Filed under: Beats, Electronica | Tags: 80s, beats, cassette tapes, Electronic, free mixtape, Hip Hop, Synth, tape deck
Sonic Youth‘s Thurston Moore once said “I only listen to cassettes”, and I cannot really claim to have the same level of dedication and indie cred… But I do remember listening to tunes on my old tape-deck, and who doesn’t enjoy a little nostalgia once and awhile?
100 Akres is a beat-tape label, which puts out some consistently neat cassette tapes, as well as their digital download releases. Recently I got an email telling me that there was a free mixtape hidden somewhere on their website…
Anyone is one the tracks off of the hidden tape, a majority of my trip-hop collection comes from sampled jazz and soul tracks, but Anyone seems to shy away from that trend, bringing some neato 80s synth sounds into the mix. Give it a download, then while you listen, try to find the rest of the hidden tape at 100akres.com
Filed under: BRILLIANT, Dance, Electronica, Upbeat | Tags: brilliance, Brilliant, Dance, dreamy, Electronic, Pop, synth-pop, Upbeat
THE FIRST TRACK TO EARN A BRILLIANCE TAG THIS YEAR!
Chrome Sparks is a USA- based artist who puts out neat music which falls somewhere in the ‘electronic-pop’ area. A wonderfull collaboration featuring the vocal talents of LA-based Steffaloo brought us Still Sleeping sometime around October last year, and it’s a fun track all-round.
Despite a focus on lo-fi folk, Steffaloo‘s voice is accustomed to geting the electronic remix treatment- and it’s a matchmade in heaven when combined with Chrome Sparks‘ dreamy production work. Overall, the track is upbeat enough to happily sway to, but not quite enough to get you embarrassing yourself all sweaty on the dance floor- although I speak for myself; I’m sure after a few too many guava shots you could find hordes of tie-dye clad and glow-stick equipped ravers moving their hands and their butts in a bizarre motion that could be considered dancing along to this great track. Check it:
Chrome Sparks – Still Sleeping (feat. Steffaloo)
Chrome Sparks Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/chrome-sparks
Steffaloo Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/steffaloo
Filed under: Chilled, Dance, Electronica, Upbeat | Tags: Chilled, Dance, Deep, Electronic, san fransico bay
The San Fransico bay area is a place teeming with creative aural gems, somewhere I’d really love to visit again to go for a good musical dig. A shining example is this fresh tune from B Flat titled With You released as a single by Soulection.
Danceable and upbeat, yet still maintaining an atmospheric vibe- With You is described by B Flat as being a song about a girl.
It was somewhat of a gloomy day at the beach, but the sun was still out.
I think that quote encapsulates the tone of the track quite well. While certainly not deep and moody, With You avoids sounding bright and twee- check out the free download bellow:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/bflatinum
More by B Flat:
Filed under: Dance, Electronica, Upbeat, Vocals | Tags: Daft Punk, Dance, Disco, disco ball, disco music, Electronic, funk, Funky, party, sexy disco, Upbeat
:O Another amazing group from the Netherlands! What do they put in the water there?! < Insert compulsory Netherlands marijuana joke here>.
Simply put, Knobsticker‘s Upside Down is deliciously funky- the drums are set in perfect balance between ‘cheesy 80s drum machine’ and ‘sexy disco music’ while the synths are filtered to perfection, guaranteed to make your eardrums feel all groovy. Honestly, I feel like my ears are having the best party- complete with disco ball, multi-coloured light up floor and spiked punchbowl. Also, something about talk-box vocals makes me want to grow an afro and have sex… I was going to backspace that last sentence but I think I’ll leave it.
Comfortably fitting in a neat musical area between Daft Punk and synth-pop groups such as Rat vs Possum– treat your ears with a special free download of one of the tracks off their new album:
Check out the rest of the album here:
http://soundcloud.com/knobsticker/sets/music-for-the-discotheque-vol/
Filed under: Dance, Electronica, Hip-Hop, Upbeat | Tags: Dance, Electronic, Electronica, Funky, Trip-Hop, Upbeat
So I’ve already blogged about UK-based electronic beat-maker Mute Speaker, but Zeros & Ones just shuffled on my iTunes and I’m in-love. Grab the album Smart Bomb off of his bandcamp page– you will not regret it.
Download:
Bandcamp:
http://mute-speaker.bandcamp.com/
Filed under: Dance, Dubstep, Hip-Hop, Upbeat | Tags: Brilliant, Dance, Electronic, Funky, glitch, glitch-hop, Upbeat
My issue these days is that there are so many amazing artists out there putting out countless good songs- I have a tough time deciding who I want to write about!
Inaudible is without doubt deserving of a post- his music is brilliant. That’s right, he’s getting tagged as BRILLIANT. Welcome to the club Inaudible. I spent the past hour trying to decide which of your songs I was going to post until I finally gave up and picked at random. Echo Chamber is just that perfect level of heavy upbeat glitch-hop that I absolutely love. There are some crazy sounds in this track that suck you in, and on each subsequent listen it becomes clear just how much attention to small details goes into this music.
Echo Chamber does not need vocals to make it better- to the contrary, it’s actually too good for vocals… something every producer of this genre sound strive to achieve in my opinion.
