Eat.Work.Think.Sleep

Upneet Bains

noelmas — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:06:27 +0000

Spring is almost upon us. The stubborn ice has finally begun to thaw, and layers upon layers of snow are finally collapsing in to large piles of dog shit brushed in to mounds on the cycle paths. Still you have to love it. The temperature is a tropical 5°, and that ineffable sense of seasonal change is in the air. We’re bound to have a few wobbles and dips until we’re safe from having to put on our winter coats, which by now are well in need of a wash, but I can’t help but think that the worst of this rather long and bitter winter is over.

Below you’ll find a selection of photos taken by a friend of mine, Upneet Bains, in the Berlin summer. The striking thing about these photos is the way they capture the emotional tug that the seasons can so often wield, be it the deep sense of relief and optimism felt at the start of March, or the dreamy feeling of contentment as one washed out midsummer day slips mindlessly in to another. How Neetu managed to make haggard old Görli park look like the lushest of English cricket grounds I’ll never know, but hats off…

Dirty Three

noelmas — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:37:30 +0000

Three tracks from the 1998 album by the Dirty Three. Evocative, boozy folk music made for the ocean.

DOWNLOADS

The Restless Waves – The Dirty Three

Last Horse on the Sand – The Dirty Three

End of the Earth – The Dirty Three

Pon der Ecke

noelmas — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:17:07 +0000

I was in a pub last night where the two animated bar attendants were playing tracks to their customers straight off of Youtube. Over the din of the lo-fi pop that was pouring out of the speakers requests were being made. The spelling of band names and songs was clarified by notes on tissue paper passed over the bar, “Er heißt Frankie K-nuckles”. One of the many covers of “Teardrops” by Womack & Womack got dropped a couple of times, and it reminded me of what a great song the original was. It’s probably common knowledge, but the XX covered it recently, and much to my dismay, it’s great. Both the original and the XX cover can be found below:

Hotflushes

noelmas — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:43:20 +0000

Scuba has treated us to a lot of important things in recent times: he set the ground-work for Surgeon to come up with a truly original and energizing piece of techno; the release of Joy Orbison’s “Hyph Mngo” on his Hotflush Recordings imprint that went on to reconfigure the face of British dance music; and, more recently, booking Martyn to go back-to-back with Kode9 at Sub:stance, Berghain which descended in to a gloriously evil 90s acid fest. He’s also just done a podcast for Allez-Allez, which although not as groundbreaking as some of the above, is a wonderful assortment of tracks from the last four decades. It’s a music-loving ’80s child’s dreamboat; perfect to while away a Sunday with, perhaps with a boiled egg and some coffee.

DOWNLOAD

Influences mix – by Scuba

TRACKLIST

Toumani Diabate – Bafoulabe
Orbital – I Wish I Had Duck Feet
Fleetwood Mac – Brown Eyes
Nine Inch Nails – Piggy
Prince – Computer Blue
Joy Division – Disorder
Pet Shop Boys – I Want To Wake Up
Pete Lazonby – Sacred Cycles
Plastikman – Glob
Aphex Twin – Tha
Autechre – Bike
Ali Farka Toure – Allah Uya
Photek – Conciousness
Roni Size – Change My Life
Shimon & Andy C – Quest
Roots Manuva – Inna
Aaliyah – Rock The Boat
Wookie – Battle

Schöne Frau mit Geld

noelmas — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:26:37 +0000

Here’s a lo-fi electro-dream-pop remix of a track originally wrtitten by a Berlin band from the early 80s called “Ideal”. Any more info on this track and where I could buy it from would be much appreciated.

To Jamie with Love (new Love&Mercy mix)

noelmas — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:24:25 +0000

Deeply affected by the recent kidnapping of one of their members by the tribes of the Kaerlud area, Love&Mercy have put together a mix in the hope that it might motivate his captors to free him. Some say the ploy is related to Love&Mercy’s recent adoption of the Beyond the Guilty Pleasure theory. Owing to the absence of the said core member, “To Jamie with Love” is a somewhat different affair than the Digital Coconut, and has been branded by Tom Paulin as a “novel meditation on the Roland 808 and its affects on the post-scarcity psyche”. S. L. Funky, responsible for much of the post-production work, stated that the mix was very much a move away from the beach and back towards the primordial forest. The mix is dedicated to a minor God of the early house music business, Jamie Principle.

DOWNLOADS

To Jamie with Love - mixed by Love&Mercy

TRACKLIST

1. I’m Going to Go – Jago
2. Heart & Soul – Imagination
3. I Need Your Loving – Tensnake
4. Galaxy – Visions of Tomorrow
5. Love Light – Soul Clap
6. Farley Knows House – Farley Jackmaster Funk
7. It’s You – E.S.P
8. Jack Your Body – Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley
9. Release Yourself – The Fantastic Aleems
10. Reckless With (Your Love) – Azari & III
11. Coma Cat – Tensnake
12. Brooklyn Club Jam (L.S.B. Barqueira Jam Mix) – Runaway
13. Dance with Me – Soundstream
14. Jump (Garage Version) – Man Friday

Anything But A Wanderer

noelmas — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:39:38 +0000

Sometimes you hear songs that just make you indescribably happy. I had just such an experience on the weekend, when having taken refuge from a beautifully sunny but bitterly cold Berlin afternoon, I heard Shed‘s “Estrangé” for the first time. I’ve been spoilt for stand-out musical good feel recently, another highlight being my first time with Jon Delerious‘ “Posey Down” (first heard on Morissless’ “Forever” mix). Long live the euphoric melancholic!

DOWNLOADS

Estrangé – Shed

Posey Down – Jon Delerious

Music Machine Videos

noelmas — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:42:04 +0000

Herbie talks gold…

Less inspired but kind of funny…

Tensnake

noelmas — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:26:54 +0000

I hate snakes, but I love Tensnake (above). Resident Advisor have (yet again!) inspired one of the finest mixes I’ve heard. Walking the well-trod path between disco and house Tensnake manages to make this immense hour and eighteen minutes entirely his own. It also features one of his forthcoming releases on Permanent Vacation, called Coma Cat, which is so good I’m not going to upload it; you need to buy it. It’s a deep disco-house track reminiscent of of the Fantastic Aleems whilst retaining a contemporary big room edge and has a huge tropical breakdown that will have the dance going bonkers. Check the Soundcloud snippet below and the downloadable B-side of the main release.

LINKS

Coma Cat Soundcloud snippet

Tensnake Myspace

DOWNLOADS

RA. 187 Tensnake

I Need your Loving (Vocal Version) – Tensnake

Wolf + Lamb

noelmas — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:36:04 +0000

Every now and again a label comes along that has the ethos that you’ve been pining for. Wolf + Lamb are just that having released the lion’s share of my favorite tracks of the last couple of years. Their catalog goes from lo-fi minimal house through to inspired retro house-disco edits. A love of the sample, hand claps and analog bass pervades their releases. They’re digital only and can be checked on Beatport and Juno Download.

WOLF + LAMB DOWNLOADS

Love Light – Soul Clap
See Line – Le Loup
Billie Jean – Nicolas Jaar (Nico’s Rework)