The fight for diverse and conscious voices

I doubt I'll be posting music on Friday, and I just had both my afternoon meetings cancelled AND it's the end of year so I'm going through a bunch of "best of" tracks, so let's clear the decks shall we?

https://soundcloud.com/ando-tutnixx/dj-schmolli-farbenkarussell-she-moves-the-sun
DJ Schmolli is back with a pleasant and fairly sophisticated mash. He's got four tracks including two versions of "She Moves" by Alle Farben (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC1MmjPu3Xo) a lovely vocal dance piece that has some obvious swing influences. Schmolli skips his usual metal componentry in favor of more subtle beats and horn accompaniments. Using other vocal bits from "La La La" as counterpoint works very well. If it wasn't December I'd say this was a great summer track.

https://soundcloud.com/frail-limb-purity-1/sets/xoxo-the-glitch-mob-the
This is an oldie but somehow I failed to notice it. Back in 2012, dj bahler and Frail Limb Purity sat down with their friends from the Glitch Mob and put together a full mixtape of mashes using mostly music from Glitch Mob and The Weekend. The set tones down and mixes nicely with Glitch Mob's usual bombast. I'm on my fourth listen-through and I think my favorite is still the opening track "Unspoken" which uses five tracks in a mash that is at once innovative, surprising, and intimate.

https://soundcloud.com/killmrdj/you-oughta-beg-banks-vs-alanis-morissette-vs-stevie-nicks
https://soundcloud.com/killmrdj/wake-up-down-under-avicii-ft
https://soundcloud.com/killmrdj/wicked-london-grammar-kylie-minogue-chris-isaak-madonna
A triple-pack from a new-to-me remixer who goes by kill_mr_dj.

The first one, I am not quite sure what to make of. It is clever and it makes me listen to Alanis Moreupset again, which I generally try to avoid. The mix is definitely arranged as a point/counterpoint with a strong transition starting about 2:30 in. I confess that "Edge of Seventeen" is one of my weaknesses, having come into my hearing when I was about that age, and feeling some of those feels. I don't know if it'll appeal to anyone else, though.

The second is a straight up A|B mash using Men at Work and Avicii. It, too, is clever and more pop-appealing than the previous track.

The third one, well you can like or not. It's using London Grammar's cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" which I think is as haunting and even more beautiful than the original.

https://soundcloud.com/chasing_planets/i-see-firethugz-mansion-ed-sheeran-ft-nas-tupac
Speaking of clever, ChasingPlanets has built a nice combination using guitars from "See Fire" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fngvQS_PmQ) a track off the previous Hobbit movie soundtrack. This is overlaid with some of the lyrical poetry that made Nas and Tupac famous. It's haunting and beautiful in ways wholly different from the original, but similar in spirit.

https://soundcloud.com/madmixmustang-1/wanna-get-up-and-start-being-a-sex-machine-long-version-1
James Brown mixes are easy to do wrong. You end up with something spastic or something that just recapitulates what everyone who followed Brown sampled and took from him. Here MadMixMustang shows us exactly that by using Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Brown. WBSS is very clearly a direct descendant of Brown's work and pairing the two is a nice Master-and-pupil duet. A bit too much Michael for my tastes, but that's just me.

It's probably not the cleverest move I could make to listen to Leonard Cohen covers when I'm already sad, but there's a beautiful one here for you, and some truly luscious eye- and ear-candy as well. We start with two long streams and then some short pieces.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/06/visions-of-trees-visions-of-trees-full-album-stream.html
Visions of Trees (http://www.visionsoftrees.com/) have put their entire self-titled debut album up for you to stream. You should do that, then buy it via iTunes or whatever method works for you. Visions of Trees is an electronic duo that blends ghostly vocal trance styles with European folk rhythms I'm tempted to call "gypsy" music but it's not quite that. This stuff could easily be in a Blade Runner-esque soundtrack, or could be in your late-night party dance spins. I'm on my fourth play-through of this one and already wanting more.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/06/illegal-sunday-dj-bahler-frail-limb-purity-present-xoxo-the-glitch-mob-vs-the-weeknd.html
OK you're starting with Glitch Mob so there's a high chance I'm going to like it. This does not disappoint. DJ Bahler and Frail Limb Purity have put together an LP-length compilation of The Glitch Mob vs. The Weeknd (http://www.the-weeknd.com/) - a Canadian R&B artist. The result is some smooth vocals laid over the deep bass rythms that Glitch Mob are known for, and a couple of really nice choral/orchestral passages that you don't expect in mash-ups (check about 1:30 into "A Terrible Fate" for example). Sadly this one doesn't appear to be downloadable anywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILxORt-uCjA&feature=player_embedded#!
Sébastien Tellier's new official video for "Russian Attractions" is gorgeous and worth watching. It features the Aqualillies (http://www.aqualillies.com/aqualillies_home) a troupe that combines synchronized swimming and ballet in ways that would make Busby Berkeley proud. Tellier (http://www.recordmakers.com/sebastientellier/) is a French singer/songwriter who has been producing electronic and experimental music for over a decade but isn't much known in the U.S. despite having songs on a couple of US movie soundtracks. His style here is very orchestral but without being overbearing on the intimate vocals. My sole complaint is that the track is too short - it seems just to cut off at the end where I wanted more.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/06/girl-crisis-dance-me-to-the-end-of-love-leonard-cohen-cover.html
OK here's that Leonard Cohen I promised you. Girl Crisis (which doesn't seem to have a home page per se) is a "cover song collective". You can find them on the net in various places - here is their cover of "Come As You Are", for example, from a couple years ago. I've mentioned before that Cohen covers can range from great to awful with a wide range in between. This tends to the great side, with sweet harmonies and a sultry drawn-out style that I think is the best part of what the master gave us.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Paper-Diamond/
Paper Diamond does a spectacular job remixing Usher's "Climax." Maybe there's a thing going on with remixers tackling the R&B sound. This is an electro-infused danceable mix that isn't shy about chopping and relayering the vocals. As a result it's much less silky than the DJB/FLP remixes I noted earlier, but that's OK. This is a new style to me with a lot to explore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWJMH832Xb8
It took me a while to post this one. Yes, I still like DJ Schmolli but he's done a fair bit of stuff lately that I haven't liked and his pop mixes are high on that list. This one has not just Ellie Goulding, but male popsters Maroon 5 and even some Katy Perry. That's a heavy load to carry but the mix manages reasonably well. I've liked it more on re-listens but I have to be in the right mood.