I am a little behind on this one, and I can't believe I didn't start listening to MGMT (their website is horribly awesome) until just recently. When I think of music of the current decade, I think of music inspired by the past revisited and done right this time. MGMT sounds like classic rock done right. Their first full length album Oracular Spectacular was released in stores in January of this year. It was only after hearing the remix Justice did of MGMT's track "Electric Feel" that I decided to check them out. After hearing the original version of the song I discovered that I actually like it better than Justice's version (even though it's a great remix), and I love the entire album.

MP3 :: MGMT - Electric Feel
MP3 :: MGMT - Electric Feel (Justice Remix)
High Res Music Video :: MGMT - Electric Feel

Labels: mgmt, mp3, music

Last month I began seeing Converse ads popping up in a bunch of magazines that featured Pharrell Williams, Santogold and Julian Casablancas. I, like many others I am sure, wondered what Converse had up their sleeve. On July 10th is was revealed that Converse had gotten the artists together to collaborate on a track in celebration of their 100th anniversary. The track titled "My Drive Thru" is available as a free download on Converse's website. The website also features many other musicians that are all often talked about in the blogosphere including MGMT, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, YACHT, Kid Sister, Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces, Frank Carter of Gallows; Does It Offend You, Yeah?, and Sophie of Care Bears on Fire. Again this is yet another example of a company adapting to the changing digital world, creating music available for free to the listeners while still supporting the artists behind the music.

Also be sure to check out the amazing video produced by Pharrell and animated by visual effects masters Psyop. An interview with the Psyop directors is posted here.

Labels: converse, music, n.e.r.d., pharrell williams, santogold

Yewknee has begun the annual Summer Mix Series for 2008. While it's only been up for less than a week there are already plenty of great submissions. If you aren't familiar with the concept of Yewknee's Summer Mix Series the rules are simple. Compile a mix of your favorite music that follows a particular theme or concept whether it be obscure or obvious. Then get creative and come up with some cover art for your mix, upload it to your file storage of choice and then submit it. It will then be posted along with the collection of other great mixtapes and hopefully you will go down in history as a Summer Mixtape Master. If you'd rather not submit your own mix I still highly recommend checking out some of the mixes available. You will have plenty of themed mixes to last you throughout the summer.

Labels: mp3, music

I like to see musicians using alternative means of promotion and ways of selling their music these days. Such as Nine Inch Nails making multitracks available to download and remix, or Radiohead making their album In Rainbows available to download at a "name your cost" basis and more recently Girl Talk doing the same with his album Feed the Animals. Rather than fighting file sharing and download community, they are utilizing it to their advantage.

Unkle is doing something cool to promote their new album End Titles... Stories For Film (in stores July 7th). Starting today with the track "Kaned and Able", Unkle are making four tracks from the new album available free to download via four different websites. Each track will be released on a different day, and when compiled together make one seamless piece of music that also makes up the middle section of their album. This is another great example of how artists are using innovative ways to promote themselves, benefiting both the artists and the fans.

Download the first track and see when and where the rest are available here.

Labels: mp3, music, technology, unkle

Sleep Well is the second full length album to come from the genre-bending indietronica duo Electric President. I have anxiously been awaiting this album, and like all records that are released on Morr Music it was well worth the wait. Similar to their previous album, Sleep Well is is full of haunting, lo-fi vocals, electronic blips and folky guitar riffs. It is a great second effort for Electric President and almost sounds like a sequel to their first album. Sleep Well was released on June 6th and is available now.

MP3 :: Electric President - Monsters

Labels: electric president, morr music, mp3, music

I think almost every musician/artist has dreams of touring the world, playing for hundreds of thousands of people and making people lose themselves for a short time. Part of the Weekend Never Dies is a documentary about the four members of Radio Soulwax. Filmed at over 120 shows and 6 different continents Part of the Weekend Never Dies gives us a look into the touring life of a DJ/Band on the road. It also features James Murphy, Nancy Whang, Erol Alkan, Tiga, Justice, Busy P, So-Me, Peaches, Kitsuné & Klaxons in behind the scenes footage and interviews.

