FREE: Michael Jackson – You Rock My World (BUG Remix)
It seems almost unbelievable to think that Michael Jackson has been gone for over a year now. There’s not really much I can say beyond what others already have, and what I said last year at the time of his passing – but he is missed dearly.
I do understand how to some people it all seems a bit hypocritical now, that people would mourn the loss of an artist who was looked upon by many as a sideshow celebrity for the latter part of his life – but despite what he may have become, and what problems he may have had, he still brought a lot of happiness into this world with his music and will always be a musical legend for the art he created.
Michael Jackson leaves behind a heavy legacy in the music world, one which will probably never be matched. Like Eric Roberson said, no artist can claim to not be influenced by Michael Jackson in some way. Even if not directly, then their influences were probably influenced by Michael Jackson.
I’ll leave you now with a fresh remix by BUG of You Rock My World. The meeting of MJ’s energy and BUG‘s penchant for beats and synths just ‘works’…
Michael Jackson – You Rock My World (BUG Remix) by BUGMusic
mp3: Michael Jackson – You Rock My World (BUG Remix)
VIDEO: Blockhead – The Music Scene
This is the amazing video for Blockhead‘s track The Music Scene, which is a track from his latest album of the same name out right now on Ninja Tune. It’s an absolute masterpiece of an animation created by Anthony Francisco Schepperd – who in his own words describes the video as a dream like tale of “an animated mind melt into a post human New York where TV and animals rule!”
I wrote a little about Blockhead‘s fourth studio album, The Music Scene, at the start of the year. It’s a deep exploration into the further reaches of his instrumental hip-hop sound, encompassing rich samples and vibrant instrumentation. Definitely a record for fans of Ninja Tune and instrumental beats and breaks.
mp3: Blockhead – The Music Scene
REVIEW: Numaads – Now EP
Project Mooncircle are one of my favourite record labels right now for a simple reason; they put out amazing music. Completely out of the blue they caught me by surprise recently with the debut EP from Numaads, which is called the Now EP. Numaads consists of Dutch producer Sense (from The Q4) and beautiful songstress Esperanzah, who combine brilliantly to create a mesmerising blend of soul and laid-back hip-hop.
The Now EP is six tracks long and spans just under 18-minutes. It also includes two remixes of the title track, Now; one by German electronic beats maestro Robot Koch and the other by the legendary American producer J Rawls.
Tracklisting:
01. Now
02. Wanting
03. Thankful
04. World
05. Now (Robot Koch Remix)
06. Now (J Rawls Remix)
The EP kicks off with the aforementioned title track, Now, and it’s a real smoky soul affair of a song. A Raw, hard hitting, steady beat enters, surrounded by ethereal instrumentation in the guise of subtle strings and stabs. Then of course there’s the vocal from Esperanzah. I don’t think there’s any need for comparisons, instead I would choose to approach the sound with fresh ears. Haunting, yet soothing, a sweet balance between the two provides a combination of smoothness and gritty attitude. Wanting changes the vibe slightly, with Esperanzah expressing another side to her abilities, which in this instance is her ability to rap. A down-tempo jazz-hop tune which dances gracefully between emceeing and singing. Esperanzah is like a one-lady two-piece act in this sense – providing her own vocal layers, and it works wonderfully. The third track is Thankful, which takes the vibe down a further notch, very sultry and emotive. World, brings things back up slightly, with a switch back to slick cyphers and deep rhymes.
The last two tracks are the Robot Koch and J Rawls remixes of Now. I can honestly say that both remixes are fantastic in their own ways. Often it’s very easy to determine a ‘favourite’ remix of a track when multiples are provided, but this time it feels more like being asked to name a favourite child! Robot Koch’s remix has a warped, glitched out feel to it, with a real banging, hypnotic beat, whilst J Rawls has stripped the track down in a more lo-fi manner – although at the same time he has added a close, nearly claustrophobic warmth to the track, meant in the most positive of ways of course.
Naturally at this point it’s worth mentioning what a fine job Sense has done on the production – it’s ridiculously tight, yet loose in all the right places. I’ve been a fan of his work for a few years now and was delighted when I heard that his crew The Q4 had hooked up with Project Mooncircle. His production on this Numaads material is pretty damn exquisite, it must be said. All the sounds come from the right directions with perfect spacial awareness. When you get all these things right, it more often that not means you end up with something that can be appreciated in ambient settings or played out real loud, either on headphones or through monitors. Ultimately, everything sounds great and the combination between Sense and Esperanzah is delightful.
The Now EP is available both digitally and on 12-inch vinyl from Project Mooncircle right now, but I shall leave you with a stream of the Robot Koch remix of Now, which you can actually download for free via the Project Mooncircle Bandcamp page, and also the video for said track…
FREE: Sweet Breeze – Feelin’ (Natural Self Remix)
The second in Natural Self‘s tropical remix series sees the main man remix the track Feelin’ by 70s Nigerian band Sweet Breeze. It’s a heavy, heavy refix that gives the track a wicked modern edge. Having chosen to really chop the track and use stabs of the original vocal over bass-heavy elements, Natural Self has created something you’d expect to see in the record box of many of the alternative hip-hop/beats/electronic DJs currently working the circuit. It’s just that fresh sounding!
You can download the track over at Natural Self’s Bandcamp page for absolutely FREE, where you can also still grab the first part in the series – a remix of Caranito by Peregoyo y Su Combo Vacaná – which we mentioned the other week.
GIG: Creative Control Coalition Launch Party, London
The Creative Control Coalition (CCC) is a new non profit effort to help independent artists and labels, who want to work without giving up creative control, pool forces and resources together. This Saturday, 19th June, sees the official launch party for the CCC at The New Empowering Church in Hackney, London (E8 3RL). Kicking off at 9pm, you can only buy tickets in advance for £10 either from IfMusic or via The Ticket Sellers website. You’ll also get a FREE copy of the CCC compilation as well.
And what exactly will be waiting for you on Saturday night?! Well, as the flyer suggests, there’ll be a plethora of fantastic acts straddling the boundaries of electronica, soul, hip-hop, jazz and far beyond. Including; Amalgamation Of Soundz, Colonel Red, Dave De Rose, Jay Scarlett, Morgan Zarate, Om Unit, Simon S and Subeena. Quite the line up!
Here’s a stream of the aforementioned CCC compilation which features the artists appearing at the launch party…
MIX: BUG – Bonafide Beats Volume 04
BUG has provided the latest mix in Bonafide Magazine‘s series known as Bonafide Beats. Volume 04 sees our man BUG serve up a wicked blend of future beats and hip-hop bangers, including tracks from; Dza & Hudson Mohawke, Kidkanevil, Alex B and The Blessings. It’s 35-minutes of pure audible gold!
Tracklisting:
01. Dza & Hudson Mohawke – Untitled (Unfinished)
02. JSBL – The Flu (Dorian Concept Remix)
03. Pharoahe Monch – Simon Says (BoomBaptist Remix)
04. Pete Cannon – Rustie Is From Glasgow & Didn’t Get Back To Me
05. Kidkanevil – When Doves Bounce
06. Khia – My Neck My Back (Shlohmo Remix)
07. Alex B – You and I Both Know
08. BUG – Delorean
09. Lorn – Void 1
10. Starkey – Stars (Slugabed did a Remix)
11. KP & Envyi – Swing My Way (B. Bravo Remix)
12. S-Type – CleanYaActUp
13. The Blessings – Faberge
14. Broken Haze – Block
15. GIRL UNIT – WUT
mp3: Starkey – Stars (Slugabed did a Remix)
