Projections is one of the early 2015 releases (02/23) but even with the months gone by it’s an album that has a consistently growing number of plays in my iTunes. Romare (cover image) is influenced by Romare Bearden, a well-known cut’n’paste artist/collagist, and that influence comes through vividly in Projections. The album is subtly adventurous with atmospheric opening sounds, vivid vocal samples, heavy hooks, and full of surprises. Highlight tracks are “Lover Man,” “Motherless Child,” and “Work Song,” though the collection needs to be heard in order – at least the first time.

Lane 8 Rise

Lane 8 is known for his collaborative skills with both vocalists and other producers. Whether it’s a remix of a well-known ODESZA track or a Lane 8 original, his tracks have a certain je ne sais quoi. Rise is a great example of his multiple talents bringing together his signature instrumental sounds and the voices of Solomon Grey, Matthew Dear and Patrick Baker into a single journey. The record starts on a high note with “Loving You” and takes you on an emotional roller coaster with tracks like “Undercover” (give it time to grow on you) and “Hot As You Want.”

Maribou State Portraits

The debut album of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, aka Maribou State, Portraits is like a box full of pleasant surprises. The album was released on Counter Records, a Ninja Tune imprint, and it is immediately clear why the label took interest in the duo: their sound is a combination of emotive instrumentation and clean rhythms with an occasional oriental influence and rich textures. Start this listen out of order with “Steal,” featuring Holly Walker.

Marcus Marr & Chet Faker Work EP

This four-track release came as a bit of a surprise. Marr and Faker bring the best out of each other – punchy dance beats and balanced, imprinting vocals. It’s hard to tell how many times I went through the EP, but I can shamelessly admit that “Birthday Card” was played on an aggressive repeat.

Yppah Tiny Pause

Yppah took a break, a fairly long break since his last record in 2012 (Eighty One) but the time lost was more than made up with his latest release, Tiny Pause. The album is an intimate collection of tracks built around his signature sound (a blend of electronic, psychedelic and rock influences). The tracks are a progression of sounds from chill background music like “Spider Hands” to faster songs that need to be heard loud, like “Bushmills.”

Until The Ribbon Breaks A Lesson Unlearnt

Having had just listened to the album on the day of the release, I had the pleasure of attending a UTRB show the night of it’s release. Since that night this trio holds a special place in my musical soul. Clean, emotional, at times political and surprisingly adventurous in their collaborations with Run the Jewels in “Revolution Indifference,” UTRB are what pop music should grow up to be.

Humans Noontide

Humans are one of those bands you probably know about because a friend insisted that you listen to “Ennio.” Or maybe you accidentally saw them at a festival, one of many they appeared at this year. Who knows, maybe you discovered them all on your own because you’re cool like that. However you learn about Humans you are likely to keep tabs on them in the future. The bottom line is that this BC duo are why local producers should not be overlooked – Noontide is an expertly produced, dramatic and memorable record that comes to life in full color during a live performance.

Bob Moses Days Gone By

Bob Moses dropped their debut album Days Gone By on September 18th, but by then their fan-base was already filling club venues around North America. This is a band that went from zero to a hundred in a year and undoubtedly will keep surprising the music industry in the future. Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance bring together organic band sounds into an all-electronic production project fronted by a live guitar on tour.

Khai If You

Khai has been dropping tracks one at a time for a few months, each one repeat worthy so when the full EP came together in a single release as If You it was one to add to the favourites. Khai’s voice is calming and the music itself is very gentle, ethereal in a way, but don’t mistake if for background music – If You is an early party staple, something you can play before breaking into the two previously mentioned albums. 

Tora High Enough

Another full release from Australia, Tora make lush, lyrical electronic music. At times giving way to vocals without any musical accompaniment, the band is playful and adventurous with their mixes. This is easily the year’s most overlooked release.

The post Editor’s pick: 10 best albums of 2015 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Goldstein has been in and around music since childhood, playing in bands and whatnot, but when Lane 8 formed as a music concept the industry noticed. His music is melodic electronic, often layered with vivid vocals and over the last year or so he’s been taking on the world one step at a time. Being a fan of Lane 8 music, his most recent release Rise and pretty much everything that preceded, Quip decided to spend some time getting to know Goldstein through an informal interview.

Kateryna Topol: You’ve had a fairly close relationship with music since the age of 6, do you feel like you’ve found your voice and style with Lane 8?

Daniel Goldstein: I think music has always been my outlet to show my voice and style – while my music became technically more advanced over the years and reached more people, my need to create music and show it to people is still coming from the same place.

KT: Your new album, Rise, just dropped this month, how did it come together? 

DG:  It was done all over the place, as all my music is done these days. Ideas were generally started at home or on the road on my laptop, refined into instrumental demos, and then brought to the studio for vocal recording. Then I would finish the songs at my home studio.

KT: Do you have a favorite track on the album?

DG: “Rise” is my favorite – it’s why we named the album Rise, in fact. I find it to be the most complete track that I’ve done to date, an accurate summary of where I’ve been and a hint at where I’m going. It was also a huge labor of love, probably the most time I’ve ever spent on a single track.

KT: You’ve said before that one of your biggest influences are Pet Shop Boys and Pete Rock, was one of those the first record (tape?) you ever owned or was it something else?

DG: My first CD was Backstreet Boys – a story which I wrote about here. However, I had already been listening to PSB heavily at that point, as they were a favorite of my father’s. I can remember reading Where’s Waldo? books when I was in elementary school while listening to Behaviour – so, in fact, I did get exposed to electronic music pretty early.

KT: Your North American headline tour kicks off on September 10th, but you are hitting up a few festivals over the summer, what are you looking most forward to on this tour?

DG: I’m in Australia right now about to begin my first tour over here, which is extremely exciting. Beyond that I’m really excited to come back to America, which, for me, is the most exciting place to play shows at the moment!

KT: What can the audience expect from a live show, will the tour consist of mostly live sets or DJ sets?

DG: While a live show is something that I’m actively working on all the time, my current tours are all DJ sets – I’ve spent the last 3 years developing the Lane 8 DJ set and am really enjoying that aspect of the project at the moment.

KT:  What was the first ever show you played as a DJ/producer, and how did it go?

DG: Besides a basement party here and there in college, my first gig I got purely off the back of my music was an absolute shitstorm. I got “hired” for no money to play in the storefront window of a club called Temple in San Francisco. They literally put me up there like a mannequin. I did about an hour’s set to people who happened to be walking by the club on their way to lunch and whatnot. My sister and a friend even turned up to laugh at me for a few minutes. It was embarrassing, but a funny story to tell now!

KT: That’s kind of priceless. Will you share with us something about yourself no one knows as a parting note?

DG: Well, we’ve only just met so it’s a bit early for secrets – but not many people know that I worked as a Geologist before I started the Lane 8 project. Rock on!

Cover image by Daniel Zetterstrom

The post Through the storefront window: An interview with Lane 8 appeared first on Quip Magazine.