I know, it’s been way too long since we updated the Playlist, but the third installment is finally here. It’s sort of all over the place and I tried to add in a few extra tracks to make it worth the wait so there should be a little something for everyone. This will be the last one I personally compile for a little while, we’ve got some guest playlists lined up for the coming months and they should drop more punctually than this one (once a month or so). Also still working on the recall feature so you can go back and listen to past playlists, I’ll post on that when it’s ready. For now, sit back, relax, and click “Play” at the top of the center column (RSS readers must visit the site). Enjoy!
800BELOVED – GALAXIES
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – YOUNG ADULT FRICTION
GRIZZLY BEAR – CHEERLEADER
THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE – 1517
BIBIO – AMBIVALENCE AVENUE
DEERHUNTER – AGORAPHOBIA
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT – UPPER EAST SIDE
BULLION – LONG PROMISED – ORIGINAL MIX
J DILLA – GOBSTOPPER
MUX MOOL – NIGHT COURT
ELIOT LIPP – BEAMRIDER
MODERAT – A NEW ERROR
DEASTRO – LIGHT POWERED
MAX TUNDRA – WHICH SONG
NATHAN FAKE – SUPERPOSITIONS
ROYKSOPP – HAPPY UP HERE
DAMN ARMS – DESTINATION PT. I
EVERYWHERE FT. MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD
FEVER RAY – WHEN I GROW UP (VERSION BY LISSVIK)
TIM HECKER – SEA OF PULSES
TYCHO – COASTAL BRAKE MANUAL REMIX
PANDA BEAR – I’M NOT
A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW – WATERY (DROWNING IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR BEING BURRIED ALIVE UNDER WATER)
AIRIEL – CINNAMON
SHIGETO/A SETTING SUN – POLAROID ROMANCE
ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI – FOR KATE I WAIT
CHRIST – PYLONESQUE
April 7th is a huge release date for electronic juggernauts The Juan MacLean and Junior Boys, both putting out Best Of like albums that you’ll probably see on many lists this year. This song Work is just perfection in my eyes of what i’d love to take in the studio, it has the dark drive and its sexy beyond belief. Those distant Tangerine Dream synths and rolling leads just grab me right from when they start. The Juan MacLean does jam out on his new album, full of pop length songs and the vox upfront, reminds me a little of how Adult. started out meets Human League.
Todd Terje makes America’s Horse With No Name a bit easier to play out for all the slow disco DJ’s out there, a lovely simple edit.
I found this Manoo remix of Yacoub on a mix by Culoe De Song, just a real nice groove, i’m sure when i’m older i’ll be listening to only this kind of music, all my friends and I will have ponytails, steel round framed eyeglasses and our world music vinyl collections will be sprawled across our living rooms, almost crushing the newly mined gold bird cages holding our rare cockatoos and sometimes even being bookended at times by 500+ euro authentic African rain sticks, while the house reeks of Nag Champa and the kiln is burning my latest failed attempt at a clay vase.
Minotaur Shock at first never caught my ear because I skipped thru the songs too quickly but the meat and potatoes of “Luck Shield” makes me so disappointed in myself that I didn’t catch this song before. The song sounds like a collaboration between Mum, Calmer and Final Fantasy because of the gentle melodies, the jazzier drum at times and its heavy on the strings in the main parts.
Niagara Fall’s americana lo-fi folk artist Joe Lapalgia only has a 5 track EP under his belt but that doesn’t mean his sound isn’t mature, with hints of Red House Painters and Bon Iver on the Day Behind EP I definitely see a bright future for this young man.
If you’re listening to song after song on this post then jumping from lo-fi folk to tech-house sometimes might be a bit of a stretch especially on a Monday but Josh Wink is a definite veteran in making some of the catchiest dancefloor tracks.
I’m still trying to figure out this song that Andy Webb “blended”, is it pieces from different songs by each musician listed? if so, is the song title also pieces of song titles as well? either way it sounds like an extended Cut Copy remix in my opinion thats done really well but pretty much anything Erlend Oye is on is gold so good choice(s) Mr. Webb.
Minotaur Shock – Luck Shield
[audio:shield.mp3]
Joe Lapaglia – Birds Flew By
[audio:flew.mp3]
Josh Wink – Everybody to the Sun
[audio:tothe.mp3]
The Whitest Boy Alive vs Mylo vs Cut Copy – Otto’s Golden Journey (Andy Webb’s Dreamy Blend)
So, you started Dwell Magazine in Oct. 2000 but your first full length as Hatchback was put out in Sept. 2008, I have a feeling you’ve had this album in you for awhile now but i’m sure Dwell takes up most of your day?
Right. Being the editor-in-chief of any magazine is time consuming, but with Dwell, I’m also working on our website, our conference, various brand extensions, and so on, so that keeps me fairly busy. Hatchback and Windsurf are what I like to do in my down time—mostly weekends, late nights. Sometimes I wish I could have a little more flexibility, for instance, I could wake up and say, ok, this morning I want to play Rhodes for an hour and then record a drum track, and then I’ll go to work. That would be ideal.
Can you list off 3 of your favorite pieces of furniture and 3 favorite instruments and one of each that you personally own? This list is pretty arbitrary, it would probably change tomorrow, but here:
Furniture:
Ultima Thule by Tapio Wirkkala, a 30 meter long sculpture of laminated plywood carved to look like a wind-blown glacial ice field made for the Finnish Pavilion of Expo 67.
The Sausage Chair by Nana Ditzel, mmm… sausage.
High Back Alcove Sofa by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec, this piece has an Empire Strikes Back quality which I admire.
Instruments:
Roland Jupiter 8, they don’t make synths this sexy anymore.
Synthi AKS, I got to play with one of these once, I had no idea what I was doing, but it sure was fun.
Fender Rhodes, the creamy keys. Every song I really dig tends to have some Rhodes on it.
My favorite furniture I own is probably my Bertoia Bird Chair and my favorite instrument is the Korg MS-20
Does Dwell ever feature or use music on any level? Not really. Every now and then we’ll feature a home where the resident is a musician. I was able to include a rhythm ace drum machine in a caption once.
Who did the Hatchback album cover? Do you feel like the cover best describes your sound and does it seep into a design style that you like as well?
The design firm Non-Format did the cover for my album, and most of the Lo Catalog. They’re really talented graphic designers and certainly great typographers. I had envisioned something a little more handmade originally, and perhaps inspired by folk art from India or Mexico or pornographic sci-fi like Boris Vallejo, but ultimately I really dig what they did.
I think your sound is the future of slower tempo music with depth that can be listened to by a broad crowd, could you share who got you into this type of music? And maybe suggest a few records to ease someone new to your sound into it. I’m not really sure what style my music is honestly. Maybe I’m not a good marketer, but I tend not to think in genres or that I should make a slower trac or faster trackk. That said, I tend to listen to older albums and soundtracks—I’m usually the last to know about really good new music.
I think Vangelis’ Bladerunner soundtrack continues to have a huge influence one me. The synthesizers on that are so on point, and the songs have a really emotive quality. Its pretty much as genius as it comes. You should also check out the Bilitis soundtrack by Francis Lai and La Planete Sauvage by Alain Goraguer.
Can you go thru for us a busy day that would have you working on both Hatchback and Dwell? Dwell: 9 am – 7:30 pm Hatchback: 10pm-4am
If I had a best songs of 21st century list going i’d seriously include “Everything Is New”, do you ever share any of the music at the Dwell offices? Wow. Thanks! Yeah, the designers have all my older jams and keep threatening to release a bootleg one of these days.
