[15 to End 2015] Ninja Dom’s Best of the Year

As a sweeping generalization, 2015 will go down as a year dominated by collectives. Future Classic, Hegemon, Moving Castle, Soulection, HW&W, Wedidit, Monstercat, and French Express pooled their talents together to commandeer the music scene this year. The technical aspects commonly associated with “Future” crept into the DNA of producers, becoming a topical theme across genres from the most obscure to the most mainstream.

In particular, and as one of the most recent additions to the TMN staff, it has been quite a journey both as a contributor and music fan since early April. Without the collaboration of the entire staff – the guidance of editors and advice of my fellow writers – year one as a ninja would not have been possible. Along the way I’ve covered tours, shot music festivals, and met some of my favorite artists, who have graciously exposed me to their own intricate webs of sound. That being said, below is my best effort to reduce thousands of great tracks released this calendar year down to a manageable number. Enjoy the tracks below, in order of release date, and see you all next year!

’Oceaán – Veritas (Young & Sicks Mixed Feelings)’
Although it has nearly been removed from all channels of the internet, this remix of Veritas is a fluid tune, incorporating contrasting techniques in a way that set it apart this year.

’OBESØN – Mon Amour’
This is both my favorite song ever and the answer to the hypothetical question “if you could only listen to one song for the rest of time…”

’San Holo – We Rise’
Deserving of a spot on all lists, this has been the de facto party-starter and pregame anthem since it’s release in February.

’Alison Wonderland – Run’
The title track from AW’s debut album taps into the talents of fellow producers Djemba Djemba and AWE in creating this hooky, electronic masterpiece.

’Mura Masa – When U Need Me’
For an artist focused on quality over quantity, this is Mura Masa’s greatest creation to date.

’DIVERSA – Burning House’
Burning House is the most powerful release of Diversa’s, serving as a benchmark for the current wave of Drum & Bass producers to measure up against.

’Jamie xx – The Rest is Noise’
Jamie XX has been graced with near unanimous approval of his album In Colour; The Rest is Noise incorporates his most polished elements in a lengthy rainbow-colored instrumental.

’Tory Lanez – Acting Like (Prod. by Shlohmo)’
Another up and coming artist out of the blooming Toronto hip-hop scene, Tory Lanez, enlists the help of Shlohmo in putting together this dark, rhythmic jam.

’Golden Vessel – Borrowed Time (ft. Tiana Khasi)’
Melbourne locals Golden Vessel and Tiana Khasi teamed up to create one of the most enchanting and soulful pieces of the year, bar none.

’Thundercat – ‘Them Changes”
As the most groovy track of the summer season, this was also an introduction and revival of the nostalgia-pumping funk genre, which used to dominate the charts.

’Tame Impala – The Moment’
Parker shows off his adaptability on this one; in cutting the downtrodden lyrical content against a synth-driven bridge full of cheery guitar riffs and rhythmic hand claps, the single is inextricably linked with the bridge in fellow Australian band Pond’s recent release, “Medicine Hat”.

’Moi Je – Fais Rien (PETIT BISCUIT Remix)’
Although the title literally means ‘do nothing’, it is nearly impossible to hear this remix by Petit Biscuit and not be tempted to move by the upbeat tempo.

’Khai – Do You Go Up’
This bubbly, minimalist tune is carried on the strength of its hook and the catchy vocals of its creator.

’SevnthWonder – Maria I’m Drunk (Ft. Deverano) (Travis Scott Cover)’
As the most notable track by the best up and comer out of 2015, this remix displays a vision and creativity beyond SevnthWonder’s years.

’Finding Hope – Wonder’
With roots in the ambient genre, down-tempo is the most calming style of music. The deep, pleasant reverie continues through Wonder and does not end until the close of the song.

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[Future] SevnthWonder & Deverano – Can I / Maria I’m Drunk

While music aficionados are spending these late-November days at Friendsgivings and being as unproductive as possible in preparation for the holidays, one ninja-favorite has been hard at work, dropping multiple collaborative tracks in the past few days.

