Best Albums of 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09
A. M.I.A. – Arular
B. Kanye West – Late Registration
C. Antony & The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now
D. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
E. Animal Collective – Feels
F. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
G. Wolf Parade – Apologies To The Queen Mary
H. My Morning Jacket – Z
I. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
J. The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
M.I.A. fits in so well with The Very Best that it is hard to imagine her as a guest on “Rain Dance”, a song from their debut album Warm Hearts Of Africa (out digitally now!). The song begins with a few drops of rain until Esau Mwamwaya’s enticing voice kick in with an easy-going delivery. Claps, drums, and other various sounds fill up the background and then M.I.A. joins in.
On first listen I did not even mention to myself that M.I.A. had come in. She just fits in so well that it feels as if she belongs with this song. Her delivery adjacent to Esau’s have a wonderful way of playing off each other that creates a beautiful atmosphere on the song. Warm Hearts Of Africa is a must-listen for 2009 and all music fans should keep an eye out for more collaborations between these two.
Buy Warm Heart of Africa on iTunes now or wait for it on vinyl and CD (hitting stores Oct. 6th). Listen to “Rain Dance” here Continue reading →
Major Lazer made this great mix for Mishka’s tenth installment of their Keep Watch series. The mix features tracks/remixes by M.I.A., Rye Rye, Mr. Oizo, SebastiAn, Bjork, Switch, Crookers, Santigold, and Major Lazer themselves. Download it here.
Here’s the tracklist. Continue reading →
Florence and the Machine
Lungs
Island
out July 6th
81/100
[Rating Scale]
[rating:81/100]
“Happiness hit her like a train on a track, coming towards her stuck still no turning back,” Florence Welch whispers above the lulling ukulele of “Dog Days Are Over,” the opening track off of her first full-length release. And before anyone can say much of anything, the ropes have been let loose, the horses are in full gait, and Welch’s wild shouts and yelps lead the raging pack’s charge until there’s no turning back: “Leave all your loving, your loving behind / You cant carry it with you if you want to survive.”
July 6 marks the official UK release of Lungs, the aptly-titled debut of a fresh, exciting troupe from England known as Florence & The Machine, fronted by a witchy chanteuse that coos much sweeter and cries out much louder than the vast landscape of dull, auto-tuned drones currently on the scene. Continue reading →
The exceptionally talented Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit (who record together under The Very Best moniker) are getting ready to release their full-length debut, Warm Heart of Africa this fall. I’ve been spinning the album for a few hours now and it’s astonishingly remarkable. I was surprised, not because I didn’t think the debut mixtape, The Very Best was any good, but because I thought it was fantastic and I wasn’t sure if Radioclit could recreate what he created on the mixtape.
The Very Best’s music is thoroughly enjoyable and demands multiple listens. On the debut LP, The Very Best have recruited friends Ezra Koenig (of Vampire Weekend) and M.I.A. to lend a helping hand on two album highlights. Ezra sang on titular track, “Warm Heart of Africa,” and M.I.A. on the knee-thumping “Rain Dance.”
Listen to “Rain Dance” here Continue reading →
pmaCAST #15 The “Funk In Your Trunk” Episode Tracklist
Continue reading →
Cobra Krames is pretty big in the right circles, in others, the Cobra is criminally ignored. Here is to bridging the gap — Krames takes on two artists that are anything but ignorable. No one saw Rye Rye and M.I.A.’s “Bang” coming, and it has since become one of the year’s best surprises and one of my personal favorite party tunes.
Like with any Cobra Krames remix, you should be excited, very excited. Continue reading →
A Milli, A Milli… psych, it’s not that song.
Producer/Songwriter KOVAS teamed up with M.I.A. and dropped a verse on “Hit That.” This track is one of many from KOVAS’ upcoming mixtape, The Stimulus Package.
[download#106]_
I’m still not settled at home, so excuse the vapid catch-up posts.
Amanda Blank is giving away the first track off her debut album, I Love You out on July 14th on Downtown. This hot track is called “Might Like You Better.” Check it out over at our buds at RCRD LBL or stream it at the end of the post. But before you do, check out the song that first introduced me to Amanda Blank all of the way back in 2007. It’s been a longtime comin’, it’s great to see that her album is actually happening.
[download#104]_
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