Find them at basement nights and warehouse one-offs reaching from New York to Montreal and overseas Berlin, a collective of connoisseuring clubbers. The recent flood of clichéd counterfeits has left much of today's dance music better left unheard, but it’s the rumours stuck in our head that tug at our ego and give us the need to shine light. A compulsive urge to spread from one ear to the next, to draw a line between bottle service cogs and the cutting edge of electronic music, music built to live in. There’s no room for Vegas roller coasters or casual chit chat, just Night Rumours worth spreading.
Being overwhelmed with great new music releases is not the worst problem to have, but it does make it difficult to compile a column. Even within many of the releases featured here, it was difficult to choose a track to highlight. The northeastern U.S. is brilliantly represented on Joey Anderson's LP, Invisible Switch, and Sweat Equity's 20-track "Hot New Tracks" compilation. Full disclosure: I've recently been collaborating with Boston's Sitting Adult on a femme-centric night called Substructure, but I dug her musical work, and especially her acidic, visceral live performances, before we were acquainted, and featured track "What Do You Know About Acid House Music?" is a serious banger. We also cross the pond and continue our extended goodbye to Berlin's 50 Weapons with a recent release from Truncate. Heavier sounds come from BNJMN on Delsin Records and Skream with a rough Soundcloud download release, while Dario Zenker, Bjarki, offworldcolonies, and Maelstrom keep things dark, deep, and moody.
Night Rumours:
Joey Anderson - "Nabta Playa"
Invisible Switch, Dekmantel [DKMNTL029], December 14, 2015 [Buy via Beatport]
Truncate - "86"
Battle / 86, 50 Weapons [50WEAPONS048], December 4, 2015 [Buy via Beatport]
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Umfang - "Pills"
Sweat Equity Vol. 1: Hot New Tracks, Sweat Equity, December 7, 2015 [Buy via Bandcamp]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233707468" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
BNJMN - "Womb"
Amygdala, Delsin Records [DSRE7], November 30, 2015 [Buy via Delsin]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/235558851" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Dario Zenker - "Gianluca Cazzeti"
Dedication, Ilian Tape [IT029], November 29, 2015 [Buy via Bandcamp]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233750305" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Sitting Adult - "What Do You Know About Acid House Music?"
Unreleased, December 8, 2015
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/236574573" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Bjarki - "PC Muscles"
I Have A Question, trip [TRP005], December 2, 2015 [Buy via Juno Records]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233748443" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
offworldcolonies - "single_context : / / 2803"
Exhumation, Under Molnet [UM009], December 15, 2015 [Buy via Bandcamp]
Skream - "Malefic"
Free online release, December 14, 2015 [Download via WeTransfer]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/237434819" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Maelstrom - "Optical Tendencies"
Optics, Zone Records [ZONE25], November 25, 2015 [Buy via Beatport]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/234814291" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
A Light in the Dark:
Fatima Yamaha is the master of melancholy house tunes, and continues to flex his emotive dance muscles on his latest LP, Imaginary Lines, that dropped late last month. "Love Invaders" is as reflective as it is playful; its vocals and structure give it a poppy, song-y sensibility without sacrificing depth.
Fatima Yamaha - "Love Invaders"
Imaginary Lines, Magnetron Music [MAG080], November 27, 2015 [Buy via Juno Records]
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/214497089" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
Featured Mix:
One of my favorite quotes on the art of DJing comes from an RBMA interview with Steffi: "Learning how to open a room is the most valuable thing for a DJ: how to hold back, when to give more, and how to create a vibe. How to deal with an empty room and slowly start to warm up and build into a party. If you can do that, you can do anything, basically."
Anthony Parasole's recent mix for Dekmantel is a perfect example of how to open a room like a pro. Recorded at Output in New York, this nearly-three-hour mix proves that Parasole knows how to withhold for a prolonged period of time, and when to offer release. I've enjoyed Parasole's productions as well, but his DJ performances are what have truly blown me away. Don't miss a chance to see this man play a sunrise set.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/237500173" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]
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