Enlightened Listening for June 2

Once again I'm late with this week's Enlightened Listening but it turned out for the best as it now includes Jai Paul. THAT'S RIGHT, JAI PAUL IS BACK! He leads the playlist with a double b-side of brilliance. Following that is the fantastically funky and highly anticipated LP from The Kount that had me floored with "Yesterday's Gain." Next up is Myd with another funk number, this time remixing Charlotte Gainsbourg. After that comes three consecutive killer vocal performances from Kaleena Zanders, Melba Moore and Kariya. As if that trio weren't enough to leave you heaving in ecstasy, how about another taste of Hot Chip's A Bath Full Of Ecstasy in the engrossing excellence of "Melody Of Love."

Moving towards techno comes a trio of remixes of RÜFÜS DU SOL's "Underwater," which is followed by EMERCIVE's latest and double shot of Booka Shade. Changing gears, Drainpuppet comes through with an epic 17 track album in Bliss. Turning dark and heavy, Falcons follows that up with a wicked remix of his classic "Aquafina." A couple of bangers follow in The Bloody Beetroots and Dr. Fresch's "Fkn Face," which is what you'll be making when you hear Trentino's remix of "Hustler." As if this list of legends weren't enough, Dog Blood come through with an exceptional EP in Turn Off The Lights, which is followed by an equally wild and twisted release in Wilted Woman's debut on Phantasy Sound.

Enjoy all the new music via playlist below and find individual releases linked at the bottom!

Jai Paul - Do You Lover Her Now / He

The Kount - Virtually Yours,

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Bombs Away (Myd Remix)

AC Slater - Final Fantasy (ft. Kaleena Zanders)

Melba Moore - My Heart Belongs To You (Ferreck Dawn Remix)

Weiss - Let Me Love You

Hot Chip - Melody Of Love

RÜFÜS DU SOL - SOLACE REMIXES VOL. 6

Kiro - Anubis

Booka Shade - The Unseen / Banderas

Drainpuppet - Bliss

Falcons ft. GoldLink & Chaz French -  Aquafina (2K19 Remix)

The Bloody Beetroots & Dr. Fresch - Fkn Face

Destructo & DARKO ft. Ice-T - Hustler (Trentino Revision)

Dog Blood - Turn Off The Lights

Wilted Woman - Lon Lon Night Vision

Falcons - Fluidity Vol. 1 (Edits & Bootlegs)

Just over a month ago Falcons unleashed his first Fluidity mixtape. The 36 minute affair overflowed with unreleased "remixes/bootlegs/mashups & fun shit" that included multiples from Missy Elliot, an unreal affair from Oshi and Busta Rhymes, and for those that remember his LOOSIES pack, Falcons' own mix of Clipse "What Happened To That Boy." Now all of the above and more are available as individual releases that you can add to your own playlists, mixes or rotation. Grab the pack free here."Cardi's DNA" was the first thing we heard in the mix and for many will be the track that best defines, and cements Fluidity, as must listen mastery. If you haven't heard of Paul Mond yet you're not doing it right. His "future indie bounce" remixes are some of the coolest things you'll ever hear, and "Ultimate 2007" a perfect fit in Falcons' style. Like the previous two "Missy's Perfume" is the perfect mix of chilling feels and classic vocals. "Work It," which dropped shortly after the mixtape, is an incredible get down set in an apocalyptic future. Continuing that theme, "Sumbody's Potion" sounds like a street-scape with water dripping in beautiful resonance. Then there's my favourite "Brrrrrr" which plays with the classic melody, making it even more awesome, seemingly eliciting even more yuugh's from Pusha with its downright nastiness. Finally there is "Lost At Me Now" which not only leaves us hungering for more Falcons and Fluidity, but quite simply stunned at how well Oshi and Busta work together.

FOLLOW FALCONS: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Enlightened Listening for April 27

Another Friday another epic list of releases. This week I've decided to focus almost exclusively  on singles (remixes included) from my favourite names. However I've returned to Soundcloud this week to accommodate the newly launched mix series from Falcons. Catch up on this week's Enlightened Listening with the playlist below, and descriptions with asterisk indicating free download at the bottom.

Hunter Siegel - Fading (ft. Melanie?)
Just in time for his latest No Neon date, Hunter returns with his first original in forever. It's clear however that he's not lost a step with walloping wubs and killer chops. If you'll pardon the pun, the future looks dark and stormy for the dark plur himself.

Brya - Neon Lovin'
Disco funk theme engage. This is one of the two artists I wasn't familiar with prior to today, but it didn't take long for me to realize this was a hot groove and the kind of future (insert genre) I enjoy.

NOTD ft. Bea Miller - I Wanna Know (Pusher Remix)
Like Hunter it's been forever since we've had new Pusher, and like Brya it's immensely pleasing to have neon nobility back in the game. Be sure to check out his new video series "Music Minutes."

