new Games - "No Disguise"

GAMES - No Disguise by Ford & Lopatin

(via Way Slower) 

Walls - "Raw Umber/Twilight"

MP3: Walls - Raw Umber/Twilight

Azure Blue - "The Catcher in the Rye" (Harald Björk Remix)

Listener: please be patient. Give it a minute or two. Listen to it build. Then, let yourself be liberated by the life-affirming grandiosity of it all. Azure Blue's original can be heard here, with more from Harald Björk here.

MP3: Azure Blue - The Catcher in the Rye (Harald Björk Remix)

(via Beko-DSL)

Sad Souls - Apeiron

Easily the most beautiful thing I've heard in quite some time.  From Tom Auty of Ann Arbor, who records ambient loops as Sad Souls.  Fans of Geotic will certainly appreciate this.  Follow Sad Souls on bandcamp, SoundCloud and Twitter.

  Apeiron by Sad Souls 

(via The Apiary)

Grimes & d'Eon - "Vanessa/Transparency" (CFCF Refix)

Montreal producer CFCF takes Grimes & d'Eon on a night bus trip.

  Grimes & d'Eon - Vanessa/Transparency refix by CFCF

new Two Inch Punch - "Up In Your Mix"

Blisteringly good track from London lovestepper Two Inch Punch, taken from the Love You Up EP, out digitally and on 12" through PMR Records on October 31, 2011.

  Up In Your Mix by T.I.P

patten - "Fire Dream"

patten posted a demo version of "Fire Dream" back in March of 2010.  Now, the album version is upon us.  Dude turned the bass WAY up and extended the track by about 90 seconds, but the disorienting cacophony of the original remains brilliantly intact.  GLAQJO XAACSSO drops September 26 on No Pain In Pop.

MP3: patten - Fire Dream

(via The Fader)

Hivern Discs - Hiverned #1

Hiverned #1 is the first entry in a series where current artists from the Hivern Discs roster edit long-lost tracks from the forgotten artists of yesteryear.  On "Party Girl," John Talabot takes a "lost NYC underground classic" and turns up the heat by tweaking the hell out of the vocals.  The result is something akin to Elmo singing Bee Gees karaoke in a disco club even as the streets outside gave birth to hip-hop.  "Wheels," on the other hand, is an agitated night hustle screwed by Marc Piñol.  

300 copies on 10" vinyl with no repress and no digital version.  Info on buying it here.

  HVNED001: Hiverned #1 by Hivern Discs

new Oneohtrix Point Never - "Sleep Dealer"

The first we've heard from Oneohtrix Point Never's new album.  A battery-powered device bleeping out its last moments of juice. Audible bits from the cassette deck, VHS and public access program, all begging you back from your slumber. Wired beyond belief, you may never come back.

"From the Replica LP on Software Recording Co. / Mexican Summer (SFT010). Available November 8th, 2011."

MP3: Oneohtrix Point Never - Sleep Dealer

video: Narrow Sparrow - "Joe Meek's Dream"

Narrow Sparrow - Joe Meek's Dream (Music Video) from Richard Portillo on Vimeo.

Unrestrained "bizarro pop" from Chicago's Narrow Sparrow.  Fuzzy as a wool sweater and as angst-filled as anything on In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.  Expect this on 7" soon. 

Full disclosure: band member Ricky Portillo and this writer are good friends. Song rules either way.

The Field - "Then It's White"

New The Field, and it's not at all what you'd expect. Accompanies thoughts of a curtain fluttering in the breeze, or a spirit seeking refuge in a familiar place.

MP3: The Field - Then It's White

Via The Fader

Tinariwen - "Tenere Taqqim Tossam" (Four Tet Remix)

...in which the Saharan desert rock of Tinariwen gets an urban makeover with the funk and flex of none other than Four Tet.

