Aurgasm

world dance // latin chill // flamenco remixed

Today I’ve got a pair of worldly remixes featured as part of National Geographic Music’s new presence at the most-excellent Calabash Music. (Entirely DRM-free mp3s, natch). The Nortec Collective used to get press from Time and the sort; they’re a large group of Latin Americans that mash together some energetic panamerican beats. Most of their stuff comes off as repetitive to me, but Rosco tempers their excitement into a chill downtempo groove. (One which deserves a spot in the next Nip/Tuck episode.) Then in the second track, Ojos de Brujo’s hip hop flamenco meets Nitin Sawhney’s asian underground treatment.

Well-produced worldly beats.
Nortec Collective – Olvidela Compa (Rosco Remix)
Ojos de Brujo – Feedback (Nitin Sawhney Remix)
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indie pop // aural academia

It should be noted that the indie pop trio did not name themselves after the Ivy League university, but after a street in their hometown of Santa Monica. Their E.P. however, did not escape academic citation. Named after London’s Bloomsbury Group; each song was inspired and based on the lives of one of its members (Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, Leonard Woolf and Lytton Strachey, respectively). Despite heavy literary references, their songs remain light and completely listenable. Surpisingly unpretentious, the album bursts with sweet and slightly tender melodies. Princeton remains intellectual without being alienating, substantive and a touch fey.

Quirky and fresh.
Princeton – The Waves
Princeton – Leonard Woolf
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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)

lounge // exotic // downtempo // trip-hop

Some downtempo elicits a strong atmosphere: you’re with friends around a beachfire at 5am, you’re on a roofdeck swaying with the sunset, you’re lips-distance intimate. The stellar downtempo from the Finnish duo of Roberto Rodriguez and Jukka Kaartinen feels appropriate for all of these; it doesn’t serve a single setting. Wide arrangements full of mallet percussion, rich string bass, rhodes piano, balanced against a classy smattering of synths. These songs’ seductive quality completely snuck up on me.

A cinematic balance of strength and beauty.
Track N Field – Marathon
Track N Field – Nobody Waits

Attention my readers in Japan: My lady and I will be coming your way on October 3^rd and I’d love to get your tips on what to do, visit, grab a drink, do karaoke, whatever! Holler at me with a comment here and I’ll follow up with you. :)
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swing jazz // retro vocal jazz

Canadian songstress Lily Frost pays earnest homage to the heyday of the swing era. Recorded live in mono and accompanied by the Swinging Dukes, an upbeat swing band, Lily Frost’s album Lily Swings (2008) brings new interpretations of lesser-known Billy Holiday songs. Lily’s melodic, sweet voice and the arrangements of banjo, breathy tenor sax, low sweet clarinet and trumpets evoke the comfortable and stylish atmosphere of a jazz den.

From nostalgic jazz ballads to the playful swing tunes.
Lily Frost – Lover Come Back To Me
Lily Frost – Willow Weep For Me
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brazilian // acoustic guitar

It’s interesting – trying to come up with a time of day this song fits. It could fit early evening, the sky burns orange as you sip from a light pino grigio. It could fit a loving Saturday morning, your hand gently trailing up and down her back while the warm sunlight beams through the window. It could even fit the commute home after a tough day. But the genius of this beautiful song isn’t necessarily its versatility; rather, the song holds the power to elevate you into a new setting. A soothing guitar supported by subtle percussion and enhanced by a most gorgeous vocal melody by Brazilian wunderkind Lucas Santtana creates a new place of mind for you to enjoy.
Warm sun, deep breaths, and beautiful soft sounds.

Lucas Santtana – Mensagem de Amor
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indie-pop // psychedelic

Working in a minimalist apartment studio in Tel Aviv, Windy & Destiny present the psyche-reflecting soundtrack of their lives. The gentle pulsations, guitar waves and warm female vocals of their debut album evolve like an ever-changing mini-psychedelic experience, transforming into a rhythmic and relaxing musical structure. At times more uptempo and catchy, and at times tenderly melancholic with a shoegaze vibe, Words For Such A Riot (2007) is somewhere between adorably sweet and slightly menacing.

Dreamy notes and darker hints.
Windy & Destiny – In Another Day
Windy & Destiny – A House For You
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norwegian composer // post-rock

Although I was introduced to the non-traditional, experimental musical approach of John Erik Kaada quite a while ago and his name was previously mentioned on Aurgasm, only now his music caught up with me. Writing a soundtrack to an imaginary film, Norwegian sound artist Kaada showcases his skills in composing haunting musical pieces made of tender melodies and wonderful textures. His entire orchestra of dramatic strings, piano, glockenspiel, glass harmonica and achingly soaring wordless chants create something strongly evocative and atmospheric.

Filled with an indescribable longing, instilling some sort of yearning.

Kaada – Smiger
Kaada – From Here On It Got Rough
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ukrainian acoustic reggae // hip hop

The duo of Ukrainian guys 5’nizza (pronounced pyatnitsa) experiments with layers of vocals and an acoustic guitar like no-one else. Harmonizing the most unexpected, humming, rappin’ and improvising, they bring a smile to your face. Using human voice they create the best quality break-beat rhythms, instrumentation of drums and trumpets. 5’nizza throws together reggae-like sounds, rock influences, bossa nova melodies, random energetic ska, enjoyable hip hop and the greatest fun from Eastern European underground.

Recommended for sunny summer days.
5’nizza – Son
5’nizza – Voda
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motown remixed // soul // funk

Imagine all the hottest tracks of Motown, all mashed up in a megamix of soulful body-movin’ music. DJ Z-Trip delivers exactly that in this 9-minute long non-stop funk-fest. He drops into it with some Jackson 5 loads you up with the finest grooves of The Temptations, and even forcefeeds you some hard-hitting Edwin Starr. DJ Z-Trip is widely regarded as one of the finest sampling and mashup professionals, alongside 2 Many DJ’s, Double D and Steinski, Coldcut, and The Avalances. Peep the excellent interview over at Downhill Battle, and also check out the great things they’re doing to protect our right to listen to music.
The very best of Motown’s finest groove-filled gems.

DJ Z-Trip – Motown Breakdown