Look out, readers; winter is a-comin’ back around, and if you’re a fan of this website, I probably don’t need to sell you too hard on the stone cold creamery FACT that spooky ambient droney music is THE SHIT when it gets chilly out. What do you expect, I guess? When it’s cold and dreary out, that stuff goes down like boneless spicy-hot penguin wings at a polar bear Christmas party.
And fuck, when it comes to those sorts of jams, whose got a chillier name than Ben goddamn FROST. Pray-tell, readers! Yeah. No. You can’t. So, you know, just shut up and keep reading. :) Like I was saying, the reason we liked A U R O R A so much when it came out in the first place probably has a lot to do with the fact that it was still all frosty-cold outside in April in many parts of the Western Hemisphere.
Well, today, our lousy hemisphere is in luck, because Ben Frost has just announced a brand-new EP, entitled V A R I A N T, which is being released digitally in the US on December 9 via Mute (with a vinyl edition following some time in January). And by "new," I mean that it'll feature "remixes of tracks taken from A U R O R A.” Hey whatever, right? We’ll take it. The staff list includes a version of “Venter” reworked by British producer Evian Christ (which you can check out down below), as well as choice cuts by Regis, Dutch E Germ, HTRK, and Kangding Ray. You know all those guys, right? I do!
And heck, while I’m on a roll, check out a short film that also features Frost’s music down below as well. It was directed by Ricard Mosse, and takes place on a U.S. aircraft carrier! What more do you even need to know? Tall ho, readers! Into the darkness!
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V A R I A N T EP tracklisting:
01. Venter (Evian Christ TF 12” Mix)
02. Venter (Dutch E Germ Remix)
03. Venter (HTRK Remix)
04. No Sorrowing (Kangding Ray Remix)
05. Nolan (Regis Self-Medicating Edit)
Tall, frosty tour dates:
10.16.14 - Krakow, Poland - Unsound Festival
10.18.14 - New York, NY - The Wick (Tinnitus series)
10.19.14 - Cincinnati, OH - Contemporary Arts Center
10.20.14 - Lexington, KY - Black Box Theater at the Downtown Arts Center
10.21.14 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
10.22.14 - Montreal, QC - Sala Rossa
10.23.14 - Quebec City, QC - Le Cercle
10.24.14 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison
10.25.14 - Mexico City, Mexico - Foto Museu Cuatro Caminos (MUTEK)
10.28.14 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Los Globos
10.29.14 - San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom
10.30.14 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam
10.31.14 - Chicago, IL - Constellation
11.05.14 - Bologna, Italy - Robot Paths
11.06.14 - Torino, Italy - Club to Club Festival
11.07.14 - Rome, Italy - RomaEuropa Festival
11.08.14 - Bari, Italy - Time Zones Festival
11.10.14 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
11.11.14 - Bristol, UK - Thekla
11.12.14 - Birmingham, UK - Capsule
11.13.14 - London, UK - St. John at Hackney Church
11.14.14 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla
11.15.14 - Leeds, UK - Howard Assembly Room at Opera North
11.20.14 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Le Guess Who? Festival
11.21.14 - Bern, Switzerland - St. Ghetto Festival
11.23.14 - Moscow, Russia - P!PL Club
• Ben Frost: http://ethermachines.com
• Mute: http://mute.com
[Photo: Adam Hencze]