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Ang Low x Embody • Drive

It’s hard to find a mixture of neo-soul r&b and electronic music but Brooklyn’s Ang Low does just that - adding prominent textures to London’s Embody yet both never overpowering the other. Give them a listen.

xx V.

[aftr-drk]

MOVEMENT

Blending ear pleasing electronics and soulful R&B rhythms is Sydney’s MOVEMENT, signed on to Modular People. They join a new era of genre-bending artists that cause a state of trance with their electrical hums and soft spoken vocals. 

xx V.

[aftr-drk]

IDYLL

Immersed in seductive vocals and ethereal aesthetics comes IDYLL, a dark pop duo consisting of Angelina Lucero and Jojo Wang. Their baroque qualities hone to their penchant for all things gothic. Along with their 4 track EP release, they’ve teamed up with OO artists to create an atmospheric ‘experience’ here.

[aftr-drk]

Murlo

From the Midlands, but based out of London, Murlo's been making waves for a while. Murlo is an artist of many sounds dabbling in everything from tropical house to grime to dancehall. His music is difficult to define as he amalgamates sounds from many genres to create music that is unqiue and entirely his own. Simply put, you'll know a Murlo track when you hear it. Deep Breathe is one of our favourite tracks which features the sweet soothing R&B vocals of Gemma Dunleavy, which Murlo perfectly mixes into a classic grime beat.

Murlo will be making his Canadian premiere at M.I.A. in Vancouver on May 6. You can cop tickets here: http://bit.ly/1abHBdt. xoxo S.

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Swick & Lucid • Rubber

if you’ve ever wanted to hear something that might melt your brain, then Swick and Lucid have what you need - their collaboration Rubber, does just that. Saturated in textured bubbles and industrial sounds, this song situates itself between listenable to almost too much for the faint of heart.

xx V.

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Martin $ky • Everywhere But Here

From Chicago comes Martin $ky, producer and rapper that plays with a darker aesthetic that we’re so keen on. Transcending between cloud rap and Fifty Grand type drip beats, Martin $ky offers vibrato bass lines and choral synths that adds layers of haunting undertones accompanied by smooth lyricisms. Collaborating with Young Chop and working with Casey Veggies, Saba and Rockie Fresh, the sky’s the limit.

xx V.

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Jazz Cartier • Marauding In Paradise

Breakout rapper Jazz Cartier just released his debut album Marauding In Paradise and has widen the eyes for Americans everywhere as to where we (Canadians) stand in innovative hip hop. With Toronto being oversaturated with OVO this and Drake that, it’s refreshing to see another artist strive in the way that Jazz Cartier has. Through his 16 track album, it carries a dark aesthetic that takes on a story of honest realities while appealing to the most sinister.

xx V.

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Dez • Past Descriptions

With a mixture of jazz and the remnants of Odd Future-esque tendencies comes Dez’ Past Descriptions - lyrical poetics matched with low voiced bravados. To be honest, the whole album is gold; filled with ear pleasing productions (by FALCO I might add) that are complimented with Dez’ smooth flow. What did stand out was whatiscold featuring NYC-based Jalal Salaam, sounding very similar to Ratking’s Wiki.

xx V.

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Surfing • Warlock

1080p graces us with a new track by Surfing - a more techno-club heavy alter ego by NYC’s Portable Sunsets. Warlock entrances you with the repeated samples and heavily textured rhythms. Grab the album S/T on their bandcamp here.

xx V.

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Beau Young Prince

Sounding like a mixture of Schoolboy Q and Jay Prince, this Washington DC rapper has collaborated with the likes of Astro Zu and Bearcubs - just to name a few. His rap flow paces between smooth cuts to sharp vocal stabs, complimenting each and every producer he's worked with and has just been featured on Annie Mac.

xx V.

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Guest Mix • PRIMAT

French beat makers PRIMAT takeover our guest mix with a selections of songs from the depths of the amazon. Following this, we've sat down to discuss what they've been up to since the last time we interviewed them over a year ago! Primat has come a long way since we first talked back in 2013. What has happened since then and do you think that your style has changed production wise? Everything has changed for Pierre and I (Antoine) but the spirit is still the same. We created Primat to make whatever we want to do without any predefined artistic direction and we are happy to say that almost two years after that we are in the same state of mind.

To get into more detail, we joined the Cosmonostro crew in late December (2013) right after we released our first EP named Old World - referenced to the old world monkeys. And during the next months, we released a few songs on Cosmonostro. We are now working on our second EP and a new project called Octagon as sound designers.

