Fur Coat Feat. Mel Blatt - Fall's Away (CRM107)

 

After the success of their debut album ´Mind Over Matter´ released on Crosstown Rebels earlier this year, Venezuelan duo Fur Coat return with ‘Fall´s Away’; one of the biggest cuts from the album which features the lush vocals of Mel Blatt and a killer pair of remixes from DJ Sneak and Just Be.
Deep warm pads, filtered toms and vocal chops open things up on the original version of Fall’s Away and after the introduction of a groove inflected kick and bass combo it becomes apparent that this one is going to be taking complete control of the dance floor. This notion is accentuated even more once Blatt´s soulful contribution enters the foray with its lyrical and vocal excellence.
On somewhat of a resurgence at present, house legend DJ Sneak does what he has done for the last 20 years and delivers a slice of up front house music straight out of the Chi-town text book. Fat kicks, swinging highs and a deep and driving low end are all in attendance, whilst vocal stabs and swirling samples lead to several hypnotising climaxes. Clubbers beware: this one is relentless.
Just Be aka Bushwacka steps up for the final remix offering and stays closer to the original whilst bringing an otherworldly vibe to the party, with eerie synth melodies and cosmic sweeps taking centre stage. An infectious builder, the track picks up some serious steam throughout and is sure to have dance floors shifting by the end.

Label: Crosstown Rebels

Cat no: CRM107

Web: www.crosstownrebels.com

Distribution: Above Board Distribution

Released: Mon Feb 4th, 2013

LINK TO THE TRACKS



Aidan Lavelle - Get Yourself EP (RBL013)

Back once again on Crosstown’s wayward younger brother Rebellion, Aidan Lavelle delivers another three superb cuts of timeless dance music featuring his own haunting live vocals and epic tribal grooves – a hybrid of techno & house styles with deep and moody undertones.

Title track ‘Get Yourself’, finally unleashed after getting hammered by Damian Lazarus in recent sets, builds with solid claps and humming bass tones leading up to a break where Aidan’s pitched down vocal winds its dark path into the mix along with the murky bassline and off-key echoing bleeps and chimes. A master of sonic layers, Aidan sets the tone of the EP here with striking lyrics, chugging groove and sharp shooting synths.

Flip over to the B-side and you have two more worthy lead tracks. ‘Abyss’ is a more urgent floor burner with plenty of tension and mood, swirling, spooky overlapping melodies and the effect of spiraling into darkness. ‘Unreal’ is another bomb with momentous dancefloor potential exuding from the main riff of off-kilter chimes, weaved into epic synths and punching through the solid groove. Aidan’s gothic voice remains a beguiling force.

Prolific composer and producer, Aidan Lavelle (brother to James) has worked with a number of world-class artists including U.N.K.K.L.E 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, debut solo release on Rebellion ‘Tinnitus EP’ back in May firmly marked Aidan’s return to underground dance music. The ‘Get Yourself EP’ is further evidence of the solo producer’s magnanimous style.

 

 

Label: RebelLION

Cat no: RBL013

Web: www.crosstownrebels.com

Distribution: Above Board

Released: Mon Dec 17th, 2012

LINK TO THE TRACKS

Damian Lazarus talks about Day Zero

How on earth did Day Zero come about? When did the idea come to you and what’s the process of bringing it to fruition been like?
“Back in January I had something of a cosmic experience which led to me creating Day Zero. I had been told by a Shaman that I needed to place myself underneath the moon with my arms raised towards it for one hour between 10 and 11pm in order to draw power from the Universe. And so one night my friends and I were hanging out on the beach in Tulum and I decided to give it a go.
“With my legs apart and feet digging into the sand, I raised my arms to the sky and within seconds I felt the strongest sensation: the universe was sending a very powerful energy through my hands, arms and entire body, and I was locked into this electric forcefield. And finally when I let it go after some 15 minutes, as it was so strong, I fell to the beach exhausted. I re-joined my friends and everybody could feel a bizarre heat coming from my hands hovering over them. They told me that it was a sign and I needed to realise what it meant – with Mayan ruins just further along the beach to where we sat, I decided there and then to create Day Zero.
“Day Zero has been on my mind every day since. It’s tough but fun work organising an event of this nature but I’m very lucky to have a great team of people around me working on this. There is a lot of love and good vibes surrounding this event so whilst it makes me frightened of the scope of it, I feel very positive that we’re going to pull off a once-in-a-lifetime event.”


