Qadiri)

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August 7, 2013
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visionist

2013 has been quite the year for collaborations and it doesn’t look like the harmonious spirit will quell anytime soon. Last week, we got Future Brown, the supergroup of J-Cush, Nguzunguzu and Fatima Al Qadiri, and now the latter has joined up with space age grime technician Visionist for a new slumper. “The Call” will appear on Visionist’s upcoming I’m Fine EP for Lit City and highlights the two trendy-as-fuck producers via some brilliantly turned down percussion and frighteningly beatific choral work. It’s easy to get lost in the hype surrounding these two grime luminaries, but they come through more often than not and are imprinting their clean, spacious sound on the masses for better or worse.

New DJ Earl – “SomeBodyySayYeahhh”

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August 7, 2013
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DJ Earl

In 2013, it finally looks like Chicago’s footwork pioneers are being given their due. Of course, footwork has been established as a global phenomenon for three or four years now, but the focus has always been on appropriation/mis-appropriation or on a handful of artists who have managed to transcend the scene’s insular facade. Teklife and its accompanying label/party Lit City Trax are seemingly on the tip everyone’s tongue these days and the crew is one of the hottest commodities in contemporary dance music. DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, and more recently and much belatedly, RP Boo often receive the majority of praise, but young DJ Earl is getting his much deserved due as well. With the exception of Spinn, there isn’t anyone who manages to weave perplexingly dreamy melodies into footwork’s dissonant rubric as well as Earl. On “SomeBodyySayYeahhh”, Earl works a noodling 8 bit melody into a jungle of muted toms, hi hats and snares, giving the song a certain ear worm quality without surrendering any of the confounding sonic effects that pervade so much of the Teklife catalogue. It’s Teklife or no life after all.

Fort Romeau Remixes Gold Panda’s “Community”

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August 6, 2013
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fort romeau

In the past 12 months, Fort Romeau has elevated himself into the upper echelon of the house music world in a seemingly effortless rise to prominence. Through a series of tactful remixes (Holy Other, Parris Mitchell, New Jackson) and two wholly impressive 12″ (SW9, “Jetee”/”Desire”), the London-based producer has managed to distinguish himself from the faux revivalist masses, although what makes his sound so damn effective is difficult to articulate. Obviously, he’s technically proficient and possesses a great sense of melody, but there’s something else that makes him such a joy to listen to that I can’t quite put my finger on. What I would guess is that Fort Romeau fully understands the context, both historical and modern, that his music exists in. In this he avoids being derivative while also striving for something more progressive and didactic. I could be wrong, but regardless, Romeau is, and will continue to be, one of the most brilliantly effective producers in the dance music nexus.

New Future Brown – “Wanna Party” (Feat. Tink)

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August 5, 2013
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future brown

The latest supergroup to emerge from the American dance avant-garde, Future Brown sees Daniel and Asma of Nguzunguzu, Fatima Al Qadiri and J-Cush focusing their vast collective skill sets on one extraordinary project. The first track to emerge from the crew, “Wanna Party”, features Chicago MC Tink at peak performance, as well as additional production work from MikeQ. Despite the large number of people involved with “Wanna Party”, Al Qadiri’s sonic aesthetic appears at the forefront, all foreboding keys and sparse, grime indebted percussion. It’s an exciting premise to imagine exactly how Nguzunguzu’s hip hop/club sensibilities and J-Cush’s footwork past will play into forthcoming Future Brown releases.

Western Tink & Pepperboy Are Bubble Boyz

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August 1, 2013
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bubble boyz western tink pepperboy

Representing the Southern portion of the Green Ova collective, Austin’s Western Tink and Arkansas’ Pepperboy bring the world Bubble Boyz, a collaborative project featuring crew regular Shady Blaze and a cadre of up-and-coming producers. While brief at 31 minutes long, Bubble Boyz represents the best that Green Ova has to offer in its vivid street and eviscerating, lofty production. Greev ova all day.

DJ Sliink Remixes Cashmere Cat’s Remix Of Miguel’s “Do You”

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August 1, 2013
New Music, Remixes
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dj sliink

You’ve probably heard Cashmere Cat’s remix of Miguel’s “Do You”. You’ve probably heard people talking about this whole Jersey club thing, whether they’re dissecting stuttered kick drums or making an uncomfortable passing reference in a trap think piece. You’ve probably listened to songs by DJ Sliink, Trippy Turtle, DJ Kiff, Uniique and the rest of the gang. Now it’s time to listen to DJ Sliink’s edit of the former. It’s predictably excellent. We will be playing it constantly on full volume in the proverbial office for quite some time. Enjoy.

Premiere: Devonwho – “ghostpt2 (Denley Remix)”

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August 1, 2013
New Music, Remixes
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Perfect Strangers

Way back in 2012, West Coast beat maven Devonwho released the two part Perfect Strangers tape, a didactic mixture of club influences and psychedelia-tinged hip hop production. Feeling that Perfect Strangers deserved an official release, Portland label Dropping Gems has taken it upon themselves to re-release the tape on cassette and to draw from their wide net of Pacific Northwest-based producers to include six ( ! ) brand new remixes. Devon has worked with Dropping Gems in the past through his cerebral Wires For Salu nom de plume and Perfect Strangers represents the fullest manifestation (to date) of both artist and label’s collective vision. The cassette/digital re-release is set for an August 13 drop, but you can pre-order both here. To celebrate the re-release, we have been gifted the opportunity to premiere a remix of “ghostpt2” from Seattle-based producer Denley. Whereas Devon’s music generally inhabits a rather subdued context, Denley blasts “ghostpt2” into space, giving it the sort of bombastic sheen we’ve come to expect from producers like S-Type, or even DJ Toomp. It’s a departure from the original’s intention, but Denley’s triumphant synth work gives the remix enough legs to operate as a truly large reinvention. Stream/download below the remix below and be sure to pre-order the cassette!

New Four Tet – “Kool FM”

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July 30, 2013
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kool fm

I was not alive to witness the heyday of pirate radio. I actually live around 6,000 miles from the Anglo-urban locales where it has thrived over the previous two and a half decades. I have never been to an ‘ardkore rave or a jungle soundsystem event. I have never ridden a London nightbus and I have never been to FWD>>, nor have I been to Plastic People. Nevertheless, I feel a surprisingly close and romantic connection to the aforementioned events and, more importantly, sensations attached to said events. Through forums, books and articles; pirate radio archives, Youtube playlists and, more recently, Rinse.FM, I have managed to attain an odd sense of surrealist attachment to the breakbeat-based sounds of London and Bristol. I also know that I’m not alone in this. Countless Americans like myself have become (unsurprisingly) disgusted with out own fickle mainstream and have found solace in the populist nature of hardcore, or the rebellious anger inherent in jungle. And that’s why Four Tet’s “Kiss FM” hits so close to home. Obviously, it’s an incredibly immersive, forward thinking track, but it also gives a sense of, albeit falsified, intimacy to a scene that has had a lasting impact with regards to both fandom and lifestyle. It’s the same feeling I get while listening to Paul Woolford’s Special Request alias, or old Slimzee broadcasts. Next month, Digital Mystikz and Kahn will be performing in Los Angeles and I hope to attain that same feeling, regardless of its authenticity. Mr. Hebden’s next album, Beautiful Rewind, will be out “soon” on his own Text imprint