Tinariwen - Tenere taqqim tossam (Four Tet remix) by Four Tet

new Double Entendre - Irene EP

The artist-centric New York City may have been spared the brunt of Hurricane Irene's destruction, but the storm did seem to wreak havoc on weekend plans.  A definite benefit: musicians cooped up in their digs, pondering the approaching apocalypse, hopefully making some music, right?  That was certainly the case with Ryan Daniels AKA Double Entendre, who emailed me this morning about the existence of a new EP, born as Daniels sought shelter from the storm.  "The Calm" and "Rain Shields," in particular, may well be Daniels' best work to date.  The former is an experiment in repeating a riff until it's omnipresent, and then subtly changing emphasis to break the spell.  It reminds me, most pleasantly, of the warmly distorted guitars on Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets.  "Rain Shields" ventures into Eno's other territory of sound, that being ambient and/or New Age.  The higher-pitched synth meanderings recall J.D. Emmanuel and Michel Genest*, while the industrial haze that muddies up the song's second half is straight from Sean McCann's aural encyclopedia.  Two of five songs below; stream the whole thing and purchase it here.

  Double Entendre - The Calm by casketcrashvigil

  Double Entendre - Rain Shields by casketcrashvigil

*Infinite thanks are due to Chocolate Bobka for pointing me towards these artists and their records

Wise Blood - "Loud Mouths" (Supreme Cuts Remix)

Chicago's future R&B crew Supreme Cuts just dropped their debut EP through Small Plates Records.  The 27-minute Trouble EP is an infectious blend of experimental noise and R&B bliss chopped in a blender.  You can grab it on 10" straight from Small Plates or digitally from Amazon or iTunes.  What's more, their debut performance at Chicago's Empty Bottle was mind-bogglingly good.  In celebration of all the cool shit that's been happening, the duo have graciously gifted this remix of Wise Blood for our listening pleasure.  Their take on "Loud Mouths" is a cinematic ear-slap that's swollen with strings and fits of distorted vocals.

MP3: Wise Blood - Loud Mouths (Supreme Cuts Remix)

guilty pleasure: Drake - "Trust Issues" (Justin Bieber Remix)

More a rework than a remix. Impressive. Addicting. Enough said.

ep: Regal Safari - R G L S F R

I spent a pretty good portion of the weekend listening to Regal Safari's R G L S F R EP on repeat.  Really, it only took thirty seconds of "Light" streaming on Don't Die Wondering to grab hold of me.  Now that R G L S F R has fully wrapped itself around me through repeated listens, I can't recommend it enough.  Melodically pleasing, shimmering stutter-step is something the world is doing, but very few are doing it as well as this Brighton-based three-piece.  The quirky machinations of Mount Kimbie come to mind, as do the liberating excursions of The Miracle Club.  Best New Album or similar recognition, ASAP, please.  Stream the whole EP below; grab a free download here.  Hey labels - wouldn't this sound sweet on vinyl?

  R G L S F R by regalsafari

show: Supreme Cuts & oOoOO at Empty Bottle

Incredibly excited to see Chicago's own future R&B crew Supreme Cuts and founding father of witch-house oOoOO at Empty Bottle this Saturday, August 27.  MP3s below.  Details and tickets here.

MP3: Supreme Cuts - Jacy
MP3: oOoOO - NoSummr4u

new Keep Shelly In Athens - "Our Own Dream"

Equal parts elegant and epic, the latest from Keep Shelly In Athens reverberates with an icy-cool, mysterious disco-glow.  From the Grecian group's forthcoming 12" on Forest Family Records.  As it happens, "Shelly" will be out of Athens (wink, nudge, etc.) and in North America for nine dates in November.  Tour details and MP3 from here.  

MP3: Keep Shelly In Athens - Our Own Dream

new Balam Acab - "Motion"

Omnipresent, yes, but with very good reason, so no less essential a post.  "Motion" is our third taste of Balam Acab's debut full-length for Tri Angle.  Robin Carolan of the latter record label must be blushing.  Just relishing the moment, really.  Not only at Balam Acab's marvelous Wander / Wonder.  But also at his own year-old upstart being named America's best indie label by Billboard.  It was only one year and three days ago that this writer posted about Balam Acab's See Birds EP, the first release for the artist and the label.  What's happened since can only be described as meteoric, even miraculous, rise in exposure for both.  The apparition-inspired swells and twitches of Balam Acab, oOoOO and Holy Other birthed a micro-genre among the blogosphere.  Not to be pigeonholed, though, Tri Angle brought the fractured R&B of How To Dress Well to Europe and put out Clams Casino's hobbled hip-hop beats at the very height of the hype.

