[ Kontra-Musik ] The Swedish duo Frak have an extensive discography dating back to the 1980s, releasing almost exclusively on their own Börft Records. In spite of this, their idiosyncratic brand of minimalist industrial has been little known outside of Sweden until very recently. In February, the American label Digitalis issued Muzika Electronic , their latest LP, to a fair bit of acclaim. Their sound joins the dots between a wide range of in-vogue genres, from minimal synth revivalism [...]
[Tsuba Records] Judging by his EPs on Underground Quality and Tsuba Limited, one wouldn't necessarily peg Tazz as much of an album guy. The Montreal producer operates firmly on the tracky side of things; he's cited old Carl Craig and Luke Slater techno productions as influences, and his sound frequently veers in a punchy house direction as well. He may make tracks, but they're typically exciting ones, taking the big-room drama of mid-90s techno and filtering [...]
[ Black Market International ] Mention Larry Heard's name and you'll elicit warmly reverent responses to any number of his aliases. From the Fingers material (Mr. and Inc.) to Gherkin Jerks and productions under his own name, Heard is a veritable legend, a mastermind of truly musical house, and the creator of quite a few classic records. The Housefactors' 1988 EP Play It Loud - the first of two releases under that [...]
British producer Damu made a splash last year with a series of singles and a wide-eyed, if opinion-dividing LP, for labels like Local Action and Keysound. His signature is an exuberant, brightly colored amalgamation of juke, R&B, house, and garage, and sounds very much a part of the current wave of UK dance music. "Blind" finds Damu moving into some new, poppier territory, as his production takes a backseat to Py's simultaneously tense and bluesy vocal. Damu's instrumental isn't miles away from his prior productions, moving along at a slightly sluggish, stepping clip and highlighted by the dazzling synths he's [...]
[ Public Information ] The extra-prolific UK producer Ekoplekz and the recently minted Public Information label are a perfect match: both consistently release takes on esoteric, analog, and particularly British movements like BBC's Radiophonic Workshop and early industrial. If you've heard any of Ekoplekz's umpteen transmissions over the last year or two, you'll know what to expect from Dromilly Vale , his debut for the label, which collects five beatless, grimy [...]
[ Live At Robert Johnson ] In keeping with his Romantic-sounding name, Hungarian producer San Laurentino's disco-leaning slow house seems at least in part indebted to Italy's cosmic/Italo lineage. Forbidden Fruit , his first EP for Live At Robert Johnson, collects four tracks of the best sort of starry-eyed disco-house, negotiating a line between pop and dreaminess that recalls the work of his new found labelmate Massimiliano Pagliara. "Playmaker" [...]
The young Russian artist Myown made his vinyl debut last year with the Special Who EP on Anton Zap's Ethereal Sound label, but those expecting smooth deep house were in for a bit of a surprise. If there's a stylistic link between the two producers, it's in the melancholic grace that underlines their tracks, but the comparisons stop there. Myown's beats are made up of constantly changing, heavily shuffled patterns and gloopy bass, and put him very much in line with his contemporaries in spots like the United Kingdom and Los Angeles. It makes sense, then, that [...]
Artwork by Yöshi Sodeöka [ Pre-Cert Home Entertainment ] Although Pre-Cert Home Entertainment is half-assedly trying to shroud the project in mystery, Slant Azymuth's self-titled LP bears a sizable share of resemblance to the projects of its collaborators, Andy Votel of the Finders Keepers label and Demdike Stare. The three are known more than anything for their bottomless record collections and the expert ways they've managed to synthesize [...]
[ Echovolt Records ] The Italian producer Nick Simoncino has been making waves the last couple of years with a highly prolific schedule of faithfully old-school house releases. For the WereHouse EP , he's teamed up with the Greek Echovolt label. Although it's only five releases deep at this point, Simoncino is a perfect fit for their catalog, a clear stylistic peer to the likes of Steve Summers and Legowelt, the latter of [...]
[Glum] Samoyed's music has always depressed me, so it makes sense he's been recruited by notorious miserablist Lukid for the first non-Lukid record on Glum. But against all odds, Her Honey Dripping Behind is reasonably upbeat material, applying the skilled sound design showcased on his past releases to more floor-friendly motifs. On the title track, Samoyed plays with a frantically jacking house rhythm which constantly builds and breaks down. In spite of this, the track sits pretty far [...]
