Pink Floyd vs. Judie Tzuke – breathe with me till dawn
(Blended by FutuRo)(link)

Whereas most mash-ups are fun but disposable experiments to hear how two songs would sound interwined, rarely does enough shine goes to precision synching and sidestepping a forced feel. This combo of Pink Floyd’s “breathe” and Judie Tzuke’s “stay with me till dawn” flows naturally, instead of emphazising in the “wackiness” of the pairing, FutuRo is concerned with the sonic product he creates, dropping Judie’s song one semi-tone and upping Pink Floyd’s one tone so they both work their magic effortlesly.

A mountain of one – can’t be serious
(Mountain of one / 2007)

A magnificent re-version of Ginny’s “can’t be serious” which features some of my favorite elements in music, namely, sick amounts of reverb, layers of dreamy synths, guitar soloing beardo halfway through it, and sultry femme vocals, provided on this track by long-time Tricky collab and ex-wife, Martina Topley Bird.

Tom Middleton – Shinkansen
(Lifetracks / 2007)

Supposedly, Tom Middleton spent 10 years crafting Lifetracks, this would translate as the sound of the record being dated yet the album has a certain “je ne sais quoi” that recalls some of the best soundscapes that were crafted by IDM artists in the mid-90′s, combining electronic experimentation with a huge sense of melody. Tom Middleton has abandoned his early excursions in ambient and dips unto balearic territory for this tribute to the notorious japanese bullet train. Like comfort food for a generation that is still rather young.

Isolée – Schrapnell
(Wearemonster / 2005)

The amazing Schrapnell. When I first heard it 2 years ago what first grabbed my attention was the reverb-heavy surf guitar and the krautrock vibe of the song, but there’s such an overabundance of melodies, textures and arrangements to be found in every Isolée piece that every time I hear it again I keep finding new highlights to the song. Interesting to hear “Wearemonster” this week and find out that it doesn’t sound one minute older since its release, specially given the enormous and frightening advances in electronic music these days where every sound gets devoured by new ones and outdated in manner of months.

Lorenzo – Get deep
(Get deep 12″ / 2006)

The french house influence comes through with this song’s wicked filtering wah guitar hook. The bouncy guitar keeps fading in and out, each time coming stronger in bounce with more percussive elements in the mix and a clearly stated sense of rhythm. Warm & uplifting oddball disco for the blood to start flowing.

Will Saul & Lee Jones – hug the scary (partial arts remake)
(Hug the scary / 2007)

Partial Arts (the duo of Al Usher and Ewan Pearson) take the original’s melancholic vibe and transform it into a mighty compelling and deep groove. I’ve been playing this to death lately. Also check out their song “trauermusik”, possibly the best single that the Kompakt label has released in a year full of highs for the label.

Note: As of Sunday I’ll be home alone for two weeks. Anyone of my close acquaintances who is reading the blog feel free to crash without notice. There’s 2 beds and one couch (for some reason the couch is more comfortable than the beds) and whoever comes first gets them – Mind you I wont be making breakfast for anyone this time.

Related posts: Eros in Orbit, Welcome to spaceport Hippo.