Last night instead of going to Mutek, I made my way to an equally important art scene in Montréal, the beat makin’ scene that ARTBEAT does so well to represent. This was the first official Artbeat show I was able to make (hosted by SevDee & Mark The Magnanimous). My mind was blown by the creativity and mad love shown by the beat builders up on stage…each sharing five minutes of their hard work in rotation. Crossing genre boundaries with no hesitation, the artists reminded me of tunes you’d hear from Shlohmo, Salva, B. Bravo, Flying Lotus, J Dilla…8-Bit, grimey bass lines, awesomely bizarre transitions and a mad infusion of hip-hop…oh! Don’t forget the FUNK! Oh yeah Artbeat you have my heart and I’m going to do my best to spread the word. What I love about hip-hop events like these is the international crowd and the mad love everyone has for hip-hop, beats, and mixin’ up the genres! Truly good music. Love. Check out their website! Check out the artists and their soundclouds posted below! ALSO! Artbeat has a radio show EVERY Saturday at 17h on 89.3FM or go online to listen or download their podcasts! Like them on Facebook!

Taken from their website:

Artbeat Montréal builds strategies geared towards the promulgation of Art within the provincial territory of Quebec and abroad. It’s Mission is to offer a platform for the Beat Builder to expand his or her knowledge of Sound, Music and Culture along with the production of distinct, refined and preeminent events dedicated to professionals, as well as enthusiasts.

ARTBEAT will set itself as the cornerstone in the establishment of a superior quality and new variety of Artistic Works, principally by Beat Builders from all genres and styles of music, which in turn, will promote cultural enrichment, as well as political, educational, economic, social and spiritual advancement.

ARTBEAT MONTREAL events unite the finest and most innovative Beat Builders, DJs, Singers and Emcees, as well as movers and shakers of the entertainment industry under one roof for a unique and uplifting experience of Sound and Light.

The BEAT BUILDER is the “Human Being possessing the ability of producing a rhythmic or harmonic arrangement or sequence with the use of new devices, beyond the limits or confines of technology, with the purpose of transmitting a specific message”

We understand that we are all related to Harmony by Blood and that we know Rhythm by heart.

ARTBEAT MONTREAL is presented by the Sovereign Prerogative Live Creations.

The artists of last night and their soundclouds:

RawLove

Christopher R.T.

Teknition aka Vincent Pryce (MurderFace/Mook-Life)

Nik Brxvkn (NBNBNB)

Griot (Akabeat)

Waahli (Nomadic Massive/Wyzah Musk)

Special Guest : Shash’U (Silence D’Or/Its Gotta Be…) back from France!

Phil Sparkz (Booty Bakery/MIMS) on the decks

Oweeeeeeeeee! I’ve missed the past two springs & summers here in Montréal and I truly am so grateful to be back for such a special time of year! I am SO excited for this years MUTEK to begin officially begin! MUTEK is an incredible four day electronic music and digital art festival that showcases some of the most exciting up and coming electronic music producers, underground and local talents, old school pioneers of the game, and outside of the box visual arts designers who will blow your mind! With various showcases designed to open up your mind and ears, you can get a taste of electronic music’s palette ranging from experimental, minimal, ambient to deep/tech/disco house, funky 8bit IDM beats, future bass, and dubstep (REAL dubstep. not the brostep Skrillex shit, y’all).

I’ll try to cover the festival the best I can but for now I will leave you with my most anticipated shows and what you MUST SEE if you don’t have a full festival pass and can’t afford or go to all of the shows. Detailed reviews and more goodies will come soon as the festival progresses!

What I’m super excited for:

1. May 31st – Nocturne 2: Red Bull Music Academy; Shlohmo and Salva!

Any artist coming out of the Red Bull Music Academy roster is going to special. If RBMA stages and sponsorships have not impressed you before at other festivals, be SURE to go to this one. Silkie literally destroyed Forward Festival in DC and my face has never been the same. RBMA gives a chance to rising music producers to unleash their creativity with the best equipment possible. For this Nocturne 2 RBMA showcase, Sibian & Faun ♦ Shlohmo ♦ Salva ♦ Nouveau Palais ♦ Paul White Live are going to grace the stage…but I’mma talk about who I’m most stoked about.

Henry Laufer! Or better known as Shlohmo is an L.A. native rising star off of the Friends of Friends record label which also hosts similar up and coming artists in the L.A. beat scene such Salva and Groundislava. At 14, he started experimenting and making beats but didn’t really start taking it seriously until 17. Now, at 21 years, he has released many LPs, EPs, remixes, and has made many mixes for prominent podcasts such as FACT and XLR8R. His sound is a plethora of hip-hop, trip-hop, dubstep, lo-fi, and ambient. Psychedelic space journey reminiscent of Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing, and even Balam Acab? Oh, yeah!

Check out his fantastic XLR8R podcast mix to get a taste…and also the Mp3′s below!

MP3: Shlohmo – Blankets (Shlo-Fi EP 2009)

MP3: Shlohmo – Sink (Bad Vibes, 2011)

MP3: Shlohmo – Parties (Bad Vibes, 2011)

Alongside Shlohmo, Salva who is also part of Friends of Friends label and the SF renowned Frite Nite crew will also be rocking out at this Nocturne 2 event. I saw him perform recently at the Foward Festival in DC with his Frite Nite homies, B. Bravo and Teeko and they created the biggest stir on the dance floor in the loft with some of the nastiest beats, gansta remixes, and funk that made my homeboy and I go, “DAAAAYUM THAT IS SOOO FUUNKAAY!”. Real effin’ funk ya dig. But for real, another talented future bass beat music maker, Chicago raised and based in L.A., Salva gets the feet twisters and shoulder poppin’ dancers going with his vintage house Detroit techno bass face funky grooves. Hint of Hip-Hop and climactic instrumentals Dan Deacon styles almost, he’s the epitomy of what beat makers are today and an example of why the beat scene is gaining more and more attention. Pan-genre at it’s finest. Mixing and mashing all styles it has no name it’s just awesome!

MP3: Salva – 40 Karats ft. Zackey Force Funk (Complex Housing, 2011)

MP3: Salva – Obsession (feat. B. Bravo) (Yellowbone EP, 2011)

2. June 01: Nocturne 3 – Nicolaas Jaar and Deniz Kurtel!
Do I really have to introduce this guy? Like the year Maya Jane Coles had last year, Nicolas Jaar has had a whirlwind of a year. Like many electronic music producers, Jaar started young at the age of 14. He was born in NY, relocated to Santiago Chile, then moved back to NY six years later. At 17, he already released a debut EP, The Student on the Wolf and Lamb label (whoa)! At 18, he was already playing in Berlin, Brooklyn and the Mutek in Mexico City. All this while studying at Brown University! Now, at 21, he has successfully launched his own record label with Noah Kraft, Clown and Sunset, which already has released some incredible productions like Prism with much more anticipated records to come.

