Jonathan Mono - ILLUSION

At the risk of becoming a broken record by once again extolling the ease of discovery via Soundcloud's The Upload playlist, today's scroll through said algorithm brought me to Jonathan Mono's bustling breakbeat and disco-funk affair "ILLUSION." Leader of Jakarta-based ensemble Neurotic, Mono has been on quite a run of releases lately, sharing seven new productions in the span of 15 days. "ILLUSION," his second most recent release, was made as a submission to the third edition of Disclosure's weekly #BeHoward competition. Dazzling right from the jump, there's no letup in "ILLUSION" as I imagine it to be a dive into Mono's consciousness with synapses firing in every direction. There's too many instruments and elements to note, but the track never comes across as messy or muddy, but rather more like a speed run through a psychedelic version of Sonic The Hedgehog. It features a number of triumphant moments in which you can catch your breath before once again being whisked off your feet, tumbling towards another feverish display of bristling bass, stanky sax or dizzying drum-work. Funky, fun and absolutely overflowing with energy, stream "ILLUSION" below and be sure to check out Jonathan Mono's recent run of releases for more!

Jonathan Mono · ILLUSION

FOLLOW JONATHAN MONO: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Enlightened Listening for October 23

It's the weekend and once again we've got a ton of new music in this week's Enlightened Listening. While there are a few albums that you ought to check out (Gorillaz, Tchami, UZ), I've opted to keep this playlist more focused on singles, save for the incredible Caribou remix package. Said four-pack includes Shanti Celeste, Kareem Ali, India Jordan and my favourite, Logic1000's tremendous take on "Sunny's Time." But back to the singles. The opening foursome features the latest from This Never Happened, fabulous new Joris Voorn, phenomenal new Luttrell and of course, the first new Eric Prydz in four years, "NOPUS." Changing gears in the funky middle there's a groovy joint from Thando1988, Theo Kottis' enchanting take on Disclosure, and the uncanny alchemy of Hot Chip and Jarvis Cocker. Finally, we roar towards the rave with the final four singles. It starts with an injection of energy from Prospa and continues with two equally mindblowing tracks: a remix from Mura Masa and a collab from Mr. Bill and ill.Gates. Wrapping everything up is Spor's incredible remix of Kumarion "Want It." Enjoy!

Bandēs - Sightglass

Joris Voorn - Nea Skioni

Luttrell - Twin Souls

Eric Prydz - NOPUS

Thando1988 - Questions (ft. NiiON)

Disclosure ft. Fatoumata Diawara - Douha (Mali Mali) [Theo Kottis Remix]

Caribou - Suddenly Remixes

Hot Chip - Straight To The Morning (ft. Jarvis Cocker)

Prospa - Feel It 92

PVA - Talks (Mura Masa Remix)

Mr. Bill & ill.Gates - Cabbatsu

Kumarion - Want It (Spor Remix)

The Magician - Magic Tape 89

While it's not exactly the start of a new week, The Magician has blessed us with an hour of new tunes in the 89th edition of his Magic Tape series, perfect for pushing through the doldrums that is another ride around the calendar rows. Heavy on the unreleased content, even more so than usual, this mix features, at least what we believe to be, the likes of forthcoming A-Trak and The Aston Shuffle as well as recently released Mike Mago, Disclosure and The Black Madonna. While the heart of this tape is house, The Magician makes sure to offer up twists of acid, disco, funk, RnB, piano and more. It's not heavy on mixing but rather more focused on letting the beauty of each piece breathe, and boy does it feel good to let this uplifting oxygen into our lungs. While I've nearly made it through the whole tape for a second time, and a full listen is a must, I think I've pinpointed my favourite section, that being the trio of IDs between Disclosure's "Talk" VIP and A-Trak's "Work It Out," which drops Thursday on Fool's Gold. Stream the whole mix below and find at least a partial tracklist via 1001tracklists here.FOLLOW THE MAGICIAN: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

2019 Grammy Predictions

In breaking news, I've learned the Grammys are tonight. I kid, but basically that's what this whole post is going to be: a little levity to close out the weekend. I'm gonna do my usual shtick of making predictions for categories I know/care about, and again it'll be my 'who should win' and 'who will win' double pick scenario, because even with two picks per category I'm still out to lunch most times. Oh and one more thing before the predictions, will the dance/electronic categories be in with all the obscure categories? Or will they continue to disregard their impact and treat them as a sideshow not fit for their floundering broadcast? I'd lean towards the latter, but let's just get to the good stuff, shall we?

