Lord knows where or how I discovered this gem, but I was digging through my notes of  ’things to post on ye olde bloge’ and came upon this bookmark. Sinitus Tempo makes jazzy, downtempo beats with a hip-hop flavor. Peaceland is just one of several releases you’ll find on the Bandcamp page, all of a similar ilk.

And honestly, that’s about all I know about this person. So I’ll let the music speak for itself….

This is a really nice remix by Maribou State, of a new song from Mr. Fogg. After checking out more of each artist’s music on SoundCloud, I have to say I think this collaboration highlights the best in both.

The official blurb about the forthcoming release:

Mr Fogg provides a second taste of what is to come from his forthcoming sophomore album with new single “A Little Letting Go”, released through Kicking Ink/ Kompakt on May 28th.

Built from spiralling layers of choral samples and intricate beat production, A Little Letting Go picks up where previous single and blogosphere favourite Stay Out Of The Sun (Zane Lowe “Next Hype” on Radio1) left off, but this time sets the electronics against a soaring vocal melody and bittersweet lyrics.

“It’s a song about how people behave in a crisis. Grabbing somebody by the lapels and trying to get them to snap out of their state of shock and do something about it. But it’s also sympathetic, even optimistic – that even the most stubborn of us can be persuaded with the right encouragement.”

“A Little Letting Go” is the second single to be taken from Mr Fogg’s new long-player “Eleven”, conceived at Fogg’s Oxford studio and subsequently completed during 3 trips to Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik in collaboration with Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bjork – Medulla, Feist – Metals, Damon Albarn – Dr Dee).

It is a beautiful piece of music, powered by a compelling mix of optimism and melancholia.

“A Little Letting Go” is released through Kicking Ink Recordings / Kompakt on 28/05/2012.

I get a lot of emails through this blog from a lot of artists trying to get attention for their little piece of the internet. I try and listen to what I can. Very generally speaking, most of it is mediocre at best. Few make the cut onto these hallowed digital pages ;) However, it’s always super-rewarding to find a gem amongst them all. Maehlib, AKA Thomas Kaske, is one of these cases. He sent me a track via SoundCloud and I was immediately intrigued by his atmospheric, downtempo hip-hop beats. Leaning heavily on jazz, Maehlib creates layered, head-nodding soundscapes. He’s quite a mysterious character, with almost no information about him available online. However he was kind enough to provide me the details over email.

Born and raised in East Germany, he moved to Berlin after school. He began DJ-ing at age 14, and then started to make beats 2 or 3 years ago, after being introduced to production by his brother, an electronic music producer. The two collaborate as odd/even. As you may guess from listening to his music, he is inspired by Madlib, hence the similar name.

You will find a collection of his beats available for download via his BandCamp page, and each one comes with different cover art which he also designed. The cinematic nature of his beats may be explained by the fact that he is studying film along with anthropology, so you’ll find a wide variety of samples in his music, from academics like Mcluhan or Niklas Luhmann to African music.

I highly recommend you check him out, and then let me know what you think in the comments.

Heard this track on Raul Campos’ show on KCRW last night and immediately had to hunt it down. This is probably one of Tokimonsta’s best yet – a totally addictive & melodic downtempo soundscape perfectly complemented by the delicate vocals of Gavin Turek. As HomeWorkOnTheFire points out, the catchy, soulful nature of this track really distinguishes Tokimonsta from her Brainfeeder labelmates who rarely weave melodies into their tracks.

“Little Pleasures” is taken from the Creature Dreams EP.

Tokimonsta – Little Pleasures (feat. Gavin Turek) by SASHIRADIOBLOG

Typically I might be wary of any band described as “pop pastoralist” (Pitchfork’s words), but this sampler actually sounds kinda nice. I’ll be looking for this one on emusic in March.

Pitchfork says:

Mind Bokeh, the new album from the electronic pop pastoralist and Boards of Canada disciple Bibio, arrives March 29 in the U.S. and April 4 in the rest of the world, via Warp. The follow-up to 2009′s BNM’ed Ambivalence Avenue takes its title from the Japanese word “bokeh”, which means the blurry, out-of-focus part of a photograph– a very specific term that nicely captures Bibio’s distinct brand of atmospheric haze.

The production duo of Ancient Astronauts are getting ready to release an artist album on ESL, June 9th – We Are To Answer. They have previously remixed the likes of Up Bustle & Out, Ladybug Mecca of Digiable Planets, Zion I, and Dr. Rubberfunk, and show off their musical pedigree with this excellent freebie mix (’bout an hour long) of hip-hop, funk, fonky hip-hop and all kinds of other good stuff.

“HEART OF THE FUTURE” TRACK LIST
01. Beatstalkers Anthem – The Beatstalkers (Foot Forward Music)
02. MCs Act Like They Don’t Know – KRS-1 (Classic Re-Edits)
03. I Wanna Make You Move – Freddie Cruger feat. Anthony David (Tru Thoughts Recordings)
04. Catatonia – Connie Price & The Keystones feat. Percee P & Wild Child (Ubiquity Records)
05. Edgelactic – The Beatstalkers (Foot Forward Music)
06. Classic – Ancient Astronauts feat. The Pharcyde (ESL Music/Switchstance Recordings)
07. Insight – Fort Knox 5 feat. Asheru (Fort Knox Recordings)
08. The Roc Boys Get Back – Jay’s Soul Connection (Amsterdam Gangster Music)
09. Funky Furious – DJ Aeon Seven (Modern Funk/Freestyle Records)
10. The Tide Is High – The Beatstalkers (Foot Forward Music)
11. 7 Nation Army (Grant Phabao Remix) – Nostalgia 77 feat. Alice Russell (Tru Thoughts Recordings)
12. Shine Eye Gal (Chase The Remix) – Michael Rose feat. Shabba Ranks (Like Dat Records)
13. Don’t Worry ’bout Romie – Beenie Man vs. Bob Marley (Jiggy Records)
14. Dukku Dukku (The Beatstalkers Remix) – Keith & Tex feat. Shabba Ranks (Fizzle Recordings)
15. Tequilimba – Barrio Katz (Planet Blend Records)
16. Blowing Up The Spot (Ancient Astronauts Remix) – Fort Knox 5 (Fort Knox Recordings)
17. Everybody – Ancient Astronauts (ESL Music/Switchstance Recordings)
18. The Outsider – Lack Of Afro (Freestyle Records)
19. Caffeine (DJ Format’s Getaway Remix) – The Quartertones (Freestyle Records)
20. Heard It Through The Grapevine – The Beatstalkers (Foot Forward Music)
21. Keep On Looking (Kenny Dope Remix) – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (Soulplex Recordings)
22. D’azour Cotaz (Ancient Astronauts Remix) – Timewarp Inc. (Timewarp Music)

Download the exclusive ‘Heart of the Future’ mix here!

And here’s a coupla treats from the album that demonstrates their versatility.:

Listen to “Everybody”:
[See post to listen to audio]

Download Ancient Astronauts – Everybody

Listen to: “I Came Running”:
[See post to listen to audio]

Download Ancient Astronauts – I Came Running

Well this track has been floating around for ages, but since I’m in a Scott Herren kind of mood, I thought now is as good a time as any to play catch up.

Savath & Savalas is Herren’s “Catalan acid-folk project” on which he collaborates with Eva Puyuelo Muns and Roberto Carlos Lange. Stones Throw recently released the digital version of the new album La Llama and the CD release is May 19th.

Download the title track: Savath & Savalas – “La Llama”

Listen:
[See post to listen to audio]

Check out Stones Throw for more info on the project and an interview with Herren.

Scott Herren AKA Prefuse 73 has been so kind as to give away this wonderful mixtape for free. Sleeping on Saturday and Sunday Afternoon is a very chill collection of instrumentals and mini-soundscapes. Ethereal and constantly shifting like those wierdly vivid dreams I have while napping, this mixtape is what I imagine it would be like to watch my brain while I’m asleep. Except I can hear it.

Download Sleeping On Saturday and Sunday Afternoon

Read more about how the mixtape came to be at Herren’s blog.

Herren has a new Prefuse 73 album out now: Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian.

Beatlife fave Pursuit Grooves put together this free album for y’all in honor of Earth Day (I know, I’m on a permanent late pass)….

*20 downtempo rhythms with titles that focus on the environment and the impact it has around us.

Vanese Smith also known as music producer Pursuit Grooves, received a Holistic Health certificate in 2005 after wanting to learn more about how our daily actions including what we do and how we eat not only affect us as individuals but contribute to the overall welfare of the community. In 2009, there has never been more of an urgency to spread the word about how every action toward sustainable living will slow the process of the negative effects on the future.

The share date for Sustainable Movements for A New Age is timed for April in honor of Earth Day.

Download Pursuit Grooves – Sustainable Movements For A New Age

Tracklist:
Ecosystematics
Windmills
Electric Company Cars
Petrol Water Feeders
Footprints Galore
Dirty Clean Coal
Fear of Genetic Engineers
Pest Insides
Canvas Tote Bags
Renewabilities
Nuclear Rainbows
Crap Snacks
Solar Panels
Lost Honey Bees
Partially Hydrogenated Arteries
War Crimes in Space
All Things Green
Fresher Than Yours
Tricycle Network
Quality Goods

This is an amazing video that takes the art of music + visuals to another level! Thanks to SpankyStokes.

The official blurb on the the vid:

‘Heaven’ was used in the acclaimed skate film Fully Flared directed by Spike Jonze and Ty Evans. The collaboration inspired the directors to take footage and re-edit a sequence of shots that shows the Lakai skateboarding team demonstrating their considerable skills as they navigate through and around various exploding obstacles. With ‘Heaven’ as the musical backdrop, the resulting marriage of sound to picture is quite extraordinary.