Mateus Almeida, known for his production skills under the name SevnthWonder, has been steadily dropping tunes throughout 2015, but this may be his biggest month to date. The first, titled “Can I”, was released mid-month in tandem with Deverano and an up-and-coming producer who goes by the name of Unknown.

’SevnthWonder & unknown – Can I (ft. Deverano)’

In what can loosely be described as Future R&B, “Can I” is the first of two tracks released by Sevnth featuring the rangey talents of Staten Island rapper Deverano. Although only four minutes long, the track displays a key element sometimes lost in the genre: patience. “Can I” doesn’t give an impression of being in a hurry to get to a particular crescendo or hook; this quality is particularly noticeable in part because the same cannot be said for much of electronic music produced as of late.

While the subject matter itself has been covered at length (look no further than Lido & Santell’s Passion Project EP last month for evidence), the stylization of SevnthWonder is still a novelty without seeming gimmicky in the least.

’SevnthWonder – Maria I’m Drunk (Ft. Deverano) (Travis Scott Cover)’

The next release, titled “Maria, I’m Drunk”, and released via Tune Collective is a progressive take on a recent hip-hop hit by fellow Houstonian Travi$ Scott.

With Deverano once again on the vocals, SevnthWonder takes the seven minute anthem and flips it on its head. In scrubbing all evidence of the sometimes over-the-top crooning by Young Thug, Sevnth manages to cut the fat in his version, retaining elements from the early parts of the original song.

By focusing exclusively on the introductory portion – his cover forgoes the bridge and breakdown sections of Justin Bieber as well – SevnthWonder sneaks a fiercely deep bassline under the choruses, creating an end product that is both melodic and extremely satisfying.

Even more recent than these two tracks, SevnthWonder dropped a third track this month, “Capsun”, which we premiered earlier this month here“Can I” is available at ClickDJ, while “Maria, I’m Drunk” can also be downloaded for free at Hive,

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SevnthWonder – Drift (Feat. Capsun) [TMN PREMIERE]

SevnthWonder
Drift (ft. CAPSUN)

As a producer, SevnthWonder reaches levels of consistency most other artists would be envious of. Considering the steady volume of material he churns out, it’s almost amazing that he’s constantly able to maintain such high standards of quality. His latest collaboration with CAPSUN, “Drift”, is no different. The future bass ditty is profound in its simplicity, as the Boston native creates a lush yet serene soundscape that’ll most assuredly cause all your worries to melt away. If magic carpets did exist–which, let’s be honest, would be pretty sweet–then you have to imagine this would be one of the first tracks on your playlist as you cruise around the world.

“Drift” is the latest single to be released as part of Hebinomichi‘s Vol. 3 compilation, which is currently rolling out daily track releases until the end of November. The 15 track compilation is comprised of original content from the collective’s expansive roster of talented artists and spans across a wide array of genres. Vol. 3 is also set to be a surrealist audio-visual exhibition, accompanied by a series of futuristic visual interpretations by artist Trent Kuhn who took inspiration from the songs themselves as well as images he saw during the Nepal earthquake disaster to create custom imagery for each individual tune. After hearing the full EP for ourselves, trust us when we say the project–which includes appearances from StéLouse, Maxx Baer, Tasty Treat, TIGERBLOOD and even more–is definitely one of the most creative releases from the collective yet. Stay tuned to their SoundCloud channel for the rest of the month to make sure you get your hands on all the goodies.

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[Future R&B] SevnthWonder x A Sol Mechanic x TokyoMegaplex – What’s To Come

SevnthWonder x A Sol Mechanic x TokyoMegaplex
What's To Come

Longest track title, possibly ever? Maybe. Don’t let that even fool you though. SevnthWonder has been on our radar for a while, along with CREAM COLLECTIVE, but through him we discovered A Sol Mechanic and TokyoMegaplex. After listening to this, we really recommend you check out all of their other work. We imagine working on a triple collaboration could become a bit hectic, but you hear no signs of that in “What’s To Come”.

