Enlightened Listening for January 18

Something, something, new year, new music. Yeah yeah, these intros can be formulaic and really, do you even bother to read them? It's about the music, which you'll find below. This week's Enlightened Listening has a couple killer remixes, the first release from Dr. Fresch's new label, and fire EPs from both Aylen and Masayoshi Iimori. Read brief descriptions below and enjoy your weekend. Cheers!

Tycho - Epoch (Luttrell Remix)
Your new alarm/wake up call. You can see the sun bursting over the horizon and feel its warmth. The already beautiful original gets a top notch touch up from one of techno's melodic masters.

Mark Ronson ft. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (Martin Solveig Remix)
The remixes just keep coming, only further showing the strength of the original. Solveig pairs his production with Cyrus' voice brilliantly, letting each lead, and the whole thing grow organically.

Bob Sinclar - Electrico Romantico (ft. Robbie Williams)
The longevity of Sinclar is stunning, and so is this. Poppy, uplifting and funky. I think this is my favourite track on this list.

Mishap - Motions
The first in a long run of bangers in this list. A really strong example of the hybrid nature of bass driven tracks we're seeing these days. Dubstep, trap and do I hear some Pink Floyd "On The Run"?

Noizu - Dance
Rolling raucousness, acidic punches and dark dirty vibes. Noizu remains one to watch; whether it be on CONFESSION, OWSLA, or BlackBook like this, he always brings bangers.

Aylen - Routines
Always on top of the sound design game, Aylen seems to have made XXL the home for his weird, and wickedly effective house tracks. Both tracks are weapons, but in this case I'm more for the a-side.

London Elektricity - Funkopolis
I still remember the first time I heard London Elektricity, and while I can't say any of his productions have captured my attention the way "All Hell Is Breaking Loose" did a decade ago, this comes close. These two share that same kind of cool, almost soundtrack style delivery. Funky and full of energy.

Various Artists - The Remedy Volume 1
You cannot go wrong with 1) anything Dr. Fresch touches or 2) a compilation that includes the likes of BIJOU, Tony Romera, Gerry Gonza and JAXX DA FISHWORKS. If g- and bass-house are your things, best keep your eyes and ears locked on The Prescriptions Records.

Masayoshi Iimori - Euphoria
While Aylen and Iimori work in different genres, I cannot help but see similarities in both the quality and wildness of their productions. Both are liable to batter your brains with any given release, and certainly that holds true with this three track tumult. It'll surely leave your head spinning and your body moving. If you're still on the fence, let me say that "FMW" gives me a Boys Noize vibe and what could be wrong with that?

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.

Throwback Thursday: Lazy Rich

This past weekend, one of the most important producers in bringing me into the electronic music scene decided to call it quits. Lazy Rich announced Saturday evening that he would give up gigging after New Years Eve. This is crushing, as despite my fandom, I've never been able to take in a Lazy Rich set first hand, and while we can hope that he goes back on his word, he has not closed the door on future productions. He's also stated that he will stay on with his label Big Fish Recordings, and maintain his roles with both Label Engine and Create Music. All this being said I figured it was appropriate to share a small sampling of my favourite Lazy Rich productions and some of the remixes they inspired.

While the playlist below contains 15 tracks, it really is a small sampling of Lazy Rich's enormous catalog which (while incomplete also includes duplicates) contains over 500 tracks on Beatport and reaches back to 2007. His impact cannot be overstated, whether through his productions alone or his work with the aforementioned trio of behind the scenes roles. His work within the electro house scene is immeasurable; just a quick scroll through his feed shows countless artists reaching out and thanking him for his role in, either directly or indirectly, influencing them.

While electro is gritty and raw, his tracks always had a undeniable polish and funky dance-able feel. Just one listen to the first track below "Disco Rocking" illustrates that perfectly. Later his work with vocalists (be them originals or remixes) further showed his ability to pair his power with poignant emotion. More recently he left the comfortable confines of 128 BPM to explore new worlds, and seemingly no matter who or what he worked with, success was guaranteed.

When I first came into dance music, it was always about pairing power with a tune you could dance to and no one did this quite like Lazy Rich. Finally, I leave you to enjoy the three handfuls of my favourites below. Be sure to check out more of his illustrious library, and follow his socials at the bottom.FOLLOW LAZY RICH: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Sinden's House Line EP

Very few producers can boast the same kind of quality and longevity as Graeme Sinden. He's been a staple of the house scene since collaborating with the likes of Hervé (as The Count and Sinden) and SBTRKT nearly a decade ago. He's once again teamed up with Hervé, among other heavy hitters Bot (previously half of Crookers), Japan's Jaxx Da Fishworks and Alaska's Astronomar. The nine track collab laden EP, out now on Insomniac Records, brings bassy house tracks that, while having killer classic feels, succeeds in pushing the undeniably important genre forward. Download the EP free via ToneDen, here.The lead track brings Sinden and Hervé together again, showing off their incredible interplay. The amount of movement and instrumentation is incredible, once again proving these two work together wonderfully. Next, pay special attention to Sinden's solo track "Baby" with its classic bonking bass sound built around a grungy atmosphere. The next three tracks, all remixes, take a decisively different approach, but still one that fits into this formidable EP.

R3LL's remix relies on a piano lick and pulsating jersey club loops, definitely the most intense and energetic of the bunch. Bot brings back the bouncing bass with "Follow Me." The bed he's crafted for Aly Us' vocals makes it absolutely alluring and almost hypnotizing. It's easy to imagine several shufflers dancing all night to this one.

Next up is LO'99, who I've been a fan of ever since I heard Porter Robinson play Go Freek's remix of "My Mind" in his Monstercat Showcase set two summers ago. He's been on fire as of late (dropping remixes of Angelz and Stormzy), and continues that trend with his 420 Blog It take on "Mega." Obviously the throwback feels are strong, but the deep bass wobbles and alien atmosphere make it a worthy remix of such a classic track.

Following those remixes come three new collaborations. First "Cold Ass Flute" with Astronomar. It's eerie as can be, sending chills down your back, again with an extraterrestrial vibe and an all too evil laugh. Next is Hotfire and "Twiddle," which winds up slowly before the tension becomes too much and it turns into an all out stomper, suggesting that listeners just get stupid. The final collab comes with Marc Spence, whose "Nasty" has been mentioned many a time on this blog. "WTF" is mechanized madness. It's almost as though the two have built an Iron Giant type figure deep in the woods, and its coming to life can be heard through the panicked chirping of birds and earth shaking bass.

Sinden's House Line then wraps up with a new Jaxx Da Fishworks production, "Don't Wait Up." It may be the best track to encapsulate the EP as a whole. It's got a great classic feel and construction to it, while still feeling fresh. The frenzied drop is like a steely stare down, daring you to dance. From Sinden and Hervé's "Body & Soul" to this fire finale, this EP is an excellent example of Sinden's impact on house music. If you've got the time, I highly suggest taking a scroll through his soundcloud page, it's absolutely littered with awesome tracks.

FOLLOW SINDEN: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER