Samo Sound Boy - "Open"
Body High co-founder and LA producer Samo Sound Boy is set to drop a new EP, entitled Open/Divine on March 18th. "Open" continues the trend of Samo's more recent work, focusing on a more subdued, sensual vibe. The track also shows the progression towards a significantly more economical sound, placing melody and atmospherics at the forefront of his sonic aspirations. With artists like Jim-E Stack, Jerome LOL, and Floyd Campbell, the Body High camp continues to impress, coming into their own with a unique, and emotive aesthetic.




Maya Jane Coles - "Something In The Air" (Dark Sky Remix)
London production/dj trio Dark Sky offer a stunning rework of Maya Jane Coles' "Something In The Air" with ethereal vocal melodies, keeping the chilled, reflective vibe of the original intact. The track is available as a part of the Don't Put Me In Your Box four track EP released earlier this week via Hypercolour records.




Factory Floor - "How You Say" (Daniel Avery Remix)
The tracks of UK techno producer Daniel Avery have a certain murky, analog style that focus on slow-paced transitions and drawn out melodic sections. His latest remix of Factory Floor's "How You Say" is typically serene and a gorgeous nearly nine minute trip that balances dreamy atmospherics with darker undertones. Look for the physical release of the track on April 14th.

Samo Sound Boy & Floyd Campbell - "Give Up"
Los Angeles based label Body High will release their very first compilation on November 19th with tracks from Jerome LOL, Cedaa, Matpat, and this one from Samo Sound Boy and Floyd Campbell. With hard-hitting percussion and well executed vocals, the track breaks into a acidic groove towards the end, a sound which Samo has become known for over the past few years.



M.ono & Luvless - "Auckland Joggers"
This classy slice of piano house comes courtesy of Leipzig, Germany producers M.ono & Luvless and features a loose groove and mellow deep house vibe. M.ono has been closely followed since the release of his Easydance EP on Rose records that included the incredible "Holding Back California" which has been receiving heavy rotation from DJs like Move D and Moomin. The track appears in the Kolour LTD guestmix for label Delusions of Grandeur which is available for download.



Casino Times - "Heart Strings" 
A bit of an older track, but a stunner nonetheless, London duo Casino Times have received play from big names such Jamie xx and John Talabot and from the sound of "Heart Strings," their music will only continue to get more exposure. The track appeared on the WolfEP017 from Wolf Records released on 12" back in January and combines soulful sampling with gorgeous synths and smooth percussion.



Mix of the Week: John Talabot - DJ Kicks
The Barcelona producer/DJ received near unanimous critical acclaim for his 2012 LP fIN, which showed off a emotive, organic sound that stands out as truly unique even in the eclectic community of electronic music. It's only fitting then, that he is responsible for the latest installment of the DJ Kicks mix series. The 27 track mix features previous unreleased tracks from Talabot as well as contributions from frequent collaborator Pional and Axel Boman. Head over the Pitchfork Advance to stream the mix before its' official release on November 12th.

Samo Sound Boy - "Your Love"
Los Angeles based producer and Body High label co-founder Samo Sound Boy is releasing a new EP October 8th which includes, "Your Love," an energetic acid-house jam with warm synth textures and hard-hitting percussion. Including an atmospheric vocal sample, the track adds an intensity to soulful house that creates an intriguing, forward-looking take on the genre.



Phaeleh - "Make You Feel"
Bristol producer Matt Preston, better known as Phaeleh, recently dropped this mellowed 2-step beat that uses layer upon layer of vocal samples for both atmosphere and to melodically carry the track. Despite being laden with array of interesting sounds, the track avoids coming across as overcrowded and elegantly breaks at the two and a half minute mark to transition to an ambient, blissful outro.



The Juan Maclean - "Feel Like Movin"
Taken from his incredible Essential Mix for BBC radio 1, this piano-driven house cut from DFA affiliate Juan Maclean features vocals from ex-LCD Soundsystem keyboardist and longtime collaborator Nancy Whang. The pair also teamed up for the single "You Are My Destiny" earlier this year and "Feel Like Movin" is no exception to the singer's routine habit of making insanely catchy dance floor jams. The track appears on a split 12" single with label mates Shit Robot released earlier this week.

Thanks to MNM Presents, I had a pretty wild and awesome music fueled weekend. To start with, Brillz on Thursday night at Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar was a killer show. It was refreshing to see the dance floor at Duke's so packed throughout the entire night. Buzz Trillington and Shooter McNappin, from duo team SwaggleRock, opened for Brillz with a ghetto sexy set. With spikes lining the rim of his flat brim hat, Brillz transitioned smoothly from track to track.