Silicon Scally - Rift
Drawn in by the Central Processing Unit label, I'm happy to have come across Scally and this EP, from which "Rift" is my favourite. It is a brilliant blend of old school electro and techno, that shows off the underlying life of overtly electronic productions. Genius.

Pete Shelley - Witness The Change (SanFranDisko Remix)*
Despite spending less than eight months in the 80s it will forever feel like home for me. The more I get exposed to it, especially through trusted sources like SanFranDisko, the more I love it. Fancy a groovy cruising track? Well look no further.

Bensley - Do It Again (ft. Armanni Reign)
When drum and bass is done right there isn't much better, especially when it has strong vocals. You can trust Bensley to bring that killer quality, as this one goes off with undeniable energy and ease.

MDK - X Buster*
The wubstep warrior and chiptune champion is back with this piece of playful power and fun funk.

Alexander Robotnick - Problèmes d'Amour (Petko Turner's 808 BD Edit)*
The Petko polish shines strong on this one. While sonically it's entirely unrelated to Silicon Scally, they both sound like machines coming to life and breaking out on the dancefloor.

Sam Smith - Pray (MK Remix)
After the success of his remix of "Money On My Mind" it should be no surprise that this follow up is just as good. Truthfully everything MK touches turns to gold, but there's just something about the way he chops Sam Smith's voice; add that to the choir and you've got some sublime, heavenly house.

Poolside - Feel Alright (Yuksek Remix)
The disco grooves just don't stop. Yuksek blesses the piano, guitar and drums, making a musical bed that you cannot sleep on but must simply bounce on all day and night.

Amtrac ft. Anabel Englund - Old Times (Skream Remix)
Talk about a trio of all stars. This jumped off the screen and into my soul, but even better blasted out the speakers. However I've fallen face down and cannot get up after those pans punched through the wubs. Skream has been making top notch tracks for years, but it feels like this last year or so he's settled into his golden age of supremely satisfying and epic electronic tracks.

Falcons - Fluidity Mixtape Vol. 1*
For years Falcons has been at the intersection of rap and electronic, especially with his bootleg remixes (see his Loosies release), but it looks like now he's really ready to showcase that skill with this Fluidity mix series, from which each individual edit/bootleg/mashup will be released a month later. Peep the tracklist here and whet your appetite, or just take my word and enjoy the awesomeness.

Top 100 Tracks of 2017: 75-51

Continuation of the list started yesterday: from 100-76, which also includes my disclaimer/preamble. Soundcloud playlist here and at the bottom.

#75: WRLD - Everything (ft. Ashdown)
One of only two DnB tracks on this list. It is delightful and spectacular sci-fi fun. The groove and its subsequent glitches are genius. It reminds me of Fred V & Grafix, which is saying something, and boy oh boy could I get into a set of this kind of liquid lusciousness.

#74: Falcons - Want Your Body
I can't count how many times I've heard this track, yet I still feel like it eludes my ability to properly characterize its quality. It's kind of sneaky, yet once it kicks in there's no avoiding its allure. The drum work is absolutely ingenious, propelling the production into a stratosphere unrivaled by any other tracks released this year. It is original and excellent, truly in a class of its own, but that's standard for Falcons.

#73: Ayo - Name Game
(As featured on EFYE) When a track doesn't need quality speakers to sound massive you know you've got something special. The bass Ayo's dropped here is quite simply the biggest thing in this whole list. In fact I'm fairly certain that if you play this on a big system, a hole in the time-space continuum is ripped open. Heed his advice and "play that shit again" and again and again.

#72: OAKS - Vibrations
Another almost old-school style track that takes me back to my early days exploring electronic music. It's got a great club churning groove that plays so perfectly with the synths and overall atmosphere. It's both wild yet some how still tempered in its tech house delivery. I swear I hadn't realized it until I played it live on Bump In The Hump, but I stand by my comparison to Boy 8-Bit, my favourite electronic artist.

#71: Jaxx Da Fishworks - Round Em Up
The typically house heavy BADLQQK crew had a huge year, and while there were several standouts, (particularly their RQQKIES) it was actually this breaks track that most caught my attention. Of course drums are the most important aspect of breaks, and boy do they ever do damage here. It's wobbly, warped and wicked good fun. And it's not just BADLQQK who had a big year, expect to see another track from Jaxx work its way into this list.

#70: Bicep - Aura
(As featured on EFYE) The unreleased Bicep track finally got its release after more than a year of magical teasing, and while it'll be remembered by most as a delirium-inducing demo, there's little better than having a full official release to play when and where we want. While I'll always be a sucker for their remix of "Tears I Can Afford," this may be Bicep at their best, navigating the line between a knock you off your feet, wall of sound and a feather-like tickling of your senses. Simply sublime.

