A Quick 5

Here are a few tracks I've been playing for a while...I'm going to try to move away from my normal style of long track descriptions for a few quick, easily readable and digestible snippets of wordage. Here's a quick five tracks I've been enjoying:

1. Cobblestone Jazz - Put The Lime In Da Coconut [Wagon Repair]

I think this is the electronic music equivalent of anything Phish. A mindless, long-winded electronic jam with a consistently jazzy, upbeat groove that underpins everything else happening around it. There's still definite structure, but you absolutely cannot ever predict what will happen next, which makes this a great background record at any party: light, groovy, jazzy, bubbling, and serpentine dynamics put this track all the map musically. No climax here to speak of, but it's the journey that is most intriguing and enjoyable.

2. Max Vangeli & AN21 - Swedish Beauty [Refune]

It's March. You know what that means? The WMC, of course! The greatest weekend ever combines DJs, electronic music, parties, and people in a gloriously unholy jubilee of grooves and vibes. The best progressive house and electro house records usually find their debuts and subsequent releases during this weekend, and already Sebastian Ingrosso's imprint Refune Records has a killer tune lined up: Max Vangeli & AN21's "Swedish Beauty." Built upon typically proggy chords, washes of serenely filtered pads, monolithic kicks and clean, crisp snares, this track brings all the rhythmic tricks of progressive house to the table, and the wickedly catchy main synth riff hitches itself to a string section that sends it through metaphorical clouds; absolutely euphoric, melodic, rhythmic, and exactly what a prog house cut should sound like. This'll definitely gets some plays at Ibiza this summer...

3. Luomo - Tessio (Stimming Remix) [Great Stuff]

As I have previously said, Great Stuff can do no wrong, but with this release of remixes for Luomo's beautiful "Tessio", they did something wonderfully correct. Stimming's remix is the highlight; a warm, sensual tech house romp completely with all the flora and fauna of a jungle to compliment one of the sexiest horn sections I have ever heard. And you hear correctly, those "snares" are not coming in every two beats. This effect deftly stretches the track out, giving the illusion of a deep house cut instead. This is the real beauty of this remix: it plays both sides of the field wonderfully, and works wonderfully either as a late-night burner or build-up cut. Be warned, though. This track has been known to turn on anybody who hears it...no joke.

4. Tycho - Coastal Brake [Ghostly International]

Holy crap. This track is the physical manifestation of a cool summer breeze. That's exactly what it is. Ethereal pads, warm, wispy, dreamy synths and effects over actual ambient oceanic noise calm the mind, relax the body, and send you straight to the shores of California. I love playing this on warm nights, it's absolutely elating. Great for early morning, late night, or any and all beach parties. This one's kind of old, but Tycho has been releasing amazing stuff on Ghostly in prep for the release of his second LP, so stay tuned. This is a keeper.

5. Julian Jeweil - Soho [Cocoon]

Cocoon is the home of ominous, throbbing, mechanical techno. There's been a trickle of releases since "The Sound of the Tenth Season" got released, but this a glowing success of a release in my mind. Sure, "Color" and "Amore" all carry the similar tech-house-with-techno-sensibilities groove, but "Soho", the B-side, does it for me, with a sinister, eeriely-warped vocal sample that works great against the elastic, rippling bassline and airplane-drone synths that surround it. Scary shit, yes, but I have no doubt this will destroy quite a few dancefloors, too. There's even a hint of melody near the end!




You can check all of these out on YouTube I'm pretty sure, but if not, just search for them on Beatport. And no one's saying you have to buy anything...just listen to 'em! Enjoy friends, and expect more to come soon. My schedule is taking a breath before it chomps down completely when AP exams start to roll up.
-NL