Friendzone - Follow Me

I was super pleased to hear Friendzone's "Follow Me" on Hype Machine. It the perfect song for a chilled Saturday morning - a truly atmospheric downtempo track that drives you forward with staccato hip hop beats underneath a dream-like, synthetic melody. Friendzone is a producer duo based on the West Coast, particularly the Bay Area. Check out "Follow Me" and more of their tracks and instrumental beats below, and download "Follow Me" here - provided via Friendzone's Tumblr page:

Solid Steel Radio Show 5/25/12 - Funk & Soul Edition, by Coldcut, Dobie & DJ Irk

Every edition of Coldcut/Ninja Tune's Solid Steel Radio Show is a treat. Its not always exclusively downtempo music, but they always feature a different selection of downtempo styles. The last show I really enjoyed (HERE) focused on downtempo trip hop with some glitch, and this show is completely different but equally entertaining - featuring funk and soul, with a bit of Amon Tobin, trip hop and electronic sounds to finish it off. This show features the "godfather" funk fusion Chuck Brown, along with artists he's influenced, including Nas, Chris Turner, the Beatles, and more.

Liquid / Chill Drum & Bass by DJC-Kay

Some chilled d&B for your listening pleasure - just because...

OHM Dedication Series #2: JD Twitch x Adrian Sherwood

The second mix in the OHM Dedication Series showcasing legendary and behind-the-scenes influential artists is another must listen. This mix - JD Twitch presents Adrian Sherwood - showcases downtempo dub and industrial electronic music produced by British artist Adrian Sherwood, including his work with Lee "Scratch" Perry, Prince Far-I and Tackhead, among others. (Paraphrased from One-Handed Music's description via SoundCloud) There are two parts to this 3-hour mix - the first is more electronic and industrial oriented, the second is more dub oriented:





Here's more about the mix, direct from One Handed Music via SoundCloud: "As one half of Optimo, JD Twitch is amongst the most respected DJs in the UK and his free-spirited genre-hopping approach makes him one of our favourites too."

"JD Twitch says it best: 'For my ears, Adrian Sherwood is the most sonically innovative producer the UK has ever given birth to. If you don't know anything about Mr. Sherwood or his ON U Sound label, either do a bit of Googling, have a listen to this mix or read this interview I was fortunate enough to conduct a couple of months ago (when he was in Glasgow) that is on the Racket Racket website.'

JD Twitch continues: "In my late teens and early 20s, Adrian Sherwood's work impacted on me more than anything I had previously heard and made me think about sonic possibilities in a completely new way. I would buy any record he had been involved with unheard and got into a lot of other artists purely because he had been involved with making their records. Indeed, my nom de plume "Twitch" came from a record he produced. It was a complete labour of love to do [this mix] and a revelation to hear how fresh and wild this music still sounds."

Drift to Center - Eclectic EDM Mix by Sounds Defy Gravity

Last night I came across this fantastic mix by MIKE NOUVEAU - a Los Angeles based DJ and musician, and author behind the Sounds Defy Gravity music blog. When I mixes catch my attention, its because I either get drawn in by the first song or I click through the mix and scan for interesting music or mixing techniques. This mix immediately got my attention with a slightly glitchy downtempo trip hop beat that then increases and decreases tempo throughout the mix and wanders between different types of house and bass music. This mix is quite impressive - the music selection works so well together and remains interesting throughout, and the transitions are incredibly smooth. It's a great spring/summer mix that you can lounge to or get up and move to - very versatile listening that doesn't disappoint. Listen and download it here, and check out Sounds Defy Gravity for the tracklist:

Ancient Astronauts - Orion Nebula Remixes Review - ft. ESL artists & friends: Second Sky, J-Boogie, Kabanjak, Subatomic Sound System, more

Ancient Astronauts recently released a remix album that features a ton of ESL Music (Eighteenth Street Lounge - Thievery Corporation's label) artists and friends. Ancient Astronauts are an international trip-hop duo from Germany that have dropped two previous downtempo hip hop albums through ESL Music. This remix album features great producers and artists that hail from ESL Music and other labels that put out great downtempo. Their guests include: J-Boogie, Subatomic Sound System, Entropik, Thomas Blondet, Second Sky, Kabanjak (one half of Ancient Astros), plus more.

This remix album takes Ancient Astronauts unique hip hop sound and adds a variety of international flavor, ranging from dubby reggae and afro-beat rhythms, bouncy funk, chilled lounge snyth melodies, and more - all with atmospheric ambiance that gives this remix album a texture that is distinctly ESL.

Listen to a mini-mashup of the album here, and you can get the album via Amazon here or iTunes.

Rare Korean Jazz Grooves by DJ Soulscape - Turntable Lab Radio Mix

I've been listening to a lot of Turntable Lab Radio over the last few weeks, digging into their mix archives. This particular mix has really held my attention - it's all vinyl rare Korean jazz from DJ Soulscape - a Korean DJ and producer based out of Seoul.

Here's more about DJ Soulscape from The Creators Project: "DJ Soulscape is a wildly impressive Korean DJ and producer based out of Seoul. Deeply influenced by 80s hip-hop, his parents’ extensive collection of soul vinyl, and his engineering background, the musician is a culmination of diversity and contrast. Soulscape composes and arranges electronic symphonies reminiscent of K-pop, yet innovative in style and genre. The artist has been praised for his side project 360 Sound, a party series founded in 2005, that curates regular performances by influential Korean DJs."

Check out his Turntable Lab Radio mix here, and learn more about his approach to mixing and producing via The Creators Project:

E4RTH - "It's Where We Live" - Earth Day Edition!

Happy Earth Day! Earth gave us rhythm - its rooted in our planet, in the vibrations it sends forth, and in every one of us. It gave us energy and instinct to transform rhythm into movement.

E4RTH sent me their track "It's Where We Live" to celebrate our Planet. This bouncy moombahton remix (get ready for latin drums and sires) represents their take on Earth Day. Similar to mine, its not about planting trees, rather celebrating everything the world has given us - both "natural" and "unnatural." Think about this - how are man-made creations any different than those found in the "natural" world? After all, everything we do or create is a product of this planet, it made of the same elements and vibrations that created us in the first place. So listen to E4RTH, and also check out this Earth Day-appropriate track "Beautiful World" from Amirali that I thought was a great addition to our Earth Day listening. Enjoy!