Aaron Frank thinks Oran could use a bit of that Purple
These past few weeks have seen so many great releases in the worlds of hip-hop and electronic music that I was actually forced to go back and re-work this mix to include more tracks that I felt couldn’t be missed. On the Night Slugs label, two releases have already been announced from Bok Bok and Girl Unit’s new alias Hysterics, the latter represented here on the track “Empty,” taken from Hysterics’ self-titled EP. LuckyMe and Tri Angle Records, represented here in the past by artists like Jacques Greene, Claude Speeed, Forest Swords and Holy Other, also have releases hitting stores next month from Lotic and Rabit, two promising new producers.
I’d intended on including the new singles from Lotic and Rabit, but finding it more important to maintain a consistent tone, I decided to include tracks from a few of the more low-key producers whose work I’ve been enjoying while staying inside reading during this snowy winter. Chief among the new wave of these minimalist producers are London’s Fort Romeau, whose new LP Insides is out on Ghostly next month, and Romare, who releases his tremendous debut album Projections this week through Ninja Tune. Both producers are featured on this month’s mix, as are veterans Levon Vincent and Aphex Twin, of which the latter’s new Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt. 2 makes an excellent soundtrack to Camus’ “The Plague,” as I discovered this weekend.
Lastly, I should mention the three tracks that open this mix and set the tone. Seattle duo NAVVI recently released a woozy Massive Attack-styled remix of Radiohead’s “Climbing Up The Walls,” which I was introduced to by way of KEXP’s Evie Cooke, whose weekly late night show is highly recommended. But I can’t leave you without discussing the remarkable first single from Purple’s debut album Silence & Remorse, due out this spring on WeDidIt. If you’ve been paying attention to my mixes, it’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Shlohmo and the WeDidIt crew in general, but in an exception to the rule of avoiding cliches, if this single is any indication of the quality of Purple’s album, we are certainly in for a wild ride. With highly anticipated albums from Purple and Shlohmo on the horizon, 2015 looks to be a breakthrough year for the small, but highly influential label. And with that, I leave you until next month. Enjoy the mix and do not hesitate to pull off the road if it makes you lose your mind. Safety first.
Tracklist:
1. NAVVI – “Climbing Up The Walls” (Radiohead Cover)
2. Purple – “Extinction”
3. Drake ft. Travi$ Scott – “Company”
4. Shlohmo – “Buried”
5. Chromatics – “Just Like You”
6. Rome Fortune – “Pure”
7. THEESatisfaction ft. Shabazz Palaces & Erik Blood – “Recognition”
8. Aphex Twin – “diskhat ALL prepared1mixed 13”
9. Romare – “Prison Blues”
10. Fort Romeau – “Insides”
11. Seven Davis Jr. – “Wild Hearts”
12. Burial – “Temple Sleeper”
13. Hot Chip – “Huarache Lights”
14. Hysterics – “Empty”
15. Levon Vincent – “Woman Is An Angel”
16. Björk – “Lion Song”
