We've got an extra funky Friday full of releases for this week's edition of
Enlightened Listening. There's a couple cool albums of the groovier house variety, opposed by the despair driven darkness of
Gesaffelstein's first album in over five years. There's also excellent EPs from
Jon Gurd and
Joe Goddard, as well as some sick singles from
Don Rimini and
Juelz, plus a couple sublime remixes from
Folamour and
Joris Voorn. Stream via Spotify playlist below and find descriptions at the bottom. Enjoy!
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Energy Fantasy (Folamour Remix)
Fantastic opening track. The drum work dazzles beneath bright and beautiful, soaring synths.
Birdee - Then Came The Sun
There are no holes in this album. Full on funky fun with awesome vocal driven and instrumental tracks alike. Big bold beats like "
Love" and "
Rumours" and more spacious, slow-burning sensations like "
Meant To Be" and "
Don't Give Up Your Love."
Locked Groove - Sunset Service
A lot like
Birdee above, the funk is strong with this one; however, the energy is kicked up a notch, as immediately noted in "
Pudding." Verging on classic rave vibes, there's no shortage of dance energy at the core of these tracks. They can be dark and dirty like "
Zillion" or bright and ethereal like "
Out Of Orbit."
Yotto - Walls (Joris Voorn Remix)
The typical top notch brilliance of Voorn is on full display here. As always, the extended offering allows the ease of "
Walls" to breathe its beauty into your soul.
Jon Gurd - After It All
Like
Folamour above, the drum work throughout this EP lays a fantastic foundation for the swirling synths to dance around. While it opens skyward in its projection,
After It All gets deeper as it progresses.
Joe Goddard - Pull The Plug
My most anticipated release of the year so far. Each track is exceptionally designed, delivering some seriously sick grooves. "
Sacred Heart" is both hypnotic and brilliantly bumping. "
Max De Fool" builds on this hypnotism, turning further towards techno before Kool Keith cuts the chord with a wild get-down and fulsome flow on the title track. Finally, the fire inducing, furious drum opening of "
Broken" will have you on your ass when the beat finally drops. Unreal.
Don Rimini - Homeboy
Bleepy shuffling brilliance. Not an all time stunner, but a surefire party starter.
Gesaffelstein - Hyperion
Expectations are dangerous. Expecting an artist to craft the same kind of tracks they did nearly a decade ago is foolhardy. No, this is not
Variations,
Conspiracy or even
Aleph, but yes, it is still
Gesaffelstein. His genius is still there; just like any of us, he's changed/evolved/grown over the years. Admittedly, I was not big on any of the singles, especially after the first few listens, however they've grown on me and now I'm quite the fan of both of the features. Of course I'm here for
HAIM, and
The Hacker/
Electric Youth collab is incredibly intriguing, but the three track finale is perhaps the best bit of this whole endeavor. It's a bit soundtrack-ish, but hey, he's always had those proclivities and if you're not a fan of quality soundtrack stuff like John Williams, Wendy Carlos, Alan Menken and others, you're kind of missing the point...
Juelz - Closure (ft. Ruby Chase)
Finally,
Juelz gives us our first taste of his
Shanghai Nights EP, due out May 3rd on
Fool's Gold. His club capabilities are on full display as he blends trap and future bass better than I've hear in a while.
