XLR8R (pronounced "accelerator") is a magazine and website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was founded as a newsprint ‘zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Seattle; the magazine currently has offices in San Francisco and New York. While XLR8R’s initial focus was on electronic music, it has over the years widened its scope to include indie rock, hip-hop, and reggae/ dancehall music as well as related trends in style, art, fashion, and technology.

XLR8R is published 10 times per year and distributed internationally. Special issues include a Music Technology issue, a year-end "Best Of" issue, and an entire issue devoted to the music scene of a particular city (Berlin, San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, New York, etc.). Subscribers receive Incite, a free monthly CD of tracks hand-picked by the magazine's editors.

Standout features of the publication include "Audiofile," a collection of short pieces on up-and-coming musicians; "Machines," a section devoted to technology (reviews, recording techniques of various artists, etc.); "Vis-Ed," a showcase of emerging illustrators, photographers, and designers; and "Bitter Bastard," a curmudgeonly rant on various frustrating topics within the music world. Each issue traditionally has hundreds of reviews of various albums, singles, compilations, books, and DVDs.

XLR8R’s website features breaking music and culture news, high-resolution music videos and free weekly MP3 downloads and podcasts. Additionally, back issues of the print magazine are accessible from 2003 to the present as freely downloadable PDFs.

In March 2007, XLR8R launched XLR8R TV, an internet TV show hosted by Revision3, with a new episode appearing every Tuesday. The show features musicians, artists and scenes covered in the pages of XLR8R magazine.

In 2011, XLR8R ceased publication of their print magazine and became a web only publication.

External links[link]

• xlr8r.com
• XLR8R TV

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2007)

Kieran Hebden
Hebden performs at the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Ohio
Background information
Also known as	Four Tet
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Electronic Folktronica IDM Jazz Post-dubstep Post-rock
Instruments	Piano, drums, guitar, harpsichord, horn, synthesizer
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Output Recordings Domino Records
Associated acts	Fridge, Steve Reid, Burial, Thom Yorke
Website	http://www.fourtet.net/

Kieran Hebden (born 1978, Putney, London) is a post-rock and electronic musician. Hebden first came to prominence as a member of the band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist under the moniker of Four Tet.

Hebden's music typically eschews the traditional pop song format in favour of a more abstract approach—his sound and melodies incorporate elements of hip hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk music with live instrumentation.

Alongside recording his own material, Hebden has also performed remixes for a number of artists including Aphex Twin, Anti-Pop Consortium, Bonobo, Beth Orton, Born Ruffians, Explosions in the Sky, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, Matthew Dear, Sia, Nathan Fake, Bloc Party, Andrew Bird, Kings of Convenience, Battles, Juana Molina, Madvillain, The xx, Foals, and Black Sabbath, as well as producing two albums by psychedelic improvisational group Sunburned Hand of the Man. Hebden's recent output includes a number of improvisational works with the late jazz drummer Steve Reid and collaborations with both Burial and Thom Yorke.

History[link]

Kieran Hebden was born in London to a South African-born Indian mother and a sociology lecturer father.^[1] He attended Elliott School in Putney,^[1] where he formed the band Fridge with classmates Adem Ilhan and Sam Jeffers. The band signed a recording contract when Hebden was 15,^[1] and released their first album in March 1997.

Hebden began releasing material as Four Tet in 1998 with the 36 minute, 25 second single Thirtysixtwentyfive on Trevor Jackson's Output Recordings label. Later that year, he released a second single, the jazz-influenced "Misnomer". 1999's Dialogue, again on Output, was Four Tet's first full-length album release and fused hip hop drum lines with dissonant jazz samples. This was followed by the double A-side single "Glasshead"/"Calamine", which was to be Four Tet's last release on Output.

In late 1999, Warp Records released Warp 10 + 3: Remixes, a tenth-anniversary compilation of remixes of Warp tracks; Hebden contributed a remix of the opening track of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II. This relatively high-profile exposure attracted new interest in Four Tet from fans of electronica and intelligent dance music, genres in which the Warp brand has a preeminent status.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, Four Tet's second album Pause was released on Domino Records and found Hebden using more folk and electronic samples, which was quickly dubbed "folktronica" by the media and press^{[citation needed]} in an attempt to label the style (often also applied to artists such as Isan and Gravenhurst). Rounds was released in May 2003. Three singles were released from the album: "She Moves She", "As Serious as Your Life", and "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth". This last single was released as an EP featuring remixes by electronica duo Icarus and Isambard Khroustaliov along with additional Four Tet tracks "I've Got Viking in Me" and "All the Chimers". An accompanying DVD featured all of Four Tet's videos to date. In addition, the closing track "Slow Jam" was featured in a U.S. Nike commercial in 2001 and 2002; Hebden edited the track on the back of the bus with his laptop while on a tour with Fridge.^{[citation needed]}

At the beginning of 2003, Four Tet opened for Radiohead on their European tour. A remix of the song "Scatterbrain" from Radiohead's sixth studio album Hail to the Thief was released in November 2003 as a B-side to the single "2 + 2 = 5" and later included on their 2004 EP COM LAG (2plus2isfive). Furthermore, Hebden was among the people thanked by Radiohead in the booklet accompanying their 2007 In Rainbows "discbox" release.

A live album named Live in Copenhagen 30th March 2004 was released in April 2004 as a limited edition, available exclusively from the Domino Records website.

In March and April 2005, Four Tet performed two shows of improvisational music, in collaboration with jazz drummer Steve Reid, in Paris and London. He also appears on Steve Reid Ensemble 2005 album Spirit Walk. This collaboration was extended into a series of international tours, and the release of two albums, The Exchange Session Vol. 1 and The Exchange Session Vol. 2 over the course of 2005 and 2006.

His fourth studio album Everything Ecstatic was released on Domino on 23 May 2005. The video for the lead single, "Smile Around the Face", features actor Mark Heap. On 7 November 2005, Domino released a DVD version of Everything Ecstatic featuring video clips for each track of the album plus a CD with new material, titled Everything Ecstatic Part 2, which was later made available as an individual EP.

Hebden has also remixed, under the Four Tet name, tracks by a wide range of artists including Tegan And Sara, Madvillain, Andrew Bird, Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals, Beth Orton, Badly Drawn Boy, CYNE, The Notwist, Boom Bip, Battles, Kings of Convenience, Lars Horntveth, Bonobo, Rothko, The xx, Thom Yorke and Radiohead. On 25 September 2006, Domino Records released Remixes, a two-disc compilation of Four Tet remixes. The first disc contains twelve Four Tet remixes selected by Hebden, with the second disc comprising every official remix to date (both by Hebden himself and by other artists) of Four Tet tracks, many of which had previously been available on vinyl only.^[2] A new EP, Ringer, was released on 21 April 2008.

In 2008, Hebden collaborated with composer David Arnold to write "Crawl, End Crawl", the song used for the end credits of the film Quantum of Solace.^[3]

In 2009, Hebden worked on a secret collaboration with Burial. The two track 12" was released with a plain black cover with no liner notes or details contained on the vinyl, other than the artists' names and the track titles: "Moth" and "Wolf Cub".

In November 2009, details of the fifth full-length Four Tet album were released. Heavily influenced by a stint DJing at the Plastic People club in Shoreditch^[4] and entitled There Is Love in You, it was released on 25 January 2010.^[5] The album was preceded by a limited edition release of the 12" single "Love Cry".

