drwex | Music that is connected

Several sets out now that I have enjoyed streaming into my headphones the past couple weeks.

http://rcrdlbl.com/download/Trackademicks_-_The_%5BReMixtape_Vol_3_mixed_by_DJ_TAP10
Trackademicks is a CA-based hiphop DJ who has a lot of friends in the music scene. Depending on the day and the mix you can find up to 10 names listed as Trackademicks members. The common theme I find is a deep respect for soul music, almost trending toward gospel, but infused with a wide variety of club, hip-hop, and dance-inspired elements. The link above will let you download the entire album or you can get individual tracks. Many of the names are familiar to me, but there were also a number of fresh sounds that I would take time to explore if I didn't, y'know, have to work or anything.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Tommie_Sunshine/track/5AM_A_Girl_Like_You_feat_Oh_Snap_Mightyfools_Remix
Tommie Sunshine is someone I thought I'd blogged about before but I can't find it so pardon me if this is a repeat. Five of his remixes are featured here including the popular "Heads Will Roll" and his bio lists a lot of well-known names who have tapped him to work for or with them. I can hear why - he's got a great sense of the beat and puts his stamp on things without wiping out the sense of the original work.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/04/phonat-love-hits-the-fan-e-p.html
Phonat (http://www.phonat.net/) has posted their entire new EP online or you can buy it through Beatport. This is some extremely fine electronica, a genre I think is easy to mess up. Too much electronica is repetetitve, overly high-pitched, has too many BPM or somehow grates on my nerve. This EP avoids that, in part by siting some nice funky bass grooves under the high-end electronics and by using a wide variety of mix styles. Fresh and fun.

http://djsteveboy.com/groovelectric.html
DJ Steveboy's latest, called "Slowburn" has me sighing in relief as it finally feels like he's hit his groove again after several less-than-stellar mixes. This one is indeed somewhat more laid back than the usual funky stuff but if I'm going to be having July in April then this is what I want to send out the open windows.