There’s no denying the gravitational sway of this track. Irresistible in every sense of the word, this throbbing bass line will arrest you. As I always say, there’s nothing like a voluptuous beat paired with some primal grunting to get you in the mood for … well, the weekend.
This track oozes a certain savoir faire reminiscent of the spirit of *jazz.* Romare is a brilliant British beat-maker whose work (see album: Mediations on Afrocentrism) emulates a sort of rare feeling of release, echoic of the true nature of jazz as a historically experimental art form. He samples unique excerpts from speeches, interviews, and film recordings— all in all, it’s a melange of sultry brilliance that screams liberation.
Many thanks to Bonobo for including Romare on his Late Night Tales album. This is pure innovation equipped with a magnitude of resonance that may render you in a state of perpetual (subconsious?) gyration for the rest of your day. Dig.
First off all, this mini-mix is amazing. As usual Steph’s selections are fantastic but the story told and vibe really take it over the top, DON’T SLEEP people! Ok, on to todays thoughts…
Can we get much higher?”
They say never forget where you came from so every now and then when I realize how far I’ve come I try to relive those olden days. Lately though, that exercise is becoming more and more challenging because I’m starting to think that phrases like “never forget where you came from” are one of the many social mechanisms designed to uphold the trap and create limits. I read a post on Cyrus Pavel that sums it up quite nicely…
Everything we know, we are taught. Everything we “believe” has been curated into our ideologies. But what about those things that exist out there which we still have no idea of? Unearthed elements to the periodic table, technologies that will wire our brains to manipulate our own bodies in order to take flight.
When people are electrocuted and thrown far distances, it is the result of sudden and very violent muscle contractions and not the result of the shock, which means that we have the ability within us to do much more with our bodies than we have been taught. “Taught” being the key word.
You might think that if we wanted to be immortal, we could, but we don’t know how to do so yet. One might say that love isn’t supposed to be forever, yet we don’t know what kind of life exists after death, so maybe, just maybe, love is the only thing that does continue on.
But, we have a lot to think about, both you and I, because if things are that easy then we truly have not really evolved much as a species. In the interim, machines are rising like a sci-fi flick at exponential rates, and we’re still asking ourselves the same questions that Socrates and Plato did…
The LMDM Septembre Mini-Mix starts with Wise Blood’s Alarm, which just explains it all right now…
I can’t think, with someone sitting right in from of me. I need my personal space…
Constantly in front of all of us culture, television, music, screens, the matrix. Don’t accept conventional wisdom and protect mind. Like I said, the zone this tape captures is fantastic. It’s thoughtful, chill and banging at the same time. The best art captures the full spectrum, Stephs art does that effortlessly. The whole mini-mix series so far is knocking my socks off, enjoy.
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:
Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train (Chilled Out Euphoria Version)
Radiohead – Climbing Up The Walls (Zero 7 Remix)
Mechanical Me – Beachy Head (Bonobo Remix)
Air et Gordon Tracks- Playground Love
La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix)
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
Nicolas Jaar feat. Scott Larue & Will Epstein- With Just One Glance You
Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side (Rocco Raimundo Extended Version)
Flight Facilities – Claire De Lune (Them Jeans Edit)
