Aphera Music

Mixtape or reality?

K+ by Kilo Kish

Romare, the mixologist featured on the last dance playlist is really doing it for me these days. This remix of the Alt-J track is borderline lewd with its appropriation of textures from every corner of the danceosphere.

Alt-J – Breezeblocks (Romare R∆mix) by Romare

Next check Atoms for Peace’s new hypnolectro track, “Judge Jury and Executioner”. The acoustic guitar sounds so sweet. Really can’t wait for this new album.

It’s hardly enough to say they’re catchy. Here is Ultraista, a newly formed dance band whose three new songs have me itching for more. The band was formed last year by acclaimed Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, studio drummer Joey Waronker, and relatively unknown but wonderful singer Laura Bettison. Check out their first single, “Bad Insect”.

The band is named after early 20th century Spanish literary movement, ultraísmo, but their sound feels free — I don’t think too many people are making dance music like this. The emotions are always understated as Bettison’s clean and serene vocals don’t let on to too much. Meanwhile the percussion feels constant yet unpatterned; a nice blend of acoustic beats and programmed/synthesized beats atop some mad floaty synth harmonies gives the track a neupsychadelic aura.

The band said that in writing the songs they replaced choruses with more mantra like lyrics that allow for a less rigid form. All in all it’s brilliant dance music.

The album comes out (US)  tomorrow, Oct. 2, on Temporary Residence.

In line with my recent attempt to write more feature-like posts, I’m currently in the midst of writing about the relationship between music makers and their instruments. However, embarking on this endeavor means there will be more time between posts as I sit and think about stuff and then write some; it’s a slow process. So, in the interim I’m bringin’ you some music that’s been blasting over here. Check it out!

Doldrums – “Copper Girl”

I don’t know much about these guys but this song is so rich. It’s like Deerhunter meets Portishead.

Samaris – “Goda Tungl”

Click here for an NPR write up about about this Icelandic band that is best described a mix of Bjork and James Blake.

Grizzly Bear – “Yet Again”

Oh these guys. Please listen to their new album if you haven’t. It’s class.

Diplo ft. Jahan Lennon – “About that Life”

I love Diplo and I guess this is a cut from his forthcoming solo album which I’m very excited for after hearing the excellent EP he released earlier this year.

Flying Lotus – “Pretty Boy Strut”

His album drops in Oct. but there’s a leak going around right now somewhere. The video for this selection fits almost too well…

Animal Collective – Live on KEXP from Cutting Room Studios NYC by KEXP

Animal Collective’s album dropped a week or two back and if you’re into ADD, get it. It’s craziness from start to finish but when you compare the studio versions against this live performance, you’ll realize there’s really a beauty underneath each song.

Check it:
Diplo- Express Yourself (JEFF009) by Mad Decent
Climax by diplo

These are two new songs from Diplo, the man behind Major Lazer. Probs the two most bangin’ tracks of 2012 ja. I think the word is that Diplo is dropping an EP later this year? I believe that “Express Yourself” is to be the first single from the EP.

Next we have a remix of SBTRKT’s track “Hold On” from his incredible 2011 self-titled debut album. The remix is credited to Sisi BakBak and there’s rumor that this name is an alias of Thom Yorke’s – I believe it. This track definitely has that Yorke flavor.

Thanks! And check back soon. We have several special new blog entries lined up.

http://jackwhiteiii.com/

Here’s a cut from Jack White’s new solo record which is said to drop April 24. It’s crazy to think that Jack’s name might be more recognizable than the names of any of his bands yet he’s never had his name on an album alone. Crazy. There’s a great feeling about this song. The energy of his voice and the guitars against the cool clarinets has a really pretty effect. I’m pretty psyched about this record .

This is really beautiful. It’s a new song from Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear.

Sorry that we never made an end of year list or anything. Larissa and I had a pretty busy but really fun break and the list kinda fell through because of that. Who cares anyway cuz we’re looking forward to some awesome releases in 2012. Looking forwards is more fun.

George

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Producer Julio Bashmore’s as of yet unreleased track “Well Wishers”. I heard this along with the track by the Portico Quartet called “City of Glass” which I’ve uploaded to the player. It is also unreleased as of yet. Dig it.

The Bashmore track is just a really slick groove and I’ve had on repeat for a while now. The Portico Quartet song is a really cool song in that it was recorded 100% live. This is incredible because as you can notice it’s heavily electronic. It’s a quartet too, not your mom and dad’s string quartet though. The idea of four guys getting together to collaborate and perform electronic music of this nature excites me as the standard four piece rock band format falls apart around us. It’s a new direction and example of the synergy that small intimate “bands” can achieve. So dig it.

ps sorry about all the talking during the beginning of the track. I ripped it from Gilles Peterson’s radio show about a week ago.

Lastly, a new James Blake song for y’all.

Ah, what a great label: Stones Throw. Home to one of my favorite producers, Madlib, who is responsible for producing what is some of rapper Doom’s best works (see Madvillain). They are also home now to a really interesting project by a bunch of session musicians, all with very impressive resumes, who banded together (pun!) to form what is known as The Stepkids. They released their debut album and it hardly got the attention it deserved. For your edification I’ve included two tracks of theirs from the new album on the player, “La La” and “Suburban Dream”. I’ve posted about “La La” before because it’s absolutely brilliant but that’s because the band members all possess an incredible ability, as I assume top notch session musicians should have, to emulate the classic sounds of the hit pop songs of the 60s and 70s and on top of that their songwriting is pretty clever; you’ll know what I mean when you hear the songs I’ve posted. So please check these guys out because they were pretty much glossed over by Pitchfork, who gave them a tragically mediocre review. I mean I wish I could put every song of theirs on the player; it’s that good.

Click here to access the player.

Back to Stones Throw, they put out a podcast that I periodically listen to and it’s always 100% quality so if you’re looking for some chill sounds from guys who are in the know and always presenting the coolest newest stuff, look into it. Check it out here. I’m an advocate of label awareness so if you like a particular band, see who puts their music out and see who else is on the label. It’s likely you’ll find similar artists or at least artists of the same caliber and it’s a great way to find new music.

yeah I need to get a life...

Hello friends!

I’m working on a whole batch of new music right now that I hope to have finished by the new year but until then I’m excited to share the first track that I’ve finished from the bunch. It’s called “Running from Daylight” and I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

I’ve put the track on the player, or you can right-click here and do a “save as” or whatever if you really want the file. Also, You’ll notice the track is credited to Yurij. This is the name I’m recording under now. Boom.

Next topic: Radiohead recently played two shows in NYC and now they’ve recently released tour dates for a bunch of shows for the southern US but fortunately it appears there are more dates coming. But what I wanted to share was a recording from one of their recent NYC shows which features Radiohead opening their song, “Everything in its Right Place”, with Thom Yorke singing a truly beautiful rendition of REM’s “The One I Love”. I’ve included it on the player. As you may have heard, REM recently broke up and it’s a shame because they were a very powerful and benevolent force in Rock and Roll. But hey, it’s not like they’re dead or anything lol.  Michael Stipe is still out there and being ridiculously awesome. Watch below: his appearance on the “Reporrrrrrrr”.

Let me also take the opportunity to express my sympathy for all the victims of the Sandusky situation, which sadly not only includes the victims he personally touched but it also extends to all residents of the area surrounding Penn State and all the individuals who have ever associated themselves with the university. I know we’ll have the ability to rebound because us Penn Staters are really tough.

Lastly, I’ve really been listening to too much Neil Young lately so also I’m including one of my favorite Neil Young tracks to the player: “The Loner”. This track was what led me to fall in love with his music and I recently covered it at an open mic (at which I wore my REM shirt) which was fun because I rarely do stuff like that.

Respectfully,

George aka Yurij aka Yurchyk