The frenetic world of electronic music is full of distractions and diversions, hindering the ability to find transcendent music. Let Oggie James be your guru and lead down the path to musical Enlightenment.
Album, song and event reviews, mixtapes, and radio shows, light the way to Enlightenment, conveyed by Oggie James.
It's Friday, the weather is nice, and apparently, it's a long weekend, so I'm going to keep this edition of Enlightened Listening short and sweet. The first two releases aside, this week's playlist is packed with power and energy, headlined by a bunch of DnB, breaks and other uptempo tracks. There's more than a handful of Canadian stuff that I'll be sure to showcase further in the coming days, but of course, what I'm most excited about is the new Boy 8-Bit EP. While it's wildly different from the stuff he was making when I first fell in love with his sound, my tastes seem to have grown alongside his evolution as these three are each awesome productions (of which "Give It To Them" is my initial favourite). Dig into this stacked selection below and find each individual release linked at the bottom. Have a great weekend!
Yet another week has come and gone and what a legend-laced edition of Enlightened Listening it left for us. Kölsch, Four Tet, Cerrone, Frankie Knuckles, Boys Noize, Skream, Keys N Krates, Netsky and DJ Zinc all released new tracks. Yes, you read that right; basically everything in this week's wrap up is from a legend. And even those whose names don't quite carry the same weight have delivered laudable productions. While I obviously recommend each release included in the playlist below, I'd be remiss if I didn't specifically shout out the awesome ATTLAS remix package, which gives four equally inspired takes on "Half Light." Dig into this week's Enlightened Listening below and have a great weekend!
Despite taking the week off both Bump In The Hump and blogging, there's been so much fantastic music released I just had to put together a massive edition of Enlightened Listening. However the weather is calling me back outside so I won't be doing a comprehensive breakdown of the 24 releases, but rather I'll simply suggest a scroll through the playlist which is chock full of all kinds of house along with a sprinkling of fat funk, several sensational remixes and EPs, and a couple epic albums to cap it all off. Personal highlights include Jayda G, Tensnake's remix of Duke Dumont, Andhim's remix of Agoria, both sides of the Solee/Parquet Recordings EP, the whole of the On The Air EP,and Henry Saiz's "Iridescent." Dig into the full playlist below, enjoy your weekend and be sure to stay safe/sane!
This week's Enlightened Listening runs through smooth grooves before heading through the house trifecta of deep, disco and bass. There's two killer compilations, an unreal album from Claude VonStroke and a sublime single from Bullion. Enjoy via playlist below, read brief description next and find each individual release linked at the bottom.
With the retrospective that comes with this final month of the decade, I figured today's Throwback Thursday post would be a perfect time to shine a light on one of the most important pieces in my musical evolution.
The year was 2013 and I found myself reaching into genres that I either hadn't heard before or hadn't enjoyed much in recent years. And of course there is always an impetus to such exploration, a singular inspiration. In this case it was Duke Dumont's blissful take on HAIM's "Falling." Introduced to me as a track he'd been closing his sets with at the time, I was immediately hooked on his cherubic chord selections and ever growing atmosphere. It's pure sonic pleasure with just the right amount of dance desire. His work around HAIM's vocals, especially Danielle's breathy delivery, is simply sensational. It was quirky and captivating to me, someone who had never heard HAIM before - however this was all about to change.
Later in that year HAIM performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, once again captivating me with their energy, enthusiasm and all around artistry (Este's incredible bass face included). All that winter I gorged myself on other live performances, eventually playing their Days Are Gone on repeat as I rode lawnmowers and weed-whacked my way through my landscaping job the following summer.
