Author Archives: Matthew Bloss

[Future/House] ILOVEMAKONNEN – Tuesday (The Golden Pony Remix)

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 27, 2015

ILOVEMAKONNEN
Tuesday (The Golden Pony Remix)

NYC indie-house craftsmen The Golden Pony stormed the blogosphere (specifically this one) in 2014 with a string of Hype Machine dominating disco painted remixes and originals. Today our favorite afro sporting dance ninjas return to TMN for the first time in 2015 with a straight shot to the clubs in the form of a remix for ILOVEMAKONNEN‘s inescapable Drake collab “Tuesday”. TGP deftly blends the original’s slightly off-key vocal sample with perfectly syncopated drums -including a garagey dose of popping snare, shuffling hi-hats along with a rightly swung deep bassline to induce a surefire hip-wiggle from its listener. About the new remix, the duo state: “We wanted to keep the original chorus of the song in tact so people would have something to sing along with, and then smash them in the face with a huge thick bass in the drop”. If there’s any opposition to that statement, we’d love to hear from them. In the mean time, stream The Golden Pony’s “Tuesday” remix above and snag a free download here. Did you catch that we posted this one on a Tuesday?… something must be going up.

[House] Gold Fields – Hold Me (Pat Lok Remix)

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 21, 2015

Gold Fields
Hold Me (Pat Lok Remix)

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Last week we featured standout house and disco manufacturer Pat Lok and his latest original record “All In My Head”; while this fine Hump Day finds the Vancouver native back in the remix game with a lively take on Gold Fields’ “Hold Me”. Pat Lok sprinkles liberal doses of both house and disco into his shuffling take on “Hold Me”, slowly establishing a fluid dance cadence on the back of a percussion-centric melody before dropping into an elastic club bassline. And while this writer may be a bit overzealous when it comes to dance music consumption, we quite honestly feel Lok’s injection of buoyant rhythm takes Gold Fields’ original vocal track just a bit further. As Pat prepares the official release of the aforementioned “Hold Me” and its backing EP, we’ve been happily consuming this one on loop to shake away the cold. Stream Pat Lok’s “Hold Me” remix above.

[House/Indie-Dance] SNBRN – Raindrops ft. Kerli

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 20, 2015

SNBRN
Raindrops Feat. Kerli (Original Mix)

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Behind tastefully deep remixes for Melanie Martinez, Indiana, 50 Cent and loads more, L.A.’s SNBRN has made quite the stamp here at TMN on his steady push to the apex of rising house producers. SNBRN’s latest original record, “Raindrops”, which features syrupy sweet vocals from Kerli; sees the California native dance guru making a warranted debut on the almighty Ultra Records. Kerli’s alluring refrain coats SNBRN’s fetching, and sunny, Cali-appropriate synth hook with just the right balance of effeminate and bouncy. About the collaboration, SNBRN told us: “6 months ago I met Kerli at a small studio in Venice Beach, California. We shared our stories, really got to know each other and came up with a concept that would evolve into the song you hear today. We wanted to create a song that would be powerful and moving yet also something you could really groove to. The lyrics really hit home for me and I’m so excited to finally share it with you guys. It was such an unbelievable experience to work with Kerli and create something so beautiful from nothing. The best things always take time; the wait was definitely worth it. I present to you Raindrops.” “Raindrops” is now available through Beatport and other online retailer, but for now, get your fix from our super fancy Ninja player above.

[Disco/Chill] Falcon Punch – Silk [TMN Premiere]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 20, 2015

Falcon Punch
Silk

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After storming Hype Machine’s Top 10 back in August with “Flying High”, and following up with an utterly tasteful disco-revivalist single for vinyl-only imprint Smokecloud Records, “Paid Dues”; Denver based Minneapolis transplant Avery Henderson, who limelights with one of the best names and sounds in downtempo dance music, Falcon Punch, is back with “Silk” for a very special ‘TMN Premiere’. Always a thinking man’s disco purveyor, Falcon Punch rolls out his latest single on a bed of subdued, shuffled hi-hats; laying a lush foundation for which the tune’s almost minimal leaning synth progression can freely skitter along. But, once the curtains are raised after a brief yet baiting four-bar intro; we’re pulled into a lovely electro-funk meets nu-jazz guitar line which serves a majority of the track’s focal point while simultaneously evoking some Discovery-era Daft Punk or chilled out Todd Terje comparisons. Furthering you along into a sea of groove, “Silk” highlights Falcon Punch’s proficient tastemaking abilities with a sumptuous vocal pulled from Dexter Wansel. Every piece functions as a standalone, but were also all clearly thought out and pulled together to play smoothly into one cohesive movement. “Silk” drops on Karl Kling (who you might know from his work with RAC) & Cyclist’s MANI/PEDI Records –Falcon Punch’s second release with the burgeoning dance label- and you can bet we’ll be all ears for music from both entities as 2015 unfolds. Stream “Silk” from Falcon Punch above.

[House] Pat Lok – All In My Head ft. Desirée Dawson

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 15, 2015

Pat Lok
All In My Head ft. Desirée Dawson

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We might be a few days behind the curve on this one, what with the amount of quality music flying around this week, but Vancouver’s Pat Lok has come through with another expertly crafted slice of dance music on his latest offering “All In My Head” (which also happens to be serving as our office’s mid-day house pick-me-up in the process). The tune features a vocal from Desirée Dawson that just oozes pure sex onto Pat Lok’s bouncy melody, flirting with elements of U.K. club-house and the deepest shades of nu-disco. “All In My Head” pushes off behind a slow-burning clap-kick backed by a reverb injected vocal sample before diving head first into Dawson’s first soulful stanza. Ms. Dawson’s sultry croon serves as a gorgeous segue into Lok’s first dose of punchy, classic synth work; while each subtle element coalesces superbly until this writer found himself unconsciously shuffling and jacking like something out of Elaine Benes’ bag of dance moves. “All In My Head” is being released through the tastemakers at Love & Other Music, with the full EP release dropping February 9th featuring remixes from Howson’s Groove, Cyclist, and SYRE. This one’s already got us yearning for sweaty Summer dancefloors, so why not join in on those inklings by streaming “All In My Head” above?

[Nu-Disco/Progressive] Mansions on the Moon – Somewhere Else Tonight (Juno Ray Remix) [TMN Premiere]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 15, 2015

Mansions on the Moon
Somewhere Else Tonight (Juno Ray Remix)

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A couple TMN favorites have come crashing together as South Korean dance producer Juno Ray takes “Somewhere Else Tonight” from So-Cal four-piece Mansions on the Moon into the realm of Nu-House and Disko. Juno Ray’s made appearances on these hallowed Ninja grounds a few times behind a club edit of David Bowie & Queen’s classic “Under Pressure” and a nu-disco retooling of another MotM cut, “Radio”, but his latest remix is also the most textured release from the disco bender’s impressive output. Juno Ray takes auditory production cues equally from early Röyksopp’s poppy disco to Underworld’s educated blend of progressive house, trance and big-beat through this one; instilling a perfect counterpoint to Ted Wendler’s soothing incantaions; stating: “The ‘dream-like’ vibe of the remix was inspired by Ted’s dreamy vocal style. I wanted to support this vibe with a full blown dream-tronica set up, using meticulously chosen vintage synths. ” Those aforementioned synths play as if they were manually modulated on a Roland TR-909, which is about as perfect of a sound this writer could hope to aurally consume on any dance record, while also revealing quite the creative flare in the process. We’ll be on top of Juno Ray’s 2015 campaign as it develops, but for now, stream his revivalist remix of “Somewhere Else Tonight” above.

[Synth/Dream-Pop] Day Wave – Total Zombie

Posted by Matthew Bloss - January 14, 2015

Day Wave
Total Zombie

Soundcloud

Day Wave, the solo project of So-Cal indie-pop duo Carousel‘s vocal half- Jackson Philips, returns with another foggy, synth-driven cut “Total Zombie”. After dropping Day Wave’s debut single “Nothing At All” back in November, this time around, Day Wave’s focus seems to play a bit more pensive than his debut. Being a classically trained musician (and a highly trained one at that) clearly translates into a structural mastery of a multitude of music genres as well as the ability to turn out an addictive pop-riff masked in sterling instrumentation. “Total Zombie” playfully broods about behind a waxy, reverb laden guitar; intermingling with Philips’ gospel infused refrain harmoniously. It seems like the leak of recent Day Wave singles may be leading up to an EP or LP release, and you can bet your bottom Benjamins that we’ll be on top of all things Day Wave as they accumulate. Stream “Total Zombie” above.