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DOWNLOAD: Shigeto - Huron River Drive
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(Photo: Tim Saccenti)
"Huron River Drive" by Shigeto immediately envelops you with electric piano warmth and the wispy clip of galloping jazz drums. When the bass finally drops, everything fills out towards a unique take on modern jazz as well as electronic composition and stoned-out instrumental hip-hop. His new 12-inch is out now via Ghostly.
DOWNLOAD: José James - Trouble (Oh No Remix)
It's totally obvious that we’re big fans of playlists, and once in a while you hear a song and instantly recognize that it would be wasted without landing on one. Case in point: José James' "Trouble." The acclaimed r&b/jazz/hip-hop artist is releasing his latest album, No Beginning, No End, next year, and “Trouble” is the lead single. The smooth, jazzy track got a remix from Oh No (yes, the brother of famed producer Madlib), who added some maxed-out bass and energy over the funky horns. It’s still smooth sailing here, though.
José James - Trouble (Oh No Remix)
PREMIERE: The Drift - Horizon
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Pulling influence from jazz and dub, The Drift layers, adds and removes elements for an engaging result. “Horizon” conveys a sense of poignancy with a single, unrelenting bass note, guiding you through the San Francisco trio’s maze of instrumentals over an ambient core. The track is also a memorial to former member Jeff Jacobs, who passed away shortly before the band entered the studio to record its third album. Alternately haunting and cathartic, it is a moving tribute that honors Jacobs and remains true to the band's sound. Blue Hour is out October 4 on Temporary Residence, and catch the group on tour with Explosions In The Sky this November.
DOWNLOAD: Nat Baldwin - Lifted
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Double bass, free jazz and emotive singing rarely add up to beautiful pop music, but that's what makes Brooklyn artist Nat Baldwin a special one. The Dirty Projectors member has performed solo since 2003, and each new document shows an immense growth and maturity that's rare outside of the most serious of musicians. Sure to yield comparisons to Antony Hegarty and iconic New York experimentalist Arthur Russell, Baldwin knows the path from sparse sonics to lush, polyrhythmic theatrics is just a short crescendo away. Baldwin's new album, People Changes, was released on May 24 via Western Vinyl.
PREMIERE: Dinah Washington - Slick Chick (Maximum Balloon Remix)
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Dinah Washington wasn't nicknamed the Queen of the Blues without reason. The Chicago legend who shared the stage with Fats Waller and Lionel Hampton among others had a voice that seemed to capture the sad soul that gave the genre its name. Taking Washington from blues to Big Sleep is Maximum Balloon, the solo effort of TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek, who very effectively translates "Slick Chick" into L.A. Noire-friendly terrain. Sitek allows each element of the original, from Washington's voice to sax to keys, to mix with his eerie pulse, bringing out the gritty underbelly lurking quietly in all three. The trill in particular showcases Sitek's success in doing so. Check out Rockstar Game's official soundtrack and remix album out on Verve.
Dinah Washington - Slick Chick (Maximum Balloon Remix)
PREMIERE: Arrington De Dionyso's Malaikat Dan Singa - Kerasukan
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By nature a polarizing force separating open-minded listener and... everyone else, Arrington de Dionyso reentered the radar as only he could after 15 years with Old Time Relijun. Malaikat Dan Singa, recorded and with assistance by Karl Blau and Angelo Spencer respectively, is a trance-punk, skronk clarinet-filled, jazzy, trippy, joyous freak fest of an act, and "Kerasukan" its pièce de résistance. A taste of the liberal translations of William Blake into Indonesian throatsinging that fill Suara Naga (out on K), it is surely a recording brought to life live, which Brooklynites will be lucky enough to catch tonight at Issue Project Room or May 25 at Cake Shop.
Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikat Dan Singa - Kerasukan
PREMIERE: Lionel Hampton - Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Midnight Sun Remix)
Nowadays, a compilation will be released for just about anything—is there a special project quite as entangled as an EP of remixes of songs from the soundtrack of a video game? But that's exactly what we have here with the L.A. Noire Remixed EP (which you can purchase here), released in conjunction with the newest project from Rockstar Games, an L.A. Confidential-esque yarn that stars the guy who plays Ken Cosgrove on Mad Men. For such an ostensibly throwaway project, the EP does seem to have some choice cuts. On their remix of Lionel Hampton's 1940s R&B/jazz classic "Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop," Andrew Raposo and Morgan Wiley of Midnight Magic and Jessica 6 (under their new remix/production guise of Midnight Sun) remove the song from the smoky noirish backdrops of The Big Sleep and place it in the smoky, futuristic neo-noir of Blade Runner. Where the original song's saloon-scented piano and belligerent brass recall speakeasies and flophouses, Midnight Sun's pulsing disco beat, peppery bongos, and gleaming synths recall the soft glare and symmetrical glamor of discotheques, limousines, and swift car chases in elegant coupes.
Lionel Hampton - Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Midnight Sun Remix)
PREMIERE: Karl Blau - A Melody To Wake Us In The Morning
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(Photo: Sarah Cass)
"A Melody To Wake Us In The Morning" is like a Kenny G track, except better, faster, stronger and with way fiercer (facial) hair. Karl Blau, Anacortes stronghold and songsmith extraordinaire, is back with his first major output since 2009's Zebra. An EP with Afrobeat influence taking center stage, "Melody" in particular puts Blau's ability to jump genres on display, combining sax with his distinctive vocal range to keep the funk user-friendly. Stretching nearly seven minutes and swerving nicely between jazz and indie throughout, Max proves Blau as compelling an innovator as ever. Catch the 12-inch out today on K.
Karl Blau - A Melody To Wake Us In The Morning
