Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (Duke Dumont Reconstruction)

I do believe this track may have already gotten some blog love based solely on the artists featured, however, it is interesting enough that I feel it necessary to reiterate it via DBDF. Nothing but the best, kids. Duke Dumont is responsible for ‘Lean & Bounce’, which is one of my personal favorites of last year (champ’d by Tong and Erol and Armand and Switch). His work is released on Dubsided. Mystery Jets are (yet another) NEXT HOT THING out of the UK. They are ‘quirky’-looking young men making pretty ch00nz with guitarts, etc. This new jam is a sparkling aurora in the sea of boring. It’s kind of weird but magical nonetheless. Apparently Laurent Garnier said “I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOVE THE DUKE DUMONT RECONSTRUCTION, it is awesome. I will playlist on the radio and hammer it in the clubs.” in reference to the track. What Garnier says, goes. LISTEN, NOW!

Sukia - Play Colt

Something truly amazing this way comes. This song is basically a musical IQ test, evaluating your patience, perception, and intellectual swing. Sukia is a name of a Angeleno band from the mid 90’s that only released one full album Contacto Espacial Con El Tercer Sexo through indie label Nickelbag Records. Chances are that you have never heard of these guys and won’t run across too many who have. I came upon their album by chance, thanks in part to someone who stumbled across it at a garage sale. I personally have a hard time fathoming how someone could let this thing go. This song (like the entire album) takes you through waves of lo-fi, freeform jazz, and electronica, with nuances of punk, nuwave, and 50’s rock. The band is as unique and eclectic as you can possibly get + you can zone out to the muddy recording of the Stephen Morris-esque drumming, tucked away behind old sci-fi radio show samples and unrehearsed synth experimentation playfully whipping by us.

I can picture most listeners not making it all the way through, or caring to. Getting THIS deep is not for everyone… Or even possible.

Simioli vs. Nari & Milani - Etnika (Extended Mix)

Love it or hate it, ‘Etnika’, a new jawn by Simoli Vs. Nari & Milani is something different. I think it feels pretty great and is an interesting departure from typical Western musical concepts dominating contemporary dance-house. Some might argue that it is the Bollywood answer to ‘Olive Garden theme song’, Heater.

Here is Red Foxxx’s incredible interpretation of Samim’s massive Euro-club track of last year:

I actually lulz’d when I saw it.

Regardless, please listen and comment on ‘Etnika’, I’d like another p.o.v. on this unique track.

Scion CD Sampler v. 18 Ninja Tune Mix By Darko

I’ll admit that I walked passed this free lil’ guy a few times before picking him up, and for no good reason either. Scion has been pretty generous with their CDs, having hooked up with a good sized list of reputable DJs, spanning a variety of genres. Darko, of Spank Rock fame is not the latest, but certainly my fav so far, delivering this high energy hiphop mix circa 2007, regularly shifting in and out of electro, jazz, and occasional indie nuances. The mix is unconventional by today’s generic, 4-on-the-floor, dime a dozen dance mixes, which makes it even more of a prized jewel. Of course there’s some Spank sprinkled on top, plus 2 XXXChange tracks. Though the pace in general throughout the mix is in the high 120’s, it does come down (& back up) just long enough to let you catch your breath every few dance spells. The sound is complex yet organic, often layering tracks & samples, extending vocal hooks, and building urban house right on the spot. Darko has taken the feel of old skool hiphop and presented it in the new funk-forward dance world of the modern day. The most rewarding and beautiful song of the mix is the final track. Darko mellows it out with the instrumental of ‘Days To Come’ by British Ninjatuner Bonobo, accompanied by the scratching of Mike Boo. It’s technologically intellectual, organically comprehensive, and uniquely entertaining.

Download the mix in its entirety HERE.

Bingo Players vs. Bart B More - Get Up vs. Rock The Spot

This track is absolutely ridiculous. Another sweet DJ Mag compilation rip, ‘Get Up’ vs. ‘Rock the Spot’ is pretty much the easiest way I can think of to make a crowd of distracted drunks start to wile out. A nice bridge from bouncy hip house to suck n’ duck, Bingo Players are getting a lot of attention from Bart B More, whom this track features. As a side note, I was listening to it yesterday on my run and it made me powerless against the urge to bound like a retarded, spring loaded gazelle down the West Side Highway. Clearly, this is the mark of a champion sound. Get on it.

