Hidden Orchestra - Archipelago Album Mini-Mix

Whew, I've been delinquent in posting! Getting back into my FINAL YEAR of grad school has been a transition. But I'm working to continue to bring you great downtempo music.

Here's a mini-mix from Tru Thoughts artist Hidden Orchestra. The Tru Thoughts label distributes amazing artists like Quantic, Benji Boko and this is a a mini-mix of Hidden Orchestra's second album "Archipelago." It's a string-infused trip hop journey with a lot of atmospheric elements and hip hop drum rhythms that keep this album grounded in an organic, acoustic sound. If you like the mix, watch for the album to drop on October 9 via Tru Thoughts.

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?

Here's your weekend mix: Calculon - FABRICLIVE x Bukem In Session Mix

CHILLED D&B - BUKEM SAID => NUFF SAID:

Calculon - FABRICLIVE x Bukem In Session Mix by Ltj Bukem on Mixcloud

Monday Mix #10: Downbeatscape / EROK LIVE at Kulturez

Today's Monday Mix is another of my own - recently recorded during a live mix session at my friend's urbanwear store KULTUREZ in Cambridge, MA. Whenever I visit Boston (where I got my DJ start), I swing by and play a set at the store. The store specializes in Boston-local urbanwear - mostly graphic tees with a street sense along with being a hub for the graffiti, hip hop and breaking crews in Boston. Check out the mix - this one is more chilled out hip hop and reggae oriented, with a dose of Downbeatscape eclecticism (is that a word?). I think you'll like it :)



Tracklist:
1. Mourning Unknown - Talib Kweli (Max Tannone's Dub Kweli Project)
2. Neva Stop Riddim - Ancient Astronauts
3. Wandering Around (Spooky O Mansion Remix) - Suburban Dream
4. Do You Wanna Get Funky - London Funk All Stars
5. Scale It Back (Benji Boko Remix) - DJ Shadow ft. Little Dragon
6. Maximum ft. La Methode - DJ Vadim
7. Oblivion (Make Remix) - Ancient Astronauts
8. Thrill 103 - DJ Vadim
9. Oh! (Benji Boko Remix) - Beardyman ft. Foreign Beggars
10. Let There Be Horns - RJD2
11. HBR (Michel Menert Remix) - Paul Basic
12. Swordfish Hotkiss Night - Empire of the Sun
13. Kalimba - Mr. Scruff
14. Wanna Be Loved (Benji Boko Remix) - Kidda

Monday Mix #9: Downbeatscape Mix "Shiver" on the BeantownBoogiedown.com August Podcast

My latest mix, "Shiver," was developed exclusively for the BeantownBoogiedown.com August Podcast - a Boston web site dedicated to DJ and dance culture. Nick Minieri, the founder behind Beantown Boogiedown, writes, photographs and shares the sounds of the scene in Boston and the east coast. He asked Downbeatscape/EROK to develop a downtempo dance oriented mix to feature as his August podcast. This mix wavers between the depths of deep downtempo electronic and 140BPM bass, giving it a quality that allows the listener to chillout or get up and move.

Checkout the Podcast here and other great music at www.Beantownboogiedown.com And stream via SOUNDCLOUD right here:

Thievery Corporation - Stargazer (Second Sky & Thomas Blondet Remix)

Second Sky and Thomas Blondet just released this excellent remix of Thievery Corporation's "Stargazer," a track off their 2011 release Culture of Fear. I've been listening to Thomas Blondet and Second Sky for several years, having found their sounds through the network of chillout, trip hop, dub and international fusion that continues to pour from Washington, D.C. based labels ESL Music and Rhythm & Culture. For the past year, Thomas and Second Sky have been partnering on many great remixes, collaborating to remix tracks such as "Stargazer" and Thomas even remixing some of Second Sky's original work. Check out the Stargazer remix, and many more below.

Thomas Blondet is a regular DJ and producer supporting ESL and Rhythm & Culture artists. His influence can be heard all over ESL and Rhythm & Culture recordings. Second Sky is a trio on the Rhythm & Culture label who continue to create amazing original work and do remixes with Thomas Blondet. Follow both of these artists and their DJ, production, original work and remixes - you won't EVER be disappointed.

Two Fingers - 101 South (free download)

Y'all have likely heard by now that Amon Tobin is back with a profound new side project "Two Fingers." Amon is famous for his pioneering experimental Drum & Bass and trip hop - he simply makes the music he wants and pushes entire genres forward by making his peers think differently. As Two Fingers, Amon takes a similar approach and experiments with hip hop inspired bass music. Two Fingers' new album Stunt Rhythms comes out Oct 1 on Big Dada (Ninja Tune's sister label). You can download the new single off the album for free:

And here's more about Stunt Rhythms directly from the Big Dada website - go there and check out more great music from Big Dada artists!

"Although Amon’s love of the lower reaches of low end will undoubtedly cause people to reach for lazy comparisons with dubstep, Stunt Rhythms is in fact more accurately viewed as his love letter to hip hop – less the rampant consumerism of, say, G-Unit’s “Stunt 101” than the early culture of innovation and freshness, of showing off simply that you’re better at what you do than anyone else. So while tracks like “Snap” could be said to literally break down classic hip hop to its constituent components and put them back together in completely new shapes, the more uptempo tracks like “Razorback” come on like a whole new soundtrack for an as-yet-uninvented future pop-locking. If you imagine Mantronix as a Kenworth K100 truck, Two Fingers is what happens when the truck turns into Optimus Prime."

Monday Mix #8: Properly Chilled's August 2012 Propercast

I've been delinquent on sharing great downtempo music, but I'm back! Travel can do that to ya - which is nice though, because sometimes we all need a respite from posting/tweeting/facebooking/etc. to focus on spending a bit more time offline. So with that, I come back w/ a great downtempo mix that's all about celebration: the latest Properly Chilled Propercast by Brandon, a fellow downtempo afficionado who runs ProperlyChilled.com. Brandon really has his ear to the ground in all styles of downtempo and chilled party music, and his "Propercasts" always feature the latest and greatest downtempo - he is a constant source for me. So check out his latest downtempo showcase - a great selection of international dub, reggae, indian/bollywood, brazilian/flamenco and more.

Properly Chilled Podcast #86: August 2012 by Properlychilled on Mixcloud