TVSTRANGERTHINGS
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izzy's playlists!
dirt enthusiast
occasionally subtle
Kiana Khansmith
$LAYYYTER
Show & Tell
Jules of Nature
trying on a metaphor
roma★
Stranger Things
will byers stan first human second
tumblr dot com
DEAR READER
Monterey Bay Aquarium
if i look back, i am lost
Origami Around
sheepfilms
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
seen from Italy
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seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Singapore
seen from France
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Germany
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seen from Italy
seen from Netherlands
seen from Türkiye
seen from Türkiye
@betterthanguetta
Vedic mantra monster, with lovely cover art by Matt Sewell and beautifully packaged by Caroline True Records.
When life gets on top of me this helps to put things right, summoning the cosmic vibes of a youthful sojourn through India ✨
Like many of us, I went pretty deep on Croz after his recent passing. Twinkly eyed and truculent, he oft seemed to be painted as the difficult one from CSNY. Knowing egos and artists and can you even imagine that 60s cocaine? Its not hard to envisage those Laurel Canyon vibes.
This is a beautiful record. Deep, soulful, epitomising a moment yet oddly contemporary. Purple prose and cliches what can you say, have a listen. Put down your phone and go deep. There are some crazy priced luxury editions but you can pick up this 50th anniversary pressing for about £20.
Absolutely stunning x
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2021 Vinyl release of "If I Could Only Remember My Name" on Discogs.
This mix was a bit of a life changer for me.
I still recall the day I first watched it late 2000 on a buffering real player stream on my animation college computer, choppy video included.
We knew Kenny was the man from his esoteric KDJ 12s, enigmatic soliloquies amid layers of deep Marvin samples and crackling murk.
In a pre deephousepage, pre discogs, pre youtube, pre google whatever you need to know era, this was the first time most of us had seen him doing his thing; as cool as you'd hoped for, laying down a mix that still sounds like an education.
Gil Scott Heron opener, Umar Bin Hussan rapping over Theo, that Curtis track, the definitive William DeVaughn version, Detroit house into RnB album sides and back again.
Legend 🙌
As tricky as it is for me to write about @samanthawhates in any kind of non partisan way, her Turn EP with Ida Wenøe is as avant garde a record as I’ve heard all year.
In remote, respective isolation, Whates and Wenøe’s collaboration is far removed from either traditional Scottish or Danish folk.
“Inspired by the spaces of their separate worlds and their musical bond the outcome is of concrete and glass, grass and sky. Kites, caught in the breeze, static and tethered but always in flight.”
Adventurous, playful, sonically experimental, incorporating field recording, en plein air vocal takes and masterful, layered overdubs.
Innovatively reinterpreting the others’ favoured back catalogue tracks, advancing Whates’ joyful lockdown experimentalism of @hidything into boldly textured new production forms.
Ice cool acid folk to melt the steeliest of hearts.
I can’t wait for, or quite anticipate, whats to come in 2023 ✨
Todays update is a couple of earworms that seemed to have rarely left my brain this year.
Rheinzand by way of Scorpio Twins, who seemed to just roll in unheralded and fully realised, bumping out remixes like this.
About as ravey as I can take it these days, mid tempo, gleefully electronic, up for it but sludgey. Peak time dance music, in a fun way.
Its nu disco, its house, its got an epic Euro vibe, reminiscent of millennial San Francisco in its punchy crispness, but wholly its own thing: that little bit Balearic, little bit New Beat by way of Denmark thing, mined so beautifully by Music For Dreams.
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A postmodern anomaly and sign of the times that neither of these remixes has a 12” release.
Thats just how it goes now. You can probably get Maroon 5’s entire catalogue on 180gm vinyl, but not this type of dancefloor kryptonite 💥
DJ’s play Pioneers.
Occultations
Occultations, perihelions, wolf moons and comets; the cosmos felt close this winter.
For warm hearts and cool souls, an esoteric mix of jazz, house, italo, chuggy disco bits and a perfect Psychemagik tribute to Christine McVie ✨
Mixcloud
- For John
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1981 Vinyl release of "Walking On Thin Ice" on Discogs.
So much love for Ron Trent, could be “most collected artist.”
Is that a spotify category, artist you own the most things by? Not exactly catchy.
