Throwback Thursday: HAIM - Falling (Duke Dumont Remix)

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: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
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Mura Masa - Helpline (ft. Tom Tripp)

If you've taken in my twitter feed at all in the last few months, no doubt you've seen me drool over Mura Masa's track with Tom Tripp, "Helpline." Of course the first time we heard it was during his Coachella set, listen and watch here. The whole 40 minute set is absolutely overflowing with energy, in large part to it playing host to a number of new tracks, including "Nuggets" the A-side of "Helpline" pictured above.

It was that explosion of freeing, funky fun energy that initially drew me to "Helpline." As soon as I heard it I thought, man this is some kind of super cool track. Right from the get go the drum beat brings you in, before the bassline begs you shake your tail feather. Then comes those incredibly intoxicating keys. All this paired underneath Tom Tripp's feverish vocals, speaking to the most human needs.

There's no questioning the track's construction: the sound design, progression and lyrical themes are as fun as can be, but for me there's no comparing the studio version with the live version. The key to "Helpline" is its raw, organic and human nature, but that gets lost in the almost stagnant studio mix. At times I have trouble making out the lyrics, and for some reason the mixing of elements seems muddy. Of course this is in comparison to the stripped back live version, which is more easily mixed.
Now I don't mean for this to come across as me knocking Mura Masa or anyone else involved on "Helpline," I just think it's better suited to a live performance. There are plenty of examples of this elsewhere, of which Haim is perhaps the best. I first came across them when they played Jimmy Kimmel Live! (here). I absolutely loved their live performance (in part because of Este's Bass Face), but when I listened to the album cuts I felt a little underwhelmed. Of course live and studio are not going to be exactly the same, live allows for more experimentation and playfulness whereas studio recordings serve a different purpose. Regardless, the vast disparity can be frustrating to some. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I still love "Helpline" and consider it one of my favourite productions of the year, I just see the live version as the more true to itself depiction. It's without a doubt the one track I'm most excited to see at WayHome. If you're like me, and need to have that live version on repeat, I've uploaded it for download via mediafire here.

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CID - Believer (ft. CeeLo Green)

Some days I can find a track that I want to write about almost immediately, others it becomes increasingly difficult as I wade through throngs of the same old sounds, further frustrating me and closing my mind, making me less receptive to the following tracks. However I hold out hope as I continue down the never-ending ether that is soundcloud's server. Today was one of those days, where my faith paid off and I came across an aptly titled track "Believer," from New York's CID.

My eye was immediately drawn to this track because of CeeLo, whose been one of my favourite vocalists ever since I first came across him in Gnarls Barkley. There's just something about the emotional intensity he's able to inject in each and ever syllable he delivers. Perhaps the best example of this is in his tremendously touching tribute "Robin Williams," as performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

CeeLo brings that same uplifting emotion to "Believer," just as CID builds him a brilliant and bouncy bed. There's no denying its infectious nature, from sublime sound design, playful progression and wicked warmth. This is the kind of summer anthem that I fully expect to garner radio play across the continent. While there's another song with the same name, currently dominating the airwaves, I'll be made a "Believer" in commercial radio if CID and CeeLo were to usurp that quartet, just imagine! Stream/Download "Believer" from your favourite outlet, here.

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Charli XCX - ILY2 (Euphoria Edit)

Recently we saw Charli XCX perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with producer AG Cook lying motionless on stage (watch "Bounce" and "After The Afterparty"), and while it was cool to see those two on such a massive platform, it was missing a little something for me. Turns out it was missing Danny L Harle. The founding member of PC Music, has just remixed "ILY2" from Charli's Number 1 Angel mixtape. This new version, dubbed the Euphoria Edit, nails just what I love about both Harle productions and PC Music as a whole. It's incredibly bright, utterly alluring and oh so enchanting. While the original holds the keys to the car as it were, Harle's skill takes it from a Sunday drive to a trip around the Talladega Superspeedway. And while I absolutely love the super shiny, reach for the sky vibes, that's not all that euphoria and this edit are. The cherry on top comes in the second half as Harle sends us celestial revelers plummeting down to earth with a domineering get down (approx 1:29), proving euphoria isn't pure idealism but pragmatic power, connecting us to the reality of our earthbound existence.Get Danny L Harle's Euphoria Edit absolutely free, here.

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