Enlightenment For Your Ears

Friday, February 26, 2021

Enlightened Listening for February 26

We've reached the final Friday of this perfectly balanced February, and that means it's time for Enlightened Listening. This week's playlist is headlined by two tremendous albums from John Tejada and Dense & Pika; the former a lighter, more explorative affair, while the latter thrives through its impenetrable sound design. There's a trio of remixes from KAYTRANADA, KUU and Claptone, who takes on a personal favourite from the 80s in Trans-X's "Living On Video." Other favourites appear as AkaMatisse makes good with his debut EP, Prospa amaze with their Rave Science Vol. 1, and Matroda goes for monumental grooves with his Insomniac offering. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the barmy bass house brilliance of ToMix's GOLD DiGGER drop, God Damn. Stream the playlist, organized for maximum flow, below and find each of the releases linked individually at the bottom.

AkaMatisse - Sonata Episode 001

Jacques Greene - Promise

Busta Rhymes & Vybz Kartel - The Don & The Boss (KAYTRANADA Remix)

Prospa - Rave Science Vol. 1

Diplo & Sonny Fodera - Turn Back Time (KUU Remix)

Trans-X - Living On Video (Claptone Remix)

John Tejada - Year Of The Living Dead

Don Rimini - Ghetto Fabulous

ToMix - God Damn

Dense & Pika - Colour Burn

Matroda - When We Were Young / Gimme Some Keys

Le Youth - Colour

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Tommy Navarro - I Cried My Life Away (Superlover Remix)

While Soundcloud continues to torque everything towards their Go+ feature, recently making a high-quality stream option exclusive to said subscription (angering those who already pay for Pro Unlimited), they do still offer one quality free feature. Often padded by mixes, and more recently, a barrage of BeHoward submissions, The Upload often offers up some hidden gems. Today's scroll turned up a quality cut from Superlover, who lends his lush stylings to a 1964 classic from Tommy Navarro.

While I can't say I'm familiar with "I Cried My Life Away," and very little comes up when you Google it, I cannot shake the feeling that I've encountered it in one shape or another. I'm shocked WhoSampled doesn't have it in their library, as it seems rife for sampling, interpolating or extrapolating. Tommy Navarro's vocals have an undeniably familiar quality, especially in the longer, more emotional notes. And of course, the horn hits and their melody are just as sample-friendly. However, we're working with a remix in which the arc of the original remains largely intact as Superlover brings the track into the new century. Giving the groove a little extra electronic oomph and mixing in some movement-inducing effects, Superlover's remix has a fabulous room-filling warmth and easy-going allure. It's not likely to leave you floored, but its soul is can't miss as it infects you with its groove, which in turn guides you to the dance-floor.

Stream the Superlover remix of "I Cried My Life Away" below and get it via Bandcamp here.