Enlightened Listening for February 12

It's the weekend, which means it's time to warp the week's releases in a bow with another edition of Enlightened Listening. Headlining this three and a half hour playlist is the milestone tenth edition of mau5trap's We Are Friends compilation series. It features label stalwarts ATTLAS, EDDIE and No Mana, alongside even more veteran talent in Mord Fustang, Pig&Dan, Tommy Trash and Wolfgang Gartner. And yes, deadmau5 does indeed lead the otherwise alphabetized affair. Staying with the longer form releases, MPH leaves his mark on Night Bass with a brilliant debut there, while ten artists enter into ill.Gates' Producer Dojo for a couple fists full of fire remixes. Aside from those three releases, we're left with thirteen individual tracks. Of the standout singles, I'm particularly fond of the piano in the expansive beauty of "WITHIN ME" and the chromatic resplendence of "Beyond Belief" & "Pacific." It probably doesn't need to be said, but don't miss the Jamie Jones or TSHA remixes, nor the Sleepnet or OAKK singles, if you're into stylish & immersive tracks. Dig into the new music playlist below and find each individual release linked at the bottom. Apparently, it's a long weekend, so enjoy that too!

PROFF - Dark Magic

Dardust - WITHIN ME (ft. Benny Benassi)

OCULA - Beyond Belief

Jaytech - Pacific

Various Artists - mau5trap Presents: We Are Friends, Vol. 10

SNBRN, BIJOU & CeCe Rogers - Poison

Nez ft. ScHoolboy Q - Wild Youngster (Jamie Jones' Wobble Remix)

Silk City ft. Ellie Goulding - New Love (TSHA Remix)

London Grammar - Lose Your Head (Dave Glass Animals Remix)

Black Caviar & Rion S - Money Money

Madeaux - Break Your Heart

MPH - Nova

High Contrast ft. Uk Apache & Ady Suleiman - Met Her At A Dance In Leicester (DJ Marky Remix)

Sleepnet - Angel Blade

Kermode - Chameleon Remixes

OAKK - Tunnel Vision

Silk City ft. Dua Lipa - Electricity (Leemz Bootleg)

Undeniably one of the most intoxicating pop productions of the last year, Silk City's Dua Lipa led Grammy winning single "Electricity" has received countless remixes including one from The Black Madonna, who hit the 34th spot in my year end countdown (here). Months after the original spark has subsided Jersey Club legend Leemz has brought his bounce and inimitable energy to the effusive "Electricity." The propulsive pressure of Leemz's lightning-in-a-bottle bootleg is immediately invigorating, sucking you in through the success of Silk City and Dua Lipa's lush delivery before becoming jacked up on a gallon of java. The drops are dizzying, almost disorienting, in their whirlwind of wild Jersey Club components, perfect for pushing any party into overdrive. It is this contrast of the sublime nature of the original and its smooth status in between drops that makes this such a rousing remix. Grab Leemz's brilliant bootleg absolutely free via ToneDen here and follow his socials below.FOLLOW LEEMZ: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

2019 Grammy Predictions

In breaking news, I've learned the Grammys are tonight. I kid, but basically that's what this whole post is going to be: a little levity to close out the weekend. I'm gonna do my usual shtick of making predictions for categories I know/care about, and again it'll be my 'who should win' and 'who will win' double pick scenario, because even with two picks per category I'm still out to lunch most times. Oh and one more thing before the predictions, will the dance/electronic categories be in with all the obscure categories? Or will they continue to disregard their impact and treat them as a sideshow not fit for their floundering broadcast? I'd lean towards the latter, but let's just get to the good stuff, shall we?

*** Update: Results noted with ✓ or x ***

BEST DANCE RECORDING

Above & Beyond - Northern Soul (ft. Richard Bedford)
Disclosure - Ultimatum (ft. Fatoumata Diawara)
Fisher - Losing It
Silk City - Electricity (ft. Dua Lipa)
Virtual Self - Ghost Voices

Who Will Win: Silk City ✓
Who Should Win: Silk City ✓
Reasoning: I feel like the Academy is equally likely to go with any of Disclosure, Silk City and Fisher as they are seemingly the most widely-popular productions in the list. My bet is that they will make the 'right' choice with Silk City as they love both Diplo and Mark Ronson, and it is indeed the most accessible and perhaps most successful production of the bunch. That said, I would not be surprised if "Losing It" got the nod, as love it or hate it, it was without a doubt the club track of the year.

BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM

Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Justice - Woman Worldwide
Sofi Tukker - Treehouse
SOPHIE - Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
TOKiMONSTA - Lune Rouge

Who Will Win: Justice ✓
Who Should Win: TOKiMONSTA
Reasoning: This was a tough one. Obviously any of these could take the trophy, but I feel like they'll be too scared to go with SOPHIE, who might be the obvious choice in many eyes. The other nom that set itself apart from the group in terms of hype was Singularity, and I think it's got a solid chance. However, due to last year's seemingly unfair Kraftwerk catalog/best of winning, I see them doing the same with Woman Worldwide this year. That said, I've got Lune Rouge as the most enjoyable album through and through.

