If you haven’t noticed by now, most things in our lifetimes run in cycles. I’m positive that many of you have since most of our readers are in the fashion, or music, or just art worlds period, and even if you aren’t you have been taught, told, or have come to the realization on your own that trends are cyclical in nearly everything. Bell bottoms come back into fashion much like certain types of sounds or genres are adjusted ever so often into what gets classified as “new” music, but why?

My inclination is that repetition only continues to happen because people are afraid to push the limits to test or find new boundaries.  They are simply afraid to try something new and non-traditional so they practice regurgitation in the name of innovation. These old formulas have a proven track history, so what would be a creative process is downgraded to minor revisions. You now have a product that not only contains familiarity but also bits & pieces of various proven and successful formulas wrapped up and presented as something new. But, every once in blue, someone comes along who decides to test the boundaries, restrictions, and limitations of life, law, textbooks, and every other institution in existence and create something unique. Something that although the world may not be ready for, they are not afraid to showcase…

This is what I find in Sleigh Bells and their sonically rebellious tunes.  I find a group that isn’t afraid to test the sonic restrictions placed upon us by some form of higher authority.  A band that represents revolution in their own form using their own tools to go against the grain and provide an abstract way of expressing and dictating the foundation for a new wave of music, or at least attempting to.  Sleigh Bells represents that for me to the fullest and it wasn’t until a conversation with Hector early this morning that I was able to begin to see that this group and it’s mass appeal are not only well deserved. Whether you understand their sound or not, whether you like it, appreciate it or don’t, you should at least respect the fact that they are not succumbing to the norm.

Fast Forward now to this Club Clique “NewTrends Rill Rill Remix” blasting in my headphones, I find an  extremely enjoyable and incredibly vibrant sounding remix by the Manchester crew of re-mixers, DJ’s, and what appears to be – the absolute musical lawlessness of the Club Clique DJ’s.  I instantaneously get sucked into this crazy energy filled ride and immediately find my body involuntarily moving to the the awesome masterpiece of live sounds and dance-pop flow that the Club Clique mix masters supply us with here.  Filled with shakers that sit well right above ear level, equally airy and strong claps, some super sick ass live guitar and guitar rifts alongside a very well researched, very well formulated, and meticulously executed masterpiece of a remix, I fall in love with the vocals the second they blast off!

Have a heart, have a heart, have a heart

Sixteen six six six and I know the part

You are the river flow

And we can never know

We’re just a weatherman

You make the wind blow…”

Because of the magic that Clique provides on this remix, the same vocals taken from the original piece suddenly seem to take on an entire new life making Lady Krauus seem, to me, like an entirely different entity.  Her vocals sit melodically throughout the entire life span of this remix, showcasing great placement of her vocals by Clique from the amazing job that already stems from the actual original vocals of this song provided by Alexis’s windpipes. They were able to show off her naturally warm and clean vocals by stripping down the original completely and recreating an entirely new vibe and direction for Alexis, which for me provides a higher energy and slightly clearer execution of the emotions within the lyrics themselves, written also by Miller.

So this is it then?

You’re here to win friend

Click click saddle up see you on the moon then

You’re all alone friend?

Pick up the phone then

Rill rill call them up

Tell them about the new trends…”

After a couple of hours of vigorous research on this Brooklyn duo, and listening to the original version of Rill Rill I can unequivocally say that I enjoy this Clique version slightly more than the original. The Clique guys studied a formula, broke it down, and applied it their own way to come out with a winning equation. Their version not only boasts a cleaner and less distorted sound for me, but it also provides some type of natural groove, which the original lacks somewhat, as well as propelling her warm and nicely executed vocals into a space that showcases her unique vocal swag, for me, a little stronger that the original allows.  Having just been introduced myself to Imogen Heap’s masterpiece – Hide and Seek – by a very cool new friend of mine, I can appreciate the build up around Ms. Krauss’s vocals on this remix as quite visionary to say the least, since I honestly feel that listening to the original first would not have made me a total fan of this song.  I get the same vibe from the execution of her “Have a hearts” and “this is it thens” that Imogen Heap refers to as the inspiration for Hide and Seek which she claims is based on dealing with an emotionless former love interest, yet I would have NEVER felt that vibe or feeling on the slightly bland, and at moments, imperceptibly inaudible vocals of the original.

