Warp Records has a knack for pulling out great UK beatmakers. By slowly introducing them into the scene, they end up becoming another part of the sonic collage that the record label releases. Rustie, a recent addition to Warp and a Glasgow native, is about to drop his first full length on the label in the next month called Glass Swords. His style of UK bass melds the mechanism of Detroit techno with the boogie funk of the 80′s. Synths are abused and drum machines hammered into a precision, creating this sort of bombastic funky drum beat.

His first single All Nite is a perfect example of his craft. You can hear the dub plates, an 80′s booty bass line, a gratuitous synthesizer and Kanye’s chimpmunk-esque samples. This is an awesome blend of pop styles. It’s a track that should be turned way up as it builds into melding melodies. A bass line with a sick, flat low end flows against a pulsing synth melody that is just so sweet and gratifying. Add a techno break down and a sick melodic turn at the end and it is a real banger. To me, it’s something you wish a recently departed king of pop could really cut loose over. It’s so smooth and easy to enjoy that I feel guilty of loving something too fast. Don’t you love when that happens?

If this is any indicator, Rustie’s debut, Glass Swords, might be one of the most anticipated records of the year. I can’t wait.

Alec

Rarely do we get to talk about the buildings in music videos, and while these chatty facades may not be celebrated works of architecture, it is exciting to see these sturdy buildings up to the role of playing an urban-scaled lite brite. The buildings animated in this music video are all in Oslo, their synchronized patterns of light and dark achieved through computer trickery. Directed by Andre Chocron for the band Cold Mailman, the video pushes the transparency of modern structures into a kind of a performance. If you speak norsk, you will understand this interview with Andre, or you can just listen to it like I did, trying to glean what’s going on from facial expressions, gestures and the random english words.

Alex

Growing up away from the West Coast, I always associated public radio with classical music, Car Talk and Saturday mornings in the wood-clad mini-van with my family. Even today, the public radio station in my hometown broadcasts music programming composed completely of classical music. So it was a surprise to me and my ears when I first heard KCRW while living in L.A.  ”This is… public radio?” It was! Listening to Mornings Become Eclectic meant hearing new music and consistently discovering various artists and songs, all the while re-discovering public radio.

This year, NPR is producing 50 Great Voices: a series featuring well-known and niche-known artists with one thing in common: a panel of experts agreed they should be included in the series 50 Great Voices.  There are some familiar-sounding pipes in the shows aired thus far, as well as folks I’m not familiar with at all. Last week, the series featured one of my favorite voices: Bjork. And not only did I learn how to pronounce her name correctly, but also how Thom Yorke reacted the first time he heard her sing. (I haven’t cried listening to any of the voices unfamiliar to me  just yet, but the series is barely half-way over.)

Hear something you haven’t before.

Alex.

I haven’t done a #musicmonday in a while because I haven’t been listening to a whole lot of new stuff, but I thought I’d throw out a new one cuz’ I’ve got a couple things to speak about.

First up is the new album from The Books titled The Way Out which continues on their alleatoric journey, combining found sound samples and combining them with guitar and cello to make amazing music. I’ve listened to the album a few times so far and though they may not be striking brand new ground it’s still an amazing album.

After that I wanted to point out how amazing Fischerspooner’s first album #1 was. I hadn’t listened to it in a while, like 5 years, so I thought I’d put it on and sure enough it was quite the gem. I used to drive around my hometown of Roseville listening to it non-stop and I will always think of that, but honestly the album still stands up as a classic. If you haven’t heard it recently give it another listen for old times sake.

As usual feel free to suggest new music and links are extra appreciated.

Bobby

This week’s #musicmonday looks quite a lot like last week’s but with a few minor changes in position. What I thought was kind of interesting was the sheer amount of music I listened to. By adding just the top 8 bands I listened to you get 446 songs. If we assume that an average album has 12 songs on it that means I listened to roughly 37 albums in a week, and that’s not including anything that didn’t make it into the top 8. It actually kind of surprises me to see that a person only listened to like 20 songs in a week, I think I’d go crazy. I have a need to listen to music constantly, whether I’m writing this blog post or I’m traveling on the bus.

I mentioned Seabear last week and I need to mention them again this week, you must check out their new album We Built a Fire. It’s a beautiful record with perfect vocals and both upbeat songs and mellow melodies. After that was Ratatat and their new album LP4 which comes out next Tuesday. I’ve talked to a few people about the album and while it might not be anything new and groundbreaking for the guys it’s still an amazing album. They’ve really continued to sort of explore this niche they’ve carved out for themselves and it’s never sounded better.

Be sure to check out the rest of these artists as well if you’re looking for new music, it’s a pretty diverse week. And if you’d like to add me on Last.fm you can click here.

Bobby

I haven’t done a #musicmonday post in a while, I feel like I hadn’t been listening to anything really new and exciting lately. But that’s all changed and now I have all kinds of rad tunes to share.

First up is Ratatat and their upcoming album LP4 which comes out June 8th. I wouldn’t say this album is a vast departure from any of their others but there’s still something new and fresh about it. The production sounds crisper, they’ve introduced strings in some songs but it’s still the Ratatat you’ve grown to love. Then there’s Smog, who’s A River Ain’t Too Much To Love album was playing for a good chunk of time. I’d highly suggest listening to I Feel Like The Mother of the World if you’re curious.

