We still get a lot of hip hop submissions, despite our lack of featuring hip hop these days. We did manage to gather a good bunch to show our appreciation for the style that inspired this blog in the first place, including one of our biggest inspirations, Raw Poetic.
Now this list has as many hip hop influences as influences elsewhere, however, the emcee is our focus. The syntax & phonetics rap has brought to music is why we loved it the most in the past and why we love it the most right now.
Doja Cat wasn’t on our best of last year for the very same reason she will be this year. She’s always had a flow and a way with words, but now she’s teamed up with some legitimate producers to have it all.
[Musically]
I feel like Peter Rosenberg talking about Nicki Minaj, before their whole shit show, but Doja’s got the personality & style I haven’t seen in hip hop since I started this thing. I loved her original Nunchucks this time last year, but this new album has one that might top even that.
[Beautiful]
I taught a friend a new word this week. I thought it summed up Outside Lands pretty well and most festivals in general. It’s got a negative connotation to it, but a TA at my University once defined himself as a hedonist and at the time it sounded like the most honest look at one’s life I had ever heard. I don’t mean it in its extreme, as it’s often taken, but to some extent it’s what most festivals are in the business for, the senses.
This list is best for the late hours at the club and seems to be replacing glitch & bass music for the darker side of dance – as apposed to its more feel-good Disco House counterpart.
It really should have a two words tops title because Deep House & UK Garage is too much. I thought deep dance fit well, but I don’t think I like it enough. Help me out, word people.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/138373718" params="color=000000&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="20" iframe="true" /]
Each year we put together a playlist of our favorites that are performing at Outside Lands, but we got bored of that this year. So we decided on putting together a bunch of Kanye mashups & remixes instead, ’cause Kanye would want it that way. Except them being remixes maybe.
A little disclaimer. For the most part, don’t take these too seriously, especially the first one. Some of the tracks even fall outta sync at times, but each has their moment.
Just prepare yourself with these “unofficial Kanye collaborations” and hope he debuts his official one with Disclosure this Friday at OSL. It could happen. It should happen.
#3 is the best, by the way.
‘Make a Stand’ reminded me of the laid-back disco guys like Chris Malinchak are pushing into popularity, but something is slowly added at the beginning to completely transform it by the end.
I don’t know exactly what this sound is called, all I can think of is glam rock but in the electro sense. Not that glam rock sounds like this (I’m not looking it up). But glam with electro sounds fitting.
I actually first heard it in Jade Blue’s Instinct I think.
Last time we tried to highlight some of the best female singers of 2013, the top one just so happened to be a man. We wanted to carry on the tradition on this list with Zhu, but decided an honorable mention would probably be more appropriate.
The rest are a fine mix of 17 female singers that have such damn beautiful voices. Every single one of ’em. How all of these ladies haven’t gotten more mainstream airplay this year is beyond me, minus Lykke Li & Little Dragon, but I guess that’s what we’re here for and so are they.
Odesza is releasing their next album, In Return, in September and this is the perfect track to preview it (along with Sun Models). They’ve always had that Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” going on, at least in the electro sense, and ‘Memories That You Call’ continues it with a film worthy, chorus sound added on.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/158279202" params="color=000000&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="20" iframe="true" /]
Disclosure‘s influence appears to be popping up all over the place. They may not have created the sound, but they have undoubtedly popularized it. We’ve found many who try to dup their style, but few can do anything well with it.
Not only is Linden’s sound not just some blatant repeat, but he brings in vocals from Sam Frank on ‘Be Like You’ that bring much more than good sound. Lyrics usually don’t resonate too profoundly with me, but Sam Frank’s message is so telling of our time. I never really got people’s obsession with performers… without acting on it at least.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/158309263" params="color=000000&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="20" iframe="true" /]