Enlightened Listening for September 14

Another Friday, another top notch day for releases. This week's Enlightened Listening includes EPs and album we already enjoyed singles from (Bob Moses, Dizzee Rascal, Aphex Twin, and Djedjotronic), remixes of tracks we love (Djemba Djemba, Gerd Janson, Babert, Sultan + Shepard, and Friction) and some of our favourites artists in (Harrison, BIJOU, Masayoshi Iimori and Sub Focus with Dimension). Once again I've attempted to curate the 46 tracks and 3+ hours of content into a flowing movement while obviously albums break that up. Individuals releases below along with short descriptions.

Bob Moses - Battle Lines
Fantastic follow up album. Not a collection of singles but a brilliant story led by Tom Howie's lyrics. Worthy multiple listens, done easily through the wonderfully woven, chill connective tissue.

Harrison - Your Girl (ft. Ralph)
Beautiful, chill funk with just enough snap to keep you coming back for more. Harrison's album is really starting to take shape.

Kiesza - Phantom Of The Dancefloor (Djemba Djemba Remix)
The Stuart Price (Jacques Lu Cont) produced single enjoys an update from previous Kiesza collaborator Djemba Djemba. Sparkling, spritely, futuristic fun this one warms my heart.

SG Lewis ft. AlunaGeorge - Hurting (Gerd Janson Remix)
Would not have guessed that "Hurting" would be this good as 118 club tweeker but here we are thanks to Gerd Janson who continues to stay hot. ICYMI check out his "Neutron Dance" mix from last month.

Purple Disco Machine - Dished (Male Stripper) [Babert Italo Disco Remix]
My favourite of the new remix package. Stay closest and is in my eyes the most well suited to the original. A wonderfully, warm bouncy ride that you never want to end.

Aevion - Wild Safari
The most feels from whatever is making that oh so safari sound, and I don't mean the elephant-esque horns, the bird cries, or the tribal chanting. Wreaks of wide open spaces and wild energy.

Fatboy Slim - Gangster Trippin (Sultan + Shepard Remix)
The duo keeps updating the past and keeps doing it well. The energy and allure of the original stays strong while this new version pops off with an extra ounce of oomph.

BIJOU - Super Phat
One of bass/G-house's finest artists on arguably bass/G-house's best label. Four equally intimidating and mean banging bass tracks with just the right amount of swing to leave the crowd in the lurches.

K+Lab - I Can't Wait (ft. Phonik Ops & Jakeda)
Westwood comes through again with stanky sax and gritty glitch hop grooves. Fire funk.

Dizzee Rascal - Don't Gas Me
Big productions in the title track and "Money Right," which is immediately one of my favourite tracks of the year, two legends atop a sick beat. Skepta has one hell of a production ear.

Masayoshi Iimori - Flow
Masayoshi is like a mad scientist, when his monstrous creations come to life they can bring worldwide destruction and this one does some serious damage.

Aphex Twin - Collapse
There is no one quite like Aphex Twin and we're reminded of that fact again. Where working with seemingly ethereal synths or their darker dirtier counterparts he always crafts something of uncommon value. Tweak out to these five tracks and feel your brain collapse in on itself.

Sub Focus & Dimension - Desire (Only on Youtube in Canada)
Every time these two legends meet up magic is made. Screams of the good old days especially when you have to watch on UKF's youtube.

Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For (Friction 'Back To 92' Mix)
Another nostalgia laced DnB track. Friction has absolutely nailed the raw energetic ethos of those days.

Djedjotronic - R.U.R
I've never encountered a techno album quite like this one. Djedjotronic is an absolute wizard, authoring some of the most enticing and electrifying releases of the year. There are no holes, only puzzles pieces of a greater whole that is all kinds of awesome.

blank body - ****`

I still feel like I'm recovering from 2016, but I've found some solace and comfort in this IDM track from blank body. If you're wondering, IDM stands for intelligent dance music, and whenever I think of IDM, I of course have Aphex Twin on my mind. And, I'm not the only one that is drawing that comparison between Aphex Twin and blank body's "****`," as a commenter has already written "blank body = aphex twin on viagra." I'm not sure I follow the Viagra reference, but the sound and style of the two certainly seems unmistakable. This track is like a dream, it's entirely engrossing yet it doesn't follow your typical linear movement. It is not overly gripping, but there's no escaping it's atmosphere. It's not challenging, nor is it a simple pop piece. And this is where the I in IDM comes in. It demands intelligence, just as much as it inspires it. Even if you're are listening to it unknowingly in the background, your brain becomes one with its machinations, subconsciously working out some kind of philosophical theorem. You cannot listen to IDM without being forever changed. I'd even go so far as to say, you become smarter by listening to it. So make good on one of your new years resolutions and enjoy "****`." FOLLOW BLANK BODY: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Throwback Thursday: Aphex Twin - Flim

This installment in my Throwback Thursday series, takes us back to October 6, 1997; December 2, 2011; and January 24, 2012. After exploding onto the scene in late 2010, Skrillex infected thousands of young minds with the notion that electronic music was all about the drop. His ravenous fans were then incredibly disappointed with on the aforementioned December evening he left the following post on Facebook declaring Aphex Twin's "Flim" his favourite song of all-time.

Much to their dismay there is no drop to freak out to, and couldn't understand how their dubstep deity could enjoy such a shallow track (just take a look at some of the comments). It didn't take long for the parodies to start rolling in. The first, an easy punch pulled, by combining Skrillex's "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" with "Flim," with the quite literal title "Flim, for Skrillex Fans." And while some (not me), may find this as an improvement on the original, a better parody/remix could easily be made, as Aphex Twin's original provides so much to utilize. A week after the above mashup was unleashed on youtube, another far better effort followed. Clouds, the Glaswegian duo of "Liquid," "Numbers" and Turbo Recordings fame, were tasked with "correcting" the glaring lack of a drop, and came up with this albeit satirical yet still palatable remix.

No, I don't think it's as good as the original, but given that it's a tongue-in-cheek remix, I actually really enjoy it and applaud Clouds for having an impeccable sense of humour, while doing a commendable job incorporating the magic of the original. Whether or not this placated Skrillex's fans, I cannot say but I'm lead to believe that as one commenter said, if the remix were created by Skrillex it would have hundreds of thousands more views. I'm hopeful that many of the dissatisfied Skrillex fans will have grown to realize good music, and even good Skrillex, does not need a drop. After all, I don't think I'd be alone in saying that "With You Friends," "All I Ask Of You," and "Summit" are some of his best productions. Just try listening to "With Your Friends" with the knowledge that he wrote it within hours of his mother's death and keep the lyrics in mind; I highly doubt you'll ever be able to feel the same way about it again. It might be one of the most touching and heartfelt pieces of music in general, let alone electronic music. After that realization it should be clear why "Flim," resonates so much with the man behind Skrillex, Sonny Moore.