After two successful releases on Pictures - Moonlight and Drag Queen - Steve Martin EP is Bobby Champs' debut on Hypercolour. It actually dropped in November, but I only got around to pressing play a couple of days ago because I can be a lazy bastard. Which, dear employer who may be reading this, is a statement made purely for low-quality comedic effect. Comprising three tunes of tech house goodness, from the tribally inflected title track through the stomping "NYC Panther" and finally to the uplifting, pacier and tighter horizons of "Brooklyn [...]
Frequent collaborators John Talabot and Pional have once again come together to produce music that makes me the opposite of angry. This time it has arrived in the form of an eight and a half minute remix of The xx's "Chained" from their recent album Coexist . Inspired by The Streets' melancholy yet euphoric classic "Blinded by the Lights", this is going to take you places. Not like your Uncle does in his mini-van when he has to run "errands" and drop off "foo-foo dust" to his "friends", but like...make you feel good and use your dusty brain. [...]
Available to download for a limited time only - although let's face it, it will be uploaded to infinite sources by various kind souls after this period - Disclosure are offering a remix of the Artful Dodger classic "Please Don't Turn Me On". The tune has been around in various incarnations for a while now, surfacing in full form last month, but now you can call it your own for the princely sum of a mouse click. It's like bloody Christmas or something. Buy Disclosure tunes at Juno. [...]
Apologies for the current trend of starting posts with 'it's been 2 weeks' but... It's been 2 weeks since Five Easy Pieces released fLako's Eclosure EP . Apparently, Mating Dance could be classified as jazz, which is fantastic news. This is basically my idea of perfect music; who can decline the offer of happy-go-lucky tribal patterns, ambling strings and angelic vocals floating through your brain machine? Not to mention the "is that a vocal or a synth" progressions that take over. If you're not convinced, check fLako's IA mix after the jump and go trekking. [...]
Danger EP is a free, 4-track release from Katy B and a group of long-time collaborators and similar talents including Jessie Ware, Jacques Greene, Wiley, Geeneus, Diplo and Iggy Azaelia. Come to think of it, a line-up like that should do a new Band Aid. They'd certainly produce something a little less confusing and woeful than "Do They Know It's Christmas?" It would probably also annoy Sting and, in my book at least, that's always a good thing... Listen to the title track after the jump and download the full release over at Katy B's official [...]
It's been 2 weeks since Austin Peralta sadly passed away. He was pretty much at the forefront of a jazz/improvisational awakening in terms of electronic music. Lord only knows who is out there ready to pick up where Peralta left off had only just started. His 2011 album Endless Planets is definitely next level but we cannot stop playing "Lapis" on loop right now. Full HD glory after the jump, RIP Austin. Flying Lotus posted a fitting tribute on his [...]
The chromosomatically (?) titled xxyyxx today uploaded a short remix of Beyonce's "Check On It". On Facebook he stated that he made it on a plane, which explains the diminutive track length and the slightly frenetic get-me-out-of-this-box feeling. I wish I could be as productive when I'm in the sky but usually I just spend the whole time trying not to look at the weird crust smeared on my belt buckle and holding back the urge to shout about all the crumbs. Buy xxyyxx tunes at Juno. [...]
"I Can Tell You" is a cracking new deep house tune from DE$iGNATED, a production duo comprising 808 B!T & CORDUROiFS from Hook...in Hampshire...not the Peter Pan film. These guys are pretty fresh so if you like impressing friends with your knowledge of cutting-edge acts that no-one else has heard of, throw this tune out there. Also tell everyone you like U2, they're a pretty cool up-and-coming indie band that will earn serious early adopter points. DE$iGNATED on Soundcloud | DE$iGNATED on Facebook
Percussion Lab have a new compilation out and it is called Percussion Lab Presents: Cambio . 'Cambio' is Spanish for 'change'; bringing to mind the ever evolving nature of the world that surrounds us. And coppers*. "Friends and Lovers" by Shigeto is a definite highlight, stripped back instrumental genius (continuing themes also found in the superb "Huron River Drive" ). Vocals are overrated. Can't beat a bit of Dirty Jazz either, standard. Buy Cambio at Percussion Lab [...]
I'm posting this not only because I like it but also because I can very much identify with the title. The radiator's not on and the lack of heat has got me typing like a bi-focal wearing pensioner in slow motion. Uploaded to YouTube a couple of days ago by Eliphino himself, "I'm Cold" proffers an understated beat complemented by a jazzy little piano sample. At present an unsigned tune with no release currently attached to it, I'm sure it will get picked up at some point. I'd pick it up if I was strong enough. [...]
