There are a lot of new albums coming out in the next few weeks, so read on to get the low down on the big ones.
Aphex Twin - Syro (9/17) -The most influential figure within contemporary electronic music, Richard D. James, is back as Aphex Twin with his first studio album in thirteen years since 2001’s Drukqs. Syro will be the sixth album James has released under the Aphex Twin pseudonym in addition to the numerous other releases James has composed under a variety of different names. The publicity for this album is incredibly high considering the time between releases and just the sheer volume and quality of James’s discography.
The album artwork shows all the costs that went into making each song as well as how much money went into advertising for the album, the design of the album art itself, the materials used to make the album, the gear list (he uses over a 100 pieces of musical equipment), etc. The only single released so far has been the lead single, “minipops 67 [102.2],” an energetic acid funk affair that is similar to the catchiness of earlier Aphex Twin’s material, especially the 1999 hit “Windowlicker.”
SBTRKT – Wonder Where We Land (9/22) – 2011 was a huge year for SBTRKT with his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. While the song “Wildfire (feat. Little Dragon)” got everyone hooked, the album as a whole was one of the best electronic albums to come out that year. His recent release of the Transitions EP series demonstrated SBTRKT’s signature sound while demonstrating more of a hip hop influence. Four songs have been released so far before the release, including “New Dorp. New York (feat. Ezra Koenig)” and “Temporary View. ”
Each track displays a different side of SBTRKT’s production ability. “New Dorp. New York” features a musical backing and vocalization that is heavily influenced by early LCD Soundsystem and material from the electronic label Death From Above. Meanwhile, “Temporary View” showcases the vocals from frequent SBTRKT collaborator, Sampha (a talented vocalist and producer in his own right), with one of the instrumentals from the Transitions EP series (“Resolute”).
Caribou – Our Love (10/7) – It has been four years since Caribou’s last album, Swim, which featured the rather popular track “Odessa” and was placed on many music periodicals’ year end lists. Since then, Dan Snaith (who records under Caribou), has been building up on his repertoire as a DJ, releasing an album, Jialong, back in 2012 under the alias Daphne, containing material that displayed tracks guided more by techno and early Chicago house.
The two singles released so far for Caribou’s fifth album, Our Love, (“Can’t Do Without You” and “Our Love”) feature the same psychedelic feel Caribou always uses, but with a larger presence of his house and electronic influences, especially with the end of the lead track “Our Love.” Only time will tell to see how Caribou develops the balance of psychedelic pop and electronic over the course of the new album.
Flying Lotus –You’re Dead! (10/7) – When the experimental electronic producer posted a picture on Instagram of him hanging out with frequent collaborator, Thundercat, a virtuoso bassist, and Herbie Hancock, one of the most innovative and celebrated jazz composers and pianists still around, one could see there was a lot going into Flying Lotus’ fifth album.
While he already has four albums under his belt that showcase a sound that has influenced a whole generation of beat makers, You’re Dead! looks to continue that trend. In addition to Herbie Hancock, this album also features Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Flying Lotus’s rapping alter ego Captain Murphy and other recurring collaborators of the producer. The only single released for now, “Never Catch Me,” has Kendrick Lamar displaying the flow that helped get his debut album to become a classic over a frenetic Flying Lotus beat that is contained by Thundercat’s prodigal bass playing.
In interviews, Flying Lotus has spoken about how he was trying to attain more “prog vibes” with this album. If “Never Catch Me” is any inclination of these “vibes,” then this album is looking to show another case of the producer’s success with musical experimentation.
