Chilled DUB: Jahtari Promo Mixtape for SKANK IT UP

It's mad chilly in my part of the world today, but I heard this mix (shared by a friend MorningSteppa - a fresh downbeat DJ and music curator in New Zealand) and it brought sunshine and warmth into my day.

This mix is a collection of super chill, beachy dub - just fantastic for lounging around or relaxing, or gettin deep with some of your closest friends. It's a promo mixtape for a dub/reggae party SKANK IT UP happening in Paris next weekend, if only I could be there... though I can't be there I'll be listening to this mix, check out the tunes and the track list below...



1. Jahtari Riddim Force - Gunshot Dub demo
2. Jahtari Riddim Force - Tascam Riddim demo
3. Tapes - Make Dem Dub
4. Soom T - Summer Days
5. disrupt - Summer Days Dub
6. disrupt - R2D2 Riddim demo
7. Mr. Williamz - Dancehall Hobby
8. Kenny Knots - Herb From Grow
9. Speng Bond - Tann Up Solid
10. Maffi - Robotron Dub
11. Part2Style - Fever
12. Tapes - This Weed's Making Me Nervous
13. Speng Bond - White Horse
14. Mr. Williamz - Sit Down Steady

Moduloktopus - FutureClassics MIXTopus Mix and a Look Into the Imagination of the Electronic Music Chameleon

MODULOKTOPUS is officially a producer to watch. This Dominican Electronic Music Chameleon is creating amazing remixes and original beats in Boston, making waves around the country and via many blogs, like EarMilk and FutureClassics.ca - where he recently created the first in a Mix Series called MIXTopus. 

Moduloktopus has amazing range, which is what I look for when I write about and promote music. This guy and his sounds really caught my ear. His remixes are extremely creative and vivid, and pull from various electronic genres. Many are dance oriented, several of which are in various downtempo styles, fusing hip hop, trap, DnB, jazz, international flavors, and electronic sounds. I reached out to Moduloktopus to have a "discussion" about his music. I was excited to hear he's soon releasing new collaborations with rising stars NOMS and BRITE LITE BRITE. Like I said, Moduloktopus is someone to watch - he's got an amazing attitude, philosophy, sound and approach and that's what creates memorable music experiences. Read the interview with Moduloktopus below, listen to the MIXTopus and watch "Formless"!

DOWNBEATSCAPE: What's in a name...Moduloktopus?

MODULOKTOPUS: Suggested by my best friend Jose Gil Bernabe, the name is inspired from He-Man villain Modulok, whose powers included the ability to shape shift his body parts into weapons and plan complex schemes. I decided to infuse the name with the mythical reference of the Kraken and the Camouflage skills of cuttlefish. From those sources I created the name Moduloktopus. My interpretation behind the name is an Electronic Music Chameleon on a mission to adapt his imagination to any style he touches.

DBS: Tell me more about the set MIXTOPUS you just released with FutureClassic.ca...

MOD: Since I began uploading music on Soundcloud, Gabriel Pitman who runs the blog Future Classics, has always provided support for my releases. He wanted to start a mix series for his blog and I used it as an opportunity to start a new series of my own. MIXTOPUS consists of originals and remixes from my body of work. It also includes a lot of unreleased productions to make it special. This first one goes through 32 tracks in 50min. My goal is to make one every month or two for a specific blog, and include as much music as I can.

DBS: When did you get into music production and what does the future hold for you?

MOD: I got into production in my teens after my CDJs broke down. I had no money to fix them so I learned beat-making instead with Reason 2.5. Since those days I tried imitating my influences, but my real voice in production developed when I made the duo Dice Motion with Joel Friedman. We experimented so much and learned to piece together songs from start to finish. The future for me is uncertain, but I'm looking forward to playing more shows, artist collaborations, weekly releases, monthly releases, remixes, videos, and an undying effort to spread my diversity to various scenes in electronic music. I only want people to always expect something new from me every week.

DBS: What type of song do you look for when doing a remix?
MOD: I can pretty much play around with any essential element of a song to make a remix. What I look for is something easy to sample and to improvise with melodic or rhythmic twists. Most of the time I'll just recreate the original with a different flavor or experiment making my own dance floor hybrid version. My vision is to always find an uplifting feature to develop cause that's what the original song will initially do for me.

DBS: You collaborate with video artists and other producers when creating tracks, how do you connect with other artists and what is your collab process like?
MOD: Collabs happen naturally. Mostly because I come from a background of being in a band and acquainting with musicians on a daily basis. Always grateful to have musicians I am a fan of be my friends (Noms, M Constant, Jonathan Hoard, etc.. to name a few). It's a growing experience to have them add their musical strengths to your songs and push what you do in ways you never thought possible. When I was approached by videographer Michael Gold, we became fans of each other's style and the energy to work was seamless. He is such a chill guy to collab with cause he'll take my tracks and visually flip them inside out regardless of genre. Being a fan, having flexibility and staying inspiredly committed are the best qualities for a successful collab.

DBS: What producer, DJ or artist would you love to collaborate with?
MOD: I'd love to collab with so many, but to keep it simple I'd like to use the soulful side of my sound to go with: Sid Siriam, Jesse Boykins, Dvnny Seth, Hiatus Kayote, Erykah Badu, Lapalux, The Underachievers, Saul Williams, Sonnymoon, Bjork, Thriftworks, and Prefuse 73 to name a few...  On the Dance Music side I'd love to collab with Ookay, Willy Joy, DJ Sliink, M|O|D crew, Cashmere Cat, RL Grime, Herobust, DJ Rashad, Obey City, MikeQ, Brenmar, Hucci, Freddy Todd, Flosstradamus, gLAdiator, and many more... For the most part I'm pretty open when it comes to collaborating with anyone as long as the music serves its elevating purpose and reaches people. I encourage anyone out there who wants to collab to hit me up. At the moment I can announce you I'm collabing with Noms, Brite Lite Brite, and Jonathan Hoard for some releases in the upcoming month.

DBS: What's your take on the whole "trap" music explosion?
MOD: I have my personal view on it. To me Dance music will be Dance music regardless what tag we apply thru the ages. Whenever I see a genre being overgeneralized or overexposed, I like to use that opportunity to mix it around with other genres or ideas that could give it a different character and add diversity. For example in “Bessie's Bounce” I mix Baltimore Clap with my twisted trap style, “Wiggizm” trap with DnB, or on “Fckn Dance Flow” I infuse trap with Juke.

As long as producers can create music with an honest voice and authentic personality, any generalized music term can begin to diversify. Which is the situation when we look at the word Hip Hop for instance. I even believe trap is just another shade of Hip Hop, which for me is liberating when you think of the places to draw inspiration from.

In terms of the current hype cycle it's going thru, I'm pretty happy the dubstep lazer blasts have calmed down, and that 808 style beats with minimal elements can create the same effect on people. It has also made the entry level for producers easier to access, but the ones who thrive are the ones that stay connected supporting each other, refining their craft and share their authenticity with other artists. Now a days everyone who makes it big in “EDM” starts by remixing or collaborating with others. It's safe to say that when genre names explode it's that much easier to find people with a common taste, but you need to bring something different to the table that can stand out inside the genre. The best way for me to do this is mixing different genres or composing without thinking of genres at all.

DBS: "Formless" is a track that really caught my ear and eye, but it has a different feel from many of your tracks - how would you describe your musical range and what influences you to work with certain sounds and styles?
MOD: Good question. “Formless” is one of those situations where I didn't bound myself to genres, I was looking to simply piece together my sonic interpretation of Bruce Lee's words. That is what actually led to its diversity. As iconic as Bruce is, he resembles a wholehearted way of life and a big reminder that you gotta put your best up front. When a motivation like this is the key what drives the song, the results will always astonish you. It really gives me a confidence to leave my comfort zone and question how far can I take the music. The downside might be that I can't play this at a club, but the wisdom in its challenges can transfer unto the next club track.

DBS: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
MOD: Yes, Big Thank You to Downbeatscape for allowing me to express my views, and supporting my music. I'm currently looking to book more shows, so I encourage anyone out there to hit me up if you like what I offer. Also pay attention for new Souncloud releases and feel free to tell me what you Like, cause I love having fans be part of my creative output.

Formless - Moduloktopus from Michael Gold on Vimeo.

"Formless" by Moduloktopus

Be FORMLESS. This original track "Formless" and kung fu/Bruce lee video edit is by Boston-based producer sound man Moduloktopus. This guy has really caught my ear, with some amazing remixes that range in downtempo style from deep trap to glitchy and almost ambient trip hop. His "Formless" track connects with me at a deeper level - you don't just sample Bruce Lee without truly appreciating his higher philosophy. Stay tuned for more from Moduloktopus - I intend to share more...

Be FORMLESS.

Formless - Moduloktopus from Michael Gold on Vimeo.

George Solar - Comfy Dub Mix #13, IbizaSonic Radio

Sometimes its good to kick back and enjoy this beautiful life and all the sounds and energy that swirl around us. I like to do so with some COMFY DUB - a chilled theme that George Solar has been offering through his original tracks, DJ sets and radio show for several years now. Though, I hadn't heard a Comfy Dub mix from George for a bit, so when he posted his latest COMFY DUB radio mix I instantly listened...and haven't stopped. It's so chill, perfect for mornings or anytime when you need a bit of atmospheric dub to lighten and tap the brakes a bit, sometimes we need to slow down and appreciate the joy and energy that is inherent in BEING. Now, I'm gonna go dub out with some COMFY DUB...

COMFY DUB radio #013 on Ibiza Sonica by George Solar on Mixcloud

Monday Mix: DJ EROK - NattSpil Tripnotic Live Set

Here's my latest mix - a live set I performed at Natt Spil Lounge in Madison, WI a few weeks ago. I love DJing at Natt Spil - it's a true DJ's venue, where DJs experiment with new songs, techniques and combinations 7 nights a week. Its a great venue for me, as I can mix a range of downtempo and uptempo styles over the course of 4 hours. This live set starts with some atmospheric downtempo dub, a quick transition into chilled out trip hop, then into a mix of international fusion and electronic genres of varied tempo, and the last 45 minutes is the cool down, very chilled.

I like to plan the first 30-45 minutes of a set because it gets me into a rhythm, and I can test what is working with the audience. I am very happy with how this set turned out, but I don't quite get into my flow until 20 minutes in. So be patient with this set - it is nearly 4 hours and you will be rewarded with the entire journey. The set list is below - enjoy!



Actraiser - Phantomile
Beat Assailant - Chronik Break
Antibalas - One Dub
Thievery Corporation - 33 Degrees
Stephen & Damian Marley - Jah Army, Revelation Pt. 1
Rae & Christian - Bring the Drama
Tensei - Think Twice
Rae & Christian - Flip the Mic
Suburban Dream - We Still Do It
Suburban Dream - Wandering Around (Spooky O Mansion Remix)
DJ Cam - Kalimba Groove
The New Law - Blood Red Sky
Eliot Lipp - The Snake
Mux Mool - Death 9000
Emancipator - Jet Stream (D.V.S. Remix)
Pretty Lights - Total Fascination
Michal Menert - The Keep On
Rykard - Get Your Groove On
Emancipator - Rattlesnakes (SaQi Remix)
Danny Massure - Pick It Up
Nickodemus - Desert Dancer (Zeb's Slow Camel Remix)
Photek - Shape Charge
Karsh Kale - Milan
Parov Stelar - Between the Machine
Hilight Tribe - Maori Beat
Zion I - Human (Bassnectar Remix)
Stephen Walking - Walkers
Gramatik - Illusion of Choice
Paper Diamond - Imagine the Possibilities
Eliot Lipp - Mountain
Roxiny - Belong (Moduloktopus Remix)
The Crystal Method - True Grit
Karminsky Experience - The Hip Sheik
Femi Kuti - Truth Don Lie
Emancipator - Bury Them Bones (Marley Carroll Remix)
Audion - Just a Man
Trentemoller - Killer Kat
Nickodemus - Peaceful Island Life
Hossam Ramzy - West Naima
Hossam Ramzy - Brazilian Pearls
Photek - Quadrant
Trentemoller - Evil Dub
Eliot Lipp - The Wolf
Pretty Lights - Up & Down I Go
Rae & Christian - Divine Sounds
Petty Lights - Take the Sun Away
Danny Massure - Skanky (Zamali Crystal Bells Remix)
Tycho - Coastal Break (Lusine Remix)
J-Boogie / Dubtronic Science - Chopsticks Dub
Thievery Corporation - Holographic Universe
St. Germain - Sure Thing
Slugabed - Moonbeam Rider
Actraiser - Phantomile
Great Skies - Like All Good Summer Moments

