1/31/11 Wavelength of the Moment: Zeroh again? ...seriously?

photocred: loverfly

Yeah. Shameless, I know. We sort of enjoy this dude's music.

Killin it as usual. Play em' and weep at his tumblr:

~ rapping over flylo about love gone sour ~

~ he references "Ice Age" in this one ~

~ rapping over Dak. also sick ~

+ *EDIT* oh hey, there's more +

Read up on/grab his lyrically mind-blowing (and free!) tape G7 University HERE.

lobster out.

~

Cause I Feel Like It #@

yep, its time for another of these. This one is a bit less crazy and more towards the normal side of music. i hope. I've included more indie alt type stuff because that has really been what i've been into lately. hope its a nice change of pace. there is a zip file at the bottom with everything.

Far Closer (TOKiMONSTA Remix) - Andreya Triana
Not her usual type of song. More chilled out and less like the sound of a audio cabinet getting smashed. I like this a lot. It has a very nice, almost fidgety bass line. :)

Always (Prefuse 73 Remix) - Junip

Firework (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix) - Katy Perry
GET THIS. This is awesome - he puts in the chorus, makes you think its just another remix, and then drops in a FAT ASS TEED bass line. get this. get it. i don't care who you are.


Rox In The Box - The Decemberists 
Just.. so awesome.


Qui Dorm, Només Somia - Deerhoof
This is a wonderful, off-kilter jam from Deerhoof's newest album Deerhoof Vs Evil. Notice that the tempo goes through different feels before it finally settles.. part of their charm is their absolute gift for polyrhythm. This is going to be one of my albums of the year. Also, hopefully Langosta will translate the latin...


Still Sound (Teen Daze Remix) - Toro Y Moi
If your life needs chillwave versions of dancing hipster songs (see previous post)


I'm Not For You - Good Old War
I have been living with these guys and with this song for the past week and a half now. please listen. simon and garfunkel meets fleet foxes meets singer songwriter.


Half Moon - Iron & Wine
From their new album


Who Knows Who Cares - Local Natives
another band i have been living with. this is an excellent, excellent song. listen to it.


Cause I Feel Like It @ - zipped

yours truly
///patkins///

1/27/11 (chill)Wavelength of the Moment: DANCING HIPSTERS

This one goes out to patkins:


Toro y Moi is back. And it would seem monsieur Bundick has ditched his blissed-out laptop beats for a more organic, jazzy sound, and I'm freakin loving it. Don't worry, his crooning is still drenched in reverb. But now he brings like 200% more funk.

You can grab this (AWSOME) song, the first single from his upcoming album Underneath the Pine, for free HERE (i.e. Pitchfork............ya fuckin hipsters) Enjoy!

Lobster out.

Paper Diamond - Levitate

if Paper Diamond is a new name to you, its not your fault. If Alex B is a new name to you, though, you've been missing out on some awesome beat music. We have posted on Mr. B before, and Paper Diamond is his new alias. With a debut EP. A FREE debut EP. and you know how we love free EPs from our favorite producers. Its absolutely excellent - fat bass, levitous synths... definitely cop this shit. Less abstract/atmospheric than his other stuff, but that not at all a bad thing. Without further adue: 


Paper Diamond - Levitate EP at Pretty Lights Music (Free)


i'm rocking out right now.
¡¡¡patkins!!!

When Volcanoes Erupt, Dubstep is Made. And Ke$ha.

what most dubstep sounds like

Considering the success of my LAST dubstep post, and the fact that i have accumulated a couple good tracks lately, its time. Its time to unleash a volcano on your speakers. Look for a zip of all 11 (!) tracks

(in order of increasing frightening rawness)

Hotel Caledonia - Gaudi novelty track?

Okay, this is just here because there is no way you can turn down bagpipe dubstep. Like, seriously. Uptempo, with plenty of.. erm.. highland influence. I have bagpipe dubstep, you don't. your argument is invalid. 

