OF CLOUDS - Pixels - Wavewave - Youcantstopah

Monday, May 31, 2010

110. ZOOT WOMAN

Monday, May 31, 2010

you have to enjoy the UK electro group zoot woman.

putting out tracks like "it's automatic," "grey day" and "hope in the mirror" you know you'll love whatever comes next. today marks the digital release of their "just a friend of mine" remix EP which features remixes by the penelopes, dinamics and something a la mode. this is a single off of their LP "things are what they used to be" (released last august) and the second EP that "just a friend of mine" has been featured.

you know the original version of this track is exactly what you want, but i decided to feature the penelopes' remix instead because it pulls the smooth out of the original and takes it too an electro - beach - dream.

UPDATE 6/2/10, the corrected version of the remix:

it's almost june. happy memorial day, americans. celebrate the temperature by becoming a fan of zoot woman / the penelopes on facebook / facebook.

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Friday, May 28, 2010

109. FADED PAPER FIGURES

Friday, May 28, 2010

one of my favorite things about working on a music blog is when we get a submission / recommendation that we follow through with and find some musical perfection. it's the best!

faded paper figures are a 3 person band based in LA that have a really interesting combination of sounds. they can be loosely put into the indie / electronica category. let me break it down for you: synth, 80s video games, lo-fi electro that you'd find on ed bangar, indie vocal harmonies / bells / guitars, occasional vocal samples like you'd find with the avalanches, and driving bass lines and percussion. they are hard to really lock down because their sound is really all over the place, but i can say that if you put them in a mix with starfucker and the whitest boy alive, you're making the right decisions in life. it's music you can dance to and listen to: our favorite combo.

their second album, new medium, just came out this past week. it's solid gold and a definite buy. for sure. grab it on itunes here. became a fan on facebook. i am!

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108. MOULLINEX MIXTAPE


one of my favorite mixes of all time is moullinex's "libère la femme vol. II." it's a dancing powerhouse and all you need to get the party started.

i just grabbed moullinex's new may mix - i've only listened to the first ten minutes and i already know it's going to be great. it's got some of the smoothest transitions i've heard in a while and it's funk / disco level is on the same page as breakbot's valentine mix. do yourself a favor and take a look at the tracklist and then download it for obvious reasons. you don't want to miss out on this!

Moullinex - Villains Have Feelings Too Mixtape (Download on SoundCloud - or click the arrow in the embedded player below)



Tracklist:
Pink Floyd - Time [EMI]
Blackstrobe - Back From Beyond [Supersoul]
Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere (Psychemagik Edit) [Shotgun Edits]
Fernando - Blade Drummer [Redux]
Toba - Moving Up [Connection]
Rainbow Team - Dreaming [Full Time]
Alexander Robotnick - The Dark Side of The Spoon [Crème]
Strip Steve - Breakin' (Lorenz Rhode Remix) [Exploited]
The Heels Of Love - Quiet Please (Fabrizio Mammarella Remix) [Mad on the Moon]
Giorgio Moroder - e=mc2 (In Flagranti Remix) [Discotexas]
Siriusmo - Femuscle [Exploited]
Azari & III - Hungry for the Power [I'm a Cliché]
Methusalem - Robotism (Edits Piaf) [unreleased]
Juan Maclean - Feel So Good [K7]
Ichisan - Global Pillage [Airtight]
Moullinex - Superman (Lorenz Rhode Remix) [Gomma]
Nightriders - A Love Feeling [OMG!]
Munk - La Musica [Gomma]
Spirit Catcher - Sweet Deal [20:20 Vision]
DJ T - Funk On You [Get Physical]
Professor Funk and The Chicago Hous'n Authority - Visions [DJ International]
Paperclip People - Throw [Planet E]
DJ Kaos - Love the Nite Away [Rong/DFA]
Rodion - D.I.S.C.O. Rewind [Gomma]
Fast Eddie - Acid Thunder [Westside]
Hard Ton - Flawless (Snuff Crew Remix) [Permanent Vacation]
Four Tet - There is Love in You [Domino]
Pulp - This is Hardcore [Island]

become a fan of moullinex on facebook immediately.

