I don’t know about y’all, but there’s nothing quite as sweet as a track that I loved in my youth getting a proper revamp for 2014. From strong female vocalists to timeless basslines, funky breakdowns and catchy choruses – these tracks had it all back in the day, and now thanks to exquisite ears, their new sounds more than hold their own against the original tracks (truth be told, I actually like them better). In my opinion, and in your dictionary, a remix is a piece of work designed to sound different than the original; let’s be real, if all you’re doing is enhancing the ‘four to the floor beat’, I probably won’t appreciate the artistic quality of your work. Another pet peeves in remixes is when the vocals are either eliminated or reduced to a repetitive whimper. So, when artists come along and do a song absolute justice – I definitely notice. The remixes below have completely blown me away, so whether you’re wishing Wednesday was over – or you’re happily plodding through the day, take a listen these kickin’ remixes and take a load off, it’s halfway to Friday !
Category: Music
[Happy Caturday!]
[Friday Fun]
Friday – one of my favorite F words! Per usual, I’m beyond excited for the weekend – and have some hilarity to share to prove it =) enjoy!
[The Oatmeal]
“Normal”
[Track of the Week] The Polish Ambassador – Girl Control
“I keep it playin’ while some choose to play it safe…”
As I cruised through the lineup for Lightning in a Bottle, a wave of confusion washed over my body – I recognized about two thirds of the entire line-up but the closer I got to the bottom of the bill, the more questions I had: who are you, how did you get here and can you move my head, heart and / or feet? Moby, Phantogram and Little Dragon grace the topline and rightfully so – they’re household names that you actually have the chance of hearing on mainstream radio. Then you work downwards: Amon Tobin, Gold Panda, Simian Mobile Disco, Beats Antique, Gramatik, Chet Faker, Thomas Jack, Random Rab, Desert Dwellers; those names might cause some to scratch their heads, but if you’ve been on the outskirts of indie electro or in the electronic underground – they’re just as familiar, if not more so than the latest work from the ‘headliners’.
Slowly but surely, I’ve been chronicling the artists starting from the bottom right corner and heading up that bright headline of familiar faces. Over the past few years, this process has become more of a tradition – starting with my first Coachella and leading me here – to my second Lightning in a Bottle experience. And now that I’ve gotten aquanited with some of the lesser known acts, let me just ooze with excitement for a second: between the world music out of Natasha Kmeto, the delightful deep house grooves of Marley Carroll and the groovy, jam-band Plantrae – the bottom of the lineup has just as much, if not more talent than the top. And of course, I already have a steady list of favorite artists that I’m delighted to be sharing with the world. The cherry on top of my ice cream sundae is that two artists that I’ve featured in my Rising Star Spotlight series made the line-up – Thomas Jack and Flume, who’ll be performing as half of the duo What So Not.
The original plan was to meander through the artists repository on Soundcloud and throw a few tracks into my LIB Prep Playlist; but then, I put on The Polish Ambassador – and somewhere between the one woman dance party that started in my living room, rocking out in the car and then sharing my favorite jams with my friends, I’d realized that I’d been on a 2 hour kick and wasn’t planning on coming out of it anytime soon. From the funky soul grooves to the ambient, ethereal soundscapes, The Polish Ambassador has effortlessly and successfully crafted music for any occasion. My current favorite called ‘Girl Control’; it’s an oldie, but a goodie – and I’ll bet your bottom dollar you won’t stop booty shakin’ til its over.
As the festival gets closer, I’ll be shining the spotlight on the artists, entertainment, live talks and music that will be filling the hills of the San Antonio Recreation Area in Bradley, CA. I can’t wait to share what makes this festival so amazing with everyone, and hopefully I’ll be seeing your beautiful faces in the mountains!
[The Audiofiles] Lightning in a Bottle Brings the Noise with Official Lineup
Fresh off the heals of their epic lineup celebrating a decade of live entertainment at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, The Do Lab – the seminal and ever evolving production team out of Los Angeles California, just keeps the hits coming with yet another epic festival announcement: the lineup for Lightning in a Bottle (aka, my favorite festival ever). From Amon Tobin to Kraak & Smaak, Thomas Jack to Desert Dwellers, Kaytranaa to What So Not – the weekend offers a little bit of something for everyone, especially those who distance themselves from the monotony of mainstream EDM. In a page from the book of Sea of Dreams, you’ll still find various remenants of mainstream indie acts like Moby, Little Dragon, Phantogram – but that just leaves more dancing room for the rest of us at the other stages! The majority of the lineup is, and has always been, creative and cultured underground music scene – and that’s precisely what the Do Lab is known for. Take a gander at the playlist they threw together and feast your ears on these delightful beats:
When it comes to music festivals, seeing is believing – and if you’re never been to Lightning in a Bottle before, each and every one of your senses is in for a delectable treat. These videos chronicle last year’s festival out at Lake Skinner in Temecula, California. This year’s festival promises to be bolder and brighter as the event migrates from its home in Southern California to the hills of Bradley, a location equidistant from the overflowing West Coast Music communities in Los Angeles and San Francisco (and you, too, San Diego; don’t think we’ve forgotten about you). The new location boasts more land, and swim-able water; a perk for those of us last year that spent too much time seeking shade in that hot, Summer sun.
