Loving the summer vibes on this one. Southern Shores are from Nova Scotia (via Berlin), and “Night Is Young” is set to be released on their Atlantic EP on July 12th on Cascine (a label that’s been after my own heart lately). It pairs well with the sound of crashing waves and the smell of sunscreen.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the new Friendly Fires album. I was hot and cold on their debut LP, but I liked the bits and pieces I heard leading up to Pala‘s release, so I gave it a shot. As it turns out, Paul Epworth’s production has helped their sound immensely (you may also know him as Phones, or as that guy that produced Adele’s juggernaut of a sophomore album), and Ed Macfarlane’s voice has somehow gotten even stronger. Doesn’t hurt that the cover art is awesome, either. The excellent summery disco track “Hurting” is below, but the album is solid from front to back and definitely worth a listen.
Friendly Fires – Hurting (right click, save as)
I’m sure this record is getting/will get all the hype it deserves, but it’s been damn-near on repeat for me so I’m gonna throw it up here anyways. Washed Out’s two EPs were staples for me last summer, and helped inspire a whole mix of hazy songs that was designed for poolside listening. This is taken from his upcoming album Within And Without, and it’s great to hear that he hasn’t lost a step since being crowned the Chill Wave ambassador (kind of kidding about that last part, but mostly not). Sometimes you just want to hear songs that make everything shimmer, you know? I’m really looking forward to the full length, but this single does the trick just fine in the meantime.
So, this one showed up on the internet a few weeks back, alongside the announcement for diskJokke’s next album, Sagara. The story here is that Norway’s Oye festival comissioned diskJokke for a one off project, for which he could travel to any location in the world and study a particular type of music. He chose Indonesia’s Gamelan music and jetted off to Java, and the results of his time there will be released on Sagara on June 14th. In the mean time, check out a little preview below. It’s got a sound that’s a bit like an ambient John Hughes score, which is about as up-my-alley as it gets.
This month’s mix for Capital is a collection of songs to welcome the warm weather back into our lives (those of us that live in the northern hemisphere, anyway). Download it and check the tracklist, complete with my random info nuggets for each song, right over here.
Shout out to Nick and the crew at Fool’s Gold for putting me up on this one. Basically, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced some of the illest funk, disco and R&B of the 80s under the name Flyte Tyme, and Sparkle Motion (aka DJ Yoda and Tobes) compiled a whole host of their best tracks into this excellent mix. The transition between Janet Jackson’s “Miss You Much” and Cherelle’s “Saturday Love” just made me stand up in my bedroom and scream “WHOOOOOOO!!!!,” and I haven’t even been drinking! This one is definitely a must for 80s disco fans. Stream/download it via the Soundcloud player above, and check the tracklist here.
Nice abridged history of the New York apartment from this week’s New York Magazine. I never get sick of this kind of stuff. Bonus recommendation: reading long form articles on the web in their printable versions. It’s really so much nicer to read without all of the ads, sidebars and other bullshit getting in the way. Web designers might be mad at me for saying that, but whatever.
Sardine Life [New York Magazine]
This mix tape (seems more like a short album to me) is some weird R&B that’s being made by two anonymous musicians. So far I’ve gleaned that they are (or were?) living in Toronto, and that Drake is a fan. My first impression was “This sounds like The-Dream got super depressed, developed a drinking problem and then made an album.” Which is to say, it sounds amazing. Best of all, it’s available for free on their website. Yet another rebuttal to anyone who says this isn’t the most amazing time for music in the last century.
Two twitter feeds that have been making my newsfeed lately:
Do you have a job that affords you plenty of time to read things on the internet? Well, @longreads is about to be your best friend. It’s basically a collection of long-ish articles that are available to read online, almost all of which are interesting. Articles are sourced from publications like The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, and The New York Review Of Books, among others. If you’re not big on Twitter, you can also browse articles via their Tumblr. Essential stuff for the curious and/or bored.
For the music nerd, @discographies offers short, amusing summaries of artists’ entire careers in 140 characters or less. Obviously, you’re not getting any real insight from this one, but it’s always good for a funny or poignant moment. This one about Joy Division and New Order is probably my favorite (so far):
Instead of putting out a late February Chart, consider this an early March chart (comprised of things I listened to during February, as it happens). Starts off with some balearic italo stuff before getting into some dancier disco and house tunes that I’ve been into. Relish had a good month, with releases from both Hannulelauri and Headman appearing here.
March 2011 Top 10 Mix by chrishires
Tracklist:
Gatto Fritto – Hex – International Feel
Hannulelauri – Aura Delta – Relish
Ilya Santana – Transborder – Eskimo
Cassian – Nobody (Mitzi Remix) – Bang Gang
Madonna – Lucky Star (Classixx Re-Edit) – White
Headman – Blue Girls (Mickey Remix) – Relish
Hercules & Love Affair – Fallin’ – Moshi Moshi
Ichisan – Traffic Jam – Solar Disco
The Hundred In The Hands – Commotion (Tiger & Woods Remix) – Warp
Wolfram – Fireworks (Tiedye Cover Version) – Permanent Vacation