Original aside, this Club Clique remix featuring Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells is WINNING in my book off of arrangement and sounds alone and will be featured on several of our future play-lists and events to come!

- cp’11

Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill (Clique NewTrends Remix)

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I’ve gotten a few email and seen a couple of comments from people asking why we didn’t do a best of 2010 list. Steph finally sent me an answer to that question in the form of a mixtape because we no speak best of 2010 list, we speak music over here. We’re getting a lot of new visitors these days so if you’re not familiar with LMDM I couldn’t think of a better way to get acquainted with the queen of style.

Steph was hitting home runs in 2010, brining us something completely fresh and new for 12 months straight. I’m certainly the biggest LMDM fan and if anyone thinks different we can take this outside and see whose boss! Seriously though, I think I speak for all fans in saying that we appreciate the work Steph puts into these tapes. There’s no question in my mind that LMDM is a labor of love, there’s so much thought and feeling put into it and it translates to everyone that hears it. We appreciate it Steph and look forward to another year of magic…

Yes, this is about mid month 15ish days late…but still, its here. The list below is a special mix for the New Year/wrap-up of the beloved 2010. Instead of choosing my favorite tracks of 2010, I chose  special tracks and artists I featured throughout Le Miel du Mois’ this past year. Most blogs did their ‘best of ‘lists and I think a lot of us agree on what was amazing and what stood out, so rather than echo a round-up list, we thought we would do it a bit different – with a LMDM montage for you to download and here we are…

Le Miel du Mois at work? That’s much better than work at work! Download

Tracklisting:

1. Of Oceans – In Love, Not Limbo
2. Jai Paul – BTSU
3. Keepaway- Yellow Wings
4. Pop Winds- Met Some New Colors
5. Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work
6. The Temper Trap – A Love Lost (Keljet Remix)
7. Foals – The French Open
8. Thieves Like Us: Drugs in my Body
9. Cults – Go Outside
10. Sleigh Bells- Rill Rill
11. Pictureplane – Cyclical Cyclical (Atlantis)
12. Cloudy Busey – Pound Your Town to Hell
13. My Gold Mask – Bitches (The Hood Internet remix)
14. Beach House- Norway
15. Gold Panda – You

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As if Le Miel du Mois wasn’t already on fire, Steph and Kristin of Forthebeat took the popular mixtape’s best of the best to provide you with 9 of ’09, 9 remixes and 9 originals from our first official year in business.
Just when you think this tape is gonna slow down and its safe for you to take a  coffee break, you get smacked with a banger, then another and another… What’s the moral of the story? Sit your ass down and listen fool!! With the year closing in I couldn’t think of a better compilation to represent the taste and song selection we hold so dearly at EMPT, enjoy.

EMPT: The only blog you know with a bounce and a half.“

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Tracklisting:

1. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
2. Delorean – Deli
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)
4. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
5. Sleigh Bells – Ring Ring
6. Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
7. The xx – Crystalized
8. The Virgins – Rich Girls (The Twelves Remix)
9. Miike Snow – Sylvia
10. Telepathe – Chrome’s On It (Gold Panda Remix)
11. Florence and the Machine – Cosmic Love
12. Sebastien Tellier – Roche (Breakbot Remix)
13. La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)
14. Air France – Collapsing At Your Doorstep
15. Lykke Li – Dance, Dance, Dance
16. Florence and the Machine – You’ve Got the Love (The xx Remix)
17. Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
18. The xx – Shelter (Them Jeans Drum Edit)

That’s right fool, we’re sponsoring another party! F o r t h e b e a t and Et Musique Pour Tous are getting in the spirit of CMJ and putting on a show. The cover charge is a mere $Free.99 so come over to Brooklyn’s Public Assembly on October 21st and enjoy the show with 5 great bands and a rocking DJ:

Electric Tickle Machine, Sleigh Bells, Phantogram, X-Wife & We Have Band & DJ set by Heats

In anticipation for the event we’ve put together a special CMJ edition mixtape to get you familiar with the bands and make your Tuesday morning at work a bearable expereince. The playlist was put together by Forthebeat’s Steph Lund (Le Miel du Mois) and Kristin Connor, it is quite the listen. See you guys at the show! Download.

