More than a few tracks on Mimosa’s SoundCloud do this SoundKlout justice. He’s got a real knack for taking the strange and whipping it with some melody. I do hope he gets some more tracks up on there soon – like the rap artists featured on SoundKlout before him, I think SC is only a taste of Tigran’s talent.
The Remix Game got together a handful of fairly-known electronic artists back in ’07 to remix Bitter:Sweet’s original album, The Mating Game. With one of the sexiest voices I’ve ever heard, Shana Halligan’s vocals layered with these downtempo vibes make this prone to a somber groove with another. Make sure to give the full album a play, but here’s a few of my finest selections.
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Appo has redone this classic to a newage/downtempo vibe. It’s a fresh take that’s perfect for a nice warm/sunny day. My only criticism is its long intro, lasting for just around four minutes. However, the beat is still a chill & relaxing set up for Bread’s beautiful vocals.
Also had to point out how much it reminds me of something DJ Frane would sample. Make it about 5x trippier and it could (puff puff) pass.
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We all need a mental vacation once in a while, and with Emancipator’s escapist sounds it’s the perfect remedy to let the mind at ease.
Stargate Studios recently used Emancipator’s “Lionheart” to help unfold the fascinating virtual manipulation that goes on in their studio. I don’t know which I’m more impressed by – Emancipator or Stargate Studios – but combine the two and get artistic look at how easy our eyes can be deceived.
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A friend suggested I check out Emancipator’s Soon It Will Be Cold Enough a few months back, but I put it on the back-burner until recently. While browsing my feeds, I came across a song from the album that really hit the spot. Emancipator or Douglas Appling’s chilled-back, trip hop beats are steadily growing on me. I may not be an expert on the trip hop scene, but producers like this are moving me in the right direction.
The song that I mentioned above, as you probably figured out, is First Snow. Like a lot of the music I listen to, this song isn’t just for listening fun but seems to have a deeper meaning (yes, even without words). Another aspect I like about Appling’s music is how he switches up the tone in the middle of the track – a good example is at 3:00 in First Snow – similar to what DJ Frane does. I also found out, when researching the album, that it was mastered by Nujabes, a music legend for his jazzy/hip hop instrumentals. (R.I.P. Nujabes)
Alright, I’m off to listen to his latest album – Safe in the Steep Cliffs. Look this over and give me some input. What do you think the future for trip hop is?
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I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of the old school/golden age era of hip hop (basically, anything before the mid-90′s). It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I have mad respect for a lot of it, but my biggest issue with it is the beats. The reason I have such a passion for hip hop, as I do today, is because of its adoption of a wide variety of instrumentals from various sources. I’m not saying that this didn’t happen in the 80′s & 90′s, it’s just more prevalent nowadays because of technology and the internet. This brings me to today’s feature, “Bug Powder Dust (K&D Session)”, which takes some classic rhymes and lays it on a smooth trip hop beat…
“Bug Power Dust” was originally created by Bomb the Bass, an electronic/hip hop group. The song is essentially a homage to William Boroughs’s life & works, more specifically his famous novel, “The Naked Lunch”. The song was later redone by Kruder & Dorfmeister, which are known for their downtempo remixes of pop/hip hop songs. What I like so much about this tripped-out remix is its combination of my two favorite genres, hip hop & trip hop (I like the hop). The MC, Justin Warfield, flows above the beat so seamless it feels like this should be the original. He has a similar style & sound to one of the Beastie Boys, but I can’t figure out which one, any ideas?
Prodigy also did a remix of the song, which can be found here, but I warn you, it’s got nothing on Kruder & Dorfmeister’s! Also, in the full article is the original version/music video – check it out and give me your thoughts on them all.
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This man is the master of marijuana music. With three full albums on beats to blaze to, a stoner will never go hungry for a good tune to tune out to (that’s fun to say). I’ve featured Frane’s music countless times, and I still can’t get enough of it. Although, each album contains a wondrous story composed of an eclectic set of beats, his final album, Journey to the Planet of Birds, left me awestruck. How this man can pull together such varying beats to create a stunning soundscape is beyond me, but I like it!
I wanted to show off “Nectar for Isis” not because it’s my favorite track, but I think it’s an overall good display of Frane’s talent. The hypnotic vocals slapped on top of a downtempo, trip-hop beat is an eargasm in its own right, but Frane slides in, ever so delicately, a classic piano solo, which tops it off nicely. One thing Frane loves to do is change up the beat in the middle of the piece. The second half of this track was featured in a post I did on Some Cool Ass Ringtones. There’s a few different ringtones to choose from, so if your in need check it out (I’m actually using one myself).
DJ Frane is one of the main reasons we started this site up. Anything he comes out with amazes us each time. If ya wanna here more about him subscribe to our Facebook Page, so you’ll get the updates sent right to ya (and so we know you like us). Enjoy!
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Alright, this is gonna be a quick one ’cause I leave for Palm Springs in a couple of hours, and the shit I say doesn’t really matter anyway.
I present to you another good one from DJ Frane. I have featured his two other albums, Journey to the Planet of Birds & Electric Garden of Delights before, but since I am mainly focusing on singles now, I decided to go with 420247. The beat is trip-tastic, but the best part is the lyrics, they’re funny, witty and oh so true. Check it!… You’ll at least get a good laugh out of ‘em.
I just gotta give another shout out to this guy, never have I enjoyed someone’s music from the first track to the last so much, no less on all three of his albums. He’s a truly remarkable artist.
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