Food & Tunes

It’s rare that we find ourselves loving everything about an Artist.

Let’s face it, when you work in the music industry it’s easy to find things to criticize or dislike - it’s simply, the nature of the beast. Now we could tell you we think KASTLE, aka Pittsburgh native (he now calls San Fran home) Barrett Richards, is the one of the most brilliant producers we’ve heard, leave you with a link to his Soundcloud and let you do the rest… but why not prove to you why we actually believe the aforementioned statement to be true?

Some may throw the term “genius” around too freely, but when Richards was able to teach himself the guitar and piano before reaching his teens, you can see that we’re talking about a special talent here. Years djing in the Northeast rave scene coupled with an obsession for r&b and hip-hop has given birth to some of the freshest sounding tunes we’ve ever heard. 

Take this remix of JMSN’s Alone. As haunting as it is chilling, you’d be forgiven for thinking Diplo, The Weeknd and Disclosure were behind the wheels. Yet, it sounds unmistakably Kastle. That is, filtered r&b vocals (“sampling is considered an art form”), teamed with devilishly crisp beats and lush, soaring strings. Press play above, it won’t be the last time you do it, trust us.  

This effort is only bettered by, and perhaps the most definitive Kastle original to date, Stay Forever.    

I just want you close, where you can stay forever.

Words can’t describe how beautiful this track is. 100BPM bass goodness + a mysterious half-time beat + syncopated synths = fucking brilliance. You can listen to the full Stay Forever EP, released on Kastle’s own, and recently formed Symbols imprint, below. Be sure to check out other hot producers on the label like Cosmic Revenge and UK duo Maribou State. 

Now that’s enough jibber-jabber out of us.

Do yourself a favour and get involved with Kastle.

If you’re not convinced, you probably need your ears checked. And perhaps a slap across the face. And a long-hard look in the mirror probably wouldn’t go astray either.  

Few things can beat that feeling you get when you listen to a song for the first time and instantly, it grabs you. Straight away you’re in a groove… your head and shoulders bouncing… your feet tapping… and then, before you can control yourself, you’re up, out of your chair, busting out. That’s how we felt when we heard “Up” for the first time - the debut single from the aptly named German duo Nod One’s Head (aka Lotte & Moritz). 

Plain and simple - Up is mesmerizing - we’d go far as to say it’s one of the freshest things we’ve heard this year, sitting somewhere between Disclosure and The Magician = pure fucking gold. Berlin is in the building people.

The duo’s first EP, ”She’s A Criminal”, will be released on July 1st.

Here’s a taste of what’s to come - and trust us when we say this, these guys are going to be big.

Happy Friday everyone.

We know that we haven’t done a Friday Fun in a while, so we’ve made sure that this one is an absolute cracker… let us introduce you to Harlem-based MC (seriously, what is in the water in NYC?) Azealia Banks. 

If you haven’t heard of her it’s alright, we forgive you. After all she’s very fresh - to the point where she’s only released one single, the booty-shakin’ “212”, which apart from showcasing one of this year’s ill-est basslines and some, shall we say, colourful lyricism (“Imma ruin you c*nt”), features a great cameo from Lunice in the video:

I guess that’s the thing with “hype” these days. It doesn’t take a huge body of work to have the industry spinning around your little finger (Lana Del Rey anyone?).

How much of a spin you ask?

Well, last month, NME, always the trendsetters, anointed her as the “Coolest Musician of 2011”. Read into this what you will - 2 band members from Kasabian were in the top 5, and last year’s winner was Laura Marling…

Adding to this, ‘212’ was just announced at #9 in the Pitchfork Top 100 Tracks of 2011, in the tidy company of M83, Bon Iver, Beyonce and an artist who Banks is already drawing strong comparisons to, Nicki Minaj.  The similarities are evident (killer smile, dirty talk, emphatic vocal shifts, sass, cheek, cartoon rage), but over time, what will be more interesting to see is whether Banks, like Minaj, chooses the pursuit of pop stardom over maintaining underground cred. We guess the $$$ will decide that! 

Either way, we hope she continues to mix it up, evidenced here with a sweet, sweet, sweet cover of Interpol’s “Slow Hands.” 

