After hours grooving…
01. Alix Perez – Contradictions
D&B is very important to me and this is one of the best ever albums to surface. Its deep, powerful and beautiful at the same time. A perfect example of this is the track called ‘Contradictions’.
02. Icicle – Europa
Another D&B track on the same label as Alix Perez. The last track on his album captures your imagination and can leave you staring into a bliss when the track has rolled out for 2 or 3 minitutes!
03. Danoo & Peyo – Falling Rain
Evertyhing about this track has positive vibes, from the riffs to the almost whispering vocal – don’t let the bpm fool you, this is CHILL.
04.Nickee & Malk – Human Race
Warped? Twisted? No idea. Let your imagination run wild, these guys did – the point where the main riff sounds like a sampled dog barking…?
05. Chezidek – Call Pon Dem
I actually discovered this track playing GTA4. I spend the following 2 hours reading the audio credits in the small print and googling to find this piece. Regularly cycled on iTunes!
06. Alix Perez – Melanie
Another one from Alix Perez, everything this guy touches is gold, this guy was a massive inspiration when I started producing music, and when I feel I am drifting from my vision, a quick listen to this guys music sets things straight.
07. TEED – Garen (Calibre Remix)
This is another one of those tracks that proves music can be what you make it!
08. Elvis Crespo – Wow Flash
Probably an unexpected choice but this is a guilty pleasure, discoved when I was 16 and working with a Venizualen guy named Alex. He would play merengue, salsa music all day, this track would cycle on his media player once or twice a day, and it was the only one that grabbed my attention. I’m now a proud owner of a couple of his albums and regularly play them loud (on headphones of course) its real music, everything is real and loose – love it!
09. Hector El Father – Si Supieras
Another guilty pleasure – I Love reggaeton (cringe).
10. Seba – Painted Skies
The Production, the vibe, the layers. Everything about this track is chill.
11. Ivy Queen – La Vida Es Asi
Beautiful synths, drum beat, and vocal, this music opens my mind and reminds me there is more to music than programming beats on your computer.
Konflicted Soul – Una EP (HI-Phi Music – HiPhi8)
The excellent and broad output of Hi-Phi Music continues apace here with a great debut EP from newcomer Konflicted Soul.
Hailing from the Midlands in the UK, Konflicted Soul is a fast rising producer that here delivers three impressive cuts. Each one is a fresh and contemporary offering with a slightly different stylistic bent that showcases his range of skill Made using Logic, Arturia vintage synths, Lexicon reverbs and waves plugins, things kick off with ‘Feel Mine’, a nicely textured house cut with a killer, bubbling bassline, nice louche percussion and vocal samples that really set things off. It’s a floor filling anthem that will surely soundtrack many outdoor sessions this summer. Next up is ‘Hot Shit’, a more sprawling and loose-limbed affair with dark male vocals, rattling drums and another great bassline that rides up and down the scales slowly and invitingly. Humid and human, this is modern house at its best with some nicely emotive melodies that all add essential colour. Last but not least, ‘One & Other’ ups the ante with more silvery and slinky percussive patterns, more urgent drums and trippy synth patterns. Vocals feature once again as another piece of the overall picture, but it’s the rich one note bassline that really stands out. On the evidence of his first ever EP, Konflicted Soul is sure to be one of the breakout stars of the year.
