Taken By Trees x CFCF

Swedish indie-folk artist gets her track re-touched. Horribly sluggish day. This makes it slightly more bearable.

Taken By Trees - Anna (CFCF Remix)

Tanlines x Memory Tapes

About to head out in a bit to the Standard Hotel's Biergarten (Beer Garden). I hope it is as good as my friend made it out to be. I hate going to the Meatpacking but I'm definitely looking forward to some German beer, pretzels and wurst. Zum Wohl!

Tanlines - Real Life (Memory Tapes Remix)

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Stepped out for lunch awhile ago to meet up with some friends who are visiting the city. Ended up walking around SoHo for around 45 minutes until I felt it was time to head back home for a cold shower and some AC. Might be the hottest day of the year in my opinion.

I Learned The Hard Way - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Matt Van Schie

Matt Van Schie, a member of the Sydney-based band Van She (one of the many Modular greats), has taken on a solo act. His recently released album, Balmy Nights, has the ability to send your mind a flight. The track Journey probably best represents this theory of mine. The airy vocals and masterfully recreated 80s synths send you over the edge of reason into some blissful state of release and relaxation. YUP.

Journey - Matt Van Schie

I'm throwing in this Hemingway remix that just blew me away. There are a lot of summer gems that seem to be surfacing at the moment. This would have to be at the top of my list. Counting down the days until I get to kick back at the beach.

Lady (Hemingway's Beach Bossa Mix) - Matt Van Schie

The new Arcade Fire 12" Single

A short preview of both sides of the new Arcade Fire 12" single...

Wave Machines

The good people over at Eyes & Ears Entertainment sent word of a new band they are working with out of Liverpool, England. I rarely favor electro pop but I'll make an exception with Wave Machines. You can't go wrong with suave falsetto vocals and beats that have been likened to Hot Chip. You can download their songs below. I would highly recommend I Go I Go I Go and The Greatest Escape We Ever Made.

Bibio

"The name Bibio was taken from a small black and red fishing fly which was favoured by his father on their fishing trips to Wales during Stephen’s childhood, the name therefore has nostalgic meaning which is often a theme in his music."

I'm going to beat you to the punch already and say that this is an "old songs." A few people have left comments on how "late" I am with a post or how "old" the song is. I find it quite annoying. I don't care how early you found the song you pretentious hipster.

Anyway, with summer sort of here already, I'm on the lookout for tunes for the blog's Summer Playlists. This track will definitely be making an appearance on one of those mixtapes.

Lovers' Carvings (Christian Flores NMS Edit) - Bibio

Ethel Beatty

I'm back after a one week hiatus! After being neck-deep in papers and exams, I now have a plethora of music to go over. I'm not even half way through all the songs I have to listen to and I'm already going nuts. I usually enjoy this but having a busted laptop charger really does get in the way of things. Thank you Apple for being reliable. Do expect a barrage of posts this week to make up for the time lost!

Stumbled upon this on Winnie Cooper and it just blew my mind. This is disco-funk/house at its finest. U-Tern is a DJ based out of Vancouver, Canada.

I Know You Care (U-Tern Edit) - Ethel Beatty

Onra

French beatmaker extraordinaire Onra is on fire with this track. It's part of his recently released EP, Long Distance. The original version is a collaboration with Olivier Daysoul. I decided to put up the instrumental one because I liked the vibe more. It's an infectious slow 80s hiphop beat.

Long Distance (Instrumental Version) - Onra

Grovesnor

So you're sitting around your apartment with a lady you know. You've got the wine and good conversation going on. Amidst all the playful banter you throw back and forth, you feel this tension. For the sake of being proper, let's call it - romantic tension. After a long stretch, you reach that point where the dreaded awkward silence has befallen the conversation. Say about 5-10 seconds? Anyway, in that short span of time you think to yourself, "Damn, I should have put on some music on my iTunes awhile ago" Just your luck. At least you'll know better next time. Just make sure you're loaded with the goods. No pun intended.

A recent article refers to his music as that for a modern day Lothario. I couldn't agree more. I mean, if you sound like Hall & Oats, Steely Dan or Al Green all rolled up into one, then you've got the nickname coming for you. Grovesnor is the moniker of Rob Smoughton, a former member of Hot Chip. The beats are the kind you'd funk to. Very retro with that inkling of seduction. What makes it even better are the falsetto vocals that resonate the lyrical embodiment of romance.

No Doubt About It - Grovesnor

Foals - Total Life Forever Album

Foals, a 5 piece band from Oxford England released their second album, Total Life Forever yesterday through Trangressive. I definitely enjoyed this album more than Antidotes. The instrumentals are great. The resonating synths, the electronic guitar and the signature drumming style they have come to be recognized for form a harmonious display of class act production. Some of their tracks take on a somewhat more mellow tone which is just perfect for the slow approach to summer. The vocals have also turned onto a more smooth path as well. In a nutshell I really enjoyed the different sound of this album. One of the best albums releases so far this year in my opinion.

