Mikky Ekko | The Astral Plane

The most interesting facet of T. Williams’ music, and especially his most recent Rinse 21 mix CD, is that despite its sometimes abrasive qualities (grime influences, off-kilter rhythms), it almost always appears primed for a vocal assist. The Pain & Love EP justified this assumption, pairing Tesfa Williams with several vocalists and his remix of Disclosure’s “Latch” solidified his vocal-driven credentials. Whether you prefer sans-vocals Williams is somewhat irrelevant, because it appears that’s the direction he’s taking, although a return to “Chop & Screw” would also be welcomed. Anyways, Williams recently remixed RCA songsmith Mikky Ekko’s “Pull Me Down” into a percolating piece of Miike Snow-esque pop music. It wouldn’t be a T. Williams joint without the shuffling percussion and almost imperceptibly bouncy bassline. The track is up for free download below, but Williams has hinted that he will be uploading a 320 version soon so it might be worth it to hold out ;).

Can we talk about Steven Ellison for a moment? Just take a few minutes out of this lovely Sunday afternoon to recognize what the man stands for and what he represents in the 2012 music landscape. This little piece probably won’t include anything that hasn’t been said, but it’s so worth reiterating it, especially this week. As Flying Lotus, Steven Ellison has produced some of the most divergent, thought provoking and challenging ~~electronic~~ music of the past 20 or so years. Since his arrival, Mr. Ellison has essentially put Los Angeles’ instrumental hip hop movement, known by most as the “beat scene”, on his back, pushing it into international waters. Despite being the figurehead of this movement, touring incessantly and heading a hugely successful label, he is still the very best at what he does. Furthermore, he seems to genuinely enjoy making music, meeting fans and performing. If you’ve ever seen a Flying Lotus set, you know what I’m talking about. That ear-to-ear smile is just impossible not to replicate. That’s why it isn’t even remotely surprising that Ellison devised and followed through on the Captain Murphy project. Ok, his above-average rapping ability is a little surprising, but the fact that he would release a free album featuring a menagerie of the best MC’s and producers in hip hop shouldn’t be. So before getting to the rest of this week’s sounds, can we all take a moment to thank Steven Ellison? He deserves that much from us.