Afrika shox

I found this song a couple of months ago on "Keytars & Violins" (possibly the coolest blog in the world in terms of design, just sayin), and it's an excellent example of good experimental music. Apparently African folk song + house = true. And that's exactly the kind of experience I'd like to share here on this blog. "Niconé" has done some really cool stuff in recent years, even cooler than Owl's with lazer eyes! Which in itself is contradictory since nothing is cooler than Owl's with lazer eyes. 

Niconé - Abayomi

Discover

I never quite wondered what would happen if you were to mix "Vampire Weekend" with "Ra Ra Riot". I should've. Once again, this certainly isn't "news" but this little brainchild of Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot vocalist Wes Miles is some of the best electro pop produced this side of the universe. They produced an album titled the same as their project, "Discovery" which was released just before summer. This album is a discovery of an Electro pop universe not yet traversed with soundmixing as dubiously clever as the mindtrap that is sudoku (I really can't figure that shit out!) and vocals as unfitting as mustard on candycorn yet still as wellfitting as chocolate syrup on vanilla ice cream. Of course there still is that slight chance that you're allergic to the small residue of peanut in the chocolate syrup. 

Discovery to me, is a very interesting project and I'm eagerly awaiting whatever comes next, although six months of listening to their first album certainly hasn't put me off from looping it on my iPod some more. An auto tuned Ezra Koenig sets the mood for Carby, a great track out of an album where I acctually love every single song, I don't think that's ever happened for me since Cross was released two years ago. The cover of the Jackson 5 track I Want You back is probably my favourite track out of this fantastic musical achievement, it remains epic and ferocious despite it's slow tempo. I could realistically name every track on this record as my favorite though, I just love it that much.

Discovery - Carby (Feat. Ezra Koening) 

Discovery - I Want You Back

XXX

Pornographic material for yo' ears, that's what my agenda is all about. "The XX" is a four-piece from London consisting of 18-19 somethings coming together to create this summers most beautiful album. It's hard to imagine something less timid than The XX's melodies, and that's where their musical genius lies, their quiet and soothing, yet somehow angry display of pure teen angst. There's alot of themes to do with moons and stars, as well as the silly ideas we youngsters have about unconditional love and our beliefs that somewhere out there is something for us to build our lives upon. They display a harsh reality though, one that says that we cannot always stay so naive. Yet they wish to linger in these beliefes as though they were unwanting of leaving their naivite behind, as if to say that having these dreams are just as crucial as the realisation that we cannot rely on them.

Now I'm sure many of you are aware of The XX's gothic homage to the vocal melodies of R&B and their back to back musical upbringing with "Hot Chip" and "Burial" for which they are most recognised. For those of you not aware though I'd like for you to consider the following fact. They are fantastic. They released their first LP about two weeks ago, and through strained repetiotion on my iPod I've come to the conclusion that there's not a single mediocre track on the record. Every track is as inventively gloomy as the one preceding it and the duets between vocalists Romy and Oliver are a struggle of beauty on beauty with the listener ultimately the winner. 

The xx - Shelter 

The xx - Stars