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Premiere: Druid Cloak – Quills (Translated by Strict Face)

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July 28, 2015
New Music, Remixes
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After the resounding success of Druid Cloak‘s Lore: Book One and Lore: Book Two, the conceptual LP series, released through his own Apothecary Compositions label, is getting a “translated” remix version with a little help from an international group of friends. In line with the original’s theme, Strict Face, Spurz, Throwing Snow and a number of others have put in there hand to rework originals from Lore: Book One, offering up some fantastical takes on standout tracks “Quills”, “The Tusk and “Wraithborne Falls”. We’ve got Strict Face’s contribution on the premiere front today, the Australian producer lacing the original with a helping of sparkling keys and heaping low end. It fits in the Gobstopper/weightless vein (even though it involves percussion), moving at a slow gait without giving up bass weight or a sense of forward propulsion. Lore Translations: Book One is out August 7 on Apothecary and is available for pre-order here.

Premiere: Druid Cloak – Obsidia Chroma

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April 24, 2015
New Music
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The second chapter in Druid Cloak‘s Lore LP series, Lore: Book Two is an extravagant journey through an imagined world, replete with cinematic flourishes and of-the-moment beat touchstones. A soundtrack sans movie, Lore: Book Two points to a number of contemporary club production techniques before eventually removing them from context and destroying them. But unlike, say, the Janus collective who follow a similar path, Druid Cloak never really brings the songs back to the club. That’s not to say that none of Lore: Book Two can or should be played out, but the album as a coherent entity isn’t exactly suitable for peak time. Out of the entire tape, “Obsidia Chroma” might just be the track most ready for the dance, a harmonically focused journey that builds into a larger-than-life crescendo that doesn’t spare the angel vocals. You can catch Lore: Book Two via Druid Cloak’s own Apothecary Compositions on May 19 and pre-order the album here.

Heterotopia Remixes Vol. 1 Is Out Now!

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February 3, 2015
Heterotopia, New Music, Remixes
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After teasing out remixes for the past two weeks, it’s our pleasure to announce that Heterotopia Remixes Vol. 1 is now available for free download (or pay what you want) at The Astral Plane Bandcamp. Remixes from Druid Cloak, Iglooghost, Sharp Veins, Patrick Brian, Fraxinus, She’s Drunk and Chants feature and we couldn’t be happier with the imaginative way each respective artist flipped a track from the original Heterotopia. Check out Druid Cloak and Patrick Brian’s reworks, the only two that have not been revealed to date, after the jump.

Luckily, this is only the first volume of remixes we have for you and Vol. 2, slated for an early March release, will feature a tantalizing array of our favorite producers! A lot of words have been spilt by us on these remixes so far and now that release date has come we can’t wait to let the sounds percolate through to all of you.

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Holiday Freebie Round-Up

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December 26, 2013
2013 Recap, New Music, Remixes, Uncategorizable
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The holidays are the one time of year when I appreciate the fact that my Facebook and Twitter feeds are flooded with promotional posts. That’s because the holidays are the time for giving, specifically the time when producers dump all of their bootlegs/edits/unfinished tracks on the unsuspecting masses. The quality is generally a mixed bag, but we’ve received a deluge of heat in the past few days that deserves its fair due. On the raps front, Lil B, King Louie, Fredo Santana, Lil Silk and Fabolous have let loose new tapes over the past week or so. All deserve your attention, although save Lil B’s 05 Fuck Em and maybe spend a little more time with Silk and Louie.

The good folks at Mixpak were also kind enough to hand out a bundle of free tracks from their roster and beyond. The Holiday Bundle evokes the grime, dancehall and soca-based riddim culture that Dre Skull has so carefully curated over the past few years. Sudanim, Murlo and Koyote all bring their best to the table.

You’ve likely seen these already as well, but big hitters Flying Lotus, Zed Bias, Ryan Hemsworth Clams Casino all gave bundles of tracks away in the past few days. Casino’s third Instrumental Mixtape is probably the most cohesive attempt of the bunch, but FlyLo’s assorted beats, remixes and bootlegs offer some intriguing insight into the producer and his cohort’s recording processes. The Hemsworth collection is largely edits he’s designed for live play and the “Post-Rock Tears” version of Future’s “Honest” is a real beauty. Two step legend Zed Bias handed over 200 MB of live recording, remixes and production work under both his ZB sobriquet and his Maddslinky nom de plume.

