A little mix I put together with songs from some of these performers.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Hotlist: May 2013 Week 3
Evenings - "Unreleased Collection EP" 2012
I need to hear this guy's "real" stuff if this is his unreleased collection. Just some really great beats, right up my alley. I like the mix of electronic elements of live instruments. He makes it seem organic and not forced. You can listen to/download the EP here.
Kardinal Offishall & Nottz Raw - "Allow Me To Re-Introduce Myself" 2012
This album/mixtape is actually OK and it's going to sound like i'm dissing it while i'm taking it apart and breaking it down. Kardinal is one of those dudes who's got a couple semi-hits under his belt, but has never fully broke his way into the mainstream or into the memory of the average music fan. This appears to be his attempt at re-establishing himself in the industry and introducing himself to younger people. Some of the songs work, but then on some he'll attempt some ill advised comedy material on songs where it doesn't seem to belong, and it comes off sounding out of place within the song. If he wants to be a funny dude he should pick certain songs to do that on instead of during a more otherwise serious or focused song. Sadly enough, i'm sure this album is probably already forgotten about less than a year after it's release. Nottz does a decent job on the beats, with there only being a couple minor flubs in my mind, and i'm sure there's people out there who enjoy those couple r&b tinged jams on here that I don't. The beats are definitely the strong suit of the album though, but anyone familiar with Nottz's previous material should expect that. He pretty much always brings it. Listen to and download this here.
The Uncluded - "Hokey Fright" 2013
For those living under a rock, this is the duo of Kimya Dawson and Aesop Rock. This is one of those rare occasions where I had high expectations for an album and it meets them. As you might expect if you're familiar with her, this is like a children's album for weird adults. I really appreciate how they can make super child-like, modern Sesame Street sounding songs with step by step instructions on how to catch a frog or advocating being an organ donor and it sits perfectly fine on an album next to songs with grim subjects like cancer or being in the room with a friend and seeing on TV that his parents have died in a plane crash. It's one of those rare collaborations where it actually feels like an even mix of their styles, and in their case, those styles are vastly different from one another, so it makes for something completely different from anything you've heard in music before. Check out the videos for "Delicate Cycle", "TV On 10", "Alligator", "Earthquake", and "Scissorhands". Also check out "Bats" and "Boomerang".
Hotmixes: May 2013 Week 3
Takanome - "Good Time Funk 5" 2013
Some nice and funky, upbeat disco house. Good music to clean the house to. Check it out.
Adam Kvasnica - "Nordic Lounge" 2013
One of the few non-jazz mixes by this guy, and I hate to say it, but i'm not really feelin it due to the subject and me not really caring for it. I had to at least give it a try though. See what you think.
Adam Kvasnica - "Contemporary Jazz In Europe" 2013
I expected this mix to be stuffy and boring based on the title, but nope. Apparently there's a lot of good new contemporary jazz coming out of Europe right now. Listen here.
The Hood Internet - "The Mixtape Volume Seven" 2013
After following these guys for a few years, it seems like they've kinda hit the same wall Girl Talk has, where they are not elevating what they do, but just keep repeating the formulas that made them successful DJ's to the point of boredom. I would say it's because they're only using material from new music, but then they still break that rule a few times and randomly use electronic songs from 3-4 years ago, or a 90's Mobb Deep acapella here and there. I feel like if they concentrated less on brand new music and were just making mashups of music throughout history they might breathe some life into their formula, but what do I know. You can download and listen to it here, along with anything else from their career.
Takanome - "House Party 0000" 2013
This mix really goes hard for how light and soft the mood and feel is. This is easily my favorite mix i've heard from this person so far. Lots of funky, fast house beats and some funky guitars and catchy vocals. Get down.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Hotlist: May 2013 Week 2
Chrome Canyon - "Elemental Themes Remixes" 2013
This is a decent and respectable remix album for an album from last year that I truly enjoy a lot. I don't prefer any of these versions to the originals, but none of them screw up the song either. Just different takes and directions for the songs. I particularly like the "Memories Of A Scientist" remixes. Listen to the album here. None of these versions are up anywhere else I can find. My favorites are by Matthewdavid, ATTAR!, and Tomas Barfod.