That brings us to today, less than two weeks before Balam Acab's Wander / Wonder sees release.  Gone is the grating haziness of See Birds; what's left behind is the morning dew and a moist fog, water droplets forming rings in cave puddles.  A spirit has been calling out, cheekily coaxing you into and out of a deep slumber.  Wander / Wonder is that mystical excursion, that mental escape.  It will absorb you, or you will fall into it.  Either way, it is beautiful and essential.  Go and get.  It can be all yours.  Buy it from Insound (CD / LP) or Rough Trade (CD / LP).

  Balam Acab - Motion by TriAngleRecords

  BALAM ACAB - Apart by TriAngleRecords

MP3: Balam Acab - Oh, Why

CFCF - Cometrue / Looking So 12"

Thanks to The Fader and Altered Zones/Yours Truly, we are now blessed with both sides of CFCF's new 12", out now on UNO. "Cometrue" finds the Montreal producer returning to the land of expertly-crafted piano house, while "Looking So" is a sultry slice of what we might call future R&B. Buy the 12" here or the digital version here.

  CFCF, "Cometrue" by The FADER 

  CFCF: "Looking So" by alteredzones

new Patten - "Blush Mosaic"

patten - Blush Mosaic from ///NO PAIN IN POP\\\ on Vimeo.

Been anticipating another release from Patten for literally years.  Excited to hear No Pain in Pop will be releasing a full-length on September 26th.  "Blush Mosaic" is our first ear massage from GLAQJO XAACSSO.  Sounds a bit like a public television theme song ripped from VHS, tuned downwards and tossed in with a bunch of broken-up beats.  Promises to be one of the more twisted transmissions of the year.  On vinyl or digital download on 9/26/11 from No Pain in Pop.

Britney Spears X Korallreven

This post is a bit tardy, but I was on vacation and mostly without computer access when it hit the web last Thursday.  One of the few new songs I was able to download and absorb while away, it's been on regular stream since.  Britney's original has been a guilty pleasure of mine for quite some time, but even a blockbuster hit from a former queen of pop sounds better with a Balearic breeze about it.  Perfect remix courtesy of Sweden's Korallreven.

  Britney Spears - Til The World Ends (Korallreven Remix) by casketcrashvigil

(via Acephale Records on Twitter)

new Air France - "It Feels Good To Be Around You"

Diva vocals + slightly screwed R&B crooning + steel drums = a warm bath in Balearic bliss, courtesy of Sweden's Air France, perfect for an endless summer afternoon.  MP3 from Sincerely Yours, who are hopefully preparing a physical release.

MP3: Air France - It Feels Good To Be Around You

(via Pitchfork)

new Diamond Messages - "Untitled"

Brand new untitled piano essay from Diamond Messages. It's plenty chill, but it's not chillwave. Or, if there is a wave, it's in the way these majestic mediatations curl and fold into one another like raindrops running off deep green leaves. Part of a compilation celebrating Spontaneous Rhythm's first birthday.

MP3: Diamond Messages - Untitled

AyGeeTee - "C'mon Baby/Secret Meeting Place" (Time Wharp Remix)

Been a fan of Time Wharp ever since I heard "1992" on Don't Die Wondering way back in August of last year.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't kept up as closely as I should have, though.  I only started following on SoundCloud yesterday (blush).  And yet, it was perfect timing because I got to see his remix of AyGeeTee pop up in my list of incoming tracks.  Time Wharp's remix sounds something like Black Dice and Four Tet playing vintage video games in a room full of rhythmically-inclined electronic staplers, tap-happy typewriters and sputtering diesel engines.  I think they're watching porn, too.  Both artists have releases out now on AMDISCS: AyGeeTee's Soul LP and Time Wharp's Later LP.

  AyGeeTee - C'mon Baby/Secret Meeting Place (Time Wharp rmx) by Time Wharp

ALAK - "My Love is the Best" (Patten Remix)

I've followed ALAK and more so Patten for quite a while now. Both had albums on Kaleidoscope way back in 2007. A great friend and excellent musician I know saw ALAK (then Alas, Alak, Alaska!) around the same time and said it was one of the most amazing musical experiences he'd ever had. Anyway, to bring it all together, ALAK has now been remixed by Patten, who has more recently taken a turn away from sun-blistered acoustic exercises and towards electronic beats with both bang and bliss. Here, he puts a four note flutter on endless repeat and supplies a stuttering beat to tie the pretty little package up and send it on its way. Two things come to mind: a hula hoop in perpetual slow motion and/or a sundress fluttering in the summer breeze.  Wondrous.



