Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Ah Bruk (Capitol A Re-Do)

Sometimes you come across a track and artist you know almost nothing about and sometimes you've just got to write about it anyway. Who Capitol A is, where he's from, and even how his name is properly spelled, is a mystery to me. However I can tell you that he's taken on Stevie Wonder classic "My Cherie Amour" giving it new afro flavour. The fifty year old soul single now features funky synth squelches, deep grooves and plenty of propulsive percussion. It may not be quite as divine or sensually smooth as the original, but what it lacks in organic ease it makes up for in stimulating electronics. An arousing re-do, Capitol A has worked wonders around Stevie and I for one am here for this jam session.FOLLOW CAPITOL A: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Thanksgiving Throwbacks

After an uneventful scroll through my Soundcloud feed this morning, I changed gears to focus on tracks not released this year, but indeed played an immense role in my year. So here's a quick taste of some throwback tracks that I'm awfully thankful for. Enjoy via playlist and read brief descriptions below.

Shina Williams - Agb'oju L'ogun
First heard in an Erol Alkan mix. Minimal yet massive, majestic groove-fest.

Poolside - Harvest Moon
First heard in a Greg Wilson mix. As if Neil Young recorded the original on a moon. Weightless wonder.

Turbotito and Phillipi & Rodrigo - Canção Para Laia (JKriv Remix)
First heard in a Kölsch playlist. Brilliant blend of techno, acid, and funky electronic grooves.

The Salsoul Orchestra - Salsoul Rainbow (Dimitri From Paris DJ Friendly Classic Re-Edit)
First heard in Horse Meat Disco's Essential Mix. Sublime strings, godly grooves in a pure disco delight.

Ignition - Sunday Secret Lover (Greg Wilson Edit)
Can't exactly remember where I came across this, but I feel like someone asked about it on Twitter, inciting me to look it up myself. My favourite Greg Wilson edit, in large part due to the section at 2:42.

Michael McDonald - Sweet Freedom (Live)
First heard this version on PBS' Soundstage, but it was the 12" version that got me hooked. I've always enjoyed MM's voice but it's the horn riffs that kept me coming back. My favourite track to throw on as I'm walking home, whistling and singing all the way.

Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces
Another one first heard in a Greg Wilson mix, although it feels so familiar. Can't help but get lost in this funky groove. Very few tracks induce such a confident strut the way this does.

Todd Terje & The Olsens - Baby Do You Wanna Bump
Right up there with my favourites song of the year, so it's weird I can't remember where I first heard it, although I feel it was another Erol Alkan nod. Cannot get enough this groove or the horns. Top Terje.

Paul McCartney - What's That You're Doing (ft. Stevie Wonder)
Another one first heard in Horse Meat Disco's Essential Mix. Jumped out at me immediately, like "damn, I need this" only to have jaw drop to find out it was McCartney. One of the funkiest riffs ever.

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

Throwback Thursday: Prince

This Throwback Thursday pays homage to the man, the legend, never to be forgotten, Prince. May he forever Rest In Purple, as so eloquently put by A-Trak. There truly is no comparing him and his absolutely extraordinary life, and the tremendous influence he's left on countless others. As a tribute, I've compiled some of the best examples of his musical life I could find, so that we can properly remember his greatness. Unfortunately, much of his enormous catalog is not available online, and even less is quality video that does justice to his inimitable live performance. However, the first video in the YouTube playlist is perhaps the most striking and clear example of his status as an unparalleled talent. To think he's on a stage with arguably three of the greatest guitarists and absolutely dwarfs them, is simply breathtaking. Good luck holding back tears, as you make your way through the videos.
 
The NFL is blocking me from embedding his performance at the Superbowl, but you can still access it from YouTube itself via my playlist here, and I urge you to check this one out, if only for truly incredible circumstances, that could have only occurred in the presence of Prince's godly aura. Finally, my favourite of Prince's songs, so thoughtfully uploaded by Skream, and for once Soundcloud has done the right thing and left it up for the world to enjoy, and bask in Prince's genius.