Best of the Week: 30/06/2010

Looking for a flat generally sucks. You so want it to be easy and perfect, yet this is almost unimaginable, let alone feasible. Oh well the trials and tribulations of shifting house, it is the kind of crap we all have to take sometimes, so why not see the funny side. Good luck on your next flat or room hunt. Here are some cool beats to play once you shift in.

French hip-hop producer Onra successfully undertakes the difficult task of making instrumental beats and pieces sound good without the raps. This almost Pete Rock-esque cut oozes is available on his recent Long Distance LP for Dublin label All City/Download: Onra-Send Me Your Love



Maryland based Maxmillion Dunbar makes beats that blend several genres but manage to retain a certain underground finesse. Check his new EP for the exceptional Ramp Recordings label here, and get a taster from his last release with this tasteful sample based cut/Download: Maxmillion Dunbar-Wouldn’t Matter



Belgian outfit Aeroplane are a duo no more, with one half apparently continuing to record under the name, while the other forges a new solo career. Fortunately the good news is that the final recording as a duo is one of their best, a slinky bit of new disco for fans of Lindstrom and Prins Thomas. Available now from Eskimo Recordings/Download: Aeroplane-We Can’t Fly



Two talented Brooklyn based producers on one tune, remixer Brenmar and songwriter Blondes are two worth keeping a close eye on as 2010 progresses. Check the Blondes EP Touched, out now on Merok Records/Download: Blondes-Spanish Fly (Brenmar remix)



Stunning remix from German deep house maestro Motor City Drum Ensemble of Domino Recordings group Archie Bronson Outfit, this reminds me of Basic Channel meeting Theo Parrish in the studio. Full of backwards beats and shuffling cymbals, it is a cut made especially for those very early hours of the morning/Download: Archie Bronson Outfit-Hoola (Motor City Drum Ensemble remix)



Get your music proper here: Picadilly, Bleep, Rush Hour, and Samurai.

Best of the Week: 14/04/2010

Music for the hectic lifestyles we all lead surrounds us, take the selection this week for example, full of beats and melodies that will sound equally good in the headphones or on the floor in the wee wee hours. After the loud and dirty special last week, we take in some more laidback tuneage, with cutting edge future beat jams; some blues influenced hip-hop, and cosmic house music full of lush atmospherics. All designed to bring enjoyment to your busy day.

Parisian producer Onra has quietly built a reputation for quality sample based hip-hop, crafted with some skill, but this new cut for All City sounds more like Cameo or early Prince/Onra-Long Distance

This brilliant new song from Aloe Blacc could easily be mistaken for Willie Mitchell-produced Al Green, or Bobby Womack, and that is some big compliment. From the new LP ‘Good Things’, out soon on Stones Throw/Aloe Blacc-I Need a Dollar

Brooklyn produces so much good music these days, and that includes newcomer Lando Kal, who comes at us with a deceptively simple future beat, complete with appropriate bleep and bass distortion. It is taken from the ‘The Golden Handshake’ EP, out on Numbers/Lando Kal-Fuzzy Ankles

The deep house fuzziness at its very best right here, Pete Herbert aka Reverso 68 does a smooth and funky job remixing Gomma artist Golden Bug, turning in a groove that will stay with you for days/Golden Bug-Flamingo (Pete Herbert remix)

Taken from the debut album ‘Deep & Meaningless’, this is soulful disco slowed right down to sound like raw rhythm and blues, and takes Ron Basejam’s production to another level/Ron Basejam-Into My Life

You can support these artists by purchasing their music here: Picadilly, Bleep, Rush Hour, Conch, and Samurai.