Jimmy Tamborello

Jimmy Tamborello is an electronic music producer, probably best known as the other half of The Postal Service (the first half being Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard). And if you don't know who they are, then please turn off "Fireflies" by Owl City and listen to this track:

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service

	The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Yes, "Fireflies" is catchy, but Mr. Adam Young owes a LOT to the Postal Service. He essentially took the same electronica/pop approach that they did, but steered it in a more poppy, Top 40 friendly direction (i.e. auto-tune and lame lyrics). Yes, the Postal Service had a hit too ("Such Great Heights"), but their music seems to have more actual aesthetic value to it...I mean, Give Up (alas, their only LP) came out in 2003, and I still manage to listen to it at least once a month. All of you should own a copy.

Jimmy Tamborello's other aliases include dntel (mostly instrumental electronica/pop) and James Figurine (electronica/pop, but he sings, too!) of Figurine (a three-piece group in the same vein). James Figurine released an LP of covers (the ironically titled Covers) this year, and I was able to get it for free a few months back from his website. Worth checking out, I posted one of the songs a while back, here it is:

Other99 - James Figurine


He's been working as James Figurine and Dntel for a good 10 years now; the track that preceded and really created The Postal Service was a Dntel track featuring Ben Gibbard, the simply fricking amazing "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan." Such amazing lyrics, and the production just creates this ephemeral, dreamlike quality; it's actually very different from pretty much all the postal service songs, except "Natural Anthem." which has a lot of the same white noisey goodness.

(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan - Dntel feat. Ben Gibbard

	Dntel - The Dream Of Evan and Chan .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

BONUS! Ben Gibbard covering the same song:

	Ben Gibbard - The Dream of Evan and Chan .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Mr. Tamborello is also associated with the internet radio station and all-around badass collective of musicians and music lovers, dublab.com (I check it every day, they have amazing taste). He DJ's for them on occasion (and posts his mixes here), usually on his show, Dying Songs, or with other DJ's in a show called "Give Up: stop dancing and cry," which of course only plays sad music. He also has a live-electronica collab with a bunch of other Dublab folks (they're called Golden Hits, and they give away free music here).

All I have to say is that this guy is amazing, and you should know him and his work. A real artist of electronic music. Buy something of his!

AshTreJinkins

Ladies and Gentlemen, AshTreJinkins. A 17-year-old (!!!) beat music producer from California who did the production for the 0. track I posted a while back. That was such a glorious beat that I just had to check him out, and I've been giving his Dec. 2009 DirtyDreamz EP a listen this week. These are some neat tracks, make sure to give em a listen. He does moody, subby ambient beats then effortlessly switches to synthy bangers. He's posted the EP for free on Bandcamp, so check that shit out!

A Mix I Made

Some electro jams for y'all, in sexy beautiful mixed form.

The "Epic Ripaway Pants" Mix - DJMUS ∆

1. You Need A Ladder - Deadmau5
2. Won't Go Quietly (TV Rock Remix) - Example
3. Miami To Atlanta - Pryda
4. Hey You (Kolt13 Remix) - Pony Pony Run Run
5. Sick Muse (Adam Freedland Remix) - Metric
6. The Girls - Calvin Harris

Take ~ "Only Mountiain" out now on Alphapup

So if y'all don't know about Take (aka Sweatson Klank), you need to get ON that shit. He's a glitch-hop-tronica/beat music producer based here in L.A., and he is a MASTER of textures. Sort of like Flying Lotus and co. but with more of a focus on his own sort of brilliant, layered production style rather than the hazy, bassy, and equally awesome production more characteristic of Monsieur Lotus. But that doesn't make it any less badass. It's the sounds he coaxes out of his instruments, then how brilliantly he layers them; that's what really impresses me about this guy. "Space Funk" is how XLR8R characterized his sound, and I'm inclined to agree.

He's come out with a new album ("Only Mountain," on Alphapup Records), and it is neat as hell. You can purchase it here (via Bleep.com, because they pay their artists more than Apple does, and it's the same price), and I suggest you do, rather than simply pirating it. There is so much effort evident in his work, and it's worth the $10.00, believe me.

He's been giving his single "Neon Beams" away for free all around, you can listen to and cop it here (via XLR8R).

And as a bonus, I'll post the track of his that caught my ear in the first place (a remix of flylo from the seminal L.A. EP series); esp. the beat and how he staggers the handclaps; they're never just on the 2 and 4, and he surprises you with each one. That's what got me about the album, aside from how brilliantly layered it is: the drum programming is innovative and refreshingly unrepetetive (as far as beat music goes). And they all WORK, that's the thing; he doesn't do it just to show off how different he's trying to be. Anyway, without further ado:

Parisian Goldfish (Take Remix) - Flying Lotus

Some Decent Electronica

This post is more along the lines of indie electronica/IDM rather than bangin techno (which I also enjoy). Just a few old jams that I really like, starting with this Junior Boys track:

Parallel Lines - Junior Boys (REMOVED)

I really do need to get this album (Begone Dull Care). First came across this baby on Garth Trinidad's show on KCRW. Weeknights from 8pm-10pm on FM89.9 in Santa Monica. Probably one of the best shows for independent electronic music and all around good shit. I listen as often as I can, you should too; he's one of most brilliant DJ's out there, not in terms of technical skill on turntables but in terms of taste and just how he thinks about his job. He has such an awesome philosophy and love for music, and he's responsible for breaking through such badass acts as Gnarls Barkley and Jill Scott, among others. Listen to his show, it'll make you a better person. Seriously.

