The Chillout Lounge Mix - Afterglow
Afterglow introduces this mix with an ambient / electronic, dark, mysterious, dramatic, shimmering sound made for sunsets. Chillout, ambient, electronica musically sandwich some sublime breaks, deep, organic tracks which can be just as laidback and listenable as danceable or good to train / run with. I always like to push the extremes of poetic deep chilled, ambient, atmospheric music alongside more energetic, feel good music as this dynamic wave of moods and emotions brings more power when compared.
Following four studio albums and one live album, the stunning HVOB are about to release their sixth album: TOO is an angry, tender, vulnerable, determined account of a generation's search for life. The album explores extremes in concept, content and sound. It breaks with the tradition of releasing the entire album following the advance release of a number of singles. The eight tracks from TOO will be released individually and sporadically. This way, the album grows into an eventual whole over a period of six months. TOO is both HVOB's harshest and softest album to date. In terms of sound, Anna Müller and Paul Wallner explore a space of extremes between departure and retreat, between determination and self-doubt. TOO is dedicated to the state of mind of a generation in search of inner and outer belonging: the album captures a life in the dichotomy of one's own and other people's expectations, in the feeling of not living up to these expectations, in renewed attempts to free oneself from these expectations. Max Cooper announces new album Unspoken Words, to be released 25th March on Mesh. Lead single Everything and its accompanying video is an excitable expression of freedom and joy, an explosion of colour referencing classic synth sounds from Max Cooper’s formative years and the golden era of idealism in music and popular culture of the '80 and '90s.“I love feeling that anything is possible. It feels like I’m bursting and need to find some expression," says Cooper. "The synths seemed to carry the hope of everything I could imagine, condensed into the simple chord progression, improvised pads and layers of distortion. It was a lot of fun to work with, and spending time in that creative mindset generated lots of ideas which could be shot down later under less manic conditions.” For the 12 years Compost Disco (Sub label of Compost Records) are providing a massive Vol. 2 package which contains package of 15 exclusive, previously unreleased tracks, all will be on 2xLP out in April 2022. The variety ranges across the floor from boogie, italo, new wave, classic soulful, balearic, neo-disco, housey, downbeat, fusion, garage, to tech-disco. Tasty, hypnotizing, emotional and destined for the sunset crew, the hip shaking, for the gym, for those, who are open-minded about disco anyways, for more parties, last but not least for salvation. Bristol-based duo Tom and Ian Griffiths, a.k.a Icarus, are back on Anjunadeep with new single Only. Having garnered over 120 million Spotify streams to date, written and produced hits like October and Home, featuring AURORA, and remixed names like Jessie Ware, Pendulum, Martin Solveig, Wilkinson and RÜFÜS DU SOL, Icarus are fast becoming one of the UK's most sought-after dance acts. Icarus have recently performed a closing set at Anjunadeep's third label takeover of iconic venue Printworks London, and the first weeks of the year see the duo perform headline shows in London, Manchester and Bristol. "We've really been enjoying writing at slightly quicker tempos lately. 130bpm+ just feels so energetic to us, and we've been feeling inspired by the resurgence of the garage sound, especially with a lo-fi texture to it. With Only we wanted to create something that was melodic and enjoyable in headphones but still upbeat and grooving enough for a club environment. We recently dropped this tune at Printworks and the reaction was great, so we hope we've achieved our aim!" - Icarus. Feeling Good: Her Greatest Hits and Remixes is a collection of the most iconic songs recorded throughout Nina Simone’s illustrious career. Packaged into one collection and including seven remixes by some of the hottest, top DJ’s worldwide, the album speaks to the most ardent Nina fan while introducing her to a younger set of new listeners simultaneously. Check out remixes by Riton, Floorplan, Rudimental & Honne who was my favourite from this second installment of remixes! London based electronic