What You Get with Diplo and Skrillex and Bieber and Kaskade, with a Retrofuturist Bonus
This week's Freshly Spilt Milk includes new music from Jack Ü, Alesso, Major Lazer x DJ Snake vs. Pop Noir, a lot of soul and a special bonus summertime mixtape.
This week's Freshly Spilt Milk includes new music from Jack Ü, Alesso, Major Lazer x DJ Snake vs. Pop Noir, a bonus mix, and more.
1. “Morning World (Home Recording)” - Teen Daze: Vancouver’s Teen Daze is best known for his own chill, airy compositions, though when he last came to New Orleans to play a DJ set, he turned me on to the French disco of Cour Vette, which I still listen to regularly.
2. “Where Are Ü Now” (Kaskade Remix) - Jack Ü: An EDM supergroup made up of Diplo and Skrillex and one of the headliners of this year’s Voodoo. Kaskade skews their trap toward house.
3. “Sweet Escape” (Pep & Rash Remix) - Alesso feat. Sirena: Another Voodoo artist, here remixed by the Dutch duo who play up their signature future bass sound.
4. “Might Be” - Buku: Pittsburgh DJ Buku's busy, offcenter bass gives "Might Be" a distinctive groove.
5. “Get the Money” - Linear Labs: Producer Adrian Younge and Ghostface Killah have released a track that those who preorder their album Twelve Ways to Die II, due out July 10.
6. “Lean on DFY” - Major Lazer x DJ Snake vs. Pop Noir: British twins Joe and Luke McGarry are Pop Noir here mash-up their own "Don't Fool Yourself" with Major Lazer's "Lean On."
7. “Not You” - Steven A. Clark: R&B singer Steven A. Clark's brooding, low-key soul is intense without feeling heavy.
8. “Pills” - White Reaper: White Reaper's overheated garage rock is hard to resist. "Pills" comes from their self-titled debut album, out now.
9. “Kamikaze” - Heaters: Heaters create a pretty fine space rock roar on this track from their debut album Holy Water Pool, due out September 25. They'll play Siberia August 23.
10. “Buried on a Mountain” - Best Behavior: More garage rock from Brooklyn's Best Behavior, whose Good Luck Bad Karma is due out August 14.
11. “Lackluster No” - Nova Heart: Psychedelic rock from Beijing, due out October 2.
12. “The Queen of Swans” - Mercury Rev: Mercury Rev have reconnected with Dave Fridmann to make more of their brand of psychedelic rock. The Light in You is due out September 18.
13. “R You OK” - ARYAY: The second single from ARYAY's upcoming OWSLA EP, Vicious, due out July 10.
14. “Bend” - Chet Faker: Australian DJ Chet Faker released this leftover from the 2013 Built on Glass sessions to coincide with his summer festival tour dates.
15. “Catchfire (Sun Sun Sun)” - Spada feat. Anna Leyne: Italian DJ Spada remakes his disco instrumental "Sun Sun Sun" with lyrics sung by Anna Leyne.
16. “Solid Ground” (Deepend Remix) - Alex Vargas: British singer/songwriter Alex Vargas is remixed here by the Dutch house producer Deepend.
17. “My Way” (Eric Bellinger E-Mix) - Fetty Wap feat. Drake: Hip-hop producer Eric Bellinger released this remix of the Fetty Wap hit in advance of the July 7 release of Cutting Season, his upcoming album with guest appearances from Boosie, Tank, T.Boz, 2 Chainz, Mya, IAMSU and more.
18. “Let Me Stay” - Purple: An entry in the Frank Ocean/The Weeknd tortured electro-R&B derby. This track from Purple's Let Me Stay starts glacially slow and builds into a powerful, complex track.
19. “Coming Home” - TQ: R&B singer TQ exploded out of the gate with his 1998 hit, "Westside," but since then he has bounced around recording albums (including an unreleased one for Cash Money) and EPs. The Hammond B-3 organ helps TQ take "Coming Home" to a classic, churchy soul place.
20. “Drive” - Dornik: British singer Dornik is smooth, and that along with his affection for shimmering harmonies brings Michael Jackson to mind during "Drive."
21. “Next to Me” - Keeper: A sweet, TLC-inspired pop R&B track from their upcoming album, Moonhigh. "I've been sweatin' out my clothes / I've been dancing with my girls every night" is an unexpectedly earthy line from a female R&B singer.
Finally, I'm listening a lot to DJ Ko.B's "retrofuturist" Solbounce mixtape, which includes cool tracks by Stevie, William DeVaughn, Janet, Toro Y Moi, Kendrick Lamar and many more in a very cool summertime groove.