This headnodic track will have your spirits uplifted, and the rhythm will cause your body to sway. The variety these three bring to the table on this track is unreal. We can’t really think of many songs that combine congos, seductive vocals, and disco vibes all in one. All around, this blissful track is amazing, and is the perfect tune to wind down to with the end of summer approaching.

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Sunday Night Soul [Vol. 23]

This is a special day folks, and I’m sure plenty of you already know why. While we won’t explicitly spell it out for you, we hope many of you celebrated the occasion in your own special ways. However, there is one matter of business left to take care of, and that’s making sure you end your night on the right note, with some Sunday Night Soul.

While we expected to have plenty more holiday “anthems” to provide you with tonight, we still believe we have the perfect lineup to zone out to, and help lull you into dreamland. We can’t help but feel a special connection to this week’s crop of tracks, but maybe that’s because a few of these already helped carry us through our day as well.

Sunni Colón was certainly a popular man this week, as his track “Temple” was remixed by three of our favorite producers, staRo, Esta and Hasta. It’s tough to pick a favorite from that group, but right now we’d have to give the crown to Esta. Impressive performances were also turned in from the likes Namuun AriunRachel Foxx, The Internet, Acropolis Sound, Teyana Taylor, Nina Sky, Kidepo, Sophia Black, Echo, Vanessa Elishakutthrowt, kenji, RVDICAL THE KID, MisterMack, Anushka, Tourist and Reva DeVito & Kaytranada. Of course the fun doesn’t stop there, so as an added bonus, we’ve also included the full album stream of Blackbear‘s The Afterglow, to ensure the maximum amount of feels. You already know the drill folks, and if you’re not high for this right now, we’re sure you’ll be feeling something once you reach the end of this one (and we don’t mean the munchies).

’Namuun Ariun – Painter (ft. TEME)’
’RACHEL FOXX – BEFORE YOU’
’Chiara Noriko – Feels So Right’
’mathien – You’ve Made A Stone Outta Me’
’Matthewdavid – In My World’
’Versis – Deep Seated Feat. Kid A (prod. by B.Lewis)’
’Collarbones – Burnout’
’Raleigh Ritchie – Stay Inside (The Internet Remix)’
’Sunni Colón – Temple (starRo Remix) – Free DL’
’Men Among Boys – Presence of Man’
’The Harpoons – Unforgettable’
’LO Feat Adrian Daniel
Fool (Acropolis Sound Remix)’
’Teyana Taylor – Sorry’
’Above and Beyond – Sun And Moon (Rnb Cover By Christian Joseph)’
’Lyrica – Freakin’ (feat. Wiz Khalifa)’
’Future – I Be U’
’August Alsina – Backseat’
’Mike Jay – Real Strippers’
’Jennifer Hudson – Walk It Out featuring Timbaland’
’JAZMIN Sisters – You ft. IAMSU’
’Ballad – You’
’Teedra Moses – Be Your Girl (B.Cause Draft Day Blend)’
’August Alsina – FML (Feat. Pusha T)’
’Nina Sky – STONERS Ft. Smoke Dza (Prod. by SKY NDGO)’
’Xander Ghost – Subliminal’
’Alex Jordahl – Lie To You’
’Kidepo – Reds’
’sophia black – OVR AGN (Prod. by BASECAMP)’
’Echo – Constellation (Prod. by Persian Empire) (‘Midnight Chronicles out May 12)’
’Vanessa Elisha – Midnight Swim (Prod. By GXNXVS)’
’Plue Starfox – M A Z I E’
’Trey Songz – Nana (XONA Remix)’
’Movement – Us (kutthrowt edit)’
’kuma & Telescope Thieves – Control’
’from the roof top – Sniper’s theme (Da P edition)’
’Kxngs – The Undesirable One’
’kenji – Lucy’
’Losco. – Bae Bae’
’SKVTR – Cyprus’

’kenji – What You’ve Done’

