While we all know the true identity of Relaxer now—Daniel Martin-McCormick, a.k.a. The Artist Formerly Known As Ital—the project’s actual sound has been pretty elusive over the past two years. A lot of that has to do with how its broken the typical record-tour-repeat cycle; rather than dive straight into a debut album, Martin-McCormick has developed its identity over the course of five EPs and last month’s beat-less A Family Disease tape. A collection of “dissonant chords, arguments, screams, [and] warm New Age-y pads,” it stands in stark contrast to the exclusive mix below, which is aimed at the sort of dimly lit dance floors the Lovers Rock founder and his Sustain-Release partner Aurora Halal often play back home in Brooklyn.
Here’s what Martin-McCormick had to say about the 60-minute set, followed by everything he’s released under the Relaxer name so far….
“To me, I took a militant attitude towards sounds. I wanted sounds to be a metaphor, that they could be as free as a human being might be free. That was my idea about sound. It still is, that they should breathe… not to be used for the vested interest of an idea. I feel that music should have no vested interests, that you shouldn’t know how it’s made, that you shouldn’t know if there’s a system, that you shouldn’t know anything about it… except that it’s some kind of life force that to some degree really changes your life… if you’re into it.”
Pauline Anna Strom – “Spatial Spectre”
Todd Haynes – “Safe” (Relaxer Edit)
Plastikman – “I Don’t Know” (Relaxer Edit)
Damon Wild – “Red”
Deepchord & Imax – Octal 2 (Mix 2)
Lou Reed Interview (Relaxer Edit)
Terrence Dixon – B2
Byetone – 3:5
Perm – Untitled 1
Exium – Human Element
Denise Rabe – Sunday Blues (Rrose Remix)
Black Merlin – Phase 1
Mike Nichols – “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” Trailer (Relaxer Edit)
Planetary Assault Systems – Serc
Kyai Kanyut Mesem – Gending Ela-Ela Kalibeber
Patric Catani – Don’t Go Home With A Hard On
Dopplereffekt – Gestalt Intelligence
Mattia Trani – 313 Times (Juan Atkins Remix)
Nobody Home – Speglar
Levon Vincent – Fear
Terre Thaemlitz – Trucker
??? – Go Upstairs with the Kids (Relaxer Edit)
Apple Juice – Give Yourself Up 2 Techno (Mike Parker Autumn Remix)
Aaron Dilloway – Ghost
Relaxer – Water FX
Terrence Dixon – Untitled 1
Relaxer – Untitled
Anna Homler and Steve Moshier – Oo Nu Dah
Tucker Martine – Particle Swarm Intelligence
Croatian Amor – Breathe Into Me