new season, new tunes

Every now and then someone asks me what I've been listening to. I'm not sure how to answer. For the last couple years I've been listening to a lot of mixes found online. So I guess I could answer by saying "mixes" but that doesn't as exciting as "oh this great new band blah blah". But hey these mixes ARE good. And its one of the best new ways to find new artists and tunes.

A few months ago Fahad wrote a bit about Disclosure. They're a dance act from the UK of two brothers. Somewhere in the last few months they got quite big in the dance scene and are now crossing over (perhaps?). Let's see if they reach Daft Punk crossover-levels. Anyway, I've been listening to their XLR8R mix since it went up in December. It has joined my list of favourite mixes that I listen to on repeat. It is very, very good.

And here are some of tunes I wanna highlight from that mix:
This is a really lovely, smooth tune. It has a nice laidback, warm summery feel to it. Let's put in the always great 'unclassifiable' section. This is Leon Vynehall - "Untitled017":




I love the bassline in this one. This is Native Soul feat. Trey Washington - "A New Day (Spencer Parker's a Gun for Hire Remix)", a nice tune that pays homage to Jamaican influences in dance music. Apparently the original track came out in 1998?





This one is Jhelisa - "Friendly Pressure (From Midnight Mix)". Some nice garage sounds here, and it also makes me think of nice warm sunny days, like the Leon Vynehall track (maybe that's because I'm looking out on a sunny day). Anyway here it is:



 
I could keep highlighting tunes from their mix, but I'm gonna end with this stomper. Get up and dance! Yes go on. At least tap your foot. Here's a remix of Disclosure's "Latch" by Zed Bias. Zed Bias is a helluva cool name by the way.

A belated Goodbye to the Streets

Aah, yes, the Streets are no more. Other than a few remaining tour dates, Mike Skinner's musical project are all but done with. 'Computers & Blues' came and went, and it was a mixed affair, like most recent Streets albums. Having said that I think I prefer it to the last few albums; there are some thoughtful and melancholy tracks that are well put together, but perhaps it's the knowledge that that's it that is adding some poignancy for me. Still, I think Mike is one of the best at reproducing the garagey sound with the female vocals added for an extra touch of sweetness -- street music that's for more than dancing to. The last track on the album is 'Lock the Lock's and it's one of the standouts. Here's a video that uses various Streets video-art to make a video -- proving that not only is Mike a great musician, he's a pretty good visual artist too. There's talk of him doing video and soundtrack work in the future, I just hope I hear about it and get to check it out. Only one US tour date has been announced so far -- it's in New York, in August, which is also when my baby is due, so I don't think I'll be going to that...