Would love any feedback in the comments section or on soundcloud itself. This is a song i've recently finished, I don't want to label it as any particular genre, i'll just let you listen and find out for yourself.

Easily the most pleasant post i have done in a while - here is a collection of smooth grooves that shouldn't get your pulse racing, but should be enjoyed in the small morning hours, lock the doors, close the curtains, lie back, close your eyes and let the soothing music envelop you...

You know the feeling when you put your hand in your pocket and feel a note (and then you go through the inner prayer - please be £20, please please please) - i get the same feeling when i stumble across amazing old songs, this is one of those songs - with its rolling lounge beat, carefully placed piano melody and shimmering episodes of plucked guitar, 'The Real Deal' is mesmerizing. However, its the inclusion of stunning chanted vocals which really makes this track shine, transporting you across continents, and giving you a taste of Africa. The electronica duo Goldfish (the 'Fishies' to their fans) hail from SA and are just ludicrously talented, buy their latest album here

The Real Deal - Goldfish.mp3

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I love getting the excuse to post Kalkbrenner, so here we go, a really laid back remix released in 2009, the original 'Closed Eyes' - Chordian was a classic piece of Detroit Techno, Kalkbrenner has retained the soulful vibe of the original, but injected his own juice into the mix - with the integration of a really sharp synth and a fattened bassline, you would think this pumped up version would have you hitting the dancefloor, however the repetitive beat and muted piano makes it delightfully soporific - earning it a spot here

Closed Eyes (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix) - Chordian.mp3

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Hypnotic, dreamy, heavenly - all of the above, the drumbeat is so light its almost insubstantial and the strummed backing guitar is strangely uplifting amidst the melancholic instrumentals (a little ivory tinkling is also thrown in for good measure at the end) - all nicely wrapped up with Erlend Øye's soft, sombre vocals - a very pleasant track that i am sure is well known to most of you!

As an added bonus Röyksopp have released another track in 320 completely free and its very, very nice - 'Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast (RYXP True To Original Edit)' - Steve Reich.mp3

I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Röyksopp Remix) - Kings of Convenience

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Ok, i don't really like Indie music, however i do like Au Revoir Simone and i really like Max Cooper (as i am sure you will have guessed from previous posts) - so i jumped on the release back in 2009, when it was posted for free in 192kbps here. However i have been in the process of updating my entire music collection into 320, so i was recently reacquainted with this fantastical remix - the familiar Cooper clicks and static hiss prickle throughout, a muted kick breaks through the cold whispering synth. Out of the depths slowly climb the tinkling piano chimes and the dampened vocals of the original... which eventually break into warm liquid sub bass, its awesome. Over 6 minutes of spiritual enlightenment...get it here

Take Me As I Am (Max Cooper Remix) - Au Revoir Simone.mp3

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First of thanks to BLeigh for persuading me to get my hands this one - talk about pleasant D&B, seriously deep, no known release date for this tingly bad boy, although it should be coming out on the highly anticiapted Commix album 'Recall To Mind,' - get your atmospheric fill-up here, ya beauty:

Japanese Electronics (Instra:mental Rework) - Commix.mp3


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Sweet variety collection of Techno to get hot and bothered about... these tracks have been keeping me warm as the long cold Chile nights roll in....                                                          

Slightly mixed thoughts on including this one in the post - some classify this as Techno, others as Electro House - however because it was included on an album called 'The Definitive Techno Compilation' - i am pretty sure its Techno.  Its a fantastic remix, the duo have spruced up the originals punchy bass and tweaked the echoing space-synth to roll over, imparting a much groovier feel - this remix inspired me to buy most of Olivier Giacomottos' productions

Gail In The O (John Acquaviva & Damon Jee Remix) - Olivier Giacomotto.mp3

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Marek receives honorary title of hypnotic funk daddy with this dreamy euphoric groove. Driving crystal strings, a wavering bass line and of course the crooning vocals delivered by Fabian Reichelt who manages to impart solemn soul into the fresh techno. I love the gentle break before the drop.
Its a delicious production from a producer i had great hopes for in 2009 (see my post here,) he has certainly stepped up to the mark. I can only hope 2010 brings more Hemmann! His Left/Right EP will be available to download on the 26th April here

Left - Marek Hemmann.mp3

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If you love deep & dubby Techno then check this out - 'Mekong Delta' was originally released in 2007  this massive production is a mix of dry drums, pulsing organ and frequent breaks. Its an essential piece of "big" techno, and one of my favorite rave anthems...was lucky enough to see this at Melt 2008 where it just tore the dance floor to shreds

Mekong Delta - Len Faki.mp3

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DJ Madskillz is one of the most respected DJs in the Netherlands he boasts a discography over 90 productions,  not to mention a huge list of remixes, i enjoy his work. With his 2010 remix 'Mr Bean Does an E' he audiolizes the fantastic title by bringing a huge amount of energy into this remix, jumping it up with a pumping beat…. this is a fantastic tech house track that bears little resemblance to the original... best thing to come from the commercial clubbing giant Ministry of Sound since, well...ever!

Mr. Bean Do An E (DJ Madskillz Remix) - Dan Curtin.mp3

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Some great whomping Techno, from my choice duo 'Moonbeam'  - rapid bright plucked strings, a cold spacey synth, shimmering bass lines and soaring breakdown, a really pleasant atmospheric Techno melody...get it here

Liveliness (Moonbeam Mix) -  Moonbeam & Jan Zyabovski.mp3

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I cannot get over how many amazing D&B tunes have been released in 2010, no question D&B is my preferred genre of the moment, so... i can't help but give this post a bit of preferential treatment by posting 7 tracks instead of the usual 5 - but all the tracks are stormers, so i apologize for nothing!