In 2011, Hebden released a split 12" with Burial and Thom Yorke, entitled "Ego/Mirror". He has been chosen by Caribou to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.^[6]

Selected discography[link]

Albums (as Four Tet)[link]

• Dialogue (Output Recordings, May 1999)
• Pause (Domino Records, 28 May 2001)
• Rounds (Domino Records, 5 May 2003) - UK #60^[7]
• Everything Ecstatic (Domino Records, 23 May 2005) - UK #59^[7]
• Remixes (Domino Records, 25 September 2006)
• Ringer (Domino Records, 21 April 2008)
• There Is Love in You (Domino Records, 25 January 2010) - #35 UK, #157 US

Mix albums[link]

• Late Night Tales: Four Tet (Azuli Records, 4 October 2004) (DJ mix album compiled by Hebden)
• DJ-Kicks: Four Tet (Studio !K7, 26 June 2006) (mix album in the DJ-Kicks series)
• FabricLive.59 (Fabric Records, September 2011) (mix album in the Fabric discography series)

Albums (as Kieran Hebden)[link]

• The Exchange Session Vol. 1 (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 27 February 2006)
• The Exchange Session Vol. 2 (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 22 May 2006)
• Tongues (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 19 March 2007)
• NYC (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 4 November 2008)

References[link]

• Guardian interview
• TheMilkFactory interview
• Sound On Sound interview
• Four Tet chooses his nine most influential records

External links[link]

• Official website
• Fourtet on SoundCloud
• Review of 'Sing' on the Daily Music Guide
• Kieran Hebden Red Bull Music Academy video lecture session
• Kieran Hebden on Myspace
• Kieran Hebden at Allmusic
• Kieran Hebden discography at MusicBrainz
• Four Tet on Andrew Meza's BTS Radio
• Four Tet Essential Mix
• Kieran Hebden interview @ MUTEK

Carl Craig
Background information
Also known as	BFC, Psyche, Paperclip People, 69, Designer Music, Innerzone Orchestra, No Boundaries
Born	(1969-05-22) May 22, 1969 (age 43)
Origin	Detroit
Genres	Detroit Techno, House
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Years active	1989 to present
Labels	Planet E
Website	http://www.planet-e.net/

Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs. According to an article about Craig, "Of this group, Craig was often recognised as being the most artful and the most willing to engage the rapidly growing shape of techno outside Detroit."^[1] Carl Craig has approached techno using inspiration from a wide range of musical genres, including jazz and soul.

Carl Craig has released many successful albums under a large number of aliases, such as BFC, Psyche, Paperclip People, 69, Designer Music and Innerzone Orchestra. He also had a hugely successful collaboration album with NYDJ Patrick Picasso. Using one alias, Innerzone Orchestra, he released perhaps his best-known track "Bug in The Bassbin" in 1992, a track that many regard as being a key influence in the then evolving sound of drum and bass.^[2]

Carl Craig has also created his own record label called Planet E Communications, which apart from his own work, has released records by well known techno and house artists like Kevin Saunderson, Alton Miller and Moodymann.

Craig served as co-creator and artistic director for the widely successful Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2000 and 2001. His subsequent dismissal by festival organizers caused substantial controversy within the Detroit techno community, igniting a high-profile campaign in his favor.^[3] In 2001, Craig filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against festival producer Pop Culture Media.^[4] Craig will return as artistic director for the 2010 festival, which is now produced by Paxahau.

Part of what makes Craig's style so unique and separates him from much of the normal "Detroit Techno" sound, including current works, are his remixes of world beat and jazz songs. This has helped spark a new movement of electronic music.^{[citation needed]}

Regarding the many positions he has held in the music industry (artist, producer, DJ, label boss, and more), Craig has said: "I have a bad habit of getting my hands dirty in every little thing, and I really do enjoy it."^[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Carl Craig: Landcruising, 1995
• 69: The Sound of Music, 1995
• Paperclip People: The Secret Tapes of Doctor Eich, 1996
• Carl Craig: More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art, 1997. Compare with Talking Heads' 1978 album More Songs About Buildings and Food
• Innerzone Orchestra: Programmed, 1999
• Carl Craig: The Album Formerly Known As…, 2005
• Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald: ReComposed, 2008

Selected singles and EPs[link]

• "No More Words" (12"), 1991
• 69: 4 Jazz Funk Greats (12" ep), 1991
• Paperclip People: "Throw" (12"), 1994
• "Science Fiction" (12"), 1995
• Paperclip People: "The Climax" (12"), 1995
• Paperclip People: "Floor" (12"), 1996
• "A Wonderful Life" (12"), 2002
• Just Another Day (12" ep), 2004
• "Sparkle / Home Entertainment" (12"), 2005
• "Darkness / Angel" (12"), 2006
• Paris Live (12"), 2007

