Electronic
The Adventurous Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Illuminates a True Talent: Review
The Lowdown: The pseudonym of Brooklyn-based electronic musician Daniel Lopatin, Oneohtrix Point Never has made a name for himself not only with his own releases, but also through his collaborations with notable artists like Tim Hecker, FKA Twigs, and The Weeknd. He’s also found acclaim as the composer for both Safdie brothers films — 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s Uncut Gems — and he set a high bar with 2018’s Age Of. Thus, he had quite the task in front of him in making its follow-up, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, a worthwhile addition to his impressive and renowned catalog. Fortunately, Lopatin goes one step further by creating a fascinating and evocative, yet periodically frustrating, sequence. Recorded in lockdown between March and July of this year, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never sees him c...
Autechre Drop Surprise Album PLUS: Stream
Autechre have dropped the new surprise album PLUS. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. This is the second new album from the electronic duo in less than a month, following on the October 16th release SIGN. Before that, fans waited seven years for the album-length follow-up to 2013’s Exai, although the British veterans were hardly idle in-between. In 2016, Rob Brown and Sean Booth released elseq 1-5, which was made of five 50-minute segments, while 2018’s NTS Sessions was taken from an NTS Radio residency and had a total running time of about eight hours. The pair continue to program their own sounds themselves, though their relationship to technology has evolved. Autechre’s current system allows for many more channels — more layers of complexity — than their early efforts. But the...
Italians Do It Better Release New Compilation After Dark 3: Stream
Italians Do It Better, the cult-favorite record label by Johnny Jewel, has released a new installment in its After Dark compilation series called After Dark 3. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. After Dark 3 spans 17 previously unreleased tracks in total that run the gamut of synth possibilities. Alongside music from Jewel’s various projects, including Chromatics, Glass Candy, and Desire, there’s selections from newcomers such as Orion, Joon, MOTHERMARY, Double Mixte, and more. Today’s release follows 2013’s After Dark 2 and the original After Dark compilation, which surfaced way back in 2007. Editors’ Picks Speaking of Chromatics, the group is still teasing their long-awaited new album Dear Tommy, which they initially announced back in 2014. To tide fans over, the band...
John Frusciante Reveals New Album Maya: Stream
John Frusciante has revealed his new electronic album Maya. Stream it below with Apple Music or Spotify. The once-and-future guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers has had a busy year as a solo artist, despite rejoining RHCP in December. Under his Trickfinger alias, he released Look Down, See Us in April and She Smiles Because She Presses the Button in June. But Maya is different, for two reasons: It’s his first solo effort in six years to be released under his own name; and it is the first album in his esteemed discography to be named for his beloved cat. Unfortunately Maya passed away after 15 years together, but the hope is that Maya will endure. In a statement, Frusciante explained the “self-imposed limitations” that went into his new album. He said, “For a fu...
Shygirl Announces New Alias EP, Shares SOPHIE-produced “Slime”: Stream
Shygirl has announced a new EP titled Alias. With a November 20th release date just around the corner, she’s also dropped her latest single, “Slime”. Shygirl is one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from the British club scene in recent years. The artist also known as Blane Muise straddles the worlds of electronica and hip-hop, with quirky, sly lyricism complemented by absolutely banging beats. She first made waves with the 2018 EP Cruel Practice, and now seems poised for a breakout. The upcoming Alias is meant to bring together the different parts of her personality, as “Slime” demonstrates. Produced by SOPHIE, Kai Winston, and Sega Bodega, “Slime” seems at first blush to involve a back-and-forth exchange between a cocky horndog and a badass boss bitch. The reveal, as you’ve alr...
The Knife Unveil Anti-Nationalist Anthem: Stream
In 2014, Swedish electronic duo The Knife wrote the theme song to the anti-nationalist cabaret Europa Europa, which toured the world for the next two years. “För alla namn vi inte får använda” was previously only available in Sweden and on YouTube. But as far right political groups have continued to gain power, The Knife have decided to give the track an official release. “För alla namn vi inte får använda” roughly translates to “For all the names we cannot use.” Via Google Translate and r/Svenska, the lyrics are from the perspective of “illegal immigrants,” though as the song points out, “We can never be illegal.” In a statement, The Knife’s Karin and Olof Dreijer explained why they wrote the song and how it’s meaning has changed over time. They said, “In 2014 we made music for an anti-na...