Hit the jump for a jambalaya of free tracks…

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Druid Cloak Remixes 123Mrk’s “Invisible Colors”

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April 29, 2013
New Music, Remixes
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druid cloak

 

There’s a lot to love about the explosion of half-step dance musc that has emerged in the past five or so years. That is quote-on-quote dubstep that appeals not just to the heads and candy ravers, but to electronic music fans of all shades and stripes. Ohioan Druid Cloak is among the best and brightest when it comes to crafting this type of music and is/will be making quite a splash for the remainder of 2013 with forthcoming work on Infinite Machine and Hot ‘N’ Heavy. Lately though, the cloaked crusader has been getting his toes wet in the remix game, most recently taking a stab at the likeminded  123Mrk’s “Invisible Colors”, which will be released on May 6 via Infinite Machine. If you don’t know, now you know.

Astro Nautico Presents ‘Atlantics Vol. 3’

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April 23, 2013
New Music
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atlantics vol 3

While inconsistent at times, New York-based party collective/label Astro Nautico’s annual 4/20 Atlantics compilation is easily one of our most anticipated releases every year and always includes a few up-and-comers that are sure to make big moves in the coming eight months. Last years’s volume included tracks from current heavy hitters like Morri$ (Night Slugs), Baauer (LuckyMe) and Djemba Djemba (Mad Decent) as well as a bevy of under appreciated producers along the lines of Pixelord, Time Wharp and Abel. Volume 3 features some Astral Plane favorites including Big Voyage, Druid Cloak and up-and-coming live act Archie Pelago. At 32 tracks, there are some duds of course, but the majority of the tape is truly quality and features some real gems (Seafloor’s “Your Symphony”). Furthermore, it’s free. That’s right, 32 free tracks from your favorite producers. For free. Enjoy.

Druid Cloak Remixes Cashmere Cat’s “Paws”

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November 21, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Cashmere Cat’s Mirror Maru is just about impossible to pin down, running the gamut of in the moment sounds. Druid Cloak’s sound isn’t all that much more grounded, although it is reminiscent of something we’ve heard before, perhaps it’s the druid in all of us. Anyways, the Symbols rep took on Cashmere Cat’s “Paws” (which is currently running rampant in the soundcloudiverse) and flipped it into something that would not be out of place in a movie commercial. Actually, my first thought was that WWII movie that used a Skrillex song in the trailer. That was godawful of course, but this Druid Cat combination has a similar cinematic, larger than life quality about it that would fit perfectly in the fantasy and sci fi films he’s inspired by. As he’s known to do, Mr. Cloak is giving away his remix of “Paws” in exchange for a facebook like.

Sounds From The Astral Plane (Return Of The Sounds)

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November 10, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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It has been a long while since the last edition of Sounds From The Astral Plane, but with tunes piling up in the inbox, it feels like the right time to bring it back. Although we only started this whole blog deal in January, I feel it’s safe to say that 2012 has been one of the most exciting music years in recent memory. We attempt to cover all of the music we love, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. We’re human after all. Every week (or so), you’ll find the originals, remixes and DJ mixes that we missed. This will also be a space to see how y’all respond to new artists so don’t hesitate to send over your/your friend’s latest and greatest. At this point, the scope of Sounds From The Astral Plane is wide open so you’ll find anything and everything in this space. This week, we have everything from Formes’ incandescent take on psych rock to Dubbel Dutch’s dancehall stylings. As always, any and all feedback would be much appreciated! Hit the jump for the full list…

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Druid Cloak Remixes The xx’s “Fiction”

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October 30, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Always confusing druids and druze

Way back in ’09, remixes of The xx tracks like “Islands”, “VCR” and well, the whole album, were all the rage in blog world. Actually, they still are today. The band’s use of empty space and minimalist ethos lends especially well to the remix game. I’m not sure whether it’s due to a more critical eye on my part, but the large majority of Coexist remixes I have listened to are god awful. Four Tet’s take on “Angels” is one of the few worthwhile reworks out there. And there are a lot. Kastle’s Symbols Recordings recently released Druid Cloak’s The Grove EP, a brilliant take on modern bass music that has garnered support from the likes of Machinedrum, Cedaa and Bambounou. Not much is known about Druid Cloak, but he (?) does claim to adhere to  “what the earth tells [him to make].” He recently remixed Coexist standout “Fiction” in a bout of half-step (is there any other way to remix The xx) wizardry. Stream below and grab the track for free from Symbols’ facebook.