[16 To End 2016] Ninja Dom Edition

#1 – “Tangle Formations” by Explosions In The Sky from their seventh studio Album, The Wilderness.

  • The experimental post-rock band has moved past their days of scoring Friday Night Lights and set their sights on even more ambitious goals with a reinvented sound. The Wildnerness is as much of a conceptual and enjoyable journey as the previous projects, but with more structure and direction.
Explosions In The Sky
Tangle Formations

#2 – “Laputa (Taylor McFerrin Remix)” by Hiatus Kaiyote from their remix LP, Recalibrations Vol. 1.

  • After releasing one of my favorite projects from 2015, the Early Riser LP, McFerrin made another splash this past May by reimagining a track from Hiatus Kaiyote’s 2015 album Choose your Weapon.
Hiatus Kaiyote
Laputa (Taylor McFerrin Remix) (feat. Anderson .Paak)

#3 – “It’s A Memory Feat. Elohim and Mansions on the Moon (Amtrac Remix) by Fred Falke from his remix EP, It’s A Memory – the Remixes.

  • In an unsurprising turn of events, Amtrac has put together the most impressive EDM remix of 2016, fusing the elements laid out by Fred Falke with his own brand of wizardry to create a one-of-a-kind track.
Fred Falke
It’s A Memory ft. Elohim, Mansions On The Moon (Amtrac Remix)

#4 – “Earth Girls” by Jesse Boykins III from his mixtape, Bartholomew.

  • While the album has features from the likes of Noname, Little Simz, Willow Smith, Syd, Mick Jenkins and others, his best work is done on a solo piece, Earth Girls. I wrote about this song earlier this year here.
Jesse Boykins III
Earth Girls

#5 – “Nights” by Frank Ocean from his second studio album, Blonde.

  • While it took Frank 4 years to give us another album, he certainly delivered with Blonde. In releasing his 2016-version of “Pyramids”, Frank gives us a growing piece that stands up to any criticism lobbed his way.
Frank Ocean
Nights

#6 – “Ultralight Beam Feat. Kelly Price, Donnie Trumpet, Chance the Rapper, The-Dream and Kirk Franklin” by Kanye West from The Life of Pablo.

  • The introduction track from the most hyped release of 2016 also gave us the best hip hop verse of the year – in addition to the most diverse contributors to a single track. Another instant classic to go in Kanye’s hall of fame catalog.
Kanye West
Ultralight Beat (feat. Chance The Rapper)

#7 – “My True Name” by Bloc Party. from their fifth studio album, Hymns.

  • 4 years after the release of Four, and after a major band member shakeup no less, Bloc Party returned to the studio headed by Kele to deliver one last time with another intimate, topical record.
Bloc Party
My True Name

#8 – “With Me” by Lane 8 from his project, This Never Happened.

  • The Leipzig-based producer started out 2016 with “Midnight” and has been a beacon of consistency for the electronic music world. Each of his releases have been of superb quality, but “With Me” is the best of the bunch. I wrote about it earlier this year here.
Lane 8
With Me

#9 – “All Night Feat. Knox Fortune (Kaytranada Remix)” by Chance the Rapper from Kaytranada’s 0.001% mixtape.

  • In a year where Kaytranada finally got over the hump, graduating from blogospher fame to mainstrem musical fame, he took a victory lap of sorts in the latter months, giving us some of his best material yet. His remix to Chance’s “All Night” will be a mainstay in dance clubs for many months to come.
Chance The Rapper
All Night (feat. Knox Fortune) (Kaytranada Remix)

#10 – “Alaska” by Maggie Rogers.

  • Maggie Roger’s rise based on the strength of Alaska mirrored the same path Ryn Weaver took after her song Octahate became the flavor of the year in 2014. While Roger has not yet amassed the same following, her single is as impressive and minimalistic as one could hope for from a debut.
Maggie Rogers
Alaska

#11 – “Eva” by Punctual.

  • As an eclectic deep house track with samples and influences ranging from Indian pop to 80’s synth, Eva is as groundbreaking and novel today as it was the first few hundred times I listened to it.
Punctual
Eva

#12 – “Clementine Feat. Lex Famous” by Rambo V.

  • Claiming this song as “Soul House”, Rambo V set off the soundtrack to my summer with Clementine. This dreamy, fun-loving track grooves along fusing the line beautifully between future bass and house.
Rambo V
Clementine Ft. Lex Famous

#13 – “All Night Feat. Dornik” by SG Lewis.

  • SG Lewis released one of my early picks for song of the year, dropping All Night with Dornik in February. This track harnesses some of the emotion captured in his previous classic “Warm” while adding a more upbeat, poppy spin to the piece.
SG Lewis
All Night(ft. Dornik)

#14 – “Homemade” by Matthew Chaim.

  • Hailing from Montreal, this Canadian pop producer unleashed a catchy piece along with the help of Noah Barer and Cavewerk earlier this year. I wrote about the track previously here.
Matthew Chaim
Homemade (prod. Noah Barer & Cavewerk)

#15 – “Gettin’ it Done” by Ross From Friends.

  • As perhaps the best named artist from this group of sixteen, Ross from Friends also put together one of the best house tunes to come out in 2016. While injecting elements of 90’s R&B with a persistently building bassline, the song has elements that appeal to a wide range of aficionados.
Ross From Friends
Gettin’ It Done’

#16 – “The Look” by Halpe and Sophie Meiers.

  • My favorite track that maybe 2% of my friends have heard before. This vocalist has a handful of mesmerizing tracks, but pairing with Halpe pushes The Look into another category entirely.
halpe
The Look w/ sophie meiers
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[Festival Review] Outside Lands IX : Revisiting the Most Memorable Acts of the Weekend

OSL7In continuing to build on the foundation laid nine years ago, Another Planet Entertainment has once again outdone themselves; the final product being yet another successfully executed Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. The 2016 version – keen on replicating the successes of previous iterations – was calculated in its approach, careful not to break the trends and quirks that have made it such a mainstay to the community.

Cover-749x500

Instead, APE kept what has worked and improved upon it; meaning deeper lineups, aesthetically more impressive sound and lighting productions, finally allowing payment via RFID-enabled festival wristbands, and a fair amount of side stages to keep all wandering pseudo-bohemians well occupied. Unfortunately, along with the quality improvements also came a pretty substantial price adjustment – putting on a nationally recognized festival is big business, after all.

Those willing to stomach the uptick were treated to an especially diverse lineup ranging from saxophone playing acts like Kamasi Washington and GRiZ, nostalgia-inducing pop rock outfit Third Eye Blind, platinum (and featureless) hip hop artist J.Cole, EDM prodigy Zedd, the Jack-of-all-trades Garratt, and rags to riches rapper Anderson .Paak.

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[Hip-Hop] Joey Purp – GIRLS @ (ft. Chance the Rapper)

Joey Purp
GIRLS @ Ft. Chance the Rapper

Happy Monday ninjas! We’re sure many of you are still trying to get yourselves in gear for the start of a new week, but allow us to expedite that process for you with Joey Purp’s latest, “Girls @” which features the oh so familiar vocals of Chance The Rapper.

Before we dive into the nitty gritty of the tracks awesomeness, we must forewarn you that this one deserves some quality sound system love. But regardless of how good the speakers, “Girls @” is unarguably going to get your body grooving and your blood pumping.

Fostering an undeniably irresistible beat that seamlessly molds around the flow of Joey and Chances’ lyrics, this release is going to become your go-to “get into the party mood” jam. You’ll also probably find that “Girls @” is going to be your latest song addiction. In other words, it’s the track that is going to be put on repeat for 2 weeks straight while you insist that the driver must forfeit the aux cord for you because it is just that damn good.

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[R&B/Hip-Hop] Snakehips – All My Friends (Feat. Tinashe & Chance The Rapper)

SNAKEHIPS
All My Friends (Ft. Tinashe & Chance The Rapper)

Snakehips have been making waves over the past couple of years, establishing themselves as one of the most talented production duos to emerge from the UK through a steady stream of fantastic remixes as well as some incredible original content that includes collaborations with Tory Lanez, Sinead Harnett and Kaleem Taylor. Their latest outing however has all the right ingredients to make for a surefire hit, as they’ve landed possibly the biggest features of their careers thus far in Tinashe and Chance The Rapper for a new song called “All My Friends”. Snakehips are no strangers to crafting catchy hooks, yet “All My Friends” might be their most easily accessible tune to date, featuring an exceptionally relatable chorus that’s bound to echo throughout your brain for at least a few moments after the song has ended. We expect this to become the ultimate anthem during those late Saturday nights out on the town just as everyone prepares to pack up and head home. You can stream the track above, but make sure to snag yourself a copy on iTunes as well.

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[Hip-Hop] Chance The Rapper & Noname Gypsy – Israel (Sparring)

Chance The Rapper & Noname Gypsy
Israel (Sparring)

A week after releasing his surprise mixtape with Lil B, Chance The Rapper is back again with some dope new material. Produced by Cam O’bi, “Israel (Sparring)” is a relatively low-key tune that features Channo kicking a few laid-back bars alongside frequent collaborator, Noname Gypsy. Don’t let the mellow vibes fool you though, as the introspective cut boasts some of the sharpest rhymes we’ve heard all year. There’s no clues yet on the status of Chance’s next solo project, but with his Family Matters tour set to begin later this fall, we hope that means even bigger things are in store for the future.

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[NEW] Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – Surf

Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
Wanna Be Cool

It’s here! After months’ worth of eager anticipation, Surf has finally arrived. Though initially advertised as a follow-up to Chance The Rapper‘s 2013 mixtape, Acid Rap, it was later revealed that Surf would be a new project led by Donnie Trumpet and his band The Social Experiment, with Chance playing more of a supporting role. Leading up to its release today, details were still pretty sparse, so it’s not surprising that the album was released without any fair warning, which seems to be a common trend these days. None of the features are listed on iTunes, but we promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the guests who appear throughout the record.

We’re still in the process of listening ourselves, so we haven’t had a chance to fully evaluate the project, but so far we’d say it’s lived up to the hype. Take a listen to one of the early tracks below, and make sure to head to iTunes to grab yourself a FREE copy.

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[New] Jeremih – Planes (Lido + Chance the Rapper & The Social Experiment Remix)

Jeremih
Planes Remix

Lido and Chance the Rapper‘s The Social Experiment band already proved that they’re a match made in heaven on their collab with Towkio earlier this month. Today, the forward-thinking combo return with a remix of Jeremih‘s “Planes” that only they could create. For the first few minutes, Lido lays down a textured, dynamic backdrop for Jeremih’s silky vocals that builds into a soulful break that, when accompanied with The Social Experiment’s signature horns, creates a uniquely jazzy, electronic-infused vibe. Chance drops in for the last minute with a verse that’s as on-point and clever as ever addressing lady problems in a way that oscillates between emotions effortlessly. This one’s perfect for your Saturday morning. We certainly hope there’s some more coming from these guys but this should do just fine to hold us over in the meantime.

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