Tell us a bit more about the location, and what’s being done to it to make it special for Day Zero.
“I discovered this incredible place shortly after, along with some friends who run Sacbe, an eco/artist community in the jungle in Playa del Carmen. Our location for the event has three pyramids, two lakes and four swimming pools – it feels like stepping back in time with the Mayans to the 10th Century. This place is so beautiful it just felt like the perfect place to celebrate the end of the Mayan calender with 24 hours of the best electronic music in the galaxy.
“We’re working with Secret Productions who create the Secret Garden and Wilderness festivals in the UK and with one of the world’s leading video mapping/visual designers, Sila Sveta from Moscow. We have invited Mayan elders and their families from Mexico and Guatemala to join us and lead our ritual processions and ceremonies during the event. The artwork was brilliantly conceived by Ana Rifa and the incredible animated film on the website by David Terranova.
“The people helping us on the ground with logistics and organisation are friends who run another very successful festival and the stage designers have been friends of mine in Mexico for some years. The whole thing for me is an attempt at making a dream come true, it is a very ambitious event and I’m confident we’re about to make some very special magic happen.”


Do you believe there’s some kind of transformative power or special energy that’s going to be unleashed on the occasion? How does the event align with your own spiritual beliefs or sympathies? What does it mean for your personally?
“On this day there will be a very rare alignment of the planets. We’ve been feeling the energy leading to this moment for a while now. 2012 has already been looming in our consciousness for some time and many people around me have been talking about their recent life-changing experiences. It feels like we’re on a path to something new, something as yet undetermined, but it feels like a positive force is guiding us there. The mystics and soothsayers believe we are about to enter into a new dimension, a new chapter – others believe this is the apocalypse, the end of the world. I figure that whatever may or may not happen at this moment in time, what better way to spend it than with amazing friends from all over the world celebrating, dancing and enjoying life together for 24 hours to a soundtrack perfectly orchestrated to take us to this next stage.
“I believe this is an amazing opportunity for us to come together and take stock of our lives, our loves and set about on a new, better journey from here. I’m not a spiritual person in the hippie/yoga sense but I like to think my life is being guided by the stars and the planets, I like to think the signs for positive progression are all around us, and that we just need to notice and realise them.”

LINK TO THE FREE MIX DOWNLOAD

Damian Lazarus - Day Zero Sound Of The Mayan Spirit (CRMCD021)

            

- Assembling thirteen exclusive unheard tracks made for this special release for Crosstown Rebels

- Marks the debut Day Zero festival happening in Mexico on the special Mayan calendar prophetic date 21^st December 2012

- Day Zero features the label’s past, present and future artists such as Jay Haze, Acid Pauli. Mathew Jonson, Fur Coat & more

