Thursday, July 29, 2010

Jack Dixon

Everyone and their mother thinks they can write an epic song.  From the thunderous buildups of electro workouts to the relentless thump of dubstep, it seems like people are leveraging drum rolls and sound effects against musicianship and quality production.

Its like reaching for new heights while losing your footing.  And finding this out about musicians triggers the same lukewarm disappointment kids get when they realize that no, adults do not, in fact, have their nose.

Not everyone can write an epic tune.  Epics are not democratic, they are forces of nature.  Virgil wrote epics.  Not Rusco.  Not Wolfmother.  Not Deadmou5.  And in the end its the music that suffers when we replace substance with drama.  Its important for music to have emotional resonance, but it must possess those qualities based on its own merits and on its own terms, not via some worn out silence-->buildup--> drop convention that stopped being important the exact moment Benny Benassi became a has-been.

On that note, its refreshing to hear soulful garage jams like "Coconuts" by London producer Jack Dixon.  The drums pulse without pummeling, the bass booms without bleeding.  None of the melodrama that characterizes mid-range hyper-compressed wobblestep dares lay a finger on the genuine subtly that this track sports.

Its got a certain summer night swagger.  The drums bounce loosely as the bass hits like a humid breeze, and its all a very classy affair.  This tune is proof that you don't have to be in the eye of the storm to get your feet wet.

Around the two minute mark the bass drops out and a clipped vocal eases into the mix.  The treble's turned up and the dry funk of AM radio's heyday serves as a nice breather.  And then (here's the important part guys) the beat pops back into place.  Perfect. To the point.  Like summer night rain it kinda just happens, and we feel all the better for it.



Coconuts (Original Mix) by jackdixon

Thursday, July 15, 2010

EGGATRONIX vs Mount Kimbie







Glow 4 Broke from Elliott on Vimeo.
EGGATRONIX is a madman.
Loving the wide format
Song is Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake Remix)

Who? Milyoo.

Instrumental music begs categorization.  Casual listeners demand something to cling on to so as to bring music’s elusive artists to the fore.  To make music intelligible in spite of its enigmatic origins.

Like many emerging beat makers, Milyoo’s identity is largely unknown, leaving his music prey to critics eager to tag it as part of this scene or that.

The guys at FACT are sure Milyoo’s bedroom-beats are the kin of motor city’s greatest. But this track has less to do with Dilla than it does with much of the UK Bass music they regularly report on.  Deep sub bass tones frame the bottom of the mix.  A low-strung, quivering note suggests something cavernous.  But hailing from Kentucky, Milyoo’s drums are pure Americana.  They split the difference between hip-hop and prog rock.

Somehow though, the same skittering bongo patterns that drive Funky find there way into the mix without imposing their usual burst of energy on the mellow track. “Damage” is chill without being bogged down by the all of the usual signifiers.  It’s nostalgic without predicating its success on swashes of fuzz.  Laid back without being beach-y.  Put simply, its smooth.  Milyoo sounds like he’s chopping up a YES song instead of mining typical Motown stomping grounds.  Encouraging stuff, someone to watch.

Download the track here.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Get schooled in Flying Lotus

Meet the best producer in the game by a long shot


FLYING LOTUS MASSAGE SITUATION GUNJACK REMIX by gunjack


 Flying Lotus - LTWXRMX (Bliccups Edit) - 8A by Bliccups






Hyperdub - Flying Lotus - Disco Balls by JohnBaker


Gonjasufi - Ancestors (Produced by Flying Lotus) by camoril

Mount Kimbie stream Crooks and Lovers

Whereas most dubstep reveals itself to be total trash the moment you step foot outside the club, the UK's Mount Kimbie's music is nuanced enough to make sense on your headphones without making your ears bleed.   Taking cues from alternative rock and bedroom pop, the producers' brand of loop-heavy electronic music shows us what we wish Four Tet would sound like these days.

Chopped up vocals and guitar loops sound like a PC playing open mic night and the smokey local pub.  Mount Kimbie's Maybes of last year only hinted at this new direction.

Head over to FACT to check out the whole album.  Not to be missed

Album: Crooks & Lovers
Release Date: July 19
Label: Hotflush Recordings


Tracklist:
01 Tunnelvision
02 Would Know
03 Before I Move Off
04 Blind Night Errand
05 Adriatic
06 Ruby
07 Carbonated
08 Ode to Bear
09 Field
10 Mayor
11 Between Time

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Maxmillion Dunbar

This kid is nice with the cuts.  Maxmillion Dunbar uses disco and soul samples like keys on a piano, hopping between them effortlessly.  His tracks could easily be peak-time floor bangers but he keeps things slow.  Far more interesting than most of the lazy disco edits floating around...

Download Wouldn't Matter off his new Bare Feet EP here.