DJ-mixes and compilations[link]

• DJ-Kicks: Carl Craig, 1996
• House Party 013: A Planet E Mix, 1999
• Designer Music Volume One, 2000. A compilation of remixes
• Abstract Funk Theory, 2001
• Onsumothasheeat, 2001
• The Workout, 2002
• Fabric 25, 2005
• From the Vault: Planet E Classics Collection Vol. 1, 2006
• Sessions, 2008 ^[6]
• BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, 2011

He also participated in the collaborations The Detroit Experiment (2003) and Sun Ra Dedication: The Myth Lives on (2003)

References[link]

1. ^ Exclaim.ca
2. ^ Amanda Nowinski, 'Free Jazz Meets Techno in the Innerzone' Billboard July 17, 1999 p. 29 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=kAgEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA29&ots=poshvVkvjb&dq=grooverider%20bug%20in%20a%20bassbin&pg=PA29#v=onepage&q=grooverider%20bug%20in%20a%20bassbin&f=false
3. ^ Brendan M. Gillen , "In gratitude," Metro Times Last accessed 14 November 2006
4. ^ Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, "Carl Craig Fires Back At Festival Organizers Who Fired Him," VH1 News VH1.com Last accessed 14 November 2006
5. ^ Stylusmagazine.com
6. ^ Microsite

See also[link]

• Planet E Communications Carl Craig's Detroit-Based Record label.
• Carl Craig interview, Beatportal Carl Craig interview, Beatportal
• Carl Craig discography at Discogs.
• Carl Craig at Bebo.
• DJ-Kicks.
• Microsite to his Sessions + free track download.
• Interview with DJ Times, 1999.
• Carl Craig RBMA lecture
• Beat Factor interview
• AV Club interview
• Resident Advisor interview
• Little White Earbuds interview

Eliot Lipp is a Brooklyn, NY based electronic music artist. He made a name for himself in the genre of electro when his work was picked up by Scott Herren of Prefuse 73 (Warp Records). Through Herren, Lipp was able to release his premiere album, S/T, on the Eastern Developments label in November 2004.

Music career[link]

Los Angeles was very much a temporary home for Lipp. It was a move that he made for his love of music and his pursuit of making it his career. He was able to juggle his time between a job at a coffeehouse and his time recording in his cramped studio.

After long and hot days of recording in the summer, Lipp finally got the break he was looking for. His work (the same tracks that were rejected by the club-goers of Chicago) found their way into the hands of Scott Herren (Warp Records) and Savath+Savalas (Hefty Records), or better known as Prefuse 73.^[1] Herren loved Lipp’s work and happily signed him onto his Eastern Developments record label in November 2004.

Lipp released the S/T LP that already displayed signs of what is now his signature sound by utilizing Sequential Circuits and Korg ms-20 synths. Music became such a huge part of his life, consuming all of his time and energy, that he left his coffeehouse job on New Years day so he could devote all of his time to music production. Tacoma Mockingbird, released in January 2006,^[2] was Lipp’s next LP and released on Hefty Records, who has signed Savath & Savalas, Telefon Tel Aviv, and Smaze. Tacoma Mockingbird, Eliot’s second album, is all music which reminds him of his home Tacoma, Washington. The album took him an entire year to record.. On Lipp's third LP, Steele Street Scraps, he was able to collaborate with renown electronic musicians John Hughes and Earmint. He recently released a new album in January 2009 called, "Peace Love Weed 3D", which features the single, Beamrider. It was first reported in urb.com.

