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Download: Alfie "Turn It Around (Edit)"

First Listen

Following last year's very well-received "Uncomfortably Numb" b/w "About Midday" single, budding 18-year-old UK producer Alfie released his new Hy-Brasil EP via the Space + Time label towards the end of last month. The EP—made up of four taut garage-house hybrids, including a remix from London producer Citizen—has been busy making the rounds, but in the meantime, Alfie has decided to share the shuffling, slow-burning non-EP cut "Turn It Around (Edit)." For those who may have missed its initial release, the young producer's Hy-Brasil EP can be streamed in full after the jump.  Read more » 

Average: 7.2 (8 votes)
 
 

Download: The Crystal Ark "Rain (Discodeine Remix)"

First Listen
Label: DFA

Just in time for DFA's 12th anniversary party this weekend—a shindig going down in NYC as part of Red Bull Music Academy's month-long series of events—we've gotten our hands on Discodeine's remix of "Rain," a cut from The Crystal Ark's recent self-titled LP. On Its remix, the French duo take "Rain" even further inside the machine than the original did, stripping the tune's vocals almost completely away in favor of focusing on a percolating bassline, quirky synth FX, and all kinds of loose-running drum machine patterns. Discodeine's remix of The Crystal Ark will be joined by others from Barker & Baumecker, Frikstailers, and Carry Nation on the Rain Remixes EP (artwork above). 

Average: 7.8 (13 votes)
 
 

Download: Dfalt "The Beggars"

First Listen
Label: Daylight Curfew

Los Angeles-based label Daylight Curfew has slowly gained traction as a promising imprint for leftfield hip-hop and downtempo productions, often served cold with a decidedly dub-wise aesthetic. One of the label's most interesting producers is L.A. dweller Dfalt, who has boned up on more than a few pages from the Tri Angle playbook while also possessing a healthy set of toys and a fascination for "plugins, magic, and weed." Still, that doesn't mean that "The Beggars"—the opening tune off the man's forthcoming Helsinki Beat Tape (Part One) record—is either a brooding or a show-offy tune, but rather somewhere in the middle. Dfalt makes his individual case from the top: the drums land with hard thuds, pushing a tasteful chipmunked vocal before slowly slicing in a ponderous, noir synth that gradually slides the tune forward. Helsinki Beat Tape (Part One) is due out on June 11. 

Average: 8.2 (25 votes)
 
 

Download: fLako "What's That Calling Me "

First Listen
Label: Project: Mooncircle

Released in 2011, but made of productions completed between 2006 and 2008, fLako's part-beat-tape, part-proper-album The Mesektet will see a reissue as a double-LP next month via Project:Mooncircle, the label which originally issued the 30-track effort. In its forthcoming refurbished form, The Mesektet will come with a grab bag of previously unreleased tunes, including "What's That Calling Me," a track which shows off the London producer's ability to mash together disparate sonic worlds; in this case the loose, percussive swing of samba-esque loops and the spinning atmosphere of warbly, space-age synths. The Mesektet Extnd reissue is set to drop June 7; its full tracklist can be found after the jump.  Read more » 

Average: 7.7 (26 votes)
 
 

Download: Urulu "Lonely Weekend"

First Listen

LA-based DJ/producer Urulu has had an impressively busy 2013 so far, with the latest fruits of his labor appearing in the form of a collaborative EP alongside London duo Chaos in the CBD for the Needwant imprint. Perhaps because the man just can't help but keep churning out new tunes, Urulu has offered up "Lonely Weekend," a "re-interpretation" of the "Twenty Eight" from R&B crooner The Weeknd. Urulu thankfully strips away much of the overwrought emotion of the original track, laying down a deliciously deep and inviting production on top of which filtered snippets of "Twenty Eight" can be heard bathed in reverb and delay. 

Average: 6.9 (57 votes)
 
 

Download: Slugabed "True Born"

First Listen
Label: Activia Benz

As we announced last week, Slugabed will be dropping a free EP of new material this Friday through his own Activia Benz imprint. Before the This Is a Warning EP sees a release though, the UK producer has offered up a track from the effort, "True Born," as a preview of what's to come. This particular offering takes a space-age hip-hop approach, unleashing rolling snares and 8-bit melodies while incorporating plenty of growling, grime-indebted sub-bass which reveals the tune's origins as an edit of one of Slugabed's favorite jungle tracks. 

Average: 8.3 (55 votes)
 
 

Download: Airbird & Napolian "Special"
Label: Cascine

Yesterday, the Cascine imprint dropped the debut single (artwork above) from newly formed production pair Airbird & Napolian (a.k.a. Joel Ford of Ford & Lopatin and LA producer Ian Evans). The digital single's a-side, "In the Zone," is a breezy slice of synth-obsessed beatwork, but b-side "Special" is a much more energetic affair, one which channels French-style filter house and '80s synth-pop into a modern, slightly shuffling package. The result is somewhat reminiscent of Chaz Bundick's work as Les Sins but with an extra dose of retro gloss added on top. Airbird & Napolian's "In the Zone" single precedes the pair's forthcoming debut full-length, which is set to drop this winter via Cascine.  

Average: 7.6 (38 votes)
 
 

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