Tracklisting:

1.    We Have Band – You Came Out
2.    Phantogram – When I’m Small
3.    Sleigh Bells – Beach Girls
4.    Electric Tickle Machine – Part Of Me
5.    X-Wife – Ping Pong
6.    Sebastien Tellier – Kilometer (Aeroplane ‘Italo 84′ Remix)
7.    The Xx – Crystalised
8.    The Budos Band – Budos Rising
9.    Camp Lo – Luchini
10.    Hooray For Earth – Surrounded By Your Friends
11.    Paul & The Patients – Blogspot (Nick Seely Remix)
12.   The Golden Filter – Thunderbird
13.    The Dig – Penitentiary
14.    Japandroids – Wet Hair
15.    Shout Out Out Out – Bad Choices
16.    Fanfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins or How To Wait For A Very Long Time
17.    Delorean – Deli

Well, the E.M.P.T. pre-party for our bigger and badder one year anniversary party was a huge success and we’d like to take a moment to thank everyone that made it out, we enjoyed your company and hope to have more and more reasons to keep celebrating, see you in November.

As many of you know, the first of the month on E.M.P.T. means a new tape from mixtape guru Steph Lund. However, I was in severe recovery mode after the party so not much got done around these parts so this months mixtape will be a day late but here nevertheless. Without further ado, here are some words from the genius herself, enjoy.

Le Miel du Mois: Octobre

The art of “the repeat”. When I fall in love with a song, its always the same, I can tell instantly whether I am going to completely love it in the first 10 seconds. This is usually followed by playing the song over and over until I can anticipate every beat and lyric.

Le Miel du Mois repeats one of my new favorite artists: UK’s The xx. Enjoy, and be sure to: repeat.”

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1. The Xx – Intro
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Soft Shock (Them Jeans Acoustic Remix)
3. X-Wife – On the Radio
4. Sleigh Bells – Infinity Guitars
5. Tiesto – Feel It In My Bones (Feat. Tegan and Sarah)
6. The Xx – Crystalized
7. Metric – Gold Guns Girls
8. Fake Blood – Fix Your Accent
9. CSS – Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above
10. Lykke Li -  Breaking It Up
11. Sean Bones – Dancehall
12. Beirut – My Wife, Lost In The Wild
13. Dntel – Last Songs
14. LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
15. Cold Cave – Life Magazine
16. Hooray for Earth – Surrounded By Your Friends

Apparently it’s July, welcome. A lot happened for us in June, we had the most traffic EMPT had ever seen and got shut down in the same month. Our diabolical hosting company Gisol Inc. stole our website and content so we’ve had to rebuild from scratch – no easy task. But atlas there is light at the end of the tunnel and what could be more suitable to celebrate our return then announcing the July version of Steph Lund’s beloved Le Miel du Mois! With that said, here is an excerpt from Steph hinting at the masterminding that helps create this tape:

Le Miel du Mois: Juillet: With the constant rain in June and thinking about the intense heat on its way, this mix reflects the restlessness of summer.
Spotlight Track: The last track is from Paris based artist Three Leaves and a Head – a remix of Radiohead’s Reckoner, off the In Rainbows album. I first heard of Three Leaves and a Head from We All Want Someone To Shout For.
Remixes of Radiohead are a bit touchy for me, because I don’t see how most tracks can improve, however, these subtle enhances Three Leaves and a Head accomplished are really beautiful and a perfect way to end this mix. Check out Three Leaves and a Head’s Myspace page which also includes a remix of Nude.

Le Miel du Mois at work? That’s much better than work at work! Télécharger (clic droit+enregistrer sous)

1. Feist – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

Feist – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

MP3
2. We Have Band – Hear It In the Cans (DIY Version)
3. Sleigh Bells – Ring Ring
4. Holy Ghost – Hold On
5. James Yuill – No Surprise
6. Paul and the Patients – Blogspot Nick Seely Remix
7. The Big Pink – Velvet
8. Zambri – Easier
9. Jack Peñate – Tonight’s Today
10. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
11. Breakbot – Summer Party
12. Bat for Lashes – Trophy
13. La Roux – Bulletproof (Live at Glastonbury)
14. Radiohead – Reckoner (Three Leaves and A Head Remix)