Soundset 2011 is right around the corner, so I thought I’d gather the best remixes & mashups of the lineup. Well, I quickly found out that people don’t really mashup underground hip-hop, so I turned to the top three headliners – Atmosphere, Big Boi & De La Soul.
De La Soul had a decent amount, but the good ones weren’t easy to find (e.g. Emancipator’s mash). Big Boi, as expected, had well over any of the others and wasn’t easy to narrow down to seven (yes, it was hard to narrow it to 7!). Lastly, Atmosphere was by far the most difficult to find. I don’t know how in hell […]
[audio:Trouble-Water-Remix.mp3|titles=Trouble in the Water (De La Soul // Emancipator Blend)]
Ooooo! – just in time for the long weekend we get another Weeknd treat. It’s pretty damn safe to assume this is the first single off The Weeknd’s next mixtape, Thursday, which is suppose to be dropping sometime soon… Either way, it’s a fresh tune from the ever sexier Abel.
Also, wanted to point how much the beats make his music. Abel has one smooth voice with just the right grime, but I see too many talented vocalists paired up with the wrong beats. The Weeknd, however, gets it right over & over again. rare. Keep it up.
[audio:Rolling-Stone.mp3|titles=Rolling Stone]
Of course we had to hear some cuts from Chiddy’s Guinness World Record for the longest freestyle rap, coming in at 9 hours, 18 minutes & 22 seconds. I kept up with it for the last half and there were definitely many of those Chiddy witty one liners. Someone should make a damn story out of all those rhymes! ;)
It’s good to see that Chiddy Bang is swellin’ to Status. Can’t wait to hear what’ll be on Peanut Butter & Swelly, which releases this Friday (the 27th) – especially what Xaphoon has in store for us!
[audio:Guinness-Flow.mp3|titles=Guinness Flow]
For this year’s Lighting in a Bottle Festival, another Lighting in Your Ear compilation rolls out to help support the Critical Beats charity. The charity is “a united effort to preserve our most critical environmental resources” through current music inspirations.
The compilation is a healthy 17-track display of the talent coming this year to the Lighting in a Bottle Festival. It seems to be a mix of electro-swag from Pretty Lights to Beats Antique, but also dips into that melodramatic female driven indie rock sound (or whatever you wanna call it). You can pick it up over on Bandcamp, support it in any way you can […]
[audio:Gold-Coast-Hustle.mp3|titles=Gold Coast Hustle]
Of all drugged out compositions to dubstep, Requiem for a Dream has to make the top bill (pill). Andy’s Ill dub fix gets right to the root of the “problem” and makes this an ever better beat to get fucked up to.
I need to see more scores get dubstepped… someone do a Hans Zimmer, there’s gotta be a few out there… What famous score would you like to see dubstep’d
[audio:Requiem-For-A-Dream-Remix.mp3|titles=Requiem for a Dream (Andy’s Ill Dub Fix)]
Yes, I know this is a little dated, but that “Colorful Storms” remix caught my attention and had to give it more play. I checked out the full album by Damu, Spare Time, and found a few more gems to add.
I’ve been following Damu’s work with Panacea & Y-Society for a while now, but haven’t swooped up his solo shit till now. Half of Spare Time is a bunch of instrumental electro-jazz, but where it really comes to shine is when Damu mixes in a few well versed MC’s. Raw Poetic, Kev Brown, Insight & even a little Guru sample in these four tracks – and shows again why rap was made for jazz (or is it the other way around).
[audio:Colorful-Storms-Remix.mp3|titles=Colorful Storms (Damu Remix)]
First thought that struck my mind when I heard TigranMimosa was “oo, more PL style goodness.” Mimosa doesn’t sound exactly like Pretty Lights, at least compared to others, but each pulls from the most obscure sounds to that electro-heavenliness and constructs something into a rich & healthy composition that defines what electronica is to me. These aren’t just some stale-ass beats taken from free packs off The Pirate Bay, this shit screams soul.
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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.
[audio:Bittersweet-Faith.mp3|titles=Bittersweet Faith (Thievery Corporation Remix)]
Blackmill continues to amaze me with a style of dubstep that few are attempting, melodic dubstep. Most dubstep producers are taking to the rave scene, throwing together aimless tracks and trying to pull off the most progressive sound. And as much as dubstep is the experimental hotspot right now, a focus is still necessary in putting it all together, though that focus may still seem a bit odd to anyone outside the dubstep scene.
Props to Blackmill for deviating from the norm, even though it may seem more “normal” than the actual dubstep scene right now.
[audio:Spirit-Of-Life.mp3|titles=Spirit of Life]
I’m either a real early adopter or a very late bloomer when it comes to music, or really anything, and I definitely matured into Bon Iver a little later than half the ‘net. My first taste of the group was when listening to GAYNGS‘ debut album, Relayted. I was introduced to it all by Ryan Olson, the dude who put it all together, and had already heard of SOLID GOLD, but despite their internet fandom I wasn’t all that keen to them. And I must admit it took me a while to understand Bon Iver’s folksy vibe, it’s really not one I’m all too familiar with. But once I did, I can understand why half the internet is obsessed with these Indie Folk fellows […]
[audio:Calgary.mp3|titles=Calgary]