Los Angeles via Vancouver-based, 21 year-old producer, Blood Diamonds (Michael Diamond) should be on your radar. Recently announced as The Guardians ‘Band of the Day’, Diamond is creating some really beautiful bliss-pop tracks. He has also recently collaborated with Grimes on a track, “Phone Sex”, which can be heard below the SoundCloud player. Listen to “Dreams” below and let your thoughts drift for a bit.
Blood Diamonds – “Dreams”
Bon Iver – “Holocene” (BA$SY Remix)
Bon Iver’s mystical and already chill-beyond-belief sound is taken to a whole other level on this BA$SY remix. Not a great deal is changed (I mean, BA$SY didn’t turn Bon Iver into dubstep), this remix is still Bon Iver at the heart – with just a dash of bass and a sprinkle of distortion, BA$SY has created a great remix to this already beautiful song.
Check it out below!
Beach House – “Myth”
Sometime around midnight last night the track “Myth” was posted to the Beach House website. It’s rumored this song can be expected to be heard on their forthcoming album. EDIT: Beach House will be releasing a new album Bloom May 15th. The album title already sounds appropriate as the soundtrack for spring, and with Teen Dream being an essential winter album, I can only hold high hopes for what’s to come.
Puro Instinct – Stilyagi
Local band Puro Instinct teamed up with another Los Angeles local Ariel Pink who worked with the band produce their debut album Headbangers in Ecstasy. After watching Drive recently, I feel like this is one of the songs the main character would listen to in his car while driving around LA. AMIRITE?!
Phantogram – “Don’t Move”
Phantogram will be releasing a mini-LP, Nightlife November 1st via Barsuk Records. Josh Carter notes, “”Nightlife is kind of an extension of the whole process of making and touring behind Eyelid Movies, and it feels in a lot of ways like the completion of what we were doing with the songs on that album.” “Don’t Move” is the second track off the mini-LP, enjoy!
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Molly Nilsson – “A Song They Won’t Be Playing On The Radio”
I do not know much about Molly Nilsson. (Does anybody?) She used to go by the moniker “White Bread.” Many people know of her via John Maus, who covered her song “Hey Moon!” from her 2008 album called These Things Take Time. It is one that I have not been able to stop listening to. Her latest release Follow The Light from 2010 includes the single “A Song They Won’t Be Playing On The Radio” which you can listen to above.
TV Girl – Benny and the Jets
I’m really happy to be following up with TV Girl as their infectious “If You Want It” (samples Todd Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me”) remains a favorite track of mine. Just a few weeks ago they released another EP of four songs titled Benny and the Jets, again giving us a dose of that dreamy, summery, synth-pop sugary goodness. Quick tip: you’ll want to keep an ear out for all the samples used.
You may also remember Dirty Gold (who are from San Diego as well) and their charming song “California Sunrise”. The two teamed up to cover one another and release a split digital 7”, which can be picked up HERE for free. What do you have to do for TV Girl’s new EP? Head over to their Facebook, like them, give ‘em your e-mail. Keep the tracks coming, guys. Couldn’t think of more appropriate sounds for summer.
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M83
M83 is a name you may have heard of before, seeing as Anthony Gonzalez (lead) has been making music under this name for about a decade now, and has one more on the way. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming will be the 6th studio album (out October 18) released from the French musician. The name M83 is derived from the spiral galaxy, Messier 83. And appropriately so, many of the tracks make you feel like you’re floating through space hanging out with the stars, maybe meeting an alien. Casual activities. In preparation for the release of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83 has decided to give a track away in exchange for an e-mail address (get yours here) titled “Midnight City”. At first I thought I’d let it go, but I couldn’t get over the song that quickly. Perhaps it’s dreamy electro pop I’ve been missing, or the saxophone solo blaring at the close of the track. M83 will be in Los Angeles November 9th at the Henery Fonda, snatch your tickets up asap!
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Memory Tapes – “Green Knight” (CREEP Remix)
This song consumes me right now. CREEP has been impressive ever since releasing their single “Days,” which made my list for best songs of 2010.
(via Stereogum)
Keep Shelly in Athens – “Yellow Man”
Keep Shelly in Athens – Yellow Man by Sixteen Tambourines Recs
Keep Shelly in Athens is an electronica duo from Athens, Greece that is doing their part to help out with the disaster in Japan. They are releasing a super-limited cassette from Japanese label, Sixteen Tambourines where part of the proceeds will be donated to Japan. Only 150 of these are going to be pressed, so get on it!
Another great track is their remix of “Cub” by Solar Bears:
Solar Bears – Cub (Keep Shelly in Athens remix) by Keep Shelly in Athens