Check out the Scathed Youth EP from Inaudible‘s bandcamp page too- it’s got a few more gems as equally as good as Echo Chamber.
Download:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/inaudible/
Bandcamp:
http://inaudible.bandcamp.com/album/scathed-youth-ep
Filed under: Rock, Upbeat, Vocals | Tags: dreamy, Electronic, folk, vocals
Beirut- much like previously posted Sea Wolf are a band I liked when I was 14/15. I just recently revisited My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille remembering it’s warm electronic sounds were somewhat comforting during the more awkward moments of puberty.
Not to make it sound like I’m still awkwardly waddling my way towards masculinity (that journey ceased once and for all when this crazy shit put hair on my chest). My Night captures the dreamy escapist feeling I craved as a 14/15 year old- and to an extent still do.
Beirut – My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille
Filed under: Electronica, Upbeat | Tags: Electronic, Electronica, glitch, IDM, Synth, visual
It seems as though I have recently discovered this amazing nexus of quality music in a place called the Netherlands. We could speculate why Fabled Enemies, Sick Lebowski and today’s post Julien Mier all come from the same country- ooorrr we could listen to the beautiful music they create without question.
As It Is is unique- not quite adhering soley into the genres of glitch or IDM.. is fits within the ever-growing and unspecific labelling of ‘electronica’. Don’t let this put you off- to the contrary; the sounds are delightfully familiar and accessible, without being boring and ubiquitous.
DOWNLOAD:
<removed at request>
SOUNDCLOUD:
http://soundcloud.com/julien-mier
Filed under: Electronica, Hip-Hop | Tags: bass, Deep, Electronic, Hip Hop, independant, Trip-Hop
Sick Lebowski is another undiscovered-as-yet producer from The Netherlands.
Disappear Into Your Dreams is a cool fusion of bassy-electronic trip-hop with a clear hip-hop rhythmic influence. Creepy vocals are a must as always with this type of track, and they are pulled off with flawless implementation in this case.
Download:
<someone reported the download link 😦 but the artist is still giving the track away for free at his soundcloud page linked below>
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/sicklebowski
Filed under: Electronica, Upbeat | Tags: Dance, Electronic, Electronica, Happy, Upbeat
So Warp Records are looking to have quite a big release on their hands with Rustie‘s Glass Swords coming out on the 10th.
Artists Skream, Joker, Bibio and many more have already given it praise, and as Rustie‘s twitter following sky-rocketing to over 5,000 about 18 hours ago, you can watch the hype growing.
Ultra Thizz was given a special limited edition 12-inch vinyl release ahead of the album, with another track Dreamzz which is only available on the vinyl.
Here’s Ultra Thizz for your regular radio-fuckery:
Now that Glass Swords is out you can find it here:
Filed under: Acid, Dubstep, Electronica, Experimental, Psychadelic | Tags: Acid, Dubstep, Electronic, experimental, glitch, Psychedelic
Venetian Snares does some pretty rad stuff. Similar to Aphex Twin, not quite accessible to the virgin listener, his breakcore/acid sound is pretty hectic, and the brilliantly named Chainsaw Fellatio is no exception. On my first listen I was enjoying the acid bassline melody until I felt like I was getting assaulted by some fucking hi-hat sample (you’ll see what I’m talking about). Then it all fades away, and at about the 1:30 mark, shit gets TIGHT. A hip-hop beat takes you off guard and suddenly you feel like c-walking your ass to the nearest DMT dealer. Give it a listen, I guarantee you’ll have trouble finding anything quite like it:
Venetian Snares – Chainsaw Fellatio
Filed under: Concrete, Experimental, Noise | Tags: Concrete, Electronic, experimental, noise
Have I not posted this yet!?
An experimental track from one of my fave record labels Ninja Tune, Amon Tobin‘s Foley Room is an ingenious creation that takes the theory of musique concrete to a new level. In fact, they even made a freakin’ documentary about how it was recorded because it’s so bad ass. Pick up the album, andtake a listen to the title track in the meantime.
<download removed at request>
Filed under: Dance, Electronica, Rock, Upbeat, Vocals | Tags: bass, Brilliant, Dance, Electronic, Guitar, Rock, sample based, Upbeat, vocals
Pretty Lights is easily one of my favourite artists of recent times, even though he’s been around for quite awhile, I discovered his music later than I would have liked to.
Another artist who I wish I could simply post the entire discography of, Pretty Light‘s production quality and sound is something even the creme de la creme of electronic artists could be envious of. I’m very excited to see him live in December. Not only is his music brilliant, but he is generous to give it away for free. I insist you visit the website:
http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/#/home
And of-course, a FTR download:
Pretty Lights – Something’s Wrong
Filed under: Chilled, Electronica, Hip-Hop | Tags: Electronic, Hip Hop, mellow
Roygbiv is a great way to remember the colours of the rainbow. Roygbiv is a great track from Boards of Canada
Filed under: Electronica, Upbeat, video, Vocals | Tags: Brilliant, Electronic, Funky, Upbeat, vocals
A good tune for the Ides of March no?
I’m an addict to the stuff Ninja Tune releases on their label. This has been heavily played to my ears. There’s a remix of it in the new years mixtape you can find a few posts back.
