Enlightened Listening for July 17

It's the weekend and that means mountains of new music for your ears. Coming into this week there were a few releases I'd had bookmarked, but little did I know just how much amazing content was on the way. Running 20 releases deep, this week's Enlightened Listening features an insanely long list of my favourite artists.

ATTLAS leads things off with a sublime single, which we first heard a demo of in September of 2018. Jim-E Stack follows that with the kind of soul-snatching quality we've come to expect. Building the energy back up, a Dombresky remix of TOKiMONSTA and a Lane 8 collab follow, each with captivating dance vibes. In a stunning turn, I just learned that Alex Metric, Riton and Shungudzo have combined under the KUU moniker and today they delivered their sensational debut single "How Could I Ever?," which follows a fabulous remix of Madonna (here). Turning towards disco we get an awesome run of my favourites in Late Nite Tuff Guy, Purple Disco Machine, Yuksek and Aeroplane remixing PNAU, Gaga & Grande, Dimitri From Paris & Aeroplane and Horse Meat Disco, respectively.

The remixes continue as Amtrac scores four equally alluring offerings from Grum, David Jackson, Francesca Lombardo and Panteros666. Qrion bookends this run of remixes with yet another slice of stunning craftsmanship. As things turn epic, Above & Beyond lead the way with a powerful, emotional trance cut ahead of a trio of EPs from GIGEE, 8Kays and Brassica. The former is exceptional tech house, the middle the kind of mystifying deep house that makes it a perfect fit on Booka Shade's Blaufield, and the latter an awe-inspiring odyssey through synths - a perfect fit for Feel My Bicep. And while we're on perfect fits, how does Soulwax and LA Priest sound? Amazing. That's how.

Tiga remains in top form as he follows his HudMo collab with another familiar face in Audion. This Is A Dream is classic Tiga, lively and life-giving techno. Next up is a nine-track compilation from Boysnoize Records featuring all kinds of awesomeness; a club killing comp that is sure to remind us all of the good old days in a sweaty club. And speaking of club killing stuff, thook drops off a triple-shot of sickness that one friend described as an "assassinating a pharaoh type beat." Finally, we walk off with an explosion at our backs as QUIX and Vincent join forces for TIGER DROOL, a massive new project full of promise. For those hoping Vincent would return to his XVII origins, this is your Superbowl.

Dig into the playlist below and find each individual release linked at the bottom. Have a great weekend!

ATTLAS - The Night Air Was Cool

Jim-E Stack - Note To Self (ft. Empress Of)

TOKiMONSTA ft. VanJess - Come And Go (Dombresky Remix)

Lane 8 & Kasablanca - Run

KUU - How Could I Ever? (ft. Shungudzo)

PNAU ft. Vlossom - Luck (Late Nite Tuff Guy Remix)

Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande - Rain On Me (Purple Disco Machine Remix)

Dimitri From Paris & Aeroplane ft. Leela - Can't Get Enough

Horse Meat Disco ft. Kathy Sledge - Jump Into The Light

Amtrac ft. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Radical (Remixes)

Trivecta ft. Rico & Miella - Everyday (Qrion Remix)

Above & Beyond - Jam

GIGEE - Minotaur

8Kays - Rolling

Brassica - Crystal Sea

LA Priest - What Moves (Soulwax Remix)

Tiga & Audion - This Is A Dream

Various Artists - Wet Floor, Vol. 1

thook - THE MIRROR FILES

TIGER DROOL - Tiger

Radio Soulwax Presents CELESTIAL VOYAGE PART 1: QUEST FOR ORLOK

There's no denying the legendary quality of the Belgian Dewaele brothers, their work as part of Soulwax and 2manydjs is truly timeless. As part of today's Throwback Thursday post we go back nearly a decade to the initial release of Radio Soulwax's amazing Celestial Voyage and its debut episode "Quest For Orlok."

A multimedia masterpiece, the hour long episode is space themed and dives through largely disco driven tracks, but basically makes room for anything under the night sky. Of course the selection and mixing is masterful, but the coolest bit of this throwback is the accompanying visuals. The album art nearly jumps off the screen, flowing forward like the infamous Star Wars openings, and somehow breaks free of their two dimensional depth, further bringing each track to life. The Star Wars style delivery is fitting in that the main theme is remixed here, as well as the likes of The Bee Gees, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Comet, who turn Lord Of The Rings into space disco.

Soulwax recommend watching and dancing to this in a darkened room without any distractions. It's as good as an escape as most of us can get right now. Enjoy on Facebook below or Vimeo here.

