After witnessing James Blake, Flying Lotus and Gaslamp Killer all deliver incredible sets at last week's Low End Theory (my full review can be found here ), I found myself listening to some of their best selections over the course of the following days. One of the many highlights of Flying Lotus' set was Martyn's "Popgun" from the upcoming Ghost People LP, set to be released next month on Brainfeeder. Ghost People marks the 25th release on the label, and if the raging crowd at Low End during "Popgun" and constant DJ rotation of the [...]
Last week I was lucky enough to catch one of Stones Throw Records' newest acts The Stepkids open for The Horrors two nights in a row. The first show was at the El Rey in Los Angeles, and the second at a much smaller venue, the Casbah in San Diego. And while the band's eclectic mix of soul, funk and rock definitely filled out the expansive ballroom feel of the El Rey Thursday night, I got a much better view of their performance at the Casbah, where the darkness and intimacy of the venue seemed to work in the group's [...]
Listeners of Mary Anne Hobbs' new daily radio show "Music Response" on XFM must have been pleasantly surprised to hear Thom Yorke unexpectedly pop up on the program yesterday with a new mix. Luckily the 25 minute mix even contains a couple of unreleased songs including a new Thom Yorke solo track "The Twist" and his remix of the John Matthias track "Cortical Songs". Gradually the mix sort of turns in to a showcase of the best cuts from the King of Limbs Remix Series, incorporating Thriller, Modeselektor and Blawan's contributions, but the tribal cut from Four Tet and an [...]
It's a weird day in history when indie pop artists in 2011 start releasing videos that recall the feel of late 90s R&B videos from groups like 112. It's not clear that's the theme Active Child was going for with his latest video for "Playing House", but throw collaborator Tom Krell in a wife beater next to a sportscar and add some white fur coats, and this video would be right at home on a Top 5 TRL countdown from 1998. "Playing House" is from Active Child's debut LP You Are All I See , which is out now [...]
Fans of James Blake's earlier beat-driven productions might find themselves starting to drift from his more newer vocal-based tracks, but even if the sleepy new Bon Iver-collaboration "Fall Creek Boys Choir" didn't pique your interest, you really can't blame him for wanting show off those gorgeous pipes on a more regular basis. If Blake were to push aside his vocals for strictly instrumental music, it'd be like Pharrell or Dr. Dre opting to sit behind the boards for their entire careers and never pick up a mic. It was recently announced that the surprisingly divisive "Fall Creek [...]
Whoever had their finger ready this morning to tag Jamie XX's new 30 minute FACT mix as "grime" was only partially correct in their assumption. Indeed, Jamie XX as a producer does traffic in a particularly dark style of electronic music, but garage is just must an influence as dubstep, jungle and house, and on his latest single "Far Nearer" and the recent Gil Scott Heron remix project We're New Here , his sound is notably brighter and contains a much wider range of textures than that of your typical grime producer. The producer's appreciation for [...]
Surprisingly it was only about six months ago when I saw UMO play for about 40 people during an early set at the Kompakt/Passion of the Weiss show here at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. This being the first time I had ever heard them, the genuine, vintage psych-rock appeal of songs like "Thought Ballune" and "Strangers Are Strange" were enough to keep me glued to their set on its own, but what really stood out was how the band's bold sound seemed to fill the room and translate to the audience so well, considering such a slim turnout at [...]
As the release of DJ Shadow's latest opus Less You Know The Better fastly approaches, some of the songs are beginning to make their way to YouTube, including this collaboration with Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon titled "Scale It Back." Not only does the new album feel extremely well-conceived as I stated on Twitter yesterday, it also covers a wide variety of genres from hip-hop to stoner rock, and even pop on "Scale It Back", with a genuine, yet subtle feeling of appreciation behind each influence. Among the 19 tracks on the album, each venture [...]
Last year I was lucky enough to interview the internationally known, veteran producer Sweatson Klank aka Take at his home here in Los Angeles, and aside from being one of the most pleasant and informative interviews I've ever conducted, I was also allowed some insight in to the future of LA's electronic music scene. After breaking down the detailed history of the scene, Sweatson Klank (real name Tom Wilson) elaborated a little more on what he would like to see the crop of new producers contributing to the LA scene, but also on what he would be doing to further [...]
In time to capitalize on the popularity of last year's In Love With Dusk , Greek production duo Keep Shelly In Athens have announced a new EP from Forest Family Records due later this fall, as well as an upcoming US tour organized by Gorilla vs Bear. The first leaked track from the EP, "Our Own Dream", which also serves as the title track, sees the duo taking on more of a harder edge hip-hop style, still striking a balance with their more traditional majestic and effect-drenched appeal. A grand, droning synth melody also arrives near the end, nicely [...]
Details recently emerged surrounding UK producer Rustie's debut LP Glass Swords , which is scheduled to arrive October 10th on Warp Records. Along with those details came a breathtaking new single titled "All Nite" and a short video trailer for the album posted to YouTube . "All Nite" is currently finding its place among a lofty variety of DJ sets this summer, showing off Rustie 2.02s upgraded synth-funk style, which combines the intricate melodies of Dam-Funk with the glitchy, stadium appeal of Hudson Mohawke. Along with "All Nite", Rustie also recently previewed several other new [...]
