mixtape maestro (2.0)

“Well the world is a better place, it’s a better place/ Now that everybody started to dance”, sing-raps Jeremy Shaw, the one-man-band figure behind Canadian electronic outfit Circlesquare, in new single “Dancers”. And we would agree with him, especially if random people on the street suddenly burst into the herky-jerk contemporary dance routines that are eye-appealingly displayed in the track’s music video.

The song itself is just as intriguing. A minimalist serving of brooding techno, “Dancers” creeps along to an ominous bass tone that slowly comes to life with the fringed accents of liquid-y guitar, snaps and claps and chopped machinery inflections. Less an outright dance song than the lonesome soundtrack of a night out’s achy, morning-after comedown, “Dancers” strobe-like edges seem to convey the choppy memories of the preceding evening where bits and pieces of drunken joviality flash throughout the brain, feeling a million years away from the sour stomach and raging headache-riddled frame of your current, regrettable status.

From Circlesquare’s new album, Songs About Dancing and Drugs.

On Colin Munroe‘s Unsung Hero mixtape highlight “Last Cause”, the promising singer/ songwriter/ producer found himself immersed in the uncomfortable void of a pointless twenty-something existence. Soullessly making his way through the day-to-day mundane, only to score temporary satisfaction from the brief highs of coffee, films and books (“…but then I’ll wake up feeling the same”), Munroe placed his lone shot at achieving some life meaning in the hopes that a “special girl” would hear his lyrical despair and run to his rescue.

For this more urban-leaning “Cause N Effect” remix, Long Island producer/ rapper 88 Keys (Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Musiq)  strips away the original’s summer-baked guitar breeziness, better sculpting Colin’s suffocating sorrow and melancholy permanence with the un-resolved looping of a crate-dug soul sample. Keys co-signs Munroe’s longing for that ideal Valentine with a couple (literally by the sounds of it) phoned-in lines: “I can’t…afford to let you slip right through these cracks/ I betchu iChat would let me get you/ Log on!”. Mmm…okay.

Overall, it’s Reason No. 113 why Munroe deserves to have a major pop breakthrough this year.

DL: “Last Cause (Cause N Effect Remix)” (alt)

It wouldn’t be unleashing any dark secret to publicly state that The-Dream‘s lil’ chipmunk chirp take on singing has a tendency to edge in fingernails-on-chalkboard grating territory. But to his credit, his itty-bitty pipes add a complimenting featherweight layer to his already light and fluffy brand of R&B-pop.

Take “Walking On The Moon” for instance. The Kanye West-featured track, from his increasingly appealing sophomore effort, Love Vs. Money, is a sleek, sci-fi textured jaunt (“Welcome to 2085″, he intros) that houses his alien-toned coo to great effect.

As with nearly every other song he does, “Moon”‘s lyrical theme centers on catching romantic feelings in the club with him “circling stars” and “walkin’ on the moon” after laying eyes on one particular beauty across the dancefloor. To illustrate the Cupid-struck wooziness that’s got him floating off the ground, the backing track melds influences from ’70′s MJ, ’80′s-era Prince and new wave with ca. ’90′s Timbaland, creating this weightless ear-tickle of a beat for his voice to delicately soar through.

Now a more full-bodied vocalist would’ve most likely ruined it’s fantasy atmosphere, awkwardly clunking their way through it like the Incredible Hulk on a bed of flowers. But with Dream in the driver seat, coloring up the tune with his endless supply of ethereal “ooh” mini-runs, “Walking On The Moon” lands as a lovely pop morsel so full of airy charm, even a heavy onslaught of repeated listens won’t leave one fully satisfied. Guess we now know why he goes by that name.

Pre-order Love Vs. Money, due March 10th, here.

DL: “Walking On The Moon” (alt)

Peep the video for his current single, “Rockin’ That Thang” below:

Just when it looked like Ciara’s Fantasy Ride wasn’t going to be that great of a commute, she hooks up with the great Timba-lake team and scores herself a sure-shot chart climber.

“Love & Sex & Magic” was first heard as a Justin-starring demo (then simply called “Magic”) that was somehow leaked to the masses last year. A lean Timbaland-sculpted funk-pop jam, the track definitely feels like a FutureSex knock-off, but who ever said that was a bad thing?

“Imagine if there was a million me’s talkin’ sexy to you like that/
You think you can handle boy, if I give you my squeeze/ I’m-a need you to push it right back,” Ciara flirts, preparing her nastiest lap dance routine. Justin’s response? Simply sit back and enjoy: “Just do what I taught you”. Then, out of nowhere, a fluttery ballad-leaning bridge cuts through all the hanky-panky foreplay so the duo can get a little mushy: “Let’s slow it down so we fall in love…”.

Miss Ciara, you can rest with all the album push-backs now, ’cause with this sexy groover, you’ve finally grasped that jump-off mega-hit you’ve been searching for.

Judging by the handful of neon-toned tracks they tease on their MySpace, Liverpool fivesome Soft Toy Emergency must love them some sugar. Every single one of their posted tunes produce a kind of hyperactive high that could only be achieved after scarfing down gobs of candy (with little worry towards the stomachache after-effects).

On current single “I Kno U Want It”, fizzy riffs, bleep-y synths and strutting basslines shade the air in a cotton candy dance-punk glee as frontwoman Jen squeak-chants “Why do I feel like I have to have this?/ Why do you tell me what I want-a hear?/ We both know I don’t really this/ But it’s there…I NEED IT!!”. Is it commentary on the shameful internal back-and-forth we experience when flirting with some big and shiny purchase as the world economy crumbles around us, or just another thinly-veiled bit on drunken, nightclub-set horniness?

It doesn’t really matter. Trains of thought never get a chance to reach any sort of resolution during “Want It”‘s running time as it’s infectious punch leaves all attempts at doing anything, beyond bobbing around giddily, futile.

SOFT TOY EMERGENCY – I Kno U Want It from NEWFUTURENOW on Vimeo.

Ahhh….“Superfreak”!! That relentless punk-funk groove! Those wink-wink lyrics! That sax solo! The friggin’ Temptations! A serpentine vocal that made you believe he was the freakiest man on the planet! No matter how many times you’ve heard it in in your lifespan, another spin of Rick James’ 1981 OTT uber-jam will never be met with disdain.

On this new one, Atlanta producer/ rapper JIGG rejuvenates the R&B party-starter with a little strip club banger swerve, and while the idea may seem a bit ho-hum on paper (haven’t MC Hammer and Jay-Z mined this one enough?), all it takes is one taste of the opening minute’s display of James’ “Freak”-praising yowls lain atop a molasses-cruising stew of tip-toe synth stabs and other recognizable Southern thug-&-b production tricks and you’ll be quickly won over, wondering why no one thought of using the song in this way before.

Following that exciting intro, JIGG takes over the mic to relate the nature-rising joys of having down-’n-stanky, 3 AM sex sessions with the titular character. His rap contribution is decent, delivering the requisite freak banter these type of songs demand in an ear-friendly (though oh-so-distractingly Plies-like) drawl, but the anticipatory satisfaction of James’ triumphant return for each hook insertion sadly makes his verses feel like an after-thought in the overall picture.

Rick James…even posthumously his presence is hard to overshadow.

JIGG’s debut, Since 1983, is set for a Spring/ Summer release.

DL: “Superfreak” (alt)

As stated here before, it’s always nice to hear something from 808s & Heartbreak that’s been fleshed out with live instrumentation and a “real” singer, and this take on the album’s second single by anony-pop/ rockers The Fray bears a certain quasi-appeal thanks to some starry-eyed twinkling elements, ghostly background vocals and the ever-zealous Isaac Slade wringing has much angst as he can out of each “Damn her!!!!” lyric.

Ultimately, though, it ends up sounding just as bland and overly-familiar as everything else The Fray does, and past a single curioso listening you could probably care less about ever hearing it again. Hey, but at least Kanye digs it and that says something…right?

Something tells us that we should be expecting a Fray feature (taking the place of the Chris Martin/ Coldplay spot) on the next West album. Insert (groan) with a slight twinge of anticipated interest here.

DL: “Heartless (Kanye West Cover)” (alt)

Every music blogger will feel the Maestro’s pain when it comes to the overly-packed in-box.

Filled to the brim with PR’s showcasing that “hot new indie artist” whose bandwagon you just HAVE to jump on early, “exclusive” remixes that have obviously been CC’d to damn near everyone else on the Hype Machine/ Elbo.ws circuit, the endless announcements of new mixtapes and video releases and numerous follow-up artist representatives stressing you out over whether you finally got a chance to listen to their respective act’s material, it’s almost impossible to get through all of it and live a normal person’s life too (Not to mention the fact that a majority of the music just really isn’t all that good).

So in an effort to lighten up the load a bit, check out this jumbo-sized post full of some noteworthy cuts that’s come the Maestro’s way in recent weeks:

• The Constellations “Felicia (Death Metal Disco Scene Vocal Remix)”

Now this is how you do a remix!! The Constellations‘ original (from their Cee-Lo and Asher Roth-featured debut, Southern Gothic) was already a killer track thanks to it’s enjoyable mix of a Southern soul and rock strut with a little hoochie White girl rap sass. But the plastic-funk textures applied on this remix from UK dance remixer/producer Death Metal Disco Scene (Lily Allen, The Verve, Kylie Minogue) takes “Felicia”‘s greatness to a whole new level. Hotter than a firecracker, indeed!

• Beyonce “Diva (Slot-A Remix)”

The hook line “A diva is a female version of a hustler” still sounds dumb, but Detroit producer Slot-A makes that point moot with all the snazzy ’80′s decoration he pastes on the Beyonce banger.

• Drake featuring Peter, Bjorn and John “Let’s Call It Off”

In which Degrassi: The Next Generation actor-slash-singer/ rapper Drake cleverly embeds himself within Peter, Bjorn and John’s sublime 2006 break-up ode, resulting in eleventy-hundred bloggers suffering a collective stroke from excitement. (from Drake’s new mixtape, So Far Gone)

• Jake Troth “Shush”

“This the type of shhh that make the haters stop talking,” drone-raps indie multi-talent Jake Troth through “Shush”‘s devious stomp and suspenseful guitar linger. And since Maestro doesn’t fall in line with that crowd, we’ll proudly go ahead and state that ears need to be firmly set on this one-to-watch in ’09. (from Troth’s upcoming Daydream Big mixtape)

• Jemex “Breathe” featuring Dean Grey

It’s understandable why an artist would want to put out their sappiest stuff now, this being V-Day and all, but with drippy lyrics like “I can hear my heartbeat so carefully/ When I hear that sound it must know you’re around”, “Breathe” (from Brooklyn producer Jemex) edges into being a little too Velveeta-y. If only we could shake off the tenderness we feel inside every time it’s dreamy Prom Dance production smothers the ears, though…

• Wreckx N Effect “Rump Shaker (Jemex Remix)”

…Ah wait, here’s the answer: “Check baby, check baby 1-2-3-4″!!!! Sigh…Macho-ness retrieved.

• Teedra Moses “Weekend Goodtime”

Following an odd slow intro in which Moses bemoans her lack of a husband and white picket fence, the underrated R&B cutie suddenly shrugs off her woes, puts on the instrumental to Snoop Dogg’s summery “Let’s Get Blown” and hits the streets in search for a one-weekend stand. (from Moses’ new album, Lionhearted: Young Hustla, Vol. III)

• The Ting Tings “Great DJ (DJ Jem Mix)”

In which Chicago’s DJ Jem decides that the Ting Tings jam just doesn’t have enough beat sizzle for the jukin’ sect.

Add Sade to the list of acts taking waaaaayyyy too long to drop something new. It’s been nine long years since the soft-singing British beauty and her backing gang of sophisticated soundmen gave us Lovers Rock and we’re long overdue for some new material. Perhaps feeling the same kind of desirous pangs, female emcee (remember those?) Mae Day has dipped into the Sade catalog for her tributing mixtape Cherish The Day, which finds her lacing adored classics like “Is It A Crime?” and “No Ordinary Love” with her own lyrical spin for some quite soothing results.

On project highlight “Sweetest Taboo”, Mae twists Sade’s sensual 1985 Valentine of the same name to back her own romantic worshiping. “Swear you compare to a new drug/ That’s why/ Need a hit of you, weed will never get me high,” the Detroit femcee rhymes in a gentle flow that perfectly rides the sampled original’s still-illustrious candlelit groove (causing one to fiend for a Floetry comeback along the way).

Set the Valentine holiday mood right and pick up the rest of Cherish here for FREE.

DL: “Sweetest Taboo” (alt)

La Roux find another 8-bit digi-White-funk playground to explore inner feelings in on “In For The Kill”, the equally-agreeable follow-up to their much-hyped Fall debut “Quicksand” (which Maestro didn’t realize carried a slight lesbianic tinge until recently, making that record even more hot).

This time around, singer Elly Jackson’s blurred falsetto latches onto a lyric in which she shrugs off all traces of shyness in an effort to take a platonic relationship to that next level. All tumbled words, “full stops and exclamation marks”, Elly nervously lays all her cards on the table, unable to hold back any longer (“I’m going in for the kill/ I’m doing it for a thrill/ I’m hoping you’ll understand/ And not let go of my hand”) as Atari blips and bloops dance jubilantly around her.

Another irresistible, ’80′s-baked tune from the hottest haircut in the music world, look for La Roux’ debut sometime later this year through Polydor. Single is due March 2nd.

\\\ LA ROUX /// IN FOR THE KILL