Easy Star All-Stars - Let Down

You've all heard or seen them, some loathe them, some love them, some want to be them. Cover bands. Because some songs are just so good, you have to hear them over and over and over again, done by as many different people as humanly possible...

I am not a fan of the cover band, as it were, but I do appreciate the art of reproducing the exceptional work of another with a twist. Adding that little something to it making it different, fresh, and most importantly able to stand on its own as a quality track, is a tricky task. The acoustic rendition, the metal manipulation, and the re-re-remix all have a place in the world, provided they're done well. There's not much worse than a really bad cover.

Luckily today we have a good cover. The Easy Star All-Stars have done three albums covering songs by Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and The Beatles. Not every song has been a resounding success, but this reggae interpretation is spot on. Radiohead is probably my all-time favorite band and I love the original, but I think I might actually enjoy this version a little more.

It's as if it was meant to be reggae all along.

Mylo - In My Arms

It's 2004 and a guy named Myles MacInnes is going to college to study all kinds of weird stuff, and in the meantime finding the time to make one of my top 10 albums of the decade. The first track I heard, of course, was "Drop The Pressure". Say no more. Mylo, as he is known, combines funk, disco, and all kinds of crazy loops to make ridiculous grooving party house. He has a new single, of sorts, that's unreleased but was played on BBC Radio 1 in January. It's pretty slick and hopefully he gets a new album out some time in the next decade. I hope my hearing is still good enough to make sense of it.

BONUS BEATS!

The Killers - Somebody Told Me [Mylo Remix]

Redonkulous.

Smokey Robinson - The Tracks Of My Tears

I was watching the second episode of the new HBO series "The Pacific" the other day. I can't wait for the next one. It's by the same producers of "Band Of Brothers". I'm a big fan of war movies, I used to watch shows like "MASH" and "Tour Of Duty", and one of my favourite comics was "The 'Nam". All of them have a common theme - the loss of humanity through the machine that is war. "Platoon" was another great movie, I've watched it at least a dozen times and one thing that really stands out for me is the absolutely brilliant soundtrack. I remember searching all over to finally buy a copy of it on CD, and then listening to it over and over and over again. This is one of the songs you can find on it, by one of the great soul artists of the 20th century.

What style!

Coldplay - Don't Panic

This just in, from the one-time biggest band in the world: Don't panic!

Cause everything's not lost.

The Format - Dog Problems

Who calls themselves The Format? What a weird name. These guys have problems.

Strange. I like it.

Stone Temple Pilots - Plush

STP have a new single out. It kinda sucks actually. A big letdown considering their mostly awesome stuff in their early days. At one time they were one of my favourite bands. Oh how the mighty have fallen. This is from their stunning 1993 appearance on the MTV Unplugged series. It wasn't released in audio version, but if you look around the interweb for a couple minutes you can probably find it.

Where did it go Scott?

Metric - Gimme Sympathy

Ever feel like you're really close to getting something or somewhere you've wanted for a long, long time? So close that you're almost scared to take that final step because you really don't have any idea what you're going to do once you get there? Like that anxiety before a big performance, or a championship game, or a last exam. You're prepared, ready, confident, and yet still scared to death of taking the final step. For whatever reason, I've been feeling that way for a few days. Time to step through the door I guess.

Anyway this song could be interpreted in many different ways, but for me it's about living life in the moment, on the edge, and stepping into the unknown. I'm sure you've all heard of Metric right now, so I won't bother saying anything except they're pretty cool. I like this song better acoustically than in its original version. Check 'er out.

Sympathy given.

John Butler Trio - Ocean

Some artists are best seen in person, on a little stage, in as intimate a setting as you can get, with as few other people as possible. Others are best seen on cd...

John Butler started his music career as a busker in Perth, Australia, while studying to be an art teacher. Thankfully enough people on the street stopped to listen that it convinced him to try being a full-time musician. He has a fast finger picking style, similar to Tony Cox, whom I saw live with about 15 other people here in Fredericton a couple years ago. His ensemble, the John Butler Trio, is on a North American tour starting May 20th, and if you get a chance to go, you might be lucky enough to see something a little like this.

Did you hear that little mistake right at the beginning? Sometimes even the greatest performances aren't perfect.

Gossip - Heavy Cross

Got some juicy Gossip. Sweet band from Washington state. Funky grooves with soulful vocals from Beth Ditto. Time is short. Listen up.

Some people talk too much.

The Gandharvas - The First Day Of Spring

ru·mi·nate   /ˈruməˌneɪt/ [roo-muh-neyt]
verb,-nat·ed, -nat·ing. –verb (used without object)

1. to chew the cud, as a ruminant.
2. to meditate or muse; ponder.
–verb (used with object)
3. to chew again or over and over.
4. to meditate on; ponder.

The Gandharvas are spirits. They make magical, mystical music, connecting the gods to mere mortals. They also happened to put together a few nifty tunes for you and me, particularly this one, that won Song of the Year in 1994 from The Edge. It's the first day of spring. So don't just sit there and ruminate. It's a beautiful day outside, and there's no way of knowing how long it will last.