RL Grime - Halloween VI

It's that time of year again, maybe the most wonderful wicked time of the year for electronic music. Trap titan RL Grime is back with the sixth installment of his legendary Halloween mixtape series. The mix of the grungiest, grimiest and all around evil tracks and samples once again features a slew of star studded guest appearances. This year the immortal Tony Hawk opens the hour of heinous heat and bloodcurdling beats, while Grime's 'father' RL Stine returns for another appearance. Music-wise there there's some diabolic Danny Brown, "Bodak Yellow" and "Innerbloom" bootlegs, the fantastic Falcons "Want Your Body," and of course it's all capped off with the latest from RL, the game changing, "Era," from his forthcoming album Nova. Stream the mix below and download free via ToneDen, here. UPDATE: RL has provided the full, jam packed, 34 track tracklist, read it in the description here.FOLLOW RL GRIME: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Falcons - Diplo And Friends Mix

Let's cut right to the chase, I fuck with Falcons heavy. His style is strong, yet diverse, and his latest mix for EM Award winning radio show Diplo and Friends is the perfect example of the breadth of his beats and mixing mastery. There's tons of trap, big bass bangers, and some touchy feely groove grinders. And, being a man of so many talents and by no means a newcomer, he's got his hands on a multitude of mashups and onslaught of edits from his friends. Mr. Carmack makes multiple appearances, as well as Juelz and Graves, plus he's pushed the tempo with well over 30 tracks in the hour long mix.

Highlights for me include the always alluring Jesse Slayter mix of Hoodboi and Lido's "Palm Reader" which is magically mixed into Falcons' own "Want Your Body" before bodying us with Jarreau Vandal's "Redbone" flip. The fire hits "Fulltime" courtesy Juelz, ahead of "Aerosol Can" as refixed by Carmack, before becoming Falcons' "All Over Again" (presumably a forthcoming track). The Tony Quattro/Tropkillaz combination is quite the treat too. And then there's the always enjoyable Lazerpiff "Lose My Breath," paired with Carmack's King Kendrick "DNA" flip which then leads into TWO, Graves IDs. The whole thing will leave you saying "Woo" as he ends with his own remix of Rihanna and Travis Scott. Choose your streaming option below or download free here, and follow Falcons for more fire.
UPDATE: Falcons has posted the official tracklist here, indeed showing off several unreleased tracks.

FOLLOW FALCONS: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

The Wonderland That Was WayHome 2017 (Recap)

Credit: Karis Malszecki (Instagram)

When the lineup for the WayHome Music and Arts festival was first announced, there were two artists at the top of my list: Justice and Mura Masa. By the time the festival actually rolled around I had added a significant number of names to my list of must see acts (see here and here), but still there were two tracks from those first two artists that I essentially hung all my anticipation on: my #1 track of 2016 "Randy" (read here) and "Helpline" (read here). Unfortunately neither track was played, but that didn't stop this past weekend from being perhaps THE BEST WEEKEND EVER.

This being both my first WayHome, and my first overnight camping festival, I went in with very few expectations or even ideas about what I was getting myself into. I was also flying solo for the most part (bouncing between groups of friends, as I'm apt to do), which allowed for full freedom and discovery. I had a strong schedule of who I wanted to see, but that was more of guideline rather than a strict itinerary. And this is part of what I love about being a blogger/reviewer as opposed to a photographer/videographer/etc, it allows me to experience the festival as a whole, while still focusing on the music. From the camping, food, staff, fellow WayHomies and everything in between, WayHome was pure perfection. If you're reading for the music only, jump ahead to the break below.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Weather
Mother nature set the mood for the weekend right off the bat, clearing out the clouds, turning up the temperature and letting the sun shine full blast from Friday morning through Sunday evening. Even the grass was green, which I'm told was not the case in previous years. Check out the Friday night sunset.

Camping
The seemingly endless rows of camping played host to hundreds of little parties. It was absolutely mind-blowing walking from one corner to another, passing thousands of people all here for the same thing. Saturday morning I met up with 404, and we literally went back and forth between a half dozen different groups of people getting ready another full day of fun. This was tiring walking so far, but inspiring in that it brought so many people together. However the highlight of my camping came when I met Kyle (left) and his group from Barrie. Just take a look at this character (RIP those sunglasses, which fell into a porta-potty minutes after this picture).

Food
No matter your dietary restrictions or desires there was something for you. Poutines aplenty placated, staples like Pizza Pizza and Beaver Tails satisfied, while dozens of other delicacies tickled your taste buds. I had a wicked good (but ultimately bad choice due to time spent in the porta-potties afterwards) spicy chorizo burrito. However the most talked about foodstuff was The Colossal Onion, but beware it's not for the faint of heart, I barely made a dent in mine even though it was sinfully scrumptious.

