[ Ostgut Ton ] Perhaps unbelievably, Incubation is Function's debut album. Dave Sumner has been making techno for over 16 years, and over the course of that extended career his star has steadily shone brighter and brighter. As many are no doubt aware, it's the past five years and his role as one third of the Sandwell District collective that have propelled [...]
[New Kanada] Montreal producer Tazz's take on dance music is both powerful and quirky, characteristics that have endeared him to a wide range of fans. Pinning him down much further is a harder task. Tazz tends to lay down straight-laced, tech-house rhythms, but his growing arsenal of synth sounds lend his tracks a more experimental edge. Science Friction is his second effort for Adam Marshall's New Kanada, and it finds him in typical form. [...]
[Work Them Records] Organic, honest, classic - all words one would readily associate with Pittsburgh Track Authority. Ranking in at number two on LWE's list of 20122s defining acts , the trio of Tom Cox, Preslav Lefterov, and Adam Ratana left an indelible imprint on last year's underground electronic consciousness. A release on Argot, two on their own Pittsburgh Tracks and an unofficial remix of Jennifer Hudson may not sound like all that much, but [...]
[Houndstooth] Houndstooth, a new label curated by Fabric and Electronic Explorations' Rob Booth, launches interestingly with a versatile clutch of modern techno from the Berlin-based JR Seaton. Within a cavernous and overheated hangar, "Threshing Floor" deploys post-punk atmospherics, motor-driven bass, and streaming vapor trails of synths coursing overhead. A lithe, sinewy kick drum raps out a blood-rushing pulse against the arsenal of rhythmic machinery noise. Palpably expressing an angsty connection between man [...]
LWE's Curator's Cuts podcast series features our staff mixing together recent favorites and providing explanations for their selections. LWE's podcast producer, Per Bojsen-Moller, compiled Curator's Cuts 28. We will post the tracklist later in the week, as the curator discloses and describes it as part of the podcast. Curator's Cuts 28: Per Bojsen-Moller (163:14)
Connecting The Compass , a new compilation soon to be released by Roundabout Sounds, is an impressive feat of A&R work which sees Detroit's Rick Wilhite reprise his curatorial role alongside label owner, Joe Babylon. It comes stocked with 11 unreleased tunes from a cast including Marcellus Pittmann, Norm Talley, and Karizma, as well as Baaz, Jacques Bon & Nicolas Villebrun (of Smallville/Aim acclaim), and Soulphiction, the supplier of this week's exclusive download. As with many of his tracks, "Lone Sun" is a story with two distinct chapters. Beginning with a john picking up a prostitute, the track descends from [...]
Artwork by Jill Sylvia [ Nonplace ] A tightly woven exploration of tribal acoustic instrumentation alongside driving electronic flourish, this extended EP from Burnt Friedman is an adventurously warm-hearted and eminently danceable set. Friedman, a jazz musician, DJ, and experimental sound artist with an extensive discography and wide-ranging musical experience, has harnessed a dizzying range of flavors over these eight tracks. And while on [...]
Artwork by Jill Sylvia [Aniara Recordings] Aniara Recordings specialize in nuance, though this may not seem overtly obvious upon a quick scan of their catalog. A threatening degree of momentum stands out most prevalently, yet that herculean bit of propulsion doesn't always equate a guaranteed smash, nor is it what has earned the Swedish imprint its essential status over the past few years. Rather, they've mastered their reputation [...]
Illustration by Sam Weber [ Werkdiscs ] It's hard to know exactly how to describe Actress' music nowadays. Whereas Hazyville mined a kind of singular take on smudged-out, gray-scale techno, he's been loath to stay complacent with any sound for very long. Since then, between the zonked out études and pastoral oddities of R.I.P , the chopped up electro funk of [...]
Illustration by Sam Weber [ Arma ] Un-Googleable Chicago producer Area has a take on deep house that's svelte, dynamic, and frequently redolent of 2000s European minimal techno in its twitchy, crisp palette. Many of his tracks have a confident, forward motion (there's a YouTube video of his "Ajumas," remixed by Anton Zap, that entirely consists of a shot from an "L" train - although it's a remix, it does nice job [...]
