This month’s edition is curated by Deadbeat, the Canadian artist and dub archivist born Scott Monteith. As lockdown measures lighten throughout the world, Monteith has reflected on this period of uncertainty and presented music from friends who play a central role in his life as a professional musician in Berlin. Though he’s worked with many of these featured artists closely for over two decades, the most recent collaborations and conversations reflect his continuing desire for growth and new perspectives, above all else. As such, our 23rd edition is a celebration of community spirit in the truest sense, and testament to the power of close-knit collective action.
Although it comes from various artists, this collection of music has been sequenced so as to be listened to in one complete sitting, playing out like a concept album. We begin with “Nature,” from Mentrix, the Iranian artist born Samar Rad, which paves the way for Deadbeat’s dub treatment, which maintains the ritualistic nature while looping Rad’s vocals in a soup of delay. Deadbeat also delivers a long out-of-print remix of Monolake (a.k.a. Robert Henke) before T.Raumschmiere, Monteith’s friend and studio mate, cools things down with “Klaus. That’s about halfway.
Deadbeat continues with a dub version of “Exobase_Scarlotti,” from PC Nackt, who is the founder of Berlin’s Studio Chez Cherie. Incidentally, that’s where Deadbeat recorded ‘Sueños de la Joya,’ a full album collaboration with Chilean sound poet Martin Bakero Carrá that closes this edition. Here, for the first time, the album is available as a 58-minute continuous mix. The penultimate track is a Deadbeat collaboration with Paul St Hilaire (a.k.a. Tikiman), which underlines the quality of a package dominated by dub business of the highest order from one of the game’s finest.
Please enjoy, and thank you for your continued support,
The XLR8R team.
credits
released August 6, 2020
Track 1 written and produced by Samar Rad.
Track 2 written and produced by Samar Rad and remixed by Scott Monteith.
Track 3 written and produced by Robert Henke and remixed by Scott Monteith.
Track 4 written and produced by Marco Haas.
Track 5 written and produced by Patrick Christensen and remixed by Scott Monteith.
Track 6 written and produced by Scott Monteith and Paul St. Hilaire.
Track 7 written and produced by Scott Monteith and Martín Bakero.
supported by 27 fans who also own “XLR8R+023 (Deadbeat, Mentrix, T.Raumschmiere, Paul St Hilaire, Martin Bakero, Robert Henke, and PC Nackt)”
All the tracks are great but Stepper is the standout for me! pounding syncopated kicks, rolling handdrums and playful sample work, dancefloor destroyer. Jack G.
supported by 25 fans who also own “XLR8R+023 (Deadbeat, Mentrix, T.Raumschmiere, Paul St Hilaire, Martin Bakero, Robert Henke, and PC Nackt)”
Moodymann creates innovative soul funky music with deep 70s inspiration. The vocals are simply outstanding. A step back in time, 50 years ago! Superb. jef37
supported by 23 fans who also own “XLR8R+023 (Deadbeat, Mentrix, T.Raumschmiere, Paul St Hilaire, Martin Bakero, Robert Henke, and PC Nackt)”
My god, what an absolutely incredible Suite. I'll admit, I've struggled to get into Pharoah Sanders due to diving headfirst into some of his most challenging catalogue and that never worked. This is the perfect place to restart. Floating Points is new for me and I can honestly say I've never heard synthesizer music this lush and organic before. the LSO is just perfect. This is one of those albums that any serious music fan needs in their life. The perfect swan song for the great Pharaoh! 5/5 ClassyMusicSnob