producer Leaps, aka Luke Osborne, who has been gaining plaudits for his work as one half of the duo, NULA is starting to emerge within the electronic music scene. Since releasing his debut EP early in 2021 along with producing for the Canadian artist, a l l i e, Leaps has been working toward the next set of releases. Leaps has been supported by Dummy Mag, BBC Introducing (Jess Izatt), Spotify Basement: Fresh Finds, When We Dip, Dancefloor Romancer and Sasha. We know continues using the same rich pallet of sounds of deep textured synthesisers coupled with intricate percussion, laced with pitched vocal fragments and chords that have an emotional resonance. The two-step beat gives punch and drive. Effortlessly straddling dance floor impact with emotive overtones. Leaps music follows on from many of his contemporaries in reaching that hard to find sweet spot in electronic music. Seb Wildblood launches into 2022 with a rich blend of vintage electronica in the form of Jobi. You’re instantly thrown into a shuffling groove of liquid snares & breakbeat infused percussion, with deep swelling stabs, carried along by euphoric vocal programming that hangs effortlessly throughout the entirety, providing a dream-like state for this emotionful gem of a single. What more is there to say when you’ve got Deepwit’s Alvaro Hylander and Ivan Garci, offering up two outstanding originals and then remixing each other’s tracks? Nothing here but quality deep house and organic house vibes. The superb Chris Coco nails it for me with a two track EP Noosphere / Ombra which are perfect for that outside event, festival in the sun; I chose Ombra for this mix as it is a little more suited to this podcast but both need checking out and of course if you haven’t heard his show Melodica, you are missing out. The fifth winter compilation from Art Vibes Music has arrived and we are beyond happy to finally share it with you. This selection brings together the effort of eight producers settled in different parts of the world. Winter Vibes V is full of mystical percussions, deep synths and organic sonic atmospheres. The compilation starts off with Scabeni and her latest tune Purity. This comforting track guides us on a path of calm and well-being. It's positive, deep, shimmering with shamanic voices and magical synthesizers. It provokes the same feeling as being floating in-between dreams and reality. The artistic freedom of the producers involved in Winter Vibes V is once again putting Art Vibes at the forefront of the electronic music scene. Italian singer Erika Grapes and producer Andrea Del Miglio (Anaté) release a downtempo / Massive Attack-inspired cover version of Mazzy Star's sad song Into Dust (written by Hope Sandoval) on 2022's Blue Monday. All things end and disintegrate, at some point. Even those which we would have considered to be eternal. And when that happens, in those painful - eternally painful - moments and episodes, our very souls and eyes seem to turn into dust too. Blue Monday is considered to be the saddest day of the year. A moment far from celebrations and jubilee, where the heaviness of what is and what is missing breaks the veil of silence. After composing for cinema, theater, multi-platinum French rap singles and French Chanson albums, this is the French musician Superpoze’s first solo release since his debut album Opening (2015) and its follow-up For We the Living (2017). Parabel is an instrumental piece where the producer’s greatest musical passions come together: the romanticism of piano, the emotion of a film soundtrack, the repetitive patterns and progressive structures of electronic music. It features a wide range of instruments - synthesizers, piano, drum machine, acoustic drums, percussion, organ, flutes, viola da gamba, wurlitzer, cello, glockenspiel - and special care was taken in the recording and production to respect the dynamics of each. The single comes with a video by Marc de Pierrefeu who is known for his animated collages using cinematographic works as well as his own images. Based on research and free associations, he pursues his search for resonance, where video meets music and poetry.
Tracklist:
Afterglow - Tim Angrave
2:16 - HVOB
Everything - Max Cooper
Aviaco - Clavis
Only - Icarus
My Baby Just Cares For Me (Honne Remix) - Nina Simone
We Know - Leaps
Jobi (Radio Edit) - Seb Wildblood
El Groove (Ivan Garci Remix) - Alvaro Hylander
Ombra - Chris Coco
Purity - Scabeni
Into Dust - Erica Grapes
Parabel - Superpoze