New Panda Bear

Holy shit this song is awesome.  Panda Bear's layered vocals sweep in and out of the reverb drenched mix of "Slow Motion" to great effect.  His much anticipated follow up album to Person Pitch entitled Tomboy will be out via Paw Tracks sometime soon (hopefully)

Download "Slow Motion" in high quality here.   The remix opportunities are endless with this tune.

Listen to and download Panda Bear's Noah Lennox preform  Slow Motion live at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona here

Friday, July 9, 2010

Aeroplane vs Friendly Fires vs Flight Facilities

With about a million names on it, this track was bound for greatness.  Sunny pop for summer days.  Free mp3 download available when you click on the down arrow on the left side of the track.
I Crave Paris by Aeroplane (Official)

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Brackles Releases Songs for Endless Cities

Opening track Mr. Chippy by much beloved LA madman Flying Lotus sets things off right.  Dubstep House hybrid Floating Points make appearances along with Zomby, champion of the dancehall.  2562 and Dorian Concept round out the lineup with great contributions as well.  Out now via !K7 / Cool in the Pool

Tracklist below:

01 Flying Lotus: "My Chippy"
02 Floating Points: "Peoples Potential"
03 Zomby: "Tarantula"
04 Roska: "I Need Love" [ft. Anesha]
05 Brackles: "Blo"
06 Martin Kemp: "No Charisma"
07 Kyle Hall: "Luv for KMFH"
08 Cooly G: "Love Dub Refix"
09 DJ Dom: "Sunshowers"
10 DJ Mystery: "Speechless" [ft. Natalie K]
11 Hypno: "Over The Top"
12 Rishi Romero: "African Forest"
13 Breach: "Fatherless"
14 Deadboy: "If You Want Me"
15 2562: "Dinosaur"
16 Dorian Concept: "Trilingual Dance Sexperience"
17 Funkineven: "Must Move"

Foreign rap that doesnt suck

Feel good summer track for those sunny days.  Laid back funky sample with simple party lyrics.  Its that easy.

Who knew Swedish rap could be more hip hop than most of the craprap coming out of the U.S. these days?  Daydrinking encouraged.  Out now via Chateau Disc, Japan

                       

Unrelesed Burial Tracks

There's been a bunch of these unreleased Burial tracks making rounds about the old interweb for the past few years.  Speedball2 was supposed to be on Untrue but didn't make the cut.  Not for its lack of interesting ideas though.  This track sees Burial applying his meticulous production technique and thorough drum programming in a much more sinister way than we've seen on his proper releases.  Burial nods to jungle and drum and bass, giving us a pretty interesting glimpse as to what this man is really capable of.
                             

Another standout has been Stairwell taken from a Kode9 set at the Sonar Festival back in 2007.  This monster knows nothing of the introspective lingering atmospheres that Burial built on his two albums.  Its a persistent, downright militant jaunt; its trashcan drums galloping through bass tones deep and rich.  His pitched vocals are here in full effect but this time they play hype-man.   Gone are the androgynous characters that bemoaned love lost.  A crazed female vocal shrieks atop the skittering beats ("Baby!"), piercing the air with shrill excitement while a laid back MC challenges, "don't pop, boi."
                            

If these hectic tracks are any indication, the next Burial album is gonna be a game changer

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Pictureplane blowing up

Another messy house track by Pictureplane.  This one seems decidedly less downtrodden.  Even when his older material was aimed at the dance floor, its hands were always still firmly in its pockets.

Kind of a slow burner but its worth it.






Download an exclusive mix he did for his new home, Isomorph records, here

Ramadanman Works Them



Track speaks for itself.  
Ramadanman goes in heavy on a vocal loop and some 808s. 

workthemworkthemworkthemwork


peep this slowed down version just for kicks

Friday, July 2, 2010

Martyn - Miniluv



Listen to UK producer Martyn's new track Miniluv here.

The guys at Berghain in Berlin love him, going as far as releasing  the track on their latest comp Berghain 04.  Blurring the lines between techno, dubstep and house, Martyn scores again.

Hyph Mngo Edits


Last summer's jam
remixed for this summer.



Heres two alternate takes:







Number one come from Ben Jurrassik.  Adding some jungle breaks to Joy Orbison's debut track seams like a obvious choice but it works nicely
Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo (Jurassik's Where's the Whistle Crew? edit) by Jurassik

Slowed down, Andreas Saag locks it into a four-to-the-floor beat with some deep bass tones.
Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo (Andreas Saag's House Perspective) by andreassaag

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Weclome to Death Row: Unreleased

The crew from Compton is back! Well sort of. Well not really at all. But a ridiculous amount of unreleased music has just been made available for download thanks to the guys at Steady Bloggin.


Over a period of five years Death Row put out some of the most memorable hip hop the world has ever seen. This mix provides a kind of parallel story to what we saw and heard.
If only Snoop from '93 could see the clown hes become. Oh well. Enjoy
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