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.
Once again we've had an incredible week of releases, making for a massive edition of Enlightened Listening. Stretching past the seven-hour mark while coming in just at just less than 100 tracks, the new music playlist is built upon a handful of long-form projects and several sensational singles.
Thematically, the first six releases fit together under the progressive house/trance umbrella. We open with the culmination of two teased albums from CRi and Sultan + Shepard, the latter showcasing the duo in top form. With a similar sentiment, ASHE is on the top of his game with Strangers Dream which features "Stay," a quintessential ASHE production, and two truly sublime slices in "Earth Room"& "Bleeding Heart." Later, TDJ whets our appetite for TDJ002 with dreamy delivery "Lalala."
Next up, London Grammar grace us with a new obsession-worthy single in the hook-driven "How Does It Feel." Hot on the heels of that heavenly offering are two more moving groovers in Jayda G's gorgeous remix of Rhye and Friend Within's equally fabulous LP Hope. Turning more tech-driven, Morgan Geist's masterful remix of Marie Davidson leads us down the ever-darker, more intense and driving backend of this playlist. From the at times bright and groovy designs of Black Loops and Doss to the scorching DnB of Denham Audio, Sleepnet and John Rolodex, this playlist never lacks power. As if taking that last statement as a challenge, the playlist runs right off the rails with the unhinged energy and brutal bangers of ALRT, Dion Timmer, HNTR and Dropwizz. Stream the weekly new music playlist (mixed for optimal flow) below, find each of the releases linked individually after the jump and enjoy!
Spanish duo CYA are on fire at the moment. In the last six months alone they've remixed the Pet Shop Boys and Grum, appeared on Anjunabeats and most recently released a two track EP on Grum's Deep State Recordings. Timeless/Synesthesia ought to be an instant addition for any fan of Anjuna or progressive house as both tracks deliver a myriad of movement in awesome engrossing fashion.
The lead track "Timeless" does indeed live up to its namesake, but I don't mean that it in the enduring sense, but rather in its sonic landscape being a chronological void. Its soaring ethereal power places it in an infinite nothingness, somewhat like a black hole, just without the hopeless, depressive qualities we often associate with it. Furthering the expansive, optimistic qualities of "Timeless," the follow up "Synesthesia" leans into cascading sparkles as though viewing a series of supernovas occuring countless light-years away. And this is no mistaken mixed metaphor, as it too lives up to its namesake in the visual quality of its bleepy lead. One only need to close their eyes and suddenly the galactic life of "Synesthesia" leaps into action on the inside of your eyelids.
Keeping the write-up short and sweet for this week's Enlightened Listening. That said the playlist is just short of 40 tracks and three hours. It's bookended by epic albums from SebastiAn and Grum, and you'll find a couple EPs from the house sphere on either side of them, where Shaun Frank hits the bass, while Le Youth puts forth some progressive beauty. A couple of my favourites offer exceptional remixes, where Sinjin Hawke and Zora Jones take on Murlo's magic and ABSOLUTE. stuns with Big Wild. There's two more power duos, in 2¢'s brilliant banger "REBEL" and the latest taste of TNGHTII. While Mura Masa and slowthai are not an established duo I'm sure hoping we get more of their mix, as "Deal Wiv It" is awesome. Finally, a trio of solo singles from Skream, Eli Escobar and Jessie Ware. Enjoy!
My goodness have we got a great edition of Enlightened Listening this week. Opening the playlist below are back to back brilliant and truly masterful examples of electronic albums, a form that I often hear is dead. Floating Points' Crush is a captivating quest that will send you soaring through your consciousness. While Jacques Greene's Dawn Chorus does the same, it feels more at home on the dance-floor, particularly through its entrancing grooves. Staying groovy, the next release features a trio of remixes of Boston Bun's "Don't Wanna Dance" with a sublime standout from Mighty Mouse.
Changing gears a bit, the fourth step in our twelve part release showcase comes in the form of ABSOLUTE.'s second EP on Family Planning. This is not the titanic ABSOLUTE. we're used to but rather a more tempered touch that actually works wonders. I love "Get Off The Floor" and I'm in awe of "This, Too, Will Pass." Speaking of awe, Pete Tong has reunited with Jules Buckley and The Heritage Orchestra (as HER-O), launching the first single of their all original album Chilled Classics. "Go Crazy" is an instant sensation and I urge you to check Pete's twitter for further insight into the project.
After Pete comes a pair of singles. The first, Grum's return to Anjunabeats is big, bold and beautiful. The second, Uppermost's "Selfless" is sublime, soaring stuff. Exactly what I've come to expect from him. And while it's hard to have expectations with regards to Joe Goddard, as his capabilities seem limitless, this remix of ALASKALASKA shows off a wonderful wandering spirit that beckons you into its beautiful, warm and comforting arms. Just like Joe, Alex Metric always manages to deliver incredible offerings no matter what the mood or who he happens to be working with. Jacking goodness prevails here in this Waze & Odyssey collaboration.