Rich says spring started yesterday afternoon. Whatever. Today is the first full day. I'll take the technical decision victory on this one.

Wintersleep - Fog

It's a double offering today, and this is part one. It's been spring-like conditions for the most part of the week, but today is finally the day when we can officially put winter to bed. Wintersleep. Sounds good to me. The band too. If you haven't heard of them, I'm sorry, but the only help I can offer is a suggestion... nay!... I implore you to go out and get your hands on "Welcome To The Night Sky". This isn't happy-go-lucky brit-pop or la la lalala gagaland rubbish, it's brainfood in a cellophane wrapper. Buy it, and listen to the whole album start to finish. This song is not from that album. But it's short, it's real good, and it's going to help lift us from the fog of winter. Their new album coming out May 17th will probably help too...

On to part two...

Junkhouse - Out Of My Head

This is a tribute of sorts. Credits to my fellow Woburn-ite Matt Blair for the skinny on the passing of Don Achen this past Monday. Don was the lead guitarist of Junkhouse, and also ran the highly regarded Catherine North recording studio in Hamilton, Ontario. Junkhouse was one of my favourite rock bands growing up. The growling voice of Tom Wilson combined with Achen's gritty guitar gave them a sort of delta blues kind of feel behind their hard rock exterior. This was their first single from the fantastic 1993 album "Strays".

Thanks for the memories Don.

!!! - Hello? Is This Thing On?

!!!! In case you missed that, that's !!! with an exclamation mark after it. These guys are a little bit bonkers. Apparently you pronounce their name 'Chik Chik Chik'. Or 'Chek Chek Chek'. Or just 'Chk Chk Chk'. Or whatever. This is the song that I heard ages ago somewhere, might have been on The Wedge, but either way I went 'whoa' and had to find more. In summer 2008 I went to the Evolve Festival and saw them live, and while their albums are cool, they are by some distance more exciting live. Trippy lights, people jumping around, loud noises, blips, bloops, trumpets, and assorted sparkly things all adorn their on-stage productions. Best to be seen and experienced, not just heard. This is a fan-made video, it's low in the production quality but high in the cheap amusement factor.

BONUS BEATS!

Antranig - Whores

Bumpin'!

Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

Grime. It gets under your fingernails. It builds up in the corner of your living room. It trots into the trunk of your car, and has a picnic lunch in your sink. It's a little overwhelming sometimes, can make you a little dizzee, and can even drive you a little bit bonkers.

Armand van Helden with the production creds.

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

What up! Today is St. Patrick's day. In honour of this, I have chosen a song that was recommended to me by my man Patrick, aka The Franchise. I don't really know much about The Temper Trap, but this song is pretty addicting and uplifting. Good morning music. I'd actually heard this song before, but in checking it out again I happened to find an awesome remix by Evil Nine that I can't get enough of right now. You can check that one out too, sans video.

Tonight I'm DJing at the Phoenix. Come and listen to me play some Irish stuff, some weird stuff, and some other stuff. A lot of stuff. Dub Antenna will be playing Irish reggae music down in the Capital. See you there.

BONUS BEATS!

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition [Evil Nine Remix]

Guinness!

Rox - My Baby Left Me

Ahhhh... sooo much to do, so little time. FYI I'm DJing tomorrow night at the Phoenix for St. Paddy's day. First club session in a while so it should be fun!

This track is brand spankin' new from someone I've never heard of before. Rox is her stage name, and she's just come out with a new single that's pretty sweet. Reminds me of Lauryn Hill. I dig it. Great vocals. I've also got an awesome remix of it that I'm gonna play tomorrow night. Check it out yo!

Great tune.

Lupe Fiasco - Daydreamin'

Lupe Fiasco is a name you've probably heard, but if not you should probably go get yourself a copy of his 2006 album "Food & Liquor". Don't expect to find trailer park references here, instead you'll find top rate soulful production and nicely chilled lyrics. Thankfully you also won't find any of those inane 'interludes' that are littered throughout so many hip hop albums these days, taking up valuable cd space where instead more music or even dead air would be a better choice.

This is a 'must have' hip hop album. When I first heard it I couldn't wait to hear more from this guy. Sadly I felt that his 2007 follow up effort fell a bit short, though there were a couple cool tracks on it. He's releasing a massive three-disc effort soon, though, and since he's taken his time getting it done, I'm expecting something pretty solid.

This particular track is one of the highlights of his first album, and features the outstanding R&B vocalist Jill Scott in the big-money chorus. You may have heard this song in an AT&T commercial. It's much better when you listen to the whole thing.

Another great one here.

Béla Fleck & The Flecktones - Throwdown At The Hoedown

These guys probably aren't an everyday listen type of group, but if you need a sharp reminder of what REAL talent is, look no further than Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. Their style is probably best labelled as jazz fusion with a twist of bluegrass, but I would simply call them awe-inspiring. Any time you think you're pretty good at what you do, and you don't need any more practice, just turn them on. They'll make you feel small really quickly.

