News Round Up: 6/6/14

Watch Mumdance make a beat, check out details of a new drum machine from Acidlab and watch a Kerri Chandler interview at “the world’s friendliest party”.

Watch Mumdance make a grime beat. UK producer Mumdance (a.k.a. Jack Adams) shows us what he can do in just 10 minutes, producing a grime rhythm in his hardware-filled studio. As the beat comes together, Adams himself narrates the various steps he has taken, explaining in detail why and how each piece of gear is being utilised, in the latest episode of Don’t Watch That’s Beat This video series. Watch above.

Maschine camp with Mike Huckaby. Project Room.44’s intention is to enhance knowledge about the music industry in all its facets. In Hackney Wick, East London on June 10th, educator, sound designer and Motor City proponent Mike Huckaby will be demonstrating his knowledge about Native Instruments Maschine, giving feedback and answering a variety of audience questions. Only 8 places available; entrants must have Maschine 2.0 installed and running on their own laptop. Find out more here.

MDMA pioneer Shulgin dies. The pioneering medicinal chemist best known for introducing the world to MDMA in the 70s, Sasha Shulgin, who is credited with having sampled and synthesised over 200 psychedelic drug compounds, passed away last week aged 88. According to the Erowid Center, Shulgin “died peacefully surrounded by friends and family”. Find out more here.

DJ Rashad + DJ Spinn: Teklife in Monterrey. Pitchfork.tv‘s short film documenting a weekend in the life of late Chicago footwork luminary DJ Rashad and fellow producer DJ Spinn. Surrounding their performance at the Monterrey-based DIY music festival NRMAL, the film follows the duo’s experience from arrival to departure, capturing the event through their eyes. Watch it in full above.

Mo’ Wax: Label Focus. BBC Radio 1 DJ Benji B takes a retrospective look at UK-based label Mo’ Wax, which came to recognition for being at the forefront of trip-hop, turntablism and alternative hip-hop during the mid 1990s, with label founder and UNKLE musician James Lavelle. Listen here.

Beacons festival line-up additions. “Music & Arts in the Yorkshire Dales”, Beacons Festival adds even more exciting new acts to their already bold line-up, including Dusty, Neneh Cherry with RocketNumberNine, Pariah, PBR Streetgang & many more. Head here to buy tickets.

Kerri Chandler interview at “the world’s friendliest party”. The Boiler Room’s interview with deep house originator Kerri Chandler, who since the 90s has become a fixture at “the world’s friendliest party”, Southport Weekender, where he recently performed with a 10-piece band. Watch it above.

Mute to release live Plastikman album. Mute Records have announced details of a live album entitled EX from superstar techno DJ Richie Hawtin‘s under his Plastikman alias. The record, recorded at the Guggenheim in New York City, will be Hawtin’s first album as Plastikman since 2003, and is set to be released digitally, on vinyl, CD and “limited edition SubPac bundle”, which a Mute press release describes as “a unique portable bass system that allows an immersive music experience”. Watch the album trailer above – more info here.

The Whitest Boy Alive break up. The German-Norwegian quartet issued a fittingly poetic statement informing fans “we are no longer composing or playing together as The Whitest Boy Alive. The Rules we made for ourself became a Golden Cage. Thanks for all the support and love we have received during the years”. The band’s full statement here.

Acidlab’s 606 inspired Drumatix machine. The Bavarian manufacturer whose 303 clone brought them cult status, Acidlab announce details of their forthcoming analog drum machine Drumatix, whose design is based on the circuits of the Roland TR-606, but provides additional sounds and controllable parameters too. Pre-order here.

Free effects from B Serrano. IO, a set of 5 plugins, is driven by a “sophisticated GUI envelope” with a default time in seconds, but whose duration is theoretically infinite. “This envelope can run from 1 nanosecond to several minutes, hours…” Find out more and download here.