I have the rare pleasure of living in a rainy desert. For a few months out of the summer, from about July on until September, we get some of the most amazing wet weather I’ve ever seen almost anywhere. What makes it unique is that in no other environment does this kind of meteorological contrast exist with such gorgeous results. Thunderstorms, lightning, Saguaro cactus punctuating the outline of the grey skies against the wet hills. Nowhere else like it. This is the playlist for those rainy days.

1. Ugonna’s Song (Untitled) – Ugonna Igweatu | The story on this track is that the artist recorded this shortly before his death, along with a few other tracks, and released them posthumously (via his family) as an EP. My brother brought this to my attention after it appeared on reddit. Facebook has a page for it here: https://www.facebook.com/UgonnaIgweatuRIP
2. Midnight City (M83 Cover) – Saint Savior | Yes, another cover for Midnight City, but it’s a good one, and appropriate for the subject. It’s the right kind of mellow. You’ll dig it, I promise. This one was suggested by my good friend, Sheima in Hollawood, CA.
3. Constant Conversations – Passion Pit | P.P. has been consistently one of the best acts for the past few years. It’s been a pleasure seeing/hearing these guys work. Berklee College, MA, represent!
4. Lotus Blossom – Beat Connection | The interlude track. This one is short and sweet. At almost 2 minutes of sampled tastiness, it keeps things moving nicely.
5. Anchor - Kúra | I don’t know much about this track other than when I heard it, I instantly liked it. It’s got a little of that trip-hop feel that I’m a fan of.
6. Western Thrills – Bravestation | I posted some Bravestation earlier this year (or was it late last, can’t remember). Anywho, their sound is maturing nicely.
7. Månljus (saknad) – Ditt Inre | Don’t ask me what it means, I don’t know. But it sounds great when it’s grey and rainy outside, and that’s the point of this whole exercise. You’ll just have to trust me on this.
8. BTSTU (Jai Paul Cover) – Niia | The original was released as a demo back in 2010, but was recorded as far back as 2007. It got an official release in 2011, on XL Records. This cover from Niia trades the funk of the original for smooth, lush production, perfect for stormy weather.
9. Remember – Pat Lok | A funky little house track to represent the breaking of the storm, and gentle sun rays, followed by…
10. Worst Love (Original Mix) – Robosonic | A slightly thumpier house track to represent the energy from a heavy rain and the rolling, distant thunder of a storm. This is the complete 8:28 track for my DJs out there.

(Mediafire Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?gcscddcp475bw84)

This mixtape is the first in a series spread out over the course of the next year on artists, styles and tracks that shaped my musical palate (and palette).  Without going too far into the past (jazz, classical, classic r&b, soul, rock, etc.), I thought I’d start from the period of music not directly influenced by my parents, and go from there. Sadly, there isn’t going to be much in the way of late-80′s or 90′s hip-hop/rap. MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice do not quite live up to the standard I’ve come to present for these mixtapes.

Trip-Hop
The tracks in this first collection date from about 1993-94 to present, although it reached mainstream popularity from about 1996-2001. Trip-Hop incorporates a lot of electronic production, live instruments, tasteful sampling, jazzy aesthetics, vocal experimentation, and percussive beat tracks, all layered on top of each other like a tasty lasagna of musical bliss. Add to that, deep, rich, moody, atmospheric soundscapes, and you end up with a sub-genre with the greatest degree of musicality –sonically and lyrically– in the last 20 years.

The mainstream breakout of trip-hop can be traced back to a musical collective in Bristol, UK called the Wild Bunch. From this crew evolved artist Tricky, and Massive Attack, both featured on the mixtape. Massive Attack later collaborated with Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl, a group whose sound also started to evolve from their early smooth jazz, adult-contemporary days in the early to mid 80′s into House, Chill, Downtempo and Trip Hop production styles after 1994. Simultaneously in Bristol, another group called Portishead formed, and in 1994 released their first album, “Dummy.” The critical mass of these records, along with DJ Shadow’s work in the US producing instrumental hip hop gave trip-hop a huge boost and subsequent following, paving the way for acts such as Esthero, Hooverphonic, Bjork, Morcheeba, Cibo Matto, Lamb and a number of other artists influenced by the genre.

The tracks featured in this mixtape represent the most mainstream offerings of the trip-hop genre. These provide a sort of musical benchmark for the genre, and help demonstrate the sonic quality at its peak. They are in no particular order, other than what makes sense from a listening perspective. In fact, the first track on the mix is the most recent release which –to my mind– most exemplifies the trip-hop genre.

1. All Yours – Submotion Orchestra | Released in May of 2011, this one had been sitting around in my collection without exposure until I had the opportunity to re-listen to Portishead’s “Dummy” on vinyl as I was sorting through my record collection. It was because of that Portishead album that I decided to make a mixtape about trip-hop, and in compiling the material for it, I went straight for this track. Right around the 1:27 mark, I guarantee you will nod your head with a big “YES” of approval.
2. Lounge – Esthero | One of my most-favorite female vocalists in the whole of humanity’s timeline. Esthero’s sound is so signature, the only vague comparison I can draw is to popular 80′s adult-contemp artist, Sade –although it has more to do with the style of the compositions, rather than her voice. Esthero’s producer, Martin “Doc” McKinney later went on to work with a number artists I’ve featured here including, Santigold, The Weeknd and Drake.
3. Aletheuo (Truthspeaking) feat. Angelina Esparza – DJ Krush | Vocalist Angelina Esparza’s possibly most well-known track –she worked on only two collaborations, and released only one album in Japan, before she decided to call it quits with the record industry. Her collaboration with Japanese hip-hop pioneer and former Yakuza member, DJ Krush was released in 2002 on his “Shinso: The Message At The Depth.” A representative of trip-hop through it’s moody, intense delivery and instrumentation.
4. Single – Everything But The Girl | Tracey Thorn is my other super-favorite female vocalist, and along with Ben Watt (who went from folks guitarist to amazing electronic producer after EBTG’s contract with WEA ended), make this track another great representation of trip-hop/downtempo/chill-out, again through mood and instrumentation.
5. Sun + Moon = Tomorrow – Ivana Santilli | Very jazzy, great breakbeats throughout and a thick bass line. The first time I heard this was on Canada’s Much Music channel –a station whose programming runs completely counter to MTV’s in that they actually play music.
6. Unemployed In Summertime – Emiliana Torrini | Geeks will recognize her as the voice of “Gollum’s Song”, while others should recognize her either for “Jungle Drum”, or as a member of Gus Gus. She also hails from Bjork’s home of Iceland.
7. Aftermath – Tricky | This is trip hop. This is like, defining material. Legendary stuff.
8. 2wicky – Hooverphonic | Hooverphonic reminds me a lot of Portishead.
9. Protection – Massive Attack feat. Tracey Thorn | Ah, Tracey Thorn.
10. The End (Hepop Mix) – Llorca | Llorca’s material tends to be toward the jazzy end of things, but their style makes it more trip hop than public radio station.
11. Neanderthal – Fila Brazilia | One of my favorites.
12. Roads – Portishead | CLASSIC. Listen to/watch their “Roseland NYC Live.” It’s on DVD, and it’s great.
13. Climbing Up the Walls (Fila Brazilia Mix) – Radiohead | I always thought some of Radiohead’s stuff felt a little trip-hoppy.
14. There’s More to Life Than This – Bjork | Ok so this isn’t trip hop, but it was released around the same era. It was in there with the rest of the stuff I was wading through, and I loved it so much, I had to put it in. Listen closely. It’s not your typical recording.

(Mediafire Download: [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT])

…And we’re back. This post has been a long time coming. I had this collection of tracks compiled by early last week, but here’s the thing about work, life and traveling… When you’re gone, everything doesn’t wait around for you to get back, so when you’ve taken two weeks to prepare, and you’re out for about a week and a half, when you get back, you’ve got about 3 solid weeks of catching up to do. Needless to say, I’m not done yet. BUT I’M TRYING.

Coachella was awesome, thank you for asking. I DEFINITELY could have done without the 100+ degree heat, but I admit, there’s something cleansing about it. And when I mean cleansing, I mean you’re sweating out the beers you had in the Heineken dome from 11:30 in the morning come 3:30 in the afternoon. Oh and I know you all love your 4/20, but some of ya’ll bought some stank weed. I could smell that crap from across the Gobi tent. In the words of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, I think you been cheated!!

