Blog: Some Kind of Awesome

If you had to guess one of Tame Impala 's "favorite songs ever" what would it be? I bet you wouldn't have guessed that it's Outkast 's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below cut "Prototype." Visiting Triple J studios, the Australian outfit chose to cover that song for the radio station's ongoing "Like A Version" segment. The band turns the mellow funk-laden jam into a reverbed psychedelic number, and it's actually really good. Check it out below.

Porcelain Raft , the moniker of Mauro Remiddi, impressed with his debut album Strange Weekend , released in January of last year. He's since moved away from what he established on his debut, to record something completely different. Remiddi sold all of his equipment and used that money to buy a modular synth, which he has spent countless hours obsessively experimenting with. The result of these experiments is the instrumental Silent Speech EP . Spanning five tracks, the EP is full of atmosphere and dreamy instrumentation. Pretty damn good for a month's work.

• Porcelain Raft - Silent Speech EP

Less than a year after releasing their sophomore album Here , Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros have announced a third full-length record. Yet to be titled, the album will be released on July 23rd and stemmed from the same sessions as Here : In the middle of the recording process we realized we were essentially making a double album. Being four years since our last album, the writing explored a wide variety of subject and sound, as it turned out we had a lot to say," explained the [...]

Vampire Weekend made their way across the pond this week to pimp their upcoming album Modern Vampires of the City . During their visit to the UK, the group performed live in session at Maida Vale studios for Zane Lowe 's BBC Radio 1 programme. During the performance the vampires performed six new tracks, including "Everlasting Arms," "Obvious Bicycle," "Step," "Ya Hey," "Unbelievers" and "Diane Young," along with some of their classics like "A-Punk" and "Diplomat's Son." Stream the whole performance below. Vampire Weekend's BBC Radio 1 Setlist: [...]

So over the next few days a tonne of great bands will descend upon Yorkshire for Live at Leeds 2013 . As is ever popular, a festival in a city spread out across numerous venues and bands ranging through many a genre. Check out the official website for a full list. There are some really interesting bands playing and some personal favourites too. Rather excited for an early start tomorrow and a train journey across thr country for it. We'll have a full review up for you next week but in the mean time I thought we'd [...]

Nardwuar the Human Serviette is loved by many, conducting interviews intelligently and offering plenty of gifts to those lucky musicians. On the other hand, there are many people out there who can't stand the quirky Canadian. In this particular case, though, I urge everyone to press play. Nardwuar recently interviewed ?uestlove (of The Roots and Jimmy Fallon fame), with the whole interview lasting a mind-boggling 46 minutes. During their time together the two discuss a ton of different topics, and you'll likely learn a lot from these knowledgeable gentleman. Check it out below.

Daft Punk continue their video series "The Collaborators," bringing in producer and multi-instrumentalist Chilly Gonzales to discuss his time with the robotic duo. Chilly took his talents to help Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo develop key changes and harmonies as well as chord progressions on several of the tracks featured on Random Access Memories . It's an interesting watch. Check it out below. If you've yet to watch any of "The Collaborators" videos, the previous five have featured Giorgio Moroder , Todd Edwards , Nile Rodgers , Pharrell Williams [...]

Mayer Hawthorne is back with another album full of soulful croons and funk ballads. Following up 2011's How Do You Do is his third album entitled Where Does This Door Go , which will be released on July 16th. Featuring production from Pharrell Williams and more, this new LP sees Hawthorne growing up and exploring "a journey into the unknown. As a musician, you're only as good as your next record, and you never know what's through that next door." For now, all we have is an album announcement trailer featuring footage from [...]

• Mayer Hawthorne - Designer Drug

Emperor Steele and Lord Littlemore traverse a desert canyon in Empire of the Sun 's new video for " Alive ." As their journey progresses, they are joined by like-minded followers. Watch as they don ridiculous outfits and show the true power of a harmonized chorus and a dance beat. Empire of the Sun's sophomore album Ice on the Dune is out on June 18th.

