Tag: Disclosure

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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

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Music

Disclosure & Friend Within – The Mechanism

At Coachella this year Lana del Rey bought us in to her fascinating world of retro futuristic glamour, Flosstradamus turned the place into an absolute zoo with their hip hop meets punk mosh put over the top style and Disclosure simply brought groove to the Space Age. Those three acts couldn’t be further apart from each other in every way possible but that’s the beauty of festivals, it let’s you curate you’re own experience. The later really stuck with me for some reason, there was something about that clean but groove infused sound mixed with the beautiful natural landscape and wavy people that felt good. The Disclosure visual show is simple but extremely well done and captivating. The juxtaposition of it all made for a perfect recipe in timing and timelessness. It’s hard to not like Disclosure when you hear them, it’s hard not to love them when you see them live.

The Mechanism is a song that dropped a few days after that Coachella set. There’s a speech in the song that perfectly captures my moment in life right now.

So one of the things I need y’all to do for me is you gotta know that it’s coming. 

That’s such a powerful, deep message. In life you can catch momentum and lose momentum for myriad of reasons. Sometimes they’re external but most often it’s our own cognitive biases that allow us to be our own worst enemies. We work so hard to get to a certain point but a large majority of people break down when they actual manifest the very thing they wanted. It’s like they never really believed they could do it in the first place that when it happens it shows. Your mind will create whatever you want, respect your mind because the second you think something you better believe the universe is in action…

And once you know it’s coming, once you know it’s coming, stay in the zone!
Stay in your body. Increase your maximum level. …”

When the day comes, when the stage lights go on and it’s time for you do be who you wanted to be so bad keep believing in yourself. The zone is what got you there, the zone is what’s going to let you ride the wave –

It’s one simple reason..
The mechanism of incessant, incessant, habitual conceptualization.
Creation of ideas, goals and frameworks that are turned over.
Completed, to the friend within…

This is the secret they don’t want you to know: The only tool you need, the one that has allowed the most powerful men in the world to reach unheard of levels of success, rulers to dominate, spiritual leaders to heal and influence, the one tool that has made every single thing around you possible is at your disposal right now. It’s not money, it’s not guns. This tool created those too. It’s your mind. It’s the mechanism that makes the world go round, enjoy!

Disclosure & Friend Within – The Mechanism

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Music

The Ting Tings – The Wrong Club

For anyone wondering where music is going next, I’ve got two words for you – groove & vibe. As we came into the Space Age we  were like young children discovering new tools, making things go as loud, big and fast as possible. That will never go away and it shouldn’t, I mean I don’t know about you but nothing really hits like a big ass trap record at a festival. Sure the style and substance will change but that feeling won’t and that’s a good thing.

But something that’s been slightly forgotten in the midst of massive records is groove, those rhythms that get in your body, make you want to move with the performer, not just stand there observing. As of late there’s been a resurgence in groove, the most obvious and successful of course being Daft Punk but people like Devonte Hynes and acts like Disclosure have been making a strong case for an official comeback. The Ting Tings’ Duran Duran produced The Wrong Club is more evidence to the fact.

Did I ever tell you about the way I wanna feel?

I love that lyric and it’s a perfect example of what this music represents to me.

I think we worry so much about external things like our jobs, our cars, money etc but have you ever thought about the way you want to feel? Think about that for a second. It’s like we do things backwards, we work tirelessly on the outside looking for happiness but rarely think about it the other way around. Have you ever thought about the way you want to feel and made your decisions based on that? If you focused on yourself, loved yourself and valued your emotions, your DNA, the very thing that makes you unique, all the choices that make up your lifestyle would be different. You might not be willing to deal with that person anymore, you may not be ok with that job because the cost to benefit ratio would be severely disproportionate. It just doesn’t make you feel good so you don’t compromise like we all do. What might seem like the path no longer appeals because it just doesn’t make you happy and nothing external can give you happiness.

