Elderbrook & Rudimental - Something About You (Mason Maynard Remix)

Manchester's Mason Maynard keeps turning heads. He's seen support from Pete Tong, Carl Cox, and Seth Troxler, just to name a few. When it comes to fans, he's hit the ears of many through shows at Hï Ibiza and the Warehouse Project; collaborations with Lee Foss and Green Velvet, originals on Sola and Defected; as well as an exceptional offering of remixes. Following closely on the heels of a beautiful Brian McKnight "Anytime" edit, Maynard has put his Midas touch on Elderbrook and Rudimental's magical "Something About You." Immediately injecting upbeat energy into the original with driving percussion, Maynard moves the vocals into a new sphere giving the track a much brighter feel.

As always I find myself more drawn to the full or extended version, and while the short edit pulls no punches, the six minute version allows Maynard's masterful drum delivery to dazzle. It would be brilliant to see performed live, if not just imagined in your head. The way it grows invites action from the listeners, easing you onto the floor as the waves of warmth wash over you. It is a masterclass in crowd movement and playful progression while never coming across as too demanding or over-wrought.

If you were a fan of the original, you should appreciate Mason Maynard's take too. It thrives through the same magic and allure, ultimately urging you into a double take, thinking "did I hear that right?" Yes, yes you did. This trio of talents come together in a fantastic fit, one you'll want to check out below.
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Enlightened Listening for June 21

For the longest day of the year we've got one of the longest editions of Enlightened Listening, clocking in at over 7 hours with an astounding 81 tracks. It opens with four exceptional albums including two we've been building up to here in Hot Chip's eccentric electronic odyssey A Bath Full Of Ecstasy and Mark Ronson's masterful pop presentation Late Night Feelings. Both share singles that I've been rinsing out like crazy and are instant inclusions in the album of the year conversation. Those two are joined by the final and gut wrenching end of Cassius, Dreems, and Shinichiro Yokota's delightful collection of dance joints I Know You Like It. Those four account for 48 tracks and without question some of the best pieces of music (vocally, lyrically, sonically, melodically, etc) you'll hear all year.

There is no let down following those massive albums however, as The Niceguys follow with a fourpack of uplifting funk from Westwood Recordings. Staying grooving but building towards bigger numbers, Rudimental and The Martinez Brothers combine for a magical piece in Faith Mussa-aided energy in "Sitigawana." Another exceptional collab follows in the fantastical feels of Lane 8 and Yotto's "I / Y."

Even more epic we go as Pryda offers up the kind of extended, intoxicating genius we've grown to expect from one of the world's most trusted names. The lead track "Illumination" is truly inspired, however the other five tracks are no mere tag-alongs as each holds the same Pryda power. 

After what seems like forever we finally have 1) new music from Afterlife and 2) the Ae:ther ID I'd been waiting on since Afterlife Voyage 013. The 20 track compilation once again proves Afterlife is perhaps the pinnacle of top notch techno. Adding another legend to this already epic list, The Chemical Brothers share a sensational dub version of "Eve Of Destruction." Staying dark and bass driven, Poppy comes in next with a desolate and dire number in "Choke." Finally we close the playlist with a trio of takes on Duke Dumont's "Red Light Green Light," which will have you dancing all the way through the weekend. Stream all the new tracks below and find individual released linked after the playlist. Enjoy!


Hot Chip - A Bath Full Of Ecstasy

Cassius - Dreems

Shinichiro Yokota - I Know You Like It

Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings

The Niceguys - Sunset Avenue

Rudimental & The Martinez Brothers - Sitigawana (ft. Faith Mussa)

Lane 8 & Yotto - I / Y

Pryda - PRYDA 15 VOL I

Various Artists - Realm Of Consciousness Pt. IV

The Chemical Brothers - Eve Of Dubstruction

Poppy - Choke

Duke Dumont ft. Shaun Ross - Red Light Green Light (For Club Play Only, Pt 6 / Remixes)

Enlightened Listening for January 25

Friday's never disappoint when it comes to new music, and for this week's Enlightened Listening, I've honed in on a couple albums, and the latest Afterlife EP, alongside a handful of fantastic singles. As always stream below, find individual releases linked with brief descriptions at the bottom and enjoy!

Rudimental - Toast To Our Differences
Massive album from the masters. More features than you can count, including Jess Glynne, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Maverick Sabre, and more. The kind of quality and range you can expect from one of the world's best outfits. Some easy listening poppy bits with its share of heavier, DnB stompers.

BOT - BOT New World
Serious callbacks to his crazy Crookers days with weird, often times trippy deliveries. Colourful, vibrant and transportive techno. If this means we're coming back to this style, I'm game.

Fideles - Endless Sacrifice
I cannot get enough of Afterlife at the moment, and while I would've loved to have got my hands on some of the IDs in Tale Of Us's Voyage mix, this is certainly satisfying. At times overpowering and others spine-tingling, each track has an engulfing energy that, like BOT above, takes you places.

Sheridan Grout & GXD - Dam
Was not expecting this kind of banger, but I am most certainly here for it. Reminds me of one of my favourite mixes of all time, Cosmic Gate's 2011 Essential Mix. Beyond brilliant, absolutely euphoric!

Ducky - Day Zero
Lyrically and sonically punchy. Captures the same kind of energy as early Porter Robinson/San Holo.

QUIX - Stronger (ft. Elanese)
QUIX keeps innovating and moving the bar, keeping not just us listeners on our toes but his peers too. The consummate quality he always brings is astounding, and while we may already know that, it's hard not to get blown away by the drums and brass in the second drop. Wow, just wow.

Rusko - Squeeze (Burnin)
The world is a better place with Rusko pumping out beats, and that's exactly what he did with this one: pump. Fat af, this simple stunner is sure to get rinsed out all summer long, in fact it might just speed summer along, and I don't think anyone's complaining about that...

Haus Of Panda - Kick It
I don't know what I like more: 1) that Haus Of Panda's been dropping fire like this with incredible regularity for over a year now, or 2) that he seemingly raises the bar with each release. Certainly seems as though speed house is here to stay!

Dr. Fresh x BIJOU - Gangsta Party
The masters of menacing g-house combine for a couple chest rattlers. Not for the faint of heart, these are sure to do damage on the dance-floor.