Alex Gopher - Aurora (Riot In Belgium & Knightlife Remix)

Before “Blog House” became a dirty word, I was a big fan of anything that Alex Gopher, Knightlife and/or Riot In Belgium put out. This track re-awakened some sort of super-strut grindy joy within my soul, and I feel it appropriate to post on this somewhat gray New York day (I love this weather here, you can feel the city’s unique pulse when everyone hides inside). I feel confident that this jawn will make people lose their shit, especially if you stick it in the middle of a house/four to the floor set. Towards the end of the song, ‘Still Going Theme (Original Mix)’ comes in, as the track is ripped from DJ Mag’s Summer Seduction Pacha Sarah Main comp (AWESOME). Sorry. Love you

Rihanna - Shut Up And Drive (Wideboys Remix)

Rihanna just gets hotter and hotter, doesn’t she? First she comes onto the scene and is just this adorable Barbadian with a few poppy songs that are fun to listen to with your girlfriend, then gets remixed by VND & LSM (a break that undoubtedly created her now trademark multi-genre performances and fanbase), then about a million other people remix her, then she gets that hot Morrissey haircut that continues to drive me up the wall, then she jumps on stage with the Klaxons at the 2008 Brit Awards (which you can check out HERE), then she wins a Grammy, then I find out that her real first name is Robyn (so cute), and finally ‘Shut Up And Drive’ got remixed by Wideboys. Need I say more? I’m smitten as a kitten. Chris Brown, back off. You’re too black for her. She clearly fits in better with skinny white guys who play with amps and computers.

Here is more irrefutable proof that Rihanna loves white guys.

Barbara Tucker - Stop Playing With My Mind + Artful Dodger Vocal Mix

Barbara Tucker is undoubtedly a crazy fucking lady, having professionally (& successfully) worn the hats of singer, songwriter, producer, choreographer, performer, & promoter. Her voice alone isn’t anything that stands apart from the many other generic black female vocalist who have graced the dubs of countless american house classics, but that doesn’t change the fact that her music is amazing and full of some sort of overly contagious alien energy. Needless to say, Tucker must’ve done ALOT of cocaine to keep up such a sporadic career amidst so many high-energy atmospheres.

Here’s the original of one classic circa 2000 + an unlikely remix by garage icons Artful Dogder.

On a side note, I suggest you purchase Ministry Of Sound’s Garage Classics mixed by Wideboys. Listening to this CD set will only reaffirm the growing belief that Americans don’t listen to enough garage.

M.I.A. Takes A Well Deserved Break

Over the last few days, since M.I.A.’s announcement of her European tour’s cancellation, word has been bouncing about the interweb of the MC’s probable back-out of the Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Rumors flocked around about the artist’s fatigue and exhaustion, which it sounds like was bound to catch up with her eventually, after delivering countless performances of what has come to be known as one of this generation’s most exciting live acts. Well, M.I.A. DID make it to the festival yesterday (reflective dressed back up dancers and all) and during her performance, announced formally that, “This is my last show” and “I’m glad I’m spending it with all my hippies.” Most are speculating that the break is indeed a “break”, but there are sources that are claiming the Bonnaroo performance as her “last gig ever.” Regardless, Maya has recently admitted to have been writing new materiel while on tour, and vowed that her departure from the stage will not keep her out of the studio, saying, “At the end of the day, I’m here, you know.” This break conveniently comes only 3 weeks after the engagement between our neon spandex’d heroine & Benjamin Brewer of the relatively unknown band The Exit, who are actually pretty good.

Rest up, hoe.

Trentemoller & DJ Tom - An Evening With Bobi Bros

I think this track is just stupendous. Over breakfast with Mother, I was perusing the iTunes library for delights to share with you and this came on. It is really ideal as a fantastic minimal set opener or a hotel track. Low key but especially beautiful, heavily jazz-influenced, typical rich Trentemoller production. I am always awed by the subtle building of the musical layers, how it goes from sparse to dense, not unlike traveling from the outskirts of a glen, into a heavily wooded (possibly enchanted) forest. O, the alchemy of music! The magic and science that occurs when an emotion is born simultaneous to a rhythm or a melody. Only one of the endless reasons why we do what we do.

Tour diary coming soon.

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