I’m a big fan of where music is about to go. I love it when records don’t have to try hard because when music isn’t trying to dictate the entire team it gives the listener space to interact with the music. This is Space Age Bachelor Pad Music evolved, enjoy.

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Music

Stylo G – Move Back (Grant Nelson Remix)

London, man. Some of the house coming out of there makes me want to pack up my drum machines, leave it all behind and hit the streets. Anyone who remembers the Noctambule parties will also remember our affinity for dirty dance music. It’s not that I don’t like Top 40 when I’m partying, I just like the way darker records can make the environment mysterious, dangerous, sexual and exciting. That feeling you get when you hear something new, that challenges you and is extremely dope at the same time. I know not everybody is on the constant hunt for something new but you don’t really get that feeling when “Happy” comes on, you know. 

This remix by house legend Grant Nelson is exactly what I’m talking about. Those 909 drums and that classic Jackin House bass line makes you move, there’s nothing else to it. For those of you not familiar with Grant Nelson, his productions during the early-mid 90’s literally created Garage. He’s one of the most influential figures in the UK house scene period. It’s no secret that all those new guys you love (i.e. Disclosure, Gorgon City and the likes), take huge influence from this dance music OG. Those Monday blues can’t handle bangers like this.

Stylo G – Move Back (Grant Nelson Remix)

 

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Music

Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine (Lido remix)

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Leave it to up-and-coming Norwegian producer Lido to execute such pure, unadulterated magic. His rework of Bill Wither’s classic is synth-punchin’ / trap slappin’ / symbol crashin’ thunderous bliss. It takes some balls to attempt a remix of such a timeless soul classic… Lido’s got balls and creativity to boot — this is the freshest, dopest remix of one of the most enduring (43 years old) anthems of the 20th century. New school meets old school, this is the future: fierce, elegant, and totally bangin’.

Here’s a bit of backstory: Lido’s unofficial remix of Disclosure’s hit single “Latch“ was so fly that Universal pulled it from Soundcloud less than 24 hours of its inception on the interwebz. Lido retaliated by making more music, and this is it. “Ain’t No Sunshine“ is jammy enough to tide us over until his forthcoming album’s release on Pelican Fly Records (June 9th, yeeee!!).

This track exudes the kind of fearless brilliance that fuels the current tides of change in the music industry. Producers and musicians who embody this vision are an inspiration to all of us— true innovation and balls to the wall creativity are not a thing of the past, nor will they ever be.

Moral of the story: when in doubt (or not), make more music.

And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know…

Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine (Lido Remix)

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Music

Sam Smith – Money On My Mind

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Sam. Smith.

A composition between Sam Smith and Disclosure at the end of 2012 launched Smith and his sultry vocals into the elite of the music scene. Sam Smith recently released an EP, Nirvana, on 28 January 2014. Cannot recommend this more.

His release offers 7 tracks, some of which are more R&B and stripped down which compliment the more energetic remix with Disclosure and this number, also on the EP.

With Sam Smith‘s punching soprano vocals and the help of a solid base and delicate piano , this tune just oozes sex and a class and lyrics which say “I do this for the love”.

Although he has sold old nearly every upcoming show in Europe, if get a chance to be serenaded by this talent, I would recommend it.

Sam Smith – Money On My Mind

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Music

Disclosure – January (Kaytranada Edition)

This has been quite a year for these two forces, which really made waves in the 2013 electric music scene. Disclosure and Kaytranada have each contributed some of the top tracks of the year in their respective areas and also pushed the envelope in sound and collaborations bridging genres of music in a very successful, forward way.

I am excited to be able to write about Kaytranada once more time (I believe this is the 3rd or 4th time). And each time, I fall in love with his style again and again. Here he adds in his nearly eery sounds to the Disclosure number with the vocals of Jamie Woon. Something to kick-off the new year too.

And under that dance-riddled façade, are lyrics dripping with soul.

“And we cannot regret
The aesthetical feel
We had our brighter day
Was it synthetic or real?”

Disclosure – January (Kaytranada Edition)

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Music Video

Sam Smith x Nile Rodgers x Disclosure x Jimmy Napes – Together

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsU189WyU68]

Yes, this is real and official.

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Music

Disclosure – Voices feat. Sasha Keable

The element of surprise: something that sits with us in every aspect of our lives, whether we welcome it or not. It makes our days worth waking up for, and it makes every interaction we have, whether it’s physical or internal, that much more intense and real. Every day of our lives, we face unpredictable events that make us experience a range of emotions. And just because the element of surprise has such a heavy connotation with life itself, doesn’t mean it’s only confined to specific moments in life. You know I’m going to talk about music, and that’s exactly where I’m going with this.

The element of surprise that one experiences in music is so special because it only happens a certain way, and it only happens once. You’re never going to be surprised again, after that first time you listen to a song and hear an unexpected woman’s vocals alongside a “sexy cocktail lounge beat” (my roommate’s words, not mine) and that’s something to relish in. It’s a feeling that I can only assume is similar to how a child experiences the world for the first time, that freshness that is so genuine and not replicable.

Sometimes, listening to a new song is the only way we can go back to that time where we were five years old and experiencing aspects of life for the first time without the societal pressures on our back of how we should react. There is no precise way to react to a song, and there is no formula for what is and is not right.

That said, I’ve loved this song by Disclosure for a really long time, and I somehow feel surprised by it every time I listen. I know it’s never going to be the same as that first time I heard it on my headphones at work in the middle of several different things, during which I promptly dropped everything I was doing to take this song in with all of its perfection. Hopefully, you’ll have a unique experience to call your own though when you listen, if you haven’t already heard it.

Disclosure – Voices feat. Sasha Keable

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Music

Disclosure – Help Me Lose My Mind (feat. London Grammar)

A caveat: words can’t fully express how much I love this song. By the end of this post, I will have written a couple paragraphs that (hopefully) capture why I think it’s great, and why I think it’s worth your time. But I’ll be no closer to conveying how my heart swells when I hear it.

There’s a couple things about this song – the last track on Disclosure’s incredible debut LP, “Settle” – that stand out right away. The first and most obvious is the rich, evocative voice of London Grammar’s Hannah Reid. The first time you hear it, the song’s first verse, she sounds warm and familiar, like an old friend inviting you in:

Talk to me and watch me crumble
You will see me come undone
Faithfully I will look over
There I’ll find what you’ve become

It’s a beautiful introduction to the song, largely because it sounds so real, so conversational, so human. Reid imbues these lines with a perfect mix of vulnerability and strength. The “me” and “you” instantly feel like characters, people you might know, maybe even yourself and someone you really do know, rather than abstract fictional constructions. You’re invested in this song’s story right away. And then the chorus hits – the song’s other obvious selling point, incredibly lush and blissfully funky – and the subdued emotion of the verse explodes into a devastating confession:

You help me lose my mind
And you believe something I can’t define
Help me lose my mind, make me run back
What about before?
Keep biding my time,
How much longer?
Who I’ve been waiting for

But what really makes this song special for me is what happens in the spaces between Reid’s voice and that soaring chorus. Namely: nothing. Seriously, several times in this song, nothing is happening. You hear one instrument – the kick drum, the high-hat, a synth – or maybe even literal silence. These gaps sound like the song taking a breath, or the tide receding before the next wave, and for some reason I find them utterly transcendent. I could talk about how the dynamic contrast between the verses and the choruses heightens the impact of the latter and deepens the melancholy of the former, but it goes beyond that. This is just one of those moments you get in music sometimes where everything comes together in a way that’s truly ineffable. I never thought I would consider silence my favorite part of a song I loved, but in “Help Me Lose My Mind,” my heart stops along with the music.

Disclosure – Help Me Lose My Mind (feat. London Grammar)