He loves to sample quotes from speeches, movies, tv shows, samples from other samples, samples from other tunes…his compositions generally stay below 100 BPM which is lower than the house/techno standards of 130 BPM. He says, “I’m going to keep taking the beats even slower,” he says in an interview with Resident Advisor,^[1] “More unintentional things happen between the beats.” Super interesting, creative, and almost yogi spiritual like finding the peace between the breath, you find these “unintentional things” exist and are true when you listen to his various EPs and LPs (released off of Circus Company, Wolf and Lamb, and Clown and Sunset). Not all his music makes you dance but it keeps your attention, it’s emotionally intelligent and mindfully aware. It’s music and it’s Art. Hear and see it for yourself! Check out his amazing debut album Space is Only Noise! A show not to be missed…!

He recently did his debut Essential Mix which you can check out here! His XLR8R mix was also awesome which you can check out here.

MP3: Nicolas Jaar – Marks (Marks and Angles EP, 2010)

MP3: Nicolas Jaar – Colomb (Space is Only Noise, 2011)

MP3: Sneaky Sound System – Big (Nicolas Jaar’s Always By Your Side Remix)

Deniz Kurtel made her deep/tech house LP debut last year with good reviews. Her single “The L Word” graced many DJ sets and her art work (she uses LED lights, mirrors, and sculptures to create interactive art pieces) continues to be admired at countless Wolf and Lamb parties. Kurtel has a Turkish background, had intensive classical piano training, and was constantly exposed to art by her mother. Her real passion for art especially grew with her studies in USA. Being a part of the electronic scene in NY, she eventually made her way to the famous Morgan and Marcy Hotel parties in Brooklyn where Wolf and Lamb host many parties and met Gadi (one half of Wolf and Lamb)…who eventually helped her DJing and producing skills…clearly evident in her debut album Music Watching Over Me (2011).

3. June 02: Nocturne 4 – A Guy Called Gerald

GANSTA TECH IN THE HOUSE. Check out the amazing mix that A Guy Called Gerald made for Mutek on XLR8R:

This week, the 2012 edition of the annual MUTEK festival will be getting underway in Montreal. Consistently presenting some of the most forward—not to mention best—assortments of electronic and experimental artists, it comes as little surprise that this year’s lineup includes an intriguing array of acts, from up-and-coming locals to widely influential legends. One of those legends happens to be UK producer A Guy Called Gerald (a.k.a. Gerald Simpson), who’s put together an exclusive mix to commemorate the impending kickoff of this year’s MUTEK festivities. Over the past 25 years, Simpson has been at the forefront of numerous electronic movements, from his early acid-house days (which included a stint in pioneering outfit 808 State) to later planting the seeds for what would eventually become jungle and drum & bass. These days, he’s located in Berlin and has musically gravitated back toward techno, most recently turning out a variant of the sound he’s dubbed “gangsta tech.” Here, he’s assembled an hour-long session that’s both tasteful and experimental—two words that are often used to describe MUTEK.

4. June 03: Piknik Elektronik – The Mole, Benoit & Sergio, Wolf + Lamb

WOW. Piknikis one of Montreal’s greatest attributes. Set on an island overlooking the city and gracing the presence of a gorgeous sunset, you can bring your family, and friends with your picnic and enjoy a fabulous day of reconnecting and dancing all afternoon and night. It is one of my favorite events of all time and this lineup (Valentin Stip ♦ Artiste Surprise ♦ Benoit & Sergio ♦ Wolf+Lamb ♦ Mathew Jonson ♦ The Mole) is just to die for!  House, funk, techno, and soul all in one place with these incredible artists. See you there

5. ANY of the A/Visions series. Check out my previous coverage of them here to better get a glimpse at just how incredible this series is.

6. Any of the FREE series! Mutek is quite an expensive festival but there are some shows that won’t hurt your wallet and will give you a taste of what the scene is about! Check out Alicia Hush on June 1st!

Those are my recommendations! Come back for reviews later. Stay safe, have fun, and drink plenty of water! See you on the dance floor

To check out all the events, click the link below to get better descriptions courtesy of Mutek or go to the Mutek website.

THE MUTEK 2012 WEEK:

Wednesday, May 30th, to Friday, June 1st

CINECHAMBER: LIVE & PANORAMA SERIES, 1pm to 10pm daily

presented by Recombinant Media Labs

in partnership with the Daniel Langlois Foundation

in association with the International Digital Arts Biennial

in collaboration with Excentris

with the technical support of Derivative.

If you haven’t yet seen Recombinant Media Labs’ CINECHAMBER, which launched its North American premiere last week at Excentris to rave reviews, then consider yourself in for an audio-visual experience unlike anything MUTEK has presented before.

The LIVE series continues tonight (May 29) with a performance by MARSEN JULES, who presents GLAST, at 9pm. Also performing tonight is American producer RROSE. Tickets are $15 (+tx & sc) at Excentris and www.mutek.org.

The PANORAMA series continues every day this week from 1pm to 10pm, with exclusive works by CHRISTIAN FENNESZ, ROBERT HENKE, MARKUS POPP, BIOSPHERE, and numerous others, bringing together some of the most revered names in experimental music for an exclusive limited-run engagement.

EXPERIENCES 1 TO 3: PLACE DE LA PAIX, 5pm

presented by Bande À Part

MUTEK 2012 begins at 5pm tomorrow with the outdoor Experience Series, presented by Bande à Part, a free happy-hour gathering at Place de la paix showcasing the most promising emerging talents from Quebec and across Canada.  From Wednesday to Friday, festivalgoers are invited to convene in the park across from Monument-National, discover new artists, and enjoy the culinary pleasures of the SAT Foodlab.

On Wednesday, audiences will enjoy music from Quebec’s next-generation techno producers, among them CCCLTD’s MICHEL PLAMONDON, Archipel’s JESSE VOLTAIRE, and independent artist MAGNANIME. Thursday looks forward to the province’s latest crop of house-music producers, among them SIMON CALLED PETER, LEBOEUF & LAVIOLETTE, and FEMMINIELLI.  Meanwhile, Friday’s session sets up the weekend in grand style with a spotlight on Canadian talent, featuring Toronto’s ALICIA HUSH, Winnipeg duo TONEPUSHERS, and Vancouver duo LARRY JAMES.

METRO_ARTS 1 to 3: Berri-UQAM Metro, 5pm

presented by STM

MUTEK will also take over the mezzanine-level platform of BERRI-UQAM metro, the hub of all activity in Montreal’s subway system, for MÉTRO_ARTS, which proposes three multifaceted musical interludes during dense rush hour traffic. From Wednesday, May 30 to Friday, June 1st as of 5pm, THE GULF STREAM (May 30), MICHEL PLAMONDON (May 31st), and KENLO (June 1st) will greet in-the-know festivalgoers and unsuspecting commuters with electronic concoctions. These exciting local talents will brace themselves for the inquisitive looks of a bewildered and amused public, as they perform in a most unusual space.

A/VISIONS 1 to 3: Monument-National, 8pm

Come evening, festivalgoers are invited to the first of MUTEK’s central showcases, the A/Visions Series. These three sit-down showcases at Monument-National’s Salle Ludger-Duvernay offer a bold fusion of extraordinary sight and immersive sound from some of the most adventurous international electronic artists at work in the world today.

Wednesday, audiences will be treated to three vastly different interpretations of corroded desert music.  Quebec’s NELLY-EVE RAJOTTE opens the soirée with an ode to the mythical desert landscapes of the Spaghetti Western, followed by the Canadian premiere and third-ever presentation of a new collaboration by two towering figures in ambient-music history, Norway’s BIOSPHERE and Los Angeles’ LUSTMORD, who will present “Trinity”, a work commissioned and premiered by Unsound New York, in partnership with Communikey. The work was conceived and developed in the deserts of New Mexico, where nuclear testing has corrupted the landscape permanently.  Finally, Australia’s ROBIN FOX presents a must-see laser show layered with radioactive evocations.

On Thursday, Suuns frontman and classical composer BEN SHEMIE presents TRANSMISSION 1, a piece composed for two radio stations that will be simulcast on CIBL 101.5 FM and CKUT 90.3 FM, while Berlin’s Jan Jelinek and Andrew Pekler will interpret the works of Cologne electronic-music pioneer URSULA BOGNER, as well as France’s PIERRE BASTIEN and Norway’s ESPEN SOMMER EIDE (of Alog) presenting “Electronic Folkways”, a showcase that sets into motion an orchestra of invented machines.

Friday’s showcase focuses on experimental music’s cinematic influences. Quebec’s LE RÉVÉLATEUR, quickly gaining notoriety in international circles, make their MUTEK debut. Hyperdub boss KODE9 takes a rare turn at live soundtracking with collaborators MFO and MS. HAPTIC in the Unsound-commissioned live audiovisual homage to the classic sci-fi film “La Jetée” by French director Chris Marker. Meanwhile, Vex’d producer ROLY PORTER entertains the darker timbres of his experimental side.

NOCTURNES Pre to 3: SAT * Metropolis, 10pm

Following the sit-down A/Visions showcases, audiences are invited to the festival’s large headline events that bring together global transmissions from the ever-evolving worlds of electronic nightlife.

Wednesday evening begins with our Pre Nocturne event at the Metropolis’ Savoy Room, featuring two well-honed practitioners of Canada’s bass and techno scenes – PRISON GARDE and ARTHUR OSKAN.  The evening is rounded out by one of the winners of the Roland synth contest, MELODULE.

On Wednesday night, the festival kicks into high gear in collaboration with at the SAT, with a spotlight on the strong song-oriented elements currently at work across electronic genres.  Montreal duo DKMD, featuring veteran producer David Kristian and vocalist Marie Davidson, infuse icy pop structures into a Moroder-likening Italo-disco reinvention.  New York duo BLONDES draw an indie-rock mentality into their version of hypnotic house music.  Meanwhile festival favourite APPARAT, who thrilled crowds as part of Moderat in 2009, returns with his new live band to present songs from his recent Mute album, The Devil’s Walk.

Thursday night sees the festival move to the Metropolis for a showcase of pioneering and contemporary giants from the world of dub-infused techno.  Presented by Fact Magazine in association with Pop Montreal, the stage kicks off with a rare North American appearance by British electronic visionary SHACKLETON. Following his critically lauded 2009 presentation of the 64-balloon matrix ATOM, longtime festival veteran MONOLAKE returns this year to present his new audio-visual production of Ghosts, his latest album, in surround sound. The night culminates with Detroit legend JEFF MILLS, touching down in Montreal for his first-ever MUTEK appearance with a unique live presentation of “The Messenger / Sleeperwakes”.

Friday night’s Metropolis stage is jam-packed with five younger artists who are all changing the nature of club-oriented music through their subtle infusion of an intellectual dimension. The night begins with the return of Toronto producer MATT THIBIDEAU, who leads into the Canadian debut of Denmark’s RUMPISTOL, appearing at the festival with LA-based vocalist RED BARON. American Wolf+Lamb producer DENIZ KURTEL is one of many young women challenging the dynamic of electronic-music production in new and exciting ways.  She’s followed by the critical and popular success story that is NICOLAS JAAR, who returns to MUTEK with a three-piece band.  Meanwhile, Detroit’s JIMMY EDGAR shows up with his LED show Magenta.

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY Stage: SAT (as part of Nocturnes 2 & 3), 10pm

presented by Red Bull Music Academy

in collaboration with the SAT

As part of the same ticket purchased for Nocturnes 2 and 3, festivalgoers will also be able to take in two showcases at the SAT just down the street, dedicated to an inspiring mix of established international acts and graduates of the RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY.

On Thursday night, the emphasis is placed squarely on bass and hip-hop permutations, with Montreal duo SIBIAN & FAUN kickstarting a stage that also features the breakbeat permutations of American producers SHLOHMO and SALVA.  Montrealers should be looking forward to NOUVEAU PALAIS, a supergroup of sorts featuring onetime local Robert Squire (Sixtoo, Megasoid, Prison Garde), as well as Lunice and Ango. The trio will be using the occasion to launch their debut album. The soirée ends with the unique talents of UK hip-hop producer PAUL WHITE, whose prolific take of beat production has turned many heads in recent years.

Meanwhile, Friday night’s installment turns to the sweaty love triangle between bass, house, and techno.  Belgium’s SENDAI (featuring Peter Van Hoesen) mark their Canadian debut with deep and dark compositions, setting the stage for Toronto producer NAUTILUSS.  Prolific British producer BNJMN, coming off a very strong 2011, makes his MUTEK debut, followed by KODE9 on the decks.

PLAY Series 1 to 3: Studio Hydro Quebec, 10pm

For those with more experimental inclinations, MUTEK offers the Play Series as a late-night digestif, a free showcase dedicated to the avant-garde creativity of Quebec’s long and storied electronic-arts circles, features explorations into the province’s electro-acoustic, musique concrète, noise, and ambient scenes.

Wednesday showcases new works by K.A.N.T.N.A.G.A.N.O. and ESPRITS FRAPPEURS, while Thursday night spotlights a new collaboration by MARTIN TÉTREAULT and NANCY TOBIN, entitled TÉTO, as well as new works by MACHEEN and Meat Parade side-project MORT.  On Friday night, the festival and Fatboy present PECORA PECORA, ATHEUS, and THE GULF STREAM & VJ MA”.

I had the privilege of seeing DC’s own Oddisee live at DC’s Forward Festival for the closing outside party on Sunday. It was the first time I had ever heard of him but with all the excited rustling of my neighbors I figured this was no joke of  MC. He blew everyone’s minds with intelligent and conscious lyrics, unpredictable rhyme schemes, a natural fierceness that exuded through his clear love for what he does and for hip hop, and obviously, dope beats.

This man is mad talented. Please check out his website and buy/share/listen to his music and spread the wuuurd. Also check out his other project, Diamond District. Though he has been making music for a long long time and has many EPs and mixtapes released, his debut album People Hear What They See”  will be released June 12, 2012.

>>>>>>>UPDATED! Click here to skip to the review of the live show!<<<<<<<

I just got back to Montréal just two months ago after having been away for over a year. Travelling. Journey. Discovering. Learning. I realised recently that I’ve been really out of touch with the indie scene while I was away. One of the artists that I still kept in touch with while I was travelling though, was M83. I got their most recent and long awaited two disc release, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Naive Records, Mute Records) in October of this year. With this recent LP, Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez once again shows us that he’s more than capable making music that go beyond just Listening. His talent of painting musical landscapes that we can touch, see, and feel with his sound is something special that has kept me drawn and interested in his music since his first self titled release in 2001—then with Nicolas Fromageau, who is now in Team Ghost. So when I found out that M83—with openers Active Child—was playing a show here for the last day of the festival M pour Montréal, I knew I had to go.