We R Grand Theft Fantasy (Forcing Function Mashup) - Ke$ha Vs. Feed Me

Okay, not dubstep. And its Ke$ha. On the other hand, its FEED ME, who makes awesome electro house and dubstep (he is signed to Mau5trap if that tells you anything). AND: its an excellent mashup, with an off-kilter, strange buildup that is so gratifying. get this. play it at a party and people will be your friend.

Bass Down Low (Feat. Dev) (Proper Villains Remix) - The Cataracs

Okay, now the dubstep begins. Almost Like a G6-like, but way better. And dubstep, with a semi-gated bassline that makes you move. sweet.

Flush (Skism Remix) - Losers (Feat Riz MC & Envy)

I have been waiting for this to come out for EVER. Skism is excellent dubstep. Do not miss this one for your life.. the buildup isn't the most ridiculous thing evar, but come drop time, skism delivars. awesome.

The Blank - Skism

A kind of old skism track that i have been waiting for in 320. Downtempo, ominous... and with a fat ass bass drone for the entire length of the song, virtually. Its literally just there to vibrate your chest cavity, or tympanic membrane. Or both.

The Beat - JSaxton

From an impressive young upstart dubstep producer (he's been around a while now), this track has some pretty buhdiculous synths in it. And its starting to get a little on the grimy, frightening side of dubstep...

Methamphetamine - Bratkilla

Okay. A. i'm surprised this is the first dubstep song i have seen with this title, but b. it has a family guy sample, and c. it has a moderately frightening intro melody and hits QUITE hard. When langosta and I djed NYE i played this and someone asked me to change the song. If thats any indication.

Cloudburn - Feed Me

Seems innocuous, really isn't. Love this track, getting you with the prog-ass vocal intro n shit. Yeah. then the bass literally rears its ugly, Akoto-esque (reference?) head. Gnar.

Needed Change - 12th Planet & Skrillex

The name of the track doesn't even matter here.. the names say it all. 12th Planet and Skrillex WILL show you nasty. This is INSANE. Think of what a giant LP made of rusted iron sounds like when you play it on a turntable made of lead spinning at 100 rpm. Thats this song.

Cinema (Skrillex Remix) - Benny Benassi Feat. Gary Go

Skrillex appears again. Except this song sounds to me more like a giant Cerberus eating nuclear material. Thats just me, though. Don't take my word for it.

Scatta (Feat. Foreign Beggars & Bare Noize) - Skrillex

Okay, THIS is why you are here. This is the sound of radioactive dinosaurs having angry sex while eating each other. Also, i forgot to mention that all the volcanoes around them are erupting violently and the meteor that will cause their extinction is hurtling at them. Damn Foreign Beggars, talking about magnums n shit. they don't even know. Seriously, get this. Your ears will.. actually no. they wont thank you. but get it anyway.

When Volcanoes Erupt, Dubstep is Made (Zip)

I love dubstep,

///patkins///

Want a bit of indie soul with your beats? Caught A Ghost is here to help.

Caught A Ghost is a new side project of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jesse Nolan, frontman of Red Arrow Messenger (formerly The Cheat), which may or may not still exist. He's also just an all-around awesome guy. But this is no typical singer-songwriter venture. This is some forward-thinking shit, and it's making me really excited.

These guys make dazzling genre experiments that confuse and delight at the same time. Which comes as no surprise to me, seeing as the last time I ran into Jesse Nolan (and Ghost backup vocalist Marushka Mujic) was at L.A. genrefuck/beat scene club Low End Theory (with Take and FlyLo, which we reviewed HERE), and it seems like he's taking his music in a logical direction: there's some blue-eyed, old school soul, there's the solid indie rock chops I remember from his earlier work, but now he's doing some impressive production as well, incorporating elements of dubstep, electro, and beat music into his songs. And it's awesome.

They've got a little 3-song release out (the Cag Mixtape), and each of its tracks are completely original and innovative in their own little way.



