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Watch Nicolas Jaar’s Boiler Room NYC DJ Set

Throughout an excellent debut LP and a handful of stellar EPs, Nicolas Jaar has proven himself worthy in a number of roles throughout the past few years: a producer with fine attention to detail, a justifiably patient songwriter, and a seductive singer. His skills extend to a live context as well, revealing him to be a coherent and focused DJ. This particular talent manifests itself in this set Jaar recently performed in NYC for Boiler Room, which marks the first time he has contributed to the established underground music show.

Over the course of the set’s 45 minutes, Jaar pulls together a series of minimal yet hypnotic microhouse grooves which are peppered with interjections from static-infused radio samples. Especially admirable is the way he never loses sight of his aesthetic, maintaining the smooth and seductive vibe which defines his studio material. A subtle approach to the tension-and-release technique also proves rewarding, with Jaar refusing to allow the bass to remain prominent for extended stretches of time, which allows for a stimulating sense of dynamic. The set is consistently understated, but also passionate and vitalizing, hopping from idea to idea with enlivening finesse.

Check a review of Jaar’s Space Is Only Noise below:

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The Needle Drop: 12-03-12

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Nicolas Jaar & Theatre Roosevelt- “The Ego”

A neat little collaborative track from Nicolas Jarr and Theatre Roosevelt, which was uploaded to SoundCloud a few days ago with no real warning. The track features Jaar’s usual electronic tinkering against some pitch-shifted vocals toasting in the midst of some strange, glitchy edits.

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Nicolas Jaar- “Play the Drums”

Some sampled poetry and a hypnotic beat surrounded with ethereal tones coming through on this newly buzzed Nicolas Jaar track. Dig on it via the embed above, and check my review of Jaar’s debut album right here.

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Nicolas Jaar- Live at Sonar Lab (Barcelona)

On record, Nicolas Jaar, to put it frankly, strikes me as one of the most interesting figures in electronic music to emerge throughout the past few years. His blend of elements of spacious house music, vivid sample collages, and sultry atmosphere, topped off with his own baritone vocals, hit home with both the Space is Only Noise LP and the Don’t Break My Love EP in 2011, and despite being relatively quiet throughout this year, he has continued his winning streak with the excellent “With Just One Glance” single that featured Bruce Willis & Demi Moore’s offspring Scout Larue.

In a live setting, however, Jaar takes his music to new levels, exploring the potential of his studio recordings to create an experience that feels largely singular. It’s an experience I have yet to witness, but thankfully, Jaar stopped by Sonar Lab at Barcelona recently to play a live set, and it is available to stream via the SoundCloud widget above. Nearing one hour in length, the set showcases Jaar seamlessly mixing and remixing material into a cohesive journey, all without a single pause to puncture its continuously flowing nature. Jaar’s studio work is already brimming with ideas, but his live performance shows just how expansive his creativity is, and it’s a testament to what will hopefully be a bright future for the young producer.

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Darkside- “A1″

Some interesting visuals from Nicolas Jaar and guitarist Dave Harrington, a.k.a. Darkside, on the track “A1,” which comes from the duo’s recent collaborative EP.

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Shlohmo- “Rained The Whole Time” (Nicolas Jaar Remix)

A couple of months back, we were treated to a remix of Shlohmo‘s “It Rained All Night,” which appears in its original form on the beat maker’s recent Vacation EP, from fellow electronic music producer Nicolas Jaar. Now, we have a set of visuals, put together by former Caribou and Crystal Castles collaborators Video Marsh, to accompany the reworking. The video closely examines the intricacies of a series of diversely colored, unidentified fluids that slowly drift across the screen through a slightly grainy filter, matching the effect of the song quite nicely.

Watch the clip above, and feel free to head over to Friends of Friends to purchase the EP, a handful of originals and remixes both included.

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SXSW 2012 Adventure Vlog Super Post

Here are all the videos I made in regards to SXSW 2012. I saw a ton of artists, and I want to thank everyone who performed, and everyone who I met down there. Here we go:

SHLOHMO- VACATION

Nicolas Jaar Remixes Shlohmo

Here’s electronic music producer Nicolas Jaar‘s take on the Shlohmo track “Rained the Whole Time,” which comes off the Vacation EP I reviewed recently. Grab the EP now on Friends of Friends.

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Nicolas Jaar- “Materials”

An unofficial music video for the Nicolas Jaar track, “Materials.” Despite a formal linkage to the material created by one of the most creative electronic music producers out there right now, the video is incredibly intriguing and surreal. Kudos to the director, Pondr.

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