July album roundup

July album roundup

3 August, 2010 | 7.37AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: alan fitzpatrick, album of the week, album roundup, christopher willits, contagious music, diskjokke, donna regina, feindrehstar, greie gut fraktion, hernan cattaneo, james pants, jimmy edgar, kompakt, mount kimbie, oriol, ost & kjex, spoek mathambo, tiefschwarz, tim xavier

Every month, dozens of great albums get released on Beatport, but they can often get lost in the shuffle of tracks and EPs. We single out some of our favorites for the Album of the Week, but that barely scratches the surface.

To help you keep up with the best in Beatport’s catalog, here’s a roundup of some of the key full-lengths that came out in July (plus a few from June that we forgot about!), including albums from John Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo, Jimmy Edgar, Mount Kimbie, James Pants, Tiefschwarz, Wehbba, and many more, and ranging from ambient and chillout to deepest tech house and proper, no-holds-barred techno.

Burger/Ink, ‘Las Vegas 2010’ [Kompakt]

Mike Ink (aka Wolfgang Voigt) and Jorg Burger’s ambient-techno classic from 1996 gets a long overdue reissue. A cornerstone of the Kompakt story.

Hernan Cattaneo, ‘Renaissance: The Masters Series – Hernan Cattaneo & Parallel’ [Renaissance]

Hernan Cattaneo explores the deeper side of progressive house and beyond, with this double-length mix featuring Martin Garcia, Marc Marzenit, Henry Saiz, Alex.47, and even Future Beat Alliance and Sigur Ros.

John Digweed, ‘Structures’ [Bedrock]

John Digweed celebrates a dozen years of Bedrock with a mammoth package including two full-length mixes, 33 (mostly exclusive) cuts, six bonus tracks, and a live set from Bedrock’s party at the Vagabond during WMC.

Diskjokke, ‘En Fin Tid’ [Artspages]

Just because we’re running out of clever ways to describe Norwegian disco’s unlikely tangle of influences (Krautrock, Balearic beats, Italo) doesn’t mean that the music is running out of steam. Quite the opposite: Diskjokke’s new album picks up where Lindstrom and Prins Thomas leave off, with even more oomph for the dancefloor. (Don’t miss his brand-new ‘1987’ EP on Full Pupp, featuring remixes from Prins Thomas and Ost & Kjex. He’s also got a killer new collaboration with Mungolian Jetset’s Strangefruit, ‘Ghost in the Machine’.

Jimmy Edgar, XXX [K7]

Detroiter and former Warp signee Jimmy Edgar has a new label, K7, and a new sound. Or is that an old sound? Moving away from the IDM detailing of earlier releases, he sinks deep into slinky electro-funk that’s sure to please fans of Drexciya, Dam-Funk, and even Chromeo.

Feindrehstar, ‘Vulgarian Knights’ [Musik Krause]

Produced by Jackmate aka Soulphiction, the debut album from Germany’s Feindrehstar showcases the seven-piece band’s unconventional take on funk, jazz, and broken beat.

Alan Fitzpatrick, ‘Shadows in the Dark’ [Drumcode]

The debut album from rising Drumcode star Alan Fitzpatrick is everything you’d expect: brain-frying, goosebump-raising techno, surly and swirly in equal measure.

Greie Gut Fraktion, ‘Baustelle’ [Monika Enterprise]

AGF and Gudrun Gut team up for this dark, unsettling journey through the nether regions of dubstep-tinged electronica.

Spoek Mathambo, ‘Mshini Wam / Gwababa’ [BBE]

Forget about vuvuzelas and Die Antwoord: this is the real sound of South Africa. Hip-hop, house, and kwaito come together in this mammoth collection of singles and remixes that ought to appeal to fans of DJ Mujava, UK funky, the Man Recordings label, and the ‘Ayobaness!’ comp.

Mount Kimbie, ‘Crooks and Lovers’ [Hotflush]

A gorgeous, wispy report from the far edge of the dubstep universe, courtesy Scuba’s Hotflush Recordings. Fans of Burial and Boards of Canada take note.

On, ‘Something That Has Form and Something That Does Not’ [Type]

On’s Sylvain Chauveau and Steven Hess team up with Austrian experimental hero Fennesz, who takes their brushed percussion and abstracted improv and gives it an ambient rework; the results lie somewhere between dreamy chillout fantasias and the full-bore intensity of Sunn O))).

Oriol, ‘Night and Day’ [Planet Mu]

Our Album of the Week last week is a dynamic, shape-shifting tour of electronic funk and soul whose moods seem to change with the angle of the light and the lateness of the hour.

Ost & Kjex, ‘Cajun Lunch’ [Diynamic]

Another cheeky and cheerfully mindblowing album from Oslo’s Ost & Kjex: colorful, occasionally goofy house and disco for fans of Holy Ghost!, Lindstrom, Prins Thomas, Mungolian Jetset, or labels like DFA, Tigersushi, Bear Funk, and Internasjonal.

James Pants, ‘New Tropical’ [Stones Throw]

James Pants hoists up his britches and busts out a short-but-sweet mini-album of leftfield electro, dub reggae, and hip-hop. Just the thing for a bike ride to the beach.

Donna Regina, ‘The Decline of Female Happiness’ [Karaoke Kalk]

On her first album in three years, Donna Regina returns to the acoustic instruments and avant-pop we’ve come to know and love. For fans of Kompakt, Juana Molina, Getz & Gilberto, et al.

Tiefschwarz, ‘More Chocolate’ [Souvenir Plus]

Ali, Basti, and Santé complement their recent album ‘Chocolate’ with seven more tracks of dusky, sensual tech-house, heavy on sampled percussion, tripped-out voices, and dark, buzzing synths.

Various, ‘Sound of Contagious’ [Contagious Music]

MRK1, Virus Syndicate, Skream, Jack Sparrow, Marlow, Fox, and Chimpo feature on this 15-track collection of bad-bwoy dubstep and grime.

Wehbba, ‘Full Circle’ [Tronic]

After releasing dozens of singles and comp tracks over the past few years, the prolific Brazilian producer Wehbba finally drops his debut album. Deep, functional, filter-happy house and tech house is the order of the day.

Christopher Willits, ‘Tiger Flower Circle Sun’ [Ghostly International]

Axe-wielding, MAX-patching wizard Christopher Willits gets all mystical on this blissed-out collection of ambient pop and digital shoegaze.

Tim Xavier, ‘Viperfish’ [Clink]

Top-notch sound design and hypnotic grooves distinguish Tim Xavier’s 10-track album of techno, tech house and true-school minimal.

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