Voice Stealer-Evaluation

I don't listen to electro much. But even if I did, this would still probably be my favorite electro tune. Unusual form of electro in its harmonic, ambient-like construction, it was produced by Carl A. Finlow, this tune appeared on the critically acclaimed album "The All Electric House" back in 1997.

1 Giant Leap-My Culture

1 Giant Leap are 2 British music producers and filmmakers. Far from ever becoming a popular act, they did score a major hit with "My Culture" back in 2001, probably because it was a collaboration with Robbie Williams and Maxi Jazz of Faithless, names which drew the public's attention.
Oh yeah, the video is also very cool.

Tennishero-Midnight Love/Alone

Today I was going to feature Chris Coco's "Albatross", the wonderful closing track on his 2002 album, "Next Wave". However, due to its absence from Youtube I will not.
Instead, a double from Tennishero, a rather mysterious Swedish act that came to prominence with a couple of tracks released on Hed Kandi compilations. Listen & enjoy these interesting crossovers between deep house, chillout and nu disco.

Midnight Love:


Alone:

Christophe Goze-Some Day I Will

Back in business, not that anyone cares.
And what better way to get back than with a large chunk of summery chillout right in the heart of Winter. Christophe Goze warms up our homes with this great guitar chillout track, one of my favorites from his 2006 album "Turning Inside", which you can buy HERE for only $11.80.

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.

Billie Holiday - Long Gone Blues (GXR Remix)

I won't even begin to introduce Billie Holiday, because chance are you have been living under a rock if you don't know who she is. And no one lives under rocks.

GXR is a British production duo that I previously featured on Musictronics under the Groovecatcher alias with their track "Intoxicated" (see HERE). As GXR they released the album "Skylines" in 2008 on Anything Goze Group (run by Christophe Goze) and made a couple of remixes, one of which is this one. A great modern interpretation of a jazz classic.

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.

Probspot - Obsession / God Shaped Hole

Everybody knows that the early to mid 2000s were the pinnacle of progressive trance. And Swedish producer Rikard Fredriksson, otherwise known as Probspot and Rico Soarez was at the pinnacle of the pinnacle. With releases such as "Foreplay EP", "Blueberry" or "TV Dinner/Timeless" it's easy to understand why. Held in high regard for his unique and multivalent style, Probspot has maintained a strong reputation throughout the years, both through original productions and also with some great remixes for acts like Insignia, Solarstone, Mike Shiver etc. Also, starting with 2007 Rikard has started releasing music under a third alias, Zinfandel, following the same progressive recipe, only with a slightly more electro-ish vibe.

A pleasantly convincing crossover between Trance, Drum n Bass and Breakbeat, "Obsession" comes from his 2005 album "Organic Waveforms" (as Probspot), released on the seminal (at that time) Lost Language label.



And from the same album, featuring Craig Evans on vocals, "God Shaped Hole":

Thievery Corporation - Amerimacka

Back in 2004 I came across "Kontor Sunset Chill Volume 5", a downtempo compilation that I consider, to this day, to be one of the most important steps I took in experiencing the many facets of electronic music. It was then that I made contact with artists such as Mint Royale, Caia, Wax Poetic and of course, Thievery Corporation, all who would later gradually become some of my favorite acts.

Thievery Corporation is one of the most well-known trip-hop bands out there, with a career spanning 15 years and 6 albums thus far. You can hit their wikipedia article to find out more about their history, I don't want to reinvent the wheel with this blog entry, since they are so famous.
It was hard to pick something from their discography (because it's so damn good), but I think the natural choice couldn't have been anything else but "Amerimacka", the track that started my love for the Corporation.

Machinarium - Bar Song/Pipe Wrench Dubstep

I've been playing adventure games since I was 12. I still remember that day in 1998 when I discovered Sierra's "Shivers" (demo version) and played it with my friends. That was one creepy game (managed to get it in full and finish it a few years ago). Of course, Shivers was just the first from a looong list of adventure games that I was going to play throughout the years. Each game, for better or for worse, left me something to remember it for. And Machinarium is certainly one of the games that gave me a LOT of reasons to remember it for, from its drop-dead gorgeous handmade graphics and supreme game design to its ingenious puzzles and lovable character (a lonely robot).
The biggest surprise however (considering Machinarium is a small-budget game) was its original soundtrack. It's one of the best game soundtracks I have ever heard in a video game. No joke. Composed by Tomáš Dvořák, it employs odd and ingenious music ranging from IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), downtempo, dubstep to even bossa nova to achieve a truly offbeat and refreshing whole result.
My advice would be to buy the game right now and start playing. It comes really cheap and as far as I'm concerned it's one of the best deals one can make as far as video games go. Machinarium is, simply put, food for your mind, eyes and ears too.

Oliver Smith - Sunday

Anjunadeep has been my favorite EDM label for the past 3 years. Their unique blend of house, trance and funkyness earned them a solid fanbase and the respect of the music industry for being utterly different than the norm. Launched in 2005 and currently on its 74th release, Anjunadeep is not only one of the best, but also one of the busiest labels around, having released one brilliant mix compilation in February("Anjunadeep:02") and 14 singles since the beginning of this year alone. It's the perfect exception from the "less is more" rule.
One of the most prominent artists on Anjunadeep's sister label, Anjunabeats (ran by producer/DJ trio Above & Beyond and mainly focusing on trance) is Oliver Smith, a man who's been at the forefront of trance music for the past 10 years with constant success. With "Sunday" (and with a previous track, "Pacific", for that matter), Smith demonstrates his production skills' range goes beyond the borders of trance and into the wonderful melodic house realm of the Anjunadeep sound.

Buy the Anjunadeep:02 compilation here: @trackitdown.net
Buy Oliver Smith 01 (the best of Oliver Smith) here: @iTunes

Boymerang - Soul Beat Runna

I have been mad about this track from the very first listen, somewhat 12 years ago. Heard it on EA Sports' FIFA World Cup 98 game soundtrack (along with a handful of other excellent songs btw) and it has been in my Winamp playlist ever since. Really, if I were to pick my favorite DnB track, this would probably be it.
The man behind Boymerang is Graham Sutton (leader of legendary post-rock band Bark Psychosis) and under this alias he released the highly-acclaimed Drum n Bass album "Balance Of The Force" in 1997.