As we woke up on Friday in a daze, hit by the gravity and bleak finality of one of the most unfathomably surreal and draining weeks of our collective lives, A Tribe Called Quest had just dropped 2016's most inspired and unlikely record...
We're psyched to premiere the beautifully shot, Desmond Penn-directed new visuals from one of the brightest young luminaries in footwork, Teklife's DJ Taye...
We're extremely psyched to have Lexington, Kentucky producer Ellie Herring running things here on the site today. As we've already mentioned, Ellie's new EP rules, and it's officially out today on Driftless, so listen to that below, and hang out here with Ellie as she shares some of her favorite tracks throughout the day.
Listen to our OCTOBER 2016 monthly mix (not to be confused with our Halloween 2016 mix from earlier this month), featuring the best new tracks from the past month from Kaytranada, CHROMATICS, Joanna Newsom, LIZ + more:
We're psyched to premiere the dope debut single from West Coast duo The Homie (aka Cole MGN + J Nadya), a heady, self-described "raw teen melodrama of epic proportions" that has quickly become one of our favorite jams of the year...
If you haven't been paying attention, anonymous LA-via-New Zealand artist BOYBOY is currently responsible for four of the most infectiously playful and charming indie-pop jams to be released this year (including the lowkey perfect "Boy" + "None of Your Love", two of our favorite tracks of 2016)...
It's fun when a song that has been so incessantly hyped -- and was, by any measure, already a hit before it was even finished -- ends up being as good as you'd hoped...
Thanks to Adam for the heads up on Russian experimental pop luminary Kate Shilonosova, aka NV, and her entrancing and addictive new album Binasu...
We don't know much about the elusive and mysterious new artist BOYBOY -- who is probably Los Angeles-via-New Zealand artist Sam McCarthy -- other than the fact that he has quietly dropped two of the most effervescent and infectious jams of the year, and that people are sleeping...
We feel pretty confident proclaiming 2015 the best year for new music this decade, and we'd even go so far as to say it's been arguably our favorite year in the history of this site. So many stars seemed to serendipitously align this year — our 10th as a blog — for sounds that veered right into our own personal, sometimes insular little lane: the triumphant return of Grimes; the improbable meteoric rise of Leon Bridges from seemingly out of nowhere (i.e., right here in our own backyard); a sweet, thoroughly relatable, '90s-hip-hop-inspired record from Panda Bear (our favorite artist); two Beach House albums in the span of two months; D'Angelo with probably the best show we've seen since the last time he rolled through town 15 years ago; Grouper started a pop group; the summer of Jamie xx; and on and on. If 2015 had seen the release of Dear Tommy and new music from Shabazz Palaces or Burial (all still possible, I suppose), our blog might have imploded. With all of that said, I still feel like we went as deep as ever this year, and as always, there were some genuinely incredible hidden gems to uncover if you spent a little time digging. Let us know how your year went as you check the full list of our 50 favorite records of the year, and lose yourself in our nearly 3-hour-long spotify playlist:
We're psyched to premiere the beautifully shot, Desmond Penn-directed new visuals from one of the brightest young luminaries in footwork, Teklife's DJ Taye. With its elegantly chopped samples -- that tinkling, cascading piano and an almost mournful woodwind melody lend the song an unmistakably poignant vibe -- deftly woven into Taye's distinctive skittering drum and bass patterns, the soulful, DJ Manny-assisted "Burnin Ya Boa" is one of the highlights from the producer's very dope Move Out EP, out this week on Hyperdub...
Fear Of Men share a decidedly less gloomy alternate version of "Erase (Aubade)", one of the starkly emotional highlights from their beautiful Fall Forever LP, out now on Kanine. The group told us via email about the shimmering, relatively chipper (but still goosebump-inducing) "Change Me":
The Librarian (now Black Shield) & Skeleton Hands are very best friends of mine and fellow Racecar pals. Both have killer records coming out next year, but for now “Slow” is the greatest combo of the two. “Slow” makes me want to be Alex Rogan in “The Last Starfighter.” -- Ellie Herring
If you saw me play this year chances are super high that I played a Gilligan Moss song. Recently I asked my grandmother if she felt older in her mind or just her body as she aged. She told me only her body, that her mind was still full of energy. The end of this video reminds me of her. “Choreograph” makes me want to be Bertie in “Swiss Family Robinson,” the 1960 version. -- Ellie Herring
Many years ago my Mom gave me a bunch of her old records & this was by far the best of them. I get that this is a pretty popular one, but I grew up with 60s rock around me. Listening to Jimmy Bo Horne was such an experience! And one that stuck with me. “Dance Across The Floor” makes me want to be artistic roller skater Terry Barkley in “Roller Boogie.” -- Ellie Herring
“House of Silk” released in March & remains in my fav records for the year. Plus her mix on Gilles Peterson Worldwide, I mean wow. “Marble Air” makes me want to be Emmy in “Mannequin.” -- Ellie Herring
I play this song out a ton & wish there were about 27 more Jad & Ladyboy releases. This one is from Toy Tonic’s Mushroom House Compilation and the entire thing is amazing. “Gervinho” makes me want to be Françoise in “The Beach” but a happy version without Daffy. -- Ellie Herring
Luxury Elite is my vaporwave friend who is also from KY and she makes very smooth jams. You can also check out her most recent release, “101.7 Wave II” out on River Girls. “Billboard” makes me want to be James Rockford, LA’s slickest PI from “The Rockford Files.” -- Ellie Herring
Lancelot is fairly new to me but this one has been nonstop lately. I don’t know too much about ishi vu, but I’m on the case. “As It Were” makes me want to be David Lightman in “WarGames.” -- Ellie Herring
I’ve opened a few sets with this one recently. I saw Pantha du Prince open for Blonde Redhead six years ago when he released “Black Noise” & it was wonderful. “Frau Im Mond, Sterne Laufen” makes me want to be Thomas Seyr in “The Beat That My Heart Skipped.” -- Ellie Herring