Eliot Lipp moved to Brooklyn in 2006, where he now resides. He is also a member of Dark Party (with Leo 123) and Lipp Service (with members of Pnuma Trio). He has just formed a group with vyle, called Auburn; they are currently working on a full-length LP to be released in 2011.^{[dated info]}

Musical influences[link]

In his hometown, Lipp was influenced by mostly hip-hop artists such as RZA and DJs who have strong roots in hip-hop such as Madlib a.k.a. Quasimoto. When asked what musical genres he found the greatest influence from, Lipp responded, “Bay Area and Detroit rap, classic electro, 70's fusion, early 90's techno, and Chicago post-rock bands are all styles that influence my music.”^[3]

Discography[link]

• Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake CD/Digital/LP Release, Pretty Lights Music (May 22, 2012)
• Peace Love Weed 3D CD/Digital Release, Old Tacoma Records (January 27, 2009)
• Beamrider single, Old Tacoma Records (November 18, 2008)
• The Outside CD/Digital Release Mush Records (2008)
• City Synthesis CD/Digital Release Metatronix (2007)
• Steele Street Scraps CD/Double LP Hefty Records (2006)
• The Days Digital Release Only (2006)
• Tacoma Mockingbird CD/Double LP Hefty Records (2006)
• Immediate Action #10 12" single Hefty Records (2005)
• Rap Tight EP 12" single (2005)
• S/T Eastern Developments (2004)

Other Releases

• Wanna Be Nuero Collaboration with John Hughes (2006)
• Nakes Ninja Remix HIB1 (2006)
• Heat(exclusive track)- HIB2 (2006)
• Dice Hefty 10 12" EP (exclusive track) (2006)
• Remix for STS9-Artifact:Perspectives(1320 Records) (2005)
• Eliot Lipp (Eastern Developments) (2004)

External links[link]

• http://www.myspace.com/eliotlipp
• http://www.easterndevelopments.com/eliot.shtml
• http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,3077366,00.html
• http://db313.ath.cx/~sida/lipp.html
• http://heftyrecords.com/noflash.html?in_artistid=
• http://metatronix.com/#
• http://www.approachingserpents.com

References[link]

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (October 2008)

Beth Ditto
Beth Ditto at the Eurockéennes de Belfort 2011
Background information
Born	(1981-02-19) February 19, 1981 (age 31)
Origin	Searcy, Arkansas, US
Genres	Indie rock, post-punk
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Gossip

Mary Beth Patterson, known by her stage name Beth Ditto (born February 19, 1981, in Searcy, Arkansas)^{[citation needed]}, is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band Gossip.^[1]

Personal life[link]

At 13, she moved out of her mother’s house and went to live with her aunt.^[2] A resident of Portland, Oregon, she is a close friend of Scissor Sisters lead singer Ana Matronic, and considers her favorite song to be "Oh Bondage, Up Yours" by X-Ray Spex. She courted mild controversy in 2006 when, during an interview for NME magazine, she claimed to have eaten squirrels as a child, saying that "people in Arkansas just do – they'd think you were a freak if you ate squid there!"^[3]

Ditto is known for her noticeable stage dances and her unique and revealing image. She classes herself as a punk, and thus does not wear deodorant or shave under her armpits, having once remarked that "I think punks usually smell".^[4] She also formerly contributed an advice column on body image to The Guardian newspaper.^[5]

In February 2009, she was featured in London as the cover model for the premiere of Love magazine with prominent public advertising.^[6] On July 9, 2009, Beth's fashion collection for the UK retailer Evans was released for sale, both online, and in selected stores across the UK.^[7]

Ditto, who is a lesbian, is well known for her outspoken support of both LGBT and feminist causes.^[8]

Her most recent modeling work consisted of opening the^[9] Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2011 fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on October 2, 2010.

Discography[link]

"Beth Ditto EP" (2011)[link]

Track listing[link]

1. "Do You Need Someone" - 6'04
2. "Goodnight, Good Morning" - 7'00
3. "I Wrote The Book" - 3'57
4. "Open Heart Surgery" - 5'40

Singles[link]

Ditto at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Awards and nominations[link]

• 2006 – NME – Coolest Person In Rock – Won
• 2007 – NME Awards – Sexiest Woman Of The Year – Nominated
• 2008 – Glamour Awards – International Artist Of The Year – Won

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beth Ditto

• The Gossip website
• BBC report of NME cool list
• Subculture Magazine Interview