Featuring Béla on the banjo, Jeff Coffin on saxophone, the irrepressible Victor Wooten on bass, and Vic's older brother Roy (aka Futureman) on something insane called the synthaxe drumitar, these guys are basically the best in the world on their respective instruments. In Roy's case, he's the only one in the world who plays it, but since he made it himself you just have to let it slide. Who needs a drummer when you have a guy dressed as a pirate playing something that looks like a junkyard guitar that makes percussion sounds? Madness. Their 1996 album "Live Art" is required listening for anyone into jazz or musical genius.

Bonus Vic solo. Find me a better bass player in the world. Ya. Good luck with that.

Bryan Raydio - Oscilliscape

First entry into YouTube! Sweet. It's an old one, but I want to get as much of my stuff on there as possible so I made a quick little music video of sorts to get it online. Just something I made up in about an hour, but I figure it's better than just having a picture or a cd cover there. I like looking at things that move.

I'm not sure why I'm not in the search engines yet, maybe my account and the track is too new, but if anyone has any insight into how to make me show up in the search engines, drop me a line.

And oh, wait, I've revamped the blog! As you can see, it looks different now. A little neater maybe? Hope you like it.

If anyone is interested in me doing something similar for one of their tracks, I'm a lot cheaper than big production companies...

Peter Gabriel - Digging In The Dirt

Today is special. It's Saturday, which is always a special day, but it's also the last day of winter. Yes, I know, technically this doesn't happen until next weekend, but tonight the time changes and the daylight sticks around an hour longer each day, which for me means that it's time for spring. Thankfully the universe has been listening to my pleas for warmth and has appropriately shifted the world's climate so that our winter has been milder, and it appears the end is nigh. Apologies to the parts of the world where the winter has been worse than usual, but them's the breaks. To that oversized rodent who keeps popping out and telling us we're doomed for a few more weeks: get stuffed.

Digging us out of the winter is a groovy tune from someone you may have heard of before. Peter Gabriel entered the music world as the lead singer of a tiny little outfit out of England, whose name I can't remember. Oh wait... Genesis? Something like that. I don't think they sold many records or stuck around for very long. Maybe they should have booked a show at the Capital? In any event, Peter clearly recognized that Genesis weren't up to much and decided to leave and do his own thing. After failing miserably to achieve success with some weird songs about a hill and a hammer, Peter finally found his footing with this catchy little ditty circa 1992. Turns out hard work and persistence pays off sometimes.

Note that this is, in fact, a remix. Now you might say that it sounds something like the original, but that, for me, is the beauty of it. So often songs are twisted and thrashed about just for the sake of change, but Richard Evans has done a very nice job of staying true to the original and just adding little bits here and there to give it a little extra shine. I actually prefer it to the original. Enough talk, here's music.

EDIT: There used to be a video for this. Now it's gone. These things happen.

Supermax - It Ain't Easy

There's a discontinued series of concept albums out there called "Back To Mine" that basically asked DJs to compile an album of tracks that they would play at their house after a big night out at the club to chill out and wind down. Amongst these somewhat obscure gems is one done by Röyksopp in 2007 that featured some really sweet tunes, one of which I just had to feature on here at some point. Today is the lucky day. Supermax is an Austrian group that is probably more well known for their politically charged tour through South Africa in 1981 than their music, but this track is pure gold. This video is slightly out of sync, but it was the best quality audio I could find so I'm posting it anyway. Sit back, relax with some wine and a cigar, and enjoy this masterpiece from 1979. What a good year that was indeed...

Did you see the guy holding a keyboard like a guitar? Superwack.

Mr. Scruff - Get A Move On

A friend of mine recently asked me who my favourite DJ was. It's a pretty difficult question given how varied my musical interests are and how much amazing talent is out there. There's also a huge variance in what people look for in DJs. Some people want scratch DJs, some people want pumping electro, some just want funky beats without too much static in the middle. Given that it's hard to pick someone who is better than another when their skills are different, but if I had to pick one DJ to come play a house party for me and all my friends tomorrow I would pick Mr. Scruff.

Who?

His real name is Andy Carthy, and he's an amazingly talented artist from England who plays just about everything. From hip-hop to trip-hop, from funk to crunk, this guy is on the beat and packed with heat. His 2004 album "Keep It Solid Steel" was hugely influential for me, taking listeners on a journey from dub reggae to old school rap to nu jazz to stuff I can't even describe. This guy's the biz, and he's a dope producer too. Inspiring stuff. Check this classic you've probably heard before.

Cha-ching.

Deftones - Rocket Skates

When it comes to heavy rock with a dash of thrash and two bites of a metal sandwich, nobody does it quite like Deftones. These guys were really loud when they first came out, then absolutely ripped the music scene to pieces with White Pony ten long years ago. After fading a little into obscurity and releasing two cool but generally less awesome albums, and having their star bass player Chi Cheng badly injured in a car accident, they have pushed through the adversity and finished a new album, Diamond Eyes, tentatively scheduled for a May 18 release. Can't wait for this one. This song is the first release from the album, and I have to say it's pretty cool, sounds very White Pony-ish on first listen. Chino's unique vocal talents are, as usual, a focal point.

