Enlightened Listening for July 20

After nearly losing it all this afternoon (my iTunes crashed and I thought I had lost all of my metadata), new music has arrived and saved the day (don't worry my iTunes is alive and well!). I'm going to have to keep things short and sweet as I'm running out of time, so no descriptions, just a playlist of new music ranging from funk to house and trap to techno/club/bass. There's a couple free downloads so look out for those asterisks below, and enjoy some killer stuff from big and trusted names like Lane 8 and Gorgon City, and remixes of Nick Catchdubs, ZHU x Tame Impala, and RL Grime. ENJOY!

Night Tempo - Bay City Groove (ft. Super Brass)

Pigbag - Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag (A Pied Piper Mix)

Lane 8 - The Disappearance of Colonel Mustard

Gorgon City - Hear That (ft. D Double E)

Botnek - Work That (Body)

Nick Catchdubs ft. Mattie Safer (ZOI Remix)

ZHU x Tame Impala - My Life (Just A Gent Remix)*

RL Grime ft. Boys Noize - Pressure (Divinite Remix)*

GRRL - Nightclub

*asterisks indicate track is available for free download

Salsoul Orchestra - Getaway (Dr. Funkenstein Instrumental Dub)

Fridays are always crazy busy, and today was no exception; I had a ton of things to attend to and found myself unable to properly dive into my usual discovery avenues until nearly 5 PM. That said this track jumped out at me immediately, as I'd just been relistening to Horse Meat Disco's Essential Mix recently, in which they included "Salsoul Rainbow." Along with 1976's "Nice 'n' Naasty," "Getaway" topped out at #3 on the US Dance Charts as their highest successes, and it's no wonder why with such a funky swing, through strings, horns and drums. Dr. Funkenstein of DJ Pied Piper and Funkingham fame, has since remixed it ushering in an extended disco delight. Nearly twice as long as any other version and just as grand and groovy as ever, this is sure to satisfy even the staunchest of Salsoul purists. Enjoy!

Enlightened Listening for March 2

It's Friday which first and foremost means new music. So here we are again with a compilation/playlist of new music for your weekend. As usual we range from club cuts, house (bass, disco and otherwise), and funky groove numbers. There's names we've seen on this blog before: Pied Piper, Henrik The Artist, Aylen, Amtrac, and Night Tempo; and new names like Calli Boom, Swill, and Mansa '91. Stream this week's Enlightened Listening and read brief descriptions below. Asterisk indicates free download.

Nathaniel Knows - Hungover (ft. King Tutt)*
Fall in love instantly with that flittery bass groove, then have your heart ripped out by that ratchet drop.

Calli Boom & Swill - Impact*
Tripped up trickles of percussion send your eyebrows upward while the drop leaves you floored.

Samba Soul - Mambo #5 (A Pied Piper Jumpy Club Regroove)
The expansive excellence we've come to know and love from Pied Piper. Don't be surprised if you start dancing involuntarily as if you were in the classic "Cuban Pete" scene from The Mask.

Henrik The Artist - Everytime We Touch (Drippy Dolphin Remix)
Henrik's refresh gets a jumpy jersey club-eqsue recast. Perfect for freaking out a dancefloor.

Wuki & Wax Motif ft. Earlly Mac - Buns (Aylen Remix)*
I always bow to Aylen's bass design and while this one isn't groundbreaking it's undeniably groovy. Certainly capable of commanding a crowd, getting pairs of feet aplenty flying across the floor.

Mansa '91 - Hollah*
While the image and title give it away you might not catch onto the cheeky "Hollaback Girl" changeup until the whole horn lick comes through. Like the Drippy Dolphin above, the jumpy chaos of this track makes for a fun and screw-face filled dancefloor.

Amtrac - Old Times (ft. Anabel Englund)
Talk about a perfect pairing, finally a true collab between these two. Fans of Anabel's work with Lee Foss and MK will certainly love this. Her line "There's magic in the air" takes on extra meaning.

Night Tempo - Just Be Yourself
I first came across Night Tempo exactly a month ago today, so it's only fitting there's more music, and from the still forthcoming Moonrise album. Seriously, is there anything cooler than this combination of genre tags? Vaporwave, synthwave, disco, dance, chill, deep house, and french house. I think not.

Jengi - Good Good (Midas Hutch Remix)
It's named twice because both the vocals and the instrumental are good. Midas is one of the smoothest operators out there. His stuff always slithers into your soul, satisfying with sublime sonics.

Sicle Cell - Rhapazooty In Blue (Pied Piper DELITE Regroove)

Normally I try to limit myself to tackling new music on this blog, except for the obvious Throwback Thursday posts, and while I missed a ton of new music yesterday I just couldn't let this Pied Piper remix go. This take on Sicle Cell's "Rhapazooty In Blue" is literally epic in its 14 minutes of extended dance delivery and just as epically engorged in groove. It won't take long to pick up the Dee-Lite's never ending groovy bassline that helps to propel the storytelling a la the 14 minute version of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." Of course it's highlighted all the way through with horns and piano licks, but it really is the bassline that just keeps your heart pumping the blood to your feet so you keep grooving and grooving and grooving, like a disco Energizer Bunny. Find it as part of the massive 30 track package of mixes from the Pied Piper, Count Funkula, the Mean Fiddler and more, Phat Disko.FOLLOW PIED PIPER: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

13 New Tracks I Found On Soundcloud (Under 10k)

Soundcloud has been on tongues, minds, fingertips, and search bars more than ever lately. Google Trends are incomplete until July 22nd, but it's nearly twice as high as any time in the last year (see here). Whether Soundcloud has the reported 50 days of cash left, Chance The Rapper already saved it, or something else entirely, I hope it survives for days like today: when I can wake up, scroll through my feed and find a dozen new, and in some cases, previously unavailable tracks.

[Rant] Of course the age of technology leads to the ability to create this kind of music, but that's just half of the benefit of advancement. The other half is the internet, and it's social, sharing environment. And music is nothing if not social and shared? Therefore the service Soundcloud provides is almost essential. It's the people, for the people. I know money has to be made, but a balance has to be drawn. No matter what, the need will remain. If SC falls, another will rise in its place.

However enough of the rant, please enjoy a concise 13 tracks from my scan this morning, each quality in their own right, genre and use aside. I've done my best to mix from light to heavy, smooth to rough.Strayframe - Crimson (ft. Spence Hood) FREE
Coolest Crimson known to man. Smooth and intoxicating, with a pair of absolutely crushing drops.

Gromo - Reaction (ft. Breana Marin) FREE
Slow burning, deep, nuclear core reaction. Strong vocals make the lyric "keep coming back to it" true.

Heads2 - Up N Down
Warming things up with funky, swooning future bass. More great vocals, but the chops steal this show.

NatashaMichael - Fuego FREE
Drums light the fire with even more alluring lyrics. However, the vocal effects and sonic flourishes rule.

Blvk Sheep - Falling 4 U (ft. Rahn Harper) FREE
Massive mood. Screaming yet tender trap. Added synth in the second drop caps it perfectly.

GNDR - It's The Future FREE
Power pop future bass. Flying piano fingers, wild vocal chops and soaring synth - need I say more?

Fransis Derelle x Hopsteady - Imaginary Friends
Don't let that opening fool you this track is explosive. Say goodbye, you're catching a rocket.

Nina Las Vegas - Freeze
Frosted tip vocal chops, fight with a flurry of drums and room filling bass. Nina brings the frostbite.

Dualmind - One Day FREE
Wild, turn it around, double-bass blinder. If this is what Future House is, I like it.

The Weather Underground - Existence
Intelligent techno everything (Minimal, Avant-garde, Noise, Experimental). Hypnotic.

brxken drevm - deicide FREE
Only thing ground breaking here is the bass. Just a beat, but effective enough to strike a blow.

Her Mind - Blossom FREE
I've never heard a drop as absolutely, and quite literally, smashing. Period. And this one works. No matching that in the second half, so instead it's triumphant future bass. 5 star success, no doubt.

Markus Aurelius - Solipsism FREE
Robots rule reality in this roaring epic depiction of a dire heavy metal future.

Seven Hours in Funkingham

Last weekend I came across London's Pied Piper, becoming inspired to write about his remix of Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" (read it here). I enjoyed it so much that I decided to follow him on Twitter, which behind Soundcloud is my top music discovery platform. He hasn't really tweeted anything aside from links to music, I'm actually alright with that, because it led me down a wormhole of wonderful remixes. Just as I was about to start putting together my playlist for this week's Bump In The Hump, I saw his tweet showcasing his remix of Yaz(oo)'s classic track "Situation." Of course I had to listen, and one thing lead to another and boom, I'd downloaded over a dozen remixes, and added another 35 more to the playlist below.

I knew I had a lot of digging to do because the many pages associated with Pied Piper are absolutely overflowing with tracks, but I set off into Funkingham (the most populated page), and compiled as many of my favourite remixes as I could find. We already know about the Tears For Fears remix, but there's takes on Rick James, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Gaynor, New Order, Sade, Boney M, and even Pink Floyd, Ghostbusters and Star Wars that will leave your head spinning and have you dancing for days. Seriously some of the coolest stuff I've ever come across, so be sure to give a good scroll through the playlist, pick up some of the free downloads, and follow Pied Piper for more magic.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather a selection of my favorite remixes. I can only imagine his originals are just as fun and funky as his remixes, however nothing beats the familiarity of this fantastic list of remixes. Press play and get lost in the magic of Funkingham.

FOLLOW PIED PIPER: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Pied Piper Remix)

This morning I had the urge to find myself some more epic disco edits, so I set out on soundcloud digging endlessly through future bass, and hybrid dubstep/trap tracks. It felt nearly impossible, even using the chart function to search, there was almost nothing except full mixes. Then I found a remix of Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation" by London producer Pied Piper. It's a massive 10 minute, vox led, version of the classic disco number, and boy is it full of fun. I then looked further at Pied Piper's account and found exactly what I was looking for, among endless disco edits, this remix of Tears For Fears. What makes this, and all of Pied Piper's mixes so sensational, is his omniscient approach in crafting a well rounded, epic creation (it's important to note that I mean to use epic as a noun and not an adjective). The groove of the "EWTRTW" mix starts right away with samples lifted directly from the original. Anyone that's heard the Tears For Fears version will immediately recognize the trademark drum sounds. Pied Piper's rebuilt the foundation, slowly adding in elements, as though sprinkling spices into a special sauce. That combination of elements have a savoury taste, warming the soul with sublime groove. As a sucker for both disco edits and 80s, this one really hits the spot, as do many of the others on Pied Piper's page - well worth a look and listen.  Grab the free download via Hypeddit here.

FOLLOW PIED PIPER: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER