Tag: Barry Poppins

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Remixes

Trails and Ways ft. Harriet Brown – Downright (Falcon Punch Remix)

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As I was half-watching Roger Federer dissect Andy Murray this weekend, one word came to my mind: finesse. It’s why Federer is the best to ever play tennis. It’s why LeBron James will never be Michael Jordan. It’s why John Stockton was better than Gary Payton. It’s why I prefer Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones.

The ability to finesse and massage your talents and view things from not just a liner, physical line but from a more preternatural, unique way can make all the difference.

My boy Falcon Punch is no John Stockton, but the kid’s got finesse, and it’s a finesse you won’t find on generic EDM house bangaz or some recycled tropical house.

It’s why Falcon Punch is lush. The budding producer’s latest twist is another smooth, balearic one. Yes, it’s how he’s moving (give us more disco), but it’s a proper, nuanced formula with real thought and emotion.

And it’s one that continues to win:

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Categories
Music

Active Child – 1999

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This song came on the other day and I started crying for no real reason. Then I started thinking: it was because I was genuinely happy for the first time in a really long time, and it took hearing this song to awaken that emotion and kind of realize that my life is actually pretty good.

The power of music to awaken such emotions never ceases to astound me, and while I typically utilize music for its healing and energizing power, this experience was more like a revelation.

I’m the type of person that has notoriously bad luck and a notorious negative outlook on life. People call me a hater, but my job, as a critic, is to call it like I see it.

One of my favorite books ever is “Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me“, a modern Odysseus tale infused with much drugs and realizations on a college campus (it’s about Cornell in the 60’s and worth so long).

For the last nearly five years since graduating college, I’ve been very lost at times. The identity that I clung to for four years and my friendships that soon dissipated (the real ones lasted) threw me into the shitter. And then, towards the end of last year (‘and I can thank real friends like Hec for this’), a trigger went off in me. Less talk, more walk. Meet anyone you can, soak every bit of knowledge you can, and immerse yourself in life.

I was crying because for the first time in my life I genuinely feel like I’ve reached a modicum of success, and, through my own will. Success is a weird feeling, and one I was unfamiliar with for so long. I forget what it feels like for everything to feel “right”.

I’m not a millionaire. I’m by no means a made man. But for the first time in my life, everything looks up.

When life throws endless curveballs and a stream of seemingly endless negative vibes your way, you start to forget about the little things in life. Music brings me back to that.

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Categories
Music

EMPT Presents: Summer Heat by Barry Poppins

I’m a fan of the Phish.

There, I said it. And it’s not because I like to bounce around rooms. It’s because of their covers. Ever since I saw The Last Waltz, I have been completely inebriated by musicians exiting their comfort zones and singing songs that they d
have been not became and singing songs that they did not create. That love carried over to my first (or second, who can remember) Phish concert when LSD and the band’s Talking Heads cover (Cities) collided and absolutely floor me. That love of covers has translated into a love of remixes and edits when it comes to electronic music, specifically: disco. From remaster of the universe Todd Terje to Greg Wilson (featured on this mix), that love has become real, and bordered on an obsession. It’s not to say that the originals don’t do the job, but simply put, I’ve got a thing for remixes and hearing the familiar tune in an unfamiliar, newfound way. From the slight edit to the total overhaul, they just do it for me. This mix is a blend of the Balearic and the Funky, but throughout, you’ll hear both old and new songs re-imagined, as they make up the majority of the 90 minute mix. From Gwen Stefani (yes, really Hector) to Bob Marley, this mix represents my personal, aural journey from the last year and a half, with a slew of artists I’ve come to admire and blast on repeat. Whether you’re at work or getting ready for the weekend, this mix is intended to bring you to the place we all wish we were: right by the beach, mon!