View the trailer

Labels: dj, movie, music, radio soulwax

Along with anyone else who loves hard-hitting Electro bangers, I have had my eye on Atlanta's Le Castle Vania for quite some time. Since his remix of Snowden's Black Eyes, Le Castle Vania has released good track after good track. His latest being a remix of GRUM's heavy hitting Go Back. GRUM has also quickly become one of my favorite Electro producers, and I couldn't think of anyone better to get their hands on this one to remix. Le Castle Vania is also 50% of DJ/producer duo Lies in Disguise who have been missing for a bit from the "blogosphere", I am looking forward to new tracks coming from that project as well.

MP3 :: GRUM - Go Back (Le Castle Vania Remix)

Labels: grum, le castle vania, mp3, music, remix

ExitingARM is the new album out
by the Oakland sextet Subtle. The album is said to be the third installment in trilogy of albums, the first two being A New White (2004) and For Hero : For Fool (2006). ExitingARM is the perfect finale to wrap up the trilogy, and probably the best out of the three. The group prides themselves in being hard to classify and completely genreless, and rightfully so. This album consists of many layers of various instruments combining elements of rock, electronic and jazz among others. This will be one of the best albums to drop this summer, I highly recommend checking it out.

MP3 :: Subtle - Sick Soft Perfection

Labels: mp3, music

Every remix of a Snowden song that has been released has been a good one. The latest rework of Between the Rent, by Wisconsin's party starters The Glamour, has been added to the ranks of quality Snowden remixes. There is something about the wailing voice of Snowden's Jordan Jeffares that welcomes any good dance beat. In this case The Glamour has done a great job with distorted, echoey blips married with stuttered vocals to create a perfect dance floor mover.

MP3 :: Snowden - Between the Rent (The Glamour Remix)

Labels: mp3, music, remix, snowden, the glamour

:: The Presets - Apocalypto
Available on iTunes now, actual CD release May, 15
:: The Black Ghosts - The Black Ghosts
July, 8th
:: Apparat - Things to be Frickled: Parts and Remixes
Amazon, April, 15th
:: Para One - Water Lilies
May, 20th
:: Air - Air
Amazon, May, 20th
:: Ladytron - Velocifero
Amazon June, 3rd

Labels: music

Surprisingly this year was my first visit to Coachella. I had not planned on going and have never been big on music festivals, but this year I made a spontaneous decision to drive down with some friends. The line-up this year included a lot of acts I was excited to see, most of them electronic performers. I had many expectations as to who would blow me away, who would be okay, and who would most likely let me down. For the most part I would say my expectations where all proven to be wrong. Here is the rundown on my Coachella experience and on the performances I saw.

See videos
See photos

BLOWN AWAY

Justice
Okay, admittedly I actually didn't expect to be blown away by Justice, it was more of a hope. I had seen a DJ set by Justice before In Hong Kong and enjoyed it greatly, but it didn't quite live up to the hype. Their performance at Coachella lived up to the hype and surpassed it by a long shot. I would go so far as to say it was the best performance I have ever seen. The set was compiled of live remixes of their songs, and also what seemed to (hopefully) be previews of some new tracks to come. The stage set, lights, sound, everything was perfect. The only downfall to the experience was the lack of some people's enthusiasm in the crowd. I will never doubt Justice again.
See Video

Simian Mobile Disco
I wasn't sure what to expect of Simian Mpbile Disco's performance. I had seen videos of how the make their music live, circling around mostly analog instruments tweaking knobs. The show started out a bit slow for me, but by the time the build up to Hustler was being played it was totally on. This performance would probably rank in my top 3 performances of this year's line-up, I was totally blown away.
See Video

