Thursday features the amazingly awesome ‘Rolling Stone’ which I posted a while back, and also a track featuring Ghostface Killah‘s softest n****h for three years straight, Drake (this I joke about since Drake is often cited as a main force in bringing the Weeknd to the mainstream…).

Anyway, you can grab a copy of the mixtape from the Weeknd’s site HERE. Provided the site still isn’t getting hammered with hits still…

A beautifully treated video for one of my favourite tracks and albums of this year. The video was shot on location in Iceland. Directed by Nabil Elderkin. ‘Holocene’ comes off Bon Iver‘s latest self-titled album.

The Weeknd – Rolling Stone (320)

‘Wide Eyes’ is the opening track off Local Natives‘ current album Gorilla Manor. Video is directed by Cat Solen and produced by Dan Ruth.

Anyway this video is directed by Johan Söderberg and the whole style direction I can’t help but feel a Lady Gaga-esque vibe to it…

One of my favourite songs of last year finally has a music video! This track is also off Foster The People‘s debut EP of the same name.

Finally got me some annual leave, happy days. Gonna be up in Sydney during the NYE/NYD period so I promise to get some cheesy snaps and the like…

In case you’re wondering, the song above is ‘Mexico’ by The Holidays circa 2008 (and hence the difference in sound…). Video is directed by D’Arcy Foley-Dawson and produced by Adam Krongold.

Darwin Deez – Up In The Clouds (Mr Flash Remix)

I can’t tell if I actually like Darwin Deez or not. I think I want to hate his music but can’t really, there just something to it… Anyway, I can say however, that I do like the lovely remix by Mr Flash. It’s starts off dark, two-steppy and atmospheric but eventually gets a little more upbeat once that cutesy synth kicks in during the chorus.

And for the sake of filling space, here’s the official video to the track.

The video is directed by Tom Kingsley and production from the gang at Colonel Blimp who have done music video work for the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, Goldfrapp, the Temper Trap, Kid Cudi, Little Boots, M.I.A., Hot Chip, Marina & The Diamonds, Kid Sister and Booka Shade to name a few.

So yeah, I’m still undecided on Mr Deez… I think I do like Colonel Blimp however…

The video is directed by Charlie White who also created the clip for the single ‘Evil’, from the album Antics. The guys have also been kind enough to offer the HD video for download so head on over to their site and grab a copy of it yourself.

Secondly, as an added bonus (and the fact I love Interpol…), here’s the second single that has just been released:

Interpol – Barricade

So what are your thoughts on the sound of an Interpol post Carlos D?

Some retro-fab-poppy rock goodness. Directed by Maximilla Lukacs.

Chromeo + Wiley (listen for the synth riff…) = Kele and “Tenderoni”… Just kidding, it’s just Kele Okereke from Bloc Party and his new solo tune from his forthcoming debut album, ‘The Boxer’ out on the 21st of June.

So this has been sitting in my inbox a while getting neglected but no more till I found out So-Me and Machine Molle worked on the music video.

And the French marketing machine is up and running as I want the New Era flat cap and track n field jacket that features are faux Jamaica merchandise…

So anwyay, who are Jamaica you are asking? Well, formally known as Poney Poney, they’re I guess you could call a lovely mix of indie-electro-synth-garage-rock. Think prominent bassline, snares and kick drums, catchy guitar riffage and subtle and simple vocals over the top.

Anyway, the guys have teamed up again with Xaiver de Rosney of Justice fame and Daft Punk’s sound engineer Peter J. Franco (just to name drop) to help out on their debut album which is slated for an August release. For those interested, the last time they collaborated under the Poney Poney name it sounded a little like this:

So yeah, a name change but still the same-same… But hey, if it aint broke then don’t fix it! If I was to rant further on that topic I could always start some hate on MGMT latest outing…

The Bloody Beetroots and The Aston Shuffle have formed an alliance under name of DESTROY. “DESTROY is a musical force more hazardous than anything known to man, openly divulging the most reckless side of electro with two discs of razor sharp tracks. Drawing from an international network of co-conspirators including Boys Noize, D.I.M. & Tai, Kid Sister, Harvard Bass, Cassian, Simian Mobile Disco, Felix Da Housecat, Metronomy, Tiga and Proxy, DESTROY is the Alliances’ most deadly creation to date”.

Destroy Mixed By The Bloody Beetroots

01. The Bloody Beetroots – Domino
02. Etienne De Crecy Feat. The Bloody Beetroots – Welcome
03. Congorock – Babylon (Dub Mix)
04. Alan1 – Concertmate (Bobermann Remix)
05. Popof – The Chomper (LSD Version)
06. The Subs – Mitsubitchi (Bobermann Remix)
07. Jackson And His Computer Band – Arpeggio
08. D.I.M. And TAI – Lyposuct
09. Simian Mobile Disco – 10,000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong
10. The Bloody Beetroots Feat. Steve Aoki And Bobermann – Warp 1977
11. Hermanos Inglesos – Take Me Down (Jaimie Fanatic Remix)
12. Joakim – Watermelon Bubblicious
13. Tiga – What You Need (Proxy Remix)
14. Miike Snow – A Horse Is Not A Home
15. Marseille – UFO Attack
16. The Bloody Beetroots – 31 Seconds To Die
17. Chateau Marmont – Beagle
18. Proxy – Vibrate (The Bloody Beetroots Remix)
19. The Bloody Beetroots – Final Credits (Domino The Movie)

Been hearing this l33t rhyme over a punctuated staccato version of MGMT’s “Kids” on the local australian government sponsored youth targeted radio station… at first I thought the track was by Wale, because the rapper has a similar bend to his words in his spit, and it’s highly similar to W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. … the mixtape joint Wale did over Justice… but I did some reasearch and found it was Chiddy Bang – Chidera Anamege, with his white buddy Xaphoon Jones!

