i would listen to all these xlr8r best of the year tracks

2562
Unbalance

now THIS is bumpin'! this would sound great loud. but i'm just listening thru my laptop. i gotta hook up my laptop to my stereo. i'll get on that. is this flexstep? well, i'm a flexstep fan then. i've been in a tech-y mood lately. did anyone hear the album by emptyset that came out this year? not the same thing at all, but its another album i love to play loud. keep my speakers on their toes.

Brackles
Get a Job + LHC EPs

not that long of a sample, but i think i get the general idea. i know i might be out of line when i say this, but it has to be said: Brackles are no 2562! there, i said it. i feel better now. i think i just want stuff that is bracing and sharp as opposed to the old googily woogily. know what i mean?

flexstep is xlr8r name for dubstep that is flexible?

Q: how did scott find this set of XlR8R lists?

Cooly G
Love Dub EP

this sounds like something off of a 90's dance mag cd sampler. if there is someone who gets really excited by stuff like this, then i am probably not in the same aesthetic boat as them. it just sounds lazy. and not in a languorous luv-a-dub-dub kinda way. just in a lazy way.

A: i got an e-mail with links to them.

A: i got an e-mail with links to them.

snap !

Dark Knight
Reasons, What's Your Name?, My Bitch

wow, okay, maybe this is just about genre nuances that i'm not sharp enough to spot, cuz i really do feel like a hater all of a sudden. this just sounds positively moldy to me. if you told me that this came out in 1992 i would believe you. nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't do ANYTHING to make me excited about it.

Donae'o
Party Hard

i like this. i like the rhythm of it. not the kind of thing i ever listen to, but it's very appealing to me for some reason. i even like the phone call in the middle of the song.

Bumpin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Bumpin

Dreamin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Dreamin

Jackin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Jackin

Trippin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Trippin

Bubblin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Bubble

But I suggest let Scott do his thing in full first

El-B
The Roots of El-B

vocals kill this for me. music isn't bad. again, could be a decent southern rap backing track. from 2002. but i love southern rap production, so its a compliment. sorta.

Falty DL
Love is a Liability + Bravery

okay, i think this is a medley of tracks. so it's kinda hard to process. it's not very enjoyable, but there is a lot going on. maybe i'm not smart enough for this. it could be the future of something? it's pretty sci-fi. i would need more time with it. but then again i don't really know if i want more time with it. hmmm, it's a puzzle...

Floating Points
Vacuum Boogie EP + J&W Beat EP

this is more my speed. in fact, i wish it were longer and that they took more time adding all the elements together. because i like all the individual pieces that make up the track. i like how everything comes together and appears and disappears. very methodical, kind of anonymous, but a good kind of anonymous. it's all about building a perfect little space house to live in. look, there's a space pie cooling in the windowsill! mmmmmm....

i have to close up my shop and go home and eat. be back a little later...

Hey Scott, here are Singles Jukebox reviews of some of the acts and tracks you reviewed, in case you wanna know more about what me & other people like and don't like about them. I added your reviews at the end!

Donae'o - Party Hard

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=874

Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1333

The xx - Basic Space

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1215

Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar (maybe not the same song by them you did)

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1390

Animal Collective - My Girls (different song than by them than you did)

hhttp://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1715

Health - Die Slow (different song)

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1405

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction (maybe different)

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=456

wow, cool, i will look at those. but i gotta finish here first or it will be xmas or something.

especially curious to read the joy orbison comments, but i will wait...

Kode9
Black Sun EP

i like this. i could definitely listen to an entire album of this stuff. love the textures. the crunchiness up against the elastic. it's not reinventing the wheel or anything, but it has that tactile grooviness that always sounds good to me. a good beat maker makes beats that are three dimensional and living breathing things. or, wait, great beatmakers do this. Kode9 must be great or something.

L-Vis 1990 & Bok Bok
Night Slugs EP

the track is "ripe banana". i like this a LOT. i kinda wish they would cut shit up even more than they do though. and the drums could kick a little harder too, but that's okay. a couple of weeks ago i started a thread asking people for help in finding stuff that was similar to mr. oizo's analog worms attack. nobody could help me. this does it for me a little. similar vibe.

Martyn
Great Lengths

i wanna like this in the same way that i like great kompakt-y stuff, but its just not as good as that. the sonics and the attention to detail are lacking. or on here anyway. maybe the cd sounds a lot better. you need to completely believe in your fascist minimal groove thang and make it a monument to your vision of what sound can be and do. you slip up and i'll hear it, buddy. don't ever let me see you wink or get lazy. got that?

Mickey Pearce / Martin Kemp
Innami / No Charisma 12"

hey, if you are on a label called Blunted Robots then your music should appeal to blunted robots. mission accomplished! well done.

Various Artists
No Hats No Hoods Vol.1

the track is: Ice Kid - "Patient State of Mind". i really like his voice. and delivery. he sounds like a punk kid. i can always go for that. music is fine. fits the mood and this bloke's grhyming style.

can't get the last two bubblin' tracks to play. sorry roska! sorry untold! i'll try back later.

but now i'm jackin'.

Black Jazz Consortium
Structure

a snooze for the chillout room. no jazz. black if you say so. and hopefully only a consortium of one cuz i can't believe it would take more than one person to make this.

Bodycode
Immune

starts out as more lowkey snooze, but there is more here than meets the eye. the monastic vocals kick in and the energy level goes up. lots of cool touches around the edges. things keep mutating, but the basic skeleton of the song keeps things anchored. this is cool! and then things calm down again. and all is well.

these 'jackin' picks are kinda blah, not *bad* but RA's tracks list totally outjacks XLR8R imo

was stoked for a second to see kza, but that track isn't even by kza- it's cos/mes, on a completely different release. at least they got the label right? the track is good regardless

Claro Intelecto
Warehouse Sessions

the track is called "instinct". i like the late night down low vibe. streamlined. would sound good in a 200,000 dollar car.

Claude VonStroke
Bird Brain

i would definitely play this in the store. its good store music. or cafe music. granted, i'm in western massachusetts and not zurich or milan or tokyo, but i like to aim high and expose the general population to the finer things in life. sad peasants that they are.

DJ Koze
Reincarnations

the track is: Heiko Voss - "I Think About You (DJ Koze Remix)". things start moving by the end, but by then it's too little too late.

DJ Sprinkles
Midtown 120 Blues

"intro" is a spoken-word house manifesto set to music. um, it's interesting? a curio? where's green velvet when i need him?

Italoboyz
Bla, Bla, Bla

the song is "techno tower". this is great cuz you can see the possibilities of this track shoot out over the horizon and into the stratosphere. you could rip off so many great ideas from this. you could just steal the piano alone, add it to something else, and look like a genius. i wanna hear more from the boyz. they could have overplayed their hand and gone overboard - and part of me wants them too - but they keep things relatively tight while managing to be playful and silly too. they must be big yello fans. five thumbs up!

The Juan MacLean
The Future Will Come

this is electroclash deja vu. and there is something way too rinky dink about it. bad human league impressions in 2009 ain't gonna make me your friend. and i usually like dfa stuff. but i gotta call a spade a spade. this is weak. it would have been weak back then too. are these people nostalgic for 2003?

playful and silly too. they must be big yello fans. five thumbs up!

Woagh, I want to hear them now!

lol can't believe they used the Intro as the DJ Sprinkles track!! well, i guess it's representative, in a way.

especially curious to read the joy orbison comments

More here, when you finally have a minute (competing with DJ Quik, VV Brown, and two The-Dream songs in first round of the year-end playoffs):

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=1797

KZA
Dig and Edit

so this is the cos/mes track natural lifespan. yeah, this is great. never heard them. is this an edit of something old? or not. in any case, very cool. and according to discogs its already on another mix cd. and a 12 inch. and this mix. all in one year. how is the cos/mes album sadistic skatepark? looking at discogs now i really want the prins thomas live at robert johnson thing. that looks very cool.

sorry, wasn't very specific about the cos/mes track. it's just very groovy. lots of great sounds. very familiar can't-quite-place-them sounds. it gets into that pocket and rides it out to the end. everyone should hear that one.

The xx
S/T

the song is "basic space". pretty slight. male/female vox. and by slight i don't mean spare. just not a lot here. music for delicate people who don't want to many "notes" or "sounds" in their music? or music in their music? maybe good for models who are watching their weight. not a lot of calories or nourishment here either.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 18:27 (Yesterday) Bookmark

:D

i have been trying to find a copy of the cos/mes album, but that japanese import stuff gets pricey!

and prins thomas live at robert johnson IS very very cool.

Luciano
Tribute to the Sun

i LOVE this! THIS is prog house. an ambitious ten minute anthem to the sun? on a concept album devoted to the sun? with luciano on the cover holding the sun in his hand? now you're speaking my language. i want this album yesterday. what a trip. this is so good i can't believe it's not japanese. sign me up. take my money. give me more.

^^^me too! scott this thread is beautiful and not just the xx/anco takedowns (although they were very very beautiful)

Moody (a.k.a. Moodymann)
Anotha Black Sunday

funky moodymann stuff. i probably need more moodymann in my life. could use a good comp of some early stuff anyway. this is good. fairly simple. choice samples. doesn't kill me or anything though.

Motor City Drum Ensemble
Raw Cuts Vol. 1

lemme guess, this is music from belgium? am i close? sounds like someone is a moodymann fan! wait, this isn't moodymann too, is it? it's funky enough for me. in a belgium by way of detroit kinda way. you'd have to put this in juuuuuuuuust the right place in your deejay set. definitely earlier rather than later.

Mr. Oizo
Lamb's Anger

haha, my hero! wow, this is a long way from those analog worms. and their attacking. very funny and very cool though. i gotta get the album. luckily the ed banger noize boys haven't rubbed off on him TOO much, but he's gotten some of that in his blood. he's so good at making this stuff i don't care.

Omar-S
Just Ask the Lonely EP + Fabric 45

i'm already feeling bad a little for omar cuz now i just want to hear more oizo. and omar is a straight-up thumper. so far anyway. okay, i've calmed down. i'm feeling omar's chicago deep dish house. and it is deep. and there are detroit ghosts walking around in his chicago house. spooky. omar makes spooky house. haunted house. a beat like a heart pumping. a sad heavy heart.

Redshape
The Dance Paradox

this was on and now its over. some okay clangalang beat action, but otherwise...eh. if i heard it loud in a club, on drugs, i might think differently. obviously.

Kevin Saunderson
History Elevate package

the track is: "Till We Meet Again (Carl Craig Remix)". legend on legend action. oh master reese tell us how you blow the house down. he probably wouldn't really tell me. i'd like to own this comp. i don't know what's on it, but i'll bet its mighty and rightous and filled with a thousand winds of tech house glory. just tell me it isn't.

Traxx
Faith

love the drunken organ playing. this is some old time religion right here.

okay, i'll try those two bubblin' tracks again.

Roska
The TWC EP + Elevated Levels EP

okay, i've got roska going. he's housing me. and he's housing me. AND he's housing me. i'm gonna try and not look at my watch. again, with enough drugs...