Boys Noize
Surprisingly it was the smaller, daytime DJ events that had the best vibe. The crowd at these events seemed to be there specifically for the DJ and the music. Boys Noize has impressed me remix after remix, consistently releasing good tracks. I was then even more impressed when he released his full length album Oi Oi Oi last year. I had high expectations of Boys Boize and they were fully met.
See Video

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED/SHOCKED

Holy F*ck
Holy F*ck has never made a big impression on me before this performance. I have had a hard time sitting down and listening to more than just a few tracks of theirs at once. The live performance by these guys completely shocked me, it is truly live electronic music. The way they sample and loop their music is amazing. I highly recommend seeing them.

Kid Sister, A-Trak & Flosstradamus
It is good to see people making fun, dancey, silly, good hip hop. Kid Sister's performance was pure entertainment. It was fun, light and her music is made for partying. Opening for Kid Sister was the world famous A-Trak who was not surprisingly fantastic, and backing her up was Flosstradamus. I had expected the show to be good, but I was surprised at how good it really was. I would put this performance in my top 5 at Coachella this year.
See Video

Hot Chip
Again, I like a track here and there by Hot Chip, but have never been one to listen to an album in one sitting. Going into the show I expected more of a rock show, but what I got was a dance party. During their live performance their music is so much more energetic, bouncy and fun than on their album. It's always nice to gain that much more respect for a band after seeing them live, and that was my feeling after this show.
See Video

LET DOWNS

Aphex Twin
In my mind Aphex Twin is one of the godfathers of electronic music. With an insane resume/discography I went into the show expecting to be blown away, instead I ended up leaving early. The music was nothing that I had heard from Aphex Twin before, and sounded painfully generic. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, but regardless it was a big let down.

Mum
I am convinced that there are some artists/bands that just don't really work in the Coachella atmosphere. I would say Mum is one of those bands, especially the time of day they played and their order in the lineup. I had just seen Sebastian and Busy P play their sets, and then moving from that into Mum was a difficult transition. Not only that, but I had expected their set to incorporate a much more of an electronic element. I am a big fan of Mum and their electronic, blippy sound, but their set seemed more symphonic than electronic, and truthfully was just pretty boring.

Fatboy Slim
I decided to see Fatboy Slim mostly out of nostalgia than anything else, also the fact that in most parts of the world he is regarded as a god in the dance music scene. To me he mostly came off as a creepy old guy still trying to relive the glory from his last solid album that was released 8 years ago. Maybe that comes off as sounding a bit harsh, but really the only thing that intrigued me about his performance was the enormous LCD screens he was DJing on top of. His performance, actions, facial expressions all seemed contrived and hokey.
See Video

OTHER WORTHY MENTIONABLES
:: Glitch Mob (Including edIT)
:: Sebastian
:: Stars
:: Yelle
:: Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Labels: coachella, festivals, music

Adult Swim is at it again with yet another surprising music release, this time teaming up with electronic masters Ghostly International. The release is appropriately titled Ghostly Swim and features Ghostly artists like Tycho, Cepia, Dabrye, Matthew Dear and JDSY. I love all those artists, but I was very excited to see that Milosh had contributed to Ghostly Swim. His track titled "Then It Happened" has to be my favorite on the compilation so far. Like Adult Swim's first musical release done with Dangermouse titled The Mouse & The Mask, Ghostly Swim is available as a free download from their site including awesome cover art and music video.

Labels: adult swim, ghostly international, mp3, music

I have had my eye on the web browser/music player hybrid Songbird for awhile now. Songbird has recently released version 0.5 and it's looking pretty awesome. Songbird brings you features of other music players like iTunes, playing music from your hard drive and iPod. In addition to these features Songbird also doubles as a web browser that can play/download MP3s directly from music blogs or other music sites. Although I can't really see using Songbird as my primary browser, it is built using the Mozilla platform so you definitely could. Overall I think the new version of Songbird is a solid tool for browsing MP3 blogs. Additional features include downloadable skins or "feathers", iTunes Library Import, LastFM Audioscrobbler plug-in, Album Art Manager and a long list of other available plug-ins.