Bring Me the Horizon Announce New EP Featuring BABYMETAL, Amy Lee, and More
Babymetal (photo by Kevin RC Wilson), Bring Me the Horizon Horizon (photo by Raymond Ahner), Amy Lee (photo by Joe Russo) Bring Me the Horizon have announced a new EP, Post Human: Survival Horror, that features some prominent guest spots. The nine-song effort, due October 30th, boasts appearances by BABYMETAL, Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee, UK singer YUNGBLUD, and British rock duo Nova Twins. The UK band has already unveiled three songs from the EP over the past year. The track “Ludens” came out in November 2019 as part of the soundtrack to the video game Death Stranding, while “Parasite Eve” and “Obey” (featuring YUNGBLUD) arrived over the past few months. Japanese pop-metal act BABYMETAL appear on the song “Kingslayer”, while Amy Lee provides guest vocals on the poetically titled “One Day...
New Order Release Power, Corruption & Lies Deluxe Reissue: Stream
Raise your hand if you thought this day would never come: New Order have released a deluxe reissue of their famed 1983 album Power, Corruption & Lies. A massive release fit for a massive fan, the box set boasts two CDs, two DVDs, and one vinyl LP. Stream the digital “definitive edition” below via Apple Music and Spotify. For the reissue, Power, Corruption & Lies was remastered from the band’s original analog tape recordings for the very first time and pressed on CD and vinyl. The second disc, dubbed “Extras”, features New Order’s 1982 John Peel Sessions, which were just released separately back in August as part of Record Store Day. There are also previously unreleased tracks, including an early instrumental version of “Blue Monday” and a demo of “Thieves Like Us” which was re...
Bonobo Drops New Song “Heartbreak” Featuring TEED: Stream
Electronic producer Bonobo has teamed up with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to share the new song “Heartbreak”. It’s the first release on Bonobo’s just-founded record label OUTLIER, and will be available as a 12-inch on November 13th. Bonobo, aka Simon Green, has been relatively quiet the last three years, ever since dropping 2017’s Migration and the related Koyo Ganda EP. But last year he announced the OUTLIER live performance series, and now that impulse has led to a new imprint on Ninja Tune. In a statement, he said that “Heartbreak” was “the track that became the catalyst to start the label. One for the dance floors in a time when they’re dearly missed.” “Heartbreak” pays homage to the New York dance scene of the 1970s and ’80s, when disco ruled, and everyone returned from th...
Sia and David Guetta Reteam for New Single “Let’s Love”: Stream
David Guetta and Sia are no strangers to a powerhouse electronic pop collaboration. After a string of chart-topping hits like “Flames”, “She Wolf (Falling to Pieces”, and the ubiquitous “Titanium”, the pair are back together for a 2020 anthem called “Let’s Love”. With a slapping ’80s beat that’s a few electronic note removed from Sing Street, the uplifting track is meant as a counterweight to the negativity that’s overwhelmed this year. “This too shall pass/ We’ll get through it all together,” Sia reassures on the hook. “I love producing club tracks but at the same time, especially now, I feel like creating ‘feel-good’ music,” Guetta said in a press statement. “‘Let’s Love’ is a message of love, hope and bringing people together and once again, Sia has out done herself on the vocals.” Orig...
The Avalanches Announce New Album We Will Always Love You
The Avalanches have announced their first new album in four years, We Will Always Love You. The group shared the cover art by Jonathan Zawada and promised more details “soon.” The plunderphonic pioneers have been teasing the follow-up to 2016’s Wildflowers since last September. In a since-deleted Instagram post, the group shared a picture of the Voyager Golden Record, along with the news that LP3 was already getting mixed. Since then they’ve launched a small galaxy of space-themed singles, and now we know why. Along with the reveal of We Will Always Love You, the band has shared their inspiration for their latest effort, and it has to do with that iconic golden disc. In a new Instagram post, the band said that the cover features Ann Druyan, the creative director of the ...
A.G. Cook Shares New Song “Xxoplex”: Stream
A. G. Cook, photo by Alaska Reid With his forthcoming album Apple about to drop, A. G. Cook has shared the new single “Xxoplex”. The founder of PC Music has also announced the “Appleville” livestream on September 12th featuring Charli XCX, 100 Gecs, Clairo, Kero Kero Bonito, and more. This is only the latest dish coming out of Cook’s kitchen. In addition to his work as Charli XCX’s bandleader, executive producing her wonderful new album How I’m Feeling Now, Cook just put out the 49-song 7G collection last month. “Xxoplex” is the sound of a man who won’t slow down, and perhaps can’t — it’s a compulsively catchy melody, distilled down to its glitchy, bleeping essence. In a statement, Cook referred to “Xxoplex” as the “dark, industrial heart” of Apple. He ca...
