Speaking of magic...

I had the pleasure of catching Benga and Skream a few months ago at the ol' sweat pit that is Oxford Art Factory. Safe to say they fucking smashed it, moving quickly from banger to banger all with a set of cheeky grins.

The track below was not dropped (as far as my hazy memory can tell) but holy shit I wish it had been. All stripped vocals and soft rave bleeps new comer LaRoux (currently on tour with Ms Allen) brings on the goose bumps. Then in the last minute it simply cuts loose, releasing the tension with tough breaks and the kind of bass Skream is renowned for. Ace.

LaRoux - In For the Kill (Skream Ravey Remix)

Myspace | Website

Unexpected Monday Afternoon Magic

Good times for Adele. Last week (or so) she cleans up at the Grammy's, and now this absolute fucking banger of a remix of Hometown Glory appears courtesy of Chewy Chocolate Cookies. So the track has been mixed up a bunch of times, but this one kills facists and like perennial BW jam Sleepyhead, this proves you can get in and make nights in under 3 minutes.

Adele - Hometown Glory (Chewy Chocolate Cookies remix) [soundcloud download]

Update: zshare link was killed so it's a soundcloud d/l now.

This Isn't A Post About La Roux...

...weird right? Apparently there's other bands around, blogosphere.

I first came across Harlem Shakes a year or so ago after they did a Daytrotter session. Then, I found them super likable but just missing that extra je ne sais quoi. Now they've had a bit of time to mature as a band and I lurr the new direction they've taken. Mostly in that they've upped the fun and (metaphorical) thrusting factor, and are sounding tight. Kind of like if an English indie band heard themselves, then went back in time and grew up in New York instead. Their record Technicolor Health drops in March.

Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game

Myspace

Ahora bailemos...!

Last Sunday I skipped along to St. Jerome's Laneway Festival in Sydney, for the first time in my festival life, with no idea who the bands were that were playing (apart from The Holdsteady and Four Tet) and had little motivation to find out. Surrounded by music aficionados, I was in nurturing hands. As the day rolled by and my blood sugar level dropped, I was pleasantly surprised to turn down one (of which there are only two) laneway and encounter something I knew would pep me up again - that being - tribal and thudding Spanish tunes.

El Guincho is one of those acts other artists get down to see, including, on that particular windy afternoon, the guys from Hermitude and Ryan Stively from Port O'Brien. The adorable man behind El Guincho, Pablo Diaz-Reixa, had everyone dancing for the whole duration of his set and I personally thank him for making me forget how sore my feet were and fooling me into thinking I was back in Spain. I was so excited when we ran into the man himself, on our way home.

I hope his album is playing at the next party I go to, as I can't wait to get down again.

Pedro with a drunk and over excited BW contributor, Nat.


El Guincho - Kalise

Myspace | Website

Are you watching closely?

It's very rare these days when a hip hop artist will stop you in his tracks. Lil' Wayne did it last year with Da Drought 3, but I feel this year we gotta get a little deeper, cerebral.

Jay Electronica is an artist who has been skirting the fringes of greatness for some time. He has produced tracks for Nas and Eryka Badu (who he has a live Twittered child with) and recently cut a track with Just Blaze. His breakout track Act I: The Pledge referances the film The Prestige and see's Jay spitting over fragments of Jon Brion's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack about UFO's and voodoo men. No drums in sight.

Check the slightly more conventional Renassiance Man below and stop the slow singin' and flower bringin' cause hip hop ain't dead yet.

Jay Electronica - Renassiance Man

Wikipedia