Azari & III

Not got a whole lot of info on these guys but I am very much into the three tracks I have heard - all on an early 90s Chicago House tip. Think Jamie Principle, Blake Baxter etc. Their new EP entitled Hungry For The Power is out on I'm A Cliche records (Cosmo Vitelli's label). The title track with its sexy/camp vocals instantly grabbed me. A classic 808 beat, big funky bassline and some great synth work. The video is full of sex and violence so watch at your own risk!


Azari & III - Hungry For The Power

On the flipside is She's An Illusion and it's a real monster of a track. Dark smoke-filled warehouse business with a relentless one-note bassline, all manner of robo-voices and mad computer noises layered over a fat house beat. Get it at 20JFG. Reckless (With Your Love) was their previous single for Permanent Vacation records. It took a few listens to grow on me but now I'm hooked - a great driving house groove that works both in both vocal and instrumental versions.


Azari & III - Reckless (With Your Love)

YOU+ME=LOVE Compilation

I've uploaded a little mixtape I recently made for the special lady in my life. Songs about love and that, y'know? All the tracks have lyrics that make me think of her and/or us. She said it made her do a happy cry so it did the trick!

Tracklist:

Lenny Williams - Choosin' You (edit)
Eastside Connection - You're So Right For Me (edit)
Darcus - It's Got To Be Love (edit)
India - To Be In Love (album version)
Lee Garrett - You're My Everything
Marvin Gaye - I Wanna Be Where You Are
Breakwater - The One In My Dreams
Syreeta - I Love Every Little About You
Marvin Gaye - Come Live With Me Angel
Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It

That last MJ track never ceases to amaze me - so perfect.

Download: YOU+ME=LOVE.rar

Keenhouse - Civic Transit

I've been listening to Keenhouse's album Civic Transit quite a lot lately (thanks to my girlfriend for putting me on to it). It's a rather jolly affair of (mostly) vocal dance-pop with plenty of lovely synths. The tracks are quite varied in style but there seems to be a mixture of Synth-pop, French House and Electro-House influences, plus I reckon there's a bit of videogame music in there too. My favourite tracks are Starpower Outage, Revolution (which could be a Goldfrapp track) and The Rendezvous but I've not found myself skipping any of the others which is always a sign of a good album.





Fans of Valerie may recognise the album opener Deep In The Forest, which also kicked off the excellent Valerie & Friends compilation earlier this year. Keenhouse are also featured on another new compilation from Binary Records entitled LA Lights and their tracks are definitely the highlights of it. Non-album track Ari-es in particular has been one of my most listened to tracks recently.





Download Ari-es at Discodust
Civic Transit is £3.99 from Amazon
You can stream the album in full at last.fm

Hudson Mohawke - Butter

Hudmo's debut LP Butter dropped last month on Warp Records and it's hot! Sounding like not much else that's around at the moment, it's a crazy mixture of Wonky beats, US Hip-Hop and R&B plus more traditional Warp-style electronic experimentation, all covered in lush layers of dazzling neon synthesizers. You can read a short interview with him here where he talks about the album, some of his influences and his deal with Warp.

This track is blowing my mind right now:


Hudson Mohawke - FUSE

It can all get a bit messy and disjointed at times, but with so many ideas being thrown into the pot, even the weaker ones come and go pretty quickly. FUSE and Rising 5 are the stand out tracks for me at the moment, although there are some other great little songs amongst the madness. At only 20 years old, I think this guy has a big future ahead of him. Love that cover artwork too! Check out these free downloads from warp.net:

Hudson Mohawke - Rising 5.mp3
Hudson Mohawke - Butter Snips.mp3 (album sampler)