drwex: (Default)
Some old favorites are back this week in new contexts.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/08/skye-featherlight.html
In 2010, Skye Edwards rejoined Morcheeba. She's still working on her solo projects. This is the first single from her upcoming solo LP. It's got her voice, but it's more fast-paced and less bluesy than I'm used to hearing from her. She's still very talented and even with all the electro in this track I'm liking it a lot.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/08/illegal-sunday-lobsterdust-star-buzzin.html
Lobsterdust turns in his latest banger, a six-way mash. He's still very good at what he does, but he's not doing anything new here. It's a high-energy party track, as you'd expect. If you like his stuff this is a good track; if not, you probably won't like this one either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BpEP6b3mBI
This one you should watch if you can. The video is a really fun stop-motion animation tribute to music video images that have been popular at one time or another. It's neat to see how many you can identify. Some I got even though they're just on for a few seconds; others I'm still scratching my head over (the solo guitarist in front of the church - help!).

The track is a fun collaboration between DJs from Mars and Fragma. I have not been that fond of Fragma's solo stuff but her voice really works well here, over the strong techno beats that the DJs provide. It's a fun track through and through.

http://rcrdlbl.com/2012/07/25/stream_m_i_a_bad_girls_surkin_remix_
MIA's "Bad Girls" has been remixed a hundred ways by now, so it's rare to find something new/interesting/unusual done with it. Surkin scores a hit here, though in part because he's pulling from so many influences. As Carter Maness says in the blurb you can clearly hear African rhythms in the remix, and also high-speed street-dance sounds. That kind of thing can easly turn into a mess, but it's kept tight and the sound layers are managed well. Check out the bit starting at 1:50 where it drops to solo flute and then slowly builds back up over the next minute.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/08/public-enemy-harder-than-you-think-featurecast-remix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnINZ-cANI
I had forgotten how much I liked Public Enemy. Every time I listen to a new rapper I hope I'll hear someone who has Chuck D's ability to sling words and mean something without every fifth word being 'nigger', 'bitch', or 'ho.' The man was - is - an amazing vocalist/lyricist. Featurecast (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Featurecast/8844117036) gives us his vision of what those words would sound like above some slamming techno dance rhythms and phat horns. I've had this on frequent repeat for most of the past week and been missing P.E.

Well, if you're like me you can do a little searching and find that Chuck is still out there doing his thing. The second link is to "I Shall Not Be Moved" and just appeared last month. He's slowed down a bit - he's joking about "the senior circuit" now - but it's still that style and that voice. He hasn't lost any of his political sensibilities either ("What good is doing some record/ When y'all only listen to fifteen seconds?").
drwex: (Default)
Yeah, I've got a lot of open tabs. Let me see how many I can bang through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVlV7GO2_Bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYDTcY2MCRc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X72mm-lgPWU
DJs from Mars put out these three remixes with accompanying remixed videos and all are excellent and worth talking about.

The first one is Christina Aguilera Vs. Mike Oldfield. Back when I blogged the new C.A. video I figured it would get some attention. This, however, is... wow. Mike Oldfield (http://www.mikeoldfield.org/) is probably best known for his three-volume magnum opus "Tubular Bells." It's concept album writ large, with sweeping 24-minute piano pieces, orchestral arrangements and of course the famous tubular bells themselves. Unless you're a fan you probably have only heard one part of Tubular Bells One, and you may recall that particular bit was made famous by a certain movie. Yeah, so... um, watch this video only if you want to see Christina Aguilera in a whole new light. Otherwise, just rock out with the remix.

The second one is Tinie Tempah Vs Bomfunk MCs. Tinie Tempah just appeared last week in Dunproofin's Rihanna remix. Here they're up against some seriously heavy house freestyling from Bomfunk MCs (http://www.myspace.com/bomfunkmcs). This mix shows off the Martians' skills, as they skate back and forth across the mixes. I particularly like the way the beats change up around 2:00 in and then back and then back again. In baseball there's the notion of a 'clean-up batter' who appears in a certain order in the line-up with a certain job to do - this here is a clean-up batter mix for a good house DJ set.