(via No Pain In Pop, who are putting out a Patten release in the near future)

Moon Gangs - "Sea" & "Sky"

I am remiss to have not posted Moon Gangs immediately upon hearing "Sea" on 20jazzfunkgreats, and further to have not posted it in the interim.  I've been listening to it A LOT.  At least once a day, but usually much more.  Via car stereo, computer speakers, headphones and phone speakers.  Paranoid waves of steely cool sound, placated by warmer oscillations of a sun-burnt hue.  Like the slip of sun that banishes the shiver of night and sets in motion the scurry of a summer's day.  Ambient, kosmische, meditative, New Age, synth, etc.  Free download below; extremely limited run of 50 cassettes from Where to Now?

MP3: Moon Gangs - Sea
MP3: Moon Gangs - Sky

Moon Gangs on SoundCloud / Tumblr

new Magic Places - Melodrama EP

Magic Places sent over his new Melodrama EP at the absolute perfect time.  With the final space shuttle mission in progress, many are focused on celestial travel, which is perhaps the defining theme of Magic Places' epic electronic soundscapes.  It's the first thing I think of whenever I listen to his music, anyway.  That I received the EP on a night when I had no electricity in my apartment and had to listen in the soft candescence of moonlight was a coincidence that was only too fitting.  Like The Time-Traveler's Pocket Guidebook album and 2071 EP before it, the Melodrama EP is another blissful breeze through the land of 80s nostalgia on the back of Falkor, the luck dragon.  Fans of bygone era-beats and shimmering synth pop have got to get on board.  Stream three songs below; grab the whole thing here.  

MP3: Magic Places - Pitchwhite Lumens
MP3: Magic Places - Lovetrial
MP3: Magic Places - On The Verge

Magic Places on bandcamp / Facebook / MySpace / SoundCloud

Lovelock - "South Beach Sunrise"

One click on this new Lovelock track and a month's worth of school- and work-imposed blog slump comes to a end (sorry about that, by the way).  In "South Beach Sunrise," electronic artist Steve Moore crafts a breezy slow jam that doubtless lives up to its name.  Could easily soundtrack a Corona drinker's sips from a bottle of chilly brew as he or she skips a cell phone across sun-swept waters.  Reminds me of that elusive "endless summer" day.  Artist note says "Coming soon I hope."  Seconded. 

  Lovelock - South Beach Sunrise by steve moore

Also, I've had Moore's solo spin "Frigia" on blast for quite a while now.  Heard it on 20jazzfunkgreats.  Buy it at Discogs or from Rush Hour.

MP3: Steve Moore - Frigia

Jamie XX's debut 12" out now

Jamie xx - Far Nearer (limited vinyl & download out now - http://farnearer.com) by Numbers

Buy it here, at Bleep or on iTunes. 

Pink Priest - "Tell Me Something Awesome Before I Go To Sleep" (BALAM ACAB Remix)

William Cody Watson may have put the wraps on his Pink Priest project, but for the moment, it lives on with this remix by Tri Angle Records artist BALAM ACAB, who takes the original's alien, ethereal tones and soothes them with some aqueous bubbling.

Tell Me Something Awesome Before I Go To Sleep (BALAM ACAB Remix) by BALAM ACAB

video: Blondes - "Pleasure"

Pleasure from Blondes on Vimeo.

Blondes get a little crazier, funkier, more tribal and weirder than ever as heard in this Farley Gwazda-directed video for "Pleasure."  Their Business / Pleasure 12" is available for pre-order from RVNG Intl. with a release date of June 14, 2011.

(via Pitchfork)

E&E - Various Songs

In addition to having that new Gang Gang Dance record on full blast for the past week, I've had Los Angeles-based producer Elijah Crampton's music as E&E on constant repeat.  It's safe to say I've obsessed over his ambient re-works of popular R&B from artists such as The-Dream, Destiny's Child and INOJ.  Seems like Crampton takes a cappella versions of these songs and adds his own layers of ambient sounds to the mix.  The results are breathtakingly brilliant.  Makes you wonder why the song wasn't produced as such from the beginning.  Take a listen:

MP3: E&E - The Dreem
MP3: E&E - Destine+e
MP3: E&E - Love U Down

Crampton's original creations are frighteningly good, too.