So if like us, you’re intrigued and want to know more, the question, like with many of these “buzz-acts”, is when is the album dropping? For now all we know is that master-producer Paul Epworth (Florence + the Machine, Adele, Friendly Fires, Bloc Party) is at the helm for a 2012 release, and that, in Banks’ works, it will be a mix of “rap-bitch shit” and “winter wonderland R&B that’s kind of like Aaliyah”.

Fuck yes to that.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) first popped up on F&T’s radar when we heard his tropical, Hawaiian re-take of Wolf Gang’s smash-hit, and one of our fave song’s of 2010, The King And All Of His Men, it was true bliss! Since then, TEED has been causing quite the storm in dance music circles, and that’s just not because he wears a dinosaur outfit when performing! As I’m sure you’re all very well aware, Household Goods, is pretty much one of the most insanely good pieces of pop music we’ve heard this year… the vocals, the epic-NESS of the breakdown… ahhh, makes us feel good all over. 

He’s recently released a very tasty follow-up, Trouble, which we think has quite the interesting video-clip! Oh and a pretty friggin’ awesome remix by another F&T-loved Artist, Jamie Jones. 

You can listen to all of this tracks here.

It’s Friday, it’s sunny, so put this on loud and fucking dance! 

When you close your eyes and listen to LA-based KISSES, you’re immediately taken to a special place - your family holiday spot… the crystal-clear ocean of a tropical paradise… or perhaps your first love / heartbreak. Either way, Kisses have that ability to move you with their music, or as band members Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson state: “Great pop music is about escape. Kisses is about entering another world.”

From the dreamy, Balearic beats of Bermuda, to the new wave gem People Can Do the Most Amazing Things and Catch Me If You Can-inspired and recently released single Bermuda, you can see why the likes of Pitchfork and RCRDLBL are raving about these guys as the saviours of the chill-wave scene, with frequent comparisons to the Whitest Boy Alive.  

Our personal favourite is the aptly-named album opener Kisses… it’s fun, it’s cheeky (“You find a couple of girls kissing me”), it’s romantic, it’s catchy as hell.

Lucky for us, Kisses are about to embark on their first Australian tour, hitting Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra next week.

Do yourself a favour and go to one of these shows. F&T guarantee you’ll love every minute of it… xxx

If you’re not already aware, Xaphoon Jones (Noah, the drummer/producer of Chiddy Bang) is going to be a mother freakin superstar one day… as AC Slater puts it, “in a few years, he’ll be bigger than Pharrell.” 

Dropping everything from electro mash-ups, dubstep bombs and frat-rap, Xaphoon is fast becoming one of F&T’s go-to men for all things fun and frantic, all at the tender age of, wait for it, 20! Apart from being a stand up chap, Xaphoon is a mixtape master, and has remixed everyone from Kanye, Rihanna, Big Boi and Tinie to Darwin Deez, The Knocks, Radiohead and Marvin Gaye… he’s even produced for dubstep royalty Nero.       

Friday Fun is back. Enjoy!

Xaphoon Jones - Mixtape Vol. 2

Chiddy Bang - When You’ve Got Music (feat. The Knocks)

Chiddy Bang - Peanut Butter & Swelly [Trailer] from illRoots.com on Vimeo.

Released last month, this Essential Mix is a 2-hour dosage of indie, electro-house, disco and pop, served up by one of the most exciting names in dance music today, Alex Metric. We warned you a few months back that Mr. Metric was in for as big year, and with mixes as skillful and enjoyable to the ears as this is, it’s clear to us that he has become a MUST-SEE Artist for 2011.

Download it here.

We can’t wait for his impending tour of Australia and NZ - full details will follow soon!

Remember, his album is set for an early July release on EMI.   

TRACKLISTING FOR ESSENTIAL MIX -

1. Spiritualized – Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
2. Phoenix – School’s Rule
3. Q – The Voice Of Q
4. Les Rythmes Digitales – About Funk
5. Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio – Its Time To Party Now
6. Sneaky Sound System – When We Were Young (Breakbot Remix)
7. Chaka Khan – We Can Work It Out
8. Colonel Abrams – Trapped
9. K.I.D. – Don’t Stop
10. We In Music – From Happiness To Loneliness (Les Rhythmes Digitales Remix)
11. The System – You Are In My System
12. Daft Punk – Short Circuit
13. Kylie Minogue – Slow (Chemical Brothers Remix)
14. David Bowie – Lets Dance
15. Lo Fidelity Allstars – Battleflag
16. The Prodigy – Diesel Power
17. Happy Mondays – Step On
18. Phoenix – Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)
19. Peter And The Magician – Twist
20. Cassian – Get High
21. The Human League – Never Let Me Go (Aeroplane Remix)
22. Gorillaz – Stylo (Alex Metric Remix)
23. Alex Metric & Steve Angello – Open Your Eyes (Style Of Eye Dub)
24. Russ Chimes – Tonic
25. His Majesty Andre – Clubs
26. Alex Metric & Theophilus London – All Night (Acapella)
27. Alan Braxe – Vertigo (Thomas Bangalter Virgo Mix)
28. Hot Streak – Body Work
29. ZZT – Zzafrika (Light Year Remix)
30. The Helmholtz Resonators – Gypsy (Kurtis Hardrive Remix)
31. Splittr – All Alone (Alex Metric Remix Dub)
32. BeatauCue – Behold
33. Ellie Goulding – Salt Skin (Alex Metric Remix Dub)
34. Alex Metric – Raveageddon
35. King Cosmic – Acid In My Soul
36. Chromeo – Hot Mess (Djedjotronic Remix 2)
37. Hurts – Better Than Love (Burns Remix)
38. Niki & The Dove – Mother Protect (Alex Metric Remix)
39. Infadels – Explain Nothing (Part 1)
40. Apparat – Ash
41. Underworld – Pearls Girl
42. TWR72 – Autumn
43. Marc Romboy vs. Stephan Bodzin – Triton
44. Nathan Fake – The Sky Was Pink (James Holden Remix)
45. UNKLE – In A State (Acapella)
46. Grincheux – Voix
47. Cock N Bull Kid – Asthma Attack (StopMakingMe Remix)
48. LCD Soundsystem – You Wanted A Hit
49. Katy Perry – Peacock (Yuksek Remix Dub)
50. New Order – Blue Monday
51. Alex Metric & Steve Angello – Open Your Eyes
52. Infadels – Black Sky
53. Toto – Hold The Line
54. The Beatles – The End

UK-based duo PUNKS JUMP UP have definitely been making waves in both the electro and indie circles in 2011, courtesy of their Blockhead EP, which was released on Kitsune in January. It’s driving electro goodness (reminds us a little of TURBO head-honcho Tiga). You can almost hear: “I know.. you gonna want me…” over the top of the instrumental.   

They also recently did a tasty DJ mix for the Fabric Live series… with significant electro, italo and balearic influences, it includes their new remix of In Flagranti, as well as the likes of Headman, The Glimmers, Xinobi and F&T fave, The c90s. 

Tracklist:

1. Vandroid – Master & Slave (Van She Tech remix) (??)
2. Mickey – Farfalle (Relish)
3. Tyson – Die On The Dance Floor (Headman remix) (Relish)
4. Sideview – New Toy (Version 2) (Faucet Music)
5. Jesse Saunders – On & On (alt version) (white)
6. Xinobi – Hawaii (Work It Baby)
7. In Flagranti – Hollow Discourse (Codek)
8. Glimmers – Killing Jokes (Gomma)
9. Giorgio Moroder – The Chase (Martin Brodin dub) (MB Disco)
10. Shadow Dancer – Cat Moves (Deadstock 33’s remix) (BoysNoize records)
11. In Flagranti – Worse For Wear (Punks Jump Up remix) (Codek)
12. Lavinia Claws – Washing Machine (C90’s remix) (Bang Gang)
13. Casco – Cybernetic Love (Punks Jump Up Percussive Love version)
14. Remute – Cowbell Mania (Remute)
15. Say Yes To Another Excess – Untitled Demo (Bang Gang)