M83 is a group named after the spiral galaxy Messier 83, formed originally in 2001 by two guys from France, Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau. The latter member left shortly after 2005 with releases of M83 (2001) and Dead Cities, Read Seas & Lost Ghosts (2003) together. Since then, Gonzalez has released equally if not more emotionally charged LPs: Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005), Digital Shades Vol. 1 (2007), Saturdays = Youth (2008), and Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (2011).

All of M83′s albums have been consistent in the artistic language that Gonzalez has done so well in presenting to us. They get compared to a lot to bands that have blown up in the past couple of years like Neon Indian, Washed Out, and Memory Tapes who do have qualities that M83 possesses but the comparison is not so justified in my opinion. M83 goes outside the box of having a particular monolithic sound by encompassing and combining chillwave ambience, psychedelic surf pop, shoegaze, minimal electronic, dreamwave, instrumental rock and experential intention with his sound. This intersectionality varies whether all these elements are in just one song or not. It’s clear when you listen to his music. It’s clear when you listen to an album begining to end. He makes albums that flow well, sound good, and has tracks that make you dance (you know, generally what makes an album good, eh). But, it’s  more than that. He’s making you a Soundtrack for Life.

Your first cigarette. Your first lover. Your loneliness. Losing a loved one. Heartache. Breaking the rules. The glare of the sun in your eyes. Getting older. The Kiss that never ended. The sand in between your toes. Letting go. Joy. Lessons learned. Thunderstorms. Being Alive. You find yourself in emotional whirlwinds all of a sudden. You stop everything you do and you listen, smell, see, and touch the music. You come out realising all that you’ve been through ’cause the music has brought you this history. Emotionally charged in the sound, the distant cries of his muffled singing, the Naming of the tracks, and the intention behind the pauses, the music has the power to push you into different realities, bad and good. In the end, there is this clear underlying optimism in his music despite all the sad parts. The Positive in the Negative. Each album contains this inevitable evolution. This varied catharticism is what makes M83 so special.

Some tracks that M83 are most known for are their more upbeat danceable tracks like “Kim & Jessie“, “Graveyard Girl“, “Midnight City“, “Don’t Save Us From the Flames“, “Teen Angst“, “Run Into Flowers“, and “Couleurs“. While these are fantastic tracks and I have so many favorites on top of these, I want to share some tracks that have become soundtracks for certain moments of my life.

It will be interesting to see how M83 is live tonight. I no doubt believe that Gonzalez will take us on a journey. For those of you lucky enough to get tickets to the now sold out show, see you there and bon show! Don’t forget to come back for a review of the live show! Thanks to M pour Montréal for having me cover this and especially to Catherine who made this possible.

You can buy M83′s music here!

MP3: M83 – Dancing Mountains

MP3: M83 – Coloring The Void

MP3: M83 – Safe

MP3: M83 – Let men burn stars

MP3: M83 – Klaus I Love You

MP3: M83 – Another Wave from You

Live in Show: M83 & Active Child

It was a beautiful night in Montréal last night in the Latin Quarter, barrio host of M for Montréal and the globally recognized and acclaimed Mutek Festival. Le Monument National was lit up wonderful purple hues, Club Soda got blared its’ lightsin preparation for the M83 after party, and as always, le S.A.T.’s sound system was heard going beyond the walls to the dark rimmed glasses, fancy winter boots, thrifty tops and waves of plaid wearing people smoking outside.

Active Child is a project that recently came into fruition by Pat Grossi, native of New Jersey who now lives in Los Angeles. Accompanied by two more band mates that look surprisingly similar to Grossi himself (or maybe it was just the lights, jaja), Active Child busted out music that reminded me of the 80′s electronic pop sound of Depeche Mode & New Order, the soundtrack nature of M83,  the ambiance of Ocuban, the new school style of R’n'B now popularized by Drake and The Weeknd, and Grossi’s voice! (So, all good things. Jejeje). Oh! His voice sounded like the Presets lead vocalist, Julian Hamilton. Oddly enough he doesn’t sound like this in his debut studio LP, You Are All I See (Vagrant Records, 2011). Either way, studio or live, his voice is wonderful, unique, interesting, and cosmic (he used to sing in a choir)! Pat Grossi has an incredible voice that has a transformative range of style which, along with the fact that he plays a mean harp and experiments with synthesizers, enables him to paint soundscapes just as M83 does while keepin’ it slightly sensual with some R’n'B flare.

I had no idea who Active Child was, no idea what kind of music but figured it was worth seeing if they were opening for M83. It was definitely a decision I don’t regret. They impressed the hell out of everyone in that crowd and no doubt prepared us for the journey we were about to take with M83 but dosing us with a cheeky adventure of their own. Fantastic performance!

MP3: Active Child – Playing House

MP3: Active Child – Hanging On

Buy their music here!

Now onto M83. Hoorah! The long wait was over! The lights dimmed and epic synths started our journey into space. The background was lit with tiny lights reppin’ stars that changed colors throughout the show with six or so brightly lit up columns lining the back. The whole set up reminded me of some space portal platform. Beyond the columns, the stars, space, infinity, and the unknown. Ooooooo. The four stood in between us the galaxy. They were going to take us on a cosmic voyage. They were our passageway and as curious, adoring, fundamentally imaginative creatures, and lovers of the dream state M83 is so good at inducing, we acquiesced.

“Intro”, the first track off of their latest album started slowly through the speakers. The synths were prolonged and etched carefully deeper and deeper as the lights began getting more intense. All of a sudden there was this creature. Looked like a human but had a possum rat head! Possum rat hands and eyes and ears! It was alien to us but that was what we signed up for. The adventure begins.

The band came on with full applause. Founder of the group Anthony Gonzalez (center), and his three touring bandmates, INCREDIBLE vocalist/keyboardist Morgan Kibby—who helped in production of Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (right), drummer Loïc Maurin (back),  the possibly new bandmate that M83 was searching for a few months back (left), hopped on stage to full and ear deafening applause. You knew with this kind of opening that the rest of the night was going to make history in our memories. What an intro song! What a start!  With Gonzalez strutting his dance moves with his back against us arms behind his head, and hoards of people singing along and crying out “Carry on! Carry on!”, it was clear that from the crowd to the band, everyone was In It Together From the Beginning.

M83 never dropped a beat throughout the entire set. The energy was kept high like a good DJ at a club and they were simply unrelenting in their efforts to make us sweat. At one point Gonzalez paused and made a little joke about how was going to err speak English and then laughed and spoke French well ’cause, you know, we all knew he was from France. Jajaja silly man. So, this was the one time that there was a “significant” gap in the tracks. It was a good gap. The crowd loved him more because of his charming humor.

After “Intro”, they went into “Teen Angst” which got the crowd even rowdier with a very nice change up in the climax of the song with some techy beats that reminded me of their musical history in Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. They didn’t play any songs off of M83 or Dead Cities but they paid tribute to them with these kinds of change ups in their more recent songs that they did perform which I really liked. It kept the momentum of the energy high and kept the integrity of their musical evolution.

