The fight for diverse and conscious voices

I have a couple of longer pieces to point at today. Like a lot of compilations or sets they've got good and bad points but I hope there's something for everyone here. So as not to overload everyone I'll do two of the big sets and a couple smaller pieces today. There are a couple more big sets I'll blog later.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/02/illegal-sunday-dj-schmolli-moombahcuts.html
First up, DJ Schmolli's half-hour massive moobahton set. Moombahton is the beautiful love-child of reggaeton and moombah. It's a little more relaxed on the BPM than standard house music and often incorporates unusual and interesting syncopations. There are 11 tracks on this set from ten different DJs and the stand-out for me is definitely Schmolli's own "Ikobahton". I love the New Orleans traditional melody that was popularized by the Grateful Dead and the Neville Brothers (among others I'm sure) and this is a fun if too-short remix. I also like the chop-stop Alvin Risk remix of "Dirty Dancer" though I could do without the electronic bloops and bleeps. The whole set moves along nicely.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/02/morgan-page-ft-tegan-sara-body-work-the-video.html
I've noted before that Morgan Page is one of those guys I'd love to have DJing a party for me. He's got a great sense of pace and flow. This is the video for his new single "Body Work" which would be a fun if unremarkable track except that it features both visually and aurally the awesome twin-sister duo of Tegan & Sara. It is possible that some day I will find something that is not made better by adding Tegan & Sara to it, but that day is not today. They're beautifully melodic to listen to and they're fun to watch as visual counterpoint to the writhing bodywork dancers.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/02/illegal-sunday-bref-electro-mashup-compilation.html
Sugamotor presents us with "bref. on a fait des mashups", a 17-track compilation of electro-house goodness with lots of extra fun thrown in. I'm not a huge electro fan but I found myself grinning and bopping along with most of this, even when it gets nearly sacrilegious with Nine Inch Nails. And of course I adore the "Bref funkhop" though it's too short. Anyone but me recognize what he's mixing over?

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/03/sam-sparro-happiness-the-magician-remix.html
Sam Sparro's "Happiness" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV2ndDV8cQk) gets a stomping remix from The Magician (http://www.facebook.com/themagicianmusic). Sparro has a brassy almost Motown sound to start with and The Magician adds the beat and a bit of electronica to complement it nicely.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/03/illegal-sunday-dunproofin-narcissistic-freak.html
It's interesting to me how much I don't like Skrillex's work by itself but how well he mixes with others. Here we get a full-on assault from Dunproofin' who takes Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUMHMMZf8L4) and slams it up against Korn/Skrillex. Howard's 1995 tune was full-on stolen from old-school funk and r&b and this mash-up keeps her vocals more or less intact but lays it over a rock/dubstep/scratch backing. The result ought to be a trainwreck but it's not.

Ha, meeting postponed means you get more music links. Thank the schedule gods.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=284&Itemid=27
I'm sure I've mentioned before how much of a breath of fresh air I found Joan Jett to be when she first became popular - I can only hope that The Runaways (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017451/) causes more people to (re)discover her. Her top-charting hit "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" gets an extra-length treatment here from DJ Schmolli, who mashes it up with a bouncy Crookers track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD8biWtl1FI) that Junkie XL has remixed.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/04/illegal-sunday-dunproofin-rvst.html
As MizA said when she saw this, "Why Miss Rihanna, you're looking very LACED this evening." Yum. Yes, it's another "Rude Boy" mix and I have no idea who Tinie Tempah is but I like the way Dunproofin' is playing the two off each other. Dunproofin' does a lot of trainwreck mixes, which I generally don't like, and this one comes perilously close near the end but I think he pulls it out. Also, lacing!

http://audioporncentral.com/2009/11/simon-iddol-sad-mix.html
Simon Iddol posted this "Sad Mix" a while back. It's not a mix of sad tracks; rather it's something he put together when he was feeling sad to cheer himself up. There are five tracks here, four of which are already remixed and Iddol just sort of weaves them together to make a set that'll pick you up on some really blue day, I promise.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/William_Fitzsimmons/track/So_This_Is_Goodbye_Pink_Ganter_Remix
Speaking of sad music that isn't really sad, I'm still not sure what all to make of William Fitzsimmons (http://myspace.com/williamfitzsimmons). At one level he's a folkie-styling guy with a guitar. He's got decent licks and a very nice voice. But, remixes! With ambient and trance influences! It's smooth and pleasant listening with a beat. Also, the female vocal bits are particularly beautiful.