"I dedicate this song to you four girls," he said as each of them twerked themselves into a frenzy in front of the DJ booth as he drops "Big Booty Bitches." 

A Duke's employee sneaked swiftly on stage with a roll of masking tape, to which someone behind the table of equipment then helped tape Brillz's laptop to the stand. In addition to the girls grinding and twerking on the speakers in front of the decks, the packed dance floor jumping up and down, and the crew and myself dancing on stage behind him, the laptop began to violently shake and flop. The masking tape worked as a perfect straight-jacket restraint for the crazed laptop.


I have two main reasons why I love going to a show on a Sunday night. First, it keeps me motivated to do things all day long instead of turning into a Lazy Sunday; I went on a cleaning frenzy, did every single bit of laundry, finished all of my work, rearranged furniture and ran errands yet was still amped enough to doll myself up and head downtown. Secondly, it makes Monday that much more exciting as I walk around doing my usual routine thinking about what happened the night before.

Sunday night, MNM Presents brought a great show to Soundlab. Surprisingly, I believe this was the first time I ever saw Rochester's Papi Chulo perform, and I was quite impressed. It was space groove and even for how early in the night it was, I was pleased to see that people were already dancing so early at a Sunday evening show. Following him was Samo Sound Boy; the visual projection and screen that were brought along for the "Magical Properties Tour" were highly appropriate for the name. A grid of colors projected on him and he was camouflaged with the background when suddenly the dimension changed and behind him was a dark silhouette followed by a gridded silhouette encompassed by a dark screen. It was entrancing. Even with relatively simple transitions between tracks, his set was very up and flawless.



To be completely honest I was most looking forward to Ryan Hemsworth's set. His track selection was totally on point. His performance was mostly trap vibes and the occasional slow jam (I laughed when Usher's "Let It Burn" came blasting through the speakers, but I'm also not going to lie. I was loving it.) The visual projections became even more intense as a cartoon sea took over the screen while little cartoon hands holding cartoon guns stuck themselves surrealistically out of the cresting waves.


Daedelus, the headlining act, followed. I was looking forward to this since I have never seen him perform before and after making the stupid decision of not going to see Yeasayer last year, I continue to hear through friends and my fellow buffaBLOGGERS how incredible the entire show was. However, I was not as totally blown away as I thought I would. Now don't get me wrong, I think that he played a helluva set and he definitely was giving off a lot of energy for the tiny basement venue. My major critiques were the difficulties with the sound; I'm not totally positive what was happening but something was off and the leveling was not as clear as it should have been which to be quite honest was distracting. Also, I was hoping to hear more of the romantic down tempo tunes that seemed to be his M.O.

All in all, shout out to MNM Presents for providing a damn good weekend for Buffalo. 

I have a feeling tonight is going to be a beautiful memory to add to the Soundlab collection. MNM Presents a top of the line bill of musicians: Daedelus, Ryan Hemsworth, and Samo Sound Boy. Opening the night will be Rochester's Papi Chulo.

Self-acclaimed "full time musician, part time Dandy," Los Angeles based Daedelus will be headlining the show tonight. A blend of romance and electronic, his music has an after-hours feel. It's the feeling of holding someone close and walking down rain covered streets with only the hazy street lights to glow a path, or that instantaneous feeling you get when you see the moon on a night when it is so close in the sky you feel like you could run after it and touch it. Then he can flip the switch and has some tracks that have a darker feel, and some that are the downward fall into the rabbit hole.




Be on time to the show to catch Ryan Hemsworth. Canadian DJ and producer, Hemworth puts out tracks that I wish I had back in high-school when we'd cruise around listening to mixtapes from Datpiff.com. It's well-crafted and lustrous trap. He cranks hip-hop and brings about a nodding vibe. In addition to being dear to my heart for putting out amazing music, Hemsworth is also a journalist.





Also based out of Los Angeles, Samo Sound Boy, has a very interesting sound. Upbeat and bouncy it's club music, but there are different characteristics that make it so much more unique than limiting it to be considered just "club." Alongside with Jerome LOL, Samo Sound Boy is the founder of Body High recording label. "It's one of the most influential labels in the U.S. right now...some of it's really soul, disco, future club music, and everything in between," BBC Radio 1 introduces their mix for Diplo and Friends.