They go straight into one of their most popular tracks that put Saturdays = Youth solidly on the map, “Kim and Jessie”. Can I just say, THEY KILLED THIS TRACK. It was ridculous how good it was live. Kibby was rockin’ out hardcore Led Zep styles. I was amused and was pulled in by the new bandmate who reminds me a lot of the bandmate that every band has to have or has had at some stage. Curly hair, surfer cali look, not too much emotion on his face like what he’s doing is super serious and there’s no fun in seriosity. But you know he feels the music and the emotion super intensely and he’s about to explode with it ’cause he gets those wide eyes at climatic moments and his body goes into crazy dance offs and guitar offs. You know what I mean? Meanwhile, Anthony had this epic happiness to him on stage.

They always changed up the build up, build down, and climaxes of songs to include that minimal techy Kraftwerk-y Space-y PEWPEWPEWPEW Space gun Tron-like musicality to remind us that we were on an alien space voyage with them. At some points I literally felt like I was at a Rave in Space. Lasers! Stars! Alients! Epileptic strobe lights everywhere! It was so surreal. It was so amazing.

Everyone on stage was having a blast. Dance offs, guitar offs, tamborine offs. Laughs and petite and brief exchanges were made between the bandmates. There wasn’t much conversation with us verbally, but we were very much connected to them the whole time and the room was palpable to this. Their harmonies on every single track was INCREDIBLE. On point. To a tee. I think that’s why everyone walked out of this show unquestionably happy and impressed. The energy from the crowd, the band, to the music was just so explicitly intense. Smiles were on everyone’s faces.

M83 ended the set with “A Guitar and a Heart”, a song true to the instrumental rock influence within their music. After the whole hearted ovation, the band came on and started with “Skin of the Night”. It was epic. And then, the moment came when they played one of my favorite songs and DESTROYED any and all good encores that we’ve seen in the past on our memory’s map.

“Couleurs” came on with a fierceness. The nine minute build up was tantric. They built and built and built and kept us on the edge for the longest possible moment. Everyone is going nuts on stage. Kibby is wilin’ out on the tamborine. The guitarist abandons his keyboard station goes onto the other side and starts banging on an electronic drum kit. The drummer is KILLING it (he reminds me Phil Selway, the mad talented drummer of Radiohead). Gonzalez is on the floor! He runs around! Then all of a sudden the intensity calms down while we’re on the brink of tipping. Gonzalez screams “MONTRÉAL”! We scream back. He screams again, “MONTRÉAL”! WE SCREAM BACK. “Couleurs” comes back in full force after this pause and puts an end to this aural tantric tease. The pace was ridiculously quick and hardcore in the end and pushed the limits like all good encores do. Head banging. Spaces were getting distorted. People crying. Fist pumping. Jaws open. So much love. I’m sure the humidity in the room went up 20% from all our sweat and tears.

This is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long long time. Definitely one of the best encores I’ve ever seen as well. It would be so hard to top. Their studio albums don’t even compare with their live show…which is awesome and telling of what a great band they are. The best songs of the night for me were “Kim & Jessie” and obviously, “Couleurs“.

I’ve already shared some of their tunes in this post. Click here to be redirected!

Setlist: M83 @ Le S.A.T. (Montréal; 19 11 11)

01 Intro*
02 Teen Angst%
03 Kim & Jessie^
04 Reunion*
05 Year One, One UFO*
06 We Own the Sky
07 Steve McQueen*
08 Wait*
09 This Bright Flash*
10 Claudia Lewis*
11 Midnight City*
12 A Guitar and A Heart%

Encore

13 Skin of the Night^
14 Couleurs^

* Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
^ Saturdays = Youth
% Before the Dawn Heals Us

It sucks they didn’t play anything off Digital Shades which is one of my fave M83 LPs but the selection was great regardless. I think they might have played “Gone” off of Dead Seas leading up to “A Guitar and A Heart” as well, but I’m not completely sure.

Hope you guys enjoyed the show!

Thanks again to M for Montreal and Catherine.

wow it’s been a long time since my last update. there are so many good tunes i want to share and have been meaning to make a mixtape but for now…some tunes that will definitely keep you warm and lift your soul in the winter. these are tracks that i’ve been repeating NONSTOP for the past little while. some MONTREAL  representation too with JACQUES GREENE. watch out for him, he is going to be big. he’s already done remixes of radiohead and the weeknd which are super dope. NEON INDIAN‘s new LP is a fantastic listen, though not as good as their first. APPARAT as always is on point and the track i featured from him is off his new LP Devil’s Walk which is very dark, moody, yet spiritually uplifting despite the depressed tones throughout his production. worth listening to though. NEW LOOK, another up and coming CANADIAN group from Hamilton (who woulda thought?!) are making some great pop tunes. MIGUEL CAMPBELL‘s track “something special” is one of the tracks that DEFINED burning man for me. it was dropped when everyone had not eaten, slept, or stopped dancing in over 36 hours at least. toronto’s ART DEPARTMENT through this track down and it lifted us up high…high high high up. campbell is off the HOT CREATIONS label. he’s gon be massive. truth. lastly, i threw in the most wonderful TENSNAKE remix of little dragon‘s CRUCIAL and probably one of the most remixed tracks of the year, “ritual union”. enjoy.

mp3: Jacques Greene – Another Girl

mp3: Miguel Campbell – Something Special

Mp3: New Look – Janet

MP3: Neon Indian – Polish Girl

MP3: Apparat – Goodbye

MP3: Little Dragon – Ritual Union (Tensnake Remix)

 
 
wow. so good. taken from motionographer:

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Countdown is a short movie/music video based on the music of Apparat. Directed, designed, animated and composed by Céline Desrumaux.

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the track that’s featured is “Granular Bastard” off of Apparat’s 2003 release, Duplex. if you like what you hear, the rest of his albums/eps/singles are great. intellectual electronic glitchy kinda dub. gaaah nothing can be defined with one word anymore! how awesome. search for more of Apparat’s tunes on ATM!

MP3: Apparat – Granular Bastard

just got back from burning man 2011 and it was an effin’ blast. couldn’t have been with and met better people this year. the music was phenomenal this year. i got grimey to some of the best music in the world with artists coming from outcross, hot creations, dirty bird, crosstown rebel and other down ass record labels. unlike last year where i went to a lot more dubstep glitchy bass shows, this year i was mainly holdin’ it down listening to the dirtiest tech house, deep house, and disco house on the playa. i want to share so much with you guys and maybe a mixtape will be on the way but for now, here are some tracks for you to get a taste of the dust. enjoy

MP3: Julio Bashmore – Battle For Middle You

MP3: Footprintz – Fear Of Numbers

MP3: Ada – Happy Birthday

hi everyone! it’s been a little while since my last post and since then i have been catching up and listening to soooo much music and there is soooo much good music out right now it’s ridiculous. a bunch of new albums, a bunch of a new up and comers…but this post is about what i’ve been obsessed with lately…new and old…but within the year or so. this post is filled with good beats. trust. let’s start with the rapture’s incredible new single from their forthcoming album! have been dancing to it all morning since hearing it.

MP3: The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love

i got into big boi‘s latest album, sir lucious leftfoot, pretty late but since hearing it i haven’t been able to stop. having been disappointed with his previous lp i just didn’t think something like this would come from him. fantastic fantastic beats. it’s good hip-hop with catchy lyrics that isn’t all just kanye and jay-z shit you know? in the sense that the lyrical content of Ye and Hov has less relevance than News of the World nowadays. sure, their beats sometimes are awesome like sampling Otis Redding in their new single “Otis” for upcoming lp watch the throne, but their lyrics are just so horrible to listen these days (like rhyming D’ior Homme with homie) that it’s refreshing to hear tracks like “Tangerine”, “Turns Me On”, “Hustle Blood”, “Back Up Plan”, and my favorite, “Shine Blockas” from Big Boi where the beats of the rhythm and the cadence of his delivery is just sooo sooo soo good.  it’s light enough to give you that pop encouragement to dance and get down and dirt, lyrically interesting to keep your mental in check. such a fantastic album.

MP3: Big Boi ft. Gucci Mane – Shine Blockas

flight facilities is a group from sydney, australia. that’s all i know about them jajaja at the moment. their track “crave you” is gettin’ pretty big here and their release of the crave you ep with a bunch of remixes from the likes of cassian, c90′s, ted and francis, was back in april and i’ve just gotten a chace to to listen to it now and it’s quite good. so i’m sharing the original and my favorite remix done by the c90′s.

MP3: Flight Facilities ft. Giselle Roselli – Crave You

bag raiders are a house duo also from sydney. they’ve only had one album release but have done a ton of eps released from the formidble fool’s gold label and bang gang…as well as having done remixes for cut copy, kid sister, and midnight juggernauts. their track, “shoot stars” was released in 2009 and is what got them noticed in australia. such an amazing pop track.

MP3: Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars

adrian lux is a dj/producer from sweden. his most popular track “teenage crime” gets quite a bit of play here in australia and errrybody knows it and gets their groove on. it’s a good one.

MP3: Adrian Lux – Teenage Crime

lastly, i want to share one of the greatest songs of this year. yes, that’s right. a pretty hefty claim but to me, it’s true. as y’all probs know, fleet foxes released their new album this year (and are currently on tour), helplessness blues. it is another heartfelt soul belting lp and it just warms my body like a cleanse. “grown ocean” is the most inspiring track, i feel, on the album…and of this year for me. every time i listen to it, i feel like i’m in the mountains looking at a never ending sunset driving through the sky with the clouds as my road. windows down. the title from this post is derived from this song. turn it up guys.

MP3: Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean

Nujabes (Jun Seba) was a Japanese DJ and hip-hop producer who has produced many albums and compilations filled with soulful and heartfelt beats also influenced by his extensive love of jazz. He’s all I’ve been listening to for the past few days and it makes me sad to think of his passing just a year ago. So thankful for the music and love he’s given me and I hope you can feel it too. Turn it up.

MP3: Nujabes – Sky is Falling (feat C.L Smooth)

MP3: Nujabes – Counting Stars

MP3: Nujabes – Luv (Sic) Part 2 (feat Shing02)

currently, i am in the warmth that is mexico! have been travelling around here for roughly a three weeks now and i have a lot more to explore! before that, as y’all might know, i was at burning man and made a west coast to east coast roadtrip out of it…camping in as many national parks as possible, being with nature, doing amazing hikes, and reconnecting. since my first burn, my music expansion became exponential. the new music i was listening to was an integral part of my travels in america too…a lot of music in this mixtape i was listening to when the sun was setting or rising, when i was cruising on a long and winding road down a mountain, when i was just being.

the music in this mixtape means a lot to me and i hope y’all can feel it. there’s a mix of all of the new influences i was introduced to, as well as some old school love. there’s everything from grime dubstep drum and bass to indie rock pop. thanks for waiting for so long for it to come out!!! like with all the mixtapes before…it’s really important to listen to it in order. from what i gather, most of you guys have itunes, which is shit for my mixtapes ’cause it still doesn’t play it in order even if i renumber the tags myself. please click on the playlist file, so it plays the files in order. using vlc, mediamonkey, songbird, or winamp is the best

playlist after the jump! get ready to get GRIMEY!

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download: atm’s mixtape – new beginnings
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download: atm’s mixtape – new beginnings
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Mixtape Playlist:

01  the go! team – apollo throwdown
the go! team are from brighton, uk. they’re a six piece band that released a mercury music prize nominated album that you might remember back in 2004 called thunder, lightning, strike! their music is incredibly energetic as they power through a kajillion samples along with live instrumental rowdiness. they finally released a new album just this year called rolling blackouts. though i’m not as impressed as i was with their first lp, it is still filled with teenage misfitty good fun. this is my favorite track. buy their albums here!

mp3: The Go! Team – Apollo Throwdown

02 born i – nothin’ on u

The boy who would be “Born” was born Ofosu Jones-Quartey on a hot August day in Washington, DC. Early influences came from his father’s extensive collection John Coltrane records, and the larger-than-life personality of Frank Sinatra left a deep impression on the young Ghanaian-American. But Born’s musical upbringing was eventually dominated by his love for hip hop and electronic music, drawing heavy influences from the likes of Rza, Kanye West, Diplo, Jay-Z, Ghostface, M.I.A. and The Clipse to name a few.

buy his album here!

mp3: Born I – Nothin on U

mp3: Hilltop Hoods – The Certificate

04 tanya morgan – alleye need

And what sound should one expect from three men who named their group after a fictitious woman? Expect the unexpected. There are no neo-soul, rap, r’n'b, hybrid songs on the album. There is actually no crooning whatsoever. There is cursing – sometimes, but not the cursing just to be cursing. Cursing more like ensuring the ignorant listeners hear it. It is the sound of a non-violent M.O.P. who took charm classes at the Handsome Boy Modeling School and had to record an album over the beats that class professor Madlib thought twice about using for their final exam. Lyrically the three saturate their clever content with enough personality to push the listener through songs at rewind button-breaking speeds. Tanya Morgan has, in effect, dubbed their sound “Running Man Music”, and that descriptor is two fold. When the BPMs aren’t cranked up to a pitch frenetic enough to induce the dance itself, the emotion evoked by the music is enough to remind the listener of a time when Hip Hop was urgent.

buy their albums here!

05 tanya morgan – on our way

06 floating points – k&g beat
floating points is an up and coming artist that has been winning the hearts of benji b, kode9, mary anne hobbes, gilles peterson, many more artists, and of course, me, for the past few years. twenty two years young and accomplished pianist since 16, floating points creates wonderful deep/house music melanged with dubstep, chillout and burial-esque beats inspired by some of his favorite influences such as theo parrish, dorothy ashby, and stravinsky. this track is off of the label Planet Mu’s mix LP released this month. support floating points here!

07 calibre – even if…
dominick martin a.k.a. calibre, comes from belfast, ireland, and was initially trained as a classical violinist before giving up strings for drums. influenced by the detroit techno and house scene, he grew inspired by artists such as kenny larkin, juan atkins, the orb, and carl craig. he moved away from this scene when his brother introduced him to the drum and bass and jungle scenes. for the past decade and more, calibre has been producing warm, inspiring, and soulful drum and bass ever since. in 2003, he finally realised his dream with his own label, signature records, for his own experimentation and collaborations. he released his new lp last year, even if, a stellar heartfelt look into a form of drum and bass that paints optimism wherever it’s heard. this is one of my favorite tracks off the album. buy his music here!

mp3: Calibre – Even If…

08 bcee and s.p.y. – is anybody out there?
keepin’ the soulful drum and bass tracks going, i decided to put in a collabo done by two very reputable artists in the drum and bass world. bcee aka steve jeffrey, is the label boss of spearhead records, home to some of my favorite and the d’n'b aficiandos’ artists such as lenzman, logistics, utah jazz, and the artist below, netsky. bcee and his label are known to consistently release soulful and sweet liquid grooves, minimal beats, to full on change of five tshirts sweaty drum and bass goodness. s.p.y. is from london, uk and has worked his way to becoming a known name in the drum and bass scene working alongside bcee, dj marky, and total science. he’s released many records off of metalheadz, soul:r, and and innerground. this is his most recent collabo with bcee. turn it up!

Since moving to London from Sao Paolo 7 years ago, Carlos Lima aka S.P.Y hasn’t looked back. Initially drawn to the city for it’s music and culture, S.P.Y soon settled in amongst the vibrant drum & bass scene. With a background in DJing stretching back to the age of 12, his skills behind the turntables were already in place and he set out to make his mark as a producer. A natural talent for music production certainly helped and, after just six months of learning on basic equipment, he signed his first ever release to Metalheadz in 2005.

09 netsky – storm clouds
i love netsky. i’ve been listening and watching netsky grow for a few years. in the beginning, just a drum and bass producer trying to find his way…released “secret aget” and “memory lane” in the past years and now, has evolved into a true liquid soul drum and bass producer. this is evident in his first self-titled lp released last year. he hails from belgium and has been making music for the latter half of the decade. if his lp isn’t a sign of what’s to come, i hope this track will give you a hint of just how incredible this man is! turn it up! buy his music here.

mp3: Netsky – Storm Clouds

10 four tet – spirit fingers
i don’t think i need an intro to kieran hebden…do i? incredible producer from uk? released one of the best albums, there is love in you, last year? in fact, continually releases tracks and does collabos and remixes that are always awesome? i’ve been revisiting some of my four tet lps of late and wanted to share one of my favorite tracks from him off of one of my favorite albums of all time…rounds. buy his music here!

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download: atm’s mixtape – new beginnings
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11 aeroplane ft. kathy diamond – whispers
aeroplane were once a two man team that hailed from italy and belgium. together, they worked on remixing various dancefloor hits from the likes of grace jones, friendly fires, and sebastian tellier. though now it’s a one person show, vito de luca still keeps the nu/italo disco pop beats groovin’. taken from lastfm:

Flying solo has given Vito the chance to flex his classically trained musical muscles: “We’ve been put in the dance music category but I’m a songwriter, that’s what I know how to do. I wanted to go back to proper pop music, not being forced to do nine-minute tracks so the DJ can mix in before and after.” Aeroplane have never been at the mercy of traditional bpms, and being free of “the dancefloor pressure” has given Vito additional license to slow things down and look around. “I’m at my best at 105bpm,” he says. “That’s the speed where I make the best music. You can do more, there’s more groove, more feeling.”

he has released his first solo album we can’t fly last year! this track is taken off of whispers ep vinyl. one of my favorite aeroplane tracks. buy their music here!


12 jurgen paape – mit dir
13 jurgen paape – so wit wie noch nie
aaaah i looooove jurgen paape. he is one of the founders of kompakt label and released kompilation late last year. he is the influence of many techno/minimal/house artists that are out there today…and you’ve probably heard one of his samples at some point in your life. taken from kompakt:

How do you define an artist who has never performed live, nor DJ’ed, nor ever had his photograph published and has never partaken in an interview? By the music of course. Jürgen Paape has proven this time and time again. How? Listen. Hear. Right. Now. Co-owner of Kompakt. The house’s most elusive member remains the un-compromised, untainted shining star. And without ever being there….the one who launched the label with our first release “Triumph”, Jürgen Paape has left a legacy of music that is a true core of the sound which Kompakt’s foundation is built on. We celebrate Jürgen Paape with “Kompilation”. A well deserved opportunity to hear Jürgen Paape for fans and newcomers – revived and remastered in a way that it plays through like a full length album. Some of the biggest moments of Kompakt over a decade history are here; the chorus of “So Weit Wie Noch Nie” remains timeless -there to send shivers of pleasure down your spine as we feel at the end of exhaustive end of a night at Total Confusion. “Take That” is an anthem for the unbuilt rock stadiums of tomorrow. The bona-fide hit that put him in the charts in Australia and Italy is here – “Come Into My Life (Radio Edit)” remains undeniably one of Kompakt’s catchiest pop tracks ever.

14 gui boratto – like you (supermayer remix)
y’all who read atm enough will know who gui boratto is. he is one of my favorite minimal/techno artists everrrrrrrrrrr and probably my favorite to come out of brazil. this is a track i continually go back to. buy his music here!

15 mimosa – julia’s labyrinth
uuuuuuuuuugggh i love mimosaaaa!!! he is one of my favorite discoveries since burning man and ever since then i’ve been putting his albums on repeat and rockin’ out to ridiculous glitchy dubsteppy goodness. i saw him open for eoto at the wonder ballroom in portland a few months back and he killed it too just like he did at the playa. if you like getting grimey, down and dirty and sweating your skin off dancing bopping and being hood because you love it then mimosa is for you. he is based out of san fran but currently lives in los angeles. each of his lps are no longer than 5 songs (except for his most recent, silver lining). it was super hard to choose which tracks to go into this mixtape but i realised that this track is one of my favorites….TURN IT UP! buy his albums here!

mp3: Mimosa – Julia’s Labyrinth

16 skream – where you should be
skream, aka, dj ollie, is from croydon, south london. at 15 he started making music, even met benga (who’s also from croydon) and nearly a decade later, he has his own label Disfigured Dubz. i was never an avid listener of skream before burning man. this track is off of skream’s most recent lp, outside the box, released 2010. my camp at burning man played this nearly every day and everyone was groovin’ so nicely to this tune. sick buildup, catchy chorus, and the bass mmmmm the sub basssss. i love it. after the festival, i got the outside the box and gave it many thorough listens and it’s now one of my fave albums of last year and one that i continually return to now. “where you should be” is one of my top tracks of last year…turn it up!!! buy his albums here!

mp3: Skream – Where You Should Be

17 braids – lammicken
i have been in love with braids ever since i saw them open for neon indian at le belmont in montreal roughy two years ago. i told my story in the above link but i’ll tell it again. my friend had seen them at this hip indie place in the mile end called “silver door” where apparently a lot of indie bands and artists go to hang out? who knows. i’ve never been. but anyways, she meets this crew who are originally from calgary (alberta pride!) but moved to montreal to pursue the music and they told her to come tonight. so she told me to come for the openers (i usually never go to openers). but, i tried my best to make it on time and wallah ended up catching their last song which BLEW ME AWAY. neon indian was alright too. immediately after getting home i looked them up right away and saw that they were playing at the sala rossa in a day or two. went to see them and was soooo pleased i did. they are incredible live, so humble, and the music is animal collective newsom quirky picturesque-like. so basically, awesome. they released their FIRST LP! hooooorah! called native speaker this year/early last and it is wonderful wonderful wonderful. i am so proud of these guys for having made the top lists already and for having such a ridiculously fast growing fan base! it took ‘em a while but now they’re here! please please PLEASE go see one of their shows! buy their music here!

18 james blake – wilhelm’s scream
james blake is one of my favorite discoveries of last year. i had no clue about who he was until i heard “the wilhelm scream” which is a track i haven’t been able to go a day without thus far. hailing from london, england, james blake has been making music for the past few years and got a big break when gilles peterson from bbc radio 1 (oooh how i love bbc radio 1) loved his track released on hemlock audio in 2009 “air and lack thereof” and asked him to do a special mix for gilles peterson worldwide. since then, he’s released cmyk and this year’s already favorite self titled james blake. when zane lowe put his cover of james blake’s “limit to your love” as the hottest record in the world, things only skyrocketed for james blake. i love james blake. it’s post-dubstep downtempo soul with heartfelt lyrical realism with a vulnerability of antony johnson micked in his voice. yeah. turn this track up. make sure you got some bass. buy his works here!

mp3: James Blake – Wilhelms Scream

19 random rab – for my corpse
random rab is responsible for one of the greatest most touching moments in my life. it happened at burning man nexus sunrise…a slot that he has been legendary for. once he started playing i closed my eyes and was swept away to a different universe where the lights were playful in my mind and the warmth of all the people around me entered me with the most delightful of energies. i opened my eyes to see that everyone was doing the same thing and in this same blissful universe as i was…the cutest peculiar smiles and smirks on peoples faces and the peacefulness of their air was to me, one of the greatest things i have ever seen…it compares close to the level of peace i’ve felt when i was on ilha grande, the whitest cleanest sands and bluest of waters of an island 2 hours away from angra in bresil. random rab’s ability to cuddle you into this space with absolutely no effort is an attestment to just how fantastic of an artist he is. his albums arose and elucidation of sorrow are lps i’ve been listening closely to since burning man and have become some of my favorites of all. i can’t wait to see him at sunrise again. taken from lastfm:

Emerging from his own distinct corner of the West Coast electronic music scene, Random Rab offers a powerful and unique contribution to sonic exploration. Often referred to as “The Master of Emotion” his music is patently beautiful and melodic. With diverse influences ranging from trip-hop, classical and Arabic to bass driven compositions, his songs are considered anthemic and timeless. As a multi-instrumentalist and singer, his tracks are organic, uplifting and stand on their own as a distinct genre. Listeners of all types of music can find something they can relate to in his sound.

There is no doubt that Rab understands a multitude of musical styles. He has been the front man of a heavy metal band, toured as a classical trumpet player, played bass in a country music band, was a scratch DJ for a jazz fusion project, was the singer for a rock band in Mexico and has collaborated with countless musicians of all styles. From acoustic performances in the Himalayas to rocking packed clubs in New York, Random Rab has found a way to connect with people of all kinds.

buy his music here!

mp3: Random Rab – For My Corpse

20

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download: atm’s mixtape – new beginnings
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21 bomb the bass – bug powder dust (k&d session)
to be honest i don’t listen to bomb the bass at all. if it weren’t for the k&d sessions by kruder and dorfmeister i would never have known who they were up ’til this point. the flow these guys have are amazing in this track. they’ve been making music since 1987! yes, and they’re still doin’ it now! taken from lastfm:

Bomb the Bass (formed 1987, in London, England) is the umbrella title for the output of British musician and producer, Tim Simenon. The band, which has evolved its style over the years, has been classed as electronic or dance.

As a name, Bomb the Bass came from Simenon’s approach to collaging and mixing sounds whilst DJing in the mid to late 1980s; he says “samples were either scratched in live or sampled and looped on top of the rhythm section. So the concept was one of bombing the bass line with different ideas, with a collage of sounds. Bombing was a graffiti term for writing, like people would ‘bomb’ trains or whatever.”

buy their music here!

i really hope y’all know about peter kruder and richard dorfmeister. the austrian duo continues to seduce music heads with a chilled downtempo dub soulful trip hop sound. these guys played at last year’s treasure island festival in san fran along with four tet, lcd soundsystem, little dragon and some others. ugh i wish i could have made it. anyways, this redo of bomb the bass’ track is one of my favorites off of the k&d sessions. this track was cruuuuucial to my four month long roadtrip around the states…so epic winding around mountains with this pumping. TURN IT UP! buy their music here!

mp3: bomb the bass – bug powder dust (k&d session)

22 erykah badu – my people
so much love for erykah badu. this is a classsssic track and a big ups to dilla fo sho. it seems as though i’m putting a track of hers each mixtape i do. i can’t help it. check out other posts here. buy her works here!

23 hilltop hoods – the calling

24 reflection eternal – memories live
dj hi tek and talib kweli. reflection eternal. i’ve been going back to old school hip-hop in the past little while and it’s been so rewarding. this is a classic. real fuckin’ hip-hop sounds like this. buy hi tek, kweli, and reflection eternal works here!

25 gang starr – above the clouds
keepin’ with the old school y’all. dj premier and guru. i loves me some gang starr. turn this tune up. so effin’ sick. buy their works here!

26 virtual boy – lost treasure
have no idea how i found out about virtual boy. all i know is that i really like this track off their 2009′s, how long does it take to get to space? ep. taken from lastfm:

Hotwiring naughty synth lines and dancefloor-crushing beats with elegant harmonic textures and twisted, pop-cultured hooks, Virtual Boy craft a grimy, cinematic sound all their own on the group’s debut EP “How Long Does It Take To Get To Space?,” dropping July 21, 2009 on 1320 Records. But even before Virtual Boy had an official release, taste-making DJs spanning packed clubs to BBC Radio were spinning their atmospheric bangers, which owe as much to Bach and Mozart as they do to Justice, evoking Air as much as Virtual Boy’s heroes-in-glitch Nosaj Thing and The Glitch Mob.

That stylishly oddball set of influences is what happens when two talented young classical musicians discover their shared passion for dusty vintage synthesizers, new electronic-music genres, classic formalwear, and girls that look like they are starring in a ‘60s Godard movie. Out of that distinctive crucible, Virtual Boy was born – the duo taking its distinctive moniker from a rare Nintendo game console gathering dust in a Southern California dorm room. Virtual Boy founders Henry Allen and Preston Walker met freshman year at Chapman University’s Conservatory of Music based in California’s famed Orange County.

27 mimosa – dead like me

28 mochipet – robo crunk juice
mochipet aka david wang born and raised in taiwan, is fuckin’ insane. yes, i said it. he is fucking. crazy. his music will destroy everything you know. at burning man, people were just looking at each other with their jaws opened like, “is this for reaaaaal…”? yeah. if you wanna get grimey dubstep glitchy to idm breakbeat goodness, this is for you. and if you don’t wanna get grimey…you don’t have a choice. TURN IT UP! buy his music here!

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download: atm’s mixtape – new beginnings
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