[Available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux]

Labels: apps, mac, mp3, music, software

I few days ago, after listening to the new album Saturdays = Youth by M83, I posted the following on Twitter - "the new M83 album... reminds me of everything good about 80s teeny-bopper movie montages." A few days later I read an article in XLR8R's April issue that explained Anthony Gonzalez's inspiration for the entire album was '80s movies, specifically noting The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Say Anything. Then after having a look at the cover art it became apparent. I was shocked to see how well they (produced by Ken Thomas, Ewen Pearson and Anthony Gonzalez) were able to get this across in the album without being cheesy, and still sticking to the original M83 sound. My favorite song on the album is by far "Graveyard Girl", have a listen, also check out the music video.

MP3 :: M83 - Graveyard Girl

Purchase Saturdays = Youth

Labels: m83, music

If you were to gather a majority of the biggest electronic/dance music names talked about throughout the blogosphere in the past year and throw them all into one massive event you would have Embrace Miami. Miami seems to be an epicenter for insane dance parties and with Embrace's roster of DJs and artists it is sure to add to the reputation. The website isn't all that informative about the actual event, but with Deadmau5, Switch, Sinden, Drop the Lime, M.A.N.D.Y., Junior Boys, DJ Medhi, VNDLSM, Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco and Boys Noize all performing at the same event I am not sure what else you need to know.

Labels: festivals, music

I recently went on a three month stretch of not having a car, and quite honestly the thing I missed most about my car was driving alone and cranking my music. I can't think of many better stress relievers. Today while driving I came across a track I hadn't payed much attention to before but really struck a chord at this particular moment. The track was "Silver City" by Ghostland Observatory from their album delete.delete.i.eat.meat. These guys have a really wide variety of sounds and "Silver City" has to be one of my favorites. I highly recommend checking this track out as well as their new album that was just released on the 4th of March by the name of Robotique Majestique.

MP3 :: Ghostland Observatory :: Silver City

Labels: mp3, music

I have always been a fan of artists that aren't afraid to cross musical boundaries. A friend of mine by the name of Marcus Bently recently released his new EP titled Snow Covered Morning. Previous to the work he has done on this EP he has been known for his more acoustic approach to music. After working with well known House producer Kaskade and experimenting with a more electronic sound he has released a very impressive first attempt at the sound. I personally think Bently would fit nicely in your album collection right along with Modular artists VHS or Beta and Cut Copy. Bently has proved his musical skills no matter the genre, nice work.

MP3 :: Marcus Bently - Beautiful World

Available on iTunes here

Labels: marcus bently, mp3, music

Last night while listening to LastFM Radio I heard a song on the recently released "D-Sides" by Gorillaz which influenced me to check out the entire 2-disk release. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a remix on the album I hadn't heard yet... a remix of Feel Good Inc by Stanton Warriors.

The entire second disk of the 2-disk set is compiled of remixes by masters like Metronomy, Soulwax, DFA, Hot Chip and more. Some of the reworks are better than others, but in all I would recommend checking it out. The first disk also has some good original tracks that didn't make it onto previous releases.

MP3 :: Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc (Stanton Warriors Remix)

Labels: gorillaz, mp3, music, remix

My friend Jeff and I were talking the other day about plans for NYE. He mentioned we should head down to LA for Hard NYE. At the time I was like, "Ah, I don't know if it's worth driving all the way down there and dealing with the insane mass of party kids and all the other shit". Later I got to thinking about it and almost punched myself in the face. Since when is a road trip with friends to go see Justice, Peaches, A-trak, Steve Aoki and tons of other kick ass DJs a "pain". Damn, what was I thinking? There's going to be a midnight countdown by Peaches herself, along with acrobats and a special screening of Daft Punks new film Electroma. So if the stars align properly and I am able to take make it to what is sure to be an insane party, perhaps I will see you there.

