[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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[Future Bass] Point Point – F + L (“Flashing Lights” Cover)

Point Point
F+L

You’d be hard-pressed to find any artist pushing the boundaries of electronic music as much as Point Point. Although often playful in style, the French production duo’s dynamic compositions ooze emotion creating sonic narratives along the way. Today, they presented their fans with “F + L,” an absolutely stunning future bass rendition of Kanye West’“Flashing Lights.” Opening with a bolstered version of the original’s string section, the song quickly erupts into an irresistible bounce.

The song’s description reads “K, if you read this, please reply to our mail.” Given the quality of their work thus far, maybe Yeezy should consider giving Point Point a ring–much stranger things have happened. This is the type of track you’ve just got to hear for yourself. Give it a spin above.

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[NEW] Kanye West – Real Friends (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

Kanye West
REAL FRIENDS & NO MORE PARTIES IN LA (SNIPPET)

Speculation around the status of Kanye West‘s upcoming album, SWISH, has been swirling pretty constantly since the turn of the new year when Yeezy decided to drop his underwhelming Nike dissing, Jumpman-esque single “Facts”. So when Kim Kardashian West teased the prospect of new Kanye music every Friday late last night, it’s safe to say all his fans had a mini freakout. Comparisons were instantly drawn to Ye’s revolutionary “G.O.O.D. Fridays” series back in 2010 which sent the internet into a frenzy leading up to the release of his much herald album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. While last week’s release seemed more like a throwaway teaser, this brand new single from Kanye seems like the real deal. While Kanye has never been known to mince his words, what makes “Real Friends” special is that it seems to come from an honest and vulnerable place, as he struggles to maintain relationships and questions how many genuinely trustworthy individuals he really has in his life. Packaged with the brand new single also comes a snippet for (what we presume to be) next week’s release, titled “No More Parties In L.A.” which is produced by Madlib and includes a feature from Kendrick Lamar. From the sound of it, things are only about to get better from here.

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[Tropical] Kanye West – All Falls Down (Instrum Remix)

Kanye West
All Falls Down (INSTRUM Remix)

Talk about a throwback. “All Falls Down” has always been the favorite track of many Kanye fans. Listen as Instrum gives the Kanye classic the tropical treatment. The New York-based producer incorporates a trumpet melody into the mix without outshining the original vocals by Syleena Johnson. With tropical synth and a subtle bassline, this track is incredibly catchy and can capture the hearts of many. The acoustic guitar solo towards the end of the tune gives it an organic sound and brings out the authenticity of the track. With every element in its right place, you really can’t say no to this tune.

Instrum is generous enough to offer a free download of the song. Make sure to support as you jam along to this tropical goodness.

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[Hip-Hop] Vic Mensa – U Mad (Feat. Kanye West) (Prod. Smoko Ono)

Vic Mensa.
U Mad feat. Kanye West

U Mad? Cam’ron would be very proud of this brand new cut starring Vic Mensa and Kanye West. Produced by Smoko Ono, this hard hitting number serves as a nice follow-up to Vic’s performance earlier today at Coachella. It’s a great look for the Chitown native who previously collaborated with Yeezy on his own single, “Wolves.” A few years ago it may have been difficult to imagine a pairing like this, but now it seems like this move could launch Vic further into stardom.

Expect this one to stay on the radio late into the summer. We look forward to seeing what else the emcee has in store for his upcoming EP Street Lights, dropping sometime this year.

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[Deep House] Kanye West – All Day (BYNON & Reid Stefan Remix) [TMN Premiere]

BYNON
All Day (BYNON & Reid Stefan Remix)

Montreal based producer BYNON is releasing another tune, just after releasing a successful collaboration with Dannic on Revealed Recordings. BYNON teams up with Reid Stefan to flip “All Day” from Kanye West into a deep house treasure. Fitting with the Las Vegas residency, this lively deep take is perfect for the club atmosphere. With this style, it’s easy for producer’s to put out tracks that lack identity, but these two producers came together to create something that can stick out within the sub-genre. Prepare yourself for vicious grooves and morphed Kanye vocal chops that are newly used as an instrument in this composition. You’re getting a first listen to BYNON meets Reid Stefan, as the ninjas are premiering this free download to you right here, right now.

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[NEW] Kanye West – All Day (Feat. Allan Kingdom & Theophilus London)

Kanye West
All Day (feat. Allan Kingdom & Theophilus London)

Yeezy season is officially upon us. If you need any proof, look no further than Kanye’s performance at last week’s BRIT Awards. After tearing the house down in the UK, fans were clamoring to get their hands on Ye’s new surprise team-up with Theophilus London & Allan Kingdom. Well, the wait is finally over, as we now have our hands on the CDQ version of the new track.

“All Day” is already the fourth single we’ve heard from Ye’s upcoming album, So Help Me God, following “Only One,” “FourFiveSeconds” and “Wolves.” Though we thought we had some kind of idea of what direction the album was heading in sonically, this latest single throws a wrench in all of our expectations. But then again, Kanye is not known as one to follow expectations. We guess the only way to truly find out is when the album drops later this year. Chances are it’s coming sooner than you think.

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