"Sleeping At Night" reminds me a bit of Kele's solo stuff/Bloc Party's electronica adventures on Intimacy (cf. the horns on "Mercury").

"Sugar In My Coffee" is what would happen if Free The Robots and Take decided to make some gritty chain-gang-work-song blues. Best song on the tape, the sound they got here is just incredible. Really makes me respect Nolan's production chops.

"Time Go" is like downtempo 90's alt-rock meets ambient electronica textures. Really neat song, another favorite of mine.

The point is, I am mega-pumped for what the future holds for this project. You should really get it on iTunes, it's only $3. And it's not everyday a 3-song EP comes with this diverse and interesting a sound.

Lobster Out.

BONUS VIDEO:


Fun Fact: this video was handmade with little more than an iphone. Impressive!

Prof Logik - audible palindrome

found this in my inbox today. i have heard of Mr. Logik from friends but hadn't had the presence of mind to check him out.. well i did. its kind of different from most of the electronica stuff that we post, but three things aren't any different: creative synths, heavy bass, and smashing beats. The track 'Astrobump' seems to just be random, tempo-less bleeps until a fat bass comes in. Or 'Bit By Bit', which is a Shlohmo-esque, ominous thumper. To me, there is no more reassuring music than the music you can feel patting you on the back. Or is it vibrating your thorax? hard to tell. Anyway, this is certainly worth your time and bandwidth. Best part is: ITS FREE. Get it. No excuses!

Astrobump - Prof Logik

Prof Logik - Audible Palindrome (FREE AT SKEW RECORDS)


///patkins///
ps: i tried listening to it backwards. its not an audible palindrome. I know, drat, but it is a good title nonetheless!

Baths Goes Acoustic (for the most part)!!!

Been waiting for some solid recordings of Baths' piano stylings. Mr. Wiesenfeld (see related posts HERE) just released For The Deepest Quiet, It Beats, a free EP of (mostly) acoustic jams, via indie music haven Daytrotter. You have to get an account to download the whole thing, which kinda blows, but here's a sampler (i.e., half the EP). As one might expect, it's freakin' awesome. :D

~ ~ ~

Reminisce - Baths {{ GrAnD ~ StAmP ~ oF ~ aPpRoVaL }}

Absolutely beautiful. Simple but poignant vocals, heartstring-pulling chords...this dude is making the music I WISH I could be making right now, and he's been doing so pretty consistently for a good half a year now to boot. Grab this track if nothing else.

The Water (feat. Dosh) - Baths

He introduced this as "The Water, pt. II" when I saw him debut it live last year at a warehouse party in August, presumably because his earlier project, [Post-foetus], also had a track called "The Water." But I guess he's differentiated them. An ode to the element of his namesake, featuring Dosh on drums. Patkins should dig.

~ ~ ~

The other two tracks on the EP are a wonderful acoustic version of "Plea," and a glitchy beat music jam called "1149k." Both of those are a valid reason to go grab the EP. So you should. Even if you have to input your email address and sign up for yet another meaningless account, remember: it's free, it's good, and it won't take but two minutes. So it must be worth it.

Grab For The Deepest Quiet, It Beats from Daytrotter

BONUS:
The Water - [Post-foetus]

The "pt. I" of the aqueous (and homonymous) song posted above. From the gorgeous experimental electronic journey known as The Fabric, out on Mü-Nest. [ iTunes ]

Cause I Feel Like It #!

prolly write an  interblog post

the only reason i numbered this post is because i realize that when i have no thematic purpose to a post, its basically a random dump of things that are all worth your while. i think numbering them makes it sound more serious so you'll be more likely to listen. the only difference is that im starting the numbering system as the corresponding symbol rather than the number, !, @, #, and so on. lets see how many i can accomplish before i give up (or langosta kills me)! If you are a brave soul, look for the zip at the bottom.

beat music
Other Side (Nosaj Thing Remix) - Pollyn
This was in the No Such Mix. Its ALL in the bass. use good headphones for this one.

Coat Of Arms (Daedelus Remix) - Nosaj Thing
This isn't typical Daedelus - its more in the vein of Shlohmo and the WEDIDIT crew, but the chap knows what he is doing. Gold star.

Us (Jon Hopkins Remix) - Nosaj Thing
OKAY SO ITS ALL NOSAJ-RELATED, WHATEVER. this is an amazing remix off of Drift Remixed. Got me right from the intro.

Drop It Like Its Not (James Blake Harmonimix Remix) - Snoop Dogg
Okay, not beat music but de stijl in terms of its minimalism and blatant hip-hop influences. and its awesome factor, of course. (also used in No Such Mix)

PROG!!!
Won't Let You Down (Original Club Mix) - Hagenaar and Albrecht
If you don't know what clubby Progressive House sounds like, this will inform you. Make sure you can hear the bass line though! [insert yet another douche comment about headphones here]

Heiress of Valentina (Alesso Radio Edit) - Dune
If you don't know what Progressive Electro House sounds like, this will inform you (with vocals in the style of Jean Valjean). Am i being a genre whore? sorry! DIS IZ AWESEOM

{Token} Dubstep
Make Our Day (VIP) - Funtcase
His name is Cuntfase if you switch the letters around, and he definitely stole the idea for the intro from Caspa. But if you want ridiculous wobble (reference?) with a tasteful amount of grime... delivered. (ps this was in the Bam Bang Bam mix)

Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites (Noisia Remix) - Skrillex
Maybe i'm late on this, but god DAMN this is hot. It seems that when a dubstep producer remixes an original dubstep track, the result is probably the going to be one of the crazier things you have heard to date. I am thinking about Downlink's version of Swagga as corroborating evidence...

Novelty Track!
Office Musik (Clockwork Edit) - Dwight K. Schrute vs Weezy
if you like The Office. And, of course, RAP.

for teh indie kids
Hannah - Freelance Whales
If you haven't heard of these guys yet, i need to fix that. right now. 

Dandelion River Run - Mimi And Richard Fariña
APPALACHIAN FOLK JAM. And besides, there is nothing better than a married couple that produces music (cf The Long Lost for corroborating evidence). 

I Want You - The Tallest Man On Earth
From his recent Daytrotter session. Because i'm in Tallest Man-land.

CAUSE I FEEL LIKE ZIPPING IT.zip

notes
for teh indie kids: i'll be doing a proper, long-overdue indie/folk/whatev post soon. probably the next one. stay with me!

for brave souls: if you like every single song in that zip, you officially have eclectic taste. Crustacean Cognition commends you.


///patkins///

IMPORTANT NEWS + DOUBLE ALBUM OF THE DAY

This is a long post and its late so i will be quick about it, but theres a lot i have to share.

CC NEWS BULLETIN:
A. If you don't already know, FlyLo has come out with another piece of his black magic to scan a Cosmogramma proof of purchase (be it booklet, cd, vinyl label, whatever) to give you a free download of alt takes from the album. Do it if you bought it. They are awesome (cf attached example). 
Cosmogramma Trigger/// ///Galaxy in Janaki (2008 Version) - Flying Lotus

B. Daedelus has done a mix for International Tapes. I have yet to listen, but the track list is all over the place. If you know Daedelus' live performance, you know that is the best thing you could possibly ask for. Its bound to be epic. 
We All Have Magical Properties Mixtape - Daedelus @ International Tapes (via 92bpm)

C. One of Passion Pit's members has put together a mixtape (released through RCRDLBL) that includes some really good remixes by PP as well as some other very cool tracks that they like (including an awesome remix of Proxy's 8000). Check that out, its free and we love them.
Passion Pit Mixtape @ RCRDLBL


ALBUM(s) OF THE DAY(s)

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

Uh-huh. Okay… hmm. Um. I don’t know what to say about this album. I have more questions than I do statements. Who ARE you, Mr. West? Or, who do you THINK you are? Where is the substance in this album? [referencing various consumer products and popular personalities doesn’t mean anything] What are your lyrics about (as cool as it sounds, how exactly does one put a pussy in a sarcophagus)? What IS your fantasy? [actually please don’t answer that] Why has this album gotten so much critical praise? I don’t understand. Mr. West’s Dark Twisted Fantasy IS an impressive studio effort, but as a whole, it falls way short of the hype. Sure, Monster and Power are cool (especially Monster - what a collab, and very energetic.. nicki minaj saves the day). But per my previous album review, the lyrics are important along with the music. There is nice layering and detail to the music, and its obvious that a lot of effort (and multitracking for gods sakes) went into it. It definitely has its moments but there aren't enough of them! As for the libretto [can i call it that? i’m sure he would] it just.. doesn’t make sense. Sorry Kanye, I can’t play along with your dreams.

Now for something completely different:

The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt (2010)

This is one of the greatest albums I have heard in my entire life. I mean that seriously. Since his previous album (Shallow Grave, 2008) Kristian Matsson’s sound has seasoned and become even more intense and honest. He is a masterful musician, going solo on every track but having the presence, focus, and finesse of an entire ensemble of artists. This comes through even on recorded media; try seeing him live. I have never seen anything like it. 

Having seen his live performance is by no means a bias, however, as I judge this studio album. The songs of the Wild Hunt are genius. The Tallest Man takes full advantage of his musical resources, his songs flying across all the strings of his various instruments. His voice is powerful, raspy, carnal. You can even hear his microphone clipping in a few places, but it adds to its gravelly, genuine grace. Lyrics are soaked in meaning. Some songs (like “King Of Spain”) seem to make little sense until one line elucidates the entire song’s meaning. Others are extended metaphors (“The Wild Hunt”) or even just abstracted conversations (“The Drying Of The Lawns”). Whatever the song, there is little meaningless wordplay like I might find in some pop albums (c.f. previous review), and misunderstanding a verse just makes me want to go look up the lyrics and read them over and over ‘till i understand. He has so much creative, even (dare i even say?) spiritual energy and power that I can’t help but be overwhelmed every time I listen. An amazing work. Please, please, please buy this album. If you to hear something truly special, you will find it instantly.

enjoy your weekend.
///patkins///

✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳NEW MIX✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳

i'm so proud it even warranted new album artwork. anyway, i made this mix with my new (as of new years eve) MIDI controller that has been excessively mapped to my preferences. i hope you like the results - i tried to make a mix of just electro bangers, so the first 30 mins are just that. but i couldn't not drop whats in the last few minutes, if you know what i mean (COUGH 1983). enjoy and spread! go forth and prosper!

love

///patkins///

DJ *'s BAM BANG BAM Mix (45 Mins)

Track List*:

Space Junk - Wolfgang Gartner

Less Go! (Porter Robinson Remix) - Spencer & Hill Feat. Lil' Jon

The Island, Pt. II: Dusk - Pendulum

Hello (Original Mix) - Lazy Rich & Porter Robinson

Live In Mexico (Original Mix) - Miles Dyson

Cthulhu Sleeps - Deadmau5

Replica (Original Mix) - Afrojack

Muscle Rollers (Feat. Kill The Noise) - Feed Me

Ghosts N Stuff (Hard Intro Version) - Deadmau5

(Moar) Ghosts N Stuff (Feat. Rob Swire) - Deadmau5

Drugs (Nguzunguzu Remix) - Ratatat

1983 - Flying Lotus

Make Our Day (VIP Mix) - Funtcase

Animale (Datsik Remix) - Don Diablo Feat. Dragonette

Dancehall Queen (Original Mix) - Robyn & Diplo

*if you are looking for any of these tracks, you can find almost all of them at Apes With Barrels. Because they are awesome. the bloggers i mean. but the tracks too. ~patkins


ps album-a-day has been pushed back, double review tomorrow. i just didn't have time for it today..