Photo by Felix Salazar [ A Made Up Sound ] In genealogical terms, the A side of Dave Huismans' latest 123 under his techno moniker, A Made Up Sound, doesn't have much to do with frazzled MPC stew of Theo Parrish's "Any Other Styles," but its strategically incoherent aesthetic delivers a similar shock. Pushing its creator's style to a choppy extreme without abandoning his [...]
Photo by Felix Salazar [Geography Records] It's nice when labels take their time. You know, when they really strive to ensure the "quality-over-quantity" ideal is fulfilled. Arguably, no one's doing it better than Oscar Villata and Adam Lundberg, the two gents behind Malmö's Geography Records. Showing extraordinary patience, they've released just four records since opening in 2010, but every last one of them has been sterling. And we're not talking, "I [...]
Simply put, Steve Bicknell is one of the most important techno artists in the history of British dance music. His LOST parties are engrained in the fabric of the genre's history, having run for more than 20 years, spanning the explosion of electronic music in the UK and every trend and twist in its history since. A veteran of the British Summer of Love, Bicknell was fortunate enough to be playing at many of the parties that defined the era alongside other luminaries like Fabio and Grooverider. It was a chance meeting with Paul Oakenfold that would set the young [...]
LWE's 117th podcast was a classic-sounding mix of analog tones put together by Marcos Cabral. Be sure to add it to your collection before it's archived this Friday, February 22nd.
They say those who can't, teach. Well in the case of music, those who can't make it but still want to be involved start labels instead (something I'm guilty of). One might have guessed this was the case for Mark Barrott, the man behind International Feel Recordings. At the very least, he's let the label's releases from the likes of DJ Harvey, Hungry Ghost, Gatto Fritto, and more speak for him these past few years. In fact, Barrott has a whole production career behind him, best known for making drum 'n' bass under the moniker Future Loop Foundation. Now, roughly [...]
[ Hessle Audio ] From dub to jungle, Bristol remains a city with a much larger impact on music than its rather small stature might suggest. Back in 2007 it was at the vanguard of dubstep - a sound that, in the hands of Bristolians like Pinch and Appleblim, presented a more techno-focused visage with the help of Berliners from T++ to Ricardo Villalobos. Labels like Skull Disco and Tempa pushed the [...]
[CLR] In these days of lo-fi patchwork overkill and retro fetish orgies, it feels refreshing to still occasionally be sent techno that sounds resolutely futurist and OCD pristine. Terence Fixmer, a prolific French producer known for myriad industrial-inflected releases on labels like Gigolo and White Noise, here brings three tracks of urbane and sculptural darkness: hypnotic, slick, and precise. "Psychose" is a hard descent into sweaty-palmed, waking-dream territory: beefy kicks, expertly engineered [...]
[Aim] Flori (born Jamie Taylor) is well known for his collaborations with Ethyl, but he's been out on his own lately, and Foldings marks his third solo release. It's also his first for the Aim label, which seems like a natural match for his sound - his take on deep house is usually subtle and prizes sound design over giant hooks. The EP certainly delivers in this respect. The downtempo "Dusty Socks" [...]
[ Echovolt Records ] When a few artists get together for a project, it's often hard to tell who's been doing what. And if the names in question are relatively obscure, or make very similar music in their solo careers, things can get even murkier. As "Family Guy" joked about Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and the movie "Good Will Hunting", how do we know one member didn't just lie on the couch getting [...]
[Kompakt] Justus Köhncke is one of the more contradictory figures in the Kompakt stable. Not one to take himself too seriously, he's released everything from an Italian number-one hit in the 90s with Whirlpool Productions' "From: Disco To: Disco" to a couple of well-received albums on Kompakt a decade later, all seemingly without catering to any tastes but his own. His production style has naturally evolved over his career, but at its core, it's a mixture [...]
Little White Earbuds
The Weeknd - Kiss Land
Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action - Album Trailer
Holy Ghost! "Dumb Disco Ideas"
Action Bronson - "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" (Official Video)
Kanye West - New Slaves
Mix/Cover/Live #887 (feat. Yalls & more)
Le Fever :: "White Hearts"
MP3: Daft Punk – “Horizons” (RAM Japanese Bonus Track)
Amazing Photos of Burmese Women in The Past
Like A Hurricane
