Enlightened Listening for February 19

It's time for our weekly feast of fresh beats, Enlightened Listening. This week's edition includes many of my favourite names, of which Oski and Vindata make triumphant returns. Oski offers up a trifecta of flames on Deadbeats, while Vindata deliver a double dose of divinity to Monstercat. Also dropping off a dynamic duo, Low:r impresses yet again with infectious affairs "Pixel" & "Well." Equally trustworthy, Polaris adds another star to his galactic catalogue with "Deliverance." But enough of burying the lede. Jacques Greene & Cadence Weapon have a new collab! Sharing much of the magic that made "Night Service" such a sensation, "SENNA" too feels like a phenomenon we'll be enjoying over and over and over again. Other standout tracks come from CloudNone, Diplo by way of his MMXX mix of KUU, and Bit Funk & Jason Gaffner, who share another collaborative single. Stream the playlist, curated for maximum flow, below and find each individual release linked at the bottom. Have a great weekend!

Purple Disco Machine - Fireworks (ft. Moss Kena & The Knocks)

Bit Funk & Jason Gaffner - Biomechanics

Ela Minus - megapunk (TSHA Remix)

CT Kidobó - Vertigo

Special Request - Compassion

Low:r - Pixel

Polaris - Deliverance

KUU - We'll Always Have This Dance (Diplo's MMXX Mix)

Cadence Weapon -  SENNA (ft. Jacques Greene)

Scratcha DVA - Razzclart (ft. Razzler Man)

Oski - ANTAGONISTA

GRiZ - Vibe Check

Vindata - Good 4 Me / Union

CloudNone - Dopamine

CRi - Stranger (DJ BORING Remix)

Sultan + Shepard - nCTRL

Enlightened Listening for January 22

After what I thought was an incredible haul with last week's Enlightened Listening, this week's harvest is more than three times the size! Of course, there are a few releases we've been building towards here with early singles from Bicep's Isles and Logic1000's You've Got The Whole Night To Go, but there's so much more than that! There are two Tim Reaper EPs, including his fabulous and incredibly hyped (deservingly so) Special Request remix EP. There are two other solo albums as bass legends DC Breaks and Flux Pavilion drop DCXV and .wav, respectively. In other shorter offerings, there are seven incredible EPs from the likes of Kessler, Low Poly, Apashe and Tiefschwarz. On the other side of the spectrum, Afterlife offers up an epic 25 track, nearly three-hour compilation in Unity Pt. 2. Showcasing high octane tech house, Cloverdale's rounded up a half-dozen tracks for his label Vibrancy's first compilation, Exhibits Vol. 1. Rounding things out, there's a handful of singles and remixes, including CamelPhat's take on London Grammar and Undercatt's take on Robert Mills' "Children". Stream the new music playlist below and find each individual release linked at the bottom. Have a great weekend!

Bicep - Isles

Kessler - Ambivalent

Tim Reaper - Teletext

Special Request & Tim Reaper - Special Request & Tim Reaper

S9 - Get It Right

DC Breaks -  DCXV

Low Poly - Dreamstate

Dr Meaker - Atoms

Apashe ft. Tech N9ne - Insane (Remixes)

Flux Pavilion - .wav

London Grammar - Lose Your Head (CamelPhat Remix)

BAILE - Visage

Logic1000 - You've Got The Whole Night To Go

Robert Miles - Children (Undercatt Remix)

Dennis Ferrer & Disciples - Whisper (with James Yuill)

Bob Moses - The Blame (Helsloot Remix)

Tiefschwarz - Dance Tili You Popo #1

Various Artists - Tale Of Us Presents: Unity Pt. 2

Modul Kollektiv & Gespona - Viebar

Various Artists - Vibrancy Presents: Exhibits Vol. 1

Enlightened Listening for September 25

Another Friday and another epic edition of Enlightened Listening. This week's playlist runs over 70 tracks and six hours and includes three massive albums (from Lane 8, Marie Davidson and Kölsch), three awesome EPs (from warner case, Sam Interface and Pastiche), more remixes than you can shake a stick at (including Eric Kupper's take on "The Whistle Song," Hot Chip's take on "Enola Gay" and Special Request's take on Baauer "HOME"), and finally some simply fabulous originals (including The Brothers Macklovitch, Bonobo x TEED and Karma Kid). Dig in below and enjoy!

The Brothers Macklovitch - I Can Call You

Eli Escobar - Give Love

Frankie Knuckles - The Whistle Song (Eric Kupper Sound Factory Re-Rub)

Quentin Harris & Jason Walker - Stronger (Mattei & Omich Remix & Vocal Dub)

warner case - dance music for dancing, vol. 2 (the remixes)

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay (Hot Chip Remix)

Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Heartbreak

Sam Interface - Pink Dolphins

Karma Kid - Freedom (Never Let You Go)

Lane 8 - Brightest Lights Remixed

Baauer ft. Bipolar Sunshine - HOME (Special Request Remix)

Marie Davidson & L'Œil - Renegade Breakdown

Kölsch - Now Here No Where

Pastiche - Together We Are

Speaker Honey - Space Arp

Bensley - Vex

Enlightened Listening for June 12

After last week's Bandcamp edition of Enlightened Listening we're back to our usual home on Spotify. This week's nearly eight hour long playlist features a staggering 85 tracks including 45 from one massive charitable compilation CARE4LIFE which supports the NHS. Said compilation includes big names Daniel Avery, The Chemical Brothers, Luke Solomon, Damian Lazarus, Joe Goddard, Jamie Jones, Pete Tong and so many more. It closes with a a killer DnB cut from 3Strange and the playlist itself does too with a Special Request vs Paul Woolford remix of CLIPZ. Otherwise you'll find that this week's playlist is largely funk and disco driven with amazing offerings from Roosevelt, Cavego, Chromeo and a handful of others. Somehow Ejeca is back with another new EP, just as Tensnake, Tinlicker and Yotto each stay hot with a trio of sick singles. Rounding things out there's standout remixes from Jacques Greene, ABSOLUTE. and Lonely Boy and an epic vocal techno EP from Charlotte de Witte. Find each individual release linked after the Spotify embed below. Enjoy!

