I first heard Cris Cab on ‘One Thing,’ a collaboration of his with Pharrell Williams. I don’t know how Cab pulls off this reggae pop so well, but even my soulful ways can get into the pop slop for kids like Cris.
In his cover of Foster the People’s infamous ‘Pumped Up Kicks,’ Cab twists it well with that feel good jam style of his. If anything, it’s a pretty damn good reggae cover for a white boy from Miami.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/65142402" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
This electro distortion of vocals displayed in ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ is sure to be the next auto tune craze, but I’m lovin the hell out of it for now. And the nice thing with this compared to other distortionists is that Reid (producer) doesn’t mess with Aluna’s fiine vocals, but leaves the chopping & skewing for the chorus. As for Aluna, I’m still on the fence with a few British accents, but I warmed up to her’s quicker than most.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/64700762" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
I hardly ever fall in love from the first go, but Malinchak’s ‘So Good To Me’ hit right from the start. It’s one of those tracks you know will stick by you for the rest of your life (yea, it’s that good).
‘So Good to Me’ starts off slow, but keeps you intrigued until the heart of it all. Once the vocals kick in, however, it’s full flavored bliss. Although it’s hard for me to describe exactly what makes this so special, it’s quite clear to see once you listen in.
Make sure to check out the rest of his music as well and let me know what you think. I won’t listen to anything else of his until I’m sure sick of this (it’s gonna be awhile), it’s just something I do.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/64515659" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
It took me 20 minutes to find a damn decent picture of Justin Bieber [and let’s just say I settled]. But now that we’re past that, we gotta get past my posting of the Beibs on Silence. Soon as you check this ‘As Long as You Love Me’ remix though, you’ll understand why. Louis La Roche simply samples bits of Bieber and transforms his sound with such a distinct pattern, yet my tongue can’t quite wrap its name up. La Roche is calling it Garage, so apparently I need to study up on that (I’m not an expert on every sub-genre!)
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/63138876" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
I just had a real rush of awe-inspiring-ness while listening to Lenno’s mashup of ‘Mighty Love’ & ‘Sweet Disposition,’ mostly because I remembered I still have two tacos in the fridge. (best.feeling.ever) But also because of this remarkable mash of house & those rememberable vocals from the late 00’s — even though it takes a bit for the vocals to kick in. And make sure to wait for it [3:40].
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/63513798" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
Catching Flies lays out for us a four-track EP, titled The Stars, and my is it electro mastery. Vocal manipulation is almost becoming a necessity for my ears and I haven’t heard such fine manips since Madeux or TIP. Catching Flies borrows from a few fine vocalists for all four songs – Coldplay, Bajka, Mt. Wolf & the last which I couldn’t find credits for (credit your samples, people). In the end, some tripworthy tracks that’ll definitely be in my next beats to blaze to edition.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/2576237" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
Here’s a demo we got ahold of recently, but which actually leaked late 2011. ‘Scared of Beautiful’ houses Frank’s always straight-forward, heartfelt words. Production is provided by Midi Mafia and holds well with Frank’s vocals.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/63176337" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
God it’s good to feature a female producer. There’s a real shortage of ’em. And what a producer Carly D is. I don’t think I’ve heard a drop that gets my spine a tinglin’ like the first one on her remix of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Outta My Head.’ It’s clearly Oakland influenced and is not for the conservative ear.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/56330997" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
I don’t say this too often, especially not so prematurely, but REverb Rock’s got potential for big tings (things). So far I only like the two tracks that’ve come off his soon to be released Fables album, but those two have been floatin ’round my head for days – and not in just the usual way.
At first, I thought of his sound as just some pleasant chillwave or whatever you wanna call it, but (not so) soon after I realized REverb’s music is much more than that. His voice has this nonchalant way of seducing you into his lyrics. The words are as simple as they come, yet as clear in my head as I’ve ever pictured. And although he may be much more of a storyteller to me now, his music production carries an almost equal weight.
Fables is fully out in December. But not getting my hopes up, yet (never ends well).
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/56530718" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
You can’t quite tell right off the bat how well these vocals will carry, but once you get into the mess of it all, you quickly realize – especially with Lenno’s dirty disco mixed in. Unlike the original indie piece, Lenno brings in that raspy bass & nu-disco charm, which brings the vocals to much higher heights.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/58699585" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]