Premiere: Club cheval, Discipline

Lille-born, Paris-based Club cheval is a collective/supergroup comprised of four producers already established in their own right: Canblaster, Myd, Sam Tiba and Panteros666. Together, they have redefined French electronic music for this decade, combining vintage Timbaland and “slinky house vibes” (FACT) to create their own forward-thinking take on dance/pop that’s informed as much by the Parisian underground as the mainstream. Some four years in the making (with pauses to work on solo projects, collabs and remixes for Rihanna and The Weeknd), this is their long-awaited first full-length album.

Premiere: Guerilla Toss, Eraser Stargazer

Known for their spirited live shows, Guerilla Toss specialize in a damaged and danceable mutation of funk. Last year, the band left their hometown of Boston for New York, and released an EP with one of the latter’s most fabled labels, DFA Records. Eraser Stargazer furthers the momentum, refining their signature sound: grooving basslines, shrieking guitars, manic percussion, and the elastic delivery of vocalist/poet Kassie Carlson.

Premiere: Murals, Violet City Lantern

The slow-swirling psychedelia on Violet City Lantern, Murals’ debut full length LP, is the work of three childhood friends, jamming in a house (and former daycare) atop a hill in their hometown of Louisville. In it, The FADER hears chamber-pop of the ‘60s and '70s, uniquely merging with those tonal surroundings: “the Appalachian folk lineage of Kentucky, and the bygone innocence of the kids who once occupied their new home." 

Premiere: Ulzzang Pistol, Waste

The second album from Manila-based artist Ulzzang Pistol is, on one level, a beautiful and heartfelt ode to K-Pop and East Asian culture. By crafting lush, bouncy electronic music in English, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese and his native Tagalog, the producer (along with a cast of collaborators) seeks to transcend worldly barriers while shining his light on a vast, indie and net-based Korean music scene that extends well beyond the mainstream version familiar to westerners. But, in the process, he also explores a unique set of philosophical concepts, taking in cultural change, the human condition, love, regret and, as suggested in the title, wasted potential.

2015 album covers, by color

Chicago! Come see Martin Courtney play Upstairs at Virgin Hotels Chicago next Wed, Feb 10, 9PM

Free with RSVP