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Thursday, May 27, 2010

107. CASIOKIDS MIXTAPE

Thursday, May 27, 2010

anyone who spends any time in my apartment knows that i'm head over heels for casiokids. their musical aesthetic is all about fun - if you like the beach boys, metronomy, and hot chip - i promise that you'll love their music. it's indie music with up-tempo bass lines and a bunch of people harmonizing things like "yeah, yeah" and "la, la." unfortunately, most of their lyrics are in norwegian so i have no idea what they are singing about, but it's like riding your bike in the summer.

their new album "topp stemning på lokal bar" is a two-disc extravaganza. disc one is all original tracks and disc two is all remixes. pre-order it on polyvinylrecords right here - coming out June 8th in the US. my personal favorite is "togens hule." update: which you can download at the bottom of this post!

today, i found a featured mixtape by ck's own ketil kinden endresen.

head over to this is tomorrow (thanks guys!) to grab the tape and learn more. tracklist is below:

“The Blessing Song” – Build An Ark
“Loe Bar” – Bjørn Torske
“Sexual Healing” – Hot Chip
“Goldmine” – Sa-Ra
“Can’t Help It” – Michael Jackson (Tangoterje edit)
“I Like You!” – Arthur Russell
“1er Gaou” – Magic System
“Wing Body Wing” – Four Tet
“Love, Love” – Julian Priester & Pepo Mtoto
“Moonshake” – Can
“Inner City Blues” – Marvin Gaye
“The Highways of My Life” – The Isley Brothers

Also check out their video for "en vill hest" directed by kristoffer borgli. it's a pretty crazy video, with solid cinematography and some cool actions synchronized with the music:

Casiokids - En Vill Hest (on Vimeo)

update 5/28/10: i just got permission to post + share "togens hule" - it's really an incredible track **high rec**:

Casiokids - Togens Hule (Download)


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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

106. ROCKETS

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

the artist formerly known as discorockets, now goes by rockets. the bass lines are still smooth, funky and simple - the way they should be. this comes as no surprise as he is on discotexas, the same label that houses moullinex and xinobi. discotexas, though having no real affiliation with texas itself, is one of the dopest labels around right now - still small and with really talented musicians + producers. discotexas is french touch / electro / house at its best - on the same level as valerie, but with a different aesthetic.

i have a lot of respect for rockets because of his tagline: "are we in this thing alone?" woah! that's what we say too. also, his work is infinitely listenable.


become a fan of rockets on facebook and check out discotexas' "forbidden cuts" featuring moullinex, xinbobi and rockets / their justin faust ep "holdin' on" on their label page.

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

105. YEASAYER

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (Vimeo)

Two words: spectacularly strange! This video employs a great mix of beautiful imagery, experimental visuals, and odd concepts. You got to love that drummer pounding away up on that ridge.

The band, Yeasayer, is an experimental rock band based out of good old Brooklyn. This track, Ambling Alp, is a single off their second album, Odd Blood, which was just released this past February. The album has this worldly and diverse sound to it - partly due to the help they received from Peter Gabriel's drummer, Jerry Marotta. He helped them record the album in a studio packed with synths and percussion from around the world. You can download a track for free from their site or by using the embed below. Enjoy!










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Monday, May 24, 2010

104. JUL ET MAT

Monday, May 24, 2010

Metronomy - On The Motorway - by JUL & MAT (Vimeo)

Here's a bit of eye candy to start off your week. This unofficial music video for Metronomy's On The Motorway was made by Jul and Mat, a director duo from France. Expect more to come from them - they've been pumping out some real simple and creative shit lately and I anticipate good things to come! Enjoy.


