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Gear: Watch Four Tet Detail His Live Set-Up

Not unlike yesterday's lengthy pictorial feature in which Mount Kimbie explained how its studio set-up was transformed for live performance, a video of UK producer Kieran Hebden (a.k.a. Four Tet) detailing the inner workings of his own stage rig to a small class at Red Bull Music Academy has hit the internet today. Read more » 

  • Filed under: gear
  • 05/21/2013

Deep Inside: Daft Punk 'Random Access Memories'

Hype is a necessary, though often dangerous tool for marketing music in the digital age. Now seemingly more than ever, an album's or single's success relies heavily on how many people and media outlets are talking about the product across social media and other corners of the internet before they hear it. This approach to selling records is important for obvious reasons, but isn't without its side effects, the worst of which might be how it inflates the public's expectations. When fans are worked into a tizzy over a span of months while a label slowly leaks out minute details about a particular release, they are practically manipulated into thinking this music might very well be the best thing they could ever possibly listen to. 2013 has seen an above-average amount of hype so far, with long-awaited records from acts like The Knife and Boards of Canada making unexpected appearances in the year's release calendar, but none even come close to the fanfare which preceded the fourth album by French duo Daft Punk, Random Access Memories. Read more » 

Podcast 296: Stacey Pullen

XLR8R got started back in 1993, right around the time that Stacey Pullen began releasing records. Given our parallel trajectories, it makes sense that we'd enlist the Detroit stalwart to put together a mix as part of our month-long 20th anniversary celebration. A key member of Detroit techno's second wave, Pullen came up under the tutelage of Motor City pioneers like Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, but quickly made his own mark, particularly once he hit the global DJ circuit in '93 and '94. Since then, he's been a fixture behind the decks in clubs around the globe, and has spent the past two decades spreading the gospel of Detroit. Read more » 

Download: Owen Howells "Riding"

First Listen
Label: Celestial

Rising UK house producer Owen Howells has a history of writing slow-burning tunes, most notably the standout cut "The Door," which was featured at the top of this year as part of Danza Macabra's VA series. A signature of Howells' productions is the patient simmer with which they get going, and "Riding" surely fits that mold. The tune is virtually devoid of melody, favoring an accelerating, tribal rhythm that holds steady over the course of the song's seven-plus minutes, gradually increasing in intensity through sheer repetition which slowly overloads the senses. Howells' Common People EP—the forthcoming release from which "Riding" comes to us—is slated to drop on May 27 via Celestial. 

Average: 7.1 (37 votes)
 
 

Review: Kode9 Rinse: 22
Label: Rinse

Rinse: 22 opens with a solid four minutes of Burial's somberly triumphant "Truant," but the hit of atmosphere is a red herring. With the exception of its introduction, Kode9's mix is a neon blur that tears through various UK styles before concluding with a tour through his recent obsessions. Certainly, this is by design: Consistent with the Hyperdub boss' recent XLR8R Pick'd "Xingfu Lu" b/w "Kan" 12", the DJ/producer born Steve Goodman lets his footwork fetish dominate the latter half of his set. (DJ Rashad alone shows up eight times here.) The transition is a bit jarring at first, even running the risk of seeming haphazard, but repeated listens reveal the keen curatorial skills that have kept Hyperdub on the top of the heap for the better part of a decade. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/21/2013

Watch Bok Bok's RBMA Lecture

Red Bull Music Academy NYC's second session is under way this week, and UK DJ/producer Bok Bok (a.k.a. Alex Sushon) is one of the latest guests to sit down on the RBMA couch and talk shop. In the course of the hour-plus-long discussion the co-founder of the hugely influential Night Slugs label talks about the early days and inspiration behind the imprint, the label's place in the continuum of UK dance music, and his thoughts on what the ideal club should look like. Read more » 

  • Filed under: news
  • 05/21/2013

Download: Shortcircles "On My Mind (Anenon Remix)"
Label: Plug Research

Oakland beatmaker Matthew Tammariello (pictured above) has been releasing blissful instrumental hip-hop as Shortcircles for the last couple of years now, and is set to release his debut full-length, Between Waves, next month via Plug Research. Before that record sees a release on June 18, the producer today drops a single for album cut "On My Mind," a lushly produced slice of crystalline R&B featuring vocals from fellow Oakland resident Sarah K Melfy. That single also contains a loping remix from LA producer and previous XLR8R podcast contributor Anenon, offered here for download. A stream of "On My Mind" in its original form can be heard after the jump.  Read more » 

Average: 8.5 (34 votes)
 
 

Review: Koreless Yugen EP
Label: Young Turks

In a curious sort of way, Yugen, the most significant release to date from Glasgow producer Lewis Roberts (a.k.a Koreless), feels cruder and more simplistic than anything we've heard from him before. Rather than fleshing out the sound he established on early tracks like "Up Down, Up Down" and "MTI," Roberts has opted to reduce his music down to its most essential elements. Drum beats, which already took a secondary role in his compositions, have been all but done away with here, leaving just a core assemblage of rough, rhythmic samples and thick, minor-key synth melodies. It's an effective formula though, and one that provides the EP with sounds that are emotive and anthemic in a raw, immediate way. Read more » 

  • Filed under: review
  • 05/21/2013

Download a Free Comp Featuring Distal, Cedaa, Pixelord, and More

No stranger to offering up free compilations, French net-label B.YRSLF is giving away another batch of tunes featuring Distal, Cedaa, Pixelord, Slickshoota, BD1982, and more. Read more » 

  • Filed under: news
  • 05/20/2013

James Blake Announces Tour Dates in Europe and Japan

James Blake has announced a string of tour dates on the back of his recent sophomore album, Overgrown. The tour will see the UK producer/vocalist playing a number of festivals in Europe and some select dates in Japan throughout May, June, and July. Read more » 

  • Filed under: news
  • 05/20/2013
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