As readers of this blog will know, HAIM have since become one of my all-time favourite bands and for that I can thank Duke Dumont. It is this kind of inspiration I aim incite with this blog and my various radio shows, as you never know where your tastes will turn or what connections will be made.FOLLOW DUKE DUMONT: FACEBOOKSOUNDCLOUDTWITTER FOLLOW HAIM: FACEBOOKSOUNDCLOUDTWITTER
For the longest day of the year we've got one of the longest editions of Enlightened Listening, clocking in at over 7 hours with an astounding 81 tracks. It opens with four exceptional albums including two we've been building up to here in Hot Chip's eccentric electronic odyssey A Bath Full Of Ecstasyand Mark Ronson's masterful pop presentation Late Night Feelings. Both share singles that I've been rinsing out like crazy and are instant inclusions in the album of the year conversation. Those two are joined by the final and gut wrenching end of Cassius, Dreems, and Shinichiro Yokota's delightful collection of dance joints I Know You Like It. Those four account for 48 tracks and without question some of the best pieces of music (vocally, lyrically, sonically, melodically, etc) you'll hear all year.
There is no let down following those massive albums however, as The Niceguys follow with a fourpack of uplifting funk from Westwood Recordings. Staying grooving but building towards bigger numbers, Rudimental and The Martinez Brothers combine for a magical piece in Faith Mussa-aided energy in "Sitigawana." Another exceptional collab follows in the fantastical feels of Lane 8 and Yotto's "I / Y."
Even more epic we go as Pryda offers up the kind of extended, intoxicating genius we've grown to expect from one of the world's most trusted names. The lead track "Illumination" is truly inspired, however the other five tracks are no mere tag-alongs as each holds the same Pryda power.
After what seems like forever we finally have 1) new music from Afterlife and 2) the Ae:ther ID I'd been waiting on since Afterlife Voyage 013. The 20 track compilation once again proves Afterlife is perhaps the pinnacle of top notch techno. Adding another legend to this already epic list, The Chemical Brothers share a sensational dub version of "Eve Of Destruction." Staying dark and bass driven, Poppy comes in next with a desolate and dire number in "Choke." Finally we close the playlist with a trio of takes on Duke Dumont's "Red Light Green Light," which will have you dancing all the way through the weekend. Stream all the new tracks below and find individual released linked after the playlist. Enjoy!
Of course Miami Music Week was top of mind the last little while and while many compilations have come and gone, The Magician's 78th edition of his Magic Tapemix series is an undeniable standout. Recorded live in the middle of Fool's Gold's takeover of 1-800-Lucky (between sets from A-Trak and MK), the hour long selection is all sorts of spellbinding sorcery. It features a handful of brilliant brand new jams including Duke Dumont's "Inhale," Peggy Gou's "It Make You Forget," and the Alex Metric/Ten Ven collab "Otic." Yes these are all familiar and fantastic tracks, and of course it features The Magician's masterful mixing mysticism, but the best bits are forthcoming releases from A-Trak & YehMe2's "Prayer Hands" (out Thursday) and Supermini's remix of Crush Club "We Dance." Get tracklist via 1001tracklists, stream below and begin your week with this bewitching wonderment.FOLLOW THE MAGICIAN: FACEBOOKSOUNDCLOUDTWITTER
Petko Turner is a name I've come across a number of times in the last few months as I continue to dive further into the world of disco/funk edits and remixes, and today I fell headfirst into that ocean. The original impetus came from his most recent release, a take on "Fortihouse," which lead me to his prolific Soundcloud profile. Home to 277 tracks, the selection is epic with remixes and edits of artists and names I've never heard, alongside the likes of Phil Collins, Depeche Mode, Prince, and more. However, one track in particular caught my attention, the subject of this post, HAIM and "Walking Away."
Here Petko's taken his talents to the Mura Masa remix of said track, giving it a bigger bass backing and kicking the tempo up a notch. While the airy dreaminess of Mura Masa's version is all but boiled off, the bleepy brilliance seems stronger and more magical than before, especially in contrast with the bursting-at-the-seams bassline. The allure of HAIM's original and their vocals still remain, but the lyrics are cut back, which reminds me of the first time I heard HAIM, in Duke Dumont's remix of "Falling," This is further proof that whoever is supplying the vocals for HAIM (Este, Danielle or Alana), they are ripe for remixing. I certainly hope we're in for more masterful takes on their tracks, and highly suggest a scroll through Petko Tuner's bountiful back catalog. Download "Walking Away" free via Hyppedit here.
The Haim sisters have once again released one of my favourite albums of the year, with Something To Tell You, the follow up to their genius debut Days Are Gone. That 2013 album spurred several superb remixes from the likes of MK, Cyril Hahn, Duke Dumont and others. I fully expect this collection of tracks to tempt producers to take on the vocal talents and magical melodies of HAIM, reworking them for the DJ decks. The first such remix comes from Michael Tucker, aka BloodPop (and previously Blood Diamonds). While he's remixed "Little Of Your Love" you may also be aware that he helped produce "Want You Back," the lead single from Something To Tell You. Stream below, and purchase here.What I like most about this mix is the way BloodPop stays true to the original, while playing with all of the elements that make HAIM more than just a rock band or a pop trio. "Little Of Your Love," like much of the album, showcases prolific pop production abilities from Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij, which BloodPop has zeroed in on and utilized expertly. The main melodies and vocals remain intact, while being re-birthed as a snappy synth driven singalong. The clicks, clacks and snaps of the reworked percussion work perfectly with HAIM's unique style. However the cherry on top of this mix is BloodPop's chords which are imbued with an astonishing amount of love. It's incredibly easy to enjoy, and I cannot wait for more mixes like this in the coming days and months.
Last night, local Chet Porter and Chicago trio, Autograf graced The Hoxton with truly awesome and unique sets. As you likely know by now, I'm a big fan of Chet's productions, mixes and overall aesthetic, which he delivered on quite successfully. Despite Sigala's unexplained absence, which forced set time to change, I was lucky enough to have made it through the lines and have picked up my first drink at the same time Chet played his first track, the Hitmane Kokirimix of Juicy J's "Bandz A Make Her Dance." Lighting candles to amplify the atmosphere and mood, Chet's set cruised along, garnering several cheers from the captivated crowd. Perhaps the most well received section of his set came relatively early on when he combined his euphoric "Over U" remix with the vocals of Blink 182's "Feelin' This" before mixing into San Holo's "Victory." I caught the video here:
I was able to compile a list of 17 tracks he played during his approximately hour long set, but was left scratching my head more than a couple times wondering what bootleg/exclusive/edit he dropped. If I can figure any of them out, I'll be sure to update this post but for now you'll just have to enjoy this playlist:
There was of course a break between the two sets to transition between the DJ decks and Autograf's three person live set, which included an electronic xylophone of sorts, surrounded by three electronic symbols, several drum pads and high-hat, kick combination. In the middle was a mixer and sampler, presumably for changing the tuning for each of the many tracks the played. And on the opposite side, was the synth. Having seen several different live set ups, from Duke Dumont, Keys N Krates and Lido, Autograf's was the most unique and seemingly complex. This only magnified the truly amazing artistry and interplay between the three performers. Throughout their set I was truly in awe of the unity and interplay between the three. There really is nothing like music being made live and the playful performance. That really is the key to the allure of live music the playful nature and showmanship of performance, making it that much easier to connect with the audience. Good music performed live beats great studio music everytime. The way Autograf brought their originals, covers and remixes to life was absolutely amazing, and although I was able to compile a large playlist of what the trio played it cannot do justice to the live versions they played.
Apparently DJ Mag Canada had a live stream of their set, I can only hope that it becomes available so that we can relive their truly futuristic performance. Highlights for me included their remix of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," and their covers of the Soulwax remix of Tame Impala's "Let It Happen," Coyote Kisses' "Ferrari" and Swedish House Mafia's "One." The trio showed incredible endurance playing for well over an hour, and playing a 4 or 5 track encore. I will definitely be attending their next show and cannot wait to relive the awesomeness of Autograf.
