Eff the Blahs
by Dodeca on Feb.02, 2010, under Music
Yeeehaw. After proroguing the blog for a month to hit the books and the hills, we’re back to deliver our throne speech. In this spirit, I’ve put together a small arsenal of tracks that I’ve been using to combat the onset of the February blahs which are about due to kick in over the next couple of weeks. The theme here is a sunshiney collection of tracks with a little edge, threaded together tightly in an effort to keep out the cold. Individual tracks are below.
Eff The Blahs – PhoenixLoop.com February Mixtape
01. Douster – King of Africa 
02. The Chemical Brothers – Star Guitar (Party Ben remix)
03. Bag Raiders – Fun Punch (XXXChange remix)
04. R.I.O. – After the Love (Mowgli & Bagheera remix)
05. Cassius – Youth Speed Trouble (Don Diablo remix)
06. Kid Cudi, MGMT – Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki remix)
07. Iyaz – Replay (Donni Hotwheel remix)
08. La Roux – Bulletproof (Foamo remix)
09. The Pixies – Where is my Mind (Bassnectar remix)
10. Keri Hilson, o8o – I Like It (White Light remix)
You can also download all these tracks in a neatly organized archive here.
New Decade’s Eve
by Dodeca on Dec.31, 2009, under Music
A quick post to throw out some NYE tracks before I head out into the blizzard that’s assaulted our nation’s capital. A lot of endings and beginnings for me this year, and probably more so in the year coming.
DJ Earworm – United States of Pop 2009
Fatman Scoop & DJ Class – New Year’s Anthem 2010
Skillz – 2009 Rap Up
Jingling Ballz
by Dodeca on Dec.21, 2009, under Music
Hey all, it’s been a week and after work and exams and shows and fending off the Christmas blahs, we’re back. Since Santa’s stuffing his cellulite ridden ass down the chimney in less than five days, we figured a real post commemorating the season was in order. So, here’s a fistful of tracks to raise your glass of eggnog to while grinding with your grandma during the happiest day of the year.
Eazy-E – Merry Muthafuckin’ Xmas
Benny Stixx – Jinglebellz
Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock (Jay Velar & Diggz remix)
Harry Simeone Chorale – Little Drummer Boy Ish (Diggz edit)
Dorrough – I Want (Hood Christmas)
Dublex
by Dodeca on Dec.14, 2009, under Music
The weekend is over and I’m still gravitating towards the funky ass shakers that I loaded into my digital crate last week. We’re not talking the porn-ish, baby making music that many of my colleagues like to play out; although I’ll probably be throwing up some of those more Prozac infused tracks in the near future. No, I prefer my my funk to have a little edge. It probably comes from my heavy breakbeat rave influences… I need a driving beat, some heavy bass, a dash of crunch, and at least a hint of a synth. Otherwise I get bored.
To this end, I’ve got a pair of barn burners from Dublex Inc. These guys have always been one of my favorites, and I’ve been catching up on some of their recent work. In fact, I’m a big enough fan that you can probably expect another post on them later on in the week.
Dublex Inc. – Right Place Right Time (Beatfanatic remix)
Dublex Inc. – Don’t Make Me Want You (MonoPhonic remix)
Jayl Yeah
by Dodeca on Dec.11, 2009, under Music
A pair of Jayl Funk collaborations for you to jumpstart the weekend. Easily one of my favorite producers in the nufunk style, Jayl is well worth keeping your eyes on.
Camels on Duty ft. Michael Conner (Jayl Funk remix)
Quincy Jointz, Jayl Funk – Rock It
A Beardy Christmas
by Dodeca on Dec.10, 2009, under Video
Jive and Swing
by Dodeca on Dec.08, 2009, under Music
I’ve got a soft spot for sample based music that’s heavily infused with swing, funk, and jazz. Which is why I pretty much creamed myself when the Electro Swing vol. 2 compilation hit my ears. Contrary to what the title would have you believe, electro swing isn’t really a genre in and of itself. Rather, the only defining feature is a heavy reliance on swing and jive samples from the early twentieth century. So while there is a unifying theme throughout, a somewhat diverse range of genres are represented: hip-hop, house, instrumentals, and straight remixes. The album definitely has its lulls at times, and in my opinion doesn’t flow as nicely as the original compilation, but there are still some real gems here that I plan to be playing out over the next couple of months.
Wax Tailor ft. ASM – Say Yes
Benny Berigan – Snake Charmer
Parov Stelar – Catgroove
Grinning Like a Doofus
by Dodeca on Dec.07, 2009, under Music
I took a long 3am walk home from a friend’s house last night, toeing the yellow lines of empty streets dusted with Ottawa’s first real snowfall. It’s the only time of day that a pedestrian can leave the safety of the sidewalk and reclaim the road, and there’s a certain magic to a sleeping city wrapped in the night’s darkest cloth. As an additional bonus, I was not only equipped with an ipod bursting at the seams with new music to sort through, but also had a couple of hours to audition a good chunk of it uninterrupted.
Enter Pablo’s Turntable Technology. At the halfway mark of my urban hike, this gem of an album made itself heard. The smile started at the corner of my mouth, eventually spreading into a full grin by track five, and my jaw dropping by track seven.
The term ‘musical genius’ has been bandied about a lot through history, probably as early as Gregorian monks big-upping themselves for the latest religious floor-smasher; but I’ve gotta say that Pablo’s offering here has some serious genius forged into it. Take note that his track The Story of Sampling features several minutes of rhyme stitched together from dozens of sources. Or the sheer musicality of his woven harmonies, or the album as a whole shifting moods with every turn… fun to thought-provoking and back again.
Seriously; click the iTunes link and buy this thing. You get over twenty-five tracks of awesomeness for ten bucks.
Let the Merriment Begin
by Dodeca on Dec.04, 2009, under Music
Aright. The weekend is here, and we’re now officially inside the insanity that is the holiday season. To celebrate, I’ve been putting together a stack of tracks designed to squeeze balls and bush alike into a vice of bass-driven audio awesomeness. If you, like me, suffer from a yearly dose of holiday-what-the-fuck-blahs, I’m hoping this’ll chase ‘em away with a shotgun.
I’ve got a couple of older tracks peppered in amongst this mostly fresh variety, and have arranged them in the order I’d probably mix them in. If you want them all nicely numbered for an iPod playlist, download the full package here. As always, if you’re digging an individual artist, click the iTunes link to support them.
Lethal Bizzle & Donaeo – Go Hard
Danuel Tate – La Boite
The Bravery – Slow Poison (Drop The Lime remix)
Riva Starr & Noze – I Was Drunk
The Count and Sinden – Hardcore Girls (Don Rimini remix)
Thomas Stephan – Turn That Shit Up
Busy P – To Protect and Entertain (Crookers Remix)
Lish ft. Michelle Adamson – Concrete Jungle
Twocker – Stitch (Bass Kleph Rmx / Krafty Kuts Re-rub)
Space Cowboy & LMFAO – Falling Down (Party Rock remix)
Once again, you can get these tracks in one shot here. Whee.
The Dirty Word of Dance
by Dodeca on Dec.03, 2009, under Music
One of the dirtier words this side of dance music is trance. It’s a style of music that conjures up a lot of images. Be it glowsticking teens sporting plush phat pants; sweaty, shirtless goons stomping to the beat while creepily staring in your direction; or irritatingly self-righteous sarong clad hippies who are strongly in need of both bath and razor… the list of stereotypes to make fun of could rattle on until the break of dawn in Ibiza. I certainly won’t deny that there are thousands of hours of worthless Tiesto inspired fluff out there, or that the epic-breakdown-hand-waving tendencies of the genre have me oscillate between a desire to laugh and vomit. However, I do keep a loose grip on the pulse of trance.
The simple fact of the matter is that trance, at its best, takes its dancefloors seriously. It’s not music designed for the club, for you to turn to your neighbour with drink in hand and revel in your combined wastedness when a favorite track comes on. It’s designed for a cavernous warehouse where the thousands under its roof, lost in their own groove, gyrate to a unified and unrelenting rhythm.
Life Style – Make My Day – Protoculture Remix
Symphonix – The Good Old Times – Neelix Remix
Pixel ft. Wrecked Machines – Sem Parar
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