Nosaj Thing - "Home" 2012
First off, this album sounds great on headphones. I know a lot of people complained about the turn he took his career with this one. Some have even referred to this as a sophomore slump album, because they don't enjoy the direction he went. I think this seems like a natural evolution for him to start going into even more texture based music. People that said this was too dancey of an album kinda mislead me into thinking it was going to be more house oriented or something. It's not. It's just some lush sound scapes to get lost within. Most of these songs are too slow for the club anyways, it was clearly meant for headphones and personal listening/reflection, at least in my eyes. Check out the video for "Eclipse/Blue", "Try" (featuring Toro Y Moi), "Phase III", and "Distance"
Devonwho - "Strangebrew" 2012
Maybe I didn't realize it before, but Devonwho seems highly influenced by Dam-Funk. There's nothing wrong with that. I love this style of syncopated drum loops with awesome synth solos on top of them. Music like this simultaneously relaxes me and motivates me and hypes me up. It's a rare thing to be able to capture such a wide range of moods and emotions and make it all accessible. Check out this crazy video for the title track (seriously beautiful, I want videos exactly like this to be shown behind me when i'm DJing, no joke), and check out the rest of the EP here.
Milo - "Things That Happen At Day/Things That Happen At Night" 2013
I found out about this dude through his association with Busdriver and Nocando and I'm glad I did. His style reminds me a lot of Das Racist, but his lyrics seem slightly more well thought out. So many odd references to weird pop culture things. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for some new hip hop that is actually fun and maybe like to celebrate their inner nerd. Check out both EP's here or at the links provided here to the bandcamp page.
OM - "Advaitic Songs" 2012
So when Sleep broke up years ago, to my knowledge they pretty much split into 2 bands: OM and High On Fire. High On Fire has obviously enjoyed much more success, due to them sticking with metal as a genre. OM however, has chosen to be more of an ambient sounding band, with some material reminding me heavily of Dead Can Dance. This is still rock music, for the most part, but more as a backdrop than anything. I'm diggin this a lot. Check out the video for "State Of Non-Return", or check out the whole album here.
They Might Be Giants - "Nanobots" 2013
I love that they're still alive and kicking and making good new music. I'm not sure if I like this as much as their last one, "Join Us", but it's up there. I like the short song format, it's good for my ADD. Check out the video for the title track, the video for "You're On Fire", the video for "Icky", the video for "Tesla", and "Replicant".
"Stones Throw x Serato II" 2012
A nice little xmas present from Stones Throw & Serato. (I should probably order one of these before they're all gone). The songs on one side and Serato control tones on the flip sides. A nice little hodgepodge collection of songs that you would expect from them. Here is the page for it at Stones Throw with links to listen to half of the songs too.
Justin Timberlake - "The 20/20 Experience" 2013
This is one of those albums that was too high profile and intriguing for me to not listen to, even though it's not my bag. I must say that i'm a little disappointed that him and Timbaland didn't utilize all the time they take up on the running time of these songs. Some of these songs just keep going on and on, and basically just repeat itself. Maybe the beat drops out for a minute, or they add a guitar solo or something, but really nothing to justify the long running times. The songwriting just isn't there for me. A couple of the songs are adequate enough for what they are, but then there's pitiful stuff like "Strawberry Bubblegum" that sounds like a Gary Glitter-esque pedophile anthem. Check out the video for "Mirrors", the video for "Suit & Tie" (featuring Jay-Z), "Pusher Love Girl", and "Spaceship Coupe".
Moon Wiring Club - "Today Bread, Tomorrow Secrets" 2012
This guy really sticks to his same basic formula for every album, and there's nothing wrong with that. This one I was maybe not enjoying quite as much as a couple of the previous ones, but this is still really cool and strange, "trip-hop" style music with no vocals. Just cool collages of weird samples. Kinda like a modern and more refined Land Of The Loops or something. Check out "Enchanting Deportment", "Body Switcher", "Theaterland Takes Shape", and "A New Face On An Old Friend".
Hotmixes: May 2013 Week 2
Takanome - "Good Time Funk 4" 2013
This mix is great if you're in a mood to reminisce about the funkier side of pop music from the late 80's and early 90's. Enter portal here.
Elf 317 - "Roots: Funk &Bass" 2013
Just like the title says, this is some funky drum & bass. Check it out here.
Audiosincretismi - "Audiosincretismo 2.28: 1 Anno" 2013
This website probably gives me the most consistently good mixes, but usually they fall in the exact same pocket of beat scene oriented stuff. This is still mostly there, but peppers stuff in from other genres as well, making this a very complete mix to me. Get taken away.