As I posted last night I listened to the new Catacombkid album Deep Sleep quite a bit. Like I said it’s great to listen to while you work, plus it’s free, so you can’t beat that. After that came Avi Buffalo, which yes, I’m still listening to. I can’t get over this album, it’s struck me so perfectly. When I don’t know what to listen to lately, this is the first thing that goes on. Then there’s Seabear, who I also just posted about, and their new one We Built A Fire. I had been meaning to get this album for a while and I randomly remembered it was out, so I immediately snagged it. So far I love it, though I’m trying not to play it out. There’s something about the lead singers voice that I totally love.

Rounding things out are the new albums from Flying Lotus, Born Ruffians and my old standby Deerhunter. Both the Flying Lotus and Born Ruffians albums are pretty good, but they’re still growing on me, I haven’t been totally enamored yet.

If you’re on Last.fm feel free to add me by clicking here.

Bobby

Last week was a daaammmmn good week for music, lots of old favorites have started to release new albums and they’re all sounding really amazing. First up is Beach Fossils and their new full length, self-titled album. I was a huge fan of the few song I had originally heard so I was stoked that he had a new album out. So far it’s really chill and I’m excited to listen to it more.

After that was Mr. Bert Jansch who I suddenly got a kick to listen to the other day, followed by Broken Social Scene and their new album Forgiveness Rock Record. Then we had LCD Soundsystem and his new album This is Happening and so far I’m really digging it. I hear a lot of people saying it’s perfect but so far I’d say that Sound of Silver is better.

Following that up is Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, who’s on this week’s Mixcast, Ra Ra Riot, who I’m a bit late to the game on, Rufus Wainwright and his new album, and finishing up with the new Crystal Castles album which is way too noisy for my taste.

Bobby

I feel like I’ve gotten a good crop of music lately, there are definitely some good things to check out.

Like I said last week, the new Rufus Wainwright album is an amazing step forward for him, just a piano and his voice. After that was the new Dr. Dog album Shame, Shame, which I wrote a bit about in the previous post. If you like their previous albums you’re going to love this new one. Yesterday ended up being a rainy, crappy day, so I busted out The Clientele who are always perfect for that kind of weather. Following them up was Bonobo who’s new album Black Sands continue to get me in the working mood.

Starting out the next chunk was Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and his/their new album Before Today, and it’s a totally bizarre but awesome album that’s totally starting to grow on me. Think drugs and rock music. The last album I kinda want to talk about is this Wu Tang vs. The Beatles album. I didn’t really think it was all that great on first listen but after another solid listening to it’s certainly proving to be quite a masterpiece. Don’t expect to find the album in any traditional ways though, you gotta’ know how to search the Googlez.

As usual feel free to add me on Last.fm by clicking here.

Bobby

I was listening to some really fun things last week, lots of new gems that I think you’ll enjoy.

First up was Rufus Wainwright and his new album All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu. The album came out a couple of weeks ago but I honestly came across it randomly, not knowing it was in the works. This time around Mr. Wainwright has stripped away the theatrics of his last album for a minimal approach, pretty much just him and a piano. The effect is marvelous and this honestly could be one of his very best albums. A lot of the lyrics are centered around his family, which I’m guessing was sparked by his mothers fight with cancer and her passing in January. There’s no sass, no ego, just a deeply personal record which is sad and beautiful.

After that is probably the counterpoint to the Rufus, it’s a wonderful lady named Zee Avi. Zee is a Malaysian singer who released a self-titled album last year and it’s just about the cutest and cheeriest album I’ve heard in a long time. She basically became famous through YouTube, getting signed by a label that’s partly owned by Jack Johnson. Her style is kind of reminiscent of Feist or Regina Spektor and I would add that’s she’s just as talented. I can’t recommend this album more highly, it’s a gem.

Then there was Bonobo, who I read about over on ISO50. Real name Simon Green, Bonobo is a DJ and electronic musician who’s been making these kind of ambient trip hop albums for about 10 years now. I picked up his most recent release Black Sands and I have to say I’m totally impressed with it. The first few songs on the album sound like a hip-hop-esque soundtrack to a Final Fantasy game. If you need some epic sounding music to get some work accomplished this is my suggestion.

As usual feel free to add me on Last.fm by clicking here.

Bobby

Better late than never on today’s #musicmonday post but I’ve got a few fun things I thought I’d share with you this week. A lot of these bands are also on Kitsune Noir Mixcast No.030, so if you haven’t checked that out yet you might wanna’.

First up is She & Him and their new album Volume Two, which is quite a worthy follow up to Volume One. It seems like they were testing the water with the first album and this time around they decided to really go for it. M. Ward’s production particularly shines on this one, with lots of glowing strings and Zooey’s voice melting your heart.

Bill Callahan came next, and for some reason I’ve just been listening the hell out of him lately. Rather random, but his newest album Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle is particularly beautiful, even better than Woke On A Whaleheart though I’m not experienced enough to say if it matches his earlier records with Smog.

Coming in fifth is The Avalanches and their seminal (isn’t that such a cliché word to use while describing a record?) album Since I Left You. It’s mind-boggling to think that record was released 10 years ago, and that they still have yet to release another proper album. Wikipedia is telling me that they may be releasing a new record in October, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.

Finishing things off is Neil Halstead, the lead singer of Mojave 3. Yet again according to Wikipedia Mojave 3 is simply on hiatus and they’ll be releasing another album in the future, but it’s been 4 years since their last album Puzzles Like You, a gem of an album if you ask me. Thankfully Neil has taken it upon himself to continue releasing albums on his own. I’ve been listening to Oh! Mighty Engine which was released back in 2008, but is still nice to listen to.

As usual feel free to add me on Last.fm by clicking here.

Bobby