1/28/10

One Life Stand by Hot Chip




















preview

Coming On Strong was good but I really didn't like Made In The Dark and The Warning too much. This new album however is amazing, my favorite thing Hot Chip has done.

1/25/10

Optometry by DJ Spooky





















preview

Excellent jazzy beats from that subliminal kid... Only a couple songs actually have lyrics. Highly recommended for you dub rippin tripper folk.

1/19/10

The Avalanches Discography





















preview

The debut album. It's awesome.




















preview

Similar to Since I Left You but some songs are switched in and others out for a different feel. It's just a cut up version of the original Gimix mix. Same exact thing but one is split into 44 mp3 files and Gimix is just 1.





















preview

More hip-hop and electronica sound than the other albums, still good though. The second and third track may be my favorite Avalanches mix.

Relaxation Tape/Gimix

preview

Here's some bold text in lieu of a picture. I posted THE AVALANCHES YOGA MIND MELD ZOMBIE RELAXATION TAPE last week but here it is again along with the uncut copy of Gimix in case you want that too.

1/14/10

The Avalanches - Relaxation Tape





















preview

This 20-minute-1-song release is available for free at theavalanches.com but I'm saving you the trouble by posting it here. It's definitely got that Avalanches feel to it but it's distinctly ambient and has weird shifting styles. It's called "Relaxation Tape" for a reason - it's excellent for going to sleep or if you need smooth background music. It's on my go-to ambient relaxing playlist.

1/12/10

The Happiness Project by Charles Spearin




















preview

This is one of the strangest yet coolest concept albums I have listened to. It takes recordings of people describing what happiness is to them, then plays music over those people speaking in their exact tone and pitch. The opening song is just "Mrs. Morris" and a saxophone, but as the album progresses, soft drums and strings and piano and other brass joins in. This produces a weird, new agey, and distinctly jazzy sound. The track "Ondine" is my favorite, and the reprise of "Mrs. Morris." This album is certainly different than anything you will have heard before, but it's sweet and uplifting too.

1/11/10

add to friends by v/a




This is what I consider the perfect introduction to left field avant pop and acoustic electronica. A great compilation with lots of variety and many great artists you probably haven't heard of yet. Consider it a jumping off point.

notable artists: akira kosemura, midori hirano, shugo tokumaru, lullatone

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
preview

1. "wake up call" - lullatone
2. "possumo" - tenniscoats
3. "kylie (hong kong)" - ytamo
4. "candle and pechka" - trico!
5. "cells that smell sounds" - midori hirano
6. "docoiku" - daisuke miyatani
7. "bicycle (lullatone remix)" - caroline
8. "bad waves of paranoia (part 1)" - steal steal ground
9. "a fat bud" - small colour
10. "wedding" - shugo tokumaru
11. "dust dance (chirichiri maimai)" - eddi marcon
12. "through your window" - qua
13. "turin" - the rational academy
14. "kkkpkanewnew" - groopies
15. "jane and jenny" - the pancakes
16. "orange trumpet" - the deadnotes
17. "leo, are you still jumping out of the windows in expensive clothes" - my little airport
18. "enough grace" - akira kosemura


not sokute by soko





















preview

Probably the cutest little album I have ever heard ever. It's about pretty depressing subjects but the Stéphanie Sokolinski's voice is adorable and so is she. Too bad she is going back to acting and not making music anymore.

1/10/10

Grace by Haruka Nakamura



















preview

Minimalistic samples, soft vocals, light piano, and quiet strings coalesce in this beautiful album, in which songs range from ambient to acoustic-ish. An album perfect for falling asleep to. Most tracks can be vastly improved by imagining the sound of the ocean lapping up on the shore. Other than that, acoustical minimalist doesn't get much better than this.

secret of the loveninjas by loveninjas

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
preview

With song titles like "She Broke His Penis in Two" and "Do Me" it is evident that twee pop sweethearts Loveninjas have no sense of shame. Catchy melodies and sweet vocals, these songs are like little Jolly Ranchers that pick you up throughout the day. Don't rush through them, savor them, and move on when they are gone.

sounds like: Bedroom Eyes, The Legends, Pants Yell!

listen to: "Little Black Friends" | "Earl Grey with Honey"

the last resort by trentemøller

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
preview

I've felt as if we've been a bit skinny on the electronica on t&d. Here's one of my absolutely favorite albums, a sophisticated, but lush and sensual tech-house affair by Denmark's Anders Trentemøller. The type of music that would be played in the lobby of a hotel in a James Bond film. Music cool and dark things understand.

listen to:
"Take Me Into Your Skin" | "While the Cold Winter Waiting" | "Moan" | "Miss You"

1/9/10

in never out by pg.lost



preview

I must say, when I heard there was a new pg.lost album out I expected some great stuff. I absolutely loved their last release, It's Not Me, It's You! and I hoped for more of the same. This album, though, stands out far less than their previous effort. It's unfortunate. Nowhere in In Never Out is there the swelling, exuberant ecstasy of the previous album's "Siren" or any particularly in-depth, advanced harmony.
This album is much darker in tone. The tracks "Heart of Hearts" and "Gomez" are particularly heart-wrenching and, well, it's apparent that pg.lost wish that they were as cool as Mono because "Gomez" could easily pass for a Mono track if it had some more intricate musical craftsmanship and more instruments. All in all, though, it's a pretty standard post-rock album worth grabbing if you've heard any of their music--otherwise pick up their old album somewhere. It's a gem. This album though, sadly, is little more than your standard repetitive, slowly building post-rock fare.

the wild by pink moth

preview

notable tracks: "Forest Fires", "Minnows", "Carnival Girl"

The K&D Sessions by Kruder & Dorfmeister





















preview

I'm new to t & d and not new to music. For my first act, here's one of the greatest downtempo/dubstep artists. Jazzy, trip-hoppy, chill.

Recommended if you like: Thievery Corporation, Zero 7, Bonobo, hanging out and smoking with friends as the sun goes down.

1/8/10

the bride of dynamite by rio en medio

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
preview

I spent four hours in the studio carving through pages of magazines until I had created little topographical facsimiles in layers of fading pages of Time and Life. Collage and sculpture, but deconstructed and considered through mass media and popular culture. I might've been trying to copy Danielle Stech Homsy's methods, trying to get close to what she manages to do on The Bride of Dynamite. Here, she uses a variety of different instruments to explore and expand the sonic space that encompasses her new folk aesthetic, and through a keen lyrical precision carves an enchanting relief. For years this album has always been my point of departure to an imaginary place with an abundance of valleys.

the lemon of pink by the books

preview
as a child, I wandered the streets of Sicily, following the wisps of ghostly voices through the cobblestone alleys of my grandfather's old home. the books' 2003 album, the lemon of pink, hit home as I experienced something spookily similar to my stay on the Italian island. the music sounds like a collection of memories from someplace foreign, containing a collage of voices laced with enough emotion to break language barriers. notable tracks: "tokyo", "there is no there", "take time"

clear as day, the darkest tools by sea snakes

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
preview

for long tomorrow by toe

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
preview