Teeth-gritting awesome.

Chromeo - Night By Night

What do you get when you mix soul, funk, disco, and bad '80s synth pop? Only the most awesome musical magicians to come out of Montreal since Oscar Peterson (with respect to A-Trak and Godspeed You Black Emperor). CHROMEO! These guys might sound like cheese, but it's actually new wave grood grod grats grawesome greasy gravy boat cheese. Seriously, these guys are ridiculous fun. You just can't help but get up and boogie with a smile on your face when you hear their tunes. It's been a while since their last album, but they're finally coming out with some new stuff this summer, and this is the first single from the album.

Hype.

Bill Withers - Use Me

Even though this musical genius hasn't recorded anything officially in over twenty years, you have heard his music many, many times, regardless of your age. Probably best known for "Lean On Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine", but Bill Withers has so many other strings in his bow. Quentin Tarantino used "Who Is He" in the Jackie Brown soundtrack, and no doubt his 1972 album "Still Bill" influenced the title of another well known movie. An homage to a great, great artist who started his working days first as an enlisted man in the navy and then as a general assembler before finally conceding to being a full time musician. This track is from that '72 album and reached #2 in the Billboard Charts. This particular live cut is a perfect example of soulful awesome.

James Gadson on drums. Brilliant.

Sweatshop Union - Don't Be Afraid

**Have been experiencing technical difficulties, hence the inconsistency in posting. That combined with the finally fading effects of an ear infection have put a serious damper on the production side of things, but they should be back in full effect this week. Note to self, water and computers do not mix. Lesson learned.**

And so we come to the end of Canadian Hip Hop week here on the blog, and tomorrow we will start with something new, exactly what I do not know, but whatever it is it'll be awesome, that's for sure. Rounding off our cross Canada vacation is some more sweetness out of Vancouver, the soothing soulful sounds of Sweatshop Union. These guys are seriously dope. Great lyrics, and some of the illest production going around to back them up. Hugely recommend seeing these guys, and picking up one of their albums. The newest one, "Water Street", is awesome. Pick it up tomorrow, you won't be disappointed. This track is an older one, but I like the video so I thought I'd throw 'er up here. There's quite a bit of their stuff on the ol' YouTube if you like what you hear.

Oh, Canada!

Three Sheet - Loungin'

Yeaahhh! East coast baby! This is Three Sheet from the 902 in Hali. Nominated for an ECMA and puttin' on a great show every time. These guys rocked it out at the massive Feels Good Christmas Party at the Capital and are definitely worth a night out for some sweet rhymes and good times. Good people too, a pleasure to talk to, which isn't always the case in an industry where ego dominates.

Much respect.

Big Black Lincoln - Pimpin' Life

Stickin' around Toronto we find Big Black Lincoln, featuring one Karl Amani Wailoo, aka Saukrates, in this dope track from 2006. I went to band camp with Amani waaaay back in the day, that's right, band camp. He was a pretty talented violin player back then, and he's a pretty talented producer and rapper these days. He's most recently been spotted in a video with K-Os, but hopefully we'll hear some fresh new cuts from him in the near future.

SMC reprazent!

Shad - I Don't Like To

Moving on into Ontario we come to Shadrach Kabango, aka Shad. Born in Kenya, but raised in London, Ontario. He's now out west studying a masters degree, but still finds time to pop out albums and do some occasional touring around. This dude's been compared to K-Os and Common, but he reminds me of Kanye West. He performed at last year's Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival here in Fredericton, and he's the next contestant on Canadian Hip Hop week here on the blog.

Another good one here. You'll like it.

Grand Analog - Social Butterfly

Moving us accross the country are Grand Analog, who started in Winnipeg but moved to Toronto to big it up. These guys sacrifice edge for soul, not so much junk but a little more funk. If you like K-Os you'll probably dig these guys.

Groovy.

Team Rezofficial - Lonely

Representing the west side and the Aboriginal hip hop scene are Team Rezofficial, a group formed after the breakup of War Party, who I saw live in Yellowknife a couple years back. Never mind their "status" though, these guys are tight, and have some serious production going on in the background. This track made it to #1 on the Much Rap City charts, and it's not hard to tell why. Wicked groove, have a listen.

Who knew Alberta could rap?

Infinite - Take A Look

Let the madness begin! It's Monday, March 1st and that means it's time for Canadian Hip-Hop week to start. We start in Toronto, 1998, and a little-known rapper named Infinite released an EP called "360°". He had originally been a member of Ghetto Concept, but after the death of his brother he went solo. He won a Muchmusic Award for this badass video, a choice bit of Jap-Anime that was a pretty original concept in the world of music vids back then. It definitely caught my eye, and my ears as well. Sadly Infinite has faded from the scene, but this is still an EP worth getting your hands on if you can.

Bad-ass.

Marco Polo - Nostalgia

Well tomorrow is the official start of Canadian Hip-Hop (to dash or not to dash?) week here on the blog, but I figured I'd cheat a little. Marco Polo is a sweet producer from Toronto who put out a kickin' album in 2007 called "Port Authority". This is the most popular track from the album, featuring the one and only Masta Ace throwin' down some lyrical majesty. The Masta is from Brooklyn, but at least the beat's Canadian. Check it!