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2020 Grammy Predictions

As you likely know the 2020 Grammy nominations were announced yesterday, and instead of waiting until the day of to make my predictions, I've decided it'd be more fun to get them out of the way, forget about them and then surprise myself with my picks while I have a laugh at the eventual ceremony January 26th. Once again I'm going to do my usual shtick of making predictions for categories I know/care about, and again I'll be doing my 'who should win' and 'who will win' double pick scenario. Check out how I did last year, here, and check back here on the day of as I'll be updating with results.

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

BEST DANCE RECORDING

Bonobo - Linked
The Chemical Brothers - Got To Keep On
Meduza & The Goodboys - Piece Of Your Heart
Rüfüs Du Sol - Underwater
Skrillex & Boys Noize with Ty Dolla $ign - Midnight Hour

Who Will Win: Skrillex & Boys Noize X
Who Should Win: Rüfüs Du Sol X
Reasoning: Skrillex has never lost when he's been nominated in this category and while I don't think "Midnight Hour" should win, I think the academy will 'play it safe.' However, this one strikes me as the least likely winner of Skrillex's now four nominations. Lately the winners have been more towards the typical dance pop side of things so there's a real possibility of Skrillex being upset by "Piece Of Your Heart." With that in mind, you have to go back more than a decade for something like "Linked" or "Got To Keep On" as a winner, and if it were either of those two The Chemical Brothers strike me as far more likely. All of that said, I give "Underwater" a real shot, and find it the most deserving because of its enrapturing beauty, mystifying vocals and stunning sound design.

BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM

Apparat - LP5
The Chemical Brothers - No Geography
Flume - Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)
Rüfüs Du Sol - Solace
Tycho - Weather

Who Will Win: The Chemical Brothers ✓
Who Should Win: The Chemical Brothers ✓
Reasoning: Much like last year, this is an incredibly tight category, and truthfully I wouldn't be surprised if any of the latter four took it home. Apparat's album is nice, but there were less than a handful of tracks that stood out to me. I will say the same for Flume's mixtape too as it's just not for me, however I can easily see the academy going his way once again. Having lost to Flume in 2017 with what in my eyes is a better album, I once again see Tycho coming up short. This leaves me torn between two undeniably excellent albums, both with singles in the category above. I've sided with the academy going to The Chemical Brothers based on name recognition and legacy, something they've done the last two years. I also feel they are the most deserving if only by a slim margin. That said Solace boasts a spectacular soundscape and beautiful breadth while remaining tight and true.

BEST REMIXED RECORDING

Madonna - I Rise (Tracy Young's Pride Intro Radio Remix)
Miley Cyrus - Mothers Daughter (Wuki Remix)
Jorja Smith - The One (High Contrast Remix)
Mild Minds - Swim (Ford. Remix)
Marie Davidson - Work It (Soulwax Remix)

Who Will Win: High Contrast X
Who Should Win: Soulwax X
Reasoning: What a category! For the first time in a while we've got five remixers making their first appearance. That's right, neither High Contrast nor Soulwax have ever been nominated! This only makes this already incredibly unpredictable category even more so. I feel like there's a good chance Tracy Young can capture the title, as Madonna is a name voters can latch on to and her remix is quite slick. I'm really happy for Wuki, but I'd be pretty surprised if he won as the academy has not gone for something quite so banging in years. The Ford. remix has a shot but I'd put it as the least likely, both because of name recognition and its fit in the academy's recent voting patterns. Those two criteria would lead me to believe High Contrast will take the title, while I would love to see Soulwax and Marie Davidson get some well deserved recognition.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL

Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
John Hill
Finneas
Ricky Reed

Who Will Win: Finneas ✓
Who Should Win: Ricky Reed X
Reasoning: There's a not a single holdover from last year's category which is an oddity, but Auerbach, Hill and Reed each have been here before. It's pretty rare that a first time nominee takes this crown, but I see Finneas taking the title for his inextricable role in the success of Billie Eilish. However his relatively small catalog (for which he is nominated) has me worried about this pick and could easily see Auerbach taking the title. That said, it really ought to be Ricky Reed for his work with Lizzo, Maggie Rogers, Maren Morris and SZA among others.