Next is a Little Dragon track, remixed by an awesome producer known as Floating Points. I love this song, it's so relaxing and soulful:

After The Rain (Floating Points Remix) – Little Dragon


I've gotta look into more Little Dragon (and Floating Points too now that I think about it); the tracks featuring them on the new Gorillaz album (Plastic Beach) are some of my faves. I'll be posting a late review of that album at some point.

And finally, a track by James Figurine, also known as Jimmy Tamborello/Dntel/the member of The Postal Service that's NOT Ben Gibbard:

Other99 – James Figurine


From an album of covers he posted a while back for free. Good stuff from a really great, well-established producer (though you have to have a certain "Indie Tolerance Level" to appreciate his singing voice....I think it works fine)

Zeroh Tolerance

This jam is the work of an awesome Hip-Hop/Electronic producer and MC known simply as 0. (or “Zeroh”), a member of the LA-based WEDIDIT Collective, whose latest success Shlohmo you’ve probably heard of if you follow the L.A. Beat scene.

parkbench (prod. AshTreJinkins) – 0.

Really impressive production by 18-year-old AshTreJinkins, though I wish that awesome three-bar bit at the end would last longer... Either way: deep kicks, godly handclaps, and that smooth vocal sample just make this a simply beautiful piece of glitch-hop-tronica (new genre name? I think we need one for all this stuff…). I'm definitely looking into his shit.

Then there’s 0. I just downloaded his ennui beattapes, and MAN is this dude impressive. About half his stuff is just this trippy live-electronics stuff, glitchy as fuck but with the same hip-hop influence underneath it all. Then he starts rapping, and the hypnotic awesomeness just triples. AMAZING flow and lyrics.

He did three beattapes for WEDIDIT, each one produced in a week, and the results are fantastic and diverse. I suggest you cop that shit.

Alex B Legit

Currently zooming around the blogosphere is this track by Mr. Alex B, a funky, glitchy, 8-bit-tastic piece of glorious beat music that leaves you wanting more than the 2:13 it gives you. Great synths, a godly boom-kat, bouncy bass, and awesome layered production to boot.

You And I Both Know – Alex B

His record Moments drops April 6 on Elm And Oak, the multi-purpose music/graphics/merch label he runs, and I’m seriously considering getting it simply on the basis of this one track.

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NB: Above track mixes incredibly well with this B-Legit instrumental. They have literally the same melodic line (bya-da-da-da-duh) at the exact same time, it's so great:

Blocked 4 Life – B-Legit

God I love this beat. It’s the music used in this pop-off between an old hip-hop teacher of mine (Miss Funk) and some other talented guy who calls himself Jet Li. Pretty badass:

Late Night Tuneage

It is 3:33am Eastern Standard Time, and I am awake. My internal clock is all fucked because I'm on a college tour and have had to wake up at ungodly hours to get on planes and stuff. So when I got back to my aunt's house today, I ate dinner and took a six-hour nap. So here we are.
When in these sorts of situations, there's pretty much nothing to do except listen to, write about, and share a ton of music. And that's what we're doin today.

Firstly. Dunian is a hip-hop/electronic producer, and he makes awesome music. That's all I know about him, found out via the WEDIDIT Collective. Here's a track off his epynomous EP:

Mind Body Mind – Dunian

Spacey, thick, psychadelic production, awesome sampleage, and THICK drum/handclap sounds. Really great stuff. He posted the EP itself on his myspace. It's free, it's art, so go get it.

[I'm currently searching for an appropriate genre name for this hip-hop/electronic stuff, e.g. Flying Lotus and Nosaj Thing and all the Brainfeeder/Low End Theory crew... "hip-hop" works, but doesn't really capture the glitch/electronic aspect of the stuff any suggestions? I think the kids call it "beat music" for the most part...]

Next stop: ELECTRONIC POP MUSIC!! Because sometimes you just want to forget how much the 80's sucked and just DANCE. Javelin are a sampler-happy outfit from Brooklyn, with a taste for the 80's and badass grooves. Dublab just posted a Sprout Session of theirs, give it a listen. And here's a video of them at work:

FlyLo Killing It

What. a. G.

Flying Lotus // Montréal (2.0) from Brandon Rae on Vimeo.

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also:

Diamonds Are Forever – Shy Guy

FUCK YES!! Hip-Hop beats made entirely of Bond-theme samples!! By Shy Guy Found this at Apes With Barrels.