I only heard about CRSSD fest for the first time last week (actually second, long story) and booking a hotel in San Diego isn’t cheap. Plus flights are ungodly now, so Road Trip! I would’ve given up on this much hassle a long time ago (a week), but look at this lineup.
I’ve gone to a half dozen festivals this year and all of ’em combined don’t add up to what CRSSD has got. Zhu and Bonobo right there makes me there. It’s not really an option after that.
But if you’re not convinced of the lineup yet, check out the playlist we put together. That’s a lot of artists to see in two days. And I usually don’t go to festivals for the music.
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I’ll be driving down from San Francisco Friday afternoon, so if anyone needs a ride hit me up!
At my job that actually pays, we’ve been trying to figure out what relaxing electronic music should be categorized under on our website. It was originally classified as ‘electronica,’ but the name was often confused with electronic, especially with Spanish speakers. Downtempo & trip-hop were other good options, but we decided on chill as it seems to be the most popular term used now.
I thought about naming our Electro Relaxations playlist something similar, but as popular as chill is now I gotta imagine it’ll fall off as fast as it came in. I’m still not too set on Electro Relaxations, but it seems like the best option for now. And who really cares, the music speaks far better than any name could.
Last year we picked a theme for our Best Mashups of 2011, which we dubbed, “Mashups Not Inspired by Glee,” but this year we decided to go with a more positive approach. For 2012, our tribute goes out to Ms. Anna Kendrick. She first caught our eye in Rocket Science and now most recently in Pitch Perfect. And although Pitch Perfect wasn’t really all that good, kinda funny, Anna playing an aspiring DJ & mashup artist was probably the hottest thing, and “DJ”, of 2012.
Another change to this year’s list from last was expanding into remixes & covers. The point of this top 2012 list is to feature the best reinterpretations of memorable hits this year, whether it be mixed, mashed, covered and everything in-between. Whatever it may be, as long as it’s not inspired by Glee, it’s all good by us.
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Bonobo’s Black Sands was my #2 album of 2010 and in ‘All in Forms’ was one of its best (‘Kiara‘ was The best). So when I saw Ninja Tune released a remix of ‘All in Forms,’ I might’ve been hesitant at first, but my intrigue kicked in quite quickly.
Letherette calms down the original ‘All in Forms’ for a remix on the smoother side of electro. This blog has shifted from the downtempo hip-hop//trip-hop//electronica styles to the EDM upbeat bangers before, but we’re always willing to switch back to chilled out soul like this.
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Copped this from Ninja Tune back in September, but lost it in my hoard of music – until now. I actually ran across it when going over my top ten albums of 2010 – Black Sands #2, baby.
This Ninja Tune release features five Bonobo tracks, mostly remixes. It’s no Black Sands, but it’s a healthy dose of Bonobo and that hip-hop infused scenic sound of his.
[audio:Eyes-Down.mp3,Ghost-Ship.mp3|titles=Eye’s Down (Breach Remix),Ghost Ship]
I was real excited for Bonobo’s new release, Black Sands, but I had one concern – I just discovered Pretty Lights about two days before I got a chance to listen to this, and was completely fanatical about my new find. I really thought they would overshadow Bonobo’s new album ’cause of the addiction I have with new artists (I thrive on novelty). Well, gladly, I was wrong. Bonobo has created one solid album. He’s changed up his sound on some tracks, and I love what he’s come up with…
Bonobo is known for his downtempo, trip-hop style with a lot of classic instrumentals, but in “Kiara” he takes some of these elements into a more hip-hop inspired piece. This is absolutely my favorite track off his new release, and it’s definitely a long time keeper. It’s a perfect beat to bump to in the ride.
Check it out and tell me what you think. The more y’all comment the more i’ll post!
[audio:Kiara.mp3|titles=Kiara](Download Link in Full Article)
I consider Bonobo a rare talent. Not only does he resonate such an affective sound, but he is consistent at it. With a lot of musicians I come across, their albums usually consist of a fair amount of good tracks, but a greater amount of mediocre, unmemorable ones. Reasons for this vary, but it usually has to do with the record labels attempt to hurry and/or manipulate the album for monetary reasons (I love to blame them). But I’m not here to criticize “big business”, I’m here to commend unrecognized talent (or what I consider to be), so let’s get to it…
Nightlite features Bajka who appears on four other tracks from Bonobo’s most recent album, Days to Come. I wouldn’t necessarily consider her a singer, nor a rapper, but possibly something in between. Whatever you call her, she’s a poet (maybe that’s what you call her) that can harmonize with Bonobo’s beat beautifully. Some of my favorite tracks on Days to Come include her vocals (this being one), and I’m sure I’ll feature a few others in the near future. As for Bonobo’s beat, it’s a cool, 8) downtempo night in Paris (or reminds me so). Wonder if it’s inspired by classic French music
I also just downloaded Eyesdown off Bonobo’s website, which is the new single from his upcoming album, Black Sands. The expected release date for the album is March 29th of this year. Check it out if you’re into Bonobo’s sound; I’m guessing it’ll be something worthwhile (like everything else of his). Let’s just say it’s the most anticipated album (for me) in March. Well, actually Plastic Beach by Gorillaz is, so I guess it’s second.
[audio:Nightlite.mp3|titles=Nightlite](Download Link in Full Article)