Enlightened Listening for February 14

After last week's 14 track edition of Enlightened Listening we're back to big business here with 16 releases and nearly 50 tracks. This week features the long anticipated release of Tame Impala's The Slow Rush, the second ever offering from No Neon and tons of incredible techno. Enjoy via playlist after the break, find each release linked individually linked at the bottom and read brief descriptions next.

Opening this epic 4 hour 21 minute journey is of course Tame Impala and his increasingly electronic album The Slow Rush. A perfect place to start if I do say so myself. Murtagh follows the psychedelic LP with a couple moving cuts before No Mana transports us his sensational Secret Level. Diverse in its delivery, there's a lot to like in this album as its power grows progressively stronger. The robust roll-out continues as Mathame make massive waves with For Every Forever on Afterlife. Staying supremely strong, we're then treated to two new Marc Romboy multitudes (something I'd been craving and searching for as recently as yesterday).

This year has already offered up some ridiculously awesome tunes and the basis of this next EP is yet another. Market Memories' "Rain Dance" is beyond brilliant and both ABSOLUTE. and Doppel deliver dope remixes. Like I said last month I'm already excited about this year's best of list and you better believe one of these three versions will make this cut. It is that cool.

Turning more epic in their arc and delivery (as if that were possible), the next two releases are masterclasses in movement as No Neon welcomes Craig Williams & Pantheon and Glenn Morrison taps Petar Dundov for a resplendent remix of his already divine "Tangerine Dream." Yotto and Colyn then take us on two equally alluring journeys through Joris Voorn's Four. Moonwalk then have me hyperventilating with "Salem," my favourite of the awesome 3 track Alba EP.

After the dark burn of "Phoenix," Luttrell and Dusky bring the playlist back into the light with "Some Other Time" and Life Signs Vol. 2, respectively. The fun and funkiness of the latter then lead into an absolutely brilliant and slick Botnek production "Take Me Higher." The acid get-down of that leads very nicely into a jaw-dropping version of all-time classic "Sweet Dreams" courtesy Average Gypsy.

Finally, the playlist closes with yet another incredible Peggy Gou production, "Jigoo" with Maurice Fulton, only to be followed by an utterly euphoric take on Myd's "Superdiscoteca" from nit.


Tame Impala - The Slow Rush

Murtagh - Windswept / Close To You

No Mana - Secret Level

Mathame - For Every Forever

Marc Romboy - Speicher 114

Market Memories - Rain Dance

Craig Williams & Pantheon - Division

Glenn Morrison - Tangerine Dream

Joris Voorn - Four Remixes Pt. 1

Moonwalk - Alba

Luttrell - Some Other Time

Dusky - Life Signs Vol. 2

Botnek - Take Me Higher

Average Gypsy - Sweet Dreams (ft. Silver)

Maurice Fulton & Peggy Gou - Jigoo

Myd - Superdiscoteca (nit Remix)

Sébastien Léger - Clouds EP

As usual, I was scrolling through my SoundCloud feed, but especially compared to yesterday, I couldn't find anything that turned my crank. It just seemed to be an endless sea of blah, overflowing with artists I either don't know or don't care about. That was until I came across truly one of my favourite artists, from both a DJing and production perspective, Parisian powerhouse Sébastien Léger. The man always works with awesome analog sounds, crafting some of the most creative and original pieces of music I've ever come across. His list of credits is seemingly endless, from ridiculously good remixes, to jaw-dropping originals. That list is about to grow a little bit longer as his four-track Clouds EP is set to be released this coming Friday, the 17th, on Marc Romboy's Systematic Recordings.
Because these are snippets, it takes no time at all to find yourself firmly ensconced in the groove Sébastien Léger has laid out. In fact, the first track, "Nostalgia," gets right into business screaming Séb's production style. It's incredibly well designed and so full of progression and movement. No note is left unpolished or unaccounted for, each placed with such precision. "Nostalgia," more than the following tracks, has a warm, easy feel. A kind of musical hammock swinging gently in the breeze.

"Brainwasher" on the other hand comes at you much more intensely. Directed more towards the club, it's still led by some sneakily groovy percussion, while the steely synth-lead torches all it comes into contact with. This one may be the best example of how seamlessly Séb invokes movement and progression. Especially with a track of this magnitude, he's able to dance around as nimbly as a sprite.

The title track, "Clouds," again sees a distinct production while still falling firmly in the legion of Léger. Like the other tracks, it too is named perfectly, each evoking its titular image brilliantly. However, these clouds aren't all air; they've got some substance with a touch of turbulence brewing. It's floaty, soaring at incredible heights, making it easy to drift away in a sonic euphoria.

Finally, the EP comes to a close with its most emotional and touching track, "Tears." Like the others before it, it's lofty in its high soaring arc, but it's the little blips and fills that make it such a sensational production. Imagine lying perfectly still in a dark room while listening to this on a good pair of headphones. There's no way it wouldn't trigger numerous emotions. It strikes me as innately aware of our humanity, able to play us like a fiddle. And that's the true magic of Sébastien Léger; he is so in tune with the technology he uses that it ceases to be a mere tool but rather an extension of himself. I, for one, am extremely excited to hear the EP, in full, upon its release.

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Throwback Thursday: Bodzin & Huntemann - Rubin

For this week's installment of my TBT series, it is my pleasure to re-introduce the world to one of the most carefully produced, creepiest, heaviest, most jacking, epic, rolling, creative-masterpieces I've ever heard, the joint production from geniuses Stephan Bodzin and Oliver Huntemann, "Rubin." I first heard this track where it does it best work, in the middle of a mix. The reality is all tracks are at their best when they are properly mixed into a set. There is no doubt that when "Rubin" is inserted into a mix, and you hear those familiar tech synth stabs or percussive clicks, the set is immediately better. You know the dancefloor is about to shake and pulsate at a level unlike any other. Both Bodzin and Huntemann are masters of dancefloor manipulation, tweaking their sounds ever so slightly to create absolute mayhem in the minds of the listeners. Their tracks are in stratospheres of their own, being secret weapons for DJs around the world and influencing producers in the very same way.