1. The Birds Pt 1. – The Weeknd | *Played Coachella! Old track, yes, but GOOD track. Deserves another listen if it’s been a while, and I’ll bet it’s been a while.
2. Don’t Gotta Work It Out – Fitz & the Tantrums | *Played Coachella! I didn’t get a chance to check them out, but they would have been fun to watch. Get the whole album if you like this track, it’s worth it.
3. Awake – Electric Guest | Did not play Coachella because they are pretty new, but had they been there, I would have made the effort to see them perform.
4. Wildfire – SBTRKT | *Played Coachella! I think I was busy trying to cool off…
5. I Love… That You Know (Purity Ring Remix) – Disclosure | I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard the original, but I kinda don’t care. This version is plenty gewd.
6. Every Night I Say A Prayer – Little Boots | Boots has been trying to break in big on the scene, and I know she has her fans, but I think the reason she’s falling short of greatness is the song writing. Otherwise, I think everything else is there. This is a good track though. Kinda 80′s in places, good production. Needs a sick remix or something.
7. Obedear – Purity Ring | One of my new favorite tracks. I think it’s that bit of synth that floats along the top.
8. Love That’s Gone – La Sera | I need more of this kind of mellowness for the next few weeks. It’s the summer, it feels like summer, and I just want to chill.
9. Two Hours (RAC Mix) – Theme Park | I just like RAC remixes. I mean, c’mon. Can you blame me?
10. Ross Ross Ross – SebastiAn | *Played Coachella! SebastiAn wins the award for the most theatrical, and most evil “DJ” set at Coachella. You just had to be there to understand this. The videos you might find on youtube don’t do it justice.
11. Le Goudron (Edit) – YACHT | More frenchy stuff. It’s an odd track, but there’s something dirty about it that I dig, like a hot Parisian prostitute with smoke curls floating over her lips. DIRTY.
12. Take a Look Around (Caze Nove Mix) – The 2 Bears | It’s official, I am a fan of the 2 Bears.

(Mediafire download: http://www.mediafire.com/?q1c9kgcqm5n1cgc)

I have a thing for gingers. My friends know this. It’s an odd condition, I admit. I mean how could one love something that apparently has no soul? Hmmm… I think someone has been telling lies.

Today is New Release Tuesday. If you’ve ever wondered about why this is, I’ve heard it’s largely due to sales figures being published on a Monday (at least in the states), so to maximize sales potential on a historically slow retail sales day, most media –books, music and movies on consumer media– are released on Tuesday. In the UK, new releases are on a Monday, but the sales figures are published the day before, and so it goes. Also I’ve heard that logistically, with shipping demands and production demands, Tuesday is an easier day to deal with those sort of problems.

Also because they do it, I’m gonna do it.

I’m sorry to say that anything new today is not going to end up on the mixtape, and it might be good to come to expect this since I’m not always interested in being a new release outlet. I like to introduce you to new stuff, sure, but the idea is to expose you to stuff that is GOOD. If it’s new AND good, then bonus, but it’s not likely that I’ve had a chance to listen to everything until maybe a week or two later. This is why occasionally, these tapes take a little longer than the typical one-week cycle that I’ve claimed. I might need to change it, but it helps me keep on top of it. Some days, I simply don’t find anything I really think is good. Not that there isn’t something out there. I just don’t find it in my sources. But if it’s out there, eventually it will find its way onto a mixtape.

THIS WEEK is SPRING WEEK. The temperature’s are finally hitting the high notes we in the southwest come to expect for this time of the year. Fortunately, it’s not sustained. A toasty day here and there helps keep the other “nice” days, really nice.

