Today, Thievery Corporation relaesed their sixth studio album Culture of Fear on Eighteenth Street Lounge Music. Thievery Corporation has always kept their studio work at top notch and although the styles they have incorporated (or not incorporated) have shifted over the years, their songs are still strong and beautiful, musically and politically. This album sounds a bit darker and is full of classic dub. My personal favorite tracks so far are "Is It Over?", "Stargazer", and "Fragments". Listen to "Is It Over" below and check out the album on iTunes.
Thievery Corporation is D.C.'s internationally famous trip-hop DJ duo featuring Rob Garza and Eric Hilton who have been inspiring the global electronic music community since 1995.
You Don't Know is an excellent dubstep & garage EP released in '08 on Smokin Sessions by UK artist Synkro. The production quality is outstanding and super stylized. I appreciate artists who are stylized if I can feel an instant connection to whatever kind of effect they are trying to generate. In the case of this release, Synkro is showing his refreshingly tranquil approach to dubstep/garage. This is hard to pull off in a genre where often darker and heavier win out over clever sound engineering and musicality. So Synkro is an artist I already feel a good deal of respect towards. Check out the third track, "Get Down" off You Don't Know.
Today I would like to shamelessly promote my most recent release! DYR is my personal electronic project and this past month I have been fiddling and preparing a new remix of Björk's song "Hidden Place". I am very excited about this particular remix and had a lot of fun remolding the song to make something that will hopefully get the idea of submergence going on in your mind. This is my second mature release, the first being "Dekotora". Please download this remix for free via the various sites below. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
Submotion Orchestra, a seven piece project from Leeds, is one of the most interesting electronic music projects I have come across. "Finest Hour (Planas Remix)" came recommended to me through my Genius app in iTunes and I was immediately enchanted by this gorgeous, ambient dubstep remix. Submotion Orchestra is completely unique because they have mastered their own technique for performing live, jaw-dropping electronic music. Yes, actually live. With live instruments; something rare and quite difficult to pull off. The original version of "Finest Hour" is definitely more of a chillout, downtempo track. Check out the recorded and live versions for yourself below.
Now that you've taken that in, it's time to give Planas' remix a listen. Planas (Toby Davis) is, to say the least, not your average dubstep producer. In this remix, he was able to take an already elegant song and transform it into an equally beautiful and incredible dubstep experience. I am impressed by both of these artists and am excited to learn more about how they are going about transforming the world of electronic music so profoundly. Finest Hour (Planas remix) by Submotion Orchestra
Sugarpill is an artist I have been watching for a while now with great expectations. Not only has Sugarpill managed to deliver, he is also continuously pushing his work to be better than the last. Fans of The Weeknd, R&B in general, and dubstep (in its really upfront form) will find more than enough to love about this remix. Sugarpill joins the previous artists mentioned yesterday in hailing from LA. His original work as well as his remixes and sets have earned him a distinct place in the electronic scene, where his unique infusions of glitch-hop and dubstep have now come to flourish continuously. The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) has, in the span of a year, made an incredible impact in the modern world of R&B. His achingly sweet tenor is an unexpectedly powerful presence and (like Page in my last post) is beginning to be featured in a growing number of remixes across the electronic community. Did I mention it is a free download?! Grab it below! The Weeknd - Wicked Games (Sugarpill's Slippery Souldbass Remix) FREE DOWNLOAD by sugarpill
Finally, and just in time, comes a remix that is rejuvenating my summer, which had initially started off on a bad note. GoldRush has made some cool progressions here, spanning and infusing genres of electronic music you don't normally hear coming together. Influences of dubstep, pop, glitch-hop, more straight up ambient, and much more are all present in this must-listen track. It has the impact of a heavy tune with the intricacies of a lighter, minimal remix. I am also a big fan of that glissing synth sound (as heard in the remix by 813 posted back in February). I just hope it doesn't start to get over-used if it hasn't already.
To top all of this off, Mimi Page's vocals are absolutely to die for; they are pretty much what everyone wants to work with while remaining completely distinct. As you take in "Come What May", they will simultaneously lull and haunt you. My one problem: the male vocal sample at the end; I wish I could just pluck it out! But it's such a tiny part, it hardly matters. Be sure to check out her new LP Harmonious Heartbeats on Simplify and prepare to be dazzled. This is definitely staying at the top of my list all summer! Mimi Page is an independent singer/songwriter from LA, who seems to have just begun to take off in the electronic music. I would recommend her and the remixes associated with her to fans of Ellie Goulding and the remixes of her work. GoldRush is an emerging producer/DJ, also from LA, with a passionate spirit for creating beautiful bass music that blazes through his creations. Check out more on Soundcloud. This remix was found via, Less Than 3, my favorite source for new music!
Here is another great tune that slipped through the cracks and never got posted! I've been DJing this at parties at my college forever. Rusko is a mastermind when it comes to designing his unique sounds; you can hear that there is an effortless flair to his programming and it just flows oh so naturally. Rusko is an established figure in the world of dubstep and, as the ruler of the lighter side of this world, is the name in summer music. Rusko's work on Kotchy's "Sing What You Want" chugs along with an 8 bit sounding beat and his infamous and infectious skweee stylings. Kotchy is an electronic producer as well as singer and multi-instrumentalist from Brooklyn.
I usually like to credit my sources when I find a new song, but this time I wasn't sure how I happened upon "The Things You Say",but I'm glad I did. I am a big fan of many electro-house releases that came out around 2005-2006 and this track is a great example. With a focus on rich analogue sound, Cicada creates a thumping journey that has become a dance floor hit. But the thing that really hooked me was the irresistible vocals by Icelandic singer, Heidrun Bjornsdottir, that carried out the group's goal of collaborating with "someone with an interesting voice who didn't just belt it out".
Cicada is a UK electronic band that began receiving critics' attention in 2005 and has since continued to release plenty of singles and another full length album on Critical Mass Records, release tons of remixes and continue performing around the world.
I am certainly glad to be reviewing Jamie XX (of The XX) again. I honestly had not listened to too much from him until today when I learned about his newest release Far Nearer / Beat For, just a week ago. I picked up "Beat For" and am hugely impressed by his work and what he is doing to expand and strengthen the genre of dubstep. The level of sound engineering and design that went into this song are inspiring and engaging. This is something you must check out if you like electronic music.
Going back to some artists I found out about more recently, I wanted to make sure I posted this song by Sebastien Devaud (Agoria), a minimal electronic artist from France. "Les Violons Ivres" is a smooth and very moving track that ambitiously blends hypnotic synth with gorgeous strings. The entire song is a big, rewarding build up. Great for rainy summer days.
This is a great track to take in for fans of minimal electronica, ambient, dubstep, and any combination thereof. "Lengthening Shadows" is a Telefon Tel Aviv track off of DJ-Kicks: Apparat, Apparat's (Sascha Ring) 2010 mix for !K7.
Here is a brand new favorite found while browsing around for some new infused R&B. "Wildfire" features vocals by Yukimi Nagano from Swedish indie-electronic band, Little Dragon. London-based, SBTRKT has executed a quirky yet sexy combination of rhythm with a sharp synth hook to match sounding like a higher pitched dubstep bass riff. Look for his newest self-titled release coming out later this month on Young Turks.
I don't normally post straight up hip-hop or R&B songs, but this song is so incredibly dope I had to share it. Hailing from LA, Nipsey Hussle is lends a greatly appreciated, authentic voice to the scene and I join many in hoping he continues to make it to the top. So far, so good but he'll need to catch up with his releases.
