Posts from 2006

Hey DJ Friday: Justin Timberlake vs Corey Hart

Friday, September 29th, 2006 by Paul Irish

Starting today, Aurgasm delivers a weekly dose of nightlife-inspired music in a feature we call “Hey DJ Fridays”. My good man LasterD starts it off. -Paul

Kicking things off is a mash-up of the recent worldwide pop hit, Sexyback, with the 1984 pop hit, Sunglasses At Night. This track bridges two dance classics spanning over two decades.

Justin Timberlake vs Corey Hart – I Wear My Sexyback at Night (Cheekyboy Edit)

Trentemøller

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 by Paul Irish

electronic pop // dark house // minimal techno

Highly architected electronic pop where adroit melodies meet a barrage of synthesized subtlety. Each turn of the music is unexpected; each bar maintains a heavy dose of complexity that keeps your ears engaged all fifty times you listen. I’ve heard this type of music described as bleepy-bloopy, which I’ll admit is appropriate, albeit a bit classless. Trentemøller, a Dane who creates all his music in Acid, takes a tack similar to the sonic landscapes of Telefon Tel Aviv and Télépopmusik. Thought. Aesthetics. Intelligence.

The finest electronic music of the year.
Trentemøller – Take Me Into Your Skin
Trentemøller – Moan (feat. Ane Trolle)
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Kaki King

Sunday, September 24th, 2006 by Paul Irish

guitar // progressive folk

Busking in the New York City subway convinced Miss King that pursuing a career in music was worthwhile. Passerbys would ask for CDs, and while she didn’t have them initially, a performance at The Knitting Factory and a chance encounter with Velour Records head Jeff Krasno changed all that. Kaki King’s notoriety developed from her fret-tapping technique (video) featured on her earlier instrumental CDs. With her latest release, her imaginative songwriting and manual talent meet her tender voice.

Tranquil and honest songwriting.
Kaki King – Second Brain
Kaki King – Yellowcake
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Mara Carlyle

Thursday, September 21st, 2006 by Julija

romantic vocal jazz // acoustic

Mara Carlyle has good and talented friends: her husband Andy is in Plaid and they both are friends with Matthew Herbert. Mara has tried many genres, singing with Plaid (who helped with the final touches of her debut album) and the Matthew Herbert Big Band project, Jamie Lidell and Dani Siciliano. She plays the piano, the saw, made jazzy ukulele cover of Lidell’s “Game for Fools” and in one of the interviews talks about her first DJing experiences. The Lovely (2004) is a mixture of jazz elements, classical styles, folk and electronica.

Sweet and slightly menacing fairytales.
Mara Carlyle – Baby Bloodheart
Mara Carlyle – Game For Fools (Ukulady Mix) [Jamie Lidell cover]
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Fat Freddy’s Drop

Monday, September 18th, 2006 by Paul Irish

kiwi reggae-soul // dub

I can’t say that you Aurgasm readers often tell me what music I should be hearing (lord knows I get an earful from promoters), but one name that’s been thrown my way many times is Fat Freddy’s Drop. And if the popularity of the last multi-reader suggestion, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, is any indication, you’ll likely enjoy these guys as well. Not content with whipping up killer beats, they often lay down soulful R&B vocals to glide effortlessly into your ears. Last year, this seven-piece set picked up all four New Zealand Music Awards they were nominated for, as well as scoring Gilles Peterson’s Album of The Year.

Dubbed out groove from down under.
Fat Freddy’s Drop – This Room

Fat Freddy’s Drop – Wandering Eye


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Bitter:Sweet

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 by Paul Irish

bossa nova // old Hollywood swank //trip hop

Word has it this duo met from a Craigslist ad. Now I bet you’ll be surprised of that fact when you listen. An indie rock group looking for a drummer—Craigslist, I’d expect; but this tasty concoction of classic spy film score, 50’s cha-cha, 60’s pop and modern electronica surprises. It’s the type of music you swear you’ve heard before; the production well-crafted by beatmaker Kiran Shahani, formerly of the Supreme Beings of Leisure. I’ll warn you in advance: this album will draw the passion-poised lover out of you.

Bossa nova evolved for the jet-set socialite.
Bitter Sweet – Dirty Laundry (track 1 on the Aurgasm Summer Soundtrack)
Bitter Sweet – Heaven
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Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra

Saturday, September 2nd, 2006 by Andrew Ladd

african folk // kora // mali beat

From the liner notes:

The Symmetric Orchestra reflects the spirit of Mali’s new democracy since 1992— a spirit of equality, and creativity. There’s a public in Mali today that loves traditional music — griot music — but not the griot milieu. With the Symmetric, they feel free to enjoy this music without the obligations of tradition. And this gives us the freedom to present the tradition in new ways.

That quote is enough, I’m sure, to make any Cultural Studies critics reading wet themselves, and I’m going to give them a little more: TDSO is one of those deftly textured creations that evokes equal parts timeless and contemporary, diffuse and situated. Try listening to the soft chants on ‘Mamadou Diaby’ without thinking of Four Tet, and the virtuoso piano on ‘Africa Challenge’ without hearing the tango. It’s beautiful.

A well-crafted blend of all-over sounds.
Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra – Mamdou Diaby
Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra – Africa-Challenge
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Dani Siciliano

Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 by Julija

left-field house // quirky jazz-house

From her first solo album Likes… (2004), Dani Siciliano has shown that she is much more than beautiful vocals for dancefloor-oriented tunes on collaborations with Matthew Herbert. A vocalist, producer and DJ, original and witty, Dani returns with her second album Slappers (2006). Once again Herbert is sharing production duties with Dani. Yet having background in both night clubs and jazz combos, she has her own knowledge of music. Dani creates her own sound by combining the elements of house, disco, blues, pop, electronica and even a little country with an instrumentation that includes teacups, spoons and such.

It’s playful and serious. As Dani says herself, “it’s about woman.”
Dani Siciliano – They Can Wait
Dani Siciliano – Come As You Are (Dani’s Come Lighter Cover)
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The Court & Spark

Sunday, August 27th, 2006 by Paul Irish

alt-folk // country space rock

The time of 60’s folk-revival shamanism may be long past, but its embodying awe of life in untapped American places carries on in the wise, mellow songs of The Court & Spark. The titular homage to Joni Mitchell speaks for itself, bringing to mind mature melodic landscapes lush with histories both cloaked and unraveled. Among the eclectic collection populating Absolutely Kosher Records, this band is by far the most creative; their mix-and-match combo of gently accented vocals, bells, tape noises, horns, slide guitar, and everything inbetween sure sounds great on balmy summer evenings.

Vocals like buttermilk biscuits.
The Court and Spark – Suffolk Down Upon the Night
The Court and Spark – Your Mother Was the Lightning

Post contributed by Natalia
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Pop Producers Read mp3 Blogs

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 by Paul Irish
I don’t want to be too self-congratulatory, but I have heard that David Byrne reads Aurgasm and Nic Harcourt (of KCRW) frequents mp3 blogs. But it’s really unknown what use mp3 blogs have been, or will be, to the music industry at large. Let’s assume for a moment that producers follow mp3 blogs as much as they crate dig in their search of the next great sample. Follow me down this path, will you…

uk pop ← new orleans jazz
If you didn’t already hear, Lily Allen is ‘the next big thing’. Music geeks have been pushing her, wanting her songs will blow up in the US mainstream for a while. She’s definitely got the appeal potential: crisp and fun production underneath her own gritty urban storytelling. Her track “Knock ‘Em Out” was released as a B-side, but is now getting as much attention as her released singles.
Lily Allen – Knock ‘Em Out from Alright, Still (2006)
If you’ve been with Aurgasm for a while, that opening that forms the basis for the track might sound a little familiar. In December 2004 I shared a track by New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair. Take a listen:
Professor Longhair – Big Chief (1964)

cuban mambo → chicago hip hop
Around the same time, a little more south, a Cuban vocalist by the name of La Lupe was gaining notoriety for her energetic live show and, quite franky, her near-insanity. Before joining Tito Puente’s tour, her fan-base included Pablo Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre and novelist Ernest Hemingway, who called her act, “the art of frenzy.” Last October, I dubbed her song “Fever” as an mp3 gem in The Link List.
La Lupe – Fever (1961)
Chicago’s Rhymefest is best known for penning Kanye’s Grammy-winning single “Jesus Walks”, but you’ll hear that La Lupe track repurposed in this new single off his LP.
Rhymefest – Fever from Blue Collar (2006)