Saturday, May 26, 2012

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:





Friday, May 25, 2012

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.



Sunday, May 20, 2012

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."

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