MP3: E&E - Reina (Tape Cut)
MP3: E&E - Submerging Cathedral

Follow E&E MySpace and SoundCloud.

Team Rockit - "första hjälpen" & "leviathan"

All-time favorite Swedish pop stars Air France just started a tumblr, and today they recommended the music of fellow Sincerely Yours-signees Team Rockit.  I'm at an absolute loss for words over how to describe "första hjälpen" and "leviathan," the two songs that make up their new 7", but the words ambient, dancehall, hip-hop and majestic come to mind.  Grab the MP3s below; buy the 7" here.

MP3: Team Rockit - första hjälpen
MP3: Team Rockit - leviathan

Meadowlands - Music for Seasonal Allergy Relief

Totally at peace as a result of these ambient field recordings by Meadowlands. "Pt. 1 (Synthesizer & Field Recordings)" is a classically ambient synth session, where layers of silky-smooth sounds appear, build, bend and fade into one another.  Meanwhile, "Pt. 2 (Field Recordings)" is a trip to the beach, where the sounds of wind and water become one and the only interruption is the occasional bird call.  These could indeed function as mental field trips for the agoraphobic or severely allergic, but they could also be called "Music to Escape the Confines of Your Cubicle," because right now, I'm lying on a blanket in a field or on a towel at the beach, for all I know.  If the disciplines of spirituality and science manufactured a device to implant in one's ear to enable him or her to hear such ambient bliss all the time, I'd be zoned-out 24/7.  Listen to part one below and then grab both for free here. 

Music for Seasonal Allergy Relief Pt. 1 (Synthesizer & Field Recordings) by meadowlands

Follow Meadowland on SoundCloud and Tumblr. 

MP3: SALEM - "Till The World Ends"

By now, you've probably already heard SALEM's ultra-slow, mega-screwed version of Britney S. Pierce's "Till The World Ends." It's more than made its way across the web. Perhaps you've seen the NSFW video that dwells in a strip club before it shows a military strike in night-vision. Well, just in case, here's the audio alone, a potentially more convenient cut that's perfectly safe for work. As long as your boss is cool with slow jamz and the occasional blood-curdling scream.

MP3: SALEM - Till The World Ends

new Double Entendre - Street Music EP

Rolled out of bed this morning, checked my email and was very happy to see some correspondence from Ryan Daniels, aka Double Entendre.  Daniels' new Street Music EP is now streaming at bandcamp, available for download or in an incredibly limited run of just 15 cassettes.  There's something for everyone here, from the spin-inducing psychedelics of the title track to the more heavenly, harp-like oscillations of "This Perfect Day."  Faltering swells of acidic synths make up "Breathing in the Ether," while the fuzzed-up tin pan workout that is "Sometimes, Happy Times" took me back to Konono N°1's Congotronics in the best way possible.  "3-4 tbsp" is an ambient interlude complete with chirping birds and burnt-out key tones; "Onboard Currency" is an inspirational jam that chugs on and on towards the horizon.  Daniels offers up "Sometimes, Happy Times" and his remix of Andy & Zeus' "MCMLXXXI Choir" for free, but you should support the arts by buying the MP3s for $5 or a tape for just $6.  If you've ever bought anything from The Curatorial Club, NNA Tapes or Sweat Lodge Guru, you simply must buy this. 

Catching up / Gatto Fritto & Julian Lynch

Apologies for the lack of posts as of late, if anyone noticed.  My full-time job has been keeping me busy and the spring cold bug has had me feeling down.  Enough with the excuses, though.  Highest possible recommendations go out to two albums that came out last week - Gatto Fritto's self-titled debut on International Feel and Julian Lynch's Terra on Underwater Peoples.  The former is a dazzlingly good exploration of electronic music past, present and future.  It delves into disco, horror, New Wave, noise, synth and more.  Meanwhile, Julian Lynch has made his best album yet in Terra, a subdued, sublime statement with deeply meaningful experimentation and rich, organic textures.  You can hear two songs from each record below and read more in-depth reviews I wrote over at HEAVE Media.  My Gatto Fritto review is here and my Julian Lynch review is here.  Let me know what you think!  Leave a comment!