’Sunni Colón – Temple (Hasta Edit)’
’TLC – No Scrubs (Benji Boko Remix)’
’Aaliyah x TRC – Rock The Boat Skinny Jeans Mix’
’Ashanti x elkco – rock with you’
’D’Angelo – Spanish Joint (Kero One Remix) *NEW*’
’Harrison x Maddee – What I Said’
’SevnthWonder – Fantasy’
’Sunni Colón – Temple (esta. remix)’
’RVDICAL THE KID – Rain Down On Me’
’Demon – You Are My High (Picard Brothers Edit)’
’Duncan Gerow – Teedra Moses + IAMNOBODI = Be Your Girl’
’Disclosure – Latch (MisterMack Version)’
’Alina Baraz – Art Of Persuasion(esta. remix)(“So On” Tape Available NOW!)’
’elkco – SHE GOT DAT VIBE’
’kuma •ᴥ• – sumimasen’
’Lindsay Lowend – Body Party Instrumental (SNES version)’
’Anushka – Atom Bombs’
’Tourist – Patterns (feat. Lianne La Havas)’
’Reva DeVito – Friday Night (Prod. By KAYTRANADA)’
’Snakehips – Forever’
’Hermitude – Ukiyo’
’Mariah Carey – You’re Mine (Hunt for the Breeze x Manila Killa Edit)’
’R ASH – I Own You’

Bonus

’Blackbear – The Afterglow (FULL ALBUM STREAM)’
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Sunday Night Soul [Vol. 22]

While most of the ninja team spent the weekend melting away under the desert sun at Coachella, the rest of us here at TMN have been hard at work to ensure that you have the latest and greatest tunes the internet has to offer. While FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out for those who don’t know) is inevitable while our eyes our glued to the live stream on YouTube, we’ve managed to keep ourselves relatively busy by scouring the net for the most serenely sublime tracks we could find. Although we expected a bit of a slowdown in output this week with the advent of festival season, we instead were surprised to stumble upon an overwhelming amount of material while assembling this magnificent playlist.

We can’t safely say we’ve covered everything here, but we’re fairly certain we’ve found the best of the best. Those include selections from Tin Gardens, D.R.A.M., Submotion Orchestra, Iman Europe, Tiara Thomas, Raleigh Ritchie, Betty Who, Bayou, Telescope Thieves, Joey Solo, XONA, WLYN, Falcons, Lido, Maryann, JENI, CompSci, woodini and Kwabs. Of course there’s plenty of other gems hidden below, but you’ll need to sift through to find them for yourself.