What plans do you have for Dwell in 2009? Any style architecture that we should be looking into? We try not to espouse style per se. We’re more interested in the timeless quality of modern design and the relationship between a building and its context—how does a place influence the architecture and how does architecture influence a place. Right now, green design is coming of age and really becoming mainstream—but the best green ideas are often timeless notions of building that have either been maligned or ignored by trends of the last 100 years, things like solar orientation and natural ventilation. These are things we need to re-learn fast, and couple with emerging technologies. Buildings, not cars or anything else, are the biggest contributor to green house gases and consume roughly 70% of the energy in this country, so its going to be critical that architecture addresses the environment above all else.
As you’re going into your 9th year with Dwell, what directions have you taken the company that you never thought you’d be doing but your glad you did? Well, when I started as the editorial assistant (a job I found on craigslist in 2000) I never dreamed that 7 years later I’d be the editor-in-chief. I’m really proud of the magazine we make and just want to keep the quality level high and the content interesting while having it be an entertaining read.
Is Hatchback available for a Tycho remix? I’m sure we’d all love to hear that. I’m up for it. I just might have to take the day off.
We have written about this release before here with the Tycho free single and here with a bit more information about the project, now after the free download its officially out in digital retail stores with an exclusive Solvent track and available in physical CD format. Here is what Ghostly International had to say about the release thats #5 on iTunes Electronic charts – “Cartoon Network’s genre-defying [Adult Swim] programming rearranges comedy’s basic building blocks into oddities like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; Ghostly International’s artists scramble the language of dance and pop music into something strange and artful. It was only a matter of time before the two found each other and made adorably freakish babies.
The Ghostly Swim compilation is a collaboration between Ghostly International and [Adult Swim], a 20-track mix (curated by label founder Sam Valenti IV) of tracks from Ghostly’s avant-pop mainstays like Matthew Dear, Michna, and School of Seven Bells, alongside kindred spirits like Milosh, FLYamSAM, and Mux Mool. Ghostly Swim’s best tracks embody the label’s trademark mix of playful darkness and irreverence – Deastro’s lurching robot-rock anthem “Light Powered,” The Chap’s bizarro-world pop hit “Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley,” Michna’s slinky-smooth “Triple Chrome Dipped” – making them an ideal accompaniment to, say, pissing in your pants over Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.
Ghostly Swim was initially released in early 2008 as an exclusive free download on [Adult Swim]’s website. Now, the groundbreaking compilation is available both on iTunes and as a limited-edition CD (available only through the Ghostly Store, free with a purchase of $20 or more), and includes a bonus track: Solvent’s banging cover of Madonna’s “Hung Up.””
Self Titled Magazine posted an amazing mix that was done by Michna and curated by SV4(Owner of Ghostly International), here is what they said:
“It all started with a record sleeve, a minimal blend of Michael Segal’s Boy Cat Bird characters and a Pacman-like logo plastered across a stark black background. Weighing the potential purchase based on nothing but a record shop recommendation and the cover’s simple, striking design, we scooped up Ghostly International’s inaugural Idol Tryouts compilation despite not even knowing who Dabrye or Matthew Dear were.
