Features

Trainwreck: xxxy

xxxy (a.k.a. Rupert Taylor) is known for his flexible, forward-facing brand of rich, techy garage. His ability to shift between styles has endeared him to a number of labels, including Ten Thousand Yen, which recently issued his "Progression" b/w "Thinkin Bout" single. Like many of his contemporaries, Taylor honed his chops at the Red Bull Music Academy, which is where his tale of woe begins. The zest and energy he puts into his productions remains his strong point, but if this story comes with any kind of moral, it's that going too hard in the real world can have its repercussions. Read more »

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04/23/2013

10 Events Not to Be Missed During RBMA NYC

The 2013 edition of the Red Bull Music Academy officially begins at the tail end of this week, kicking off a month-long run of events and lectures that will accompany the two academy sessions taking place during May. With at least one public event in NYC appearing on the RBMA calendar every day from April 28 to May 31, we've boiled down the slew of enticing offerings to just the 10 most essential happenings—which was no easy task. Our picks for RBMA's 2013 session can be found after the jump. Read more »

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04/22/2013

Deep Inside: The Haxan Cloak 'Excavation'

Excavation, the second album from London-based sound designer and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Krlic (a.k.a The Haxan Cloak), is both a direct continuation of its 2011 predecessor and also its polar opposite. Thematically, where The Haxan Cloak was a descent into darkness, Excavation represents the ascent into light that directly follows it. The differences between the two LPs run further than their mood and themes, however; for this second album, Krlic has flipped his approach to composition and sound design on its head. Where his debut was rooted in the raw, natural tones of classical instrumentation, its follow-up deals in electronic timbres and heavily processed effects. As such, Excavation shares many traits with its predecessor while still sounding like a unique proposition; here, Krlic makes no attempt to repeat the tricks of his debut, and creates a hugely worthy successor to it as a result. Read more »

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04/22/2013

Press Play: Mala, James Blake, Actress, FaltyDL, and More

Well, it looks like we've got a ton of reasons to be excited about this week's edition of Press Play. Namely, James Blake, Actress, Mala, Jon Hopkins, Basement Jaxx, FaltyDL, Andy Stott, Cosmin TRG, fLako, and others uploaded remixes, DJ sets, premieres, music videos, and more for their fans to check out this week. It's a whole lot to take in, so we suggest that everyone begins clicking the play buttons whenever possible, after the jump. Read more »

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04/19/2013

Record Store Week: Juno, Bleep, and the Challenges of Digital

In advance of this Saturday's Record Store Day happenings around the globe, XLR8R has put together a week-long series of features devoted to taking a closer look at some of our favorite record-selling outlets from around the world. Check out the entire series here.

It virtually goes without saying that the internet has changed music—without exaggeration, it's a fair assertion that the past two decades have seen the entire concept of music consumption completely deconstructed and rearranged. On the downside, illegal downloading has crippled record sales and music has, for many, lost its value entirely. Where fans once hunted down releases and cherished their collections, music has now largely been transformed into something to be downloaded en masse and allowed to sit unlistened on some forgotten hard drive. Read more »