The Needle Drop

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THEESatisfaction - "Recognition"

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Feel free to add this to your growing list of music to look forward to in 2015: Alternative hip hop and R&B duo THEESatisfaction have a new album on the way titled EarthEE. Like their last LP, awE naturalE, this record will be released via Sub Pop Records, and will most likely feature the kind of intergalactic soul featured on the track embedded above, "Recognition"

The panoramic rhythms, chants, and deep space synths on this cut are alluring and intoxicating. Despite the gentle demeanor of the music here, it's hard not to get whipped up in the song's ecstasy. Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White seem are sounding more ambitious here, and seem to be creating music for another dimension entirely.

Of course, it's not surprising to hear the vocals of Palaceer Lazaro hanging in the background as well, and I'm looking forward to any other appearances he might mack on this forthcoming record, too.

Look for EarthEE on February 24th.

Zs- "Corps"

UncategorizedContributor JonesComment

Hypnotic: a term used too often to describe anything slightly disorienting. Repetition: often overemphasized by writers to manufacture effect that isn't there.

Jolting: applied to the softest of transitions.

Impressionistic: used to delineate music that barely hints at being allusive.

With Zs however, bold descriptors often apply simply because their music is doing bold things. This group boils musical ideas to their purest and most elemental forms before stacking another idea onto the fold. To employ so many strong musical expressions in the span of twelve minutes, lapsing into and out of focus yet maintaining a cohesive thought throughout is undoubtedly impressive. Free jazz, blues, industrial, and many more forms of music, some that I probably can't even name, meld into each other here. "Corps" can be found on Zs' upcoming album Xe, which was recorded in one sitting and is sure to contain similar experimentation.

-Garrett Cottingham

A$AP Ferg - Ferg Forever

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Download: A$AP Ferg - Ferg Forever A$AP Mob's Lord Fergenstein has a new album coming in 2015, and he's decided to tease toward it with a DJ Drama-hosted Gangsta Grillz mixtape. The title: Ferg Forever. With production from Clams Casino, Big K.R.I.T., Mike Will, and Crystal Caines, this is pretty diverse set of tracks. There's a number of impressive feature credits as well: Big Sean, YG, SZA, A$AP Nast.

While I can't really expect it to be anything more than just a taste of what's to come, it's still a good taste. Download this thing via the link above.

YUNOREVIEW: February 2014

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This Month's YUNOREVIEW features the following albums in this exact order: Bombay Bicycle Club - Sog Long, See You Tomorrow Marissa Nadler - July Thou - Heathen Alden Penner - Exegesis Phantogram - Voices CEO - Wonderland Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Piano Nights ††† - ††† Prince Po & Oh No - Animal Serum Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us

Clams Casino- Instrumental Mixtape 2

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Download: Clams Casino- Instrumental Mixtape 2 Over the past couple years, hip hop producer has gone from zero to hero due to his hazy, atmospheric approach to creating beats. Not only has it defined a sound, but it's carried rappers to the top of their game. Lil B? A$AP Rocky? It's worth asking whether or not these guys would be anywhere if it weren't for the instrumentals Clammy Clams is putting together.

Last year, this guy put out a mixtape of some of his most popular instrumentals, and he's at it again this year with a collection of beats that were used by A$AP Rocky, the Weeknd, Mac Miller, Lil B, and more. His Lana Del Rey Remix is even on here--you know, for those of you who are into that sorta thing.

Download the new mixtape above.

Oneohtrix Point Never- "I Only Have Eyes for You" (Loved)

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Oneohtrix Point Never, a.k.a. Dan Lopatin, has been making a bit of a splash recently. Here, he has covered the Harry Warren & Al Dubin track from 1934 “I Only Have Eyes For You.” This is an ethereal take on the track, with spliced vocals and delicate soundwaves being the focus of this cover. It's a sleepy take on the track, and does a great job of mashing the past with the present. Oneohtrix Point Never is on a roll, and this cover will do nothing to disuade that.