*** Update: Results noted with ✓ or x ***

BEST DANCE RECORDING

Above & Beyond - Northern Soul (ft. Richard Bedford)
Disclosure - Ultimatum (ft. Fatoumata Diawara)
Fisher - Losing It
Silk City - Electricity (ft. Dua Lipa)
Virtual Self - Ghost Voices

Who Will Win: Silk City ✓
Who Should Win: Silk City ✓
Reasoning: I feel like the Academy is equally likely to go with any of Disclosure, Silk City and Fisher as they are seemingly the most widely-popular productions in the list. My bet is that they will make the 'right' choice with Silk City as they love both Diplo and Mark Ronson, and it is indeed the most accessible and perhaps most successful production of the bunch. That said, I would not be surprised if "Losing It" got the nod, as love it or hate it, it was without a doubt the club track of the year.

BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM

Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Justice - Woman Worldwide
Sofi Tukker - Treehouse
SOPHIE - Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
TOKiMONSTA - Lune Rouge

Who Will Win: Justice ✓
Who Should Win: TOKiMONSTA
Reasoning: This was a tough one. Obviously any of these could take the trophy, but I feel like they'll be too scared to go with SOPHIE, who might be the obvious choice in many eyes. The other nom that set itself apart from the group in terms of hype was Singularity, and I think it's got a solid chance. However, due to last year's seemingly unfair Kraftwerk catalog/best of winning, I see them doing the same with Woman Worldwide this year. That said, I've got Lune Rouge as the most enjoyable album through and through.

BEST REMIXED RECORDING

LSD - Audio (CID Remix)
Charlie Puth - How Long (EDX's Dubai Skyline Remix)
Gabriel & Dresden ft. Sub Teal - Only Road (Cosmic Gate Remix)
Kygo ft. Justin Jesso - Stargazing (Kaskade Remix)
HAIM - Walking Away (Mura Masa Remix)

Who Will Win: EDX
Who Should Win: Mura Masa ✓
Reasoning: This marks the 5th time Kaskade has been nominated in this category since 2008, and his 4th time in 5 years. Surely this is his year right? But sadly for him, I think not. I put CID and EDX in a near dead heat, with the advantage going to EDX in the kind of dance delivery that seems to get recognized most at The Grammys. My choice is obvious though, as I love both HAIM and Mura Masa, and see "Walking Away" as by far the most adventurous and progressive production in the list.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL

Boi-1da
Larry Klein
Linda Perry
Kanye West
Pharrell Williams

Who Will Win: Kanye West
Who Should Win: Pharrell Williams ✓
Reasoning: I see the Academy going for drama with this pick, and while he's likely deserving after an incredible year, there's no doubt Kanye will have people talking. That said, I believe Pharrell's output is more wide-ranging and because of his contributions to Timberlake and Grande's albums, he ought to become just the 4th person to win this category 3+ times.

***OTHER, MORE UNINFORMED PICKS***

Best Music Video: Childish Gambino - This Is America ✓
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: Black Panther ✓
Best Spoken Word Album: Jimmy Carter ✓
Best Americana Album: Brandi Carlile ✓
Best American Roots Song: The Joke ✓
Best American Roots Performance: The Joke ✓
Best Rap Album: Mac Miller x
Best Rap Song: Sicko Mode x
Best Rap/Sung Performance: This Is America ✓
Best Rap Performance: Sicko Mode x
Best Alternative Music Album: Björk x
Song Of The Year: The Joke x
Album Of The Year: Janelle Monae x
Record Of The Year: All The Stars x

Lorde - Green Light (Hotel Garuda Remix)

By now everyone must've heard Lorde's latest release "Green Light." Maybe you even saw her kill it on Saturday Night Live (here). The rollicking keys, bumping bass and drum work while utterly enjoyable, left me wondering who would be the one to take this track to the next level with a remix?

Well I think we've got our answer. Let me present Hotel Garuda's new version, which maintains a lot of the original energy, while adding a little more bounce and grit. These two are already adept at reworking massive records (see Cazzette, Lana Del Ray, Anna Lunoe, Galantis, Kanye, Disclosure and others here), but this may be their best yet. The additional ivory tickling and wobbling grooves take the already anthemic track to levels appropriate for the club and kitchen dance sessions alike. Just like the original, it'll be nearly impossible to get Hotel Garuda's new version out of your head..At the moment there is now download available, so you'll have to survive on this soundcloud stream.

FOLLOW LORDE: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
FOLLOW HOTEL GARUDA: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

2016 Grammy Nominations Revealed, Does Anyone Care?

The Grammys are fighting to retain some kind of relevance and I'm not sure they're succeeding. How long ago was it that Homer Simpson gave away his Grammy? Do people even care? What's the point?

The joke, that is the Grammys, continues to flounder and beg the question what are the criteria for these awards? Apparently, the rules call for voting based on quality alone, and not be influenced by sales, chart performance, personal friendships, regional preferences or company loyalty. Quality alone. Hmm, that's not very clear, what kind of quality? Whatever quality they are talking about, they have spoken with their latest list of nominees. There are the usual suspects and there are the usual seemingly random unknown nominees (see Al Walser's 2013 nomination). Below you'll find my take on the four categories relevant to this blog; Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Remixed Recording (Non-Classical), and Best Producer (Non-Classical).

