April 13th, 2005 by Paul Irish
nueva bossa nova // brazilian acoustic
Little can put your mind at ease the way that some quiet bossa nova can. Fonseca, a producer and instrumentalist who has collaborated with
Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Bebel Gilberto, has been actively creating music since he was 12. He now is releasing
Rive Gauche Rio by way of world music powerlabel
Six Degrees. Fonseca has lately been working as one of the most desired producers in Brazil; his keen ear shows on this record – the sounds are beautiful, sensual, and slightly melancholic all at once. He duets quietly, subtly and smoothly on “Don De Fluir” in Spanish with Oscar-winning Urugyuan vocalist Jorge Drexler in typical Brazilian unhurried rhythm. As a surprise, Celso gives Damien Rice’s eerie and somber “Delicate” a new face; an interesting cross-continental cover with graceful guitar and heart-trodden percussion.
Feeling easy, warm sunshine, wading in the sea.Celso Fonseca – Don De Fluir
Celso Fonseca – Delicate (Damien Rice cover)
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April 12th, 2005 by Paul Irish
westcoast hiphop // bounce turntablism
Labeling this track “underground hiphop” or “real hiphop”, although completely appropriate, would be misrepresentative in this case. “Count Your Blesings” is radio-friendly. It’s production’s polished. Its sound’s got bounce. And it doesn’t feel like most other on/under the radar hiphop because.. well, it’s
pop hiphop. Just a warning though, Emanon is a duo: MC
Aloe Blacc keeps the rhymes sounding real and musty, while DJ
Exile rolls out syncopated bassbeats that keep you shaking.
Keepin’ it real an keepin’ it hot.Emanon – Count Your Blessings
UPDATE: DJ Exile just dropped by tell us the original reggae track sampled is Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam”. You’ve probably heard it in the stripclub scene in Belly. It’s available on this dancehall compilation.
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April 10th, 2005 by Paul Irish
folktronica // cut ‘n paste organic // electronic orchestral
The
‘folktronica’ name has been getting a lot of flack lately, though it may be well deserved. It’s a cheap cliché descriptor for music contructed with the aid of a computer. Yet this doesn’t differentiate from any other genre; we might as well call them hiphoptronica and indierocktronica. Synthesized sounds have a significant influence on nearly all modern music. Folktronica is just a naturalistic (and somewhat minimalistic) approach to songwriting that often uses samples such that you can hear they’re samples and develops a warm atmosphere of sound out of seemingly chilly sounds. Here,
Pedro‘s labelmate Gavouna creates an organic textured array of these pastoral sounds into something listenable and lovable.
Bare xylophone, lush violin sweeps, and a vision of idyllic contentment.Gavouna – Three
UPDATE: Gavouna informs us he’s now on Arable Records (along with Psapp) and his newest LP, Stings and Dum Machines is available on Boomkat and Juno.
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March 31st, 2005 by Paul Irish
funky house // french house
This isn’t what I wanted to post. I really wanted to give you the original song straight up. Alas, remixes are a dirty scene; and I can only provide you with an mp3 with transitions on either end. As far as I can tell, no single standalone exists. This is alright with me, this song deserves to have subservient songs on either end. A wide, fat slam-ass steamroller bassline flattens out the foundation of this song, while some hop-skip house action on top rounds out the funky-ass groove. This is straight off of a complilation put together by Les Rhythmes Digitales’s Jacques Lu Cont.
One of the funkiest songs picked by the current king of funk.Mekon feat. Roxanne Shante – What’s Going On (Jon Carter Mix)
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March 22nd, 2005 by Paul Irish
I’ll make the easy assumption and say you deal with a good number of mp3 blogs on a regular basis. I’ve got a method of sampling the music on them that’s quick and easy. You can skip right to the music to see if you like it. The technique is essentially streaming the file to your audio player, instead of downloading the entire file first. This saves you time, energy, and lets you listen to much more music in less time. Check out the screencast below to get the skinny on it.
aurgasm’s Guide to Streamsampling
March 22nd, 2005 by Paul Irish
intimate acoustic // dream pop
I know how it went. You watched
The Two Towers and enjoyed it thoroughly. The credits started rolling and a curious voice crept inside your ear. Initially, you were like, “Hmm! They have Bjork on the soundtrack!” Then, a few seconds later, you realize that the voices didn’t completely match up, although eerily similar. You dive online and find out its yet another Icelandic songstress: Emiliana Torrini. That was then, this is now: off her newest album,
Fisherman’s Woman, “Sunny Road” is an unassuming sweet lullabye where her unique voice mixes perfectly with the soft subtleties of instrumentation.
The satisfying sound of an accomplished songwriter.Emiliana Torrini – Sunny Road
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March 20th, 2005 by Andrew Ladd
french house // chillout
No,
not another money-spinner for Apple Computers; i:cube is actually a French electronica producer who pops off misty, wondrous chillout without succumbing to the sort of washed out electronic noise that one so often finds on chillout albums. I discovered this album in Boston, of all places, back when the Virgin Megastore on Newbury was still a Tower Records (how’s that for old-school?); my friend Susan and I bought a copy each, seduced by our listening-post experiences of ‘Adore’, the title track. It’s got gently popping bubbles in the bass, and wide shimmers of strings and keys over the top. ‘Tropiq’ is darker, grimier; but I love that salt-shaker beat.
Chillout at its best: music on, mind off.i:cube – Adore
i:cube – Tropiq
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March 16th, 2005 by Paul Irish
glitch lounge // exotica remixed
When
Martin Denny passed away a fortnight ago, I had to admit that my knowledge of him and his work was scant. I had familiarized myself well with
Les Baxter, but really didn’t know much about the true founder of exotica music. Denny was the first to bring together his own trademark tropical jazz music with sounds from nature: bullfrogs croaking, songbirds calling, and palm trees swaying; thus creating a new musical innovation that he termed “exotica”. Now, on his EP
Percussions, New York-based End now has taken this sound and interjected a healthy dose of electronic sample-magic to take exotica into the decade of the aughts.
A frenetic lounge soundtrack delivering the South Sea by way of the sampler.End – Cocktail Hour
more mp3s at End’s website
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March 8th, 2005 by Andrew Ladd
conscious hiphop // old-school
I know you can’t see me, but I think it’s only fair to tell you that I’m not Paul Irish. I’m Andrew from #644, and Paul has kindly agreed to let me borrow his audience every now and then. Hi!DJ Format has the remarkable talent of channeling the sound of laidback, funky hiphop, a feat all the more impressive since he’s an awkard white guy from the south of England. Abdominal is an MC from Montreal who’s as lyrically silly as DAISY age hiphop at its finest. Together, they blow my mind. ‘Ill Culinary Behaviour’ is irresistable, and ‘The Hit Song’ does just what it says on the box: hits the spot, every time.
Old-school hiphop from the old-school continentDJ Format feat. Abdominal – The Hit Song
DJ Format feat. Abdominal – Ill Culinary Behaviour
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March 8th, 2005 by Paul Irish
folktronica // indie electronic // post-rock
Just got my paws on a smooth new gem and found our friend Kieran Hebden tossing a track on.
Everything Comes And Goes is an unusual take on a Black Sabbath cover album, full of “interpretations and mutilations” of classic Sabbath songs. Some, like Matmos’s sparse and sporadic “F/X”, feel more like inspirations from the originals; others take Sabbath’s songs and mimic them in alternative genres: country, space-rock, acoustic, and garage rock. The Four Tet stands out as the most polished and poignant song — delivering the melody you know, but in a new comfortable light. Just because I love the guy, I’ve also posted his skillfull take on “Breathe Me” by Sia Furler (vocalist from Zero 7).
An intimately acoustic and earthy sound.Four Tet – Iron Man
Sia – Breathe Me (Four Tet Remix)
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