Brazilian futuristic know-how from "Herr Doktor" in this Futuremix delivered for Valerie.
Herr Doktor's passion for all things retro strikes a very real note with me. He has a thing for old 8-bit cartridges of games for the old Nintendo and Sega machines. I guess we all look back to our childhood as something we want back every now and then.
Now synchronize your watches, turn on your flux capacitors and get ready to see the future!
"Pony Pony Run Run's" summer hit, Hey You, has been hit up with a really cool remix by "Crystal Fighters" just in time for the release of their first album. Adding in some guitar and some cool syntheziser-work they've dissected Hey You and made something very different, yet still really cool. It's also gotten it's very own video, in the form of a traveling commercial for southeast Asia.
On the subject of great remixes I also came upon a great remix of "The Temper Trap's" single, Sweet Disposition by Alan Wilkis. One that doesn't quite chop quite as mercilessly in the original tune as much as the previous remix. Alan doesn't let go of the feel of the original, instead he's able to add a new dimension to it. I like it when remixers are able to do that.
And it did, "Hudson Mohawke" is at a loss for a better word, just fantastic. FUSE is one of the most epic tracks I've heard this year, this, the year of Crysteena and Apollo. Everything Hudson Mohawke creates is amazingly well-produced and creative, with a kind of electro house deal goin on. Max Justus deffinately comes to mind. He's releasing his first LP on the 26th of October, through the same lable as Tim Exile, whom you can read of here. I for one have my copy pre-ordered, and I suggest you do the same, there's a T-shirt in it for you! You can order ithere.
I made a short posting about "Mille" a while back. Now I would like to rehash the subject. With the release of new material only furthering proof of his godlike ability of producing grade A shit. Mille is a swedish electro chipcore behemoth, it's only a matter of time before they reach the broader stage and have the world in awe. What he has produced so far would make the likes of Daft Punk and Kavinsky green with robot envy. I'm sure I just stepped on a lot of feet there, but yes, I firmly believe that Mille has produced better music than Daft Punk.
One day when the AI has taken over the universe, Crysteena will be their marching tune as they mercilessly slaughter all innocent organisms. I for one will welcome our new robot overlords.
If there is a god, he would listen to "Matamatics". Now of course the idea of an all powerful and all seeing sentient being is ridiculous, right? The Zenith track sounds a lot like "Danger", and that, can only be a good thing. But the real gems are their remixes of Imogen Heap and Drake, underlined by a mellow beat and a feelgood synth they're the kind of track that gets one through the day, and the night to an equal amount. The dance aesthetic is one proudly advanced into by Matamatics. Best I Ever Had disrupts all my senses who cry for stillnes and what commences can only be described as a white boys desperate attempt to dance.
The "Miami horror" is finally reaching into the cookiejar and pulling out it's first single. It's that hit track that you've just been waiting for them to release, and now that it's here - with a beautiful video to boot - it couldn't have gone better. I can't help but feel they're kinda like a downsized version of Bag Raiders though, but I'll have to wait til the finished album hits the shelves sometime next year before I can really evaluate.
On the subject of the video, I really think that director "Moop Jaw" did a fantastic job with it. Be jealous of their young bodies and minds, be awed by the fantastic scenery, be thrilled by the music.
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.
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.
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 considerthe 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.
Boy, let me tell you, if the description "Hip-hop house through pink italo shades" doesn't pique any kind of interest in you, this artwork will. I can honestly say that I was awestruck by these pretty fuckin masterful pieces of artwork they had on their Myspace. "DW" is the name of the swedish duo I'm raving about, DW is short for Deadwood, but in fear of being associated with the wrong things they feel that the name DW is more electro, possibly more german. In spite of the project being 6 years old they have yet to release their first EP. Though with the help of Chicago based indie label Glam Boy, things are finally put in motion with a small promo video posted on Vimeo promising it will drop this fall.
Italo Disco they call it, and Italo Disco it is, the best kind, the cheesy kind, the kind that makes you glad to be alive. While they've made some great stuff on their own, their very best creation is probably the colab with french counterpart "Daroc" on the track, Hypnotic France.
Following are some great snippets of sound, DW originals and DW remixes alike.
Edit: I just came across this really cool online drum machine with the DW logo on it, check it out! Ronwinter Drums
While on the subject of Daroc, I'd like to talk about a track that's been haunting my dreams and terrorising me to the point of a breakdown. In a good way. By the time the song reaches it's literal climax, man, It just makes me happy. It was featured on the "Boxon Makes Me Happy" album released earlier this year, an album you should buy right away, unless you're a chicken-wuss! Chicken-wuss! That's right, I'm resorting to the insults of a seven year old, I'm also resorting to mocking my few readers, oh well, here's the track.
Anyone played Vice City? Yeah? And you figured maybe you'd watch some TV in your virtual luxury flat? Yeah? Then maybe you came across the in-game show called Angel and the Knight about the crimefighting couple living on a speedboat, named Chris Van Angel and Bonnie Knight... Yeah? Well, Chris works as a "hot dog" helicopter pilot and is a Vietnam veteran. Bonnie is a recovering alcoholic ninja who will sleep her way to the truth. Together they create a formiddable crimefighting team, whilst also battling their inner demons. They also ride a helicopter that can go underwater. If that's not the concept for a successful and longrunning TV-classic I don't know what is!
It so happens that someone thought it'd be a great idea to release a soundtrack with songs that had nothing to do with the show itself, but rather with the era and mentality of he show. It's the soundtrack the show would've had, had it been aired on real television. Now the only reason I'm aware of this thing is that "Murder One" is featured in a colab with "Girl is Toügh" on the track titled This is Love which is an allright disco-thumper but acctually one of my least favorite tracks on the album. Instead "Palm Highway Chase" takes the podium with his track titled Space Again. It's a great trip to the nightly colors and sounds of 80's downtown Miami, suckin it all in through the pores of your skin while watching the neon flash by from the seat of your car. Now I am aware I was not born in the 80's nor have I ever been to Miami, but all you gotta do is believe, Johnny boy! The album is available for free download right here.
There seems to be no end of interesting swedish bands and musicians, yet they receive much too little acclaim here at home. The Sound of Arrows are now reaching out abroad to release their debut single in the UK and the US through "Neon Gold", accompanied by this video here. I've been watching it on a loop for the last four days and I absolutely love it. I just want to run out into the rain and in a fiery rawr proclaim my challenge to the world, in the face of great adversity. Because, as the song says, as long as we stay together nothing can stop us.
"The Sound of Arrows" do everything themselves, they write and produce all their own music, handle the design work and even create their own music videos. That DIY mentality really is commendable, and - with that in mind - The Sound of Arrows really are a new breed of pop superstars, as the folks over at Neon Gold so nicely put it.
The duo consisting of Oskar Gullstrand and Stefan Storm released their latest EP this last january, titled "M.A.G.I.C.", spearheaded by the track of the same name, a track with definite shades of Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.". A bunch of kids singing a chorus about how the world is full of magic never fails. Unless it sucks. Which this track clearly doesn't.
What follows is the wonderful promo video for their M.A.G.I.C.A.L. EP.
If you are the owner of the songs posted on this site and you don't want them online please feel free to post a comment and we'll have them taken down as soon as possible.
