i promise it's easy you'll fade to black

Simian Mobile Disco - Aspic
From their latest drop "Delicacies", as the name implies, all their song titles are of food. But in this case, the songs take the name of an exotic, and often bizarre, delicacy from around the world. So what's Aspic? It is a savoury jelly made from meat stock and sometimes supplemented with gelatin to ensure that it sets. Don't know what the hell that is, but I'm having mixed feelings about it.

The same can't be said for this uber dancey number. The heavy beat comes right through, thick and fast, doowop-y and slick. Crank up the bass and let it rip for this one is one to be savoured.

Simian Mobile Disco - Sweetbread
Initially, I was like, what!? The video was not anything like what the titled might have suggested. And so, Wiki to the rescue. Sweetbreads or ris are culinary names for the thymus (throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread) or the pancreas (heart, stomach, or belly sweetbread) especially of the calf and lamb. Now I get it.

But seriously, I was laughing at the utter inanity of the video. It served practically no purpose unless you're a meat/butcher voyeur of some sort. And the man didn't even look like a proper butcher (where's the gloves!!!), save for his huge tummy. Anyway, the song's good stuff, sounds loungey yet sombre, yet with very heavy techno influences. And I'm pretty sure that whenever I listen to this song in the future, I shall be marred by this video.

Blackbird Blackbird - Pure
Right off the bat, the moment the twinkly sounds sprinkled itself all over my room, I knew I would love this song. It feels like what goes on in your brain when you have an epiphany - the sudden whirl of realisation. Or maybe, it's what it sounds like in space if sound can be heard in space. A cosmic revelation eh? Check out the entire Summer Heart LP here. It's absolutely wonderful.

Blackbird Blackbird - Fade To White (feat. Emily Reo) (mp3)
Another awesome track. Download provided by Blackbird Blackbird on his bandcamp. I'm such a major sucker for chillwave/dreampop/psychedelic/hypnagogic/whatever you call it.

they tell their lives through sunken eyes

When I was a young boy, my parents bought me a set of The World Book Encyclopaedia. On any day I would reach for a book and lose myself for hours in its endless pages of maps, photographs and texts. Even when I had a purpose in mind - for instance, a homework assignment on salamanders - I would invariably find myself reading, instead of Salem and its witchhunts or of Salamis, where the Greeks routed the Persians in the fifth century BC. Like all encyclopaedias, it was arranged alphabetically, based on sound and without regard to subject. As a child, I saw it wondrously whimsical and exquisitely inefficient. Perfect for exploration. The "S" volume alone could lead me down 10,000 unconnected highways.

- Ken Robinson in "The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything"


ceo - Prologue
Aptly titled Prologue, this track is shrouded in mystery, takes a pop at the unknown and gives us a little insight into what "White Magic", the debut album of ceo, might be like. A teaser of sorts. Vague and unfathomable. ceo is Eric Berglund, one half of electropop group The Tough Alliance, who founded Sincerely Yours which has the likes of jj, Memory Tapes, Air France and The Honeydrips under it's umbrella.

ceo - Come With Me
A euphoric journey through Eric's vivid imagination, the sweet melody of said song and the not so subtle chanting of "mamma mia" in the background takes you beyond the clouds, but not before putting a smile on your face or your soul. Definitely contrasted with that bad ass mask devoid of expression that Eric puts on in the video. Hurry and get the mp3 from RCRD LBL here.

jj - Things Will Never Be The Same Again
I thought, since I was already at it, I might as well feature stuff from the Sincerely Yours label. Curiously, the bands under them sound similar. Anyhow, going by a multiple thumbs up-ed post on youtube that goes "this song makes me feel like i am on my morning jog, which i loathe, and suddenly without warning a beneficent parrot swoops down and snatches me up by the shoulders. his claws r soft and velvety, however, so i am unharmed. the beauteous parrot takes me up, up, and up into the sky, where the clouds roam. i grab a piece of cloud and taste it, blueberry cotton candy, wonderful. the parrot and i continue our ascent, and we approach the blue ceiling. we gain speed, and pass through the ceiling. love", I guess one could really get high and super duper happy on their songs. I think it's got something to do with that empty yet ethereal sounding voice.

Memory Tapes - Easy Pert Mom
Memory Tapes has been oft cited as chill wave (there's that thing about genre classification) along with Washed Out, Neon Indian. Whatever the case, the new wavey synths, blips and bloops, vague and spacey rhythm never fails to blow my mind. It's spectacular and imperious, and you get the idea Dayve Hawk actually knows what magick he's conjuring. I like.

that was us for the last five years

My friend Marc creates ambient and instrumental music, amongst others, under the moniker Carrion. Absolutely wonderful stuff - thoughtful arrangements, glacial synths, melancholic with traces of moodiness and expansive soundscapes.

Click on the links below and you'll be redirected to the download pages.

Carrion - For You (mp3)

Carrion - Passing Time (mp3)


Toro Y Moi - Low Shoulder
Mr Chazwick Bundick seems to be rolling along just fine with his brand of chillwave. Incorporating a little of those hip-hop rhythms, he glides along with a simple blend of washy synths and quirky doo-wops. It just lifts your spirits when you listen to the song, and makes you feel all warm and good inside. At times, you can hear a little of Passion Pit and their pop-ish ditties, but deep down, it's still Chazwick.

Toro Y Moi - Talamak
Talamak is more mashy, like everything being thrown into a centrifuge and various sounds coming out together as one. Maybe the layering of sounds and vocals was blurred on purpose, giving a slinky feel to the song.

it's yours to find

Delorean - Stay Close
Brilliant and brilliant all at the same time. Their creativity with Balearic pop with breezy riffs and hooks, light and fluffy that it is extremely enjoyable, yet not too light such that they aren't taken seriously. The chants of get up, get up almost serve as a calling, beckoning you to get up and groove to their brand of narcotic dance pop that's all so effortless and well, brilliant, like the summer sun.

Delorean - Real Love
More basque love, soak it up.

Washed Out - New Theory
Literally sounds like the name of this one man show, run by a certain Ernest Greene. Washed out synths with subtle echoing percolate as his voice provides a sense of warm hazy nostalgia over layered and soft textures. You start to reminisce and recall fond memories, only to find the song tailing off pretty abruptly - which cuts your train of thought. The only recourse, is to start playing the song again.

Toro Y Moi - Blessa
Amongst the purveyors of "chill wave", Toro Y Moi and the ilk (like Memory Tapes, Washed Out, Neon Indian, Small Black to name a few) milk the haziness of yesteryears, when music played out on cassettes and vinyls, and dreamy distorted synths upon loops and samples. A word of advice, don't try to figure out the lyrics. Half the time, their obscured vocals barely above a murmur, all that's required of you is to relax and embark on this journey of discovery.