At the same time we launched a new project called The Hot Jupiters. We wanted to outsource our work with rappers and to launch something participative. The Hot Jupiter is a new canvas for us! We can invite whoever we want to collaborate with. It’s really funny! Everything’s out under the name The Hot Jupiters so there’s no egotrip, it’s only about creation. The first EP was released in October 2013 with our friend Chévon from Connecticut. We have 3 more collaborations to come with artists from Portland, Paris and Miami.

All in all « work » and « diversity » are the magic words for Primat since its creation and it’s just the beginning of our journey. We want to thank everyone for their support. Nothing would have been possible without them... and the internet.

You just worked on a collaborative piece for Octagon, tell us a bit more about that - will there be future projects in the works? Öctagon is an independent skateboarding video project conducted by three friends from our hometown: Joaquim Bayle in charge of filming, Nicolas Decatoire, designing all the graphics and the visual identity and Clément Vanpeperstraete dealing with the production.

The video will be out soon and it is also supported by Carhartt. It was really crazy to participate to this project as it’s our first sound designing project. We learned a lot of things and it was a real pleasure to collaborate with Joaquim, Nicolas and Clément as we have the same vision creatively speaking.

Primat belongs to Cosmonostro - has this influenced and helped Primat into growing into what it is now? For sure, Cosmo has been our best ally since we met. 96, the founder, is as an awesome person. He guides us but never imposes our vision. We are totally free, there’s no pressure. Cosmo is like a big family for us! We met incredible, creative and intelligent people there. We are definitely happy to grow in this spaceship. We are primates in the cosmos. It seems legit after all.

And finally, what is so special about 'primates'? It’s a funny question because at first we choose the name Primat for its sound and it's superficial connotation. But along the way, we gathered information about monkeys and realized how akin we are to them. So what is so special about them? Exactly the same qualities that make us love the human kind: their capacity to create, to love, to work together, to act like dicks sometimes, to evolve.

Primat - ??? (exclu) Mike Will Made It - Intro ft. Big Sean DVNGLEz - Nyctophilia Trappy Stick - ??? (exclu) Primat - Bengale (exclu) O.T. Genasis - Coco (DTWEEZER REMIX) Primat - Azathoth Alexander Lewis - Seasons Rvdical The Kid & MisterMack - Ethereal ANH-K - Onirii (exclu) LL - two sides bootleg Twinztrack - Infinit Primat - Kano (Chevon Freestyle) (exclu) Primat - Tonny B. (exclu) Persian Empire - Das Damokles Schwert Twenty9 & CBR - You're The One (exclu) Fyrkat - Hello Primat - ??? (exclu) Great Dane - i do this for miss gladys Craneuhm - Almond Eyes (exclu) Habstrakt & Phazz - Silk Mike Will Made It - Don't Trust (feat. Juicy J) STAS - ur luv Blakesmith - Nonchalance Paul Chin - Sparrow Eye (Ouska Remix) AFTR DRK.

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#TBT | Madeaux • Epinephrine

We dedicate our Throwback Thursday to this epically beautiful song by one of our faves: Madeaux and Gallant. With a falsetto similar to How To Dress Well, Gallant's vocals are perfectly intertwined with the cresendoing synths.

Also check out our interview with him way back in the past here. xx V.

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Leo Kalyan

We just stumbled upon vocalist-songwriter-producer Leo Kalyan and can already tell he's on the cusp of some well-deserved success. He's produced some amazing upbeat remixes coupled with beautifully smooth originals. Over the past months he's released two stunning originals, which were the beginnings of an impressive, just released Stranger mixtape. In this he amalgamates outstanding originals and impressive covers. Keep your eye out for this one.

xoxo S.

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Jazz Cartier

Toronto native Jazz Cartier is one of the leaders in the "renaissance happening in right now [where] the city is more alive than ever." His take on hip hop and rap changes drastically from song to song, avoiding being categorized into a certain genre. With Rose Quartz/Like, Crazy, he starts off smooth and jazzy then swiftly changes into more of an intrusive tone - all while telling a narrative placed through samples from Toro Y Moi and indie film Like, Crazy. Compare this to Switch or Set Fire, songs filled with more aggression and rawness that is hard to come by in Canadian hip hop. Member of Get Home Safe, a Toronto-based collective of producers and rappers, Jazz Cartier is definitely one to watch in 2015. Watch out for his forthcoming mixtape Marauding In Paradise, coming out this fall.

xx V.

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AFTR DRK × MØ and Erik Hassle

We sat down with MØ and Erik Hassle during their first show in Vancouver at Fortune Sound Club back in May. This is our most anticipated interview yet so check it out! AFTR DRK.

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Guest Mix • Civilian

One of our very good friends Civillian has made an eclectic mix of trap, house and bass music that'll get you out of those Monday blues! Originally from Ontario, this Vancouver local dabbles in film, photography, cinematopher and live visuals as well as DJing in Gangstronauts and his solo project Civillian. We sat down with him to ask a couple of questions so read up, plug in those earphones and let's get ~vibey ʘ‿ʘ

What are your top five most influential songs as of late? Hard to just pick 5 tracks but I’ll tell you some of my recent finds that I am stoked on: 

Anything by the dude Woolymammoth - He’s an 18 year old from San Francisco on some serious heady/psychedelic trap business. Super intricate sound design and gangsta as fuck. Notable track: TRY ME The whole “Pay Attention” EP by ZEKE BEATS that dropped a few days ago absolutely huge. Remixes by Ta-ku and Subp Yao on there as well. You can get it at Saturated Records for free for a limited time right now. Notable track: Co-Motion And I know I’m late on this one but I just got on the Alix Perez train... I had never heard of him when I saw him play at Redroom for a SUBculture Saturday and was completely floored. That guy is as grimey as it gets. Notable track: I Am Legion - Farrda (Alix Perez Remix) Vibe is a very important aesthetic, what do you try to conceive to listeners when picking tracks? I think you kinda answered your own question - I try to create a consistent vibe. There are a few variables to consider when trying to create the vibe; what’s happened before, what’s going to happen after, the nature of the environment (time and place), what people expect, and of course what I think is good. I try to use all of these to create a harmonious vibe that will be satisfactory to everyone listening. Seeing as you DJ through two different namesakes, do you think it's important or necessary to have these divisions in order to play certain genres? I don’t think that anything in art is “necessary”. But the reason I am using two different names to release stuff under is just simply the nature of the projects. Civillian is a name that I chose for myself to release all of my art under. So if I release a mix that I did myself, or a film that I directed, they would both be released under the name Civillian. Gangstronauts, the other namesake that I think you are referring to, is a collaboration between myself and Maximus. We both share a common background in visual storytelling (he has been doing projection mapping and VJ’ing for several years and I have been making films since I was 14). We both also have a common taste for a certain area of electronic music that is both very psychedelic and also very gangster. With these things in common, we decided to to collaborate on an Audio/Visual performance project. We aim to combine the emotional impact of a visual narrative with that of a DJ set in a club or party environment. Our next performance will be November 28th at Vancouver Art and Leisure with INEO Studios opening up for our homie from the bay Mihkal. Being a filmmaker and having other creative abilities, do you feel that this gives you an advantage in setting an overall mood in a curated mix? Well... I never really thought of it like that. But one of my favourite parts of making a film is putting the music on top of the footage. If you chose the right song, the footage just comes to life. I suppose you could say the same thing about choosing the right song for the moment at a party. That idea aside though, I think the biggest advantage just comes from having been a creative person for my whole life. What is your favourite thing to do after dark? Drink beer and dance!

Orphan's Son (Ekali Remix) - Eli MuroJuicy Dreamz (Sayer Remix) - IntellitardUP - CVNDLES ft. GEEKD UPFly - SayerWiggle - LoscoFarrda (Alix Perez Remix) - I Am LegionI Own It (Jauz Remix) - Nacey Ft. Angel HazeThe Gettup - Justin Martin & Eats EverythingLifted Me Higher (Saytek's Acid Sandwich Remix) - Edmond BinogeTarantula - PleasurekraftLive Illegal - WilksG Thang - WilksAnd I Say (Xinobi Edit) - Nicolas JaarSugar Man (Semtac & Semih Remix) - Rodriguez AFTR DRK.

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Chelsea Grimm • Feral Edit

Taking cues from one of the most influencial bands of all time, Chelsea Grimm has recreated the pitter patter of Radiohead's Feral with more melodious tendencies. Using the same acoustics, Chelsea Grimm adds layers of synths and calculated rhythms, tightening and bringing together the echoed disarray heard in the original. This edit was featured on a collective edits pack from locals Electric Input. Download it for free here.

xx V.