Bryan Raydio: January 2014

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Ólafur Arnalds - Only The Winds

Yet another brilliant musician from Iceland. This one was actually a drummer in some metal bands before he branched out and got into this kind of neo-classical stuff. Have to say I like this much better. His album "For Now I Am Winter" got a lot of playtime from me last year, it's a sombre listen but very evocative and moving. Definitely worth checking out.

Kaleidoscope Jukebox - Flame Thrower

This is the project of Clint Carty, whose sound has a really eastern Mediterranean vibe to it, it's really chill, reminiscent of Thievery Corporation, who he has remixed in the past. He dropped some super cool EPs back in 2010 and in 2013 released his first full-length LP. If you like this track, you'll love the rest.

Mark de Clive-Lowe - Heaven

Here's some jazzy downtempo grooves from this New Zealander, now in LA, once from the UK. There's a newer, even more jazzed up version of this on his latest album, "Take The Space Trane", which features the Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Kayo Guevarra - Couldn't Buy Her

Getting 2014 off on the right foot. American hip hop is incredibly dark and grungy right now, which normally might sound appealing but I just don't think the production is tight enough. Canadian hip hop, on the other hand, just seems to have more soul. Here's some quality Halifax flavour comin' atcha.

Shad - Fam Jam

Didn't like much of the production on this album, but his lyrics are always killer. This track stood out for me.

Pusha T - Numbers On The Boards

For me hip hop pretty much sucked in 2013, but there were the odd exception. The original version of this track was pretty solid, but this Bloodsport remix is better.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Chvrches - Tightrope

Ok I will concede that these guys are actually pretty good. I wasn't really sold on them up until now, but this is a great cover of Jonelle Monáe that really shows their talent. They use cool grungy throwback synths kind of like Com Truise, and it's Lauren Mayberry's vocals that really seal the deal. It's not a traditional sound at all, it's quite girlish-sounding, but there's that subtle trailing vibrato at the end that just adds weight where it's not expected. Colour me impressed.

Man Man - Head On

This is another track from an album that didn't quite make the best of cut, but don't let that stop you from checking out "On Oni Pond". It's a very enjoyable listen.

Bonobo - Transits

This is a track from "The North Borders" that was released last year. It was pretty good, but not as good as the preceding effort "Black Sands" in my humble opinion. In the end it didn't quite make my best of the year, but it's still definitely worth checking out. The lovely Szjerdene is on vocals.