Jeff Oster - Chillout Trumpet Remixes by Chris Coco and AfterLife Chill

Jeff Oster is a California based trumpet player who contributes to and has released his own downtempo and chillout albums. He recently shared some of his tracks from "Surrender" - a very nice downtempo album he released in 2011. The album is a collection of tracks that make me feel like I should be in a beach sunset, slight breeze while listening to them. Check out two highlights - remixes and edits by none other than the legendary Chris Coco and AfterLife Chill:

Suburban Dream - 26 EP (this is special)

I consider Ciaran of Suburban Dream a friend. I've never met him, but when I was first getting into DJing and writing about music, he was also starting to share this stuff with the music blogs. It was many years ago and still one of my favorite tracks to play in my downtempo DJ sets is his song "Wandering Around".

He shared this latest EP with me, a beautiful album inspired by his mother. It is four tracks of glistening, sometimes ambient, melodies over simple but layered percussion. The arrangement of the sounds create a perfect chillout mood to relax and enjoy a blue sky and focus on good memories and good vibes. Definitely introspective in places. My favorite track is "The Power of Doubt" - a track that builds and swells and rides on a light piano riff, and sweeping yet driving drums and synths. Check it out here and buy it for only a few bucks on Bandcamp: 

CHIMS - Truant Heart EP - chillout

CHIMS - norweigian electronic producer - brings us a new EP called "Truant Heart", it is very chill and beautiful. It's a true "chillout" album, with downtempo tunes that almost become ambient, but always hold an interesting beat to ground it in some rhythm. My favorite track is "Shielded" which has twinkling piano riffs, haunting vocals and dusty percussion.

Check it out - easy chill listening:

Belmar Sol - Ambient Relaxation Mix - chillout mix

New EROK Chill Hop Mix - Odyssia (FREE DOWNLOAD)

My summer goal was to write a lot and compose a mix a month. So far, so good. Here's my latest - Oyssia - a "chill hop" mix with hints of funk, dub, reggae and middle eastern ambiance. The mix art is one of my brother's sketches - check out his website, MJD Artworks!

I've been posting a lot of mixes lately because I've been studying other DJs' 1) mixing techniques and 2) song selection. When I DJ, I focus on mastering these two core components to create an interesting story. I believe a set mixed simply (and technically sound) with great song selection and a bit of style is always superb to a technically complex mix with only OK song selection. As DJs, we must not overcomplicate things, but rather we must create sets where the songs enhance each other and are experienced differently together than they would be alone. Do you think this set achieves this?



Tracklist:
1. State of the Union (Rewound) - Thievery Corporation
2. Pearl - The Deadbeats
3. Deep in the Cut - J Boogie
4. Mr Universe - Mos Def (Max Tannonne Edit)
5. Boomster - Rapscallion
6. Starfall - Michal Menert
7. Bongo Dub - Dub Traffik Control vs. Manu Chao
8. Last Night (J Boogie Remix) - Ancient Astronauts
9. Tangolypto - Heyoka
10. The Others - Second Sky
11. Chez Roger Boite Funk - Troublemakers
12. Kiara - Bonobo
13. Hip Hope - Marzebian
14. Facing East - Thievery Corporation
15. Out of Time - Pretty Lights

Monday Mix #5 + Label to Watch: Bohemian Club Soundtrack (Episode 7) + Future Dub

The Bohemian Club is a new music label I've been following since its inception. Alistairr - the man behind the Bohemian Club - does a great job showcasing downtempo talent via his mix series The Bohemian Club Soundtrack.

In Episode 7 of the Bohemian Club Soundtrack, Alistairr ties fantastic tracks together from artists and producers around the world. This is certainly a chillout mix, with ambient elements and atmospheric lead-ins to rewarding, jazzy drum breaks and cool melodic synths. Definitely listen for a chilled evening - you won't be disappointed. Plus, check out two other dub songs I'm particularly enjoying right now from The Bohemian Club, called FUTURE DUB:



Track List for "Bohemian Club Soundtrack - Episode 7":
1,Rykard - North Cormorant Obscurity
2,Conrad Schnitzler- Ballet Statique
3,Mister 1-2-3-4 - The bones will stay
4,Jon Brooks- Regie
5,Mordant Music - Pissing in Sinks
6, Walls-Raw Umber/Twilight
6,Oneothrix point Never- Sand Partina
7,Hyph mngo- Joy Orbison
8,The Advisory Circle- As the crow files
9,Theo Parrish- Summertime is Here
10, Raiders of the Lost Arp- Night time (Rude 66 Forever Darkness Remix)

Plus, here's the FUTURE DUB tracks that I'm really grooving to. I connected with Alistairr about these songs and this is what he shared: "Modern dub and reggae producers usually fall into 2 categories: either very traditional and follow the King Tubby route or they are dubstep influenced. Future Dub is centered around the main trumpet/sax/organ interaction which is a key feature of most of my dub productions, and is highlighted here. The sound I tried to create uses the traditional template - combining edgy samples and effects, to create an atmosphere of mystery and surprise." Keep up the mystery and surprise - its working!