Amtrac - No Place (Remixes)

Ejeca - Polar Nation

WhoMadeWho - Synchronicity I

Yotto - Tarantia

Tinlicker - Sleepwalker

Tensnake - Simpansi

Roosevelt - Sign

Cavego - Dovregubben

Kapote - L.O.V.E. 2020 (NYC Tribute)

Chromeo - Quarantine Casanova

Flevans - Realisation (Remixes)

Haska & Salif Keita - Madan (ABSOLUTE. Edit)

Charlotte de Witte - Return To Nowhere

Various Artists - CARE4LIFE

CLIPZ ft. Ms Banks, Ms Dynamite & Jaykae - Again (Special Request vs Paul Woolford Remix)

HYYTS - Bullet (Paul Woolford Remix)

Few artists are as prolific as Paul Woolford, and perhaps even fewer are as potent when it comes to the use of piano in dance music. Returning to his given name after a couple killer Special Request remixes, Woolford dropped two more remixes this past Friday. Both incredibly powerful and catchy, I've chosen to focus on the driving dynamism and brilliant bounce of "Bullet" instead of the euphoric, rising qualities of "Revival." The gut-punching piano/bongo intro lays the groundwork for this slick banger to grow out of, and boy does this remix really bloom. It doesn't need sunlight or oxygen - it is and has them both in itself. It is life. Being shot with this "Bullet" doesn't do any damage, but rather energizes and uplifts like Mario eating a mushroom. Pull the trigger and level up with Paul Woolford and HYYTS below.FOLLOW HYYTS: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
FOLLOW PAUL WOOLFORD: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Enlightened Listening for January 24

After last week's Enlightened Listening leaned towards experimental cuts through a couple cool albums, this week we're treated to tons of top notch techno alongside some dope DnB and deep house.

Opening the playlist is the brilliance from Four Tet's forthcoming album Sixteen Oceans (due out in March). He's followed by an epic and gorgeous track from Endrik Schroeder, which receives an equally enamoring remix from Marco Passarani. Staying with remixes, Blende graces the groovy NICOLAAS cut "XXO." Closing out these first five tracks is my favourite of the whole playlist and perhaps my favourite new release of the year, a fantastic take on Pointer Sisters classic "Automatic" from Tensnake. Playing perfectly with the already awesome original, Tensnake's contemporary touch is simply sublime.

While we've had A-Trak and Chromeo cross paths a couple times, we've never been treated to a track like the next one. The Brothers Macklovitch are now a real thing and we get our first taste with a deep take on Raphael Saadiq. Another reworked classic follows that as warner case takes us all the way back to 1987 via a cover of Mr. Fingers' "Can You Feel It." Turning towards house, OCULA offers up an inspired five track EP in Summit. After that brief house hiatus, things turn techno with a couple absolutely killer EPs from Kölsch and Hidden Empire, the latter truly taking you on an Odyssee. They are followed by the massive debut EP from HUNTER (Siegel) and his new jet black techno turn.

Turning towards legends, Booka Shade bring a couple new cool moving cuts with their Dear Future Self EP before Paul Woolford dons his Special Request moniker for two equally intoxicating and inspired remixes of the one and only Erol Alkan and his "Spectrum." But now it's time for bangers, so let's head to Night Bass for the dope title track of Jay Robinson's LSD EP. That's followed by the sensational standout Ibranovski remix of "Better" from Valentino Khan's House Party (Remixes) EP. Finally we close with two DnB EPs. First Jake Robertz mesmerizes us, ultimately turning us to stone with Medusa. Said stone is promptly pulverized by three immensely powerful collaborative cuts from René LaVice and Future Cut. Stream everything below, find individual releases linked at the bottom and enjoy!

Four Tet - Baby

Endrik Schroeder - Everyday Of Your Life

NICOLAAS ft. Chela - XXO (Blende Remix)

Tensnake - Automatic

Raphael Saadiq - So Ready (The Brothers Macklovitch Remix)

warner case - Can You Feel It

OCULA - Summit

Kölsch - Shoulder Of Giants / Glypto

Hidden Empire - Odyssee

HUNTER - I Might Forgive I Don't Forget

Booka Shade - Dear Future Self

Erol Alkan - Spectrum (Special Request Mixes)

Jay Robinson - LSD

Valentino Khan & Wuki ft. Roxanna - Better (Ibranovski Remix)

Jake Robertz - Medusa

René LaVice & Future Cut - Nine Strings / Eyes

Chemical Brothers feat. Beck - Wide Open (Kolsch Remix)

I've been of both Kolsch and Chemical Brothers for a quite some time. Both have been firmly implanted in popular consciousness for the past year, with the Brothers triumphant return via their album Born In The Echoes and Kolsch's sophomore album 1983. The Chemical Brothers have an knack for crafting brilliant and subtle house tracks that wind up spanning multiple genres through the many remixes they inspire. My personal favourite example of this comes in the form of "Go" which has three tremendous remixes, seen after the break. It would only stand to reason that Kolsch, who has some killer remixes to his name (also after the break) would be able to take the Chemical Brothers track "Wide Open" with Beck on vocals and send it into another stratosphere.