The final three releases feature a couple remixes alongside an absolute killer EP from rising star Rebūke. First, Theo Kottis has crafted a brilliantly bouncy and upbeat remix of Mind Enterprises' "Monogamy." Slick and strong, it is a wonderful affair that I will no doubt be returning to many a time. After that is Valentino Khan's crisp and cool remix of Tchami's Blackbyrds sampling "Rainforest." While the original is quite nice, the drop in this version seems to fit the sample even better than before. Finally, Rebūke's 3 track Drumcode EP shows incredible power and progression, not just from a tracklist perspective but even within the tracks themselves, no better than in the title track "Rattle."
For this week's installment of my Throwback Thursday series, it gives me great pleasure to re-upload and host, one of my favourite episodes from one of my favourite podcasts ever, the UK's Push Music.
While scrolling through my iTunes playlist looking for inspiration for last week's Throwback Thursday, I came across an incredible grouping of tracks. Wondering what it was that had encouraged me to download these tracks, I headed to google, searched for a tracklist and was instantly reminded of the Push Music Podcast. Bill Shephard, the man behind the Push Music moniker, always seemed to find the perfect balance between electro, house, new disco and indie dance, crafting some of the most forward thinking mixtapes, with just the right amount of retro throwbacks from the Talking Heads to 10cc/Godley and Creme. While many of the Push Music mixes still sound as fresh as ever, it is the third installment of the series that really does the trick for me.
Despite being a Halloween themed mixtape, I believe it could easily be consumed anytime you are looking to turn up. It's also the Halloween style atmosphere that makes this mix such a cinematic movement and journey. The track selection couldn't be anymore awesome and is only magnified by the incredible mixing that Shephard always injects into his podcasts. Starting with the line from Dawn Of The Dead, and a quick taste of Tears For Fears "Head Over Heels," the atmosphere is immediately established as we fall under the spell of Fake Blood's "The Dozens." Obviously Fake Blood's aesthetic is a perfect fit for such a dark, brooding mix and serves as a tremendous foundation to build upon.
Seamlessly, Goshi Goshi's "Ravin Cru," rises from the ashes of "The Dozens." It is Ravin Cru's combination of rough electro vibes and disco tinged guitars that so perfectly play the middleman to Fake Blood and Duck Sauce's "aNYway;" just another example of the organic, flow of Push Music's mix. Being such an electro head myself, I just wish there was a version of "aNYway" that had that raucous Ravin Cru bassline throughout. Regardless, Shepard improves upon the original of "aNYway" adding some depth with his smooth scratching. This helps to move us into DJ Zinc's "Blunt Edge" which is again amplified by some additional scratching.
As the mix continues with D.I.M. & Tai's "Lyposuct," we hear another film clip this time from Watchmen, the ominous and gory entry from Rorschach's journal, adds an even more evil flavour to the mix. Shephard continues to thurst the mix forward with scratching leading so superbly into the turntablist inspired, Riva Starr remix of Malente's "I Like It." Continuing to flow so naturally, Grum's "Heartbeats" seems to come out of nowhere. This section for some reason always reminds me of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, invoking some sort of unholy rave. This is only magnified by the fact that the next track is A-Trak's legendary remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll."
Furthering the cinematic horror motif, the mix delves further into the darkness of Designer Drugs' Saw aided "Drop Down." Ingeniously, Shephard mixes into Light Year and Jimmy 2 Sox remix of Toecutter's "Best Party Ever," making John Kramer happy by making his listeners grateful for being alive. "Best Party Ever" is a much need reprieve, a breath of funky fresh air. This funk continues through the classic sample in The Count's remix of Trevor Loveys' "Organ Grinder," and into the inescapable magic of Boys Noize's "Jeffer." This is followed by one of my favourite transitions, and while it isn't the most smooth flowing of the mix, there's something about the intoxicating tones of Boy 8-Bit's "Spells Of Deception" remix. It so perfectly mirrors the vocals "cause you're so cold," that the seemingly cold drop in and invasion of "Jeffer," that so wonderfully underscore the next level genius of Push Music's mixing.
Aided by another horror film sample, this time from The Evil Dead, Shephard moves into DJ Mehdi's remix of the Sebastien Tellier track "Oh Malheur," which seems evaporate into thin air. Rather, it evaporates into INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart," which at the classic silence drops into "Hell With Gravity." This time it'sa line from Donnie Darkothat accents the thumping evil of Just A Band, before the incredibly awesome transition into the second Fake Blood track of the mix, "Fix Your Accent." It too plays a perfect middleman between "To Hell With Gravity" and Alex Gopher's remix of the Kid Sister track "Get Fresh." The combination and overlapping of tracks gives the mix more of it's inescapable continuity, tied together so perfectly with the continuous scratching. Pushing through Zombie Nation's percussive "Worth It" and the bleepy Herve and Kissy Sell Out "Everybody," the mix is beginning to feel complete as it reaches the depths of Pepe Bradock's "Deep Burnt." But as a kind of cherry on top of the mix, Shephard blesses us with one final twisted track, in the form of VNNR's room shaking remix of Depuis91's "Erothiq."
It's been such an awesome experience reliving this masterful mix, and I highly encourage you check out more of Push Music's podcasts, and they are plentyful and always live up to his incredibly high level of ability. I've added the m4a file, complete with chapter markings, to my dropbox folder so you can download and listen at your leisure, link here. Get more from Push Music below.