MP3 - Gatto Fritto - Hex
MP3 - Gatto Fritto - Beachy Head

MP3 - Julian Lynch - Terra
MP3 - Julian Lynch - Back

Paxton Fettel - "May Own Ace"

Definitely feeling this new jam from Copenhagen producer Paxton Fettel, who recently remixed Taragana Pyjarama's "Oceans" towards the "coastal sunset."  Like the best deep house, "May Own Ace" establishes and maintains a meditative groove from the get-go, with Paxton opening up the mix to cavernous echo and then closing it tight again.   From his upcoming Definitely In Love EP, out soon on Greta Cottage Workshop.  You can buy his Skyflares EP here. 

Paxton Fettel - May own ace by Paxton Fettel

Regarding the spoken word sample: sounds like Bukowski.  Can anyone confirm?

new Patrick Kelleher & His Cold Dead Hands - "Miracle Candle"

New "ghost disco" track from Patrick Kelleher & His Cold Dead Hands, featuring spastic synths, muffled vocals and jangly guitars. 

Patrick Kelleher and his Cold Dead Hands - Miracle Candle by Patrick Kelleher

Follow Patrick Kelleher on MySpace and SoundCloud.

Keep Shelly In Athens - "Hauntin' Me" (D. Paris Remix)

Keep Shelly In Athens and D. Paris have both appeared in these pages before.  In the wake of the former's sold-out 7", the bloggers/label folks at Transparent have kindly offered up three stunning remixes - packaged with the original songs - for free download.  Blood Diamonds and Maria Minerva offer their own takes; here's D. Paris' smoothed-out, chipmunk'd remix of "Hauntin' Me."

MP3: Keep Shelly In Athens - Hauntin' Me (D. Paris Remix)

new Rommek - "Yellow Is The Colour Of Sun Rays"

More pitch-bent, ping-toned perfection from Rommek.

MP3: Rommek - Yellow Is The Colour Of Sun Rays

Follow Rommek on MySpace and SoundCloud.

How To Dress Well - "Ready For The World" (Star Slinger Refix)

Risen UK beatmaker Star Slinger adds a shuffling whateverstep beat to the emotionally fractured R&B of How To Dress Well.

MP3: How To Dress Well - Ready For The World (Star Slinger Refix)

more new old Four Tet - "Calamine"

Four Tet's generous offerings and/or hard drive purge continues.  We now have both sides of his 1999 Glasshead / Calamine single (Output Records), courtesy of the artist himself.  Grab 'em while you can.   

Glasshead (Output, 1999) by Four Tet

Calamine (Radio mix) (Output, 1999) by Four Tet

new Mount Pleasant - "Slipped Era"

Alive and as well as can be expected after February's Christchurch, NZ, earthquake forced him from his family's home, Jonathan Phillips (Mount Pleasant) is back to releasing new music.  "Slipped Era" is the fourth single we've heard from upcoming full-length The Aztecs.  It may also be the best.  Where the previous singles were more forward-thinking, dance-oriented jams, "Slipped Era" belongs to the disco era.  There's definitely a DFA vibe here, too, with the monotonous, hipsters-in-arms vocal dubs.  Like the best tracks on LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening, the funkiness is fraught with an equal amount of frustration, and it eventually gives way to something larger, louder and more emotionally vulnerable.  It takes a skilled songwriter to make music that's indebted to a bygone era and simultaneously relevant to the present sound or predictive of the future.  "Slipped Era" is all that and then some.  Dig it.



Mount Pleasant on bandcamp / Blogger / Facebook / MySpace

new Keith Fullerton Whitman - "2011.4.18.11.21.32"

Master of the organic and electronic worlds alike, musician Keith Fullerton Whitman says "2011.4.18.11.21.32" was "recorded live to 'glass'" two days ago.  I'm not sure quite sure what that means, but the 13+ minute track does at times sound like fine, expensive glass breaking and echoing, on and on.  Or, more particularly, it alludes to the rush of blood to heart and head upon dropping said glass ornament, and the immediate, perhaps everlasting, feeling of embarrassment and regret.  At least that's how it speaks to me.  Oh, and join me in wondering how these sounds were created using only a guitar, volume pedal and computer.  Simple, marvelous.

