Bodhi - "Entropy"
UK production duo Bodhi blend elements of garage, house and bass music in their tracks that often results in a smoldering, soulful sound. Their latest effort, "Entropy," is no exception as a sultry vocal sample is introduced before a deep bass line and sprightly drums carry the infectious tune. Look for a new three track EP from the pair out February 24th via Ten Thousand Yen. Listen/download below.



Lokiboi - "Paumes"
Moscow born producer Lokiboi recently shared this track as a free download upon reaching 3,000 Facebook followers. The bass heavy tune features imaginative synths, hard-hitting drums and packs an incredible amount of energy over just more than four minutes, with a murky atmosphere underlying the unrelenting beat. Download the track below.



Grimes - "Vanessa" (Buzz Trillington OC Mixtape Exclusive Remix)
Local artist Buzz Trillington debuted this ethereal remix of Grimes' "Vanessa" on his remarkable new mixtape for Buffalo streetwear company Only Comrades. Claire Boucher's airy vocals are backed by masterful drum patterns and near subterranean bass that deserves much more than a laptop speaker listen. The style of production has been fittingly referred to as "chill trap" and provides an intriguing juxtaposition of art-pop atmospheres with rhythms and bass influenced by hip hop that is hard to deny as one of the more interesting hybrids to emerge from club music in recent years.



Rain Dog - "Regolith"
London artist Samuel Evans, better known as Rain Dog, is set to release a new LP entitled Two Words on project:mooncircle on January 14th and has shared a new track from the record. "Regolith" boasts a moody, ambient vibe with a slow pace and vocals that mirror the song's reflective nature. Using interesting piano tones and percussion textures, the emotional track shows flashes of brilliance that hopefully leads to a breakout effort from the producer.

This week's selection suggests a definite shift in mood from the bright and sunny music I was posting during the summer. This brings me to the connection between our musical choices and something as banal as the weather. I often come back to how the weather can shape my desire to listen to certain songs and seek out certain styles and sounds. This tendency, which I imagine is a common on, points to something unique about music in comparison to other forms of expression and something especially unique about music in the 21st Century. When technology has made it so accessible and pervasive, we really can take music anywhere and that definitely changes how we listen to music and what we listen to. Having, in a relative sense, the ability to completely dictate when and how we listen to music as we go about our daily lives, we use it to color our experiences, adding this element that becomes integral to how we  remember certain times and places. As such, our tastes can be equally shaped by what is going on around us, the weather being an obvious example. With the relative ability to choose what we listen to, we are often more conscious of matching our mood and the outside world to our choices. This is a rather long winded way to justify myself for picking slightly more gloomy tracks this week. Enjoy!

Myths - "The Horizon (Grimes and Majical Cloudz Remix):" Currently touring together, Grimes contributed vocals to this remix of Myths' "The Horizon." The result is stripped down and smooth with Grimes' vocals drifting through and winding around the dreamy melody.


Black Moth Super Rainbow- "Gangs in the Garden:" A complete 180 from the Grimes/Myths track, Black Moth Super Rainbow have released another single in preparation for their forthcoming album. "Gangs in the Garden" is a short burst with a driving groove. While sounding decidedly less ethereal than older Black Moth Super Rainbow, this song still features the familiar heavily treated vocals from previous albums, now in response to a more abrasive computer voice.


Girls Names - "The New Life:" A gloomy track featuring downtrodden vocals over jangling guitar and ominous synth tones that swirl in and out intermittently,  Girls Names have provided a perfect track for gloomy autumn afternoons. The song takes a surprising turn at the end, switching to a long instrumental and atmospheric coda where dissonant guitar feedback replaces the earlier vocals.


Foxygen - "Shuggie:" The constantly changing song alternates between melancholy and swaggering, finally ending with a coda that seems to drunkenly march off into the end. Jagjaguwar will put out Foxygen's newest album in early 2013.


Mac DeMarco- "Ode to Viceroy:" Mac DeMarco once again heavily channels the bands of Postcard Records (Scottish post-punk from the early 80's) on his latest release. "Ode to Viceroy" is a down-tempo song driven by jangly guitar. As I noted, this track is heavily indebted to acts like Orange Juice, Josef K, and Aztec Camera; however, DeMarco uses his influences well and the song manages to not sound derivative.