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Saturday, May 22, 2010

103. MONEYPENNY + HEY CHAMP

Saturday, May 22, 2010

here's a fast-paced saturday remix of moneypenny by hey champ.

both groups are from chicago. moneypenny is just getting started and has only released a few tracks. they fall under the pop / electro / club aesthetic, think yelle americana x2. hey champ has been around a bit longer and i would consider them electro / indie, think of bands like phoenix or penguin prison.

hey champ is giving away "cold dust girl" and "neverest" on their website for free right here. sure you have to sign up for their newsletter, but it's well worth it + all you're going to get out of it is more free music and info about a solid band.



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Friday, May 21, 2010

102. THE BUDOS BAND

Friday, May 21, 2010

the budos band deserves vinyl treatment. you listen to a single song of theirs and you feel like you're going back to the future. they are ripe with retro sounds and are the contemporary funk band you've been trying to find for years. their sound is original and is the best parts of a quentin tarantino soundtrack. this eleven member soul / funk / jazz group comes from bushwick, BK and they are going to be huge. just wait for it.

on june 11th, they will be playing on the rocks off concert cruise in nyc. if i was here that weekend, it would be a priority to have some serious drinks cruising around on a boat in the nyc harbor. sounds awesome.

*highly recommended*

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Thursday, May 20, 2010

101. SAVOIR ADORE

Thursday, May 20, 2010

savoir adore is another band for you to fall in love with. look at how cute they are! it's almost disgusting. the duo hails from brooklyn and their debut lp "in the wooded forest" is available on itunes. savoir adore is something special, bringing a lot of electro dance + club characteristics to indie pop. it's a daring and wonderful combination and after listening to their myspace for a bit now, i can tell you that it is worth investigating. check out the original version of "bodies" in this lo-fi repping the miniDV music video:
and here is a remix by french horn rebellion, another brooklyn duo that can be put next to a decked out disco gang and a bunch of computers with artificial intelligence and still fit in just fine. a nice party tune.


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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

100. YOUTHLESS

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Youthless 'Good Hunters' (Vimeo)

Found these guys this morning - I like the video and I'm loving the track. I've been trying to put my finger on who they sound like, but I think in the end they're a bit of a mixed breed. I'm feeling a bit of Hooray for Earth and the Rapture with a twist of Metronomy. Youthless is a "club and garage" duo from Portugal and, at this point, relatively unknown. Check them out, you can download their EP for free here (upon registration of course).

And what about us reaching the 100th post?! Shots of Alexi vodka anyone? C'mon it says its distilled four times!


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99. THOMAS BANGALTER


i'd hope that you all know who the big leaguer, thomas bangalter, is: one of the biggest french house and electronic musicians / producers / one-half of daft punk + stardust ("music sounds better with you") + together ("a time has come to make a decision, are we in this thing alone, or are we in it together"). he is also responsible for one of my favorite remixes - dj mehdi's signatune (one of my favorite music videos too, btw).

obviously he's a bit busy right now, working on tron legacy's score along with the other half of daft punk. i'm real stoked, both for the movie and the killer sound track.

in this TB down time, i wanted to provide you with a bangalter classic off of his 1995 (woah) solo ep "trax on da rocks" and another off of his 1998 follow up "track on da rocks 2." this is french house at its best and the craziest part is that it won't feel dated because it's on the same level as (if not better than) a lot of today's electronica. since they are both great summer time kick offs, hopefully they inspire both mixed drinks and beaches:



99 posts on youcantstopah. i love you guys.

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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

98. MIAMI HORROR

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

miami horror blasts back into action with his "moon theory" single. when i first heard miami horror, it was just some dude mixing some perfect 80s influenced electro jams and doing some solid remixes for PNAU, stardust, the presets (and many more). lots of synths and electric guitars, sunglasses and red corvettes. now, miami horror plays live with a four piece band and the tracks he puts together in the studio have dynamic vocals that follow a similar aesthetic. if you go back you'll find some older miami horror that's a little less produced and has no vocals. he has definitely grown a lot as an artist, but don't forget the old stuff - it's good too!

everything off of his last ep, bravado, is fantastic. check out "make you mine" and "sometimes." they are some of the best summer jams - on par with bands like the similou.

what's coming next is a full length miami horror lp that i can't find any details on other then it's expected release is sometime later this year. "moon theory" is basically a combination of the 80s synth aesthetic and some epic western gun fight with clint eastwood feeling extremely lucky. i'm not sure why (probably because of the occasional twang), but it feels like sepia and neon, and it works well. vocally, it sounds a little bit like hercules and love affair. you will enjoy it!


go to their fan bridge page here to sign up for their mailing list and grab the baby monster remix

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Monday, May 17, 2010

97. MICHAEL LEONHART & THE AVRAMINA 7

Monday, May 17, 2010

Michael Leonhart & Avramina 7 - Dreams Of An Aquarian (Music Video on Youtube)

michael leonhart is a songwriter, a producer, and a musician on truth & soul records - a brooklyn based indie label that specializes in contemporary funk and soul. YEAH YEAH! michael has worked with some amazing talent across multiple genres: mos def, brian eno, steely dan (those guys are picky), david byrne and has worked on over 50 truth and soul recordings. bottom line is that this guy is fucking talented.

the avramina 7 are a group of NYC studio musicians who have played with el michels affair and tv on the radio (to name a couple).

what they've done together is create a concept album "that would meld the styles of Bollywood funk scores, 60's psychedelic rock, and the mythical storytelling of artists like Peter, Paul, & Mary and Donovan." as far as i can tell, they did a great job - you can for sure hear the bollywood funk! it's reallllll funky.

here is one of my favorite tracks off of the album:

grab the whole thing, extremely well priced, on itunes right here.

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

96. ANTIVJ

Thursday, May 13, 2010

AntiVJ - ENGHIEN (Vimeo)

AntiVJ is a visual label that presents these incredible audio/visual performances. They're simple and spectacular, mixing electronic music and projection mapping. Like this video, they often make buildings come alive. Its fucking awesome - definitely the best mapping work I've ever seen. Check them out and expect more to come.


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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

95. AU REVOIR SIMONE

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

i fell in love with au revoir simone when i first heard the teenager's remix of "fallen snow." their vocals inspire good feelings! it's been a while since we posted some solid electro/disco remixes on here - where that bass line is so hot you could burn this disco out. this track has everything, the horns, the break down, the disco strings, and the part where you roller skate backwards. PUNCHES are from BK (let's hang out guys) and have only one other track on their myspace - that's equally as funky. definitely check that out!

this is another song i heard first through et musique pour tous. thanks for the education! they put together a stellar mix once a month called "le miel du mois" (french for-) and this was one of may's featured tracks. check out all the mixes here, you'll for sure have a good time. it comes highly recommended from me to you!


make sure you grab au revoir simone's latest album "still light, still night" off of itunes.

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94. MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD


here's something that's a little different

martina topley-bird provides smooth and beautiful vocals over tracks produced by danger mouse. previously, martina has collaborated with gorillaz, common, massive attack and the prodigy. in other words, she has worked with some tight artists, and has nothing but super star value.

she's opening for massive attack and neon indian tonight in NYC @ terminal 5! tickets here. she's headed to the west coast afterwards, where she'll continue to open in LA, then san fran.


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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

93. AMARI + FRANCESCO CALABRESE

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Amari - Tiger (Vimeo)

It looks like this band, Amari, was warped into a mixed-up alternate universe of Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and they're all living strange lives through the eyes of others. Rock solid video and loving the music too. Seems like they got their hands on a bunch of sci-fi films from the 80's and pasted the bands faces on all the characters. Nothing I recognize, but I wasn't much of sci-fi fanatic. I think I see some Russian writing in a couple of the shots... Great directing job by Francesco Calabrese.

The song, Tiger, is a single set to release this thursday (May 13th). It'll have accompanying remixes by Cècile, NT89, Bunuel, and Cerronza. Check them out:


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Monday, May 10, 2010

92. CHANGES + SOMETHING GOOD CAN WORK

Monday, May 10, 2010

things are changing with youcantstopah. today we become part of a bigger network of blogs (ran by our music video writer fwack) called "the king of clouds." oh yeah!

the only real difference you'll see here is that there's a navigation bar at the top of the page that'll more easily help you access some of the other pages within the network. this isn't some sell out plan, and it's not like we're garnering any type of advertising space that'll ruin the aesthetic of our pages. hell yes, i'd like to be making dollaz, but that isn't the immediate goal. what we're shooting for is creating a set of pages that hold many of your (and our) interests together in one place.

what are these new pages?

boombox - public art. any thing that can create a shared experience for the viewer(s) in public spaces. very excited to see this develop.
pixels - this page is made up of a select group of invited artists who post images, videos and photography (basically any digital art). the categories will range from bad photoshop to crazy digtal illustrations. i'm very excited about pixels because i'll for sure be using it as an outlet. think of it as a more collaborative and multi-faceted tumblr image blog (that also posts videos). all original and "remixed" material.
youcantstopah - we're not going to change, but you'll see some definite improvements, almost immediately, we will be adding new contributors and we're real stoked about it! we'll still be posting about music, music videos and events - only we'll continue to post even more than we ever have in the past.
emporium - merch and more, baby. mostly for the digital art that comes out of PIXELS, but maybe some youcantstopah will be up there in the future. we'll keep you posted.

here is some good music for you, you really deserve it for making it this far:

i put the twelves remix of this track up in april and had no idea the original was so good. moulinex did a remix of their "i can talk" - should have known - when both moulinex AND the twelves remix a band, the band has to be good. i just heard the original of this track for the first time a few days ago and am very impressed. the vocalist for these guys is original and creative, super quick delivery and real smooth. a lot of up-tempo, 16th notes on the hi-hat and positive guitar riffs. they are the parts of bloc party that don't depress you. two door cinema club's album "tourist history" just came out. grab it on itunes here, it's reallllly good.

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Friday, May 7, 2010

91. GRIEVES + BUDO

Friday, May 7, 2010

here are some sweet friday hip-hop remixes for you. grieves and budo worked together to put together this nice little ep that they're offerring entirely for free here. you can preview all the tracks below (unless you are using RSS)!



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90. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS + ADAM SMITH + MARCUS LYALL

The Chemical Brothers - Swoon (Youtube)

You most certainly should check out this video. It's simple but stunning, and probably one of the best uses of stock(-esque) footage. Released yesterday, the music video is for the single, Swoon, from The Chemical Brothers' upcoming album, Further, set to be released this June. The exciting thing about this album is that each of the 8 tracks will have a corresponding film that developed concurrently. The Chemical Brothers established this partnership with two of their long-time visual artist buds, Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall. Smith has been behind every visual backdrop for every Chemical Brothers concert since they debuted live!

Sounds like an awesome idea and I am excited to see the rest of the videos look like. The videos will be released as a special edition DVD. They will also be available for download with the LP on iTunes.

ALSO, if you don't already follow us via any of those social networks, might I suggest you check out our Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace?


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89. MORE MITTEN


i can't begin to explain how good brooklyn duo mitten is. they're still working on their debut ep, and it looks like their working realll hard. if you liked their other two tracks, "cavalcade" and "green" you will FOR SURE like "similar sense." it proves their versatility even more: it's up-tempo, the vocals are playful and gently bounce us around, the lyrics are meaningful for anyone who lives in this city, the melodic build takes you for a positive ride to the chorus and the percussion is interesting and innovative using more indie approaches with electronic influences that might make you think of aphex twin. i could keep going on and on! some other good news is that mitten is working on their live show - i can't wait for this - it's going to be glorious. the bad news is that this will probably be their last free track before they release their ep.


check out some more of their music on another youcantstopah post AND don't forget to become a fan on facebook. mitten is maia and joanna. they like things like kittens, whiskey, bicycles and oregon. they are love at first listen.

