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New Music

Jim-E Stack’s “Bubble Boy” Out Today On Body High

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July 3, 2012
2012, New Music
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Los Angeles has been the hub of club oriented electronic music on the West Coast for quite some time. That has resulted in dozens of artists labels dipping their toes into the melting pot of regional scenes that have emerged over the past several years. A number of labels have had success within the club realm, but only one, Body High, has mastered it with an impressive streak of fun-loving consistency. Sporting releases from DJ Sliink, Myrryrs and DJ Dodger Stadium, the young label run by Samo Soundboy (of DJ Dodger Stadium) and Jerome Potter (of LOL Boys) has taken the City of Angels by storm. Their newest release comes courtesy of San Francisco native Jim-E Stack in the form of the “Bubble Boy”. Stack has made quite a name for himself with his remix game, but his original work is a complex menagerie of club and hip hop influences. Whether drawing from New Orlans, Chicago or Baltimore, Stack has managed to infuse his own unique flair to original releases. Stream “Bubble Boy” below and head over to Boomkat to give some love in the form of paper money.

Gold Panda Remixes Minotaur Shock’s “Saundersfoot”

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July 2, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Sometimes it’s frustrating when an artist teases his fans like Derwin Schlecker aka Gold Panda is doing right now. It’s been almost two years since the Panda’s last full length, Lucky Shiner, and while we’ve received several EP’s and 12″, nothing quite as revelatory as the album has surfaced. Nonetheless, when Schlecker drops bombs like his most recent remix of Minotaur Shock’s “Saundersfoot”, there’s not much to complain about. Apparently recorded through an old 1960’s German mixer, the remix maintains the raw analogue feel that Schlecker has maintained throughout his career. The simple yet beautiful chord progression allows the syncopated percussion to drive the track, reminiscent of Four Tet and Burial’s “Nova”. Sometimes frustration is misplaced. Stream the remix below and get it for free over at XLR8R.

Jim-E Stack Remixes Reptar’s “House Boat Babies”

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June 26, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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San Francisco native current New Orleans resident Jim-E Stack has been on quite a roll with his remixes. In the past he’s taken on A$AP Rocky, Kirko Bangz and LOL Boys to great effect his take on Reptar’s “House Boat Babies” is no different. This one’s got a nice tropical feel and expands into an ebullient dance riddim around 1:45. Stream below and download here in exchange for an email address.

New Machinedrum – “Luster”

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June 25, 2012
New Music
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Whether he is working as Machinedrum, Sepalcure or Dream Continuum, Travis Stewart just continues to pump out forward-thinking tunes. Whether he’s delving into jukewith Om Unit, hip hop with Azealia Banks trance tropes with Lone, the North Carolina native just doesn’t stop. His newest tune, “Luster”, will be found on Electronic Explorations’ 50+ track compilation due on July 1st. A smooth percussion heavy cut meant for the club, “Luster” is just another success to add to Stewart’s rapidly growing resume. Head over to Little White Earbuds for a free download and stream below.

Groundislava Releases TV Dream EP On FoF

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June 25, 2012
New Music
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Photo by Barney Patterson

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now, we love ❤ Friends of Friends. Shlohmo, Salva, Tomas Barfod and Ernest Gonzales are some of our favorite artists and the Pop Massacre mixtapes are out of this world fiya. It’s not surprise then that their latest release, Groundislava’s TV Dream EP, is another exhibition in excellence. Eschewing much of his previous sound, largely made up of 8-bit sounds and boom bap beats, the Los Angeles-native instead embarks on a revisionist take on 80’s synth pop. TV Dream is comfortable in the realm of Summer music, while still managing to maintain enough credibility to ensure year round airtime. At only 15 minutes long, it’s a quick listen, but is quite satisfying despite its brevity. Nostalgic synths are Groundislava’s go to and he milks them to the fullest. The title track, featuring vocalist Clive Tanaka, is the clear standout and invokes the M83 sound circa 2005. It’s soaring, pensive and cinematic. The rest of the EP fails to keep up at times, falling into cliché one too many times, but it’s not like Groundislava is pretending to embark on a brand new trail. The EP will only knock you back $5 and if you’re going to pay for music, why not give your dollars to FoF. Stream and/or buy via Bandcamp below.

Massive Attack Comes Out Of Nowhere With Remix Of Nas’ “The Don”

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June 25, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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For the longest time, I ignored the vast realm of electronic music (or I thought I di) as a whole. My high school years were filled with Def Jux and Duck Down and I rarely strayed to far from the world of hip hop. I did listen to trip-hop though. DJ Shadow was a constant and Portishead was my go to when I was in a shitty mood. I never delved all that deep into the fleeting sub-genre, but the aforementioned artists had a long lasting effect on my music tastes and occasionally my psyche. More than any other act though, it was Massive Attack that had the longest lasting effect. Blue Lines is one of maybe a dozen albums that I have to listen to once a month or so. It’s a little bit of an obsession. The Bristolians have soundtracked too many sad, strange and occasionally happy moments in my life to count. As the duo progressed over the past two decades, I lost some interest, but Blue Lines never left the rotation. Even though I truly believed, with every bone in body that electronic music was a fucking waste of time, one of my favorite albums also doubled as one of the greatest electronic albums of all time. Anyways, on to the song.

When I woke up, I expected to find the usual slog of trap and four on the floor house and techno on my social media feeds/inbox. I might have let out a little yelp when I saw this track though. 3D and Daddy G reworking the best track Nas has released in a minute? Yes please. Once I saw that it was only 3D, with the help of collaborator Tim Goldsworthy, my excitement slightly dipped, but only slightly. The track is classic Massive Attack, displacing Salaam Remi, Da Internz & Heavy D’s original banger from the club to whatever dimension trip hop inhabits. The sampled vocals take on a hypnotic quality, while Nas doesn’t lose any of the vim or vigor of the original. It’s classic Massive Attack and I couldn’t be happier to hear it in 2012. You can stream below and if there is a god (I should probably stop using that one) it will be out sooner rather than later.

New Bwana – “Nami Swan”

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June 22, 2012
New Music
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Bwana aka Nathan Micay first caught out attention via the Can’t You Just EP on Jeffree’s back in March. Beautiful chord progressions, effusive vocals and engrossing percussion seem to come easy to the Leeds by way of Toronto producer. With just a few releases under his belt, he’s already solidified himself among the best in the biz at creating twinkling, garage-indebted riddims. On July 30th, Bwana will release the Baby Let Me Finish EP on Somethinksounds, sure to be another giant step forward for the 21 year old. “Nami Swan” builds and builds until it plateaus into brilliant looped vocals and pleasantly frenetic beat. Stream below and look out for the EP on July 30th.

New Freddie Gibbs & Madlib EP, Album Coming Soon

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June 22, 2012
2012, New Music
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We weren’t around to tell you, but Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s “Thuggin” was the best hip hop song of 2011. Bar none. No fucks about it. Gangsta Gibbs’ honest as fuck, true to the-streets braggadocio mixes with the Beat Kondukta’s dusty, sativa saturated beats was a match made in heaven. The ensuing EP was short, but the promise of a second  EP coming Summer 2012 made hip hop heads more than a little wet. Summer 2012 is upon us and lo and behold, the Shame EP has arrived on our doorsteps. More of a teaser than anything, Shame contains two new Gibbs/Madlib tracks along with their instrumentals/acapellas, plus two bonus beats. The two new tracks are more than enough to satiate our needs though. The title track takes Gibbs away from the streets and into the bedroom. Lib creates the perfect soul-sampling bed for Gibbs to wax poetic about his “bottom bitch” and BJ The Chicago Kid sounds smooth as hell on the hook. Best line: “Like I stepped on a banana peel then fell in that pussy/You all be spending your narcotics skrill to get in that pussy”. Gibbs got jokes. At only 1:11 long, “Terrorist” is even more of a teaser, but seeing Gibbs going stream of consciousness over another silky backdrop is still a treat. Head over to Stones throw to cop the vinyl or the MP3’s and stream “Shame” below. Most importantly, the EP release comes with news that the two are gearing up for an LP release “third quarter 2012”. That is very, very soon. Jammin!

Jacques Greene To Release EP On Martyn’s 3024 Records

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June 22, 2012
New Music
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So Jacques Greene is releasing an EP on Martyn’s record label 3024. It’s due out July 16, but you can preview it now. It’s called Ready and no surprise, it’s really, really good. From the Soundcloud description:

From early releases with LuckyMe and Night Slugs via high profile remixes and on to the recent formation of his own Vase imprint the Montreal native has been at the front of his home town’s rapidly snowballing acclaim as a creative incubator of unusual quality, fusing R&B’s raw emoting to House and Techno’s sleek propulsion. The Ready EP is a further refinement of the sound he’s made his own, going further down the rabbit hole than before but always balancing aerodynamic efficiency with the unusually organic emotion.

That sounds about right. “Prism” and “Dakou” have that sexy late night sound that Greene has perfected on his past few releases and while there’s no “Another Girl” here, why try and recreate that magic. “Ready” takes Greene in a more techno-oriented direction, not my favorite, but it’s quite fitting for a release on Martyn’s label. Stream below.

MMM Summer Jams

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June 21, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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There’s something about Aaliyah’s voice, the breathiness, the clarity, I dunno really, but it gets me every time. Rock The Boat is an easy to find acapella and it features her saying “Boy you really get me high”; connect the dots and it makes sense that it has been sampled by everyone & their mother’s uncle (including yours truly). East coast producer Tony Quattro really did it this time tho, setting up an airy, reverby space with warm synths and crisp drums for Aaliyahs generally unadulterated vocals. At the drop, a simple tonal bass really pushes the track to the next level. Add in some happy, shuffling hi hats and you’ve got a feel good summer banger. Like the man’s facebook page for a free DL and stream off his soundcloud below.