With Ghostly’s 10th anniversary looming on the horizon this year and School of Seven Bells just weeks away from gracing the cover of self-titled’s third digital issue, we thought we’d ask one of the label’s most promising new signings (Michna, a beat conductor/DJ/former Secret Frequency Crew member who also goes by the name Egg Foo Young) to craft a mix of Ghostly’s scene-spanning influences. He’s joined by Ghostly founder Sam Valenti IV (a.k.a. SV4), a sometime DJ who helped curate Michna’s crate. Together the pair emerged with a heady 60 minutes of melancholic dance music (Pantha Du Prince, Sascha Funke), Italodisco (Giorgio Moroder), essential electro (Kraftwerk), and an ambient house anthem (Orbital’s “Halcyon & On & On”) that left self-titled scrambling for our old copy of The Brown Album. Indie kids are encouraged to uncross their arms and join the fray, as the set ends in a mascara-smeared trifecta of the Depeche Mode, the Smiths and the Cure.” Read more here
Orbital – Halcyon & On & On (FFRR)
Joey Beltram – Enegy Flash (R+S)
The Persuader – What’s The Time, Mr Templar (Svek)
Sascha Funke – Safety First (Kompakt)
Pantha Du Prince – Suzan (Dial)
Klein & MBO – Dirty Talk (Zanza)
Gino Soccio – Remember (Atlantic)
Giorgio Moroder – The Chase (Casablanca)
Der Zyklus -Elektronisches Zeitecho (Gigolo)
I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Interdimensional Transmissions)
Kraftwerk – Numbers (WEA)
Air – Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi (Dopplereffekt Mix) (Source)
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts (Maxi Single Live Version) (Mute)
The Smiths – Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (Rough Trade)
The Cure – Close To Me (WEA)
The Cure – Close To Me (Closest Remix) (WEA)
Peter Kersten and his label Dial is my go to music when I just need to not fiddle with a playlist for an hour, nod my head with a smile, or just lay back and enjoy simple beautiful 4/4 deep techno. “The Essence ” is packed to the brim of exactly what I want to hear if every else was gone or if I made music.
Peter strips down songs to their essentials, he doesn’t rely on popular band instruments or lyrics. He just goes straight to what is deep and comfy like a rich man’s large living room couch. The Essence lets you have the option of focusing and listening to his songs and never needing your attention.
Sten – Daylight
[audio:stendaylight.mp3]
#2 Studio – Yearbook 2 (Information)
Studio has become that band in my life that i’ll always check out no matter what, you can say it’s become my essential NPR listen for the Subaru Outback driving lady that’s heading to work at the recycle center. Listen to Rubies: Room Without A Key (Studio version).
#3 Flying Lotus – Los Angeles (Warp)
Not once this year have I skipped over a Flying Lotus song off Los Angeles when my iTunes is on shuffle, thats kinda huge if you think about it. Listen to Flying Lotus – Roberta Flack (feat Dolly).
#4 Atlas Sound – Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (4AD)
Bradford Cox of Atlas Sound brings me to my knees, If I listen to the track “Recent Bedroom” anymore right now i’ll end up putting it #1 for the year but I have made up my mind. Listen to Atlas Sound – Recent Bedroom.
#5 Benoit Pioulard – Temper (Kranky)
Whatever Benoit Pioulard does is magic in my eyes. If it’s printing limited colored 7 inch vinyl randomly thru the year to selling his polaroids. When I heard “Temper” this year it became that record that I wanted to give to everyone I knew, I wanted to scream about Temper from the top of a mountain but all I had was Scott’s ISO50 blog which will always do. Listen to Benoit Pioulard – Brown Bess.
#6 Hatchback – Colors Of The Sun (Lo)
Do you know anything about analog synth heaven? well, pack your bags tonight, empty your bank account and steal a convertible preferably maroon or that 80’s silver because you my friend need night driving music. You will be driving on the coasts and living the secret life now as Hatchback. Listen to Hatchback – Everything is Neu.
#7 Hercules & Love Affair – Hercules & Love Affair (DFA)
The disco group that went all out and did it right. Full band, dancers, horns, and not in your face just the perfect party starting music from start to finish. Listen to Hercules And Love Affair – Blind.
#8 VA – Cosmic Balearic Beats Vol. 1 (Eskimo)
The Balearic sound really showed its true colors this year, we had the very talented Eskimo label put out a nonstop slue of treasure and this continuous mix became a vinyl collectors best friend packed with a various amount of new Balearic tracks. Listen to Maelstrom – Petrichor.
#9 Omar S. – Collected (FXHE)
Even though the Carl Craig’s, the Kevin Saunderson’s and the Derrick May’s are flying around the world and enjoying the fruits of their labor by playing shows, there are still heads left that rock out proper Detroit Techno day after day and I have to support it because I adore it.
I’ve always been a fan of Nicola Kuperus photography so I had to share a few of my favorites. If you recognize her name it’s probably because of her band Adult.