Finally there is Stromae Vs Dance All Stars. I feel like I've reviewed "Alors on Dance" from Stromae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2gRSTofDsk) before but I can't find it in the tags. This is a really nice mix, because it's pulling in not just the Dance All Stars bits, but several samples. The "Funkytown", Benny Benassi, and Daft Punk bits are easy to identify but I'm not sure what some of the others are.

http://www.djspooky.com/arizona_download.html
Here's a free remake from two of the most thoughtful and influential political rap/hip-hoppers. Chuck D and DJ Spooky have remade the "By The Time I get To Arizona" track that was originally written to respond to Arizona's failure to acknowledge the MLK birthday holiday. In this case they're responding to the new immigration law. I love DJ Spooky's characterization of their work as "...progressive, non knucklehead hip hop."

http://www.myspace.com/rachidtaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbFYsi9iSg&a=2kVQulx-jTw&playnext_from=ML&shuffle=239
I think I'm indebted to [livejournal.com profile] sunstealer for reminding me both of the north African confluence of traditional styles with modern hip-hop, and for the pointer to Rachid Taha, one of the best-known players in this style. Taha's MySpace page mix leads with "Barra Barra", probably his best-known tune in the west because it was used in the movie Blackhawk Down - it's got an excellent feel for his vocal stylings and a thundering beat. I really enjoy the live videos of him that I've found on YouTube; linked above is him covering "Rock El Casbah", the Clash track.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1098277/The+White+Panda+-+Praise+Outkast
The White Panda (http://www.thewhitepanda.com/) push together Fatboy Slim and Outkast, which is kind of an amusing concept. The mix is more understated than you'd expect, which I think is why it works.
drwex: (Default)
Yeah, I've got a lot of open tabs. Let me see how many I can bang through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVlV7GO2_Bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYDTcY2MCRc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X72mm-lgPWU
DJs from Mars put out these three remixes with accompanying remixed videos and all are excellent and worth talking about.

The first one is Christina Aguilera Vs. Mike Oldfield. Back when I blogged the new C.A. video I figured it would get some attention. This, however, is... wow. Mike Oldfield (http://www.mikeoldfield.org/) is probably best known for his three-volume magnum opus "Tubular Bells." It's concept album writ large, with sweeping 24-minute piano pieces, orchestral arrangements and of course the famous tubular bells themselves. Unless you're a fan you probably have only heard one part of Tubular Bells One, and you may recall that particular bit was made famous by a certain movie. Yeah, so... um, watch this video only if you want to see Christina Aguilera in a whole new light. Otherwise, just rock out with the remix.

The second one is Tinie Tempah Vs Bomfunk MCs. Tinie Tempah just appeared last week in Dunproofin's Rihanna remix. Here they're up against some seriously heavy house freestyling from Bomfunk MCs (http://www.myspace.com/bomfunkmcs). This mix shows off the Martians' skills, as they skate back and forth across the mixes. I particularly like the way the beats change up around 2:00 in and then back and then back again. In baseball there's the notion of a 'clean-up batter' who appears in a certain order in the line-up with a certain job to do - this here is a clean-up batter mix for a good house DJ set.

Finally there is Stromae Vs Dance All Stars. I feel like I've reviewed "Alors on Dance" from Stromae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2gRSTofDsk) before but I can't find it in the tags. This is a really nice mix, because it's pulling in not just the Dance All Stars bits, but several samples. The "Funkytown", Benny Benassi, and Daft Punk bits are easy to identify but I'm not sure what some of the others are.

http://www.djspooky.com/arizona_download.html
Here's a free remake from two of the most thoughtful and influential political rap/hip-hoppers. Chuck D and DJ Spooky have remade the "By The Time I get To Arizona" track that was originally written to respond to Arizona's failure to acknowledge the MLK birthday holiday. In this case they're responding to the new immigration law. I love DJ Spooky's characterization of their work as "...progressive, non knucklehead hip hop."

http://www.myspace.com/rachidtaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbFYsi9iSg&a=2kVQulx-jTw&playnext_from=ML&shuffle=239
I think I'm indebted to [livejournal.com profile] sunstealer for reminding me both of the north African confluence of traditional styles with modern hip-hop, and for the pointer to Rachid Taha, one of the best-known players in this style. Taha's MySpace page mix leads with "Barra Barra", probably his best-known tune in the west because it was used in the movie Blackhawk Down - it's got an excellent feel for his vocal stylings and a thundering beat. I really enjoy the live videos of him that I've found on YouTube; linked above is him covering "Rock El Casbah", the Clash track.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1098277/The+White+Panda+-+Praise+Outkast
The White Panda (http://www.thewhitepanda.com/) push together Fatboy Slim and Outkast, which is kind of an amusing concept. The mix is more understated than you'd expect, which I think is why it works.

Profile

drwex: (Default)
drwex

July 2021

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
1819 2021222324
25262728293031

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 29th, 2025 11:02 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios