hips and rosy lips

I'm a firm believer in positive thinking, believe it or not. Since Montreal is still a desolate wasteland of snow and ice (ok, I may be exaggerating, but it's bloody cold), I'm hoping that posting cheerful summery sounding tunes with a lot of bass will help precipitate a rapid change in seasons. I'm ready to start seeing the fine dames of Montreal in sundresses, having that first beer on a terrasse, and BBQs, goddamnit.

Art Nouveau - Air France (Max le Daron Remix) by Max le Daron

A nice mellow moombahton remix of Art Nouveau's amazing Air France track, which was released fairly recently on Demento Mori. Max le Daron, a young Belgian producer making big waves these days, tweaks the original and makes it sound like a soundtrack to the best week ever at an all-inclusive resort in the Carribean. Max le Daron has opened for such acts as Douster, Buraka Som Sistema, Noob, Djedjotronic, French Fries, Club Cheval,BeatAuCue and Noisia, among many others, and is definitely earning his stripes as a producer to watch in the coming year. He's also working on a collaborative project with Javier Estrada, which I'm pretty stoked about. Big ups to the whole Moombahton movement, which I suprisingly still haven't gotten tired of. Airport lounge vibes for the win.

Max le Daron soundcloud

Sunnyside Up by ∆dmin

Sigh. Summery vibes, dreamy little melodies that meander around your head, and a warm, delightful little ambient groove that somehow takes me right back to the empty beaches of Vietnam I visited last summer. Good lord. Kudos, ∆dmin, kudos. Elevator music has never sounded so good.

∆dmin soundcloud

Skanky - Slack by skanky uk

I don't know if this sounds summery per se, but it still puts me in a good mood and makes me want to go out and meet new people. Bass makes you socialize. Skanky is a dope 16 year old producer out of North London who's coming out with some pretty wild material these days. This is a kickass futuristic tune, although it is a bit short. Check out his soundcloud for other fine chunes from this badman.

Skanky soundcloud

Shy Fx - Original Nuttah (Ezekiel's cumbiahton edit/mix) by Ezekiel2090

A very effective cumbia/gurachero/dub edit of jungle pioneer Shy Fx's tune Original Nuttah. The traditional slow bass and rhythms are seamlessly interwoven into the double-pace jungle drums and vocals. Much respect to Ezekiel, who has been holding it down for Monterrey, Mexico for a while now.

Ezekiel Soundcloud


Bombé- Riviera (Extended Mix)

Simply epic. This is a somewhat older Bombé track, but it fit the theme of today's post like a glove. As usual, Bombé proves himself to be a Sensei of drum programming, and melts an entrancing and memorable flute loop and glorious bass together to make this sound like some kind of boss fight at the end of a magical journey. Warm, positive vibes are what I need right now. Although the tune gets somehat more ravey near the end, I'd still groove to this on a summer night.

Bombé soundcloud

-Matt

amour

Good evening, friends. While I realize that most of you shall not be reading this, as the holiday of romance surely beckons you elsewhere, either to a romantic supper of sorts with your loved one, or to some other brief passionate dalliance.

However, this post is for those of you who will need a little bit of background music to provide a soundtrack to your experience. Of course, if you leave our playlist on for too long, the next song after this post will be a DMX tune, so that might throw off the vibe somewhat. Actually, given that it will only go to DMX after about an hour and a bit of warm-up vibes...that just might work.

To quote Sebastien Tellier, "Making music that makes people want to have sex is what I wanted to do".

Tonight's tunes are best enjoyed with a glass of Merlot and a touch of sensimilla.

Love is on Your Side by Sinjin Hawke

This is damn fine vibe music. What a perfect amalgam of soulful melodies, pitched vocals and tremendous bass lines . Sinjin Hawke is a young, talented DJ/producer out of Montreal. This is a sexy-as-hell swagged out piece of lovestep that you need in your life. Decidedly tight stuff.

Sinjin Hawke soundcloud

Art Nouveau & LOL Boys - Air France II by dementomori

Whoa. Two of my favorite producer duos have reunited to make magic for Art Nouveau's EP Air France. While the original Air France is more upbeat, groovy and straightforward house, I prefer the flip on Air France II. Inception-level dreamy vibes and a sweet vocal sample that is lifted from early nineties rave music combine to make something both ethereal and jukey. Footwork music for the soul, as it were. I'd really hoped to avoid this shitty pun, but you won't find a better tune to join the Mile-High Club to this year. Straight vibes. Check out the rest of the EP on Demento Mori's page, it's worth it.

Art Nouveau soundcloud
LOL Boys soundcloud

Finally, I've included what is now becoming a tradition on this blog, meaning a post on ATV fam Grown Folk's monthly mix, the Grown Folk Collection. If you have not had the chance to check them out, I've included links to their first and second ones for your listening pleasure.

Grown Folk Collection N° 03 by Grown Folk

Tracklist
1. T. Williams - Heartbeat (Mosca Remix) - Local Action
2. Homepark - Forever Walking - Third Strike
3. Julio Bashmore - Ask Yourself - PMR
4. Gil Scott Heron & Jamie XX - I'll Take Care Of U - XL
5. LOL Boys - Runaways (Grown Folk Remix) - CDR
6. Mood II Swing - Do It Your Way - Groove On
7. Smolny & SLG - Turnaround (Instrumental Mix) - Play It Down
8. Hackman - Made Up My Mind - PTN
9. Creep - Days (Deadboy Remix) - Young Turks
10. Kelis - Brave (Dark Sky Remix) - Interscope
11. Pariah - Prism - R&S Records
12. Radio Slave - I Don't Need A Cure For This (Kenny Larkin Remix) - Rekids
13. Grown Folk - Uptown Shuffle - Templar Sound
14. Shadow Dancer - It's The Everything - Boys Noise Records
15. Justin Martin - Get Low (SECT Remix) - Dirtybird
16. MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker (Brackles Remix) - CDR

I had the pleasure of seeing Grown Folk play at Blue Dog this past friday, and while the rest of the night is a complete blur, I do remember their set being filled with sensual futuristic jams. Kid Aloha + Roledex, aka Drew & Brendan, are gaining quite a bit of recognition for their unique twist on the sound of the moment- the bass heavy hybrid of sexy house and r&b. Besides being signed to the Templar Sound label and being featured on Sound Pellegrino's prestigious Podcast series, they've been getting love from names such as Damu, STSQ, LOL Boys, Sam Tiba and more.

Grown Folk Collection N°03 features 2 fantastic new Grown Folk productions, and a great mix of upcoming releases and recent bangers. This is perfect mix of sensual upbeat house, futuristic UK-influenced bass sounds and techno grooves. A nicely interwoven web of the past, present and future of sexy synth sounds . Although I'm starting to sound like a broken record, I genuinely believe that Grown Folk is going to gain a lot of recognition in the music scene this year. Casanova crunk music, people. Get with it.

Grown Folk Soundcloud
Grown Folk Facebook

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the sexy bass music contained herein. Have a great night, everyone.

Much love

m.

Après-Midi

It's kind of funny how one's musical tastes can morph, depending on the time of year. At the beginning of the year, I was heavily into tech house and electro house bangers, and it seems that as time goes on, I become way more mellow.

I've been listening to a lot of techno as of late, and my recent obsession has been bizarre electronic music that borrows heavily from latin genres, like guarachero and cumbia. Anything with an off-kilter tribalesque beat really appeals to me these days, much more than nosebleed electro does. On the other side of things, I've been also listening to way too much indie folk/pop. Somewhat chill vibes for a Sunday afternoon.

Art Nouveau- Paradise (Original Mix)

We've already posted about Art Nouveau a few times so far, ever since we discovered them earlier this year. They released this new tune for free on their facebook page a few days ago, and I must say they've proven their talent once again. This is a a very laid back tune, not a dancefloor destroyer like Miracle, but its subtle rhythm, tambourine rolls and medieval flute combine to make something special. This duo from Reims is making big waves in the electronic music scene, and will definitely be a name to watch out for in the near future.



FIVE by samosoundboy

This dude just doesn't stop. I really dig his output, and this song in particular has been my anthem for the past little while. It is a rather simplistic tune, to be honest, but that ascending melody and the great drums make it into a tribal dance hall anthem. I was going through the archives over at the amazing Mixpak blog, and came across an interview with Samo Sound Boy, and dude seems really quite humble and interesting.

He mixes club music with an interesting blend of latin sounds and influences, and the result is a great backdrop for tropical booty-shakin' raves. Enjoy his recent tune FIVE, which has been rinsed by the fantastic Sinden to great acclaim.

Selah Sue- Raggamuffin

Selah Sue is a 21 year old from Belgium whose soulful voice and jazz-influenced songwriting have been earning her accolades across Europe. She's got a rather interesting vocal style that I've heard compared to a softer (and sober) Amy Winehouse. This particular song is pretty awesome, even though some might have a problem with a small white girl singing in patois. She covers Barrinton Levy during the chorus, and I think that she throws it down quite proper.

She's got a real soulful and earnest allure to her, and will probably be very popular in the coming years, if she doesn't succumb to the typical trappings of young artists in the music business. Here's a video of her performing it at a Tommy Hilfiger benefit show. Dig the extreme enunciation, peeps.



Angus & Julia Stone- For You

This Australian brother/sister group is probably my favorite indie find of 2010, so far. Their album Down The Way was the soundtrack to my month in Vietnam, and I've been happily discovering their earlier EPs and album recently. Their simple songwriting, folky tendencies, cute lyrics and soft acoustic sounds are probably what makes me love them so much. It just seems like really honest and heartfelt folk/pop music, which is like balm for the soul. Then again, maybe I have a weakness for somewhat nasal female voices that sing songs of longing (coughcoeurdepiratecough). Either way, I hope you dig this song, and this video of them performing it live. If you don't, that's cool, too. Take it easy.



I'm going to be going to the countryside for the next couple of days, and Calibar is spending the next 15 days in Europe, so Bynie will be your go-to man for updates. See you soon.

-Matt

almost there...

I have not been really doing my fair share on this music blog thing. Maybe being on day shift instead of night will make things a little easier. In the meantime, 3 electro tunes (haven't done much of that in the past while) for your listening pleasure. I'll eventually provide you with more music than you can possibly handle.

Art Nouveau - Miracle
Heard this song way back in January on the French duo's MySpace after noticing it had made it's way onto Sound Pellegrino's chart. See kids, charts are fun and useful for a multitude of things like music or presentations. I especially like pie charts since you can eat them when your done. Anyhow, Art Nouveau is made up of Andrea Starosse & Julien Salman. Even though their names are relatively new to the music scene, nothing about them disappoints. Their songs focuse on a few different styles of house music while keeping it simple at the same time. This formula seems to have been the most successful in the past few months.

Mystery Machine - Shake This
When this song came out as part of a Bang Gang compilation way back in 2009, it sparked the interest of quite a few people. To this day, nobody really has a clue as to who da f*ck Mystery Machine is. Apparently, they enjoy it this way. Kinda like that Gucci Vump thing, makes people paranoid and go ape shit on finding out who can hide their true identity on the internet. Don't let this bother you and just listen to the darn song.
Respect Too Many Sebastians

Djedjotronic - Bit This Thin Part 2 - Original Mix
The most recent release from Djedjotronic on Boys Noize Records. Song is cool and the Jesse Rose and Tony Senghore remixes are too, but it's the Part 2 breakdown which I enjoyed the most. Give it some time, around 1 minute in you'll see what I mean. In other news, he has a remix out of Chilly Gonzales' I am Europe. HUGE TUNE! MAD REMIX! Will share soon enough, for now i'll leave you with the clip.

die first city

diversity is what defines us.

Mali Boi ft Dawgy Baggz, Mata, Gunt & Big P.O.P.E- Naturalz

If you are not aware of Paper Route Records, Block Beaterz, Slow Motion Sounds, Hood Headlinaz or anything out of Huntsville, Alabama, and you claim to be a fan of rap music, then you should be ashamed. For the past several years, this incredibly large collective has been producing and releasing some of the rawest, most innovative, dopest rap music in the world. I'll be doing a feature for you guys really soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this amazing Southern country rap tune. Mali Boi, the producer (and the first rapper on the track), excels at making these eerie, bass-heavy and soulful kind of tracks.

Gyptian- Sensi

Gyptian is pretty much the don of one drop reggae. Look into my eyes, my eyes are bleeding.

Ben Harper- She's only happy in the sun

Most people know him as the singer of the hit song Steal my Kisses, but Mr. Ben Harper's music is not easy to pigeonhole. This particular song is from the album Diamonds on the Inside, back when he was still with the Innocent Criminals. These days, he tours and records with the Relentless 7, and has a heavier sound. Last summer, he played the closing show at Montreal's International Jazz Fest, and the performance was mind-blowing. He's an amazing musician that you should really look into. Note: He is the reason that Jack Johnson has a career.

Dead Boys- All this and more

Their name is forgotten way too often when people mention early punk rock. In my opinion, they were, for a while, more notorious than the Ramones. While they are more known for their song Sonic Reducer and Meat in Your Mouth, this one is a personal fave. This is real, raw, 1977 punk rock, that gives off an faint odor of teenage desperation, nihilism and love. Which is what punk started off as, anyways.

Bouga- Belsunce Breakdown (Art Nouveau remix)

Glorious Sir Byneford mentioned these 2 Frenchmen (from Reims, to be precise), a little while ago (HERE!), and here is a remix of theirs. I'm not quite sure how to describe this, to be honest. It sounds like Chilly Gonzales stuck in a K-Hole.

Spankrock ft Amanda Blank- Bump

Such an important record for me. 2005-2006 changed my life.

Hope you guys are enjoying the trip so far. It only gets better.

-MDMAwesome

Modern Art

I'll keep this one very short.

Art Nouveau = Awesome

The track "Miracle" made it to Sound Pellegrino's January chart so I checked it out. I recommend that you do so as well. If I am not mistaken the EP will be out this month.

Check out the MySpace here