Bones Magazine premiered this new video for Shlohmo's "Just Us" earlier today, which takes the vintage multi-layered television concept to some entirely new heights. With such a popular video concept, it's not often you actually see someone try and thread a story or theme through the TV screens, which is what director Arthur Chance does with his new treatment for the latest single on Shlohmo's Bad Vibes LP. First premiered back in June, "Just Us" takes on a more subtle vibe than some of the bigger tracks on the album like "Parties", yet still manages to [...]
After being in the unfortunate position of having to cancel his entire American tour due to illness, Holy Other seems to be recuperating nicely back home in Berlin thanks to a little remix therapy. Recently he took on the Walls track "Sunporch" , and today we have an unexpected remix of Tri-Angle Records labelmate How To Dress Well's well-received "Suicide Dream 23. Holy Other spins the flowing ambiance of the original in to a more familiar, rhythm-driven texture that eventually warps in to a tempered four-on-the-floor pattern towards the end. The distinct styles of each artist [...]
Reunited from Leaving Records on Vimeo . Awash in varying degrees of unfamiliar, bubbling textures, Matthewdavid's Outmind LP made quite a splash earlier this year with an incredibly successful release on LA's Brainfeeder imprint. While many of the tracks on the album, have a discernable, driving rhythm as the centerpiece, there are several, most notably the Flying Lotus-collaboration "Group Tea", that are just as comfortable resting on their own laurels, and don't necessarily lead you anywhere, yet still conjure just as expansive an atmosphere as tracks like "Noche Y Dia". "Reunited", recalls [...]
After releasing the wildly successful single "Far Nearer" and his Gil Scott Heron remix project I'm New Here earlier this year, it's already been a pretty great year for Jamie XX's solo career, which sees him stepping away from his main outfit The XX to pursue garage and dubstep-inspired electronic music. He's already recorded two excellent DJ mixes for the BBC this year as well (for Benji B and Radio 6), but this weekend the spotlight is on his 2 hour long Essential Mix, a series which has played host to a number of highly influential producers over [...]
Before heading out to LA next week to perform at FYF Fest, Four Tet dropped by the WNYU radio program Beats In Space this week to play an extensive 2-hour mix, featuring his new remix for Tinariwen, alongside tracks from Floating Points, T. Williams, and Juk Juk, a new artist signed to his Text imprint. Also premiered on the mix is a track titled "Pyramid", the b-side to Four Tet's upcoming "Locked" single, another upcoming release Text which will also see placement on Four Tet's Fabriclive 59 release, out next month in the UK. Tim Sweeney also offers up an [...]
The much-hyped collaboration from James Blake and Bon Iver finally leaked today, and as expected, the first track "Fall Creek Boys Choir" is pretty phenomenal and shows off some nice facets of each artists' particular skillset. Bon Iver's tender vocals guide the melody of the track over Blake's mellow piano and drum patterns, while Blake returns the favor by backing up Justin Vernon's vocals with his classic, fractured auto-tune sound. The two artists met earlier this year at SXSW and according to Blake, may have worked on a couple other tracks as well, which will hopefully surface [...]
Talented new LA producer Kone released this video for "New Los Angeles" today to coincide with the release of his debut LP The Tractatus , and though the artist may be on the share a label with many of the other major players in the LA beat scene on Alpha Pup, his particular style is markedly different much of the atmospheric, bass heavy music coming out of the city right now. You don't get a sense of walking through a hazy field or being trapped inside of a Nintendo game listening to "New Los Angeles" so much as you [...]
Ever since the release of his last LP Weekend at Burnies back in June, Curren$y has been keeping us updated on the status of his latest mixtape, the aptly titled Verde Terrace , which was finally released today and features DJ Drama as the mixmaster. At this point in his career, considering all of the quality output from both official and mixtape releases, Curren$y has seemingly made it a point for the listener not to be able to distinguish between the two. The only difference is that the mixtapes have always felt a little more genuine to [...]
A recent development in the emerging UK post-dubstep movement has been the tendency to try and not only replicate songs for a live setting, but to actually reproduce them entirely and even expand the bounds of the original arrangements with new instruments. Mount Kimbie and James Blake both include electric guitars in their live performances and producer SBTRKT is now known for playing drums live. If you've heard all three artists perform though, it's pretty clear Mount Kimbie have been able to spearhead the trend most effectively, warping their originals with a smattering of effects and leaving their music with [...]
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![Playing House Feat. How To Dress Well [Official Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/3KCpyKbMzgc_130.jpg)
![Shlohmo - Just Us [OFFICAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/qTv7Z5eLoNo_130.jpg)
Maribou State feat. Holly Walker - Tongue (Official Video)
Ears Wide Open: Ocha la Rocha
Tracklistings: Wale’s ‘The Gifted’
