The Focussed Distractions (aka, Jon McLeod) has hints of the Chemical Brothers and Beatles-esque harmonies on this particular track.  Be on the look out for brand new music from The Focussed Distraction as a series of online singles over the next year, all to be titled: BLANKET ROOM RECORDS (Parts 1 – 4).

The Focussed Distraction – The Surface Sound

Bandcamp

The french duo Equatuer (Romain Nouhi & Charles Rocher) have produced a wonderful New Wave track called, “Haunted”. From the initial second this track started to play, my ears instantly started smiling — well, you know what I mean.

Equatuer – Haunted

Splash of 80′s grandeur are sprinkled through out, and reminiscent of bands such as the Sparks.  Excellent combination of electronic pop and rock.

School is Cool – Warpaint

Soundcloud

Tropical dance action from Congo Tardis #1, with the help of Marawa the Amazing.

Congo Tardis #1 – Sweet Lime

Bio:

Congo Tardis #1 is Australia’s premier tropical / tribal sound-system represented by Melbourne’s Ms Butt, Paz and Lewis CanCut. All highly sought after producers / dj’s in their own rights, together they present a wild and ready 6 deck set of carnival sounds – Guarachero, 3Ball, Cumbia, UK Funky, Kuduro, Dancehall, Bashment, Kwaito, Baile Funk, Afrobeat, Dub, Dubstep, House, Latin Funk and Disco, Soca, Swamp Funk, Krewe Beat, Tropical Bass.

Video:

Soundcloud:
Number One by Congo Tardis #1

90′s inspired house sound on this track from The 2 Bears, who released their full length album, “Be Strong” today.  The 2 Bears are a London-based musical duo formed in 2009 composed of Joe Goddard (of electronic band Hot Chip) and Raf Rundell.

The 2 Bears – Get Together

The 2 Bears: Be Strong (OUT NOW!) by The 2 Bears

At last, the first track from my collaboration with The Reverb Junkie is here!   For those that have followed me on twitter, facebook, or at my other site (www.oddyear.net) have known for sometime that I was working a on a new project but not much else.  Well at long last we have a sample of what to expect from our forthcoming album.

Think along the lines of Hot Chip, Miike Snow, Imogen Heap and you’ll have a solid base as to the sound and characteristics of our music.   The collaboration began when I first heard The Reverb Junkies vocals on a track from dntel (one half of the postal service) over at indabamusic.com.  From there we started sending files back and forth and here we are with the release of our first single.

Be sure to follow both The Reverb Junkie and Odd Year via our soundcloud pages:  Soundcloud [The Reverb Junkie] & Soundcloud [Odd Year]

Odd Year & The Reverb Junkie – Might Not Happen

Bandcamp

Odd Year & The Reverb Junkie – Might Not Happen by The Reverb Junkie

Odd Year & The Reverb Junkie – Might Not Happen by oddyear

Digging that 80′s DX7-esque bassline on this joint —  Micheal Jackson would be  proud.

Jacques Lu Cont – Church

Christopher Norman is back with a new release from his forthcoming “EP 3 “.   This time around, it’s a warm mid tempo track showcasing his velvet smooth voice (think Damon Albarn [Gorillaz front man] in tone).  Love the balance of electronic tones with the  more  traditional classical elements, such as the piano and strings, a lovely balance indeed.

Christopher Norman – Connect Me

Connect Me by misternorman

Lyrics:

[verse 1]
room alight with sparks
running up the wall / more static left to discharge
diffusing it quietly
i know how it feels to be
stuck living inside your head
chasing words that were never said

[chorus]
baby I can feel the voltage running through my skin
come on and tap into the current i’m generating
down through every node
my circuits overload with all this energy

heart racing / without a sound
every wall around you coming down
take a look at me / plug it in and see
how it works when you connect me

[verse 2]
none of your transmissions getting free
you’re out of time / no charge left in your battery
all of this resistance in your way
with no power you’ll decay
don’t you know I’m calling you all the time?
nothing but noise to hear on your line

[chorus]

Daft Punk influenced filter disco house action from Silva Hound.  Can only imagine this sounds fantastic on a really loud system.

Silva Hound – Sapphire Shores (ft. Marika Bedford)

Soundcloud

How about some acid house for you all, going back to 2005 on this 12″ from Different Gear.

Different Gear – Worry (ft. Dirty Kylie)

Gloomy dubstep action here from Ducky.  Producing music from the tender age of thirteen, Ducky (aka Morgan Neiman) is set to release her EP, The Whether on Februrary 21st.   This track sound like a missing track from the Sneak Pimps album, Becoming X but with a dubstep twist.

Ducky – Like Rain

Calm, casual house along the lines of  Thievery Corporation from 24 year old Malaysian singer, Yunalis Zarai (aka Yuna)

Yuna – Live Your Life

Moody and driving is the track, “Brothers”.  Taken from their forthcoming album, “Mixed Emotions” due out  March 20th.

Tanlines – Brothers

Soundcloud

Track List for Mixed Emotions:

1) Brothers
2) All Of Me
3) Green Grass
4) Abby
5) Yes Way
6) Not The Same
7) Lost Somewhere
Real Life
9) Rain Delay
10) Cactus
11) Nonesuch

Summer sounds that much closer after listening to Rene Lopez’s, Shing-a-ling Is What I Bring.   Has that old school Marvin Gaye summer time sound, but in the barrio.

Rene Lopez – Shing-a-ling Is What I Bring

Press Release:

Rene Lopez will be proving that February is the month of love with appearances at Nublu every Thursday during the month. He will additionally be appearing for a performance at Arlene’s Grocery on February 28^th. Rene will be playing old favorites as well as tracks off his latest album, ELS (released this past summer by Nat Geo Music). ELS stands for Electric Latin Soul, a term Rene has coined for the new style of music he has developed. A mixture of Latin soul and Boogaloo with elements of rock, hip-hop, and R&B – Rene’s sound is one that is distinctly Nuyorican. ELS features co-producers Mario Caldato Jr., a.k.a. Mario C (Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson, Bebel Gilberto) and Jason Lader (Julian Casablancas, Jenny Lewis), as well as special guests Joey Altruda, and Money Mark (John Butler Trio). The album as a whole is a nod to Rene’s Latin roots, with an eye on modern electronic music and good ol’ rock-and-roll.

Rene Lopez Tour Dates

02/02: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)

02/09: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)

02/16: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)

02/23: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)

02/28: New York, NY @ Arlene’s Grocery (10pm set time)

Smooth, relaxed and infused with a little 90′s New Jack sound for good measure.   Big fan of Newtimers after being introduced to them last year, so much so they made my top 50 of 2011.

Newtimers – January Love

Yes, another solid track from The 2 Bears, injecting some old school house sound in this one.

The 2 Bears – Work

Work by The 2 Bears

Visc. is 18 year old musician Dylan Fellows, from Athens, Georgia. On Apollo, Dylan sounds like a male version Chrissie Hynde (lead singer of the Pretenders) being backed by an Erasure track.  So in other words, a dream match-up come true.  Really looking forward to hearing more of this electronic dream match up!

Visc. – Apollo
Visc. – Virtual Friend

Soundcloud

50 Rimer London

Rimer London

49 Rodriguez Jr.

Rodriguez Jr. – Bare

48 Monarch

Monarchy – You Don’t Want To Dance With Me (ft. Britt Love)

47 Jagwar Ma

Jagwar Ma – Come Save Me

46 Get People

Get People – Rain Tears

45 Cold Cave

Cold Cave – Confetti

Purchase: Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years

44 Calibre

Calibre – Even If

43 Oliver

Oliver – Memories Of The Future

42 Foster the People

Foster the People – Call It What You Want

41 Brandy Kills

Brandy Kills – One

40 When Saints Go Machine

When Saints Go Machine – Add Ends

39 AlunaGeorge

AlunaGeorge – You Know You Like It

38 Benoit & Sergio

Benoit & Sergio – Everybody

37 Huck Finn

Huck Finn – Charles Dickens

36 Black Light Dinner Party

Black Light Dinner Party – Small Boxes

35 Junior Boys

Junior Boys – Truly Happy Ending

34 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Household Goods

Purchase: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs -EP [Vinyl]

33 The Reverb Junkie

The Reverb Junkie – Good To Get Away (Wait It Out)

32 Jamie Woon

Jamie Woon – Night Air

31 Monarchy

Monarchy – Resignation

30 Class Actress

Class Actress – Weekend

29 Datarock

Datarock – Catcher In Rye

28 Beni

Beni – Someone Like You (ft. Mattie Safer)

27 The Black Ghost

The Black Ghosts – In The Clouds

26 M83

M83 – Midnight City

25 Alex Clare

Alex Clare – Caroline

24 Goyte

Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (Ft. Kimbra)

23 Monarchy

Monarchy – I Won’t Let Go
Purchase: Monarchy – Monarchy

22 College

College – A Real Hero (ft Electric Youth)

21 The Reverb Junkie

Idioteque – Asleep (ft. Reverb Junkie) DEMO by thereverbjunkie

20 Black Light Dinner Party

Black Light Dinner Party – Older Together

19 Louis La Roche & Patrick Alavi

Louis La Roche & Patrick Alavi – Number One (ft. Josh Jakq)

18 Newtimers

Newtimers – Falling

17 The Twelevs

The Twelves – When You Talk

16 Flight Facilities

Flight Facilities – Foreign Language (ft. Jess)

15 Christopher Norman

Christopher Norman – Maps

14 When Saints Go Machine

When Saints Go Machine – Kelly

13 Sebastian

Sebastian – Love In Motion (Featuring Mayer Hawthorne)

12 SBTRKT

SBTRKT – Wildfire (ft. Little Dragon)

11 Black Light Dinner Party

Black Light Dinner Party – Gold Chain

10 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Dream On

9 Pretty Good Dance Moves

Pretty Good Dance Moves – I Wonder Why (Ft. Brazilian Girls’ Sabina Sciubba)

8 Sneaky Sound System

Sneaky Sound System – We Love

7 Benny Benassi

Benny Benassi – Cinema (ft. Gary Go)

6 Metronomy

Metronomy – The Bay

5 Penguin Prison

Penguin Prison – Multi-Millionaire

4 Architecture in Helsinki

Architecture in Helsinki – Contact High

Purchase: Architecture in Helsinki – Moment Bends

3 Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris – Bounce

2 Martin Solveig

Martin Solveig – Hello

1 Joe Goddard

 Joe Goddard feat. Valentina – ‘Gabriel’ by Greco-Roman

Big Beat, Psychedelic Brit Pop, and Phil Spector’s wall of sound drums converg on this track from Jagwar Ma. So in essence, we cover a lot of musical history in this one track and just like all good works of art; Jagwar Ma makes it all sound seamless.

Jagwar Ma – Come Save Me

Come Save Me by Jagwar Ma

Some tracks just grab you from the moment of the first note, and others take awhile to warm up like an old oven.  This happens to be a case of the latter.  I wasn’t really get grabed by this track until I recently saw the video for it, which compelled me to watch/listen to this track for it’s entirety.  I sure am grateful I did.  There have been a few tracks that have been “slow burners” for me this year and typically, they up being my favorites.  Now I get to add this track to said list.

Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (Ft. Kimbra)