Bump In The Hump: December 2 (Season 2, Episode 11)

Bump In The Hump: December 2 (Season 2, Episode 11) by Bump In The Hump on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

• Televisor - Dangerous (feat. Danyka Nadeau)
• Stream
• Eytan Tobin - 2 God (feat. shifra)
• Free Download
• Lunice - Burnt
• Stream
• Dropwizz x Aharon - Bazaar
• Free Download
• Keys N Krates - U Already Know
• Stream
• Ray - 360 Moonwalk
• Free Download
• Disclosure feat. Lorde - Magnets (A-Trak Remix)
• Stream
• Mario - Let Me Love You (Mavro Remix)
• Free Download
• #MashupInTheMiddle
• J-Kwon vs Jackal - Animal, Tipsy Style (OD Mashup)
• Free Download
• HRMXNY - MONEY
• Free Download
• ZaGa - Mellifluent
• Free Download
• Autoerotique - All I Need
• Free Download
• Swim Good - Make It Easy On Yourself
• Free Download
• Kiesza feat. Djemba Djemba - Give It To The Moment (Cassian Remix)
• Stream
• Sep - Let's Make Magic (feat. Erik Hu)
• Free Download
• #IsItTheWeekendYet?
• Destiny's Child - Say My Name (Cyril Hahn Remix)
• Free Download

Monday Mashed Up Mix #3

Each Monday I post a little mix of less than 30 minutes for your listening pleasure. It contains a variety of electronic music mixed and mashed up to varying degrees. The music is always first and foremost while DJing and mixing skills are meant to take a back seat. It includes some brand new stuff but also some forgotten gems and whatever it was that had entered my consciousness. I'll be hosting them on my Dropbox page for your listening and downloading pleasure, MONDAY MASHED UP MIX VOL 3. You can find the tracklisting and links for each track after the break...

Disclosure ft. Lorde - Magnets (A-Trak Remix)

It was only a matter of time until the big name official remixes of Disclosure hit the internet and our ear holes. Last week Dillon Francis dropped his version of the Sam Smith vocal aided "Omen," and now A-Trak has followed suit, showing off his resplendent remix of the Lawrence Brothers' collab with Lorde, "Magnets." Lately, A-Trak has been crafting clever and conscious tracks that just cry out for the repeat button; I still wake up most mornings singing "We All Fall Down."

Lido Live at The Hoxton (Review)

I've finally had enough time to decompress and reflect on an absolutely amazing night, Friday at the Hoxton for Lido's live performance. It was everything you'd expect and more, particularly because of the surprise appearance of Santell, Lido's most recent collaborator on The Passion Project. Upon arriving at the Hoxton just before midnight and the crowd was already feeling it. It was the first time I'd ever seen dance circle in the Hoxton, and this one was prolonged and featured a wide range of skills from people eating it and a couple deadly battles of carpet cutters. The length of the circle was aided by the opening DJs' long tracks. The one track that stood out to me was a remix of classic Timmy Thomas track "Why Can't We Live Together," which has now been famously sampled by Drake for "Hotline Bling." It's a great remix that culminates in a heavily string aided drop but doesn't stray too far from the original. I'm hopeful someone can identify the remixer because I'd love to add it to my collection; listen below...

I'm not sure who the openers ended up being, as I'm fairly certain the above video isn't either of hrmxny or GrandBuda. Someone said that they had merged this show with another so perhaps these guys were headliners from another event I didn't know about. Regardless, I was there for Lido, who hit the stage shortly after 12:30. And this is how it happened...

Lido Live at The Hoxton (Preview)

I've been waiting for today since the first of June, as it was the first day to order Lido tickets for his November 6th live performance at The Hoxton. I've been a fan of Lido and his side project Trippy Turtle for more than a year. I missed his Trippy Turtle set last fall because of a wedding but nothing like that was going to stop me seeing his live set up this time.

What makes Lido special is his pure, unadulterated love for music. From what I've heard of his live performances, his passion pours through the numerous electronic devices that he brings to life with his beautiful remixes and awe-inspiring originals.

Ever since his remix of Disclosure "Latch" became a viral sensation after RL Grime dropped it at last year's Coachella, as you can see here. Or listen to the full quality original below:

You can find a copy of all of his amazing remixes including the aforementioned Disclosure mix, as well as a brilliant versions of Alt J, Banks, Bastille and Bill Withers. All you have to do is play his trademark on his official webpage at http://www.lidogotsongs.com/  (hint: M-J-T-F)


SUPPORT: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER