(2018 comeback) Miguel Migs-Sail On / This Feelin'

Yes, it's been 7 years. Crazy. I never thought I'd ever get back to curating a music blog that no one actually reads, but here I am, ready to spread a bit of my questionable taste in music to anyone that might accidentally stumble across Musictronics. Truth is, as much as I try to play it down and disregarding the fact that I'm far from a sophisticated listener, I probably listened to more music over the past 20 years than most people I know, so I kinda feel there is a lot of material for me to work with.

With that in mind, why don't I get going with the first feature of 2018: an older tune from 2014 :)

Miguel Migs is synonimous with the soul-influenced San Fran deep house sound of the 2000s. A prolific producer, having released countless singles, EPs, mix compilations, as well as 4 artist albums, Migs is most often associated with house labels Om Records, Naked Music and of course, his very own Salted Music, which he established in 2004. Very much active to the present day, Migs' latest artist album, "Dim Division", released in 2014 is in my opinion his best one yet. Usually when artists are as strongly associated with a particular sound, like Migs is with his 2000s era releases, it's very hard for them to stay within the same stylistic realm and still top expectations far down the road. But that is EXACTLY what Migs did with "Dim Division". 12 years apart from his debut album, "Colorful You" and the soul is still there, the groove is still there, the melody is still there and most importantly, the creativity is still there. An excellent album with a mature sound, slick production and some really interesting tracks. Like I said, as far as I am concerned, this is Migs' best album to date.

For today I have selected two tracks (almost mission impossible limiting my selection to only two) that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I did:

Sail On:


This Feelin':

The Diogenes Club - Tie Ourselves Around

Matthew Williams aka The Diogenes Club is a relatively new face in the electronic music scene. Although an experienced producer, with material released as far as 1999, Williams' breakthrough came recently (starting a couple of years ago), through a string of excellent original productions and remixes under his The Diogenes Club moniker.
I personally just discovered him a few months ago, browsing through the Urbantorque catalogue (which is downright amazing btw). Looking at his small, but strong discography, it's clear that great things are in store for Williams should he continue to release material of the same quality.

From the recently released "979 EP" (on Urbantorque), I have selected "Tie Ourselves Around", a mixture of vocal deep house, nu disco and downtempo that is representative of Williams' style.

Samantha James - Rain / Right Now

Samantha James' album "Rise" (2007) has a very important place in my collection. Right from the first listen I knew I came across something special. 11 tracks and none short of great. Situating itself at the ever-thinning border between deep house and chillout, the album even boasts with a #1 US Billboard Dance chart position, achieved by the title track, "Rise".
"Rain" and "Right Now" respectively are the last 2 tracks of the album and they both feature a classy deep house reminiscence, coupled with soothing vocal harmonies and subtle piano touches from the jazzy side of the musical spectrum, to achieve truly wonderful and relaxing results.

You can listen and buy the entire album HERE.

Vincezo-Summer Breeze

Vincenzo is a name that should certainly ring a bell if you're into house and particularly into the deep side of it. This guy has released a LOT of music in the past 15 years, covering pretty much every area of house music. In spite of his numerous single releases, both as Vincenzo as well as under other guises (including many collaborations with other artists), he only released one album under his name, the 2002 "Welcome To Zanarkand", a forward-thinking fusion of deep house, breakbeat, ambient music and even a bit of electro. Tracks like "Don't You Ever Stop", "Can You Feel What I Feel" or "The Nightlife" rank as some of my favorite deep house tunes.

But by far, the track that stood out the most was this deep house/broken beat gem entitled "Summer Breeze". Listening can only lead to acknowledging:

J Axel-Every Part Of The World

As promised in the previous post, here is more from J Axel. "Every Part Of The World", the opener track to his 2009 album, "Start Receiving". A chilled deep house tune with some very relaxing harmonies and a nostalgic vibe. Enjoy!

J Axel feat. Astrid Suryanto-In A Distant Bar

One magical chilled track we have in store today. J Axel (Jonathan Axelsson) (aka Ronin) and Astrid Suryanto deliver one of the most emotional pieces of electronic music I've heard in the past 4 or 5 years. Actually this is not a new track, it was released in 2006 on Axelsson's debut album under the J Axel alias, entitled "Deepness Is Served". At the beginning of 2009 it was re-released as a single under Astrid Suryanto's name (and its name was changed to just "Distant Bar") and featured remixes by progressive house heavyweights 16 Bit Lolitas and Paul Keeley among others.

J Axel has released his 2nd album this Summer. Entitled "Start Receiving", it is, in my opinion, almost as good as the first one, a confirmation of this artist's great talent. Tomorrow we'll feature J Axel once again, with a track from "Start Receiving". Until then:

Buy "Deepness Is Served": Beatport.com
Buy "Start Receiving": Beatport.com

Heather Nova - Aquamarine (Chris Coco's Balearica Mix)

Heather Nova is a well-known singer/songwriter who has been in the music scene for more than 15 years. She's famous for her vocal ballads and that's exactly what the next track is. But with a twist: lounge hero Chris Coco transforms it into electronic bliss. One of the best summer "dreamaway" songs you'll probably ever hear. I know that I'm going to listen to it every single summer of my life.

Caia - Le Telecabine / Heavy Weather / Remembrance

I don't even know where to start...The fact that I've chosen to feature 3 tracks today (won't happen too often, I can tell you that) must say something. And if not, here is me saying it: this is pure gold right here!
In the last 10 years I have only for 4 or 5 times listened to an album and liked absolutely every single thing about it. This is the case for this album: "The Magic Dragon" (you can download the album for only $9.99 here) by Caia. Caia is a solo project by Andy Cato, one half of house duo Groove Armada. "The Magic Dragon" is the only album Cato released under the Caia alias, back in 2003. It's an unique blend of deep house funkyness, trip-hop, caribbean-feel chillout and ethnic elements that works like magic, literally.
I think you got the picture: this album encapsulates the definition of "hidden all-time classic" and you simply HAVE to listen to it, there is no excuse for not indulging yourself the opportunity of doing so. 11/10

And these are the tracks: "Remembrance" (I think even my grandma would love it), "Le Telecabine" (my personal favourite) and "Heavy Weather".

Claes Rosen-Glancing

A slice of very melodic deep house makes today's menu. Master chef is no other than Swedish super-talent Claes Rosen, a highly overlooked producer whose work over the past 2 years had a great influence over my taste in electronic music.
"Glancing" is a demonstration of what Claes is best at: funky grooves and catchy riffs. The perfect tune to start your day.

Buy this track here: Beatport.com