[Track of the Week] Flume x Hermitude – Hyperparadise (GANZ Flip)
One of my life mottoes is ‘Never a Dull Moment‘, and this definitely translates over to my taste in music. There’s nothing I detest more than the hum-drum boredom that comes hand in hand repetition, simplicity and redundancy across a song, album or a career and because of this – I’ve single-handedly ruined songs for myself by overplaying them in an incredibly short amount of time. I feel the pull of non-Western scales and non-Traditional forms of music like Tipper, Culprate and Shpongle; in moderation, I even find dissonance comforting. As with everything else in my world, layers of complexity compel me to discover about a person – and doubly so for an artist.
When I discovered Flume a few months back, the depths of his talent still escaped me – but now, I find myself impatiently waiting to see new tricks this 22 year old phenom from Australia has in store for the world. Between his bewitching, glitch infused electronic basslines, poignant lyricists and downtempo soundscapes, Flume continually pushes boundaries blurs the lines between musical genres to create what I think of as Future Music, and sits plush in the middle of a Venn Diagram with Griz and Gramatik on one side and Emancipator and Bonobo on the other. Last year, there were two huge releases from Flume – his self titled, debut album as well as the ‘Drop the Game’ EP with Chet Faker. And thanks to Hypem, I’m finding unreleased mixes hidden deep in the interwebs from back in 2012 that I’m simply falling head over heals with.
The original version of ‘Hyperparadise’ is from Hermitude, an Australian group with roots in both hip-hop and electronica, and came out back in ’12.
Between the tropical sound of the steel drums, a wobbling deep house bass line and seductive breakdown – it’s easy to see why Flume chose this track to chop up and break down in a way only he knows how.
Finally, GANZ got his little fingers on the single during a remix competition and crafted what I firmly believe is one of the best songs of the past year. His rework of Flume’s remix embellishes all the glitches I love, and infuses it with a trip-hop sound meant for bumping at loud volumes.
[The Audiofiles] Lightning In A Bottle Is Cruising to Central Cali
Of all the magical experiences that 2013 had to offer, hands down – my weekend away at Lightning in a Bottle was hands down the best five days of the year. From the creatively costumed concert go-ers to dance and yoga workshops, right on down to the live musical acts, live art and live entertainment – Lightning in a Bottle expertly tantalizes each and every one of the senses and left me both searching and yearning for more out of myself, my life and the community I surround myself with.
Between last year’s fiasco with the outlying community of Riverside County and a desire to please their loyal fans up and down the coast of California, The Do Lab knew that they had to switch something up about the location. When the festival was still in it’s early years, it was held in the Santa Barbara mountains and over the last four years has been bouncing between locations around Southern California. The weekend deserved a location as unique as the culture it emanates, and with it’s new location in the Central Coast – that’s exactly what it’s getting. This year, Lightning in a Bottle is migrating up to the San Antonio Recreation Area in Monterey County and I couldn’t be more excited. Not only is it equidistant from the amazing music communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the new venue boasts more space than at the Live Oak Campground in Santa Barbara and the Lake Skinner Recreation Area in Temecula. To boot, rain permitting we’ll be able to frolic in the lakes of the recreation area in the sweet heat of Memorial Day weekend; a stark contrast from last year when my friends and I got to tell folks to ‘Nama-stay off the lake!’ while trying to stay out of the immense Summer sun.
During the day, your mind is opened in so many directions with the plethora of enigmatic speakers and workshops. They’re on everything from urban foraging, sustainability, sexuality, your infinite potential, inter-species communication and much, much more. last year, speakers for the weekend included visionaries like Alex and Allison Grey, John Perkins and the author of one of my favorite books ‘Breaking Open The Head’ Daniel Pinchbeck; workshops ranged from ritual movement, hooping, sacred dance and slacklining. Scattered throughout the festival grounds are amazing, living works of art that evolve with the weekend with phenomenal artists from across the country and some of the most fun I had was routinely stopping by my favorites to see how they’re coming along.
As the sun starts going down, the beats begin to pick up and the community truly comes alive – spinning fire, gathering to admire live art and dancing to the infectious, underground sounds that are throbbing through the epic sound systems of the three main stages (the Woogie, Bamboo and Lightning) or one of two smaller stages at the Lumi Lounge and the Temple. Each stage boasted a different assortment of acts, community and culture – at the Bamboo stage, you could get your grime on with gLAdiator, Griz, Kastle, Andreniline and the mud people (like, really though), the Lightning stage held the more theatrical productions like Emancipator and Nicolas Jaar and last but certainly not least, the Woogie got you to boogie with deep house DJs like Lee Burridge, Pumpkin and Marques Wyatt.
I went to Lightning in a Bottle with an open mind and no expectations; what I left with was an enhanced world view, self confidence and an amazing support system of friends new and old.
With a little something for everyone, this is an experience that I truly want all of my friends to be part of. Tickets for this amazing five day experience go on 24 hour discounted sale on 2/18, and on 2/19 they’ll go on sale for full value. Make sure to get yours quickly, this is one weekend not to be missed!
The Bouncy Kitty 
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