Kevin Parker of Tame Impala surprises us with this reinterpretation of Michael Jackson’s “Stranger in Moscow.” The cover clearly retains the Aussie psychedelic-rockers identity using a cosmic blend of delays, reverbs, fuzz and phasing. A perfect sound to escape from this boom of new album releases.
Whether you intend on celebrating Valentine’s this year or plan on canceling the holiday all together, today’s roundup of electronic servings can be enjoyed regardless of romantic status. First up is San Francisco’s Lane 8, aka Daniel Goldstein’s newly released deep house production “The One,” featuring vocals by Patrick Baker. Also, French producer TEEMID has teamed up with Canadian singer-songwriter Daniela Andrade to cover Flight Facilities‘ “Crave You.” TEEMID’s take on the classic dance track is a sexy and refreshing rendering — pick up this pure cover gold for free by following the link on Soundcloud. The last one I’ll leave you with is an oldie but a goodie from house favorite Nicolas Jaar, one half of the New York duo Darkside. Sampling from The Searcher’s “Love Potion No. 9,” his slow-building edit “Stay in Love” is a shimmery and deliciously addictive disco-y number that will make you want to procure some of this mysterious elixir…
Five Spanish Songs is the name of the latest EP produced by Destroyer, consisting of five tracks originally recorded by the Seville songwriter Antonio Luque’s band, Sr. Chinarro. Following his own Spanish background, the Canadian-bred musician Dan Bejar surprises us with an acoustic format, absent of delayed horns and saxophones that gave identity to his phenomenal album Kapput in 2011. Stream “El Rito” below.
Although I had heard the London Grammar cover of Kavinsky’s “Nightcall” before seeing their show in October, it had failed to hold the same allure as the rest of their music. That all changed however hearing the downtempo track performed live, from the powerful pipes of Hannah Reid herself.
The original cover is a slow-to-build ballad, but Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard has rendered a captivating reinterpretation with the addition of drum and bass. The single will be out December 8th — but you can pre-order it here.
Referred to as “the first modern musician” by Nico Muhly, Arthur Russell is the late New York composer whose experimental music ranged from avant-disco to classical cello compositions. Russell influenced a generation of artists to come, including Devendra Banhart who wrote:
I moved to New York because of Arthur Russell — he’s my favorite musician. Over the last two years, I’ve listened to him constantly and have been reading [Tim Lawrence’s 2009 Russell biography] called ‘Hold On to Your Dreams’ about how downtown, experimental, underground disco and classical composition and all those scenes blended together.
That said, enjoy this quality rework of Russell’s “This Is How We Walk On The Moon” by San Francisco-based indie band Geographer. A free download is available here.
Australia is constantly churning out great indie groups, and Atlas Genius is no exception. They released their debut LP When It Was Now a couple months back, and just last week put out a cover of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” that elevates the original. (Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of the original, but I dig their acoustic rendition. Hoping DP has more to offer on their new album that releases next week).
If you’re not already familiar, sample the group’s genius with the infectious tracks “Trojans” and “Symptoms” below.
And for another great cover of the XX, go here.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
5/20 Soho Restaurant and Music Club Santa Barbara, CA
5/22 Harlow’s Sacramento, CA
5/24 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
5/25 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA
5/26 Venue Vancouver, Canada
5/29 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT
5/31 Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
6/1 The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO
6/4 Fine Line Music Cafe Minneapolis, MN
6/6 Deluxe at Old National Centre Indianapolis, IN
6/7 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH
6/9 3rd & Lindley Nashville, TN
6/11 The Norva Norfolk, VA
6/12 The Canal Club Richmond, VA
6/14 Bayou Cafe Albany, NY
6/15 The Sinclair Cambridge, MA
6/17 Met Cafe Providence, RI
6/18 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
6/19 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
6/20 Wolf Den Uncasville, CT
6/21 Firefly Music Festival Dover, DE
6/23 The Opera House Toronto, Canada
6/24 Shelter Detroit, MI
6/27 Summerfest Milwaukee, WI
7/6 Kelowna’s Waterfront Park Vancouver, Canada
7/10 Ottawa Blues Festival Ottawa, Canada
7/13 Bunbury Music Fest Cincinnati, OH
8/2 Lollapalooza Chicago, IL
8/44 Osheaga Music and Arts Festival Montreal, Canada
9/20 91X Fest San Diego, CA
Long before José González made a name for himself as a critically-acclaimed solo artist, he was cutting his teeth with the folk rock group Junip, which consists of the Swedish–Argentine singer-songwriter on vocals/guitar, Elias Araya on drums, and Tobias Winterkorn on the organ/moog. The trio have reunited for another collaboration on their third and self-titled album, which released today. Listen to their single “Your Life, Your Call” below.
José and his hushed pop lay at the heart of Junip, however, with his seductive bossanova sound and haunting vocals ever-present. So hard to pick just a few, but check out a couple of choice solo efforts below — including one of my favorite covers of all time.
Junip will be performing at the Highline Ballroom in New York June 13th, followed by a show at the 930 Club in DC June 15th. For a full list of tour dates, visit their site here.
Purity Ring just dropped this timely new cover of Soulja Boy’s “Grammy” – and it’s so damn good I had to share it this instant. Infusing their signature sound, PR turns the hip-hop number into a true synthpop stunner, with Megan James’ vocals taking the song to new heights at 1:58. I’m truly impressed as this is a sound I didn’t even know the group was capable of.
Disclosure is a futuristic/house sibling duo from the UK. The brothers, Guy and Howard Lawrence recently teamed up with burgeoning artist AlunaGeorge to create this outstanding collaboration called “White Noise.” The deliciously addictive track is anything but that, however — and as the song says, will have you “just wanna keep me on repeat.”
Arguably the group’s most lauded track, however, is their sexy single and 2012 release “Latch,” which features the vocals of Sam Smith. Check it out below, along with an AlunaGeorge cover of Frank Ocean I’m obsessed with (soulful vocals + tropical synths = true love).
poetry in an empty coke can 