Damian Lazarus, the Crosstown Rebels spearhead infamous his idiosyncratic nature embarks on a daring new project with Day Zero. On 20^th - 21^st December 2012 he will stage a festival in sun-soaked Playa del Carmen, Mexico that will celebrate the momentous end of this world cycle, as decreed by the ancient Mayan civilisation.
To commemorate this enigmatic event he asked thirteen artists to create a new track for a special Day Zero compilation. His peers and comrades stepped up to the challenge with Rebel’s artist past, present and future contributing to this momentous collection compiled by Damian Lazarus.
Pier Bucci opens with the eerie and captivating ‘Mayas’ full of his Latin-American spirit. He was introduced to the music world by Crosstown, releasing his first two albums on the label. Next up, Quenum shares his ‘Prophecy’ and Mathew Johnson returns to the label with the driving pulses of ‘In Search Of A New Planet With Oxygen’. Johnson delivered a huge remix early in the label’s history from Hiem ‘She’s The One’ and is a pioneer of the underground house movement.
Listen closely to the messages hidden in the knocking drums and trembling tones of ‘Jeel, k´eex’ from Mexican native Metrika. Crosstown’s newest first lady Francesca Lombardo’s contribution ‘Cosmic Dancer’ swells with femininity and allure while Fur Coat, who concocted the last artist album for CR, explain a little more about the significant date in their cut ‘Greed, Insanity’.
Fosky & Bog and the newcomer to the label Jay Haze both contribute epic dancefloor monsters to the collection. Haze is boss of legendary techno imprint Contexterrior and has been living in South America of late, fascinated by its mystical pull.
Supernatural cuts from Eduardo Castillo featuring his baritone opera trained voice and the Israeli Navid Izadi ft KMLN align up with Mike Shannon for his ‘Sunrise’ and the closing moments from Thugfucker & Shaun Reeves and Acid Pauli & Nu bring this otherworldly assembly to a flourishing close.
The Day Zero album arrives on the dawn of the 24 hour event that brings together the best electronic music and entertainment from some of the world’s finest DJs as they embrace a new moment in time. The occasion will mark the end-date of a 25,625-year-long cycle and the final cycle of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. At this moment the galactic alignment will occur, the earth will align with the centre of the Milky Way creating a moment for transformation, renewal and change.
Joining Damian Lazarus at the event are Massive Attack’s Robert “3D” Del Naja, UNKLE’s James Lavelle, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Jamie Jones, Trentemøller, Art Department, and more alongside artists from the album including Metrika (live), Acid Pauli, Francesca Lombardo, Amirali (live), Fur Coat, Thugfucker, and outstanding alternative performances, workshops, games from Mayan Culture, and jaw-dropping 3D visuals and projections.
The Crosstown Rebels started their mission in 2003 powered by a modern electronic canon spearheaded by Damian Lazarus. The label has inspired countless unforgettable dance floor moments and nurtured many universally adored music makers. Soon to be entering its tenth year at the forefront of future-moving dance music, Crosstown Rebels remains the electronic pioneering force of the past decade.

Label: Crosstown Rebels

Cat no: CRMCD021

Web: www.crosstownrebels.com

Distribution: Above Board Distribution

Released: Mon Dec 3rd, 2012

Tracklist:

01. Pier Bucci - Mayas
02. Quenum - The Prophecy
03. Mathew Jonson- In Search Of A New Planet With Oxygen
04. Metrika - Jeel, k'eex
05. Francesca Lombardo - Cosmic Dancer
06. Fur Coat - Greed, Insanity
07. Fosky & BOg - Chestionabil
08. Jay Haze -2012
09. Eduardo Castillo - Ahometa Kuyaxi
10. Navid Izadi ft. KMLN - Kurandero
11. Mike Shannon - Sunrise
12. Thugfucker & Shaun Reeves - Timewave Zero
13. Acid Pauli & Nu – 12






LINK TO THE FREE MIX DOWNLOAD

Jozif Feat. Little Bear - The 508 (CRM104)

With a hectic summer of touring and the critically acclaimed ´Standard Rising EP´ on Culprit under his belt, extended family member jozif finds time to contribute the next installment in the Crosstown Rebels unstoppable streak with ´The 508´; a killer EP featuring the sublime vocal work of Little Bear and rising star Uffe on remix duty.

Unorthodox percussive elements lead the way on original version of ´The 508´, rattling away in an almost marching band fashion until we are swept into the ethereal vocals of Little Bear reminiscent of early Kate Bush. Deeply emotive grand piano chords combined with additional hats and shakers pave the way for a kick and sub-bass combo to give the track real purpose and drive. An electric piano melody during the breakdown builds tension to a climax that cascades down upon the return of the lush vocals.

On the remix the Rebels well renowned A&R team welcome young Danish starlet Uffe to the label after his exceptional recent outing on Pets Recordings. This one starts gritty and raw with tribal percussion setting a loose off kilter groove. The piano chords from the original are retained and are even developed further with a few extra chords added. This time its epic string pads that build the climax and a glockenspiel melody that completes this beautiful journey.

An instrumental version of the original is included to round off this excellent package from burning UK talent, jozif.

 

Label: Crosstown Rebels

Cat no: CRM104

Web: www.crosstownrebels.com

Distribution: Above Board Distribution

Released: Mon Nov 19th, 2012

LINK TO THE TRACKS

Damian Lazarus Q & A

Crosstown Rebels' commander-in-chief empties the contents of his psychic record bag.

The track I always play to rescue a dancefloor
Donna Summer: I Feel Love

There are times when I take people on long, deep, psychedelic journeys with my music, and having a track like this at your disposal is great for rewiring the crowd back to some kind of normality.

The track that currently gets the most rewinds
Andre Kraml: Safari

A Crosstown Rebels classic. When you hear the opening bars, there's nothing you can do but be excited about what follows.

The track I wish I'd signed to my label
Chic: I Want Your Love

One of my favourite records of all time. I play this one out as the last tune at parties where I feel like I've really connected with the crowd.

The track I'd play at my auntie's wedding
Exile: Kiss You All Over (Brennan Green Edit)

Not because I'd like to kiss my auntie all over, but I think she would appreciate this genuine lovers' anthem.

The track that got me out of bed this morning
Prince: Purple Rain

This is my most played 12" at home in LA. It sits there waiting for me every morning. My puppy and my four cats know not to bother me for their breakfast until the record has finished.

The track I wish i'd never played
Original Cast: Reviewing The Situation (from Oliver! soundtrack)

Some say I should never have played this at half-speed over the top of some eerie sound effects … but you know, life's a gamble and there's no regrets.

The best track by my favourite new artist
Francesca Lombardo: Sofiel

She's a classically trained musician and opera singer, and her house/techno music production is second to none.

The ideal festival track
Double 99: Ripgroove

I closed the day with this one at the first Parklife Festival and the place exploded.

The track that should have been a crossover hit
Infinity Ink: Infinity

A monster of a record that is so catchy, it deserves to be a global smash hit. I've just had new remixes made of it by Richy Ahmed and Claude VonStroke so we'll see what happens when we re-release it.

The track I want played at my funeral
Deodato: Also Sprach Zarathustra

It's the track played when Chauncey Gardiner discovers New York City in the film Being There and I think it accurately reflects the drama and fun I've had in my life.

Francesca Lombardo - Eyes Of Nature (RBL012)

After her incredible ‘Changes EP’ on Crosstown Rebels earlier this year, new lady of house Francesca Lombardo continues to impress this time through the Rebellion arm of the enterprise with her ‘Eyes of Nature EP’.

´Eyes´ is first up and opens with a slick percussive grove characterised by lots of organic elements coalescing to paint a mesmerising, ritualistic picture. Bells, shakers and cymbals rattle and echo while deep haunting synths climb and fall to create a real sense of drama. Francesca utilises her vocal training to devastating effect intermittently throughout the track, panning her own heavily FX´d vocals across the mix adding further to the suspense.

On the flip vocal stabs and a tabla drum riff set the tone on ´Wander and Wonder´, before an infectious woodblock melody signals the arrival of a huge baseline taking this one straight to the dance-floor. The full potential of the track is released with the introduction of Julien Riachi´s hypnotic vocals, which are sure to prompt a few ´hands in the air´ moments. Exquisite production skills see that the track continuously evolves sonically and elementally, whilst Lombardo´s classically trained ear ensures that the vast array of musical elements on display make perfect sense.

We wait in excitement for the forthcoming album to be released next year on Crosstown Rebels.

Label: RebelLION

Cat no: RBL012

Web: www.crosstownrebels.com

Distribution: Above Board

Released: Mon Nov 5th, 2012

LINK TO THE TRACKS