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….

The other day I got an email in my box via the Moovmnt fellas - Julie Dexter – Transitions (produced by Zo!) it said. Awesome, new Julie Dexter, I thought. However, turns out this track was released several years ago and Moovmnt were showcasing it as part of “slept-on sundays.” So clearly I’m guilty of sleeping on it, but am glad Moovmnt brought it to light again, it’s a really great track. Once I heard it, I kinda wanted to hear more collaborations between these two, although none could be found. I also could not find an album on which this track was actually released. If anyone knows of its fate, please leave a comment!

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.

German DJ Paul Pre, one of my favorites, has a new mix he did for Laid Back Radio in Belgium, featuring “chilled beat music”. As usual he comes correct with a selection of soulful, futuristic beats featuring AFTA-1, fLako and more (full tracklist below).

Tracklist:

01. Shlohmo – Things I Lost
02. heRobust – Lumber Party
03. Jazzo & Melodiesinfonie – The Euphony Tree
04. Ta-Ku – Glacier
05. ?bstract-ONE – Dreamfeeder/Satellite (Remix)
06. The Astronotes – Luiz
07. Lower Entrance – Netherland Sun
08. Indigo Pyramid – Remember 2 Bounce 1
09. Annu – Opo
10. Free The Robots – Jupiter
11. Taprikk Sweezee feat. Busy – Eating at the Void
12. Samiyam – Where Am I?
13. Kritikul Beats & Teddy P – Abounding Grace
14. Vanilla – Keep On Walking
15. Mndsgn – Meanitlikeyousayit
16. Afta-1 – Amor Es
17. Sugoisounds – Moody
18. fLako – Kelau
19. Groundislava – Gods
20. Kona Triangle – Mango Rubicon
21. Com Truise – Glawio
22. Jon Phonics – The One
23. Samiyam – Frosting Packets
24. Duke Hugh – Ahyeah
25. DZA – Softgram (Kid sW!Ng Remix)
26. Praveen & Benoit – Embers (Machinedrum Version)
27. Devonwho – Brushmetal
28. Belle – Open My Eyes (Quest’s “Flyby” Remix)

The Stereo MCs are back! They have a new album, Emperor’s Nightingale out on August 30th. “Manner” is the first, and pretty impressive single to be released from it, and as you’ll hear below, still features a strong hip-hop meets electro vibe. They sort of remind me of Daft Punk or maybe even Basement Jaxx in that they’ve mastered the art of still being prominently cutting edge with their musical influences, but giving it a polished, pop-friendly sound (and for once I don’t mean that as an insult, hehe)  at the same time. Looking forward to hearing more of the new album. Listen/Download below and let me know what you think of the new song.

Stereo MCs- Manner by !K7 Records

Download “Manner” by Stereo MCs (right-click and choose ‘save as’)

Jay Scarlett has just posted another wonderful AmpSoul mix. Described as Soul, Future Beats and Lovestep it features all kinds of soul, from classic to futuristic, expertly programmed by Mr. Scarlett.

Yesterday’s Machine is the debut release from King Britt’s Saturn Never Sleeps project, his collaboration with singer/artist Rucyl. The blurb from the label describes it as well as I could:

Their debut album, Yesterday’s Machine, combines an experimental create-in-the-moment vibe with inspirational lyrics and vocal sonics that range from Sade tones to Flora Purim’s ethereal layers. The result is well-crafted, intelligent, genre-pushing, electronic soul rooted in the duo’s collective years of experience and musical expanse.

Listen and download the album for free below, and also watch the video for “Grace”

SaturnNeverSleeps – Grace from rux on Vimeo.

Nas is set to return after several years since his last solo album. “Nasty” is the first single from the upcoming Life Is Good (although a name change is rumored to be in the works), due in September. “Nasty” has a classic Nas feel to it – bangin’ drums and Nas doing his thing solidly over the top. The track is produced by  heavyweight beatmakeer Salaam Remi. Take a listen below. Definitely whets the appetite for the full-length wouldn’t you say?

Listen to Nas – “Nasty”:
[See post to listen to audio]

Zo! is a multi-instrumentalist / producer from Detroit who is on The Foreign Exchange Music label. His soulful hip-hop sound is a perfect match for that label, born out of the success of Phonte and Nicolay’s original Foreign Exchange collaboration. Just Visiting Three is the latest installment in Zo!’s series of free eps in which he reworks cover songs with the help of a slew of progressive soul vocalists like Eric Roberson, Sy Smith,Nicholas Ryan Gant and more.

Listen:
“Everything She Wants”  feat. Phonte
[See post to listen to audio]

“Let It Go” feat. Nicholas Ryan Gant
[See post to listen to audio]

Download Zo! – Just Visiting Three

Tracklisting:

01. Black Cow feat. Phonte and Sy Smith
02. Let It Go feat. Nicholas Ryan Gant
03. Driving feat. Sy Smith
04. Marzipan feat. Eric Roberson and Phonte
05. Everything She Wants feat. Phonte
06. Same Ole Love feat. Jeanne Jolly
07. Playing Your Game, Baby feat. Anthony David