------------------------------------------------------------------

My WayHome Plan Of Attack

As I'm sure you know by now, I'm headed to Burl's Creek for WayHome Music and Arts Festival. I had mentioned that you can make your own schedule on the WayHome site here. Unfortunately that custom schedule doesn't allow you to include the Perrier Greenhouse, where I'll be spending multiple hours each day. So I decided to make my own custom schedule. See each day below, make note of the/my start times, and the conflicts in red on Friday. I'll be live tweeting much of the weekend, and hope to do a bit of a live blog each day, here. Follow me @OggieJames and if you're there feel free to reach out.

5 Reasons Why I Can't Wait For WayHome

We're getting really close (just over two weeks) until, arguably, Ontario's biggest music festival returns for its third iteration. WayHome Music & Arts Festival brings dozens of artists to Burl's Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte July 28th-30th, and it's about time to get the excitement and anticipation in full effect. Whether it's star studded headliners like Flume or Frank Ocean, or incredible undercard acts like Mura Masa, Danny Brown or Rag'n'Bone Man, there's something for everyone.

With the rest of this post, I'll highlight a number of the acts I'm most excited to see and why. But first a little refresher of the lineup, which just got bolstered today through the announcement of the Perrier Greenhouse lineup. Expect it to be the go-to chill out spot with selections from several of the country's best DJs. WayHome has also made the weekend easier to plan out with their custom schedule, here.

Main Lineup

#1: Justice
It's been just over a year since French electro duo Justice released their first track from Woman, "Safe And Sound." Now that the studio portion of the album has been delivered, their focus has shifted to touring with their live set. The promise of seeing these icons live and in person ought to be enough to entice whether you're a die hard fan of their old stuff or a new, casual fan. Finding out what they're going to play is half the fun, but there's no doubt they'll bring the energy and have the crowd immediately in hand. My only hope is that we get to hear "Randy," but they can do no wrong with any of their catalog.
If somehow you are unfamiliar with Justice, get to know them with the playlist below.

#2: Pat Lok
I've written about and played out Pat Lok several times here and on Radio Humber. Fresh off his debut album Hold On Let Go, I'm incredibly excited to spend my Friday afternoon dancing to the disco vibes of Pat Lok. It's artists like Pat that make WayHome so special. For some reason I've never had the opportunity to see him spin, maybe because he doesn't fit into the pop EDM sphere, but WayHome's eclectic, art first approach, allows for more indie acts. Get a taste of what to expect with his album.

#3: Mura Masa
Whether its "Lotus Eater," "Firefly," or "What If I Go?" there's no way you've missed Mura Masa. In the last year he's absolutely exploded, and he's just about to do it again with the release of his debut album, this Friday. We've already heard his collabs with Charli XCX and Desiigner "1 Night" and "All Around The World," respectively, but there's been one track that's been front and centre for me since he debuted it at Coachella. "Helpline" with Tom Tripp is the ultimate energizing party track, every time I hear it I can't help but get up and shake my tail-feather. The studio version just got released this past weekend, and although it's unquestionable quality, the energy of the live version is untouchable, making Mura Masa's Saturday night set can't miss. It and my other favourites are compiled below.

#4: Rag'n'Bone Man
This blog deals almost exclusively with electronic music, but of course that's not all I like, take for example Rag'n'Bone Man. Ever since I stumbled upon his song "Bitter End" a couple years ago, I've been waiting for the right opportunity to get to see him in person, and now it seems to have arrived. He's got a great soulful approach, oozing with emotion, which has led him to be remixed several times, but there's no taking away from the quality of his originals. I have a feeling his Sunday afternoon set will feel a lot like church, and that's probably something we'll need after the first two days.

#5: The Perrier Greenhouse
Looking at this lineup makes me think I'll be spending the majority of my time at WayHome inside the cool confines of the Perrier Greenhouse. Of course my love for both RYME and Ryan Hemsworth is well documented, but I've also written about Tommy Kruise and Falcons here before. Then there's local legends 4Korners, Jayemkayem, and Derek Wise. Not only are these names enough to allure, the extended length of the sets is sure to satisfy. Why retreat to your campsite to seek shade or catch your breath when you can stay in amongst the action, complete with air conditioning?

Of course I didn't address all of the acts at WayHome, or even any of the other amenities, otherwise I'd be writing all the way up to its start July 28th. But if you want to know more before you break out the cash to come along, the WayHome website has just about everything you need to know. There's also an app you can download, or if all else fails, I've seen them very diligently answer questions on twitter.

FOLLOW WAYHOME: FACEBOOK HOMEPAGE TWITTER