I know very little about the Russian artists 'Liquilade' aside from the fact that the cover art of their website is a little like a Gap Advert - check it here. Nevertheless (moving on from poor photo choice,) these guys have a pleasant sound going on - particularly in the case of 'Colorite.' Some nice smooth (fairly generic but very listenable) liquid to spread on the dance-floor

Colorite - Liquilade.mp3

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I have chosen to showcase a track by the artist 'Gen' taken from an unreleased compilation album called 'Time Travel Volume 2' - i really, really recommend you go and buy this one -  cause its just awesome. 'Reactor' is stunning Atmospheric Jungle - can't get enough of the nasal vocals, its firmly on repeat in my head and available exclusively here

Reactor - Gen.mp3

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For such an ominously entitled track, its surprisingly light, although definitely more grinding than your standard liquid - its got a nice Tech-Step buzzing vibe, and a vocal instructing us to 'get our rage on'... If the song says so, you must comply! Its out on promo 12" here

Rage - J Majik & Wickaman.mp3

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I guess this is Neuro Funk - its certainly got a very Electro feel to it, really spacey music with a rapid staccato beat... i really like the anticipation build with this production,  its a full 5 minute wait before a break at the crescendo finally leads into the tasty heavy-hitting drop

Uphill Struggle (Original Mix) - The Fairchild.mp3

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More Atmospheric D&B, with another great vocal sample (what can i say, i'm a sucker for mellow beats) - and they don't get much more mellow than this. Pulsing synths, crooning vocals and the odd clap, all undercut by a very deep muted kick - beautiful

Sunshine Through Rainy Clouds - Blue Motion

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Nice bit of heavy heavy D&B, sort of diet-hard-style, this is an absolute smasher, very much like heyday 'Hold Your Colour' - Pendulum. Phetsta has stripped back the speed of the original, maintained the awesome dark spoken sample, and jumped up the throbbing bass and buzzsaw synth - the vinyl will be released on the 30/04

Vampires (Phetsta Remix) - Camo & Krooked.mp3

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The release 'Warrior' has been remixed by SBTRKT and Jus Wan, however its the fresh style of the Rockwell Remix that really grabbed my attention. Its a moody stripped-down minimal D&B beast - a heavy roller that utilizes the original vocals in a really powerful fashion. You have to listen to it through headphones (a transcendental experience

Warrior (Rockwell Remix) - Jose James.mp3
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I'm sorry I haven't done a post for a while so I thought I'd reward your patience with a preview of SBTRKT's fairly new track Rundown. It's been released by Young Turks, the same label that brought you the XX (as you can guess from the success of their album, they've had a lot of press coverage lately) and is the first Dubstep/Garage release on that label. SBTRKT (The masked man) is predominantly a garage producer but to be honest it's quite hard to pin point his style. I think you'll like this track, it's not necessarily heavy Dubstep but there's something about it which makes you want to move about......if you know what I mean. Tell me what you think in the comments

In response to some requests i have put this post together. I would be lying if i said i was knowledgeable about the genre - but it has been of paramount importance to the evolution of electronic music, and therefore it is essential that i try to dabble in Dub.

So here we go - i am sure there will be much amusement at this paltry selection of Dubbery - please give me some feedback, i would be interested to hear what people think about this post!

Might as well start at the roots with 'The Revolutionaries' - Drum and bass reggae legends, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare put together this little ditty. Its spaced out music, with repetitive instramental grooves, stomping cymbal hits and reverberating drums - skin up and lay back!

Acapulco Gold - Sly & The Revolutionaries.mp3

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'Gentleman’s Dub Club,' were formed in 2006 and are probably the best band to come out of Leeds - I first saw them at the 'Rhythm Factory' - and was absolutely blown away by their energy, they had the whole place bouncing - 'Gentleman's Sleng' is taken from their sick debut release 'Members Only' and is their unique take on the 'Sleng Teng' riddim... nice party vibes with this one

Gentleman's Sleng (feat. Bongo Chilli) - Gentleman's Dub Club.mp3

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Big shout out to my overlord brother for showing me this (and also for his constant stream of amazing photos, without which the site would look very boring) - 'Mos Dub' is a great project from DJ Max Tannone - he takes the vocals of Mos Def and works them into Dub Reggae music, ... in the case of 'History Town' its an awesome mash-up of '007 Shanty Town' - Desmond Dekker and 'History.' The best part?... not only is this track available for free in 320, so is the entire album - get it here!

History Town - Mos Dub.mp3
Shinobi (feat. Echo Ranks & Santanu) - Dub Terror.mp3

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This track is from Scotlands' 'Mungo's Hi-Fi' aka Tom Tattersall.  His sound has gathered support from a wide range of legends - the late great John Peel, Mr Scruff, Mary-Anne Hobbs, Rob Da Bank and David Rodigan...and deservedly so, 'Step It Out' is quite a recent track - released in 2009 via his label 'Scotch Bonnet' - smatterings of Rankin Joes' smooth vocals give the relaxed vibe a little zest to get the skank going... enjoy!
Step it Out Dub - Mungo's Hi-Fi.mp3

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