1. You’re A Animal – Jonathan Boulet | Older track, but “spring” loaded. That’s not a typo, by the way.
2. Dreamlike – Vacationer | Need I say more? Really? Okay, its another one from their latest album which came out this time last week. If this is new to you, get the album. If it’s not, you had better own this album.
3. It Feels Good To Be Around You – Air France | Air France called it quits recently (March 26th). Too dang bad. It felt good to be around them.
4. Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Starfucker | Yuuup. I mean c’mon, it’s spring.
5. Sunny Daze (Original Mix) – Viceroy | Thank you, Sheima, for this track. Now I miss the beach.
6. No Time To Wait – NatNaiel | Dis sum good pizza. Go git yours.
7. Running (Disclosure Remix) – Jessie Ware | After all these years, I still love me some good UK Garage. I blame EverythingButTheGirl.
8. No Prayers – Zeds Dead & Omar LinX | This is getting lots of deserved attention. It’s got it’s bullshit dubstep moments (at least it’s not Skrillex), but otherwise, it’s a solid track. I went back and listened to the earlier dubstep stuff I had… it’s so sad that the genre has ended up where it is now.
9. Shut Her Down (THiNK Remix) – Anneka | “Needs more Anneka!” “Now with more Anneka!” “30% more Anneka!”
10. Bottle – Texture Like Sun | This song is like a tall mountain. Starts near the rest of the earth, and then eventually punctures the clouds.
11. Ekki Mukk – Sigur Ros | Yes, this is new. NEW new. New NEW new new “New”.

(Mediafire Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?esv2xu163n0wll2)

Photo work by http://barracuda68.deviantart.com/. Show her some luv, eh?

Due to further injuries sustained in the line of battle, I was unable to post this week’s mixtape on the promised day –Monday, and for that I am truly sorry…

BUT IT’S HERE NOW.

The Amalfi Coast is a wonderful place in Italy where one would go for a spring vacation if one had a very nice car they enjoyed driving on steep, picturesque switchbacks through a village setting one would only see in Europe. I wish I was there. It finally feels like spring, and I am dreaming of these far off places near the water with such frequency, the wanderlust is becoming harder and harder to keep at bay. Not to mention with SXSW and Coachella just around the bend, anywhere but “here” sounds like the best idea ever.

1. Too Close – Alex Clare | This is the track from the Internet Exploder commercial that I’ve been asked about a few times. I included one of Alex Clare’s tracks back in 3M – Hypercritical. While I was compiling that mixtape, I found the “Too Close” track as well, but didn’t initially like it since it felt a little too aggressively pop-music. It still does, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good track to begin with.
2. Please Forgive My Heart – Bobby Womack | It’s been a while since Womack had anything new. Like years or something, if memory serves. The producers, Damon Albarn and Richard Russell are doing something interesting that is likely to make Womack’s new album something to watch out for.
3. She Said It’s Ok – Blu & Exile | This track came out in December of last year, so release-wise, it’s not that old. However, as the story goes on this one, it was recorded back in ’09. Last week was the first I’d ever heard of it, but I’m glad I did. Classic, instantly.
4. Evening – HOUNDSds | That’s not a typo, that’s the band’s name. I don’t know why the extra “ds” on the end there, but I do know that this is some good quality dream-pop straight out of the early 60′s.
5. Oh Fortune – Dan Mangan | Kinetic energetic, like a slinky waiting at the top of the stairs for a push. Once it gets going, you can’t take your attention off of it.
6. Signs of the Civilized – Bravestation | When I first heard this track, I was reminded of those new wave acts of the 80′s like the Thompson Twins, but in a good way (hahaha!) No really, this is worth the listen just to see how quirky it is.
7. Can’t Promise Anything (feat. Human Life) – Pelifics | Speaking of the 80′s, this is just oozing it. I am reminded of movies like Better Off Dead and Real Genius.
8. Hands (Goldroom Remix) – Alpine | Everyone’s favorite remix! Mine too, truth be told. This is a spring-time track.
9. De Ciel – Humans | I’m feeling the 80′s right now. Couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it’s because I’ll be 33 this year, and I wrote so much of that era’s music off initially, that this time around I feel like I have to give it it’s due. What comes around…
10. I – Donaeo | Done with the 80′s. Here’s a great vocal house track that I’ve been listening to non-stop. It’s older, but it just popped up on my radar two weeks ago. Apparently Donaeo (or “Donae’o”, rather) has some new stuff in the works.
11. The Wave – Miike Snow | I love that this band’s mascot is a Jackalope.

(Mediafire Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?zwz254rz8ek32o6)