NEW GROUNDISLAVA HOLY SHEETS

2010 was freaking incredible. Once I decide to get off my lazy ass, patkins and I will probably do a 2010 recap post, reiterating what we loved about it. But since we're already here, why not explain why we are going to love 2011?! Here's a sampler. Read: LANGOSTA IS SO FREAKING PUMPED RIGHT NOW.

If you don't know WEDIDIT stalwart GroundIsLava, get your ass ready for some awesome music. A combination of tripped-out beats, gorgeous chords, and dazzling synths, his productions never fail to blow me away. This EP is no exception, so watch out, because he is gonna blow up this year. Blah blah video-gamey beat music/8-bit electronica blah blah blah. "He's really frickin good" is the point.

Get THIS FREE EP...

...then watch out for his debut LP on Friends of Friends, dropping sometime in April.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

BONUS:

Flawed Fortress - Groundislava

absolutely. fuckin. beautiful. the instrumental version of a remix he did for FoF's Pop Massacre comp, which we loved HERE (it's free).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DOUBLE BONUS MOTHERFUCKERS:
You can get his awesome EP College For Dogs HERE (also free).

Album A Day I: Tegan And Sara's The Con (2007)

Girl bands are awesome. So are family bands. So.. a family girl band? These guys would be awesome even if the The Con wasn’t an absolute gem of songwriting. But gender and genetics aside, this IS a gem of songwriting. I’ve never called anything that before, because for years I never really even paid attention to lyrics as an integral part of music. This album showed me the error of my ways. It came into my hands and I found myself in a conversation with the recommender (my girlfriend) about how lyrics are much of what matters for her when listening. Living with The Con for a day or two has convinced me.

The music in this album is purposeful. Not the most intricate, multi-instrumented, harmonically complex of albums, it would be easy to dismiss it as boring and straightforward. However, that’s what is so magical about it - it is straightforward. This is an honest, direct style of music that grabs me and makes me listen. The lyrics, however, make The Con what it is. The lyrics follow (what i see as) the course of a divorce of a young marriage, beginning with “I Was Married” and ending with “Call It Off.” They are accessible, clever and, well, lyrical. The music and lyrics accompany each other so perfectly that each song has a one-ness that is really sublime. At the end you aren’t left wanting more, you are left wanting another listen, just to catch another word of the Con’s story.

///patkins///

a new series of posts and geotic's new project

i have come to the not-so-startling conclusion that i have much too much music that remains unlistened-to. trying to maintain something resembling a role in an upstart musical blog, along with having various musical interests (and lots of similarly interested friends that like to share) means i have a lot of good material in my iTunes library with a play count of zero. This combined with the remaining 7 days of vacation i have left has led me to start an Album-a-Day series of posts where i write about the things i haven't seriously listened to yet, like Cosmogramma (Flying Lotus), Teen Dream (Beach House), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West), Sunset Tree (The Mountain Goats), The Age of Adz (Sufjan Stevens) and 4 x 4 = 12 (Deadmau5). 

i feel that music blogging, just like hosting a personal youtube channel dedicated to narrated videogame walkthroughs, has a certain amount of egoistic value associated with it. i mean, you post about music, tell people its really awesome, and urge them to spend their money on it. on one hand a discussion of culture and art, on the other maybe a power trip of personal taste. that isn't my aim here. hopefully you will read (or not read) my blurbs about albums and hopefully you will follow (or follow) the download links to various tracks i post with them. if you have any albums i should listen to, let me know at shnaily@gmail.com. happy reading!

Also: Geotic (AKA Baths AKA Post-Foetus AKA Will Wiesenfeld AKA one of CC's personal heroes) has a new album. Please donate, download and listen HERE. Its great listening. Maybe i'll talk about it heheh

///patkins///