BEST REMIXED RECORDING

LSD - Audio (CID Remix)
Charlie Puth - How Long (EDX's Dubai Skyline Remix)
Gabriel & Dresden ft. Sub Teal - Only Road (Cosmic Gate Remix)
Kygo ft. Justin Jesso - Stargazing (Kaskade Remix)
HAIM - Walking Away (Mura Masa Remix)

Who Will Win: EDX
Who Should Win: Mura Masa ✓
Reasoning: This marks the 5th time Kaskade has been nominated in this category since 2008, and his 4th time in 5 years. Surely this is his year right? But sadly for him, I think not. I put CID and EDX in a near dead heat, with the advantage going to EDX in the kind of dance delivery that seems to get recognized most at The Grammys. My choice is obvious though, as I love both HAIM and Mura Masa, and see "Walking Away" as by far the most adventurous and progressive production in the list.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL

Boi-1da
Larry Klein
Linda Perry
Kanye West
Pharrell Williams

Who Will Win: Kanye West
Who Should Win: Pharrell Williams ✓
Reasoning: I see the Academy going for drama with this pick, and while he's likely deserving after an incredible year, there's no doubt Kanye will have people talking. That said, I believe Pharrell's output is more wide-ranging and because of his contributions to Timberlake and Grande's albums, he ought to become just the 4th person to win this category 3+ times.

***OTHER, MORE UNINFORMED PICKS***

Best Music Video: Childish Gambino - This Is America ✓
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: Black Panther ✓
Best Spoken Word Album: Jimmy Carter ✓
Best Americana Album: Brandi Carlile ✓
Best American Roots Song: The Joke ✓
Best American Roots Performance: The Joke ✓
Best Rap Album: Mac Miller x
Best Rap Song: Sicko Mode x
Best Rap/Sung Performance: This Is America ✓
Best Rap Performance: Sicko Mode x
Best Alternative Music Album: Björk x
Song Of The Year: The Joke x
Album Of The Year: Janelle Monae x
Record Of The Year: All The Stars x

Enlightened Listening for November 16

I often start these Enlightened Listening posts the same way, talking about Friday this, Friday that. What makes this post different is that November 16th has been marked on my calendar for many reasons. It marks the highly anticipated releases of Humans, Jacques Greene and Tiga & The Martinez Brothers. It also sees the return of both Haywyre and HERO after long absences. Joining those incredible offerings is Alex Metric's marvelous remix of "Electricity," a track he helped produce, Daktyl's dazzling take on What So Not and San Holo, and ANNA's epic twist on Jon Hopkins "Singularity." Rounding out this collection is the masterful Jean-Michel Jarre with Equinoxe Infinity. Enjoy!

Humans - Going Late

Silk City ft. Dua Lipa - Electricity (Alex Metric Remix)

Haywyre - Tell Me

What So Not & San Holo ft. Daniel Johns - If You Only Knew (Daktyl Remix)

HERO - Dirty Work

Jacques Greene - Fever Focus

Jean-Michel Jarre - Equinoxe Infinity

Tiga & The Martinez Brothers - Blessed EP, Pt. 1

Jon Hopkins - Singularity (ANNA Remix)

Silk City ft. Dua Lipa - Electricity (The Black Madonna Remix)

Much has been made about the combination of Diplo and Mark Ronson as Silk City, and justifiably so. They're two of the world's most recognized producers, and they've capitalized on a resurgent sound in disco. Starting with "Only Can Get Better" through to their most recent and greatest commercial success "Electricity," they've pulled in some of the hottest talents: behind the scenes (Alex Metric, Nitti Gritti, Riton and others appear in the production credits), behind the mic (with Daniel Merriweather, Desiigner and Dua Lipa leading) and with remixers (Claude VonStroke and Le Sauvage so far).

Today they've added another powerhouse to the legendary list of talents around the super-group that is Silk City, with The Black Madonna taking on the aforementioned "Electricity." Putting a potent piano in the fore and letting Dua Lipa's love soaked vocals sit in this more hardened house pocket, gives an extra gravity to the already groovy production. The spark of "Electricity" still sends shivers down your back, especially so with the crackling hi-hats, as this lateral move from disco to house maintains the magic of the original. Get this re-energized remix from your favourite digital outlet here.FOLLOW THE BLACK MADONNA: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Shakedown - At Night (Purple Disco Machine Extended Remix)

There's no doubt disco is on the rise as of late with Chromeo's Head Over Heels looming large, Diplo joining the fray with Silk City, and A-Trak spinning a disco set during Coachella weekend. All that said, there is perhaps no better indication of disco's latest revival than seeing Purple Disco Machine atop both the Beatport and Traxsource charts. At this very moment the German's remix of classic 2002 Shakedown track "At Night" looks down on all other tracks, regardless of genre. I'm not sure I've ever seen this before, but after a full stream and further thought it's easy to understand why.

Frankie Knuckles said it best, calling house disco's revenge and while people are still ravenous for the likes of dubstep, future bass, trap and other genres, house will always be the heartbeat of electronic (dance) music. "At Night," and Purple Disco Machine's updated version more specifically, blurs the line between the two brilliantly. It has all the hallmarks: a groovy syncopated bass line, glitzy guitar riffs, sublime string swells, intoxicating vocals, and a playful pluckiness that in this extended mix allows for effortless all night dance enjoyment. It is abundantly bouncy, keeping your body vibing from your head to your toes, filling each four-on-the-floor bar with a feeling of freedom and confidence to groove in whichever way you want. And in the end this is exactly what makes disco, house and truly all of electronic music so special; it works on such a visceral level, both singularly personal and as a shared community. There really is no better feeling, so try it for yourself via Defected Records, here.
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