Almost there...

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

So my Dad tells me that K.D. Lang sang this song at the opening of the Olympics last week. K.D. doesn't like to use caps in her name. I don't like that she's stealing Kraft Dinner's initials. Can't say I'm a fan of her, but I do happen to be a big fan of the song. It was originally written by Leonard Cohen, who for me is a better poet than a singer, and has since been covered by lots of people. Tonella used to do a nice job of it a ways back. She's coming back east soon, by the way, you should definitely check her out.

I digress. The greatest rendition, for me, of this song, has always been the one that I happened to hear first. I saw this on MuchMusic many a moon ago and thought "wowzers" for two reasons. Firstly it was the first time I'd ever heard the late Jeff Buckley in action, and second it was the first time I'd heard this amazing song. It took me a little while to find the right version, but now here it is in its entirety. Enjoy.

Brilliant.

War - Galaxy

I've changed my mind. Next week is going to be Canadian Hip Hop week. Can't limit it just to Toronto, there's too much coolness happening elsewhere, and I figured it'd be more fun to post some lesser known tunes than the usual suspects.

In other news, it's Friday. This calls for funk. I originally wanted to post M1's 2001 classic "Electronic Funk", but I can't find a video link anywhere, although there's a half-decent remix of it here. In its place I'm going old school, waaaay back to 1977. Funkin' it up with this crazy home-made video that actually kind of suits the tune. You want funk, you got it.

Funkin' awesome.

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man

I've got a whole bushel full of great hip hop tunes, especially Canadian ones, that I want to post but this isn't a hip hop blog, and it's Toronto Hip Hop week starting on Monday here, so I figure I'd better not oversaturate the airways.

It's Feels Good Thursday again tonight at the Capital, only this time there's a catch. It's extra special. It's a masquerade party! I may or may not attend on account of my busted ears, but Johnston is spinning tonight, Gordon Gets Lost is playing, and there will be people with funny masks on. How could it not be a good time?

This is a great little folky number from Mumford & Sons, who hail fom London, England. I don't know much about them except that they're pretty fun to listen to. I must give credit, once again, to Jenna for this find, who apparently found these guys via Jeremy McLaughlin. He's got his own stuff goin' on, click on his name and give it a listen. If you like the stuff below, chances are you might like his stuff too.

Good work lads.

Rascalz - Top Of The World

I've got an annoying ear infection right now, which is setting my production schedule back for a couple days (hopefully!), but it gave me a chance to pause and consider, amongst all this Canadian pride at the Olympics, how many people realise how many great Canadian artists are out there. This is particularly apparent to me in the hip-hop genre. For whatever reason I just feel that our guys pump out some mad tunes that I like moreso than most of the American stuff.

Of course this is a terrible generalisation and there are great hip-hop artists all over the world, but I'm just trying to use this as a segue into the fact that next week is going to be Toronto Hip-Hop week. Each day I'll post a different kick-ass tune from some of the badass acts out of my home town, the ol' 416. Until then, I leave you with this classic west coast flavour from the Rascalz, probably Vancouver's greatest hip-hop export.

Decepticons.

Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3

I stand corrected. As much as Bonnaroo looks awesome, Coachella looks even better. Could it be that I'm actually completely out of touch with the goings-on of the massive summer festivals? Could there yet be ever better ones to venture to? The plot thickens.

One of the main reasons that I think the Coachella has a better lineup is that besides having many of the great acts signed up for Bonnaroo, it also has some other bands that I absolutely love. First and foremost has to be Coheed & Cambria. Probably my favourite band right now, and I can just imagine being in the audience and seeing the kind of mayhem I've posted below. This is probably the greatest intro to a music DVD I've ever seen. Actually I can't really imagine being there. That's why I need to see it in person.

Mind-blowing DVD. By the way they have a new track out for anyone interested...

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Oh My God

Oh My God! I have to go to Bonnaroo. This is my mission. There are many like it, but this one is mine. The lineup for this year's festival is probably the single greatest collection of un-freakin-believable talent I have ever seen. Amongst the ridiculousness is one of the great underrated acts in the world, and the title of the track I've chosen is highly appropriate. Say no more.

Any and all donations towards purchase of a ticket will be graciously accepted.

Massive Attack - Paradise Circus

The year is 1998. Bill Clinton is loving his intern. Coincidentally, Viagra makes its first appearance in the market. Russia's economy collapses. Deutsche Bank buys Bankers Trust. Charlton Heston becomes president of the NRA, Jesse Ventura is elected Governer of Minnesota, and Hugo Chavez rises to power in Venezuela. James Cameron's Titanic wins a record 11 Academy Awards. Amidst the chaos, British trip-hop collective Massive Attack release their album "Mezzanine", the album of the year, and one of the best albums of the decade. The world gasps in awe.

The year is 2010. Barack Obama is loving his Marlboros. Greece's economy, and probably America's too, is on the brink of collapse. Haiti is crippled by an earthquake. Teddy Pendergrass and J.D. Salinger pass on to another realm. Gordon Lightfoot decides to stick around a little longer. James Cameron's Avatar is poised to dance with Oscar again. Amidst the chaos, Massive Attack rises from the darkness to release their first album in seven years, "Heligoland", the album of the year to date, and by default the best album of the decade. The world gasps in awe.

Wow.

Bryan Raydio - Red Shoes Demo

Well I've been spending far too much time in front of the computer lately, but for good reason. I'm working on some exciting new tracks, and one of them is now mostly done. Not finished yet, but it's worth a listen to. It's called Red Shoes, and I'm planning on writing some lyrics and putting a few samples in it, but for the meantime you can check out the Dub Mix (i.e. sans words) on the Myspace page. It's a downtempo groove, not like the mostly house/techno stuff I've had up until now. Check it out, and keep watching this space, because I should have a couple more new ones for ya in the next day or two.

Moderat - Rusty Nails

These guys are pretty cool. It's a collaborative effort between Modeselektor and Apparat, though it sounds more like the latter than the former to me. It's kind of an experimental progressive trip hip thing with breakbeat elements. Ya, I dunno. Crazy German music. But it's cool. I like it. I like the video too. Check it out.

More mad pumping Modeselektor.

Ozric Tentacles - Fractal Eternal Wheel

Friday is for fractals. Not usually, but just for today. As you may have gathered I'm a fan of psychedelic music. I enjoy the exploration of sound and pushing the boundaries of what can be mixed and mashed and spun together. It's like an auditory extension of life, exploring and experimenting and pushing the limits of what's possible in human achievement. These guys formed in the mid 80's and it's possible that I might have never heard of them had Leo not told me about them. Thankfully he did, and I remembered them, and I discovered how cool and crazy they were, and I suppose still are.

Whoa.

Dan Mangan - Basket

A friend of mine recently commented that she hadn't heard a lot of great west coast music lately, at least not compared to the amount of great stuff coming out of the east these days. This, of course, is largely due to the fact that we are here living in the east, and not the west, but just the same, it has been somewhat noticeable. One guy who certainly sticks out from the left coast, though, is Vancouver's Dan Mangan. I must give Jenna credit for this find some months ago, and since then he's toured out east and has garnered quite a reputation as an honest performer. There's something to be said about music that seems to emanate from the soul. A great performer can often make a mediocre song sound good. Mr. Dan doesn't have to worry too much about this, though, because his songs are already pretty darn good. This live performance sold me on him, it might sell you too.

I also recommend this one.

Bryan Raydio - Deep House Mix

Says it all really...

Another mix. I wasn't that happy with the last one so I wanted to get another one done quickly. This is a mix I've been meaning to do for a while. Music is all about creating moods and moving thought patterns and some of my favourite music is deep house. It mixes funk, soul, jazz, with a smooth Chicago house ambiance that just creates a cool, sexy groove, the kind you'd find at a chillin' lounge, or a martini bar, or maybe a late night afterhours establishment.

This particular mix takes us through some latin inspired percussion, into a deep tech house feel, and throws in a couple progressive elements. It's not perfect, but it's a much tighter mix. SoundCloud again provides some nice streaming below.

Artist: Bryan Raydio

Title: Deep House Mix

Label: Independent/Unsigned

Format: 320kbps MP3

Released: 17 February 2010

Genre: Deep / Tech House

Length: 60:53

TRACKLIST:

01. Safri Duo - Baya Baya

02. Jimpster - Dangly Panther

03. Elastic Sound - Moscow After Autumn Rain [Ricky Ryan Edit]

04. Iz & Diz - Mouth [Brad Peep's Remix For Friends]

05. Nivek Tsoy - Feeling Lose

06. Nicolas Jaar - El Bandido

07. Alex Flitsch & Audiofly - Long Way To Go

08. Mell Tierra - Watcha Doing? [Firebeatz Remix]

09. Hideo Kobayashi - Hanabi

10. Cesar Marveille & Pablo Cahn-Speyer - Tribute

11. Tuccillo - Jazzy Thing

12. Proff & Mango - 5th In Blue [Mango Mix]

13. Booka Shade - Sweet Lies [Patrice Baumel Remix]

DOWNLOAD - new links coming soon...

United Steel Workers Of Montreal - Émile Bertrand

The United Steel Workers Of Montreal are at the Capital this Saturday night. In case you haven't seen 'em, I highly recommend attending. If you're into folk, bluegrass, Tom Waits, or just real good live music, you won't regret taking the time to check these guys out. Lots of energy, and great music. These guys always draw a big crowd, so be sure to get there early! This is one of their slower songs but it's still a goodie.

Gosh, that's swell.

Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Rubicon

Fred Falke was the man behind that last remix, and he along with fellow Frenchmen Alan Braxe have combined to make some sweet tunes, with this proving to be a pretty big hit. So-called "French House" is in vogue these days, the term is used to describe the heavily filtered disco house style popularised by others like Daft Punk, Cassius, and most recently Louis La Roche. I'm a big fan, and you hear some of that in my "future samplers" tracks.

