Los Angeles experimental electronic label Plug Research will release a 10-inch split single (with a track by a different artist on each side) every month from August through December. The first of the five singles includes a collaboration between Austrian techno producer John Tejada (recording as Mr. Hazeltine) and abstract intellectual hip-hop MC Divine Styler, while future releases include tracks by San Francisco Bay Area artists Sutekh and Safety Scissors, among others. ...

Paris quartet Phoenix, whose disco-style track "Heatwave" was a highlight of last year's Source Material collection of up-and-coming artists on the French electronic-music scene, will release their debut album, United, Sept. 19 on Astralwerks. Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter plays keyboards on one song, "Embuscade," and Philippe Zdar of Cassius mixed several tracks on the album. ...

Top instrumental hip-hop producer DJ Shadow (born Josh Davis) is soliciting designs for a new logo from fans on his Web site (www.djshadow.com). Prizes for top entries will be awarded in the form of rare and out-of-print recordings from Shadow's personal collection — including copies of the recent Brainfreeze sound-collage album he worked on with Jurassic 5 DJ/turntablist Cut Chemist — according to a spokesperson for the producer. In addition, the three pieces of music he produced for "Dark Days," an upcoming film about New York's subterranean culture due in September, will be available to be heard exclusively in lobbies of the theaters showing the film. ...

A three-day festival of experimental electronic music will run from Sunday to Tuesday (July 16–18) at the Pittsburgh area's Millvale Industrial Theater. Titled Ultrasoniq, the event will feature performances by artists from around the world, including France's Kactus Tribe and Boston's Electro Organic Sound System (Sunday); Spain's Francisco Lopez and Sweden's Hazard (Monday); and Cologne, Germany's Marcus Schmickler (a.k.a. Pluramon and Sator Rotas) and Louisville, Ky.'s Keenan Lawler (Tuesday). Tickets to Ultrasoniq are $16 for a three-day pass or $7 each night. More information is available at mit.telerama.com. ...

The second installment in the "Rewind: The Classics" series features memorable tracks from the banner techno year of 1992, as compiled and mixed by veteran UK acid-house DJ Colin Faver. Heavy on the Detroit tip, tracks by Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Red Planet (born Rob Hood) and Richie Hawtin rub up against Hardfloor, CJ Bolland and Thomas Heckman on the 21-song mix, which is due July 25 in the States on RTC Records. ...

Beth Hirsch, who wrote lyrics for and sang on the songs "All I Need" and "You Make It Easy" from Air's 1998 album Moon Safari, will release her solo debut, Early Days, Aug. 29 on Studio K7. Featuring nine tracks all written by Hirsch, who is backed by a band that includes double bass and cello, the album's subdued, often somber tone is heightened by her austere, emotive voice. ...

Finnish abstract minimal techno producer Vladislav Delay has recorded an album of lush, deep house under the alias Luomo that will be released Sept. 19 in the United States on Forcetracks, an imprint of the Frankfurt, Germany, label Force Inc. Titled Vocal City, the album's six tracks, which compile three recent 12-inches, mark a new direction from Delay's two ambient albums from earlier this year, Entain and Multila. ...

The British duo Peace Division — Clive Henry and Justin Drake — released their debut LP, Junkyard Funk, on June 27 on Low Pressings, a UK label distributed in the United States by Intergroove. The duo, who recently remixed Moby's "Natural Blues," provide nine powerful, morphing deep-house grooves that cull layered elements from classic techno. ...

Veteran UK drum & bass producers DJ Rap and Kenny Ken have joined forces for a mix-CD, Brave New World, due July 25. The 13- track collection includes three new collaborations by DJ Rap with the production duo G Squad, and is the first in a series of mix-CDs released by the Detroit label Intuit-Solar. ...

Music by the Chemical Brothers and Air now is available to send through Egreetings, the Web-based greeting-card service. The Chemicals' beats can be heard on a "Block Rockin' " birthday card, which uses the duo's hit "Block Rockin' Beats," and a "Hey Boy Hey Girl" general greeting card. Air cards will feature the songs "Sexy Boy," "All I Need" (from their 1998 LP, Moon Safari) and "Playground Love" (from their recent score for The Virgin Suicides). Cards are available at www.egreetings.com by clicking on "music scene."...

— sonicnet.com staff report