In between being a New Girl and that girl the majority of guys think is cute in an annoying kind of way, Zooey Deschanel likes to make sweet, sweet music with M. Ward under the name of She & Him . Next week, they'll release Volume 3 on Merge Records and it's sure to make your knees weak and your heart melt. Well, it might do, if you're into folky original compositions from Zooey along with a few covers for good measure. The album can be pre-ordered on their website [...]

Crystal Castles have released an interesting visual to sit alongside "Affection". It's made up entirely of footage taken while they were on tour in South America. It's then been spliced together Stephen Agnew after Alice was filmed by Ethan, Crystal Castles were filmed by Chris Chartrand, the bands live drummer, and Ashley McMinn was filmed by Marc Pannozzo a long time Crystal Castles video collaborator. The result is a blur of intoxication and frantic performances. Perfect for the beautiful, moody melody of the track. "Affection" is set for it's official release on the 10th of June in [...]

I think we all were a bit bummed when Mike Skinner called an end to The Streets. That's probably why we've been a little antsy about getting hold of the second album from Mr. Skinner and Rob Harvey, previously of The Music. Under their moniker of The D.O.T , Next week they'll finally release Diary , but as is the norm these days, you can stream the album in full prior to release next Monday (May 6th) on Cooking Vinyl. Check out the record that mixes together a bit of this and a bit of that [...]

• the d.o.t. - Diary

Nicolas Jaar 's label Clown + Sunset teamed up with Red Bull Music Academy to throw a party at the Boiler Room in New York. Good quality footage of Jaar's entire DJ set have surfaced, and it's nearly 50 minutes of minimalist electronic goodness. If you've got the craving for that kind of thing (I know I do), then hit play and get lost in the music.

Earl Sweatshirt was at Mayfest in Syracuse this past weekend, and while he was there he dropped a new cut from his upcoming album Doris . The features a hook from RZA , who wasn't actually at the performance, but it's dirty and amazing. It's cell phone footage, but you might as well check out the nameless track below.

Last night Vampire Weekend played their first New York show in two and a half years. They promised that they would debut material from their upcoming album Modern Vampires of the City and they held true to it. During the Steve Buscemi -directed concert, the band debuted many new tracks including "Obvious Bicycle" and "Everlasting Arms." Watch performances of both of those songs below or watch the full concert here for a limited time today. Leading up to the concert [...]

At the start of the month we got to enjoy the new version of The 1975 's track, " The City ". With the re-work came a bigger all round sound resulting in a clean, crisp, arena ready track that's catchy as hell and no doubt going to see them continue to gain mass radio play. Keeping with the aesthetic they've had going in previous videos, they've let loose another monochrome clip for the aforementioned new single. Check out the stylish looking visual accompaniment up at the top. The band are to release their full length debut [...]

of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes took to the band's Tumblr and revealed some exciting news. Following up last year's Paralytic Stalks , the band will release a new album titled Lousy with Sylvianbriar this fall. Here's what Barnes had to say: I'm so happy to say that we've just finished a new album! It is titled "lousy with sylvianbriar". We recorded it in my home studio on a 24 track tape machine. It is pretty different from Paralytic Stalks. Definitely more G Parsons than K Penderecki this [...]

The saga of Steve Buscemi and Vampire Weekend continues, and this time we get not one but two promo videos! The first finds Steve in the park with a friend, only to run into Claire Boucher, aka Grimes , and James Brooks, formerly of Elite Gymnastics . Watch as Steve gets denied when inviting her to Easter brunch. The second video is of that lovely Easter brunch, where Steve and the Vampires paint easter eggs and discover the spirit of Easter. Check them both out below, and if you haven't seen the [...]

Phoenix 's "Entertainment" gets the remix treatment once again. After getting drastically reworked by Grizzly Bear , fellow New Yorkers Dirty Projectors step up to the plate. The band chose to give the single a glitchy rehashing, highlighting the vocals amidst trippy instrumentation. Add in handclaps and you've got a solid remix. Stream it below.

• Entertainment - Dirty Projectors Remix

Don't let the parental advisory warning fool you, Disclosure 's new video for their single " You & Me " isn't as NSFW as you might think (save for a playful dildo fight). It follows the adventures of a young couple as they travel across Europe, partying and seeing the sights in all kinds of locales. Watch it below.