Friday 29 January 2010

Jump


Van Halen said it first, but this LA production duo said it twice. And put it in their name. Which, of course, i enjoyed. I was really convinced though when i found Jump Jump Dance Dance had remixed MSTRKRFT's "Heartbreaker" and made it sound not shit. In fact, they made it sound pretty ace.

Here we have their new single, due out on Feb 26th on etcetc and remixed courtesy of Leeds soon-to-be-legend Grum, who we are also very fond of.

Jump Jump Dance Dance - Show Me The Night (Grum Remix)


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Sunday 17 January 2010

Lvissssss




L-Vis 1990 has gone all swirly and deep on this Sissy Nobby remix, making it perhaps my favourite thing he has done.


J.

Friday 15 January 2010

Eskmo



San Fransisco based Eskmo has had been bringing earth-shaking bass to the region well known for the notorious San Andreas fault. Well, i'm guessing between the ground shaking capabilities of both the city may just be in a spot of bother.*

With releases on labels such as Planet Mu yuu might epect some glitch laden abstract electronica. In aspects you might be right as they're certainly are not many people doing this bizarre mixture of dubstep-esque half-step rhythms mixed with electronic ambiance in faintly Boards Of Canada kind of way, especially not this well.

Best to get yourself a large pair of speakers (or headphones) and let the music roll through you.


Eskmo - Hypercolor **


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* Plastic Cowboys would like to make clear they in no way hoping for the imminent physical collapse of San Fransisco, whether through tectonic activity or sub bass rhythms.

** Plastic Cowboys would also like to point out that "Color" is, in fact, spelt "colour". With a "U".

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Dimmer



I found an email in my inbox this morning simply stating that I "may like this band." Often i ignore these, but it was so simple and not full of the usual crap that I figured i'd make the effort. As such, it turns out Fez, outside of the reasonably woeful name, actually make simple, breezy and uplifting indie-pop tunes.

Lowlight is probably the best example of said style. Hooky vocals lead into big pop choruses, vocal harmonies and breakdowns that are likely to be in your head for days. And all of it is written without the pretention or unnecessary complexity of some of their peers which can leave sogs feeling cold and a little soulless at times, as though the artist has thought more about making hard to listen to and, as such, "cool" that they forgot to write a good song. No worries here, simple, friendly indie tunes at your service.

Fez - Lowlight


Playing at the Water Rats in Kings Cross on 20th Feb.


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Twine



I knew i didn't trust clouds, they have brought the return of my winter nemesis. Bah. Well, to cheer myself, and you hopefully, up I am mostly going to be listening to this track that has been doing the rounds of late. Discovered through my good chums at 88days Brusque Twins have made a swirling piece of downbeat electronica that seems to have taken much influence from early minimalistic post rock alongside side the deepness of acts such as Boards Of Canada.

Do investigate.


Brusque Twins - Diptych


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Tuesday 12 January 2010

Tennis Stars

They don't really make grinding, bass heavy dance tunes, though going on name alone one might be forgiven for thinking so.


Here James Blake takes on Untold's "Stop What You're Doing" is a half step monster. The bass throbs in and out over a slightly funky beat, while melodies and vocals swim around around in a sea of other wordly goodness. Yay.


Definitely got this somwhere else. Can;t think where though. Pretty sure it was The Fader


Untold - Stop What You're Doing (James Blake Remix)


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Grit



Well, as the weather warms*, we no longer need to be salting the roads. Which is nice as i was getting slightly sick of ice skating around London at general and constant risk to my health. If i want to go ice skating i'll go to a rink, don't want to do it on my doorstep.

Any how, the breakdown in this Franki Chan remix of The Very Best at around two minutes in should provide all the grit you'll need for the next cold spell.

The Very Best - Nsokoto (Franki Chan Remix)

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*slightly...

Hacker




Pete Davis and James Banbury, aka Dadahack have released this absolute warm electro genius onto the 'net via, i think, the unceasingly marvelous Discodust. Seven minutes of pulsating bass and harmonic melodies. Will fit nicely in a disco, house or electro set. See also, great vocals from Hannah Robinson.

Dadahack ft. Hannah Robinson - Hello Dust


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Monday 11 January 2010

Basslines




Getting a bit sick of over-bearing garage influenced fidget basslines? Yeah, me too. So i suppose it's lucky then that A1 Bassline has drifted from his traditional slamming bass tunes to something a little techier, more refined and more interesting!

Check it out:

Fugative - Superfly (A1 Bassline Remix)

Fugative myspace...


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Double XL


So, obviously The XX record was one of the best tings to happen in 2009, we all know that. There were also a selection of very valid remixes as well, see Renaissance Man, What Breeze Do You Blow etc. This one is new to me though. IT takes the aching meoldies of "Shelter" and blends it with some sub bass and makes into into a heavy yet slightly lad back piece of half step melancholy.


The XX - Shelter (Graphics Remix)

Love hurts



Rediscovered this old track when i picked up some new Desire last week and ended up marveling at it for a long time.

This is an absolutely heartbreaking piece of disco-pop that absolutely display every second of pain she has been through. Sound cheerful? It's not. It is, however, a stunningly crafted song.

She has some new material you can pick up from Rough Trade.

Desire - Under Your Spell


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Frozen




Old tracks, but as Salem are one of my favourite things of 2009 i decided it would be worth sharing in case anyone missed them.

Imagine the downbeat, ambient moments of Health, then picture them warped and twisted into something entirely new and fantastical. Salem.


Salem - Frost

Salem - Sweat


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Wednesday 6 January 2010

Coastal Path




So, another character from The Smell, eh? Well, Best Coast turns out to be pretty solid rather than some of the fairly faddish stuff that pops up from there. It has a Wavves meets ladyhawke meets blondie meets reverb with some lo-fi sixties production thrown in. I rather like.

Best Coast - When I'm with You

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Shooting Star




Another character that deserves to be huge in 2010 is Hidden Cat. This Bag Raiders cover is a slow, gooey piece of electronica that you'll be hard pressed not to see the beauty in. And there is already much more on the sidelines waiting to come out.

Bag Radiers - Shooting Stars (Hidden Cat Cover)


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Scream



2010 is going to be the year the world discovers Screendeath. Moving away from his early electro stylings he has matured beyond belief in the last six months as a songwriter, check this sevn minute deep remix of Andy Caldwell's last single for a spot of proof.

Andy Caldwell - Scream (Sceendeath Remix)


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V.W.





So, Contra will be out soon and, despite most of the online world seeming to be slating it before it's out, i suspect it'll be another decent piece of upbeat and summery melodic indie taking it's influences from various different angles.

KiD COLA decided to bootleg Horchata a month or so ago and came out with a solid remix, utilising the tropical theme and sound of the original and making it big and bouncy.

Vampire Weekend - Horchata (KiD COLA Remix)

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