/via/

A Mix From Milo: "The Intangible Newness of Doing the Same Old Thing"

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Y'all may remember when I reviewed the debut mixtape of up-and-coming MC Rory Ferreira, a.k.a. Milo. The title: I Wish My Brother Rob Was Here. You can hear it here. While it wasn't the most well-recorded tape I heard all year, it was easily one of the most brutally honest. Honesty and tangibility is incredibly important to Milo. If I had to guess what the biggest influence on his music is, I would have to say reality. Of course, that's the theme Milo chose to deal with then I approached him and asked him to make a conceptual mix of songs for this blog. Here's Milo's explanation of this mix, a download of it, the cover art, and the play list:

This is a playlist that should help people deal with reality. It seems like there is a really weird Digital Age trend of focusing on planet-transcendence and making life "magical" or whatever. That's much older than the Digital Age but you get the point. All the Lady Gaga enthusiasts who are making appeals to who knows what, Kid Cudi's insistence on being from the Moon, Wayne's insistence on being from Mars, etc. This playlist focuses on the mundane, the ordinary, the normalcy of everyday life and trying to grapple with that in authentic ways. Ultimately realizing this life we have has enough to explore and keep us busy for much longer than Teen Moms 2 will be on TV.

No appeals to being from planets outside this giant blueberry, or having a million dollars to buy a laser beam equipped yacht or any of those hullabaloos; primarily because that cannot be honest. And you're selling yourself short every time you subscribe to these stale notions of The Ideal. Hopefully this can spark some thought into more elaborate and unique daydreams. This is the playlist for the every-person, the idealistic pragmatist who recognizes the beauty in struggling with, what Reggie Watts calls, "binary existence."

1. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young- "Almost Cut My Hair" 2. Joni Mitchell- "California" 3. Solander- "Flight" 4. Open Mike Eagle- "Dishes" 5. Busdriver- "Mr. Mistake (Bested By The Whisper Chasm)" 6. Why?- "By Torpedo or Crohn's" 7. Fleet Foxes- "Blue Spotted Tail" 8. Sage Francis- "Best of Times" 9. Yes- "Yesterday & Today" 10. Bobby McFerrin- "Drive" 11. Neil Young- "Pocahontas" 12. Serengeti- "The Whip" 13. The Roots- "Hall & Oates" 14. They Might Be Giants- "Dr. Worm" 15. Junip- "Sweet & Bitter" 16. Talking Heads- "This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)"

.zip: Milo's "The Intangible Newness of Doing the Same Old Thing"

Favorite Albums of 2011

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1. Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues2. Death Grips- Exmilitary 3. Battles- Gloss Drop 4. Shabazz Palaces- Black Up 5. PJ Harvey- Let England Shake 6. Big K.R.I.T.- Returnof4eva 7. La Dispute- Wildlife 8. Liturgy- Aesthethica 9. Nicolas Jaar- Space Is Only Noise 10. Kendrick Lamar- Section.80 11. Africa Hitech- 93 Million Miles 12. Danny Brown- XXX 13. James Blake- James Blake 14. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy 15. Disma- Towards the Megalith 16. Iceage- New Brigade 17. Tim Hecker- Ravedeath, 1972 18. Colin Stetson- New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges 19. Cormorant- Dwellings 20. Destroyer- Kaputt 21. Chelsea Wolfe- Ἀποκάλυψις 22. Crystal Stilts- In Love With Oblivion 23. BADBADNOTGOOD- BBNG 24. Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica 25. SBTRKT- SBTRKT 26. Giles Corey- Giles Corey 27. Matana Roberts- Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres 28. Andrew Jackson Jihad- Knife Man 29. Timber Timbre- Creep On Creepin’ On 30. The Log.Os- λόγος 31. Vektor- Outer Isolation 32. Thundercat- The Golden Age of Apocalypse 33. The Roots- Undun 34. Veronica Falls- Veronica Falls 35. Shlohmo- Bad Vibes 36. ASAP Rocky- LiveLoveA$AP 37. Havok- Time Is Up 38. Holy Ghost!- Holy Ghost! 39. Toxic Holocaust- Conjure and Command 40. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Belong 41. Wormrot- Dirge 42. Rustie- Glass Swords 43. Dumbo Gets Mad- Elephants at the Door 44. Milo- I Wish My Brother Rob Was Here 45. Reks- R.E.K.S. 46. The Beastie Boys- The Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 47. Mogwai- Hardcore Will Never Die, but You Will 48. Cunninlynguists- Oneirology 49. Craft Spells- Idle Labor 50. Little Dragon- Ritual Union