Sound Spectrum Saturday - Music by Emancipator, Project 46, Waxhole.com, Tru Thoughts and Daddy

I'm back from Costa Rica where I was truly off the grid for two weeks, and I'm ready to share great (and always interesting in SOME way) music. Today's Sound Spectrum Saturday includes music new and old from established and emerging artists. Give it all a try, you never know what you might like...enjoy and remember, stay chilled!

Emancipator - Emancipator is a Portland-based experimental trip hop duo of a production DJ and violinist. They've been releasing amazing independent trip hop on Loci Records (Portland) for several years and they have a new full length album coming out January 29. I saw them live last night in Madison with Mux Mool (Ghostly International, Detroit) and Tor (Loci Records, Portland) and they put on a great show. These tracks are some of my favorite:





TheWaxhole.com Chilled Wax Vol. 1 Compilation / Mix Tape - I'm so glad I found out about TheWaxhole.com - another downtempo blog with similar tone and substance to mine, full of a variety of chillout mixes, styles and artist interviews. The blog has many contributors and is very clean. Not to mention they curate their own mix tapes of great downtempo. Check out their their compilation:



Tru Thoughts, Menagerie "Spiritual Jazz Selector Mix" - Tru Thoughts label (UK) is home to Quantic, Hidden Orchestra and many other artists that fuse jazz, hip hop, and international fusion into a true melting pot of a label. Menagerie is a "spiritual jazz" project on Tru Thoughts, and this is a nice selection/mix of jazz styles, including acid jazz, classical and even some afro-beat in there.



Project 46 - The Killers - Miss Atomic Bomb (Project 46 Remix) - Project 46 (Canada) continues to drop great dance and electro tracks on labels like MonsterCat, along with independent remixes. This latest remix is a harder house version of The Killers' "Miss Atomic Bomb."



Daddy's "Love In The Old Days (Kolour Kult Remix)" - FAIR WARNING: This video is kinda messed up. It's a trip to watch and may be disturbing to some. Daddy is James Franco's band and Kolour Cult just remixed one of his songs, and James Franco directed this video which was just released. Based on James Franco's artistic chops this video is worth checking out - I'm kind of conflicted of wether I like it or not, but in the spirit of sharing different things that I'm listening to I wanted to give you the option to critique and experience it as well. Check out the interview with James Franco about the video and his music project on Vice.com

Sound Spectrum Saturday - DJ mixes by Fort Knox Five (funk), Skream (house), Bohemian Club (downtempo), Nightmares On Wax (dub), DJC-kay (drum&bass)

I'm excited to introduce a new Downbeatscape Feature: Sound Spectrum Saturdays - where I share mixes of different styles of music so you can hear what I've been digging lately. I comb the world of music and share the best. You don't have to waste your time, I do the hunting for you!

I started Downbeatscape to curate the best downtempo and chillout music on the planet and as I do so I find it important to balance downtempo with various musical styles. To fully appreciate downtempo, I believe you must also have an appreciation of other styles -the YIN to downtempo YANG. Considering the balance I want to achieve and my interest and experience as a DJ, I'm introducing Sound Spectrum Saturdays to share many styles of music through the lens of DJing, so you can choose which music style you'd like to hear at the moment - be it uptempo dance, funk, chilled downtempo, ambient soundscapes, and more.

For the first Sound Spectrum Saturday, here's some funk, drum&bass, downtempo trip hop, house oriented dance music, and chilled beach party dub. Enjoy!

Fort Knox Five December Funk Mix - Fort Knox Five is one of my favorite modern funk artists, always delivering amazing original funk while being able to DJ great mixes of funk, hip hop and party music.

Fort Knox Five presents "Funk The World 10" by Fort Knox on Mixcloud

Skreamizm December Mix - Skream, a huge UK-based bass, house, D&B and grime DJ, delivers a great house-oriented mix that drives you forward through the night. I've been listening to this as a workout mix since it came out.