Labels: events, music, party

edIT is bringing something new to hip-hop. Something that has been lacking for some time now, a new perspective. In my eyes hip-hop has been stuck in a rut. Sure there have been occasional producers and MCs doing their thing, but when I heard edIT's new full length Certified Air Raid Material it immediately stood out in my mind as something different. This album brings aspects of all my favorite genres and mashes the into one undefinable style of music. It's obvious that edIT has been influenced by the French dance movement, as most tracks have that dirty/gritty sound you might here in an electro dance floor banger, but it's more than that. It seems edIT has also been influenced by a lot of glitch and IDM for this album as well. Stand out tracks in my mind include "Battling Go-Go Yubari in Downtown L.A." (coolest song title ever), "Artsy Remix" featuring the The Grouch and "Crunk De Gaulle" featuring TTC and Busdriver. These MCs and edIT productions skills are a recipe for an instant classic, as well as a dance floor shaker.

MP3 :: Battling Go-Go Yubari in Downtown L.A. (Highly recommended)
MP3 :: Crunk De Gaulle (ft. TTC, Busdriver & D-Styles)

Labels: mp3, music

For one reason or another the Klaxons have been thrust to the forward of the NuRave movement (hate the word or not, I am still using it) being hailed as the genres poster boys. And even though I dig the Klaxons, I don't see much "rave" in their music at all. I would be far more likely to throw several of their remixed tracks into this category. One in particular I recently came across is by hard-hitting duo Mr. Miyagi. This is by far my favorite remix of Atlantis to Interzone to date, and if anyone was going to do it, it would have to have been Mr. Miyagi. The two have been on a remixing roll editing up tracks by Cicada, Melomantics and have had one of their original tracks remixed by none other than JFK. Also check out their official mixtape if you get a chance.

Klaxons :: Atlantis to Interzone (Mr. Miyagi Remix)

[via :: Ohh! Crapp, a music blog very much worth a checkout. They've got some great posts and great interviews]

Labels: mp3, music, remix

Conventional TV is dead. Conventional advertising is dead. Mediums have changed and so have the companies that have chosen to fully utilize these new mediums to their advantage. Karmaloop TV is a great example of this. Karmaloop has long been a progressive online boutique carrying the freshest urban clothing designs. Rather than simply sticking to only that, they are now adapting and creating web-based TV to promote the culture and audience that supports their online store. Featuring video snippets about people in the fashion, music and art industries Karmaloop TV has hours of entertainment. I am excited to see companies like this adapting and being progressive in this way. Not only are they promoting themselves, but also the culture that helps support their company. Nice work.

Labels: clothing, fashion, music, web

Call it Indie-Electro, call it electro-rock, call it the better than any song on A Weekend In The City, just don't call it non-danceable. Bloc Party gets back to their up-tempo roots on their new EP Flux with the original version and four amazing remixes of the track. It's no surprise that my favorite remix on the EP is by one-half of MSTRKRFT, the one and only JFK. This is not the first Bloc Party track JFK has graced with his remixing abilities. He and his MSTRKRFT counterpart remixed Bloc Party's Two More Years, which probably got more play by fans than the original. It seems JFK has been doing some solo work lately having also re-worked tracks by Goose and Mr. Miyagi. I hope this is not a sign of trouble on the home front for MSTRKRFT, either way JFK is doing his thing and doing it well.

Bloc Party :: Flux (JFK Remix)

Buy the EP for only $3.49.

Labels: mp3, music, remix

For local readers in Salt Lake City who are feeling the lack of variety in the club department, check out Super Heavy every Wednesday at The Mynt. This is a new weekly started by myself and musical partner in crime HOT NOISE!!! to bring something
new to the party people here in SLC. I won't begin to try and list of the lengthy list of music genres that we play every week. I will tell you you won't hear this shit anywhere else in this city, and if you like to dance there's no better music. Besides, why explain the music when you can just listen to it?

Download the Super Heavy Mixtape!
(Feel free to re-post and share this mix!)

Super Heavy - Every Wednesday
The Mynt
63 West 100 South, SLC
Contact me to get on the guest list.

Labels: local, mp3, music

On yet another music related note - I bring you Muscles. I am a couple weeks late on this one, but I couldn't resist mentioning the release of his debut full length album Guns Babes Lemonade. I am going to skip all the B.S. you are going to read everywhere else about how Muscles is bringing back the "sound of rave". Instead I will jump right to how this music, regardless of the label you put on it, is just simply amazing! Muscles' wailing, emotion-filled vocals are a perfect contrast to the synthy up-tempo dance beats throughout the entire album. I could go on about how this is probably my favorite dance album of the year, and how he could quite possibly be the best artist on the amazing Modular Records, but I will let the music do the talking. Check it out!

Muscles :: Sweaty
Muscles :: One Inch Badge Pin
Bonus
Architecture in Helsinki :: Neverevereverdid (Muscles Theme Park Lemonade Dub)

Purchase album on iTunes.

Labels: mp3, music

Midwestern electro-disco wonderboy Le Castle Vania has been missing in action since the release of his amazing Troubleton EP release. You may have been lucky enough to have seen him while touring, but as far as new releases I (along with everyone else I am sure) have been anxiously awaiting. Well the wait is over. Le Castle Vania has found time between his live shows to team up with Blake Miller creating Lies in Disguise. Being known for his work with Moving Units and his colab with Steve Aoki (Weird Science) Miller has never disappointed in the past, and is not starting now. Lies in Disguise has released a dancefloor slaying remix of Penis VS Vagina by UK's Party Shank. It's an amazing follow up to the work both of them have done previous, and is a track I will surely be dropping next time I DJ.

Party Shank :: Penis VS Vagina (Lies in Disguise Remix)

Labels: mp3, music

Honestly, what could be better than a road trip with your friends to go see some of the most amazing bands and artists in the world at a beautiful outdoor music festival? I really couldn't think of many better ways to spend a weekend. If you agree with me you may want to consider getting some freinds together and heading to the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge in George, Washington. The line-up for the 2 day festival is amazing, including Bjork, the Beastie Boys, M.I.A., Interpol, Grizzly Bear, Aquaduct, Electralane and a lot more. With a line-up like that and cheap tickets, starting at only $55, this should be a no-brainer for anyone living remotely close to Washington.

Thanks for the heads-up on this one Steph.

Labels: concerts, festivals, music, travel

Are you in a band that has wanted to produce an album, but you just don't quite have the means to get it done? Well, if you think you're good enough you may want to check out SellaBand, and website designed to get independant artists and bands enough money to get the music produced. Here's how it works: bands and artists upload their profiles and music fans or as they call them "believers" find artists they really like. Believers then are able to support the bands they like buy investing $10 towards the production of their album, when the artist or band reaches $50,000 (5,000 investors) the money goes towards the production of their album, and the investors receive one of the albums. Have a hard time believing something like this works? A band by the name of Nemesea just raised 50,000 big ones in just 3 months, crazy shit.

Labels: music, web

INDISTR is making "making it" pointless as they say. The website is the brainchild of Benjamin Gott, co-creator of The Brilliance. The concept of INDISTR is one that I have always known would come about sooner than later. Essentially INDISTR makes it possible for musicians to widely distribute their music, and remain truly independent. The artists have complete control over their music and keep 75% of the earnings. It is what I believe will be the future of music, the death of monsterous record labels reaping the benefits, and true freedom for the musicians. The website is in the pre-launch stage right now, and is said to be launching in 3 weeks, I am excited to see how it goes.

Labels: music, web