The New Laws latest journey - "The Fifty Year Storm"

The New Law released "High Noon" in 2009, after their first album in 2006, and now follow-up with the final piece of their trip-hop journey - "The Fifty Year Storm." Each album builds on the last as the Seattle-based producers grow as artists, and as the subject of their albums ventures along his journey.

"High Noon" was a beautiful and dark trip-hop experience, creating an atmosphere where you never knew what stood around each corner, but you were excited for what happened next. "The Fifty Year Storm" continues this narrative. The album feels is slightly more textured and complex and represents the unknown hero's reflection on his past and the dual calmness and intense storm he experiences on the open water, punctuated by furious bouts of trip-hop breaks and synthesizers that overwhelm and threaten to capsize his vessel. It's a great finale to the unknown hero's trilogy of albums. I highly recommend it for any downtempo or trip-hop listener. It sucks you in, and if you take a moment to understand the narrative of the unknown hero, you can feel yourself along the journey with him.

As Adam Straney and Justin Neff, the producers behind New Law, explain: This is the third chapter of the unknown hero, THE NEW LAW, who is leaving the barren waste after the battle at "High Noon". He joins some fellow fighters who venture out to sea, to escape certain death of the old land, and they sail forth to explore new worlds. He gradually learns the way of the sea through the rolling waves of the journey, but on the red horizon ahead, there's something brewing: something dark and sinister... and he's unwillingly heading straight into the storm of it.  

You can download the album on The New Law's bandcamp page, and you can get their previous two albums for free. Check it out:

Spectrum Mix - from DJ Upside aka DJ Erok

I've been listening to a lot of different stuff these days and this weekend I whipped up a mix that includes sounds ranging from downtempo, reggae, dubstep, progressive house and funk. I always like to mash up genres - sometimes it works and sometimes it's a bit forced, but that's how I challenge myself and grow as a DJ and music listener.

Check out my mix "Spectrum" here - you can Download it for free, and the playlist is below:



Track Listing:
So Much for Love - Gramatik
Time Has Written - Supervision
Deep In The Cut - J Boogie
Mr Universe - Mos Def (Max Tanonne Mos Dub Edit)
State of the Union (Rewound) - Thievery Corporation
Pearl - The Deadbeats
More Important Than Michael Jordan - Pretty Lights
8000 (Diplo Remix) - Proxy
Moan (Remix) - Trentemoller
Aspic - Simian Mobile Disco
Breakin' a Sweat - Skrillex
Step Aside - Silkie
First Flight - The Others
Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix) - Ellie Goulding

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:

Nacional Records FREE 24 Song Music Sampler - Several Styles of Latin Flavor, fit for the Downtempo & Eclectic Listener

I like to listen to international music and keep influences wide ranging, so I jumped at downloading this 24 song music sampler that Nacional Records (a popular latin music label) sent me - I gotta say I really enjoy most of the songs here. They range from latin DJ breaks, funk, folk, hip hop, dance and bossa nova inspired tracks. This sampler is only available for free until JANUARY 31 so jump on it now. All you have to do is copy the DL redemption code and paste it into iTunes - works like a charm:

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.

Future of TRAKTOR

Traktor has released a sneak peak at new technology that combines the best of DJ tech with real-time production technology and workflow. I'm really excited for this 1) because it will enable a whole host of plug and play and all-in-one opportunities for real time mixing and production - there is a ton of creative room and potential here, especially for experienced producers who want to DJ, or experienced DJs who want to produce; and 2) because I think this will also make producing more accessible for DJs who aspire to produce more. Some may say that sux - why would we want to get newbies into producing the same way digital DJing has enabled scores of amateur DJs to dilute the pool of talent. But I'm a firm believer that the more opportunity and capability people have to be creative just inspires everyone and puts more ideas out there for people to build on. So bring it Traktor - keep innovating with the technology - I can't wait to see this hybrid tech when it comes out.

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

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