Archive

Remixes

Captain Murphy and TNGHT Move Weight

By
August 20, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

When Lunice and Hudson Mohawke came out swinging at the American hip hop consensus, many assumed (myself included) they were aiming their fine-tuned WMD at the Southern hip hop conglomerate. Their first remix of Flocka’s “Rooster In Rari” reinforced that assumption and the EP was even pigeonholed by some as an extension of the trap phenomenon. Oh how we underestimated the project. When Lunice and HudMo hinted that they had MC’s lined up for every track on the EP, I assumed the features would be a menagerie of well-known Southern MC’s with maybe an A$AP Rocky or Danny Brown thrown in for good measure. This though? They have certainly outdone themselves Captain Murphy: you probably know the name by now. He sounds a lot like a pitch shifted Tyler/Earl combination. “Shake Weight” involves the Captain going the fuck in over the bubbling, immense heap of braggadocio that is “Bugg’n”. The doors are wide open folks. I’m looking forward to Canibus throwing his next paranoid rant down over “Gooo”. Fuck, and this video? I jokingly posted a while back that we were just going to become TNGHT stenographers, but would that really be such a bad thing? Grab the free download below and watch the video above (preferably under a controlled substance).

Download: Captain Murphy – “Shake Weight”

From Free Gucci To TNGHT: A Retrospective

By
July 24, 2012
2012, New Music, Remixes, Uncategorizable
Leave a comment

So the TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke + Lunice for those living under a rock) EP saw its American release today. Instead of an album review (words don’t do it justice), we’ve decided to compile a little retrospective on British producers lending their talents to American hip hop. In an interview with FACT last month, Lunice had this to say:

We’ve been doing this shit for years, and it’s not like we’re new or anything, it’s not like we’re new money shit, it’s not like we came out of the blue and we blew up like crazy. We’ve built a whole foundation of our work. So it’s about that time. I feel like that sort of movement is backed with all of our homies together, like: “This is us! You can’t do this shit! You can’t just take our ideas and come up with it all after all these years. We’re coming for you!

Clearly, Lunice believes that American hip hop producers have been misappropriating hip hop-indebted UK bass for a minute now and are taking a stand. While I don’t think Toomp and Hit-Boy are listening to too much Mount Kimbie, I get it: Lunice has a persecution complex… just kidding. With the EP set to take the States by storm and the duo’s remix of Flocka’s “Rooster In My Rari” igniting the interwebz, it’s easy to see where Lunice’s frustration is coming from. As the UK sound constantly progresses into exciting new territories via labels like LuckyMe and Night Slugs, American producers are often too content to find a sound and stick with it. As a result, some of the best interpretations of American, especially Southern, hip hop have come from British producers. TNGHT might be the apex of the trend (yes we know Lunice is Candian), but many other (mostly) pasty perpetrators have attempted to freshen up Stateside hip hop tropes, both new and old. This is not meant to a comprehensive review, because that would be impossible. It’s just a list of a lot of really fucking good producers remixing a lot of really ignorant hip hop music.

Dubbed by some as the “British Diplo”, it made all too much sense for Sinden to host volume two of Mad Decent’s Free Gucci series. The Burrrtish Edition features 16 remixes of Mr. Radric Davis’s trap anthems, courtesy of a  coterie of revered Brits: HudMo, Rustie, Melé, Mosca and Toddla T just to name a few. Predictably weirder than the Diplo hosted Volume One (with the exception of the Flying Lotus contribution), the tape is an exhibition in low end sounds with varying levels of success. HudMo’s take on “Party Animal” essentially spawned TNGHT, is utterly playable to this day and should probably soundtrack your next night of drunken shenanigans. Melé also wins big with his wonky reinterpretation of “Missing” from The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted (a largely overlooked Gucci project). Stripped down and menacing, “Missing” is a precursor to some of Melé’s more recent Soundcloud uploads. Burrrtish isn’t much of a cohesive project drawing from every realm of bass music, but who cares when HudMo, Melé, Rustie and Sinden bring the collective heat?

Download: Sinden Presents Free Gucci 2:The Burrrtish Edition

Hit the jump for the rest of the retrospective…

Read More

Jamie xx Lends Hand To Holly Miranda’s “Slow Burn Treason”

By
July 24, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

We first heard it on his seminal Essential Mix last August and it is now available to the masses in its full, unadulterated brilliance. Just another edit from the driving force behind the best pop act in the world. A song that brings to mind a tropical beach as much as it does an obfuscated dream world, Jamie’s edit of Holly Miranda’s (who also owns a spot on XL’s roster) “Slow Burn Treason” is an exhibition in half-step percussion mastery. Imagine some young whomp-enthusiasts (no hate) finding out that Jamie used essentially the same format for “Slow Burn Treason” as their beloved Skrallex’s? High comedy. Anyways, Jamie strings Miranda and Kyp Malone’s (of TV On The Radio) ethereal vocals into a deeply orchestral territory, all the while avoiding the bombast that is usually associated with orchestra strings. it also sounds vaguely tropical, which is utterly perplexing to me. Whereas “Far Nearer” utilized steel drums to develop an overtly tropical sound, “Slow Burn Treason” reaches the surf without any (to my knowledge) instruments, samples or effects that could evoke sandy beaches or palm trees. This man’s ceiling has no limit. Look out for The xx’s Coexist on September 10 and cross your fingers for some sort of full length from the ever precocious Jamie.

Gold Panda Remixes Minotaur Shock’s “Saundersfoot”

By
July 2, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

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”

By
June 26, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

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.

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

By
June 25, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

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.

MMM Summer Jams

By
June 21, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

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.

Last Japan, Wow.

By
June 19, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

Soundcloud has been kind to me today. My dashboard hooked me up with a banger from Obey City X Baauer, and now it’s directing me to this dancefloor heater of a remix from London producer Last Japan. The track features some subtle nods to stateside hip-hop but shys away from the trap paradigm, instead taking influences from UK Funky percussion. The 808 starts deep and expands up through the sonic spectrum, by the end of the song filling the speakers with pure low-end goodness. The track is scheduled to be released on the original artist My Nu Leng’s EP July 2nd on London imprint LNUK. Stream this fuego below.

http://soundcloud.com/lastjapan/damp-last-japan-4-44am-remix

DJ Sliink Remixes Grimes’ “Oblivion”

By
June 16, 2012
New Music, Remixes
Leave a comment

If you follow us on the various modes of social media we frequent, you’ve probably noticed that we have a little bit of a crush on Claire Boucher aka Grimes. Ever since reading the tail of Boucher’s Tom Sawyer-esque houseboat adventure down the Mississippi, we were stricken by the dreamy vixen. That haircut, the fact that she’s from our corner of the woods and her obsession with Blawan all speak directly to our hearts. If you frequent this blog, you are probably also aware of our infatuation with Jersey Club kingpin, and recent tarp purveyor, DJ Sliink. Yesterday, Sliinky Sliink upgraded his Soundcloud (free downloads for all!) and uploaded a brand new remix of Grimes’ standout track “Oblivion” as a sort of symbolic champagne shower (at least in our minds). Honestly not Sliink’s best rework, but fuck it, Grimes + Sliink should make everyone happy. Stream and download below.