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Ganglians – Sleep

This isn’t just another Sacramento, California band by the way. This is the Ganglians. And although they have just recently been brought to my attention I think what they are doing is a service to humanity, well at least musically speaking. OK, maybe that’s a bit over the top. Their sound has definitely won me over, but whether or not they win a Pulitzer remains to be seen (JOKE!). It has been two years since their last release, so the album title Still Living is justified. The  album dropped last week on August 23rd via Lefse Records. The overall album has a psychedelic vibe that I really like. I posted the song “Sleep” which is a somber tune.  Who doesn’t  like a bit of melancholy served in low doses? Check ’em out. Peace.

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L-Vis 1990 – Lost in Love

L-Vis 1990

The debut album of L-Vis 1990 steps out of the history of house music. The album Neon Dreams is the next evolutionary step forward.  How so? Because it doesn’t merely  mimic what has already been done before, instead it pushes house music further into an elevated state of being. Neon Dreams is more than just music to dance to, it is music to chill to as well. It comes at you in various tempos, and wears the garb of different moods. The opening track “Lost In Love” is sung by Corey Black and sets up the tone of the album perfectly. Listeners will get a taste of the various flavors of house music: past, future, and present. A helpful hint, toss out any preconceived notions and just listen. Let Neon Dreams take you there. Peace.

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Male Bonding – Endless Now


Male Bonding's new release Endless Now

Male Bonding the excellent Sub Pop darlings have just released the follow-up to their 2010 release, Nothing Hurts. Talk about restless. However, this time around the band chose to look beyond their native land and journeyed to the Big Apple (NYC) to record at Dreamland Recording Studio, the locale was a 19th Century church in a previous life. This time around John Agnello is producing, think Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile, etc. The new album Endless Now is laced with flashes of pop punk , lo-fi, and surfer rock. You can stream the entire album below. Get in touch with your inner Punk Rocker. I think you will not be disappointed. Peace.

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Mozart Parties – Wish My Thoughts Away

James Bennett = Mozart Parties

The bassline alone in Wish My Thoughts Away by Mozart Parties (James Bennett) feels like a day of whimsical daydreaming. This song has the uncanny ability to take your mind off of almost anything: from troubling thoughts, a mundane job, or a stubbed toe. This is a wonderful dreamy song somewhere out of the world of a modern day Louis Carroll tale. Also, check out the songs “Black Cloud” and “Raining At The Crossroads”, both are guaranteed to make you smile, or hug a random stranger. Peace

Wish My Thoughts Away

Raining At The Crossroads

Mozart Parties – Black Cloud from rob heppell on Vimeo.

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Tyler the Creator – Yonkers

Tyler the Creator

Yeppers! The kid did good, real good. As the reigning MTV Music Awards Best New Artist of 2011 Tyler the Creator, a.k.a. Ace Creator can hold is head up high. With this win there is a bit of vindication, or maybe validation. Validation not so much for him but for the naysayers who doubted and chugged the haterade by the gallon. And if you watched Mr. Creator, a.k.a. Wolf Haley, give his acceptance speech it was evident that he didn’t have one, but improvised, as is his trade and swore aplenty. No one in the house was more surprised than Tyler the Creator, well maybe Wiz Khalifa but that’s another story. Tyler is a fresh-faced impresario, maybe a bit of an oddball, but talented nonetheless. You got to give this young man mad props though for doing his thang big time, and at the end of his speech his advice to all up and coming would be rappers, chase your dream. Tyler the Creator’s 2nd album Goblin is worth checking out (as if you haven’t already), as for the video for the track Yonkers, it is one of the most, how do I say this, …um, interesting videos of  2011.

Tyler The Creator – Yonkers from GiostaV on Vimeo.

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Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs // You Need Me On My Own

Based in Oxford, U.K. Orlando Higginbottom, yes that’s his real name, recreated this song with a bit of soul. Listening to “You Need Me On My Own” makes me want to grab my woman and dance real close. Yes, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is a mouthful of a name, but, unlike dinosaurs this bad mamma jamma is far from extinct, and the music is anything but primitive. Peace. Continue reading “Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs // You Need Me On My Own”

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The Weeknd – The Zone (ft. Drake)

The Zone
The Weekend "The Zone"

The Weeknd (twenty-year-old singer-songwriter Abel Tesfaye from Toronto) is futuristic R&B. It  is solar flares reaching out with tendrils of mystic soul stuff. It is newly awakened supernatural grooves rubbing smoky electronic synth dust from it’s eyes. This is what The Weeknd offers in healthy abundance. And Drake, well his flow is the proverbial icing on this plushed out slice of space cake. Like incense, let The Zone fill your head room with sweet sticky sound.

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Bos Angeles – Beach Slalom

Bos Angeles

Originally from Boscombe, U.K. the band Bos Angeles creates some pretty fantastic alternative-pop music. I love it when at first listen you already know you got to have a song on your iPod. This is such a song. Their track “Beach Slalom” is a mid-tempo dream of pleasant noise.

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Feist _ How Come You Never Go There

There is so much to be said about this wonderfully talented human being. Feist sounds like a wounded angel yearning for solace, her voice is what is left of the air after lightning strikes across the heavens. A voice so clean and bare, not so much the voice of innocence, but of hard wrought knowledge pulsing and clinging to each haunting note. Above all music releases this year, this is the one album that I am anticipating the most. If you’re already a fan then by Davy Jones’ locker you know how wonderful she is. Feist’s fourth solo album Metals is set for release October 3rd, and is understandably already generating a huge amount of buzz. The first single “How Come You Never Go There,”  has already produced tons of excitement. If you haven’t already heard this song give it a listen, and you’ll quickly be reminded how phenomenal she is all over again.

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nicolas jaar // john the revelator

Often enough house music is too formulaic and predictable. Not so with Nicolas Jaar, and for that reason alone he is worth listening to. Mr. Jaar isn’t afraid to push the envelope and infuse his style of house music with various world influences. John the Revelator isn’t for the typical house music purist, whatever the hell that means. But it is for anyone who doesn’t like their music pre-packaged and over processed. So, light a candle, have a glass of whatever elixir suits your fancy, and simply chill. Also, check out Nicolas Jaar’s label Clown & Sunset on Facebook for more exemplar musical fare. Peace. Continue reading “nicolas jaar // john the revelator”