EP: Imagined Herbal Flows – Floating
Ben Gorvine has been churning out 2 to 3 original trip-hop instrumentals a month for the past year from his home studio in DC. With that kind of productivity, you’d expect only a handful of gems to surface among the rest. But his project, Imagined Herbal Flows, is something special. Each and every (and we mean every) IMF experiment has left us stunned since we came across Gorvine’s self-released MindFull LP last spring, a collection of all his published beats up to that point. Now taking the next step, IMF has signed with DDM Recordings (the new label arm of French radio Dealer de Musique) to promote his best new material since MindFull. The Floating EP contains 5 past originals and 1 previously unreleased track, Clouds. We fell in love with these songs when they had first quietly and humbly appeared floating down IMF stream. With this professional debut, Gorvine is now stirring up a storm, and we’re excited to see where it takes him.
Myself & Others Advent Calendar
Myself & Others is a year-old London promo group organized by freelance music journalists Tiffany Calver and Errol Anderson. The two usually bring budding underground artists to the fore with regular mixtape features, but in the spirit of the season, they’ve put together a musical advent calendar. Hip hop, soul, downtempo — each day is a new earworm coming from rising names like Karma Kid, Ta-ku, and Stwo. We’ll keep updating this playlist as Christmas day draws near; definitely one to keep coming back to.
Check out Myself & Others here.
EP: Ruck P – Corcovado
Ruck P, of hip-hop turntable duo Ruck N’ Wiz and nu-disco trio Boulevard 95, releases his first solo EP with Flow-Fi. It’s a snapshot of his production skill, stretching across a broad range of genres from jazz and soul to hip-hop and downtempo. Crisp sounds for some weekend r&r featuring artwork from Aywy.
EP: La Mar – Anchor
Just a few weeks ago we fell in love with Mazde’s Shifted Thoughts EP, marking the launch of Stoney Roads Records. Now to follow up we have a debut from Sydney’s Dylan Wright (vocals) and Andrew Grant (production), better known together as La Mar. The duo turned heads upon uploading a demo of Anchor several months ago. The song caught fire and eventually served as the impetus for business talks with Stoney Roads Records. Now La Mar is firmly rooted in the scene with this, their debut EP release. It’s an impressive introduction, and features a noteworthy Mazde remix that cleverly plays with the vocal rhythm of the original.
Saje – Take Care Of You
Saje is an emerging electronic duo (monikers Mazego & Vitesse) from Paris with a chilled future bass style. Take Care Of You, a slow piece based around call-and-response between waves of synthesizer and a blues-infused pentatonic guitar, is only their second official release. Following their debut, Lost Tonight, Saje leaves a solid first impression on listeners and has left us itching for new material.
Check out Saje here.
Reconsider – The XX (Exempt & Henry Green Rework) [SKIDS Remix]
Stockholm may be more than a stone’s throw away from the tropics, but that hasn’t stopped Scandinavian Oscar Harlaut, the producer behind SKIDS, from trying to make a splash in the tropic-house scene. Now, I’ve ranted before about how monotonous the genre has become since Kygo caught fire last year. At least it makes it that much more exciting when I come across something unique and polished, and SKIDS’ take on Reconsider definitely fits that bill. It’s a remix, of a cover, of a The XX song. As much as this track is an example of the talent SKIDS has to offer, it’s a testament to some real songwriting prowess from The XX — if your original work can be reinterpreted through so many different stages of genres and artists, and still sound amazing, then you’ve really got something.
Check out SKIDS here.
Video: Ghost Loft – Be Easy
Ghost Loft fell off the radar after a year of silence following the release of his first two singles, Seconds and So High. Well, he’s officially back. Be Easy is a haunting breath of atmosphere, visually and aurally. As the video’s title spans the screen, we’re met with harrowing footage from the 1992 LA riots, a muffled kick drum, and a slapback vocal delay reminiscent of a handheld megaphone. Police brutality, looting, fire . . . the music builds and soon the chorus hits our ears, insisting:
EP: Mazde – Shifted Thoughts
Stoney Roads is a passionate and reliable Australian editorial organization that’s been promoting hot dance music since 2007. Today they’ve taken the next step, proudly announcing the launch of Stoney Roads Records along with the newborn label’s first release: Mazde’s Shifted Thoughts EP. Mazde, a 20 year old producer from Germany, got a big break with his remix of Disclosure’s Help Me Lose My Mind (playing off the popularity of Flume’s take on You & Me) climbing to well over a million plays. Tastefully drawing from trip-hop, house and bass influences, Mazde built up a unique and polished sound through a substantial collection of remixes and originals, and Shifted Thoughts is short but sweet proof that he has a lot to offer in the future.
