mixtape maestro (2.0)

North Carolina singer-songwriter-producer Jake Troth lit up the blogosphere with one of the better of a zillion “Love Lockdown” remixes that we obsessively coveted during the last months of ’08. Hoping to continue some of that momentum as well as start building more interest into his own original material, Troth is not only kicking off the new year with a new six-song EP (entitled Might As Whale) but he’s also cooked up this cover of T-Pain’s “Chopped & Screwed” as a bonus offering.

A bit reminiscent of Hot Chip’s similarly sleepy take on “Sensual Seduction” last year, Troth turns “Screwed” from a herky-jerky R&B slow jam to a dreamy synthesized lullaby set over a rapid-paced drum beat somebody like Luke would have rapped all nasty over back in the good ol’ days.

What’s most interesting here is how sad Pain’s lyrics now sound in this context. In the original version, hearing the protagonist fumble so bad as a nightclub mack brought out mostly giggles. But under the shadings of Troth’s sublime melodics and sad-robot vocals, you can’t help but come away feeling nothing but the utmost pity for the player wanna-be. Hearing him whimper “Shorty don’t chop me”, you get the vibe that this cat may have nothing else to live for if he isn’t successful in wheeling the dimepiece back to his crib.

DL: “Chopped & Screwed (T-Pain Cover)” (alt)

Below, peep the Maestro’s favorite track from Whale, “Thanks For Coming With”. The acoustic ballad is a bit of a downer with end-of-life-focused lyrics like “If my mind should leave me soon/ And I can’t recall your name/ Please remind me everyday”, but for anyone who still believes in true love, the combination of it’s sparse melancholy and Troth’s tender script makes for one of the most touching love letters ever set to tape. Someone phone up Grey’s Anatomy and alert them to this understated gem, STAT! (Peep more of Whale over at Troth’s MySpace!!)

DL: “Thanks For Coming With” (alt)

A passive listen to “Brains” by Atlanta emcee Jarren Benton may strike up hysterics that a new Andre 3000 solo joint is on the horizon. And you would be forgiven, since Benton’s casual rap flow and sing-song bursts plus the track’s otherworldly sonic glow (courtesy of producer Black Jab) and bits of Prince influence all feel like something that could have been mined from The Love Below vault.

A space-age rap love song dedicated from Benton to his cleverly named cyborg boo “Computer Blue” (gotta love a Purple Rain shout-out), “Brains”‘s slight raunch (it’s chorus shamelessly exclaims “I wanna freak your brains out”) is offset with gobs of nerdy charm.

“I had this crush on you for so long/ A perfect match, we connect together like Voltron,” Benton raps over the track’s twinkly slow jam electro-groove, offering an innocent night of movies or just hanging out before delving into an ambitious all-night sex session set outside the planet’s atmosphere: “We waking planets when these creatures touch/ Freakin’ you in outer space, giirrrrll this is such a rush”.

Andre may have had nothing to do with this, but we get the feeling that he would no doubt be a fan.

DL: “Brains” (alt)

Unsigned duo Jensen Sportag might hail from Nashville, Tennessee, but don’t expect any type of down-home twanginess to come forth from their choice of musical output: an indulgence in sleek disco-soul with a little George Michael vocal touch.

Their “perfect for car-ridin’” tune “Power Sergio” (from new EP, Sergio) billows you towards a Euro-club fantasy high with it’s smoothly pulsating groove and irresistible additives of synth burbles, light falsetto cries and Auto-Tuned urgings, all positioned to give “saddest boy I know” Sergio the right tools to uplift his mood and turn the dancefloor out.

“The power loves you/ Don’t give up the beat/ There’s nothing better than the drugs in your cheek,” they devilishly persuade. But don’t worry, narcotics aren’t at all necessary to fully enjoy this mirror ball-baked solace.

DL: “Power Sergio” (alt)

In the cleverly meta- opening seconds of “Airplanes” (by unsigned California five-piece Local Natives), a couple bars of isolated piano maudlin trigger a hissing response from a crowd, at-once conveying our own at-home snarlings of them being another boring Coldplay clone. But then a steady drum stomp enters the frame, and those rowdy “Boo!”‘s quickly turn into excited cheers. Something interesting seemed to be around the corner…but would the Natives be able to follow through in satisfying the sudden intrigue of both their “fake” and “real” (us) audiences?

By the time we get our first taste of their dreamy three-part male harmonies going on about Japanese sticks being kept in a desk “made up…made up of wood”, that question is met with a resounding “YESSS!!!”.

“Airplanes” lands as one of those records that gets you all hyped for what new musical treasures await us in 2009. Dressed in pretty, melancholic shades that suddenly erupt into brief fits of boom-click thunder, it’s a moving piece built on a wish to have personally known the late grandfather they’ve heard so much about through their father’s tales. “It sounds like we would have had a great deal to say/ To eachother/ I bet when I leave my body for the sky/ The wait will be worth it,” goes the marriage of vocals, already sounding like floating angels en route to that after-life kingdom beyond the clouds.

Meanwhile, showing that they’re well prepared for the swarm of blog attention no doubt about to befall them in the coming new year (accompanied by hopes of nabbing that elusive record deal), the Local Natives pull out another winning gem in their cover of Talking Heads’ 1978 sophomore album highlight, “Warning Sign”.

Smoothing over the original’s jittery alt-funk attack with their creamy vocal polish and flowery guitar melodies, the Natives take lifts the record beyond the disturbing manic of it’s origin towards heaven-bound aural highs.

Definitely note these guys under the “ones to watch” category.

Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, arrives in early 2009.

DL: “Airplanes” (alt)
DL: “Warning Sign (Talking Heads Cover)” (alt)