Bohemian Club Christmas Mix - Alistair of the Bohemian Club Label really has something going here. He's cultivating a variety of downtempo-oriented artists on his label by showcasing their new tracks, mixed in with older works, in mixes every month. This is a great downtempo mix that varies from chilled drum & bass to classic oriented ambient folk.



Nightmares On Wax - Wax Da Box December Mix - You can never go wrong with Nightmares On Wax DJ sets. I love the song selection by downtempo dub veteran George Evelyn aka Nightmares On Wax. He's based out of Ibiza usually, playing pool and ocean side sets perfect for chilling out at sunset.



DJC-kay Drum & Bass Mix - DJC-kay has consistently been sharing great D&B mini-mixes with me for several months now. He's consistent, tight and delivers a great D&B sound.

Ambient Winter Mix: I.R.I.S. (Therapist & AuroraX) - A Billion Year Voyage

The Winter Solstice this year brought us more than just a chill in the air, it brought us chill sounds from around the world, including a beautiful new mix of ambient pyschill soundscapes from Bulgarian DJs Therapist and AuroraX.

I wrote about Therapist this summer as he was competing for a DJ spot at TREE OF LIFE, a Turkish outdoor psychedelic music festival. He has since joined Ajnavision Records, a label that supports several downtempo DJs, most of whom create psychill and international fusion sounds. This winter, he partnered with AuroraX, another Bulgarian downtempo DJ on Ajnavision, to produce a mix for DI.fm's Winter Solstice Event. 

I.R.I.S. - A Billion Year Voyage is the result - a dramatic composition that is ambient in nature, with soundscapes reminiscent of a deep-space voyage movie soundtrack. The composition combines drawn out ambient crescendos and lush space sound elements that layer on top of each other to sound like one long song instead of a DJ mix. It is certainly one of the more true ambient mixes I've posted recently. One to help us relax and sink into the winter ahead of us.

I was in touch with Therapist to learn more about this mix - read more about how he and AuroraX created this voyage: 

Dowbeatscape: Overall, this composition sounds kind of like a dramatic movie soundtrack - what was your vision going into the mix and did it change at all as you created it together? What did each of you bring to the process?

Therapist: The concept of the mix was a deep space voyage, as the name suggests. We were drawn by the mysteries of The Great Attractor, an immensely dense gravitational anomaly so great it is theorized to be pulling entire galaxies towards it, including our own. The mix tracks the solitary journey of a single spacecraft, sent on a mission to this massive object, passing by countless star systems, nebulae, galaxies and clusters. Naturally, the voyage is epic in proportion, hence the dramatic movie feel you experienced. We hope listeners will also embark on the trip to one of the most massive and distant objects in the observable Universe.

We began the process by selecting a number of tracks separately from one another, then sat together and discussed which ones fit the concept best and with each other and started recording after that, filtering some parts, adding new ones, sampling over tracks or editing them, so they match better.

D: This mix has an almost spiritual journey about it, did you have that in mind as you created it? And how did you map the "story" of this journey? There are several points in the mix where the emotion ebbs and flows - for example when the female vocal sample recedes several minutes into the mix and is replaced by an ambient tone that mimics her voice, or when heavy bass undertones are introduced and the mix takes on a slightly ominous feel.

T: The beginning felt spiritual to us too, it represents leaving the closer, most familiar parts of outer space and heading into unknown and uncharted territories. I'm really glad you noticed the transition between the first tracks and later on, we tried to create an uniform flow and a sense of lightness on the voyage, but also a feeling of separation from all that you have known at the same time, illustrating a lush spectrum of emotions and experiences. The tracks and samples we chose were mainly related to our concept of space sound and how we hoped to manifest that experience.

D: There are vocals in the mix. Is that you, or a sample? How did you choose the sample or write the "lyrics"?

T: It's neither of us talking, I wish I had such radio voice. :) We spent a lot of time searching for voice samples from different sources and we selected those which best mapped our vision for the voyage. Actually almost all of the vocals you hear in the mix are not from the tracks themselves, but edited in Ableton and sampled, be it from other tracks (e.g. Asura - Simply Blue) or voice samples we collected over the years from other space events like the Atlantis landing or lectures about the Pioneer 10 space probe.