***OTHER, MORE UNINFORMED PICKS***

Best Music Film: Beyonce ✓
Best Music Video: Gary Clark Jr. X
Best Comedy Album: Dave Chapelle ✓
Best Reggae Album: Koffee ✓
Best Rap Album: Tyler, The Creator ✓
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo ✓
Best Alternative Music Album: Vampire Weekend ✓
Best Pop Vocal Album: Billie Eilish ✓
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus ✓
Best New Artist: Lizzo X
Song Of The Year: Billie Eilish ✓
Album Of The Year: Lizzo X
Record Of The Year: Billie Eilish ✓

Enlightened Listening for April 5

It's time to become one with the weekend by enjoying the latest offerings from the wonderful world of electronic music. This week's Enlightened Listening features a strong serving of smooth flowing, electronic ease, a dash of funky fun and a big banging remix EP to close things out. Maxd opens with some cool lofi creativity which bleeds beautifully into bitbird's 3rd Gouldian Finch compilation which houses some supremely slick creations from Knapsack, Rome in Silver, Duskus and more. Next up galen tipton taps into the energetic chiptune side bitbird used to command. The genius of GRiZ comes through with another next level album featuring the likes of Snoop Dogg, Bootsy Collins & Wiz Khalifa, among others. And speaking of next level albums, Jai Wolf would seem to have found his groove as The Cure To Loneliness is not just exceptionally crafted, but incredibly heartfelt and heartening; truly beautiful. And it doesn't get much more beautiful than Goldroom's "Yellow Flowers" which with each and every play has led my jaw to drop to the floor. Staying on the floor but with the feet this time, Myd manages to concoct one of the most intoxicating offerings of the year. Rounding out the singles, Soulwax's remix of "Work It" sparks up some stunningly twisted techno, sure to have your head spinning. Finally BIJOU has brought together one of the better remix packages of the year tapping ANGELZ, YOOKiE, Gerry Gonza and others to take on the malicious "Memories." Enjoy below!

Maxd - wys

Various Artists - Gouldian Finch 3

galen tipton - scream

GRiZ - Ride Waves

Jai Wolf - The Cure To Loneliness

Goldroom - Yellow Flowers (ft. Mereki)

Myd - Superdiscoteca

Marie Davidson - Work It (Soulwax Remix)

BIJOU - Memories (Remixes)

Chet Porter & Autograf Live at The Hoxton

Last night, local Chet Porter and Chicago trio, Autograf graced The Hoxton with truly awesome and unique sets. As you likely know by now, I'm a big fan of Chet's productions, mixes and overall aesthetic, which he delivered on quite successfully. Despite Sigala's unexplained absence, which forced set time to change, I was lucky enough to have made it through the lines and have picked up my first drink at the same time Chet played his first track, the Hitmane Kokirimix of Juicy J's "Bandz A Make Her Dance." Lighting candles to amplify the atmosphere and mood, Chet's set cruised along, garnering several  cheers from the captivated crowd. Perhaps the most well received section of his set came relatively early on when he combined his euphoric "Over U" remix with the vocals of Blink 182's "Feelin' This" before mixing into San Holo's "Victory." I caught the video here:
I was able to compile a list of 17 tracks he played during his approximately hour long set, but was left scratching my head more than a couple times wondering what bootleg/exclusive/edit he dropped. If I can figure any of them out, I'll be sure to update this post but for now you'll just have to enjoy this playlist:  There was of course a break between the two sets to transition between the DJ decks and Autograf's three person live set, which included an electronic xylophone of sorts, surrounded by three electronic symbols, several drum pads and high-hat, kick combination. In the middle was a mixer and sampler, presumably for changing the tuning for each of the many tracks the played. And on the opposite side, was the synth. Having seen several different live set ups, from Duke Dumont, Keys N Krates and Lido, Autograf's was the most unique and seemingly complex. This only magnified the truly amazing artistry and interplay between the three performers. Throughout their set I was truly in awe of the unity and interplay between the three. There really is nothing like music being made live and the playful performance. That really is the key to the allure of live music the playful nature and showmanship of performance, making it that much easier to connect with the audience. Good music performed live beats great studio music everytime. The way Autograf brought their originals, covers and remixes to life was absolutely amazing, and although I was able to compile a large playlist of what the trio played it cannot do justice to the live versions they played.
Apparently DJ Mag Canada had a live stream of their set, I can only hope that it becomes available so that we can relive their truly futuristic performance. Highlights for me included their remix of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," and their covers of the Soulwax remix of  Tame Impala's "Let It Happen," Coyote Kisses' "Ferrari" and Swedish House Mafia's "One." The trio showed incredible endurance playing for well over an hour, and playing a 4 or 5 track encore. I will definitely be attending their next show and cannot wait to relive the awesomeness of Autograf.

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