MIT ist aus Deutschland

July 31st, 2008 by Pete

Did I get that right?

MIT! No, not the Mass. Institute of Technology or our favorite Mormon former Mass. governor (*cough* *wheeze*), but a trio of electro-heads from Cologne, Germany (my ancestral homeland, by the way).

I don’t listen to a whole lot from the realm of dance/trance/electronic/techno (besides Groove Salad when I’m reading), but I do enjoy it when I hear it.

Something about these “Rauch” versions appealed to me when they hit my inbox. I like the vibe. Especially the Luke Abbott remix.

Ich hoffe es gefällt euch (courtesy of Google Translate, I hope I ‘m not saying “I wear a crotchless leopard skin thong.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

MIT - Rauch (mp3)

Rauch (Luke Abbott Remix) [mp3]

Rauch (Coma Remix) [mp3]

MIT’s Official Site | MySpace

→ BUY MIT’s debut album, Coda.

Posted in Electronic | No Comments »

Bringing Quirky Back: Alan Wilkis

May 19th, 2008 by Michael

Falling on the right side of fine line between contrived and convincing, Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Alan Wilkis brings an indie sensibility to the electro-pop sound of the 80’s with a huge dollop of soul on his solo debut Babies Dream Big. From ABBA to Zappa the entire lexicon of pop is well represented and feels so, so good. Among the 10 cuts you’d be hard pressed to find a moment that is not crafted with the utmost respect for it’s influences which range from the Stevie Wonder-esque funk of “It’s Been Great” to the 50’s Motown of the tender “I Wanna Know” with nods to Prince, ELO and Nintendo along the way. This is a must-have for all fans of all things 80’s. Don’t just take my word for it, check out my favorite track “It’s Been Great” below and hop aboard yourself.

Alan Wilkis – It’s Been Great (MP3)

Buy Babies Dream Big: CDBaby | iTunes

Links: on Last.fm | on MySpace

Posted in Electronic, Funk, Indie, R&B, Soul | 2 Comments »

Hot Stuff: Santogold

May 3rd, 2008 by Gonzo

A few months ago I caught some buzz on Santogold as someone to check out. At the time, her record wasn’t out, and I simply forgot about it. This week I found a slip of paper (amongst many) on my desk that said simply ‘Santogold.’ Coincidentally, her album dropped in the US this week.
This might be my pick for 2008 so far.

A knee jerk reaction would be to compare her to M.I.A. However, that comparison is unfair to both parties. Sure, there might be some stylistic similarities in some of Santogold’s tracks, but she’s hardly “this year’s M.I.A.” Rather, Santogold is straddling the fence between indie rock and hip-hop/dance. The current single, “L.E.S. Artistes,” is very much in the rock idiom. Check out the video (she also performed this tune on Conan recently):

Hot track!

Other parts of the album are more in a hip hop/dance vein, and are executed equally well. For example:

Santogold - You’ll Find a Way (mp3)

Give the album a spin. This along with the new Roots and Jamie Lidell albums are basically all I’ve been listening to all week. Three hot releases in one week – score!

Buy:

Santogold (MySpace)

Posted in Electronic, Hip Hop, Indie, Rock, Video | 1 Comment »

Blind, Sexy Dancers, Peaches and Lap Lap

March 12th, 2008 by Pete

I saw the Blind Boys of Alabama open for Tom Petty many years back. I wish I was at the Knitting Factory in LA a few nights ago to catch the purple one jumping on stage to jam with them on “I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord”.

So a few years ago, British electronic duo 7 Hurtz hooked up with Bitch Lap Lap and Peaches for a version of Prince’s “Sexy Dancer”. Bitch Lap Lap? That’s indie queen Leslie Feist. I guess she used to lurk on stage at Peaches shows back in the day and called herself Bitch Lap Lap (they lived together in Toronto for a spell). I did not know that until tonight. You see, I was doing some exhaustive research trying to figure out who was acting out the Brenda part to Peaches’ Apollonia in the song (the banter mimics an inter-song segue on the Apollonia 6 album. Pre-”Ooo She She Wa Wa” to be exact. Yes, I am a 37 year old married father of two, and I know that.). I searched 7 Hurtz’s MySpace page and the only picture of a female I could find was this one…

After another minute of research, I discovered that the mystery voice was Feist. I hope you don’t mind, though, that I intend to picture the young lady above when listening to this version. In fact, I’ll picture her in both roles…. as twins. Antennaed twins.

The song appears on an album of Prince covers called ‘Controversy: A Tribute to Prince‘. It’s got some interesting versions from some artists I’d never heard of (except for D’Angelo, who does “She’s Always in My Hair”): Blue States, Stina Nordenstam, Kode Nine and Space Ape, to name a few. A reggae version of “Girls & Boys”? This album’s got it.

So give it a listen. Picture the antennaed twins, and go with them to Prince’s house.

7 Hurtz w/ Peaches & Bitch Lap Lap - Sexy Dancer (mp3)

Buy: Controversy: A Tribute to Prince (UK Amazon)

Links: Peaches.com | 7 Hurtz | Feist

Posted in Electronic, Prince | 2 Comments »

Into the Dark

February 6th, 2008 by Michael

I realize that I’m about a week or two behind the curve of the blogosphere in gushing over the new Hot Chip record. Much like their last record I needed to listen to it a couple of times before forming my opinion. It’s not a bad thing, but I find that with many of these ‘hyped’ acts there is not much to sustain the hysteria past the initial listen. That aside, Made in the Dark merits more than the casual listen and is clearly deserving of every bit of hype. Running the gamut from full-on electronica to the soul bearing solo piano ballad, the record delivers on many levels. And I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that the track “Wrestlers” will end up on more than a few Valentine’s Day mix tapes. Check it out and let us know what quirky tune you’ll be singing to your Valentine.

Hot Chip – Wrestlers (MP3)

You can also check out the entire album at Last.fm.

Buy Made in the Dark: Amazon | iTunes

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

Posted in Electronic, Indie | 2 Comments »

Kala Good

August 31st, 2007 by Pete

M.I.A.

I respectfully defer to Wayne when I say: “Schwingg!”

Her follow up to her very successful debut, Arular, was released a couple weeks ago. It’s called Kala, and I have to say, I’m enjoying it even more than her first. I love cool sounds. This album has ‘em. She had originally planned to get in the studio with Timbaland for this album, but problems with her visa blocked her for a few months (he did end up producing one of the tracks: “Come Around”.

So, she took the label’s money and did some globe trotting to pull in some tasty sounds. One of my favorites is her collaboration with Australian aborigine hip-hop group Wilcannia Mob, who are barely in their teens (if even that). That one’s called “Mango Pickle Down River”, and features a wicked didgeridoo.

She’s also cool enough to incorporate the Clash into a song. “Straight to Hell” sets the tone on the Diplo-produced “Paper Planes”.

Here’s the album opener. “M.I.A.’s coming back with Power Power!” Crank it up and enjoy. Great album… tasty beats, bangs, and zooms. And she’s hot to boot.

I’ll be checking her out live in two weeks at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Who’s in?

M.I.A. - Bamboo Banger (mp3)

Buy: Kala (Amazon) |

Links: Her Seizure-Inducing Official Site | MySpace

Posted in Electronic, Hip Hop | 3 Comments »

Ickmusic Live: The Human League, 1980

August 18th, 2007 by Pete

Dropping back into the early new wave scene, we go to a June 1980 show featuring the original lineup of the Human League. The founding members were Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, and Philip Adrian Wright (who ran films and slide shows onstage, but was still credited as a full band member). Oakey remains today as the only original member of the still functioning Human League. Ware and Marsh left the group in late 1980 and went on to form Heaven 17.

I’m no aficionado of science fiction or video games, but the name Human League comes from the game Starforce: Alpha Centauri, one of the first sci-fi games.

So the sound quality of this show is not superb, in fact some would argue that it’s shitty, but I still like to listen to shows like this as sort of a historical document - a piece of music history. So Human Leaguers - behold!

The Human League
June 10th, 1980
VPRO Radio, Amsterdam

Intro
Dreams Of Leaving
Almost Medieval
A Crow and a Baby
Perfect Day
Marianne
Empire State Human
Rock ‘N Roll

Check the Human League out on .

MORE ELECTRO GOODNESS - As an early electronic music bonus, Radio Free Wohlman has an entire podcast “transmission” dedicated to the Kraftwerk family tree. Check the post out here. An hour full of Kraftwerk history. Well worth your while, friends.

Posted in Electronic | 1 Comment »

M.I.A.

August 8th, 2007 by Pete

The Sri Lankan beauty’s new video for “Jimmy” has Ickmusic central breaking out in a hot Bollywood sweat! Zeowie!

M.I.A.’s Official Site (if you’re prone to seizures, do not visit)

Posted in Electronic | 1 Comment »

The Sleepy Jackson

January 18th, 2007 by Pete

Luke Steele. If that isn’t a name destined for show biz, I don’t know what is. Luke is the main man in The Sleepy Jackson from Perth, Australia, one of the most isolated big cities on God’s green earth (The most, maybe?). He’s a man of many instruments influenced by George Harrison, Walt Disney, and Woody Guthrie. Since ‘99, he has released two full albums, 2006’s Personality (One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird), and 2003’s Lovers, which this song comes from.

The Sleepy Jackson: Rain Falls for Wind (mp3) - from Lovers.

Here’s The Sleepy Jackson Official Site | MySpace

Site Note: So I just added this feature that allows people to see a preview of a web site just by hovering your mouse over a link. Pretty cool in my opinion. I showed my buddy Jim at work, and he looked at me like I was crazy, and said, “Dude, uh, Safari 2.0?!!”. I guess Safari on Macintosh has this as an option in their browser. Mac snob.

But anyways, I think it’s cool. What do you think? Your results will determine whether it stays or goes. Does it annoy the crap out of you? Or are you okay with it? Do tell. No comments mean you indeed do not give 2 shits either way, and I’m OK with that.

Posted in Electronic, Pop | 5 Comments »

Enter the Mowo

December 26th, 2006 by Pete

Into the “jazz drum & bass” realm we go. Mocean Worker is the recording alias of producer Adam Dorn. He’s the son of well known Atlantic Records producer Joel Dorn, who has produced everyone from Coltrane and Mingus to Roberta Flack and the Allman Brothers.

Adam (or Mowo, his self-dubbed nickname) has a pretty impressive Celebrity Playlist on iTunes. Of his top 10 tracks, he busts out Prince’s “Girls & Boys”, “Early in the Morning” by the Gap Band, Sly & the Family Stone, early Van Halen, and D’Angelo. I’m liking his influences.

So this Mowo track caught my ear a few weeks back on - you guessed it - Sirius, and here it is. Laid back, jazzy, funky vibe. Me like.

Mocean Worker: Salted Fatback (mp3) - from Enter the Mowo! (2004), $14.99 here on Amazon, but $9.99 on iTunes.

Mocean Worker’s Official Site | MySpace

Posted in Electronic, Jazz | No Comments »