This particular tune doesn't have any lyrics at all in it, and it's a bit up-tempo for classic house, but it's still distinctly French and full of cheesy 80's synth brilliance. Not the most inspiring of videos either, but hey, you can't expect those crazy Frenchmen to get everything right...

More please.

The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage

The last track in my little house mix below is a remix of this song. It's a pretty awesome remix, but the original is just as awesome, in a different, groovy kinda way. It features the eclectic genius of Erlend Øye as lead singer. If you think you've heard him before, you might have. He's also fronted the Kings Of Convenience and done some tracks with Röyksopp, all of which are recommended listening. He's also from Norway. What's with these crazy Scandinavian singers? They have a real smooth, unique sound to them. Some groovy stuff indeed. Anyway check it out, it's a pretty cool video too, if you're into optical illusions.

Here's another little goodie for ya.

Bryan Raydio - Vocal House Mix

I've been working on a few new tracks but in the meantime I thought I'd put a couple "live" mixes up here for fun. This is the first one, it's kind of a club-style vocal house mix. Not classic vocal house, more progressive, but vocals nonetheless. This is probably about as far mainstream as I like to go.

I mixed this on two Gemini MPX-40 cd players using an American Audio Q-D5 MKII mixer. The cd players aren't very good. The pitch control has a 0.1% minimum, so for longish house mixes you really have to ride the pitch bend or jog wheel to keep it steady. To make matters worse, these players have all kinds of problems keeping the beat steady when you change the pitch, particularly with the keylock on. To put this in perspective the Pioneer CDJ-1000's (and the 400's for that matter) have a 0.02% pitch resolution and are bang on. Oh well, you get what you paid for I guess. Scratching is possible on these things, but the cue point slips, again making things pretty difficult. The mixer is pretty basic but it has full kills on the EQs and the faders are pretty smooth.

Anyway the mix isn't perfect, but I have other stuff I want to move on to so I'm posting it anyway. There's a slight skip in the breakdown in the Rustler track because my computer skipped for some reason, and there's a couple choppy transitions I would change in the future, but it's not too too bad. Mostly just a fun mix of some cool clubby tunes and some neat remixes of old classics you may not have heard before. Also a shameless plug of my own track right in the middle.

*NOTE* - I received a DMCA complaint about this post. I have no idea what they were complaining about, and when I responded asking for clarification, I got no reply. Since I can't be bothered to 'fight' for the contents of this post, I've instead removed the vocal house mix from the post, and also from Soundcloud. It wasn't that flash anyway. I'll leave the tracklist below, and if you're really interested in hearing it message me and I'll send it to you.

Artist: Bryan Raydio

Title: Vocal House Mix

Label: Independent/Unsigned

Format: 320kbps MP3

Released: 11 February 2010

Genre: Vocal / Progressive House

Length: 58:37

TRACKLIST:

01. Chromeo - Needy Girl [Lifelike Remix]

02. Glamrock Brothers - Long Train Runnin' [Xadis Remix]

03. Armand van Helden - The Funk Phenomena [Starkillers Remix]

04. Deadmau5 - Dr. Funkenstein

05. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean [Steve Murano Mark Of Respect Mix]

06. Jefferson Airplane - Somebody To Love [Yeap! Remix]

07. Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams [Kriss-One Remix]

08. Rustler - Around The World

09. Bryan Raydio - Ain't Nobody

10. Green Velvet & Kid Sister - Everybody Wants

11. Will Bailey & Hot Mouth - Underwear Funk

12. The Sound Diggers - Dance Like This

13. Duck Sauce - Anyway

14. Bob Sinclar - Peace Song [David Tort Together Remix]

15. The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage [Fred Falke Remix]

Jónsi - Go Do

Well if you haven't heard of Sigur Rós you're missing out on some pretty awesome music. They're from Iceland, which I gather is a pretty awesome place. I haven't been there yet but it's on my list of things to do. Jónsi Birgisson is the lead singer and a pretty out there dude. He's now releasing his first album "Go" this coming April, and is coming on tour to North America too. I would imagine the show would be pretty mind-blowing, if you're into ethereal epic style music. This is the first single, great song, crazy vid.

Check out this awesome Sigur Rós song.

Jean Claude Ades & Vincent Thomas - Shingaling

It's Feels Good Thursday, and tonight Soundsyster is playing down at the Capital. I remember hearing her stuff for the first time a few years back at the Afterdark here in town, and then seeing her at various other events. She generally plays pretty upbeat funky or minimal house and it's always fun to groove to. I first heard this song in one of her sets and it definitely got my head boppin.

Catchy little ditty ain't it?

Mastodon - Sleeping Giant

Well I'm on a bit of a metal kick since Monday, and here's one of my favourite recent-ish metal videos. Mastodon! What a band name. If that doesn't say "kick ass sound crushing metal mayhem monstrosity music" in one gigantic word, I don't know what does. Although I suppose Slayer wasn't bad either... but I digress.

Awesome!