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Thursday, May 6, 2010

88. REAL GENIUS

Thursday, May 6, 2010
if you haven't seen real genius before, you're really missing out. i saw it for the first time in the late 90s, rediscovered it when i was in high school, and have been listening to these tracks over and over again since. real genius is kind of like if tron and revenge of the nerds had a child, where val kilmer and jeff bridges are most closely related and the story's backdrop is that of a college where nerds are "less than." if that isn't enough, there are lasers and the fashion sense is ray bans and irony. it's basically hipster porn.

these two jams are from the real genius soundtrack, some of the best representation of music from an 80s comedy cliché (but, yes, it's truly amazing). i love these songs. we go way back.



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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

87. WALTER MEEGO

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

i saw walter meego open up for the presets two summers ago in brooklyn and i really liked their music style, combining some more traditional (rock) guitar sounds with happy-pop-electro. their stage presence was good too: you know that stupid shit noise musicians do when they're pretending to be hendrix? it was the opposite of that. it was on the money.

it's great when you REALLY like the opener when you go to a bigger electro show. sometimes you find something new that you could be really into. i grabbed a bunch of their tracks, and golf carted around all summer in a narnia type landscape with walter meego as my perfect soundtrack. it was magical.

i'm sure most of you have "forever" (which is an awesome track) but "got me going" is something special. when i saw them live and wrote the words down on a receipt so i'd remember to find it. that makes it a big deal. sure, it's the live version, but that's really the only version i've found around. it's a little dark (in a good way) compared to some of their other stuff and it has a tight guitar solo that's some where in between my sharona and cliffs of dover.

walter meego's debut album "voyager" is real good. grab it on itunes. their blog says that their next album is mixed and recorded, but needs to be mastered. if it's as quality as voyager it's going to be a big release. also if you head over to their blog, there are a bunch of demo tracks to check out.

Walter Meego - Forever (Download)

Walter Meego - Got Me Going (Live) (Download)

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Monday, May 3, 2010

86. THE KNOCKS

Monday, May 3, 2010
the knocks are a new york city duo that specialize in bringing elements of hip-hop, electro and soul together. they've done a whole bunch of tight remixes for bands like passion pit, ellie goulding, and peter bjorn + john. in other words, they are crossing genre with their remix material and attracting the right attention all over the place: they even co-wrote and co-produced samuel's debut album. these guys are all over the place, and it's a good thing - they prove to be extremely versatile and enjoyable no matter the style of music they're working within. yeah, yeah!

after kicking ass with remixes and producing, they are finally dropping the single "blackout" and sharing it for free. good call, guys. i would call the track soul-electro-pop. it's the right stuff.


oh yeah AND they're having a release party this thursday @ baddies for the "blackout" single. NO cover. GREAT music. click the image for more information or rsvp to the email address baddiesrsvp(at)gbh(dot)tv if you want to attend. for sure hit that up!


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85. AUTOKRATZ


autokratz just put up their entire new "kick ep" for free on their website. these guys are nice guys.

their track "it's on" is what introduced me to them - i think it was in some bangin' moulinex (or maybe it was alex metric?) mix a few years ago. since then, they've really developed and now their mostly remix / electronica sound has grown into original songs that have an almost up-tempo new order + the presets feel.

head over to autokratz.com to grab the two track ep + three remixes.

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Saturday, May 1, 2010

84. TIGA

Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tiga - Far From Home (Youtube)

tiga's far from home is one of my favorite music videos. the whole thing is really theatrical, very musical-comedy in its choreography and directing. god damn, he even does some jazz steps (or box steps? i can't remember that shit's called).

the video was directed by nagi noda, who also directed for scissor sisters and cut copy. she created some unique music videos, but unfortunately, she passed away in 2008.

the set is super simple, but the embellishment and set dressings provide for a clean and almost magical aesthetic. it reminds me of sets from 60s movies like peter pan (live action). the dopest part of the video for me is the birds on the electric wires serving as musical notes.

tiga recently came out with a new album, ciao! preview it on itunes. far from home is off of his first album sexor - one of the besties.

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