Austin, Texas. Indie-pop group Voxtrot announced last April 21 that the group was finally breaking up after 7 years in the business. I learned of this group back in 2006 and found some appeal to these two songs. I thought I'd pay homage to them. I frequently clean out my iPod and load it up again with fresh stuff but these two have always been constant.
Duncan Maclennan a.k.a DCUP has been gracing our ears with great tracks these past couple of months. This spin on Grum's recently released Can't Shake This Feeling has definitely been DCUPed and disco-ed down. One more day until the weekend!
Canadian singer-songwriter Leslie Feist hasn't got a lot going on for her at the moment. She's probably busy touring with her other group, Broken Social Scene. Moving on, these tracks are from her 2006 remix album, Open Season. Really interesting takes on Mushaboom, Gatekeeper and One Evening.
I came across this some time ago when a friend of mine suggested I check out Ha! Yes. There's another version of this out on the blogosphere but it isn't as smooth as this one. I feel classics such as Juicy should never be remixed to preserve its greatness, but I'll make an exception with this one.
"We're all Guidos, even though we aren't Italian." Yup, that's probably the quote of the week. My Anthropology professor blurted it out as we were on the topic of "nation." I honestly don't even remember how he segued into that statement. This comment thus influenced me to make this post. Not that I immediately relate Guidos to Italians in general (I know how they hate this association very much), but just because I remembered Italo Disco. If you remember one of my most recent posts was on Cecile & Venice, two prominent Italo-Disco producers. I was browsing through their comrades and chanced upon this guy. Not much on him online other than he's from Milan.
The duo from Ontario, Canada bring us a stripped down acoustic version of their track Lately. I posted Lately (Deuxième) sometime ago. Unlike the version before it, this one forgoes the distorted layering. We end up with a deconstructed version that sounds simpler and highlights the breezy vocals and ambient piano loop.
No need to introduce these two. This is a pretty sick disco edit. I've been playing it over and over for the past week since I acquired the version and I've come to the conclusion that I've held on to it long enough.
Over the years, I've developed a strong liking towards jazz rap. Producers in this genre have the unique capability of mixing together two entities no one would have thought would jive together. You have the crafty rhyme of rap coupled together with the carefully structured sound of jazz. The biggest artists in my opinion are Nujabes (RIP) and RJD2. These two are one of the best in this underground genre. A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to Kero One by a friend of mine. I've never heard of this guy before then. I downloaded some of the tracks and this guy shot right up in my charts. Definitely more jazz instrumentals infused in his music. His rapping comes off as more soulful than the usual angst-filled rap.
Swedish-American trio, Thieves Like Us is coming out with their 2010 album, Again and Again on May 7th. This includes their track Never Known Love (one of my favorite tracks), and their new single Forget Me Not, to be released this Tuesday, April 20th on shelflife (US) and deBonton (Europe).
So I'm back in the suburbs again. I've been here thrice in a span of a month. That's a record high for me. Anyway, as I was on the way back to my aunt's house from dinner, I had this playing on my iPod in the car. VHS or Beta is a band from Louisville, Kentucky. I had the chance to see them at Coachella back in 2008. Seeing them play this song live was amazing. There's something about the build up of the song that just gets going. Once the guitar starts off, you just have to nod in unison to the beat.
I got this song off a friend of mine (Thank you, Inna) while a bunch of us were sprawled out oh-so-comfortably right in front of the White House last weekend. That's right, Barack's abode. Technically we were at the park right across, but it doesn't really matter. I'm guessing as long as you're in the vision of the snipers that guard the rooftop, you're 'in front' of the White House. This song went on our makeshift speakers a.k.a Panasonic headphones just before I passed out from exhaustion. It was almost an infinite moment so I thought I'd put it up. I'm not really a fan of Temper Trap but with this Knocks Remix I'll make an exception.
The blogosphere has been buzzing with French duo, Jamaica. They were also previewed on Kitsuné Maison 9. I was thinking of including them on April's Playlist but thought I'd wait out for a remix. True enough, along comes Breakbot delivering the goods.
Do Italians really do it better? I don't know. But basing from this track, I think they've got Italo-disco (obviously) down to a science. This is done by two of Italy's best producers. That statement coming to a few blogs I've read. Don't let me go MLA on you. It will drive you nuts. What's important is that you like what you hear. This track is good, and so is the video.
French DJ/Producer Mily sent me an e-mail to preview one of his latest tracks. I've been all about Nu Disco lately. This guys is a little bit of of everything that's coming out of France right now like Surkin, Breakbot and Fred Falke. I feel like the past year has become more of a competition between the French and Aussies. Birthing excellent DJs left and right. I'd liken this track to Duck Sauce and Fake Moustache so put on those boogie shoes!
This is what you get when you set up a collaboration between two sets of amazing Norwegian artists. You have Kings of Convenience on one side who are known for their soothing and melancholic rhythms and vocals. On the other side is Royksopp, an electronic music duo known for their triphop and ambient beats. This track is from their album Versus, a collaboration between them and a few producers. It's definitely a must have on your iPod. I don't want to overkill this post with another track but when you do purchase/get your hands on the album, check out The Girl From Back Then (Riton's Uber Jazz Mix).
So I just got back from DC early this morning. I really enjoyed the trip despite our efforts to scamper around the city to make the most of the one day that we were there for. We hit the major monuments but only for a couple of photos then got along our way. The view from of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial was amazing. If only I had some background music I would have taken it all in more smoothly.
Yes, that is indeed Christopher Walken floating through the universe...
I feel ambivalent about the weather in the city. Yesterday was a record high (?) of 90 degrees. Boy was it hot. I don't mean to complain since from where I'm from, that is just a usual day's temperature. But if you haven't experienced it for 7 months, it will really come off as something alien to your body.
Townie Records has just announced that Chicago's premiere rock band trio, Hey Champ will be releasing their full length album, Star, on July 13 this year. Neverest is the second single to be released after the eargasmic Cold Dust Girl. It's pop rock goodness with a touch of some banging synths.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people have caught onto this show. It's probably one of the perfect examples of life here in NYC. It's been tough for everyone in this country ever since the recession. Everyone is trying their best to chase after that buck.
Thought I'd make a quick post just in case newbies to this site get the wrong impression. This is not a fail blog. Anyway, I temporarily selected a different file host while I await word from the Dropbox team. Is it really that hard to send out a warning that you're giving them too much traffic? I mean, how are people supposed to know.
Whole Oats writer, Ralph Mendoza sent over this mixtape last week. Pretty slick in my opinion. Check it out.
The much awaited remix album of these twins is now out on iTunes. You can purchase it here. The Alligator LP is a 17 track album that features the second single, "Alligator," which is off their 2009 critically acclaimed album, Sainthood. I've checked out the album and this track is the one I like the most. Chaz Bundick a.k.a Toro Y Moi lays out the beats that he has become famous for. I'm starting to think he's got the Midas touch.
Shout out to these two guys from Copenhagen for this track. Definitely a tune fitting for the weather. The past week and a half has been terrible with the rain and winds. Spring's ups and downs can get quite frustrating at times but it's all good as long as you've got that playlist!