2011.4.18.11.21.32 by kfw

Keith Fullerton Whitman on Discogs / Last.fm / SoundCloud / Vimeo / Web

DJ Earl - "Takeova" & "UKnowUKnow"

Chicago's DJ Earl started following me on SoundCloud about a month ago, if my memory serves me correctly, which wouldn't have been too long after I posted about fellow footwork/juke artist Chrissy Murderbot.  At least that's where I see the connection coming from.  Anyway, Earl appears to be a prominent battle DJ at Battle Groundz/Ghetto Teknitianz footwork competitions.  And his tracks have been released by Chicago label Ghettophiles.  Earl has page after page of his songs over at SoundCloud, many of which have been calling me back for repeated listens.  "Takeova (The Breakz Ova)" and "UKnowUKnow" are by far my favorite, with Earl's sampling of Jay-Z and Drake, respectively, at such precision and quality it makes you wonder why the original songs weren't footwork/juke in the first place.  Given the relatively simple song structure in the footwork/juke genre, basically the breakneck beat and the sample, the producer's ability to pick and repeat samples has to be top-notch.  DJ Earl's skills make him one of the best in the game. 

Earl- Takeova(the breakz ova by Dj Earl

Earl- UKnowUKnow by Dj Earl

Follow DJ Earl on SoundCloud.  Buy his music here.

Double Mauler - Post Digital Reality Live Mix

Michael Stumpf is a college student at Brown University.  He's also an avid blogger over at Hands In The Dark and a frequent contributor to the Not In Kansas show on Brown's Student Radio station.  Under his Double Mauler moniker, Stumpf curated a mix for Not In Kansas' most recent show and was kind enough to share it with me through SoundCloud.  Dude did a wonderful job picking out some of the best forward-thinking electronic tracks floating around the blogosphere as of late and deserves just as much credit for mixing them together to sound so cohesive.  Features Burial, DJ Nate, Forest Spirits, Phaseone and Zomby, among others.  Check the mix immediately below and the tracklist after the jump.

MP3 - Various Artists - Double Mauler's Post Digital Reality Live Mix

Taragana Pyjarama - "Oceans" (Paxton Fettel's Coastal Sunset Remix)

You've probably already heard Taragana Pyjarama's "Oceans."  Here's a remix engineered by Copenhagen producer Paxton Fettel.  His "Coastal Sunset Remix" is where minimalist dream-house goes full-blown deep house.

MP3: Taragana Pyjarama - Oceans (Paxton Fettel's Coastal Sunset Remix)

new Com Truise - "Polyhurt"

Brand new warble-wave jam from synth wizard Com Truise.  From his three-song Fairlight EP, out digitally May 3 through Ghostly International, with a vinyl release on the horizon.  More info here.

MP3: Com Truise - Polyhurt

Com Truise on Facebook / Last.fm / MySpace / SoundCloud / Twitter

more new old Four Tet - "Glasshead"

Four Tet's Kieran Hebden is either cleaning out his hard drive or feeling extremely generous (or both).  Yesterday, he shared "Thirtysixtwentyfive" via SoundCloud; today, it's "Glasshead," the A-side to a 1999 single released by Output Records.  "Glasshead" starts by sampling what sounds like a science documentary but then lets loose into a funk-jazz fusion with plenty of groove.

Glasshead (Output, 1999) by Four Tet

Kanye West - "Flashing Lights" (Mike Simonetti Mr. West's Lights Edit)

At an absolute loss for words over how amazing this Mike Simonetti edit of Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" sounds.  The Italians Do It Better label boss basically leaves the skeleton of the song intact even as he removes the most prominent element - Mr. West's vocal track - in its entirety.  The result is, as commenter Saks&Teip pointed out, "slo-mo house" consisting of the original song's oversimplified beat and orchestral strings, with some synth washes added in to put a nice sheen on the mix.  So, it's Yeezy, minus Yeezy.  Incredible.

  Mike Simonetti - Mr West's Lights vers. by mike simonetti

Follow Mike Simonetti on SoundCloud and Twitter; follow his label, Italians Do It Better, on Blogger.