[This release is exclusive to XLR8R+ subscribers for three months. Subscribe to download the full release, including the tracks, a PDF zine, wallpaper artwork, and more.]
Stream snippets of the tracks:
bit.ly/XLR8Rplus_ListenTo22
We've dedicated the 22nd edition of XLR8R+ to Black house music.
As a media outlet, especially one in the electronic music sphere, it’s imperative that we do all we can to amplify Black voices. In recognition of this, and to support the ongoing civil-rights movement that is dismantling centuries of oppression directed at the Black community, we're using this edition to give a platform to Black artists that we've long respected: Afriqua, Jenifa Mayanja, and AshTreJinkins.
We open the package with Afriqua, the alias of Adam Longman Parker, hailing from Virginia. Fitting for this edition, his track is called "Black Music," and it originates from the same recording sessions as Colored, his debut album. It's a groovy roller that he intended to keep as a secret weapon for his DJ sets. Next up is Jenifa Mayanja, a US deep house stalwart, who delivers a smooth and contemplative track with her own vocals, before AshTreJinkins, from Fresno, California, steps up to close the edition with a percussive house cut perfect for the warm-up or after-hours wind-down.
Our artwork this month also celebrates Black lives, coming from Los Angeles-based illustrator and tattoo artist Jayna Won, who has created "illustrations of Black hair that exude strength, unity, and beauty,” she explains. “The way I have been seeing my people during this time.”
Mastering is by Kamran Sadeghi—https://kamransadeghi.com/
For more information on how to support the fight for racial equality, please see our resources page here:
bit.ly/blacklivesmatter_resourcelist