Tracklist:

Half Baked – Right Near the Beach
Gwen Stefani – Rich Girls (Greg Wilson Edit)
LUXXURY – Travolta Fever
Dr. Packer – Islands in the Sky
Greg Wilson – Summer Came My Way
William de Vaughn – Be Thankful For What You Got (FKJ Remix)
Falcon Punch & Roller Radio – Never Enough
Nore en Pure – Come With Me (Satin Jackets Remix)
The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On (Fingerman Edit)
Delegation – Heartache No. 9 (Breixo Edit)
Disclosure – Latch (DJ AA Ibiza Bootleg)
The Establishment – Love Like This
Bob Marley – Exodus (Drop Out Orchestra Remix)
Late Nite Tuff Guy – Do U Wanna Get Down
The Backwoods – Breakthrough
Flight Facilities – Foreign Language (Rocco Raimundo Edit)
Nora en Pure – You Are My Pride (Croatia Squad Remix)
Chris Malinchak – So Good to Me

Categories
Music

EMPT Presents – Wet Dreams #1 by Barry Poppins

We all want so much man, over achievement and extreme ambition are glorified and admired almost universally these days but have you ever stopped to ask why?…

Hustle, hustle, hustle. Grind, grind, grind. Why does everyone got hustle on their mind?”

MIA was something else back then, I remember first hearing that hook and questioning everything. I won’t get into all that right now now but always remember to look around your environment and question what you see. Just because everyone is doing something, just because it’s tradition, culturally revered or whatever doesn’t mean it’s truth. Think about it, if the massive amounts of cultural influence, media and tradition we’rent around to sway would you care about the same things? Sometimes you have to press pause on the Human Drama and give your mind a break to formulate it’s own path. Which brings me to the subject of todays post, the Wet Dreams #1 by Barry Poppins, a former EMPT writer that returns with a downtempo/chill mix worthy of boss caliber reflection and relaxation. This mix isn’t made for Friday or Saturday night, this is strictly for downtime, Sunday chillin’ folks. I’ve had it running top to bottom for the last hour and I gotta say the kids downtempo song selection is tight enough to rival the best of them. Anyhow, I’ve told half the story but the rest is from the maestro himself, press play on this one ASAP, enjoy…

In the 6 months, I’ve been exposed to more music crossing more genres than perhaps at any point in my life. It was both a blessing and a curse, that allowed me to hone in on the sounds that truly act as aural therapy for me. One of these sounds is a very cliche, five letter word: chill. The great part about this genre, I’ve discovered, is that chill out music is not confined to one genre. So many artists across so many different “genres” and decades and continents create an array of music on a daily basis. But if you examine every prolific group or artist’s catalogue thoroughly enough, odds are you’ll find a soothing, relaxing track somewhere. 

These are the types of songs that act as ear valium. Since being afflicted by the most gnawing, aggravating medical condition I’ve ever experienced–tinnitus–the need to listen to sparse, mellow, and just calming music has truly arisen. Tinnitus hurts the ear, yes, but it also tortures the soul and the mind. I’ve always been an anxious person, but this disease has made everything in life more difficult–going to clubs, talking on the phone, or just walking down the street. You hear voices, you hear a constant ringing, and you don’t ever know if it will come to an end. 

As someone who’s constantly bombarded by stress–both self-inflicted and through external forces–it’s a sound without which I’d be helpless. Thus began my transformation of my musical diary/Tumblr into a very niche, and very mellow music blog, along with a mixture series I hope to update on a monthly basis. Loosely inspired by the White Light Series, and mainly by the overall need to decompress, take a deep breath, and be thankful for what I do have and can control in life, came The Pleasure Dome. I don’t know what, if anything, this little site will turn into. But I do know–as long as I can hear–I’ll be on the look out for the cream of the chill out crop. Without further ado: Welcome To The Pleasure Dome.

Track List:

  1. Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train (Chilled Out Euphoria Version)
  2. Radiohead – Climbing Up The Walls (Zero 7 Remix)
  3. Mechanical Me – Beachy Head (Bonobo Remix)
  4. Air et Gordon Tracks- Playground Love
  5. La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix)
  6. Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
  7. Nicolas Jaar feat. Scott Larue & Will Epstein- With Just One Glance You
  8. Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side (Rocco Raimundo Extended Version)
  9. Flight Facilities – Claire De Lune (Them Jeans Edit)
  10. Montauk – Speed Of Light
  11. Cosmic Kids – Freight To My Soul
  12. Telepopmuzik – Breathe
  13. Zero 7 – Destiny
  14. Daft Punk – Make Love
  15. Mansions On The Moon x Junior Boys – Lights Off
  16. Daft Punk – Nightvision