Sepultura - Ratamahatta

I went to Metal Monday last night, and unfortunately I missed Manlord and We, The Undersigned, but I did catch Iron Giant. Awesome stuff, great show. Metal fans tend to be badly stereotyped because they wear black and spikey stuff and have lots of tattoos and piercings. I find them to be some of the nicest people around, very soft spoken and of good humour. It seems to me that it's better to get your emotion out at a show or at home listening to some kickass tunes than taking it out on your fellow drivers on the highway, or the guy down at Tim Horton's.

Anyway I could never really classify myself as a metalhead per se, but I do have a lot of time for some really awesome LOUD! music. Really it's metal and industrial that got me into the electronic genre in the first place. In 1996 Sepultura came out with "Roots" that was an awesome follow up to earlier efforts and the last album to feature epic vocalist Max Cavalera. My favourite track is this one, which happened to have a sweet stop-motion Tool-esque video that I remember catching on Muchmusic. Oh, can you imagine? A metal video on Much? Thems were the days...

Need more loud angry awesomeness? Try this one.

Die Antwoord - Enter The Ninja

Monday! A fresh week calls for a fresh track. For me, it doesn't get any "fresher" than this badass killa out of South Africa. Mad props to Johnston for this one, no idea where he finds this stuff but all I can say is daaaaaamn! These guys probably have one hit wonder written all over them, but I don't care. This tune rocks, the video rocks, and their website is pretty sweet too. Check it out boyyyyyy. Hahaha.

Madness in a taxi? Sure, why not.

Dirty Vegas - Days Go By

It was Indie Pop night last night at The Capital, featuring DJ Bones. Indie is in these days. Can't say I'm a huge fan, but there's a few sweet tunes to be found in amongst the dross. Indie fans tend to dress kinda silly. A little like me on crazy nights, but possibly even more silly. One guy thought it would be cool to bring his own ghettoblaster and rock his own tunes. He wasn't cool enough to get in the bar. He did remind me of this sweet video though. The guy in this video is much cooler. He would have got in the bar.

There's a sweet acoustic version of this song here.

Izza Kizza - Ooh La La

I have no idea who this guy is and had never heard of him until yesterday, but my man Travioli showed me this video and it was mad awesome. Coolest video I've seen since Gnarls Barkley showed up in town. Anyway you can check out his official website here. Can't wait to hear more of this guy.

Superfly.

Cazals - Somebody, Somewhere

I was at the first Feels Good Thursday event last night, and Mizz Maxine was spinning. She threw on some pretty badass tracks, the highlight for me being Lifelike's "Sequencer". Stunning track, and it reminded me of my favourite Lifelike remix, which I also first heard from one of Maxine's earlier Evolve sets. The video is just a little Planet Earth montage, but the song is so awesome I thought I'd throw it on anyway.

Check out more Mizz Maxine sets here.

Beck - Cellphone's Dead

Lee was playing this down at the bar the other night and it reminded me how awesome Beck is. Not that I'd ever really forgotten, but sometimes things that are really awesome get lost in the shuffle a bit and need some reinvestigating. Kinda like people. I'm looking into them soon. By the way, is it just me or is Ian MacDougall (aka Tom Fun) making a cameo appearance in this one?

Groove to another choice Beck joint here.

Tom Fun Orchestra - Throw Me To The Rats

Who ever said everything on here has to be electronic? Hmm... nobody I guess... ok so let's try this...

FUN! Tom Fun. Tom Fun Orchestra! These guys are from lovely Cape Breton and they always put on a great show. I happened to find a couple vids online and here is one of them. They're a little nutty and I dig 'em. Think more upbeat folky Tom Waits.

Rats.

Bryan Raydio - Future Releases Sampler Tracks

Aloha!

No, I'm not in Hawaii. I just wish I was. It's like -25 outside. Seriously. It was almost plus 5 like two days ago. Global warming? Try climate change Mr. Gore. Get a clue bucko.

Good news! I've revamped my Myspace page and I'm now on Twitter! I've uploaded 90 second previews of all of my released tracks on Myspace. Apologies for the crappy quality of the Myspace player, but it'll give you a half-decent idea of what my stuff sounds like. I'm hoping to figure out Soundcloud soon so I can post previews on the blog, but until then, Myspace it is.

Also, I've uploaded two 5-minute sampler tracks of Future Releases, featuring short snippets of some of the new tracks I'm working on. Much of the stuff I've put on here so far has been kinda dark techno-ish stuff, but that's not the only thing I'm interested in producing. The sampler tracks show off some different vibes.

Anyway check out the Myspace page for previews, and if you want high quality versions of the sampler tracks, see below:

FUTURE RELEASES SAMPLER 1 - new links coming soon...

FUTURE RELEASES SAMPLER 2 - new links coming soon...

Washed Out - Feel It All Around

This once-a-day awesome video posting is trickier than I thought. So maybe I won't post one every day... but I'll try. Anyway let's start off the month with something truly awesome. If you somehow haven't seen this one yet, please scroll down and press play. You can thank me later.

For more awesomeness check out Chase Heavener's videos here.