Enlightened Listening for January 17

It's only our third Friday of the year and already we're getting some big releases both building towards and culminating in awesome albums. This week's Enlightened Listening includes the release of two albums we've been looking forward to for a while, Mura Masa's sophomore full-length and Holy Fuck's first in four years. Following the 20 tracks from the aforementioned LPs, the closing third features a handful of hard hitting stuff as well as a brilliant slice from No Mana on mau5trap.

A turn from his divine self-titled debut, Mura Masa's R.Y.C prominently features the guitar and a tighter, angst-driven theme. It's not exactly for everyone, at least as far as his previous productions go, but it's not without musical merit or catchy cuts (see tracks with Clairo, slowthai, Georgia and Ellie Rowsell). Turning more electronic, Holy Fuck's Deleter can boast the same cohesiveness as Mura Masa, and almost as much guitar. It's full of groovy, cool cuts and is an incredible mixture of electronic and organic elements.

A sublime single from No Mana follows the albums and leads us into an electronic escape. Botnek follow up their epic and incredibly powerful "On Planet Z" with an equally dark and deep, rattling cut. Next up are a pair of killer remixes of the legendary DJ Zinc, where Neon Steve delivers a dope get-down and Le Duke a brilliant bass-line. Speaking of brilliant bass-lines that what we get next with the first taste of forthcoming Mad Zoo compilation This Is MAD TOO. Also high in energy, we get a taste of acid from Text Chunk and Hood Joplin as they gear up for their LP Bank Account which is set to drop on the 31st. Oft known for his acid, Djedotronic returns to Boysnoize Records with a scary three-track EP. Finally, we get another unreal single from Apashe ahead of his forthcoming album. Enjoy!

Mura Masa - R.Y.C

Holy Fuck - Deleter

No Mana - Strangers (ft. Jantine)

Botnek - Wassup

DJ Zinc - Super Sharp Shooter (Neon Steve Remix) / Let's Get Together (Le Duke Remix)

Mat Zo - Blessed Be Thy Name

Text Chunk & Hood Joplin - Concrete

Djedjotronic - Boish

Apashe - Uebok (Gotta Run) [ft. Instsamka]

Enlightened Listening for July 6

There's really nothing like waking up on a Friday and filling your coffers with new music. This week has some particularly strong releases with Four Tet, Kraak & Smaak, Dimitri From Paris and Mat Zo dropping off some wicked remixes. The trio of CastNowski, Bjorn Torske and Folamour join the party with awesome EPs, and more than a handful of fantastic singles from SG Lewis, Damian Lazarus, Hunter Siegel & Wax Motif, and Justice. Stream below, read descriptions following and happy Friday!

Wavedash & Quest - Adagio (Mat Zo Remix)
The kind of mastery you can only get from Mat Zo. Subtle and beautiful beginnings eventually get twisted with wicked movement and spectacular sound design.

Folamour - Club Degli Esploratori
Quickly becoming one of my favourite, most trusted providers of disco grooves, Folamour's four track EP is top notch. As usual he offers up smooth flowing fun. Watch out for "Girl With Attitude."

Xinobi - Skateboarding (Kraak & Smaak Remix)
Light and bright take from Kraak & Smaak with some sensational soaring synths and bleepy grooves.

SG Lewis x Clairo - Better
Always tugging on the heartstrings with tremendous sound design, SG Lewis lays down a wonderfully warm groove against which Clairo's cute crooning comes as a beautiful breeze.

CastNowski - The Factory
CastNowski stays hot with his second EP in as many months. It too hits hard with deep, dirty and grinding house numbers that will leave even the most sure footed dancer feeling weak in the knees.

Ron Hall & The Mothafunkaz - The Way You Love Me (ft. Marc Evans)
Two absolute epic remixes from Dimitri From Paris and Tom Moulton. All I can say: "I'm Lovin' It."

Daniel Avery - Quick Eternity (Four Tet Remix)
Another absolute stunner. Ringing resplendence and undeniable excellence. But how about that turn in the second half? There really is nothing like a Four Tet remix. Sheer and utter brilliance.

Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons - Fly Away
Clean, cool and deep, Damian Lazarus does it all with ease. The vocals suck you in and the instrumental does the rest. Musical majesty especially with those sublime strings.

Wax Motif & Hunter Siegel - Wassup
I'm just mad it took so long for these two to work together again after "All Night Man." Already a certifiable club killer after hearing it at the recent No Neons, expect this to go off all summer long.

Proxy - Shake It
Proxy with the hot hot heat. Fantastic rapid fire wobs and potent progression make for one hell of a win.

Bjorn Torske - Byen
A wondrous, expansive, electronic soundscape that is absolutely perfect for summer - whether cruising, laying by the beach, or having a backyard bash. It is inventive, playful and beautifully put together.

Justice - Randy (WWW)
My favourite Justice track (which I've never seen performed live), gets a remix for their forthcoming 'live' studio album, Woman Worldwide. Pure electro prevails before the intoxicating vocals arrive in the second half and things get twisted like the old days of Cross and Audio, Video, Disco.

Enlightened Listening for June 22

It's the end of the week and that means tons of new music is dropping. The digging has been done and I've got another edition of Enlightened Listening for you. As always the list runs through seemingly every genre, with new music from big names, new names and everything in between. This week I've done my best organize them in a cohesive flow from more chill future bass vibes, through funk and disco, where then things get a bit messy, moving from Wuki's take on "The Hustle" into Tiga & Kölsch's collab "HAL," then into heavy house and hard hitting bass. Stream below and grab the free D/Ls.

Clairo ft. Danny L Harle - B.O.M.D. (dream boi remix)*

Charli XCX - Lucky (Ö Remix)*

Birocratic - Holy Smokes

Maestro - Harmony (Yuksek Remix)

The Blackbyrds - Mysterious Vibes (LeBaron James Edit)*

Wuki - The Hustle*

Kölsch & Tiga - HAL

DJ Snake & Mercer - Let's Get Ill

KTRL & Cloverdale - Sphere*

Ape Drums - Shellz (Denzel Curry & Frizzo)

LITLBIRD - NEON ERROR*

Tracks marked with an asterisk denotes free download.

Danny L Harle - Blue Angel (ft. Clairo)

Want to make your heart feel good while crying at the same time? Well look no further than today's release from Danny L Harle. Featuring the vocals of Clairo, "Blue Angel" will make you love the snow that's falling around you or have you hopping on a plane to join us in this white power wonderland.

I've written at length about my love for Danny L Harle (see here), and yet again I'm absolutely agape at his piquing production quality which always seems to ambush your emotions. There is no escaping his Pop Music prowess; his chord choices and their designs are delightfully domineering, each produced with tremendous tact and the coolest confidence. But musical mastery aside, his productions always seem to elevate the vocal performance. In this case, Clairo comes in as cool and biting as a winter breeze. She is as once airy and ethereal yet capable and compelling. The layering and interplay from the long notes and vocal chops play perfectly with both the tempered and energetic elements. The whole track is a testament to not just Danny L Harle's abilities, but the magical quality of music itself; it flows fantastically, filling you with a flurry of emotions, acting as a kind of audio Rorschach test.

Enjoy the visual video below, stream via Spotify here, and download from your favourite outlet, here.

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FOLLOW CLAIRO: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER