Strictly for the weirdos! Blisspop’s Lost & Sound returns to 9:30 Club Backbar tomorrow night (5/12) to deliver a healthy dose of deep, sexy, weird house and techno for all the local miscreants.

This time around, Blisspop DJs Will Eastman and Chris Nitti will be joined by special guest Prab K.

Let’s get lost.

Details:
Blisspop’s Lost & Sound
Backbar – 815 V St NW
11 pm, $5, 21+
RSVP

Paris/Berlin-based production and DJ duo Terranova (Fetisch and &ME) recently released their Question Mark Remixes EP via Kompakt, featuring vocals from Scandanavian underground rock vocalist Tomas Høffding (of WhoMadeWho) and remixes from KiNK and Adam Port.

KinK’s remix evokes a dark, emotive storm with the addition of rain sticks, dark synths and a chalky bassline -

Tomas Høffding’s falsetto drips over Adam Port’s deep, thumping, percussive tribal remix -

Grab Question Mark Remixes over at Beatport.

Hear Kompakt’s best at U Street Music Hall on May 24th when label-head Michael Mayer spins open to close. More information here.

Ironbound, the new five-track EP from Chris Malinchak on French Express, is a pleasure-inducing tour of hi-hats, vocal chops, and 90′s dance sounds. This is slow house, but will leave sweat dripping down the walls of most clubs. That’s important, because he plays U Street Music Hall on May 26th.

The release opens with “There I Was (Again),” a reversion of his popular track released in January. The reversion is a welcome update, not least of all because it’s missing the sample/interpolation of Diplo’s “Look At Me Now” beat. Aren’t you glad these reviews come with such opinionated nerdery?

Instead, “There I Was (Again)” is full of phased and flanged and filtered vocals that would make Alan Braxe blush. And the breakdown we get? So satisfying. Starts with some really simple electric piano pads, but quickly gets interrupted by aggressive vocal chops that build into a nice sustained groove to finish out the track.

A quick tour through the other tracks:

“Brooklyn Bounce” does just that – the thin synthesized drum kit bounces and stutters across the track while the vocal samples yell out “Two-step!” Malinchak adds in some nice sub-bass and airy synths to round things out.

One of the standout tracks on Ironbound is “Fuego.” As a sucker for global group vocals, this track feels un-hateable, but if that doesn’t do it for you then the throw-back 90′s horn/organ stabs should.

“Razor 2.0” uses white noise to great effect in its synth lines, making the whole track feel much larger and more… epic. Combined with the vocals that sound like they were sampled through a walkie-talkie, the track risks taking things a turn for the lo-fi but Malinchak balances it out with exquisite engineering on the other synths and drum line. The production feels clean, strong.

The closer on the EP is “Kuzari.” The sonar whine and organ (which serves double duty as synth and bass) move the track through with purpose. The vocals are quite literally crying out with aspiration “I wanna be.” The only downside is the synth line at the end of the track gets so little play. Someone should really make use of it in a remix.

In the DC area? Check out Chris on May 26th with Oliver.

Tonight, Mannheim’s own Nick Curly (8Bit/Cecille) stops at U Street Music Hall amidst one of only three U.S. tour dates, in lieu of his debut album Between The Lines (released back in March). We had the chance to catch up with him before the show to discuss the tour, his beginnings in breakbeat, emotionally connecting with his audience and Rajo.

See Nick Curly tonight at U Street Music Hall with Chris Nitti – doors open at 10pm, entry is free before 11pm for ages 21+. RSVP here. 

Keep reading…

We introduced you to German house duo Hufschlag & Braun back in December, and since then they haven’t gone astray from their highly anticipated work. They’ve been moving along quite well over the past few months, rounding out their first year in production, performing at various festivals throughout western Germany, and now finally releasing their debut EP Train to Cologne. The EP was digitally released on Monday via Popcorn Records and contains three hand-selected originals along with an upbeat remix from tech house duo, Coma.

The album is now available for purchase on Beatport and you can preview the tracks below before buying. Track list includes:

1. Train To Cologne
2. Train To Cologne (CoMa Remix)
3. Notre Dame (Original Mix)
4. Petit Prince (Original Mix)

Hufschlag & Braun – Train To Cologne EP (previews)

The three originals within the EP are only a few of the many that they’ve been streaming online over the past year. Amongst them stands out the glitchy, yet soothing track titled “Horizont,” a personal favorite, have a listen below.

Hufschlag & Braun – Horizont