’Tin Gardens – Leave Slow’
’Slime ft. George Maple – Sonnet’
’May – Soul (FloFilz Remix)’
’Sye Elaine Spence – Is This Love’
’Moses Sumney – Plastic’
’Royal Auditorium – Selfless’
’D.R.A.M. – Feet In The Water w/ Sunny & Gabe’
’Midé – Wait For You Ft. Bianca Rose’
’Taylor McFerrin – The Antidote (feat. Nai Palm)’
’Submotion Orchestra – All Yours’
’IAMNOBODI – Try Me (feat. Ego Ella May)’
’Iman Europe – Kneva Know (prod. Zikomo)’
’Aaron “Ab” Abernathy – In Love/Near’
’Elle Varner – Little Do You Know’
’Tiffany Evans – Just Something To Say’
’Melo B Jones – Shoulda Woulda Coulda (prod. by Žiga Murko)’
’Maribelle Anes – Lips Lock (Prod. by Maribelle Anes)’
’August Alsina – Get Ya Money feat. Fabolous’
’Tiara Thomas – You Do’
’Math Allen – Get Out The Way (Prod. By The Ambassadors)’
’1 O.A.K. – Slide Thru Ft. P Lo (Prod. by Hyperspace Music)’
’Rome Fortune – Come & Get It (Prod. DunDeal)’
’SoMo – We Can Make Love’
’Raleigh Ritchie – The Chased’
’Betty Who – Lovin Start’
’Rizzo – Flush’
’MNEK – Every Little Word’
’Fantastic Mr Fox feat. Denai Moore – On My Own’
’HUNTAR – EXPECTATIONS (FTSE’S X X X – PECTATIONS MIX)’
’b a y o u – Airlock’
’THROWING SHADE – SWEET TOOTH (from the ’19 JEWELS’ EP – out on 19 May via No Pain In Pop)’
’K A I Z E N – The Doin”
’Telescope Thieves – Svns (feat. Nori)’
’Grand Beach – Swim Good ft. S. Carey & Daniela Andrade’
’Jon B – Calling On You ( J LOUIS ) remix’
’Jansport J – Teresa’s Prototype’
’John Legend – GreenLight (Iman Omari Flip)’
’Melo Zed – About (her)’
’Joey Solo – Christina (Out now on Play It Louder Vol.2)’
’kenji – True’
’kenji – If You’re Lost’
’WithLoveXavier – Better (Prod. XONA)’
’This Girl – Radio Roman (XONA Remix)’
’kwok. – I Got’
’WYLN – Changes’
’Duncan Gerow – Tinashe + Esta = Vulnerable’
’Ciara – Body Party (Kwok Remix)’
’Cassie
Me & U (Altisko Rework)’
’XONA – Doin U Right’
’Jalen Jenkins – For Me’
’PARTYNEXTDOOR – West District’
’PARTYNEXTDOOR – Persian Rugs (Falcons Bootleg)’
’Drake – Too Much (GXNXVS Remix) (Feat. Sampha)’
’Drake – Bria’s Interlude (SAVON Bootleg)’
’Poetic Justice – Kendrick Lamar (Ft Drake)(XONA Remix)’
’PlueStarfox – We Be All Night (DERP)’
’Yung Lean – Gatorade (Lido Remix)’
’Maryann – You And Me (Prod By N8 The Gr8)’
’JENI – Drunk In Luv (JENI SUK REFIX)’
’Miley Cyrus – Adore You (CompSci Remix)’
’Marvin Gaye – I’ve Got My Music (KidBeat Refix)’
’Jhene Aiko – My Afternoon Dream ( Telescope Thieves Edit)’
’J Rican – Prototype Body (StarRo X Jeftuz MashUp)’
’Raheem Devaughn – Woman (Layzie Edit)’
’Duncan Gerow – Usher + DJ Clue = My Way’
’Zedd – Find You (Sci Fi Scheme Remix)’
’MTBRD – Who Babe (Flamingosis Remix)’
’Mitch Murder – Mirage (SevnthWonder Remix)’
’noï – Injunction’
’The Weeknd – 28 (ALEXSANDER REMAKE)’
’2K2レイス – get it shawty’
’YUNG LEAN – GATORADE (DOLPHIN TEARS Lido EDIT)’
’Tinashe – 2 On Ft Schoolboy Q (woodini Remix) – DL in description’
’Fluke Nukes – NaNa’
’MellowMaswel – Always (Unmastered)’
’Kwabs – Something Right’
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Sunday Night Soul [Vol. 21]

Greetings ninjas, and welcome to Sunday Night Soul Volume 21. By now you all should know the drill, but if you’re new around here I’ll break things down for you. This is the place to come to make the brutal transition from the weekend to Monday morning slightly less painful. With so much great music dropping this week, we’re hoping we can help you forget about tomorrow’s stresses for a brief moment, and focus on relaxing as you slide into bed for the night.

There’s plenty to enjoy in our latest collection, but we’ll give you a brief breakdown of some of tonight’s standouts, which includes an eclectic group of performers like Melodiesinfonie, The Masks, Love Mansuy, Jesse Boykins III, Raheem Bakaré, Sway Clarke II, LO & /_\drian Daniel, Dae Zhen, Is It Tomorrow, J-Louis & HAAN808denitia and sene, K, Dreamers Delight, Elaksi & abstract youthEvil Needle, Kruisemode, WE SINK, Wet Paint, IAMNOBODI, MARKAI, and Sable. As you can see that’s a pretty substantial list of gifted artists, but we’re only scratching the surface of what tonight’s lineup has to offer. So why not just dig right in and find what other surprises we have in store for you this evening?

