For some reason, Rick Rubin has got together a whole load of artists for a compilation based on Star Wars’ sounds archive that is called Star Wars Headspace.
The musicians were given access to the Star Wars archive with the only stipulation was that they were not to sample any John Williams.
Flying Lotus, Baauer, Royksopp, A-Trak, Claude Von Stroke, Shlohmo and Rustie are among the artists who made tracks for the release, out next week.
Three of the tunes were debuted on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show yesterday.
It’s been a busy November for me so far. Between Iceland Airwaves for a week, a trip to Belfast last weekend and a lot of catching up, there’s been less time to do everything I wanted to do on the site. So with that in mind, here are some songs I’ve been digging recently over the last two weeks taking in Santigold, Rustie, Bibio, Saint Sister, I Have A Tribe, FaltyDL, Reykjavíkurdætur, New Order and more.
What follows is a list of 50 songs released so far this year that are among the most listened to, most loved, most moving and most important (to me, personally). It could easily have been 100 but if you want more there’s always the monthly playlists to delve into – January / February / March / April / May / June. Looking for albums? Here’s my list of 2014 so far too.
In two flavours: Spotify and Soundcloud. Players below.
The Nialler9 TXFM show airs every Thursday night at 10pm for two hours. You can listen live on 105.2FM, online, the TXFM app or if you missed it, on the listen back function on the site, as per below. The show starts six minutes in, right after the news in each hour.
A slow-moving weighted return for the Mercury Prize-winning band who manage to defy expectations by legitimately sampling Miley Cyrus on their new single from second album This Is All Yours. This coarses through the veins the more you listen to it.
“I wanted to make something I could play out when I got home that reminded people of how good home is.”
“I made All Under One Roof Raving whilst on the tail end of another year on the road with The xx. I was missing life in London and trawling through any music and videos that reminded me of home. One in particular I found very inspiring, Mark Leckey’s ‘Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore.’
Twigs sits on a throne in an Egyptian-style temple, looking bronzed, exotic and elegant, singing the words which obfuscate explicitness through her hushed singing and style. There are no others in her category.
On the first single from the album, ‘Headstrong’ which does feature a great vocal hook from Dublin singer Jesse Kav (who appears throughout the album), JackKnifeJ’s brooding bumping ambient production (reminds me of Banks’ ‘Drowning’ in tone) is the perfect backdrop for Paulie remaining positive among the curveballs that life throws at him.
5. Rustie – ‘Raptor’
The bass on this track gave me a headache when I first heard it. But there’s something endearing about a producer who uses the mechanisms of trap music in such a bright and brazen way that subtly subverts the form. Clap trap happy music from Rustie’s second album Green Language out in August on Warp.
6. Jessie Ware – ‘Tough Love’
No sign of Ms. Ware going full-on electronic-pop just yet. Instead, her new Benny Blanco and Two Inch Punch-produced single sticks to her modern Sadé R&B template. Super smooth.
The Dublin folk electronic duo’s encouraging new single.
Their new double A-side single, takes it first step forward with ‘Roots’ (‘Significant Landscapes’ is the other track). It’s their most direct track yet, a suitably clip clopping rhythm and synth stabs swell towards the chorus of Page singing “roots run deeper when we play / roots grow high when we lay,” which despite the recordings of the metropolis, firmly place the song in a more pastoral setting.
The Dublin band stretch their indie-rock M.O. into some more expansive, yet past-referencing.
9. Zola Jesus – ‘Dangerous Days’
The first single from the 25 year-old’s fifth album is her most accessible yet. That glorious warble is still in full flow. Free download.
10. Busdriver – ‘Ego Death’ (feat. Aesop Rock & Danny Brown)
The first single from Busdriver’s forthcoming Big-Dada-released Perfect Hair album ropes in cackling Danny Brown and old favourite Aesop Rock on a Jeremiah Jae beat.
The Nialler9 TXFM show` airs every Thursday night at 10pm for two hours. You can listen on FM, online, the TXFM app or if you missed it, on the listen back function on the site. Last night’s show featuring 22 brand new tracks in indie, electronic, rap, R&B and dance.
Rustie dropped a surprise bouncy remix of Pusha T’s Tyler, The Creator-featuring ‘Trouble On My Mind’ ahead of his upcoming tour. The remix was made a couple of years ago:
Remix commissioned as part of a lost remix project: ‘Lucky-T’, a collab between LM and Decon Records for Pusha’s Wrath Of God EP. Rustie, S-Type, Machinedrum, Lunice & Hud Mo all featured. It never surfaced.
A brand new Rustie track has been unleashed by Numbers today. ‘Slasherr’ is a glittering rush of synth and low end, with handclaps and Rustie’s inimitable maximalist style. You can buy it now via Bleep/iTunes and there’s a 12″ on the way on March 18th with another tune ‘Triadzz’ on the flip side of the physical release. A RUSH. album.
Hey it’s miserable outside (what’s new?) so you need some extra motivation for your weekend plans right? Well, here’s a 20 track Spotify playlist of mostly upbeat electronic-leaning tunes from the likes of Holy Ghost!, Gramme, Rustie, Floating Points, Jai Paul, John Talabot, Debruit, Tropics, ASAP Rocky and more to get you through. And if that’s not enough for you, try out the new Nialler9 Deezer Radio station too.
Rustie’s Glass Swords has only grown in stature since it was released last year for me. Its maximalist production is perfect for when you need a bout of energy and is the most fun album recently released. Meanwhile, Aluna George are a duo who have been rising thanks to their fulfilling electronic R&B tunes and an EP on TRi Angle. I’ve heard good things about their live show too.
Rustie’s already teamed up on an alternative version of ‘Surph’ featuring Nightwave and the run of alternative versions continues with the clap-trapping bombastic brass of ‘After Light’. As with ‘Surph’, the album’s instrumental version is given a vocal twist by Aluna Francis, with lyrics inspired by the title. Buy it from Bleep.
In which Aoife and I play a plethora of amazing tunes from the last few months, remind ourselves why Purity Ring is a weird band name, why bands need to stop releasing demos as finished tracks, take a brief exploration into ’80s fanzine-assisted electronica, and inadvertently insult loads of people throughout the podcast. Oops. Enjoy.
Today is Holy Saturday, so called because of the number of times you are likely to say “Holy Shit!” after listening to this Rustie Essential mix. Probably.
Thanks to the ever excellent Coremusic for uploading this on behalf of all the people who forgot to tune in the first time round. Tracklisting after the jump thing.
Highlights: Lee Fields & The Expressions, Logikparty, Dark Room Notes & No Monster Club album launches, Surgeon, DJ Format, Michael Gira of Swans and The Jimmy Cake.
This is the weekly list of recommended gigs taking place over the next seven days in Dublin published every Tuesday. All times are 7.30/8pm unless stated. Feel free to recommend events not present in the comments below. If you’re looking for tickets to sold out gigs try #ticketfairy on Twitter.