[Uncharted Audio] It seems inevitable that if you make electronic music in a Nordic country, journalists are either going to write about how "icy" your music is or how it's channeling the northern lights, or that it's some kind of tribute to a never-ending midsummer beach party, as though people from those countries can only make music based on extremes. Ukkonen is a shadowy Finnish producer who may or may not live north of the Arctic [...]
The flaw of swung, R&B-sampling house is that it can easily feel overworked; sometimes it's the hyperslick, typically melodramatic source material, sometimes the looming need to constantly "push things forward." The 22-year-old Brighton-based producer Lorca (who first appeared last year alongside Visionist on the Left_Blank imprint) verges on these traits on Can't See Higher/Missed Me , his debut for the Dummy label, though it surely won't disappoint fans of contemporary UK garage variants. This week's download offers a rawer, more immediate, and less garage-influenced take on his sound. "What You Don't Need" combines an energetic, electro-influenced rhythm with more [...]
[ Poisson Chat Musique ] Since emerging with a Swayzak cosign a decade ago, Roger 23 has maintained a pretty mellow release schedule, sporadically releasing on labels like Meakusma, Playhouse, and Volt Musik. He appears to be the kind of producer who only releases when he feels like it, less concerned about staying in the charts than simply enjoying the process. It absolutely shows on the three-track Elemental 7 , his first effort for the fledgling Poisson Chat Musique [...]
[Clone Jack For Daze Series] Geeeman is one of Gerd's newer aliases, debuting at the end of 2010 with the Rubberband2 EP, which defined the project as a tribute of sorts to mid-90s Chicagoan ghetto house. Its follow-up, Bang't / Fire Extinguisher , is more of the same, combining a studied reverence for that era (doesn't "Fire Extinguisher" sound exactly like a Dance Mania track title?) with a subtle emphasis on [...]
Voices From The Lake comprises a collaboration between headfuck techno figurehead Donato Dozzy and his friend Neel (not to be confused with frequent Dozzy collaborator Nuel. After debuting last year with the Silent Drops EP , the duo are preparing to release their self-titled LP (available on their Bandcamp page on February 20th), and frankly, it's a stunner. It's serenely sequenced in the vein of Global Communication's 76 14 or Move D and Benjamin Brunn's Songs from the Beehive ; laced with a kind of intoxicating liquid precision, it flows so seamlessly that it [...]
[ Smalltown Supersound ] Last year, the Norwegian producer Terje Olsen released Ragysh , his biggest record since 20052s Eurodans . Its two anthemic singles - the title track and "Snooze 4 Love" - were virtually unavoidable, and with good reason, as few others managed to reach their levels of end-of-the-night euphoria. The question of whether he'd take as long to match its highs has been swiftly deflated, as he's [...]
[ Delsin ] Until recently, Delsin had not been known for having a particularly ambitious A&R department. The label tended to release material by a limited selection of family members, but lately it's been on fire with talented new signings - putting out records by newcomers Yør and The Please on the Purple Maze imprint and now the debut 123 by the Italian producer Hazylujah. It's immediately clear why Delsin sought him [...]
Zach Steinman and Sam Haar make up the New York-based duo Blondes, who for the last few years have traded in lush, live takes on dance music motifs. Certainly "live" is thrown around a lot as an adjective for any music that's even remotely unpolished, but for Blondes it's actually a central aspect. Their tracks are honed from a constant flow of jam-outs and live performances, and the results typically feel intuitive and open, full of a kind of elongated euphoria. Over the last year, they've worked with the RVNG Intl. label for a series of 123s that show them [...]
In a departure from the regular format of LWE's Curator's Cuts series, the 21st edition features some of LWE's writing staff discussing five of electronic music's prevailing trends in 2011, noting some of our favorite underrated tracks, and opining on what 2012 might have in store for us. Editor-in-chief, Steve Mizek, served as the moderator of a conversation between Per Bojsen-Moller, Steve Kerr, Chris Miller, Jordan Rothlein, and Andrew Ryce. Curator's Cuts 21: LWE Staff (67:34)
[Supply Records] Boston's B-Tracks debuted with aplomb on last year's Specialize , a sleek, dynamic, and diverse EP with a particularly sensational title track. Come Back sees the duo returning to their own Supply Records imprint for the follow-up. Although there's nothing as explosive here as "Specialize," the record shows B-Tracks working with a similar array of textures and moods, and furthers the case for their ability, sounding thoroughly crisp and primed for the floor. [...]
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