vendredi 27 avril 2012

Aidan Lavelle - Tinnitus EP (RBL008)

After the masterfully trippy ‘Rise Before Zod’ from Rebels boss Damian Lazarus and James What comes one third of a British institution to Rebellion, Aidan Lavelle. His first assault on dance music since U.N.K.L.E, the solo ‘Tinnitus EP’ is an infectious affair comprising three eclectic, sensory dance floor bombs!
Lead track ‘Tinnitus’ is a captivating builder with prominent claps, crispy hi-hats, a chugging discoid bassline and strokes of trippy polyphonic melody. The deep penetrating vocal line “let’s move together” keeps the hypnotic vibe rolling and the mid point breakdown gives clarity to the intricate rhythms.
Next up ‘Stronger’ gets a bit more tangled down a spooky path of weird FX, chunky off-key stabs and a metronomic groove. With the increasing sense of paranoia, elements are broken down and built up in texture for maximum deep and moody head tripping.
Third cut ‘Play It’ warms up the soul with a more laid back groove and sensual cool courtesy of clipped female vocal echoes and melodic bleeps. Taking the tempo down and introducing a sultry swing, this track is perfect for building up or winding down the crowd.
Prolific composer and producer, Aidan Lavelle (brother to James) is co-creator of the huge UK indie electronic outfit U.N.K.L.E and has worked with a number of world-class artists such as Gorillaz, Ian Brown, Queens Of The Stone Age and Massive Attack. Having since built up an illustrious body of work in television and film music, this release on Rebellion marks Aidan’s return to solo production and underground dance music.





  • Label: RebelLION
  • Cat no: RBL008
  • Web: www.crosstownrebels.com
  • Distribution: Above Board
  • Released: Mon May 21st, 2012



  • LINK TO THE TRACKS

    vendredi 20 avril 2012

    Infinity Ink - Infinity (CRM095)

    After a blistering debut on Hot Creations with the irrepressible ‘Games’, released in November last year, Infinity Ink are back with ‘Infinity’ on Crosstown Rebels. A momentous slice of Cosmic Garage that is about to transform your summer forever!
    Long-term friends and cohorts Ali Love and Luca C have succeeded with something quite extraordinary in their new production guise as Infinity Ink. Already amassing a legion of support and an escalating fan-base their unique cosmic take on garage has struck a chord with the dance-floor and beyond. ‘Infinity’ has been one of Crosstown Rebels most highly anticipated records of recent times. A smattering of DJ’s, from Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler, Damian Lazarus, Lee Foss and Art Department have been championing its intoxicating qualities to nigh on sonic-hysteria over the past few months. Luca and Ali’s anthemic ‘Infinity’ is set to reach epidemic proportions this summer!
    ‘Infinity’ is an incredibly hooky slice of left of centre underground house, which encompasses elements of garage, through a hallucinatory resonance that cleverly maintains its notion of pop-sensibility. Ali’s evocative trademark vocal phrasing faultlessly compliments the monstrous disco bass line and intoxicating melody. A perfect unison that culminates in a piece of music that is pure hedonistic joy!
    When remixing such a ground breaking piece of leftfield garage, who would be more suitable than Todd Edwards, and here he goes the extra mile to deliver arguably his best remix of recent years. The remix king of hypnotic staccato garage, Todd takes ‘Infinity’ to the next level and whisks you away to The Raleigh at WMC ‘96! On the flip, the guys jack the groove and deliver another killer in the guise of ‘House of Infinity’. A superb compliment to ‘Infinity’, this is for more peak-time play, as disco fills, jacking hi-hats and Ali’s hypnotic vocals mesmerize the listener into a spellbinding state of dance-floor bliss.
    Ali Love’s prolific career has witnessed him produce two artist albums; several hit singles, and provided the vocals on hits by The Chemical Brothers, Justice, M Craft and Hot Natured. Luca C, formally of Luca C & Brigante fame, has been producing music under various guises and in various band for years and has recently co-written and produced a track on Jamie Jones’s latest album. Besides working together as Infinity Ink, Luca and Ali are working on a project with Jamie and Hot Creations – more news to be announced soon. So now, with Infinity Ink as the combination of their extraordinary talents, the future is looking very bright indeed for Luca and Ali.
  • Label: Crosstown Rebels
  • Cat no: CRM095
  • Web: www.crosstownrebels.com
  • Distribution: Above Board Distribution
  • Released: Mon May 21st, 2012

  • SOUNDCLOUD

    LINK TO THE TRACK

    mercredi 18 avril 2012

    Jamie Jones - Tracks From The Crypt (CRMCD018)

    The newly crowned number one DJ in the world lets loose his second longplayer on the number one label in the world (Resident Advisor 2011). Prepare to delve deep as Jamie Jones brings us ‘Tracks From The Crypt’ on Crosstown Rebels.
    Jamie Jones to announce exciting news about his plans for this summer´s Ibiza season very shortly...

    Jamie Jones rise to the top has been a steady climb. The young Welshman was always respected from fellow peers and artists through early releases on Freak n’Chic, Cocoon, Get Physical and a debut artist album on Crosstown Rebels, but now is deeply admired as the best in the game.

