Waves are slowly crossing the Atlantic, sending the warm sounds of Digital Cumbia to our chilled ears. Lead by Douster, and Frikstailers. Argentinian DJs are mixing Cumbia, Dancehall and Caribbean Rhythms with Bass, to create party sounds with tropical influences. Zizek Crew, are creating some nice remixes and are pushing the sound to the USA and slowly over to Europe.
Here is a nice little number from Villa Diamante. A rework of Roska’s ‘Promises’ with a dash of Latin flavour.
The temperature dropped today, but sunshine is available courtesy of Ghetto Palms . DJ Eddie Stats, over at The Fader serves up weekly installments of fresh Dancehall, Cumbia and Soca mixes to melt the frost and get your pulses pumpin’ and feet jumpin’.
Here is a short little mix dubbed the Spider Blend Mix, a lovely fusion of Cumbia, Dancehall and Soca-Tempo Reggaeton. Mo’ Fyah.
Three sublime tracks I have been listening to on repeat in recent times.
Caribou -- Odessa
Four Tet -- She Just Likes To Fight
Joy Orbison -- So Derobe
Director Stéphanie Di Gusto has produced this beautiful video for the launch of Vanessa Bruno’s Spring 2010 collection. It features model/actress Lou Doillon in a dreamy reality where three differing emotive scenes are accompanied by their own delightful piece of music. Stephanie’s photography is also worth checking out.
Alex Roman has single handedly produced this computer generated animated film that illustrates architecture art across a photographic point of view. The subjects are already built spaces, with some occasional surreal additions. A selection of random compositing breakdown shots video further emphasises the incredible skill applied. It’s simply astounding!
The highly anticipated EP from Pangaea has finally dropped on Hessle Audio. Pangaea has been one of our favourite producers here at Pejhy since his 12″ Router dropped back in 2008. On the Pangaea EP he simply displays more of what we love, which is his purity of sound. The majority of the release continues in the style we have come to love through previous tracks such as ‘Router’, ‘Bear Witness’ and ‘Memories’; switching effortlessly between rich instrumentation with skilled musicality and rolling grooves trapped in an atmospheric zone between dubstep and house, textured with deep, soulful vocals.
The EP does, however, also demonstrate Pangaea’s versatility as a producer. ‘Dead Living’ features an abstract beat which makes the intro to the track reminiscent of Four Tet circa ‘Rounds’ and ‘Neurons’ is a true lesson in how to make a dark and hypnotic dubstep track. A reminder of the aspirations of the original scene.
Featured here we have the opening track to the EP ‘Why’. The greatest joy i get from this song is the relentless vocal loop, repeating continuously through the whole middle section of the track, but never tiring, subtly increasing the intensity and inciting excitement.
One has previously only dreamed of a fusion such as this, but proves dreams can come true. Boy 8-Bit with a melodic remix of Donut by M.A.N.D.Y & Booka Shade. The song is introduced with echoing pan pipes and 8-bit rolling bass before a winding epic build up drops into a subtle but gritty main. Quite beautiful and quite rowdy. This is a gooden!
“Bristol’s Idle Hands label moves from strength to strength with three delicious tropical house fusions from Atki2 and Grievous Angel. It’s a very welcome “away-day” for Atki2 & Dub Boy, confidently swinging with the likes of Bok Bok and L-Vis on the heavy heater ‘Bola’, remixing Hanuman’s original into a Funky synced roller with old skool garage bass and warm Detroit house keys or teasing out some natty steel drum melodies and beaming strings on ‘Tigerflower’. Meanwhile, Grievous Angel furthers his Funky obsession with a tidy mix of ‘Tigerflower’, dispensing with the steel drum melody in favour of a taut house flex strongly reminscent of Geeneus. Smart tracks, check ‘em!” – Boomkat
Despite drum n bass, like most people my age, being my real introduction into bass music, nowadays i have little time for the genre or efforts by its producers. Being a dubstep enthusiast for the best part of the last decade, i have witnessed the huge influence of drum n bass timbres upon the sound i love; as dubstep gradually becomes more mainstream. However there are individuals who stand alone from the mass crowd, and are exciting my ears with their explorations in the fringe of music genres. None of these here are on an explicit dubstep tip, but it is the reference to sounds and techniques used in the genre which i can’t get enough of.
Instra:mental were getting love everywhere in 2009. But, i realised, everywhere except on Pejhy. So although this is not new material, it remains fresh, and expresses what i really love in music today. The duo are riding sound waves which uncurl from a liquidy drum n bass root and roll continuously through soundscapes ranging from dubstep to deep house. Pure Bliss!
The next artist featured here is Consequence hailing from Melbourne. This track is lifted from his album Live for Never which dropped towards the end of 2009, and features artisits such as Instra:mental and dBridge. “What marks it out—and to a degree which, in the recent history of drum & bass, only dBridge’s The Gemini Principle equals—is its refusal to make concessions in the name of sales, airplay, MC compatibility and such like. There are no “big tunes,” no crushing breaks, no epic drops and, most pleasingly in a genre blighted by trite samples, no vocals. It’s simply one man’s vision of dark, futuristic bass music, and a powerful articulation—indeed, the most powerful one yet—of the Autonomic sound. Music that those outside the scene can, and really should, look to.” -- RA (full review)