’Ariana Grande – Right There Unplugged’
’RοβLαω – Missing You // (Jordan Rakei Remix)’
’Blooms – Lust’
’Moses Sumney – Man On The Moon’
’Melodiesinfonie – Spread The Love Feat. Marlene Winkler’
’Mom Tudie x Tom Misch – Waiting On You’
’Tom Misch & Carmody – Release You’
’Klo. – Make Me Wonder’
’SZA – Sweet November’
’LYLA – Getaway’
’Hollie Cook – Twice’
’Jackie Boyz – Do Not Disturb’
’The Masks – Midnight Starring Cameron’
’Flunk – Queen of the Underground (DRIVE Remix)’
’PENN ALEXANDER – Simplethings (prod. x King Henry)’
’Love Mansuy – Super Sad’
’Jarell Perry – Blow’
’LO feat. Adrian Daniel – Fkkking High’
’AU8UST – Volcano (Prod. by CRNVL)’
’Jesse Boykins III – Live In Me (prod. by Machinedrum)’
’Tynethys – TFZ (Prod. By Friendzone)’
’Trey Songz – Smart Phones’
’Raheem Bakaré – Portrait Of Love’
’Christon Gray – Vanish feat. Swoope’
’GOTHAM CITY – Back To Love (Produced by Bryan Michael Cox)’
’COLUMBUS SHORT – GAVE YA’
’Dontae Peeps – Irresistable (produced by TyRo)’
’BOOTS – Ride Ride Ride’
’Gabriel Alexander x Logan Chapman
Off My Mind {Prod. By Logan Chapman}’
’James Fauntleroy – Year Round’
’How To Dress Well – Repeat Pleasure’
’Tiffany Evans – Give Me Wings’
’Marsha Ambrosius – Run’
’Daniel Wilson – Please Dream Again’
’Sway Clarke II – SECRET GARDEN’
’Dae Zhen – ’94’
’J LOUIS x HAAN808 – Waves FEATURING Vanessa Elisha’
’O S L O – Mourners (ft. Monika Cefis)’
’Kruisemode – Closer feat. Mike Knight’
’Kissed Killed – r i t u a l s’
’Is It Tomorrow – And Me’
’denitia and sene – divided.’
’LO feat. Adrian Daniel – Perfectly Numb’
’K – Rituals’
’Plue Starfox – B R A N D Y
’Mahaut Mondino – Forbiden Kiss (Slowed Not Slopped By Krampf)’
’Weeknd x ROSS – Vain『Slowed n Throwed』’
’Kid Cudi – Too Bad I Have To Destroy You Now (Childish Major Remix) FEATURING CURTIS WILLIAMS’
’K – They Say’
’Zuper – Perfect Melody’
’Telescope Thieves – perfect.Bae’
’Zikomo – Time’
’Temptations – Cloud Nine (FKJ Remix)’
’Iman Omari – Addicted (Flip)’
’Dreamers Delight – Sunday (Forthcoming on Play It Louder Vol.2)’
’Elaksi x aywy. – Nobody Else’
’JMSN – Do U Remember the Time ( Evil Needle Remix )’
’Kruisemode – Closer feat. Mike Knight (WE SINK Remix)’
’Daktyl – Do Without (Feki Remix)’
’Pharrell Williams – Lost Queen (WET PAINT Remix)’
’Jeremih and Aaliyah – Birthday Sex on a Boat (Le Youth Edit)’
’Duncan Gerow – Fabolous & Tamia + Fanatic = So Into You’
’SevnthWonder – Hear U Callin”
’D’Angelo – Brown Sugar (IAMNOBODI Remix)’
’Bruno Mars – Treasure (T AARONmusic REMIX)’
’Trey Songz – Smart Phones (Swish Remix)’
’Tinashe
2 On ( Ft. Schoolboy Q) (MARKAI Remix)’
’Justin Timberlake – My Luv (Sable Edit)’
’Nikes – Spaceship’
’RKCB – Comatose (AARMAXX Remix)’
’Mila J – Smoke, Drink, Break Up (DTWICE DE BEL AIR Edit)’
’Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U (Kav Verhouzer Resouled Mix)’
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