    In ‘Tracks From The Crypt’ Jamie finally sets some of the best-loved dancefloor bombs of the past five years loose from the vaults of his infamous studio. Tracks such as the bouncing infectious grooves of ‘Somewhere’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Frequencies’ are infamous from Jamie’s live recordings, and others such as the electro-clash influenced ‘City At Night’, ‘Mari 2d Underground’ a future dancefloor anthem and ‘Tonight In Tokyo’ featuring Luca C are as yet unheard and offer a glimpse of the future. Closing with the leisurely pace of ‘The Lows’, Jamie shows he can stretch the capabilities of house music and has formulated his own new breed.

    Jamie explains: "This is a collection of my favourite unreleased secret weapons from the last 5 years plus some brand new tunes that I´m hammering on the dancefloor right now. Looking back in the vaults, I found some killers that people have been trying to get their hands on for ages and decided to make my second album a combination of these."

    The past few years have seen Jamie launch his own pioneering label and brand, Hot Creations and production outfit Hot Natured, forging his own path with a highly original sound as both a solo artist, and with various collaborations. His remixes of Azari III and Green Velvet were among the biggest tracks of 2011 and he has the rare ability to appeal to many diverse styles of electronic music, championed by Pete Tong, Annie Mac as well as Gilles Peterson.

    Named Best Deep House DJ and remix of 2011 in DJ Awards Ibiza, Best DJ and remix by DJ Mag UK and Best DJ from Mixmag UK as well as Resident Advisor No 1 DJ of the year, Jamie Jones and his label Hot Creations are amongst the biggest names in dance music right now. Imitated the world over they got there by infusing a new originality into a tiring style of dance music - injecting energy through basslines and spirit through vocals and samples.


         Label: Crosstown Rebels
        Cat no: CRMCD018
        Web: www.crosstownrebels.com
        Distribution: Above Board Distribution
        Released: Mon Jun 25th, 2012

    LINK TO THE TRACKS

    mardi 17 avril 2012

    Amirali's interview for i-D Online

    Until recently Amirali was a little-known musician, toiling away on his productions whilst studying architecture at university in London. Then Crosstown Rebel’s visionary Damian Lazarus heard his music and signed him up.


    With such a hefty vote of confidence Amirali’s profile was boosted instantly and he’s since produced his debut LP, ‘In Time’, and put together an hour-long live show which he’s taking on tour around the world. After seeing his brilliant show at Get Lost in Miami this year, we thought it was about time we met – and he’s been kind enough to prepare an exclusive selection of his influences past and present for your ears only.

    How did you start making music? What first sparked your interest in becoming a musician? I’ve been playing the piano since I was about five. I had several piano tutors over the years and played classical pieces. My parents always knew that I had a very strong ear for music. I remember sometimes I wouldn’t play the pieces my tutor had told me to practice and I would end up just playing what I liked. So I was always involved and into making music even before getting my head into electronic. My father has always been into music too and I think he is the reason I am here now. My family and I moved to Toronto when I was about sixteen and it was there and then I realised my passion for making electronic music. I never made the decision to become a musician it just happened naturally.

    When did you decide to add your own vocals to your music – did you find it difficult to start singing? The first track that I made and added my own vocals to is ‘Story Of Us’ which is included in my album and it was an experiment for me since I had never done anything like it before. I think my whole album was a complete experiment on my sound and myself. It seemed like I was testing myself in every way I could think of and I’m very pleased with the result.

    What’s the inspiration behind your lyrics? Well, each one of my songs has something different to say. Some of them are sad, blue, and heartbreaking and some are happy and hopeful. The inspiration behind the lyrics came from the music itself, the harmony and mood of the tunes while I was making them. Like every piece of art, my own mood and state of mind played a significant role. There were days last year when I felt moderately depressed therefore affecting my music mood and shaping my lyrics in such a way.

    Have you found it difficult juggling your studies in architecture with making music/performing? Sometimes it was really hard and hectic to keep up with them both. Architecture is an extremely demanding field of study. I had to constantly work on projects and assignments and meet tight deadlines but since I was already familiar with the subject from college, it was easier for me to deal with and I knew how to study and apply my skills to it.

    What’s the best thing about performing live? Performing live is a whole different experience, it has a different beauty and feel to it. A dream of mine came true last week when I played Fabric room 1. It really was an amazing experience for me; seeing what the power of singing and playing keys and melodies live can do to a crowd. Playing in that room was like playing a proper concert. Months of work in the studio had been worth it within a matter of minutes. Luckily, so far, nearly every gig I have played has been great, but that gig in particular really stood out and was definitely one of the highlights of my career.

    What are your plans beyond touring this year? Are you working on more music? From the time I completed my album which was four months ago, I wanted to get away from the studio and focus on my live pa but now I think it’s time to get back in the studio and start working on some fresh material. I’m currently working on a remix for my homeboy’s label ‘My Favorite Robot’, I’m also releasing two more singles on Crosstown.

    soundcloud.com/amiraliofficial

    Text: Marcus Barnes