They released a mixtape “The Swelly Express” sponsored by gangster clothing brand Crooks & Castles and Onsmash blog, and it also features rhyming over Ratatat and Passion Pit tracks… to quote Onsmash’s sales copy:

The Swelly Express is the true story of two college kids (Chidera Anamege and Xaphoon Jones) from Philly who rocked some parties at Drexel and quickly gained the attention of “the industry”. The music and lyrics were inspired by many boring trips on the Chinatown bus (they have wifi now!) on the way to meet “big wigs” in NYC. After a bunch of nice dinners and some free drinks for these 2 underage kids, Chiddy Bang decided to make a mixtape. Download link HERE

01. Get Up In The Morning
02. Never
03. Danger Zone
04. Fresh Like Us
05. Now U Know (feat. Jordan Brown)
06. Welcome To Major Label Inc (Skit)
07. Truth (feat. Passion Pit)
08. Meet Mike Hoffman (Skit)
09. Pro’s Freestyle 1.0
10. Awesome (Skit)
11. Dream Chasin’
12. Silver Screen
13. Slow Down (feat. Black Thought & elDee The Don)
14. Decline
15. Call (Skit)
16. The Opposite Of Adults (KIDS)
17. Voicemail (Skit)
18. All Things Go

Prediction: like Wale and Kid CuDi before him, Chiddy Bang will release about 2,000 mixtapes and BLOW UP!!!

Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball...

Yep that’s right, yours truly has a gig on this Sunday at the Fringe as a part of the St Kilda Festival wind-down. So come down for a laugh if your loved ones let you… Better yet, why don’t the both of you do!

Jump for joy because it’s the end of week and you’ve earned the right cut loose. This week see’s a me indulging a bit on my love of emotional shoegazing psychedelic tribal synth pop house music. yes, as you may have gathered, that isn’t really genre… Anyway, this week’s faves and download links are after the jump.

Gypsy & The Cat – Jona Vark

“Her name is Jona. Jona Vark…”

Ah, some more indie synth pop goodness! After listening to this track I can definitely feel a bit of Empire Of The Sun (the guitar riff = a little bit of ‘We Are The People’), M83, anything from a John Hughes movie, but a lot more Fleetwood Mac. Yes, I like Fleetwood Mac. Not just like, probably love. There I said it… There are definitely elements of ‘Little Lies’ and ‘Dreams’ in this track, especially in the chorus.

While most of the major blogs, Mark Ronson on his East Village radio show and even the late DJ AM were all over the local duo from the middle of last year, they’ve only now started to get a little more radio airplay and more importantly, gotten themselves ingrained into me! Head over to their MySpace and give the rest of their stuff a listen. Hanging out big time for this LP release…

Caribou – Odessa

Now this is an interesting bit of music, quirky and haunting at the same time. It’s fairly heavily layered, so you’re ears will have fun deciphering all the sounds here.  I swear when I first heard the vocals in this track I thought that perhaps Erlend Øye of Kings of Convenience and the Whitest Boy Alive fame had contributed. So if you like that kind of minimal-esque type of chill-house you’ll probably like this latest offering from Caribou.

Breakbot – Baby I’m Yours (Featuring IRFANE)

Unadulterated disco pop funk fun! When you hear this track you can’t help but bounce and boogey. If you’re a fan of the works of Shazam, Cassian, The Twelves etc., I think you’ll did this track.

The Jezabels – Hurt Me

“C’mon evil hurt me, hurt me, hurt me…”

Wow. What a track. Powerful and achingly beautiful at the same time. The track sucks you in with Hayley’s haunting vocals/lyrics, complemented by the frenetic drumming and strumming from band members Sam and Nik respectively, intertwined with Heather’s graceful piano work. Don’t forget to add a bit of reverb and swooping strings for effect during the bridge and chorus.

Throw all of this together and you get a rolling wall of big sound that builds and builds till it smacks you right in the face and just like that, disappears as quickly as it arrives. I’m not surprised to see that the Arcade Fire are listed as an influence to the Jezabels on their MySpace page.

Might as well add the music video here since it was just released last month:

Unfortunately there appears to be no Victorian shows lined up in the near future but if you are in Queensland or NSW you can catch them this month at the Playground Weekend festival February 21st or at the Enmore Theatre on the 24th supporting Placebo.

Yeasayer – Ambling Alp

A nice pysch-alt-electro-pop ditty here from NY group Yeasayer. Like any good song (or at least the ones that I like anyway…), it’s instantly catchy and just downright fun. The little synth solo breakdown at the end is just freakin’ awesome!

Douster – King Of Africa

Yes, this track has been floating around the interwebz for a while now, and yes, Douster is no n00b to the scene. These “weekly” posts however are purely an avenue for me to write about the songs that I like at a moment in time and why they got me hooked that first time.

So pretentious rant aside (hehe!), this track features some great sampling from the Lion King’s opening, the powerful ‘Circle of Life’. What you’re left in store for is five minutes of catchy, fun afro-funk-house. I could see this being a nifty opener to a set or bridge/tone shift for all you wheels of steel traders… Speaking of which, Douster is playing at the Espy on February 20th for us local kids wanting to catch him in the act.

So that’s it! Another week done and only one more away till Classixx are in town… Did I mention that I CAN’T FUCKIN’ WAIT TO SEE CLASSIXX?!?!

Have a good weekend folks and we’ll see ya next week where I guess I could try and make it a lovers themed tunage… Or a happy new year to all the chinky readers out there haha! Peace out!