Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Best of the Week: 24/02/2010



Everything is relative when it comes to music, whether it be slinky dubbed out garage from the UK, or a mix of minimal techno and deep electro pop, even the squelch and beat trickery of another new beat phenomenon, and let us not forget the return of an old master and storyteller returning to the top of his game.

If you haven’t been seduced by the innovative funky, meets dubstep music of Ramadanman yet, then this fine rework is a great place to start. Tribal without the bad samples, this is perfect for the creative DJ/James Fox-Put it Back (Ramadanman refix)

Great remix of this track which came out on Mad Decent last year. This is rave music with better production than in the heyday, and on a big sound system anything by L-VIS 1990 generally does the business/L-VIS 1990-United Groove (Kingdom remix)

Another outstanding release from the ever consistent Planet Mu, this cut is available on the Ultra Heat Treated EP, far better than any of Slugabed’s bootleg remixes; this is the sort of quality you’d expect from Joker or Rustie/Slugabed-Titans

Taken from the stunning Black Noise LP, this is minimal techno that transcends that genre much like Matthew Dear, and becomes the most glorious blend of haunting textures, sculpted beats, and indie rhythms/Pantha du Prince-Stick to My Side

You should all have I’m New Here, Gil Scott-Heron’s brilliant comeback album, by now. If not here is a dark piece of poetic genius about the virtues of losing sleep/Gil Scott-Heron-Where Did the Night Go

Support these musicians. Buy their music from here: Picadilly, Bleep, Rush Hour, Conch and Samurai.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Best of the Week: 17/02/2010



The year of 2010 is already producing a bumper crop of great music. This week we bring you future beats from a garage and funky perspective, equally innovative grime from a Philadelphia based producer that stands out from the crowd, a veteran pop idol returning with a great track made better by an edit maestro, bass music from both sides of the Atlantic, and a pop song so magical one dose will have you feeling good for hours.

New Warp Records signing Babe Rainbow follows the revisionary path that you’d associate with the label, taking the sounds of dubstep, garage and the Aphex Twin and crafting them into something all his own/Babe Rainbow-Screwby

Banging remix from Starkey of Atlanta based rapper Gorilla Zoe. Underpinned by an amped up 808 beat, and complete with high drama synth stabs, this is the sort of production Timbaland and Dark Child used to make/Gorilla Zoe-Lost (Starkey remix)

The original of this track from the ex-Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker is on the Steve Albini produced Further Complications, but it is all about this typically clever edit from Parisian Pilooski/Jarvis Cocker-Discosong (Pilooski mix)

This is both a great return to a simpler dance floor approach from Booka Shade, and further evidence of the fantastically upfront talent that is Boy 8-Bit. Out now on Get Physical/M.A.N.D.Y. & Booka Shade-Donut (Boy 8-Bit remix)

Another shift in direction from a talented dubstep producer, this time it is TRG, who’s re-jigged sound fuses his deep harmonies with the sound of UK funky. Not unlike recent output from Untold and Ramadanman, this is out on Tempa Records/Cosmin TRG-Since Last Night

Yeasayer’s magnificent Odd Blood looks like a contender for album of the year already, and this track is an anthem of optimism already, but this subtle retouch from Alan Wilkis simply tightens up the beat a little and captures the best bits, and might be an early contender for remix of the year in its own right/Yeasayer-Ambling Alp (Alan Wilkis remix)

Support the featured artists. Check out their music here: Picadilly, Bleep, Rush Hour, Conch and Samurai.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

In Flagranti-Ex Ex Ex




Our favorite Disco perverts In Flagranti are back with another outstanding EP, Ex Ex Ex comes with mixes by Bottin and Andrew Butler of Hercules and Love Affair. Eccentric and funky, weird and delicious, the Swiss duo delivers the good stuff yet again. You can purchase the EP here.

In Flagranti-Ex Ex Ex
In Flagranti-Ex Ex Ex (Bottin remix)
In Flagranti-Ex Ex Ex (Andrew Butler Hercules mix)

Best of the Week: 10/02/2010



It is that time again, and this week we bring you a variety of quality music, with the bases covered including everything from melodic indie through to innovative drum & bass. In between you’ll find future beats and sublime edits, all backed with the Girl Trouble guarantee of quality.

The original of this cut was featured on the compelling ‘Great Lengths’ LP, one of our favorite albums of 2009, and with the weird genius that is Zomby adding his mutant noises and staccato rhythms to this outstanding remix, it is completely essential/Martyn-Hear Me (Zomby mix)

We can’t enough of Hemlock Recording’s head honcho Untold right now, what with his amazing ‘Gonna Work Out Fine’ EP, and this typically hard to pigeonhole track for Fabric’s ‘Elevator Music Vol.1’ compilation/Untold-Bad Girls

Our favorite drum & bass tune for a long time, but is it drum & bass? It certainly is, but instead of layering 20 breaks on top of each other then engineering them to sound like a heavy metal band, Instra: mental have on their own label Non Plus Records, produced a quirky and innovative cut featuring vocals from D-Bridge/Instra:mental-Watching You

Taken from their new ‘The Courage of Others’ LP, Midlake return to the sound of their first outing ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’ with this sweet and melodic pop song/Midlake-Rulers Ruling All Things

New from cult label This Is Not An Exit, The Dark Esquire are a band causing a stir on the back of their first single, which is edited and rearranged into something even more special here from Canadian producer CFCF/The Dark Esquire-Situation (CFCF Remix)

Support these artists; you can do so at these fine stores-Picadilly, Bleep, Rush Hour, Conch and Samurai.