- Techno meets IDM in Singapore.
- While you'd hesitate to give it a name, the type of techno Xhin and Stroboscopic Artefacts have been pushing of late does feel somehow removed from what's gone before. That could be part of the reason that despite being involved in electronic music since 1997, we felt it appropriate to feature him in our Breaking Through series late last year. Even as recently as last year the Singaporean producer was releasing solid—but in no way ground-breaking—house and techno. And then this happened. While it's unclear whether recording with a new imprint, Stroboscopic Artefacts, simply gave him a new lease of life, the Fixing The Error / Link EP just felt that much more weighty than previous material. He then followed it up with a string of equally intriguing music for SA and his former stomping ground Meerestief, which has just culminated with Sword, Xhin's sophomore album that brings his love for classic IDM and ambient triumphantly to the fore.
The sound of Sword informs much of Xhin's 60 minute mix for us with—as we've come to expect from him—some additional WTF moments thrown in for good measure.
What have you been up to recently?
I'm touring Europe at the moment. Just got back from my album launch gig in London last weekend and am looking forward to playing at Trouw in Amsterdam this November 26th. I'm also working on our next LX tracks together with Luca (Lucy) for CLR as well.
How and where was the mix recorded?
The mix was recorded in my home studio back in Singapore. It was done with my regular DJ set-up: Ableton Live on a laptop, a MIDI controller and an iPad running Griid.
Can you tell us about the idea behind the mix?
The idea is to mix some tracks from Sword, which are "Teeth" and "Vent" together with my current favourites, past influential ones and some tracks that I love playing for a while now.
The term "sound design" often comes up in relation to your music, but how does this manifest itself in terms of your approach to production?
Sound designing has always being a big part in my music production. I like to create new and interesting elements from scratch, perhaps in a more alienated way, for a style that I can eventually call my own. I guess also it's the nature of my job as a sound designer in the day.
What are you up to next?
Getting back to the studio to work on some new materials and of course remixing too.