Sunfire x My Birthday

I'm in the beautiful city of Hong Kong for a clan trip (26 people to be exact) and it has been amazing so far. The city, the food and the people are all great, except for the occasional douche-y Chinese vendors. I've stuffed myself with enough wanton noodles to feed a village. Not good.

On the other hand, I'm heading out in a bit to celebrate my 23rd birthday. Yup, I suspect this whole "faimly trip" was a secret birthday bash planned by my whole family. Then again, I could be wrong! I expect nothing less than crazy from the Hong Kong crowd. I was walking around just last night and it reminded me very much of New York. Another concrete jungle, just 1000 times more Asian. Streets full of crazy drunk hooligans, both of Asian and foreign decent flooded the streets. I'm guessing it being a Friday night and all, it'll be even worse (in a good way of course).

Leaving you guys with this 80s funk track! The August playlist will also be out on Sunday so watch out for it.

Rockin' My Love - Sunfire

The Stepkids

Good day ladies and gents! Apologies for my delinquency on my posting duties. I'm halfway through my vacation already. Will be doing regular posts by mid-August when I get back to the city. Please bear with me!

A friend of mine told me about The StepKids, a band that opened for Mates of State 2 weeks ago in NYC. She mentioned how trippy their performance was. Check out some of the videos taken at their gigs here. Their MySpace page lists Psychedelic / Soul as their sound and their music falls nothing short of it.

The first time I heard this track, I immediately knew it was a good one. Their other compositions contain some really crazy 70s psychedelic guitar riffs that make you feel like you just dropped some insane amount of acid. The first one though delves more into soulful vocals that make it such a perfect tune for summer. The mellow, country-like guitars in the background give you a hazy summer feeling. Something I wish I was experiencing right now. Too bad its typhoon season.

Legend In My Own Mind - The StepKids

These guys will be opening for Nico's Gun this Saturday (July 31) @ Sullivan Hall, NYC. Details here.

Mosquitos

Mosquitos is a New York-based band that has been around since 2003. They're distinctive sound is a mash up between bossa nova and indie pop. Haven't heard much from them in a long time and these tracks came up on my iTunes today. Their stuff have been staples songs for most of my summers mainly because they've got such breezy bossa melodies. If you didn't know already know, I easily get off with anything remotely close to bossa nova (completely irrelevant) The airy, laid-back vocals fit go hand in hand with the smooth jazz guitars and uplifting percussions.

Boom Box - The Mosquitos

Flood - The Mosquitos

Holy Ghost! x Classixx

I apologize for the lack of posts. I know I said that I'd try to update this as much as possible but circumstances have prevented me from doing so! There was a typhoon here in Manila that l resulted in a two-day blackout. Worst two days I've spent here during this vacation.

More posts to come...

I Will Come Back (Classixx Acacpulco Nights Version) - Holy Ghost!

RiCHARD.GEAR

David Schacheri a.k.a RiCHARD.GEAR (quite possibly resembling the infatuation of Slow Motion Shoes with Brendan Frasier) is based out of Austin, Texas. He seems to be well established over there having both created and hosted parties that have blown the roof off the place

This track of his has got some heavy beats that only fist-pumping to it will give it justice. I can't really figure out what song was sampled on this but it sounds just as amazing. Another disco-house tune to tear up the dance floor to.

His career is about to take flight as he just released his debut EP, Starz. It includes four tracks and it's free here.

Everything I Got - RiCHARD.GEAR

Nora/Non Tiq

So this might be a bit late but I'll never pass out on posting something really good. As long as I feel like it would be worth your time, I'll let you know about it.

Nora / Non Tiq (she recently changed her MySpace name to this) is from Stockholm, Sweden. She was nominated as the Best Unsigned Artist of 2009 at the Swedish Manifestgalan. I'm not surprised that she got this award after hearing this song. I've come across a lot of Swedes that produce flawless music and this is just another one for the books.

Her vocals are effortlessly chill. The mellow guitars riffs and the subtle synth beats come together to produce a track that is perfect for all seasons. Whether you're under the heat or in doors because of the rain of snow, this will not fail to entertain you.

Nora - Quiet

Def Starr

This is my view right now. I'm on a plane, en route to the Philippines for a month of downtime. Definitely looking forward to spending time with family and friends! I WILL be updating this throughout my stay, regardless of the crappy internet connection we have back home.

Australians Def Starr started out as a duo back in 2008. Since then, they've evolved into a trio. Definitely some good stuff from these guys. Two slow burning tracks with some pretty amazing and sexy synths through out both. The Daft Punk remix has been out for awhile. The Grovesnor one is the more recent track. This could possibly be smoother than silk and butter combined. You can't beat that.

Turn Up Your Radio (Def Starr Remix) - Grovesnor

Something About Us (Def Starr Remix) - Daft Punk

Picture House

Temperatures have soared up to 100 degrees here in New York. The news says these next 2 days could break records in terms of electricity consumption. No doubt about that. I've had the AC on the whole because I'd be in a oven if it wasn't switched on.

Cool yourself down with this unadulterated disco house track care of Picture House.

Feel The Heat - Picture House

July Playlist

Here is the second installment of summer mixtapes. Been really psyched the past 2 weeks about putting this up. Mixed and matched a lot of songs just to get the vibe just right. Hope everyone had a fun 4th of July weekend!

Download the mix here. 68.06MB

Tracklist:

1. Tennis - Marathon
2. Reverie Sound Revue - Passes and Passports
3. Lands & Peoples - In Living Colour
4. Dominant Legs - About My Girls
5. David's Lyre - Heartbeat
6. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home (RAC Remix)
7. Niva - The Boy From The Sun
8. Lake Heartbeat - Golden Chain
9. Lemonade - Lifted (Le Chev Reunion Tour Remix)
10. Passion Pit - Dreams (The Cranberries Cover)
11. The Temper Trap - Love Lost (Kejlet Remix)
12. Dragonette - Easy (Fabian Remix)
13. Keenhouse - Ari-es (Hemingway's Starlight Yacht Remix)

Dominant Legs

Dominant Legs is an experimental pop duo comprised of Ryan William Lynch and Hannah Hunt. They are based out San Francisco, California. These two aren't new to the blogosphere. They received a bit of attention back in October 2009 while touring with another SF band, Girls, whom Ryan Lynch is apparently a member of also. The attention wasn't wide spread though, which comes as a real surprise to me. Their song About My Girls sounds so fresh. This synth (piano?) laden track goes so well with the vaporous vocals of Lynch. The bounciness of the track is a very 80s/new wave vibe. Worth your time!

Dominant Legs - About My Girls

Louis La Roche

I wish I was as cool as this kid 4 years ago. At 19 years old, Brett Ewels a.k.a Louis La Roche was hailed as the next great hero for the British dance music scene. It's hard to say disagree with such a statement when he's already put out some really bangin' tracks and remixes. Not to mention he has cited big guns like The Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk and Cassius as his influences.

He made big news in the blogosphere when his first track was leaked online and was mistaken as a Thomas Bangalter (the other half of Daft Punk) production! “It was nice but I don’t want people think I am trying to imitate the Daft Punk sound. It was just that one track which was recorded in the same style as a Thomas Bangalter record.”

I just found out about this kid now and already he's got my vote as the next big one. His own stuff as well as his remixes are just filthy with disco and French house beats. You will definitely break a sweat listening to his stuff especially this particular one. From the first couple of beats, it was love at first listen.

Missing You (Feat. Ad-Apt) - Louis La Roche

His debut album, Me & Her gained some acclaim for its airtime on Annie Mac. His second EP, Super Soaker was released last January under Ever After Records. Buy it now on Beatport or iTunes

New Order

I'm back in the Princeton for a few days of down time. There really isn't a lot to do here event-wise, but that's exactly why I like coming here. Sometimes, limiting your options really does make life much easier. Back in New York, the simplest things require a lot of effort. Getting from point A to B requires figuring out which train/what transfers and how long it will take you to get there. The simplest act of feeding yourself becomes a personal discourse between your cravings. Going out to have a good time seems to require a lot research and evaluation too because of the bagillion bars around the city. It feels so good to get away from having to make all those decisions.

Anyway, I'm sitting out on the porch right now and the playlist I'm listening to surprised me with this song. New Order started after the death of Joy Division's Ian Curtis (RIP). Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris brought Gillian Gilbert on board and the newly formed band eventually became one of the most critically acclaimed and highly influential bands of the 1980s. Ceremony was originally a single of Joy Division that was written weeks before the death of Curtis. It served as New Order's first ever release.

This song will forever be a favorite of mine. I' consider this to be one of the finest post-punk songs I've heard. I would have no idea why anyone would think otherwise about it. It's mellow and hypnotizing bass really resonates in your ear. The repressed cymbals and the smooth core-cutting guitars throughout the song blow my mind every time I listen to it. The vocals are the icing on the cake that make it sound so atmospheric. I think this is what they call spatial music?

Ceremony - New Order