Bonobo – Kong/Ketto (Live)
Last year pioneering electronic artist Simon Green, or ‘Bonobo’, produced what many would call his flagship album: The North Borders. It built on the charmingly experimental style that we had come to love over a period of four albums and 15 years of growth. Emotive, complex, transformative, it also saw the introduction of a cast of new vocalists to accompany Bonobo’s arrangements both in the studio and on the stage. Less than a month after the album’s release The North Borders Tour began, a caravan of sound stopping in North America, Germany, France, Russia and more featuring both Bonobo’s solo DJ sets, as well as elaborate performances with his 12-piece live band.
James Vincent McMorrow – Glacier (Atu Remix)
Singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow blew everyone away with his sophomore release of Post Tropical earlier this year. It was an eclectic mix of electronic and folk that drew explosive acclaim, with mandolins and trumpets paired against synthesizers and drum samples, all led by McMorrow’s delicate falsetto. But while Cavalier, the album’s only single, saw remixers chomping at the bit and catapulting it up the charts upon release, the other gems from the album (namely, most all of them) didn’t garner the same attention–until recently. Detroit bass beatmaker Atu managed a very tasteful edit of Glacier, pushing the tempo forward with a steady kit, embellishing the somber piano of the original, and keeping McMorrow’s airy tones rightfully at the focal point.
London Grammar – Strong (Manila Killa Remix)
Yep, he’s back again. I don’t like focusing too much on one particular artist when there’s so much amazing new music coming from every corner of the world each day, but I couldn’t resist this one. London Grammar has skyrocketed since the trio’s debut EP last year. They featured on Disclosure’s Help Me Lose My Mind, and just a few months later released Strong, an ambient hit that unleashed an avalanche of remixes. Manila Killa’s new edit, surprisingly atmospheric compared to his other work, stands above most of them.
James Hersey – Coming Over (Filous Remix)
Here’s a deep breath for your midweek rush. 17 year old Filous (yes, 17) uploaded this edit of fellow Viennese songwriter James Hersey’s Coming Over, a simple but absolutely beautiful piece. Filous takes the original (which features only James and his guitar), ups the tempo, and adds some light reverberated textures over a calm but steady new beat. The guitar echoes and aux percussion brings the song’s atmosphere to a whole new level. While the original is wonderfully minimalist, Filous’ remix has a lot of hidden detail that may only become apparent after a handful of listens.
Check out Filous here.
EP Spotlight: Seasons – Alexander Lewis
As the summer quickly winds down and fall rushes in, we have a great season to look back on. Over the next several days we’ll be sharing a few of our most favorite cuts from this summer, and as we transition, reflecting both on the past and the future, it felt fitting to start with Alexander Lewis’ Seasons. A fusion producer from New York, Lewis brings together a strong electronic blend of jazz and hip-hop. Independent label and music collective Flow-Fi recruited him as their first artist to feature on TapeTracks, a biweekly promotion series that produced a handful of great new sounds this summer. Seasons includes two songs: Life is Sweet, a collaboration with Brooklyn’s loud and proud Brasstracks, and the Seasons single itself.
Mura Masa – Miss You
Another young gun that’s been gaining speed lately. Producer Alex Crossan, at 18 years old, has only been making music for 3 years but already signed to Jakarta Records out of Germany. The label released a compilation, Summer In Jakarta, at the start of the season, and Mura Masa filled his slot with Miss You. This song will not leave you alone. From music-box chimes to synth plucks and arps, it’s packed with too many different flavors to taste in one play, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself leaving this one on repeat for awhile.
Check out Mura Masa here.
Get a free copy of Summer In Jakarta here.
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