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13 Things We Won't Forget About MUTEK 2013

Simply put, MUTEK 2013 was a pleasure to attend. The Montreal festival was in its 14th year, and although we didn't arrive until the second day of the festivities, MUTEK proved once again that it's more or less the standard bearer for how to put together—and execute—and high-quality event. Of course, being in Montreal and taking place during the first days of summer certainly helps, as few places feel more glorious, welcoming, and, yes, downright adorable when the sun is shining, but MUTEK is so much more than that. This year in particular, the line-ups were strong, the hiccups were inconsequential, the sound and visuals were top-notch, the crowds were enthusiastic and intelligent—a rare combination in the modern festival landscape—and the performances were... well, many of them were downright sublime. In short, there was a lot to love about this year's MUTEK, but a few things really put it over the top. Read more » 

Five Minutes with Mala at Movement 2013

One of the absolute highlights from XLR8R's time at this year's Movement festival in Detroit was the set that Mala played on the Red Bull Music Academy stage on Sunday (our review of it can be found here, and more photos can be found here). Between his deft selections of dark, sub-focused music and his affable stage presence, the longstanding DJ/producer rendered us speechless for the hour and a half he played—that is, until he dropped a tune we couldn't help but cheer for. Suffice it to say that we were excited to interview Mala while we had the chance, so after he finished up talking to friends, signing 12" sleeves, and taking photos with fans, we had a quick chat with the dubstep don about the music he's been playing lately, whether or not he feels connected to Detroit's legacy, and his thoughts on EDM and so-called American "dubstep." Read more » 

Press Play: Juan Atkins, DJ Rashad, Jacques Greene, Little Boots, and More

Seeing as how we've got some some exclusive premieres, record streams, interviews, visual pieces, unexpected remixes, and more from artists like Juan Atkins, Tim Goldsworthy, Jacques Greene, DJ Rashad, Traxman, Throwing Snow, Zed Bias, and How to Dress Well, among others, today's edition of Press Play is simply an offering of music that can't be missed. Read more » 

Five Minutes with Dabrye at Movement 2013

As XLR8R was getting ready to head to Detroit for this year's Movement festival—which we wrote about and photographed extensively—there were many acts we couldn't wait to see, and Ann Arbor native Dabrye was very high on that list. Maybe it's because we've been seriously missing his kind of leftfield hip-hop beats since his last solo album dropped in 2006, or perhaps it's because he was one of the few producers of that genre to play Movement, but we quickly went after a chance to interview the artist born Tadd Mullinix while we had the chance. During our quick chat, Dabrye recalled some of his early memories of the first Movement festival, shared his thoughts on the so-called "beat scene," and gave us an update on the third installment of his LP trilogy. Read more » 

Trainwreck: Baths

Los Angeles-based artist Baths (a.k.a. Will Wiesenfeld) trades in wistful, vocal-led electronic pop, and has often been lumped in with the chillwave movement as a result. This isn't inherently wrong, but it does a disservice to both his wonky, beat-scene-informed production and to the range of emotions he's capable of conveying. Obsidian, his new album for Anticon, finds him exploring darker and more nuanced territory than ever before, all of which lands pretty far from chillwave's Endless Summer vibes. Even so, Wiesenfeld's music does have an accessibility that endears him to all sorts of scenes. In this edition of Trainwreck, the producer recounts playing an absurdly druggy festival in a Northwestern forest, and the crazed "fan" (or undead tormentor, possibly) it allowed him to meet. Read more » 

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