Finding a decent contemporary 'house' album could be likened to finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily, Visionquest are a pretty big flippin' needle. Thinking up a joke to link needles with DJing is beyond me right now however. The label provide the goods with DRM ; which isn't really house anyway, what with all the nods to jazz, minimal tech and world music dictating play. It's better to lean back, admit you don't know what's going on and tell your significant other to put the kettle on. Just because my significant other is a Furby with an insistence [...]
Perfect for a chilling Sunday night, this is a tranquil reimagining of Jill Scott's "Golden" from 21-year-old London producer Catching Flies. He made a splash a few weeks ago with a widely played remix of Mt. Wolf's "Life Sized Ghosts" and this is equally gorgeous. If someone ever unironically invites you to "take a chill pill", stick this on...and then resist the temptation to spinning sweep-kick them. Listen/download below and grab his recent EP, The Stars, for free from his website . Catching Flies on Soundcloud [...]
A dancefloor banger accented with hints of menace, "Pelican" is the b-side to "Husk" on Julio Bashmore's latest release. One of the hottest properties in all of bloody music and that, Sir Bashmore is also going on tour early next year so you can witness these monsters rumble your vitals in their natural habitat. Dates after the jump. "Husk" / "Pelican" drops December 2nd on Broadwalk. Tour Dates Bristol - 8th Feb London - 16th Feb Leeds - 22nd Feb [...]
The latest cut from Glasgow producer Mirrors , "Hypnotize You" is a straight up house tune featuring the soulful vocals of Amy Lyon. Offering a concentrated dose of perfect Friday night vibes, it has made the fact that it's only Tuesday pretty depressing. Maybe I should just have a few drinks and pretend? You may as well join me too. It doesn't matter if you have work in the morning, having a job is for losers anyway. Who needs money when you've got cirrhosis of the liver and piss-stained trousers? Not me, that's for sure. [...]
The b-side from their forthcoming Don't Explain 123, "Feel Me" is the latest slice of halcyon goodness from Atlas. The follow-up to Cities EP , which saw a digital release on Symbols earlier this year, it's as rhapsodic and characterised by a composed charm as the artwork above implies. It made me do one of those smiles people always talk about, possibly the first one since I last killed... Don't Explain drops on COJA on January 14th. Pre-order it here . [...]
Here's a tasty free download from London duo Toyboy & Robin whom you may know from the recently popular "No More Sunshine" which is not to be mixed up with Bill Withers' classic "Ain't No Sunshine". Of course, I think we can all agree the definitive version of that tune - for everyone who grew up in the '90s - was by soul heavyweights The Lighthouse Family. I still don't understand their name though, there was only two of them and I didn't see any prominent connection to maritime navigation. A better name would have been The Mountain [...]
This classy number is a remix of Ultraista's 'Gold Dayzz" from the ever-talented duo Maribou State. I first listened to it during a night drive in the pouring rain and it made me feel like I'd driven onto some kind of cosmic highway where I could wallow in perpetual cosiness. Seriously, turn this one up and fall into it. If this tune manifested itself in human female form, I'd definitely try and get in there...and then take her out on a date where I'd make a complete fool of myself by spending a little bit too much time [...]
This is the perfect complement to the unexpectedly sunny day that has just confronted me (and my standard Saturday morning headache). It's all bright and cheery and there are people walking dogs, eating ice creams and sunbathing with tanning reflectors. Ok...so not quite, but it's still warm and I'm pretty sure everyone out there is listening to this on their iPods which makes it seem better anyway. Let's face it, a Star Slinger refix of a Kendrick Lamar tracl is always going to be good unless the former has suffered a terrible breakdown and spiralled into a psytrance-tinged experimental period. [...]
Although one YouTube commenter dismissed this as generic (in a very articulate and polite way not the usual "this is super gay, I'm going to deep fry your fat, helpless hamster" manner) I think it's actually pretty good. It's the kind of tune I'd put on in that room at a house party where everybody sits down. After all, it's hard to cut a rug in a student house with cheap laminate flooring so we need tracks like this to keep us happy while we chill. Mr. YouTube man is partially correct though, Arkist is capable of better. 'Fill [...]
Inexplicably shelved for release, this is a booming remix of Disclosure's "Boiling" by UK garage legend El-B. With a bassline that sounds like the soundtrack to Flat Eric's self-destructive fall from grace, this one kicked me right in the dark grooves. On a side note, if you've never listened to The Roots of El-B , it's one of the greatest releases to come out of the UK in the last 15 years, so you need to get your hands on it. Sharpish. Buy El-B tunes [...]
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