Friday, August 30, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Hot mixes: August 2013 Week 3
DJ Clone Funk & DJ Solemasseur - "Funkin Nuts" 2013
This is a tight and funky, mostly disco mix. It worked really good listening to this while I cleaned the apartment. Listen here.
Takanome - "Funk :) Edit" 2013
I was on a disco kick that day and this mix was also satisfying my needs. Check this one out.
DJ Solemasseur - "Summer Shimmer" 2013
Still continuing within the disco mood. Get down on it.
Christophe Ywaska - "Summer Mixtape Part 4: Tumbling In That Re-Occuring Dream Again" 2013
This was the best mix I heard this week. Cinematic and engaging, it's easy to get lost within these soundscapes and it definitely makes for great headphone listening. Check it out.
Kyosuke Shima - "Yokoshima Mix 22" 2013
aaaaand back to the disco again.... Give it a listen.
Kyosuke Shima - "Yokoshima Mix 22" 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Album Reviews: August 2013 Week 1
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Mosquito" 2013
I've tried to give this album a fair shake, due to the fact that it took me a little while to get used to and enjoy all of their previous albums, but most of this album just really falls flat. It makes me wonder why it took so long to come out. It isn't all bad, it's mostly just bland and uninteresting or uninspired sounding. Even the songs I do like on here, I only think are decent, they don't blow me away or really even wow me on any level. It's not really the production either, it's more the songwriting. It really seems like a masturbatory, going through the motions of making an album, album, which I never like to hear from people I enjoy. (Atmosphere and Marilyn Manson seem to be really good at making these types of albums for the last 7-8 years of their careers). It's the worst type of way for an album to be, because it gives you hints and glimpses and reminders of why you enjoy that artist in the first place, but it's all seemingly done with no love or feeling behind it, and it ends up making you feel like you have to be on prozac or something to actually enjoy it. As a side note: why does Kool Keith appear as a guest on here? It's not really a bad song, just a strange collabo. Check out the video for the title track, the video for "Despair", the video for "Sacrilege", and "Buried Alive" featuring Dr. Octagon.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Album Reviews: July 2013 Week 4
Ras G - "Raw Fruit" 2013
According to Ras, this is all songs that he created with the specific purpose of listening to them while he smokes weed, but they were only meant for him and not anyone else. I'm glad he decided to share these with the world because I really enjoy short attention span style instrumental albums like this. Check out "Late Night Hype" and "All Out Fuck It".
Nicolas Jaar - "Lux/ Sleeping Ute Remixes" 2013
This was a vinyl only Record Store Day release. Nicolas Jaar doing a remix each for Grizzly Bear and Brian Eno. I find both of these remixes to be pretty superb and Nicolas definitely has a signature sound that permeates every song he does, even if it's him remixing other people's material. Him reworking Brian Eno is a perfect fit also. Check out Brian Eno - "Lux (Nicolas Jaar Remix)" and Grizzly Bear - "Sleeping Ute (Nicolas Jaar Remix)".
Big Chocolate - "Clean" 2013
This is some nice, friendly yet varied, bass oriented music that doesn't really stick to a specific subgenre, which is cool because it keeps things interesting and less predictable. He's got a couple other new-ish EP's that i'll have to check out for sure now. He sounds like he would be a good fit to be on Ninja Tune. Maybe one day he'll end up releasing stuff through them, who knows. Check out "Old Friend", "Bypass", and "Here All Alone".
Heist - "Step Out The Box EP" 2013
I don't know if the title is supposed to be tongue in cheek or something, but I would say that these songs sound SO similar to the songs by him that I was previously familiar with, that he has just put himself IN a box with this EP. If you like really drilly drum n bass meets dubstep, then by all means check out Heist, but it seems as though all his releases are fairly interchangeable at this point. Check out "Suckers", "Step Out The Box", and "Abandoned".
Serpdot - "Wigger Juggalo" 2013
This is volume #3 of his "Career Ender" series, which collects songs that were made probably mostly for comedy purposes, and most rappers would be embarrassed of, but that is also the charm of this material. He has an ability to be offensive in an offbeat yet intelligent way that makes this stuff feel way different than other rappers that go for comic shock value, like say Odd Future for example. Lots of different catchy flows are present here as well. It's just some talented dudes fuckin around, low budget style. You can download it for free here.
Mr. Dibbs - "Deadworld Reborn" 2012
He hadn't released anything in quite a while, and he's one of my favorite DJ's of all time, so I was curious about this. I'm kinda disappointed that this is a mostly rap mix, but it's cool that it's all exclusive tracks featuring people like Murs, Dose One, Barfly, and Brother Ali. Still worth a listen. You can download for free here, but if you donate money it goes to charity, so you can't lose either way.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Hot mixes: August 2013 Week 1
Heinrich Mueller - "RA Podcast #250"- 2011
This mix randomly came on while I was cooking dinner, and after about 20 minutes in, I had to run over to the computer to see what was actually playing. This is one of the dudes from Drexciya, so you know it's on some super space age, astro shit. I had to go back later and check this mix out again in headphones. There's some really exquisite textures and soundscapes going on here, and this mix is definitely a good example of how techno doesn't have to be boring. It can take you on an adventure in your mind, if done well. Check it out.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Hot mixes: July 2013 Week 4
The Flaming Lips - "Chocolate Human Heart" 2013
This was released for Valentine's Day earlier this year. It was $60 and the box it comes in contains an anatomically correct human heart made out of chocolate, and i'm assuming they put some USB stick or something in the middle of the heart that contains the music. They were all sold out at least a week before Valentine's Day. The music is a hour+ long mix of songs from their career with a love theme. This is a pretty awesome continuous mix. It seems well thought out and everything flows nicely. It seems to work pretty well no matter what level of fan you are of the band as well. There's something for everyone. The only place online I can find where you can listen to this without downloading is on LastFM, but who knows if this link will actually work. I'm kinda unfamiliar with how that site works... Give it a try anyways.
CX Kidtronik - "Stones Throw Podcast #82: Black Punk" 2013
This mix straight blew me away. This is exactly the type of sounds i'm looking for in a mix. A lot of hard stuff and a lot of funny stuff from all genres, with more emphasis on song selection and keeping the listener interested than blending songs and keeping it slick. This is what CX had to say about this mix himself: " it's some black punk rock, Pure Hell, HR & Holy Rollers of DC. Hardcore! Lots of Brooklyn MC's from my block in Crown Heights: Half-A-Mil (RIP), Banga Shine, Ruste Juxx. NOT FOR BITCH ASS EARHOLES. And with some comedy. There is a soft moment at the end with a song by Minister Louis Farrakhan. I tried to keep it as offensive as possible, so I hope y'all actually use it."... So yeah, I strongly urge you to check out both this and his new album, which is very interesting to me. Subscribe to Stones Throw's podcast on iTunes, or get it here.
Archie Pelago - "RA Podcast #370" 2013
This came on randomly when I was packing up my old apartment, and I really enjoyed it. They are fusing dance music with elements of improv jazz and making it sound pretty good. After reading about their whole creative process and how they perform shows, it sounds like it would be pretty cool to see them live. This is the type of meeting of traditional and technology that I would like to see more of in the future. A lot of people in both the jazz and electronic scenes are so stuffy and unable to adapt to the future, it nice to see some people trying to make something in a new way using the new technologies we have at our disposal in this day and age. Check it out here or subscribe to RA (Resident Advisor) podcasts on iTunes.
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