Enlightened Listening for July 16

It's Friday and that means it's time for this week's Enlightened Listening. I've got a busy day, so I've got to keep the writeup tight here, but that doesn't mean there isn't a mountain of new music for you to check out. In fact, our 20-release, 54-track playlist runs over three hours and includes a little of everything, so you're sure to find something you like. There are a couple less typical-of-this-playlist, yet cool cuts from BADBADNOTGOOD and Pat Metheny to start, epic stuff from VER:WEST, Booka Shade, Tonja Holma and The Chemical Brothers immediately after that and then it's banger hour with standouts from Dog N Hoss, Dr. Fresch x Glass Petals, Rusko and ShockOne. After that, we get Overmono's massive fabric compilation/mix alongside an incredible KUĈKA cover. Finally, we close with breathtaking tracks from Logic1000, gardenstate, OCULA and Tagavaka. Stream it all below and find each individual release linked at the bottom. Have a great weekend, and enjoy!

BADBADNOTGOOD - Signal From The Noise

Pat Metheny - It Starts When We Disappear

VER:WEST - Elements Of A New Life

Booka Shade - Infused Reality

Tonja Holma - All Night

The Chemical Brothers - Work Energy Principle

Dog N Hoss - That Feeling

Dr. Fresch & Glass Petals - The Answer

2Point - Don't Stop

Rusko - Mac 19

Georgia Pheonix - Express Yourself / All I Have

ShockOne - Hardwired (ft. Reija Lee)

Various Artists - fabric presents Overmono

KUĈKA - Beautiful

Duke & Jones - Reflection

Planningtorock - Gay Dreams Do Come True (Kiddy Smile Remix)

Logic1000 - Safe In My Arms / YourLove

gardenstate & Bein - The Best Part

OCULA - No Logic / Years On End

Tagavaka - Extrapolate

Hidden Face - Anxiety EP

Insomniac Records' IN/ROTATION imprint continues to capture my attention. A launch pad for rising house producers, they've hosted the likes of Cloverdale, Proxy, X&G, SLATIN, NuKid and TYPE3 this year alone. Their latest, today's release of Anxiety from Parisian producer Hidden Face, features two equally unsettling offerings.

The title track lives up to its namesake almost immediately, giving its listeners goosebumps with some shiver-inducing, cold and creepy sounds right out of the gate. That icy, ominous feeling becomes a full fledged Gothic ghoul as the house beat kicks in, delivering waves of dread with each warped synth stride in its unholy drops. A masterful mood-setter, "Anxiety" remains present in your mind as you enter into the equally disquieting Dido-aided b-side "Talk To Me Again." Making use of the British songstress' Grammy nominated "White Flag," Hidden Face dives deeper into the pool of perturbing vibes. The atmosphere of this followup is subtly suffocating, exuding the feelings of dread and drowning, as its listeners slowly sink deeper into the abyss. That said, "Talk To Me Again" delivers a dope X-Files-esque dance feel, that somehow has me forgetting its foreboding core, beckoning me to the dance-floor. Each drop features a killer combination of strobing bass, swirling synths and a sparkling top-line.

Sneaky good, both bits of Anxiety are likely to become indelibly etched onto your brain, so consume Hidden Face's brilliance with care. Stream the EP below and get it from your preferred retailer here.

IN / ROTATION · Hidden Face - Anxiety EP

FOLLOW HIDDEN FACE: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Enlightened Listening for April 10

This week I've whipped together a can't miss edition of Enlightened Listening. Each of the 15 releases here are exceptional and I have to recommend a full play-through from the new Gorillaz to the latest godly Local Dialect in "Perseus" to Apashe's magnum opus Renaissance and finally Nina Las Vegas' "Impossible." However, I'm not going to do the full rundown as I'm cramped for time today. Instead I'll provide a bit of a road-map through the playlist below.

Funky, disco and house grooves rule the first third with strong, sample-driven tracks from Diplo, Wax Motif and Discotron closing out said section. Turning more-tech driven, EPs from the duos of each Cowboy Rhythmbox. BSOD (Steve Duda and deadmau5) and 29 Palms (Boreta and Ooah from The Glitch Mob) are amazing, Orbital's remix of Joris Voorn is simply fabulous and, as mentioned above, Local Dialect are once again divine. In the final third, Morgan Geist leaves me agape at the utter brilliance of his Caribou "Never Come Back" mix, as does the work of both Squarepusher and Apashe. Finally X&G's EP powers us into the almost Tokyo Drift quality of Nina Las Vegas' "Impossible." Enjoy!

Gorillaz - Aries (ft. Peter Hook and Georgia)

Coucheron & Pasha - Lighthouse (ft. Soul Gem)

Kiesza - Crave

Diplo & Wax Motif - Love To The World

BSOD - No Way, Get Real

Joris Voorn - Never (Orbital Remix)

Local Dialect & Las Von - Perseus / Flote

29 Palms - Nobody Horizon

Cowboy Rhythmbox - 6AM Cowboy

Caribou - Never Come Back (Morgan Geist Remix)

Squarepusher - Lamental

Apashe - Renaissance

X&G - Losing Myself

Nina Las Vegas - Impossible (ft. Thai Chi Rosé)

Enlightened Listening for July 19

Once again I'm overwhelmed by the amount of music this Friday (and the rest of the week) brought. So, just as with last week's Enlightened Listening I've got to keep it short and simply draw focus to a few of the 16 releases showcased in the playlist below. Early on there's a couple cool orchestral and orchestral-adjacent cuts, each incredibly well produced. Later on we get Baltra's brilliant and massive album Ted which I believe would play perfectly as you cruise the streets at night. Directly following that we get funky with Sparkee and Tuxedo, the former being absolutely fantastic through all four parts. "The Kids" has already become an anthem of mine this summer, and I totally foresee "Want Your Love" doing the same. After those two funk fiestas come three jaw droppers. "Heaven" is instantly one of my favourite tracks of the year, and why not, its got everything. The same goes for "No Price" which can boast Chromeo and Dr Packer on a single track. Rounding out that trio, Madeaux comes through with perhaps my favourite production of his in "I Want You." Once again he absolutely slays the sub-bass, sending shivers down my spine. After that is an unadulterated foursome of fire progressing from the power of Dillon Nathaniel through to X&G's electrifying design. All that and more below.

X&G ft. josh pan - Gravity (Far & Few Remix)

Clean, meticulously crafted bass music seems to really be capturing attention at the moment, and perhaps one of the best offerings in the last couple years came when X&G combined forces with josh pan. Their dynamic powerhouse "Gravity" offers that at times sparse yet still crazy commanding chords with some of the darkest, most virile design. Repackaged by Far & Few this week, the track's cosmic force is hellaciously hot, burning brighter than a super nova. Its immense magnitude invokes utter powerlessness and sheer awe as the work of beings too big for our imaginations stir the interstellar soup. "Gravity" is violent and oppressive through sheer effectiveness in the delivery, not at all an intolerable wall of sound. Likely to rip a black hole on the dance floor, Far & Few once again deliver a smash success, one which you can acquire free via Hive here. Follow their socials below!FOLLOW X&G: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
FOLLOW JOSH PAN: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
FOLLOW FAR & FEW: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER