XO - Flames of a Phoenix

It's been a little while since we've seen new material coming from XO, but after hearing the sneak peek from his upcoming EP The Ethereal Experience coming out late July on He Loves You Not Recordings, it's been worth waiting for. The first track uploaded from the forthcoming EP is Flames of a Phoenix, which just oozes with indie dance and future R&B sounds, with vocals laid down by XO himself. It was premiered by The Beat Juice, and has already racked up over 8k plays in a day.

The EP is now available for pre-order on iTunes, which will also get you Somethin' About U right away ahead of the full release.

- KJ

Spazzkid - Promise (Suken Remix)

Spazzkid released the Promise EP a while back in the summer of 2014, an album with an indie dance feel to it.  The title track Promise also feels like it has some indie rock influence to it.

French producer Suken has just recently put his own spin on the title track that feels very much like chill glitch hop/trap/electro.  The remix is a drastic departure from the original while still keeping many of the lyrics, and also maintaining a real summer vibe. The cherry on top is that it's uploaded as a free download.

If you like this remix from Suken, make sure to check his other material on his soundcloud page - much of it is in the same genre niche as this remix, and also up for free download.

- KJ

Spire - Girls

We posted the first track published by the new collective Soda Island last week (Xander Lewis' Honeydew in case you missed it), and they have come back with their second offering from a producer we've been watching for a little while - Spire. Girls is the most recently published track from the collective, keeping consistent to the high quality bar that was set with the first release.

Girls is an interestingly laid back but bouncy track with pitched vocals and interesting synth work. This one is hard to describe and classify, but it's pretty forward thinking stuff.  Make sure you check it out yourself and grab the free download. Also check out Spire's previous work on his Soundcloud page, as there is a lot of cool stuff there. You may also want to keep an eye on Soda Island, if these releases are any indication, there is much more good stuff to come.

- KJ

Mind Cntrl - Muthaf-ckaz [Audiophile XXL]

If you've been waiting for a deep tech or g-house track that sounds like it was mixed with the vibe from The Price Is Right theme and/or smooth elevator jazz, it may not have existed before - but it does now. Mind Cntrl has just released a free download through Audiophile XXL called Muthf-ckaz that fits this bill perfectly.  This is some aggressive deep tech/g-house, so prepare yourself accordingly. The breakdowns into the jazzy horn sections are quite nice and laid back, only to descend into a full on aural assault with each drop.

As with most, if not all the tracks released through Audiophile XXL, this is up as a free download for a follow on Soundcloud, so grab it from the player below.

- KJ

Mar - She's A Dancer (Produced by Sebastian Carter)

Mar brought some new material to Soundcloud this past week with She's A Dancer, the backing track produced by Sebastian Carter. This is a fairly chilled out tropical deep house track for Mellow Monday.

Starting off with some simple evolving synth pads and also adding in some subtle percussion, Sebastian Carter lays the perfect backdrop to showcase Mar's always spectacular vocals. The buildup finally drops in at the 1:10 mark, with She's A Dancer moving into tropical deep house territory. Mar is still very much still present in the track, and the backing track calms back down for the second verse only to drop back in at 2:55.

Mar has also released this for free download through Toneden, so hit the shopping cart in the player below and grab your copy.

- KJ

Friday Care Package - May 1st

- KJ

Julio Bashmore - Holding On ft. Sam Dew

"I'm holding on, I'm holding on for love." The newest track revealed by Julio Bashmore for his upcoming debut album Knockin' Boots is one for the idealists out there who are waiting for what feels just right. Holding On features the vocals of Sam Dew, and is a really funky piece of house music. This is some feel good and let go dance music.

Although this is Julio Bashmore's debut album, if you haven't heard of him by this point already, we have no idea where you've been for the past number of years, but it certainly wasn't following international house music. If you need a refresher, try Au Seve on for size. Now that you've become reacquainted, check out the other tracks that will appear on Knockin' Boots that have already been put up on Julio Bashmore's Soundcloud Page - Simple Love, Rhythm of Auld (both featuring J'Danna), and Kong (which features Bixby). The sampling already up gives a pretty solid feel for the vibe the rest of the 12-track album might have - which seems to be a great mixture of funky disco and classic house.

The full album will be dropping on July 10th on Bashmore's own label, Broadwalk Records.  Until it drops, we'll be rocking the streams of these 4 tracks.

- KJ

Kartell - Genie In A Bottle

This is a throwback for Thursday in more ways than one... First of all, Kartell uploaded this about 10 months ago, but it is also a rework of Christina Aguilera's Genie In A Bottle.  And damn, this is a hell of a rework. Kartell brings the upbeat house and garage flavour here, with really tight production and attention to detail.  Things never get too busy, and there are well placed spaces in the sound throughout.

Uploaded by HW&W recordings, we've still been unable to track down a download, whether released as a free or paid download. If anyone has a line on this one, we'd appreciate a link, as this is too good to let go of without adding to our music library.

- KJ

The Kount - Kount Edition 2

Toronto based producer The Kount has just uploaded Kount Edition 2, an EP of 4 edits. This is some really funky stuff on here, with an experimental blend of disco, hip hop, soul and electronica. My favourite from this EP would have to be The Kount's edit of FKJ's Lying Together with its laid back vibe and late onset synths. These elements paired with the percussion and tight vocal chops give it both a laid back and tight feel at the same time. But really, it's hard to find fault with any of the tracks on the EP - all 4 are thoroughly enjoyable.

The Kount has also gone through and made a bunch of his older work available as name your price/free, so browse through the albums on his Bandcamp page and pick up what sounds good to you!

- KJ

Rihanna - BBHMM (FAB & Alo Lee Cover)

Pop fans rejoice, we're posting another version of a top 40 track today. Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money has been covered and remixed in a collaboration between French producer FAB and vocalist Alo Lee. Though the lyrical content remains very much in tact, Alo Lee puts her spin on them and makes the demands for payment with sweet and smooth delivery. The backing track sends this cover/remix in another direction from the original, with mellow sustained synths, a subtle but effective bassline and assorted broken beat percussion.  

This version is an understated but very enjoyable take on Rihanna's hit, and FAB has uploaded it as a free download.  Grab this and while you're at it, check out the other quality remixes Fab has done - almost everything on FAB's Soundcloud is up as free downloads.

- KJ

Fresh Drops Vol. 3 - Guest Mix: Danger Bay (Saskatchewan)

Here's the Soundcloud stream of the April edition of Fresh Drops on Underground Sound Canada. As usual, we have some summery nu disco, deep house, tech house and future house included. Some of this should sound familiar, as they are tracks I've posted, while some of it should be fresh!  

We were also joined this month by Danger Bay, head of Skylab Records and Skylab Events out of Saskatoon for this month's guest mix. Tune in at 57:40 for his house, tech house, and techno mix with a bit of future R&B/trap to end it off.

Tracklisting

Danger Bay Mix (57:40 - 1:56:45):

==================

1. Mr Ho, Florian Blauensteiner - BASF (Original Mix)

2. Loopdeville - Get U High (Original Mix) 

3. HiRO - Ruby Likes Dubstep (Kris Wadsworth Remix)

4. The Glitz - Snowmaker (Original Mix)    

5. Mihai Popoviciu - I Lead You (Original Mix)        

6. Figueroa, Obando - Deer Dance Posse (Proudly People)

7. Moritz Piske - Real One (Roberto Rodriguez Stamping The Ground Mix)

8. Adrian Hour - Ethno (Original Club Mix) 

9. Zoo Brazil - River (Original Mix)           

10. Daniel Dubb, m.O.N.R.O.E. - Body To Body (Original Mix)        

11. Sinisa Tamamovic - Red Light (Ron Costa Remix)

12. No Regular Play - Owe Me (Original Mix)        

13. KiNK - Fantasia (Original Mix)

14. Tiga, Audion - Fever (KiNK Remix)      

15. Shiba San - Westside Connection (Original Mix)

16. Lewis Boardman - Work On Me (Original Mix) 

17. vbnd - Time with u (Original Mix)        

18. vbnd - Animalistic (Original Mix)

Kris Jones Mix (0:00 - 57:30):

==================

1. Pick You Up Darlin' - Young Franco, Set Mo

2. Thee Worst (Club Mix) - Thee Cool Cats, Lika Morgan // Enormous Tunes

3. Shooting Stars (POOLCLVB Cover) - Bag Raiders

4. Let Me Know (Mike Metro Remix) - Terace, KLP // Sweat It Out

5. Closer (Original Mix) - Felon // Ultra Music Free Download

6. I Am The Dub (Original Mix) - S. Jay // Criminal Hype

7. Decandence (Original Mix) - Sebastian Ledher, Lex Green // 1994 Music

8. Coupe De Ville (Extended Mix) - TCTS, Aniff Akinola // MTA Records

9. Wiggle (Original Mix) - Lizzie Curious // Sphera Records

10. Disco Feeling (Original Mix) - Savi Leon // Tactical Records

11. Talkin' Bout It ft. KLP - Young Franco

12. Full Moon - Durante

13. The Promise (Walker & Royce Remix) - The Golden Boy // Eton Messy Records

- KJ

Xander Lewis - Honeydew

This is some summery new age electronic funk if I've ever heard it before. I don't think I have. Is this some funky glitch hop? Chilled funky trap? I'm not quite sure what to call it, but if you're looking for something to work you through your Tuesday, this is it. Xander Lewis has created something really different here, and just in time to get downloaded before you have any holiday road trips. Honeydew features some really interesting synth work and forward thinking sounds while still keeping a steady funky vibe throughout the entire piece. Supported and premiered by the new collective Soda Island.

This is up for free download as well, can't go wrong.

- KJ

Yugen - Calgary

We wanted to share this track earlier, but felt like it would fit best as a Mellow Monday post and held off until today. Abbey Fontaine and Edwin O'Hara are long term friends and a duo out of Melbourne working under the project name Yugen. After both having had to pull through some tough personal battles, they were faced with the choice of whether or not to continue with their musical project. As you can tell since you're reading this here, they decided to continue and put everything into their music.  This approach definitely comes across in their first track. Yugen sent some of their material my way through freshdrops email, and I'm glad they did - Calgary blew me away with the emotional depth and vocal chops exhibited on it. The backing track is a fairly simple but driving beat, but the real strength of this piece comes from the ambience created in the background along with the slow evolving melodic elements all working in unison with Abbey's superb vocal work and lyricism. Best of all, Calgary is released as a free download from their Soundcloud, which can even be downloaded from the embedded player below.

Yugen has already had some attention from Triple J, and have also put together a short teaser video available on Vimeo. Calgary is the first piece of work from Yugen, but it has me just waiting on their next piece. Make sure to follow their pages and watch for this duo as more material becomes available.

- KJ

Fresh Drops Vol. 3 - Underground Sound Canada x freshdrops

It's the fourth Sunday of April, which means it's our week on Underground Sound Canada's Mixlr channel. Kris' Mix will feature some music that will be familiar from the blog, and some that will be new even if you follow us regularly. We've also got a house/tech house/techno guest mix from Danger Bay of Skylab Records out of Saskatoon that you won't want to miss.

Keep your weekend going into Sunday evening, and tune in at 8pm Central here >> http://mixlr.com/undergroundsoundca

- KJ

Friday Care Package - April 24th

-KJ

SoySauce - Thug Panda ft. Andy Milonakis (Lunch Money Project)

This is another free download coming courtesy of SoySauce.  You may remember us posting about his track Broken Record with Joni Fatora back in early February, and a little bit about his upcoming Lunch Money project. If the Lunch Box project doesn't sound familiar, let me introduce you. While Thug Panda is available as a free download, it will also available as a paid track though iTunes as part of the Lunch Money EP release in May.  If you purchase the track through iTunes as part of the Lunch Money EP, all proceeds from the sales will go toward setting up school lunch projects in some of the world's poorest communities. It's tough to concentrate fully at school on an empty stomach, and many kids who have this issue are also faced with other difficult issues that affect their ability to be successful in school.  If you decide to put up a couple bucks and purchase the EP through iTunes when it is released in May, you are helping to feed a child and enable them to succeed in school by lowering at least one of their barriers to learning.

Thug Panda starts out fairly chill and unsuspecting, then things start to heat up at about the 50 second mark.  As a Thug Panda is wont to do, this one will sneak up on you.  Least of all was I expecting the rap from Andy Milonakis that drops in at the 2:18 mark.  While the rap on this may not be your cup of tea, SoySauce has reassured a number of people already that the EP will include an instrumental of Thug Panda as a bonus track.  So feed children, AND get this instrumental by picking up the iTunes release in May.  It's a win-win here folks.

Stream the track below, and watch SoySauce's social media for the release of the Lunch Money EP coming sometime in May.

- KJ

Room 2 - Sexy Sumo

I recently came across an artist out of Austin, Texas who is working hard on keeping the old school house vibe alive here in North America - Room 2. The contemporary take on old school house is evident in some of his past work such as Undertones, That One Time, and Stella. Obviously not one to simply regurgitate old ideas, Room 2 has made use of the classic and recognizable sounds from old school house, garage and deep house and worked them into high energy contemporary house pieces that pay tribute back to the older vibes.  If you haven't checked his Soundcloud page for his back catalogue, I highly recommend you check it out.

I came across Sexy Sumo in my stream while working on something else, and did a double take.  This is fresh stuff - future house production that still maintains some of that old school flavour. There's also that oh so recognizable "whoop" included as well for good measure. My other feel good moment in this one comes in at 3:05, with a filter back in. Just short enough to not lose the vibe, but just enough variation to get your neck hair standing.  Sexy Sumo by Room 2 has energy bursting from the seams, make sure you stream it while you can, as I've been informed it may not stay up for long, hopefully making its way to release soon. I can only hope, as I'd love to spin this one.

- KJ

Dallas Cotton - Sometime ft. Brasstracks

Dallas Cotton, the artist formerly known as Yung Bae (there has to be a joke in there somewhere... or at least a Prince reference...) has just put out a new collaboration with Brasstracks -  a really energetic disco track chock full of brass goodness. This one took me surprise, partially because I didn't recognize the artist name, and I wasn't expecting the progression from the intro into the full energy that drops just 30 seconds in. Have a listen to this one for yourself and grab the free download through the shopping cart in the player below.

- KJ

Terace - Let Me Know

"Let me know how you like it baby". Terace brings their newest track to Soundcloud, after having gone through the wringer that is Soundcloud's copyright detection system and receiving notice that they may be infringing on their own copyright. The issues with the upload appear to now be sorted, and are we glad that's the case! With KLP laying down the smooth vocals overtop of Terace's nu house style, this track goes down nice and easy.  The only complaint?  It's only three and a half minutes long!  Hoping to have an extended mix at some point in the future, but until that point, this will do nicely.

Terace brings their own flavour of future house to the game, with great piano parts matched well with that low end future bassline.  Dan's recent injury that has kept him in a wheelchair this past while obviously hasn't slowed up the duo's productions, as is clearly on display in their latest offering.

This single isn't quite out yet, but from Terace's Facebook page, the single package looks like it will have remixes from the likes of Taiki Nulight, Kyle Watson, ODD MOB, Mike Metro and Polographia - so watch for the full package to drop.  With the quality of the original and the calibre of remixing producers, this is likely going to be an action packed release. Until then though, stream the original mix below.

- KJ

Thee Cool Cats & Lika Morgan - Thee Worst

Lika Morgan is a singer/songwriter out of LA with quite a talent for putting her vocal spin on classic tracks. This is evident from her Soundcloud profile, having dropped versions of Ace of Bass' All That She Wants, Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, an her most recent, a version of Duran Duran's Relax. Her collaboration with Thee Cool Cats is work in the same stream, a vocal house reimagining of Jhené Aiko's The Worst. 

As much as there is a very legitimate focus on the vocals of this collaboration, that by no means indicates that the house production fades away into the background. When the bassline and piano hit together just past the minute and a half mark, there is no denying that Thee Cool Cats have not held back in their house production here. Everything works together really well, and the result is an uncompromising house track with serious crossover appeal.

The full EP was released on April 13th, with EDM.com's Tech channel premiering the full track. Stream it in full below, and pick it up from Beatport, as it's still exclusive there for the time being.

- KJ