THE UPSIDE OF DOWN: Hula Cam at Burning Man

This is an awesome video - not just for the beautiful women, but for the energy, flow and perspective that this delivers. This isn't quite "downtempo" - but it is representative of the greater expression I hope to encourage. And I love how they're all smiling - it concentrates their energy at us even more. Just think, what can you do to bring this type of energy and perspective to the world?

Chillout Single & Video: Raycord - Wurlitzer a Nu

This is a beautiful downtempo song - very chilled for a Saturday morning, almost ambient. The song title, "Wurlitzer a Nu," refers to the Wurlitzer piano, which is the source of the distinct piano sounds that balance this song with the reverberating bass throughout. The Wurlitzer piano is also the subject of the video - which I really enjoy because it puts all the focus on the music and the implement - sometimes videos can distract from the music, but this is a showcase, an homage to the source of the sound.

Here's more about the artist: "Raycord is a Canadian composer who lives and works in the countryside, a lifestyle steeped in the elements that inspires his music and suits his sensitive nature, the warmth of which permeates and humanises the electronic music he channels. Raycord composes vibrant and atmospheric music. After an inconspicuous release of his debut album L’hiver Blanc, Raycord is coming back with a new sound experimentation: Ruban-Ruban on Phonosaurus Records. Raycord patiently crafts his compositions with a great attention to detail. He also occasionally incorporates tracks by other musicians. His upcoming album Ruban-Ruban is a musical experimentation assisted by Steve Cloutier and will be available on iTunes, Amazon, phonosaurus.com and many more on September 12."

DJ Shadow show review - 3.30.12 - House of Blues in Boston - the SHADOWSPHERE

Legendary producer DJ Shadow performed at House of Blues in Boston last night. His performance was nothing I've ever seen before - he climbed into a giant ball "Shadowsphere" which was placed in front of a giant projection screen. He performed in the sphere all night. The ball acted as a 3D screen that interacted with the projection on the background.

It was an elaborate, but simple and entrancing performance. DJ Shadow has been performing the "Shadowsphere" for nearly 2 years now, but it was new to me and I recommend it to anyone. He performed for 2+ hours and his attention to the crowd was great. He is a true performer.

DJ Shadow performed various tracks - classics like "Building Steam on a Grain of Salt" "Six Days" and "High Noon," along with music from his latest album The Less You Know the Better. DJ Shadow has been outspoken about the art of DJing being a performance, and he lived up to that message. He remixed on the fly, used an array of turntablism, synth and midi effects, live drumming and masterful mixing to refresh his tracks for a live audience. He performed various styles that he's experimented with through the years, ranging from trip hop, drum & bass, dubstep (new stuff), and pure hip hop.

Here's a few pics from the night, plus DJ Shadow videos and tracks to check out - and visit his site for his newest album, many more pics and other media:

Santigold - Disparate Youth (Official Video) - new album coming soon!

REGENERATION MUSIC PROJECT Review + Downloads: Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson, Skrillex, Crystal Method, DJ Premier

Go see REGERENATION:MUSIC PROJECT - the documentary about today's premier hip hop and electro producers, DJs and artists and what happens when they pair them with historic music figures to create unorthodox tracks. I saw it last Thursday (its only being shown two Thursdays this month in select cities). 


Its a great documentary for so many reasons. One - the music is awesome. Two - the DJs/Producers/Artists showcased are incredible. Three - it gives an intriguing glimpse into how these artists create music. It shows them creating the environment they need to generate ideas and to just riff and collaborate with others until something really cool forms. Four - it is a really fun exploration of the opportunities and challenges of Old School and New School coming together to make music. Overall, the documentary was really interesting and done really well. It tells a great story and keeps your attention for an hour and a half. 


You can Download the songs that Skrillex, DJ Premier, Crystal Method, Pretty Lights and Mark Ronson produce in the documentary for free here. They're all great: 

Shigeto brings "Lineage' to life

You know how you hear a song and think it's nice, but then you see it performed live and then it means so much more? That happened to me when I was checking out Shigeto's new track "Lineage" - off his new EP of the same name (just released Jan 31, buy it here!)

I follow anything Ghostly puts out - it's all solid. Shigeto is no exception. His fine downtempo is a mix of jazz and ethereal sounds, with some breaks sprinkled through some of his songs. His new track "Lineage" is a fantastic atmospheric track. When I first listened to it I loved the ambient textures over a foundation of rolling drums, but then I saw a video of him performing it live and it really did, well, bring it to life. Seeing how he builds the track through his drum kit and uses midi controls for the other sounds was cool, seeing the movement of him playing really complements how the drums reverberate in your head and through your body. Check it out, and DL for free via Soundcloud:
Shigeto - Lineage Teaser from Ghostly International on Vimeo.

More about Shigeto, from Ghostly International:

Zach Saginaw consistently grounds his music in a deeply personal, familial context; his grandmother inspired two releases, his producer aliases, Shigeto and Frank Omura, both reference family names and it's not for nothing that his latest release as Shigeto is titled Lineage. Lineage combines Shigeto's jazz, hip-hop, funk and folk influences. These elements aren't new to Saginaw's work, but never has he demonstrated such complete command of his material.

New Pretty Lights Single & Video: We Must Go On

Pretty Lights has morphed and shifted his sound in the last year and a half, but has always remained true to his hip hop foundation and mashup of electronic sounds, hip hop beats and classic riffs and samples from jazz, rock, blues and more. This new single of his - "We Must Go On" - is very reminiscent of his early style, which was more hip hop and downtempo than some of his newer electro and dubstep infused tracks. I love these types of tracks, and it's this style that first attracted me to Pretty Lights in the first place. Click to download the new track for free. Accompanying this new track is a new video - which he and his girlfriend filmed and produced. If you've seen a Pretty Lights show before last summer then you've seen this style in his old live show set-up. It's a lot of beautiful images interspersed with daily life, encouraging people to see the "pretty lights" all around us:

New tracks, videos from K'naan - Nothing to Lose & Santigold - Big Mouth

K'naan and Santigold always have a solid flow and their own unique style. They each have come out with new tracks in the last week that I'm really enjoying. Check out their videos below, and you can DL Santigold's new track on her website. K'naan's new EP "More Beautiful Than Silence" is out digitally now - a great EP followup to his Troubadour success. I love each of their vibes in general, usually wavering between positive and upbeat with a slightly aggressive, take-no-prisoners flavor. They relax but amp me up - which is always a theme of this blog. It's this balance that they achieve that keeps me coming back to their tracks.

Excellent video: C2C - F.U.Y.A.

C2C - F·U·Y·A from On and On on Vimeo.

The Two.Fifteens - Wavy Life

DJ Unkut on Traktor Scratch - i can only dream...