Total Life Forever - Foals

Black Gold - Foals

Q&A Exclusive: DCUP

Who is DCUP? How would you label your music?

DCUP is Duncan MacLennan, a funk-bot teleported from the 80s to make funk-fulled disco music to funk up the dance scene in 2010.

How did you start out in the industry?

I went to Kmart one day and bought a "How to Be a Dope Nu-Disco Producer" starter kit.

Tell us about the music scene where you currently are?

Sydneys all kinds of fun right now. Sweat it Out, Bang Gang etc. are great labels with good cats making good records.

Who has influenced you, musically or otherwise?

My late great dad. He sang and played guitar to me when i was young and planted the musical seed in my brain.

Top 5 favorite producers at the moment?

Popof (Yeah I like Techno)
Daniel Haaksman
Phonat
Cassian

Lorenz Rhode

What is next for DCUP?

World domination . No screw that. Second EP is not far away. YBC (Yolanda Be Cool) collaboration follow up too. In a word: Plenty.

Night of the Hornheadz (DCUP Remix) - Act Yo Age

Personal Touch - DCUP ft. Courtney

Oh Mercy

"Oh Mercy flirt with your emotions; one minute their songs are jovial, full of rhythm and layers of pop friendly lyrics and the next they are edged with salty salutations and moody stoicism. Adept and sincere the band harmonizes into one and is both bold and memorable. Before you know it you will find yourself hearing their sound before you have opened your eyes in the morning until you lay down at night."

I apologize for the lack of posts the past couple of days. The semester is coming to a close and it's Finals week for me. I've automated some posts with some great music so make sure to check it out. Goodluck to me.

Lay Everything On Me - Oh Mercy

Elke x Broke One

Elke is a four-member band from Queensland, Australia. They started out recording in a bedroom until they gained a following after making it as finalists at the MTV Kickstart competition. Blue Dream Lover is a pretty mellow pop song with a catchy tune. What I'm putting up though is a remix by Italian producer, Broke One. I featured him a couple of posts back and he did an excellent job adding some groove to Elke's track.

Blue Dream Lover (Broke One Remix) - Elke

The Robins/The Coasters

I was watching School Ties the other night on NetFlix and this song came up. I remember hearing it sometime back but never really paid much attention to it. These guys are the original rhythm and blues. None of that contemporary stuff. They went from being called The Bluebirds, to The Robins and finally ending with The Coasters. They started out in 1949 in Los Angeles, California.

When I hear this song I imagine myself in a dark and humid bar in the 50s hanging out with some buddies. At the corner is some foxy lady drinking by herself (Why? I don't know, but a lady that fine should never be alone) So you decide to put this track on the jukebox and have your friends a.k.a wingmen clap to it while you approach her and pull her up to dance. You know how it ends.

I've got a vivid imagination, I know. I think I'll pass out from a heatstroke now. Too hot in NYC.

"Why risk my life when that Smokey Joe's a crazy fool"

Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Robins

May Playlist

It's the first Sunday of the May and it's time for a mixtape. Last April's playlist seemed to be a huge success. Hopefully this is just as good or even better. I guess you could say the songs are a preview to summer. It's all about laying back with a cold beer on the porch.

I've changed the format of the playlist such that it is now one cohesive track, instead of downloading a whole folder of MP3s. Just thought I'd try it out and see if it works better this way.

Download the mix here 61.89MB

Tracklist:

1. Bye Bye Blackbird - Happy High
2. Tune-Yards - Jumping Jack
3. Best Coast - Our Deal
4. The Young Friends - Be My Baby
5. Twin Sister - Lady Daydream
6. Just Jack - Disco Friends
7. Minus The Bear - My Time
8. Gauntlet Hair - I Was Thinking...
9. Korallreven - Loved-Up
10. Jonathan Boulet - A Community Service Announcement (The Album Leaf Remix)
11.The Holidays - Moonlight Hours
12. Health - In Heat (Javelin Remix)
13. Speak - Carrie (RAC Remix)

Snoop Dog x Mayer Hawthorne

It has been an interesting weekend so far. After a long and tiring night out, I awoke today to an unusually warm room. A RealFeel of 87 is defininitely not the best way your day could start if you have a hangover. I don't want to complain so much though since this is the time the beautiful people of NYC come out to play. That being said, there is no better way to show your appreciation than giving some love. Not just any love. Gangsta luv.

"Everytime I come around, darling love me down, lady in the streets now, but in between the sheets wow..."

Gangsta Luv (Mayer Hawthorne G-Mix) - Snoop Dog

Green Eyed Love (Classixx Remix) - Mayer Hawthorne