James Fox is a name that heads the growing list of up-and-coming UK producers offering their take on the warmer side of house music. And although it may be just a few weeks late, "Close Your Eyes" comes loaded with enough summertime vibes—thanks to its sun-kissed pads, soulful organ blips, playful percussion, and sultry vocal refrain—to make us fondly remember the not-so-distant nights where a cold beer and a deep, rolling tune like this would have made just the right combination. It's a shame this track didn't see a proper release, as was planned before Fox ran into some "sample clearance issues," but we know for certain that Fox will have plenty more pieces of glowing house in the days ahead.
It's been doing the rounds in mixes for a while and due to the unforseen issues mentioned above, it's now been offered up as a free 320 courtesy of XLR8R.
Vienna virtuoso Dorian Concept has been on the mix for XLR8R, emerging just in time to promote his new 12" and official release from Ninja Tune, Her Tears Taste Like Pears (previewed below).
The mix finds the classically trained Dorian Concept indulging his penchant for both jazzier, pastoral sounds and frenetic, herky-jerky beats paired with hyperactive, pitch-bent synths.
01 Dorian Concept "Thank You All the Time Forever" (Ninja Tune)
02 John Coltrane "Your Lady" (Impulse)
03 Africa Hitech "Light the Way" (Warp)
04 Machinedrum "gbye"
05 Sam Irl "Safety Hertz (Cid Rim Remix)" (Fresh Minute)
06 FaltyDL "Tell Them Stories" (Planet Mu)
07 Manitoba "Paul's Birthday" (Leaf)
08 Sixtus Preiss & The Clonious "Specimen from Springbing" (Affine)
09 Funboy "Time Hates You"
10 Dorian Concept "Trilingual Dance Sexperience (Live Version)"
The irresistible serpentine synth that propels the opening track says all there is to say about Dorian Concept. The music is never overpowering; the percussion snaps with admirable restraint and the melodies are all precisely and delicately constructed. It’s only in the final moments that cramp sets in and chattering synths stammer out an abrupt epilogue. The mayhem continues in the form of the candidly named My Face Needs Food; one for the early morning, a soundtrack to bleary eyed wandering through streets caressed by rosy fingered dawn. Though the heart at the core of the track beats with purpose, lunatic synths, held upright only by the wavering beat, sweep and trip over each other in a dazzling and drunken cacophony.
By the halfway mark the fifteen minute EP slowly shifts from outright oceanic rapture to calmer waters; over the course of Toe Games the music trickles in subdued, miasma like streams rather than imitating the thundering melodic waterfalls of the initial tracks, whilst Thank You is gorgeous in its subdued melancholy. It is precisely this unassuming evolution that makes Her Tears so compelling; each song flows like an aural tributary into the musical horizon, forming a body of sound that’s simple and innocent at heart, yet still overwhelmingly alluring.
Intensely intricate and musical, yet supremely soulful, Dorian Concept creates tunes which are simultaneously melancholy, propulsive and uplifting. Whatever he touches sounds completely and exclusively like himself, a completely developed aesthetic, rather than the zigzagging re-hashes of a hack.
The ranks of LA's beat scene have swelled exponentially in the past year, but even amongst the sea of FlyLo knockoffs, a small cadre of truly innovative producers continues to stand out. One of those producers is Matthewdavid, an accomplished beatmaker and sound collage artist who also happens to run the inventive Leaving Records label. Both David and the Leaving imprint are known for their love of unusual releases, whether it be limited-run cassettes with custom-made artwork or hand-painted floppy disks.
Matthewdavid conjures up a sound with an ever-evolving flow, and one that never fails to keep bodies and minds buzzing with warmth. His live sets are usually an exploration of deepest sea depths and in this case, the lower you dive the higher you get.
The guys over at XLR8R invited the Ambient Balladeer to curate the latest in their podcast series. David has combined abstract gems with field recordings, discarded cassettes, distorted vintage R&B instrumentals, and lots and lots of tape delay. When a mix includes song descriptions along the lines of "Mexican tape from the '80s I ended up throwing away," it's clearly not the average DJ offering.
01 Pacific Rim "Hong Kong Rain" (Chi)
02 Michael Jackson "Man In the Mirror (Instrumental)" (Epic)
03 Nicki Minaj "Your Love (Instrumental)" (Cash Money)
04 Kenny Loggins "I'm Gonna Do It Right" (Sony)
05 Matthewdavid "Be Honest"
06 DJ DMD feat. Lil Keke & Fat Pat "25 Lighters" (Wreckshop - SoSouth)
07 Matthewdavid "Noche y Dia" (Brainfeeder)
08 Shai "Comforter (Radio Re-mix)" (Gasoline Alley)
09 Off Balance Atlas "Immortality"
10 Hologram "Street Beat" (HBN)
11 The Ultimate in Relaxation "Mountain Retreat" (Magic Moods / Madacy)
12 Matthewdavid "Will Go Higher" (Open Wide Mix)
13 Milli Vanilli "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" (Arista)
14 Cameo "Honey" (PolyGram)
15 "Mexican tape from the '80s I ended up throwing away"
16 "Quick flip of that Mexican tape I ended up throwing away"
17 Jodeci "Forever My Lady" (MCA)
18 Bell Biv DeVoe "Something In Your Eyes (Instrumental)" (MCA)
19 Lapti "Circadian Rhythms" (Error Broadcast)
20 RJR '88 drop (Leaving)
21 Delofi "Untitled" (Unreleased")
22 "Another '80s tape I ended up throwing away"
23 "Field recording of Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, NC"
24 Jaye Williams "Let Me Be the One" (Local)
25 Matthewdavid "Desert Moon"
26 dak "youstandit"
27 Matthewdavid "Out Mind"