DJ Clone Funk - "Blooming" 2013
This mix is damn near perfect for the mood. Some Dudley Perkins/Georgia Anne Muldrow/Bilal type styles, if you get what i'm saying. Check it out.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
BitsBits: Mystery Mix May 2013
new mystery mix featuring songs by: Ratatat, Flying Lotus, Martyr A.D., Busta Rhymes, Afroman, Cex, Al B. Sure, Teena Marie, Otto Von Schirach, Luther Vandross, Ol Dirty Bastard, Cunninlynguists, Marillion, Boris, and Zoo Brazil.
Hotlist: May 2013 Week 1
Why? - "Waterlines" 2013
New 7" release from one of my favorite artists. Here's a demo version of the title track and here's the video for the b-side, "The Water You Walk".
The Knife - "Shaking The Habitual" 2013
I will admit that I never really "got it" when they took the music world by storm a few years ago. I looked at them as a modern version of a band that people like just because they have cool videos. I'm really glad I chose this to be one of the first albums I listened to with my new headphones, because I liked the way all the details in the sound design came out. The only exception to that being the 2 mega-long noise pieces that appear here. They really don't even sound that great on headphones and they just go on and on forever. Those 2 songs aside, this is a pretty impressive album with a range of styles, all of which bring the textures within sound to the forefront of the music. I'm going to have to go back and revisit their earlier stuff and see what I think today, because a few of these songs slightly remind me of what I like about good Bjork songs, except they make her sound washed up and old by comparison. Here is the video for "A Tooth For An Eye", and the video for "Full Of Fire". Also check out "Networking" and "Without You My Life Would Be Boring".
The-Dream - "1977- Terius Nash" 2012
It's interesting to me that this album didn't get the same amount of shine that The Weeknd got last year. It's on the same tip, but maybe with production that's a little more palatable (traditional) for the masses. This style is not really my bag, but this is definitely a solid pop album, and I would recommend this to anyone into R. Kelly or The Weeknd. It's weird how there isn't really any standout songs on here to me, but it all still sounds above average for a new R&B/pop album. Check out the video for "Wake Me When It's Over", the video for "Used To Be" featuring Casha, and the title track.
The Delfonics - "Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics" 2013
This Adrian Younge dude just kinda came outta nowhere for me and is blowing my mind with his productions. He became known for making the score for "Black Dynamite", and now 2 albums have dropped within the last month that he's produced. One of them is the new Ghostface Killah album. (I can't wait to give that a full listen), and the other being this album- The Delfonics comeback album, their first release since 1999, which even then, i'm sure was under the radar. They really haven't been in the public eye too much since the 70's. Man, this album is really weird for what it is. The lead singer's voice is really unique sounding now, as an old man, and I think some people will be put off by his odd falsetto crooning. I immediately like it, as it makes it sound much different from some of the other new soul music coming out nowadays. This album sounds better when it goes into more funky 70's sounding territory, than when going for older 60's sounding styles. The whole thing is beautifully and appropriately produced. Check out the video for "Stop & Look", and also check out "Enemies", "Stand Up", and "I Can't Cry No More".
Hotmixes: May 2013 Week 1
Cathleen John - "Sine Periculum" 2013
This mix is just pristine. The sound palettes that are presented here are exactly what i'm looking for right now. Check it out here.
Brothel Lords - "Jankwaves" 2013
Really enjoying all the different vibes they brought together on this one. Nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. Listen/download here.
DJ Clone Funk - "Birds & Bees" 2013
Perfect for the nice weather we're getting now. Check it out.
Egon - "Mixtape For Dust & Grooves" 2013
Pretty self-explanitory title. He serves up his usual blend of funky psychedelic music from around the world. Here's the link.
D-Funct - "Audio Fabric Sessions 3" 2013
This one sounded cool in my new headphones. I'm normally not super into house music, but this is alright. Listen here.
Takanome - "The Night Sky After The Rain" 2013
I liked the touch of adding the rainstorm sound effects throughout the mix. It could have been my mood that night, but this mix was a little too soft and poppy for my tastes. I'm sure plenty of people will dig it though. Check it out here.
Adam Kvasnica - "Spring Jazz" 2013
Usually his mixes are era-specific, but this one is not. A nice mix of songs that fits the bill. Listen, while it's still springtime.
Monica Rene Rochester - "Late April Soggy Blossoms" 2013
Another impressively eclectic mix from her. I always enjoy all the textures and moods she presents. Give it a listen.
Cathleen John - "Ludens Facile" 2013
Always an adventure. Take the journey.
Mr. And-7 - "Sovietablizm (The Essesntial Grooves)" 2012
I guess i'm pretty ignorant to Russian music history, but I didn't know they had stuff that was this funky. I should have figured though. Listen/download here.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)