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

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.

new old Four Tet - "Thirtysixtwentyfive"

Here's a thirty-six minute, twenty-five second long piece of music by Four Tet, recorded in 1997.  One song EP?  EP-length song?  Album?  Same thing?  Different?  Either way, the vibe here is more jazz than electronica, complete with Four Tet's uncanny ability to program drums to sound implausibly random, yet perfectly synchronized.  Download it by clicking the down arrow on the SoundCloud player.  I'd imagine the downloads are limited, perhaps at 1,000, so if the song meets with your approval, I'd grab it before they're gone.

Thirtysixtwentyfive (Output, 1998) by Four Tet