I should get a branding agency involved to write this stuff, get some brevity in here …
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From those bin shaking Prescription days, the soul searching Clairaudience vibes, amid the introspective noughties releases, and onwards to his contemporary realm of proto balearic post future new age, a spiritual heart beats.
Spiritual not in a gospel sampley, lets take this to church claps way - much as I love those moments - spiritual in the deeper, metronomic, older than the bible, innate wisdom of heavy universal frequencies.
I’m always interested in what Ron is doing, one ear on the dancefloor and one poised for deep time. Mindful of culture, history, the legacy set by his forebears and ancestors, yet always current. Still pushing, leading, relevant, important, now. The metamodern ideal of past awareness and forward thinking.
How many mid 90’s house 12’s referenced this kind of pseudo deepthink, and how many of them still carry this level of weight, or could you even listen to now, or even name?
Some selections: the much lauded, wide angled new album, a couple of bandcamp releases, a late entry for this BadBadNotGood remix ft. Laraaji, and the first of 3 NTS shows under his guise of WARM.
Playing Funk, Soul, Beats, Jazz Fusion. A sonic exploration of colorful textures, designed by Ron Trent. Sound bites, rhythm & sound, and me
We all need this warmth, in every way.
Big ups Ron Trent - music and power ✨
Before this tumblr took a pause, it had changed from a light hearted bloghouse nostalgia trawl into something more like an obituary page.
Its name, briefly funny but always a bit on the nose, didn’t feel sombre enough to befit the mounting roll call of passing legends with the esteem they deserved.
We are where we are.
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Tipping the hat to Pharoah Sanders today; cosmic jazz gateway drug, bandleader, bridge, from the sweetest to the busiest and every note in between and beyond.
Lots of people have written more learned things, so I just want to say he’s a huge one for me, love him. I think a lot of non jazzers did; oceans deep, overtly cosmic, but kinda easy on the ear too. Its clear why this period of spiritual jazz has had such a resurgence of late.
Obviously transcendent, important and beautiful, its nice sounding music for your common or garden non cognoscenti like me.
My selection here, Harvest Time is a nod to the Spotify “most minutes listened” category. I mean honestly, outside of big tech data scraping, who needs to know that information?
Those minutes sure aren’t converted into artists’ coffers 😉
As this one is at least 20 minutes long, and I’ve listened to it a bunch, it must be this cumulatively.
Rarely south of a grand on discogs, and never reissued, I picked up this canny edition from Alternative Fox.
8 bit pixel art tribute for the heads.
Rest in Power Pharoah ✨
My most listened to track must be this low slung balearic monster from Sean Johnston and co.
A sort of thematic expansion pack of last years’ Willow’s Song cover …
Sean Johnston has been DJ'ing since his formative years in the frozen North. Acid House Veteran, Techno Survivor, Hardway Bros, Beard Scient
Double the roster and ultra cosmic, poolside pikes via 80s folk horror, space helmets on, to some long forgotten hauntological future ✨
Rico Conning’s mix is the standout for me, somehow still available on 12” from Juno here …
Buy This Is Something at Juno Records. In stock now for same-day shipping.
So how does this work on spotify?
Top artist, top track, top minutes?
Top Artist, most listened to this year, is probably Psychemagik.
I need to admit I slept on psychemagik. Its good to admit when you’re wrong. A superpower really. I was, and often am.
When they emerged as a dj duo around the time I started this blog, I was mostly sick of nu disco, re edit culture, endless bootlegs and iffy represses, and I sadly, embarrassingly admit I lumped them in with that camp.
As I’ve fallen back in love with mixing records over the past couple of years, albeit now in my mid 40s and a lot less house focused, psychemagik are often the missing link for me.
Wether its through their own productions, canny edits, skyrager’s endless search for the nug, that generous spirit of sharing esoteric holy grails seems to pervade all.
Shimmering occult big ups ✨🙌🪐
Not sure its even house music any more.
ALFOS indebted, end of the worldy, disco chug; echoes of our contemporary Anthropocene malaise.
Its a thousand years in the future. Theres only a few of us left, and we're wearing space helmets, dancing at Pikes x
Mixcloud
Cannonball Adderly - Autumn Leaves
Such sweet playing from Miles on this. Such a mood. Its a beautiful record. Posted this as a tribute to Rudy Van Gelder. A vital component of 20th century recording passes on, leaving us his enormous contribution to the music we love. He leaves an unparalleled legacy. Rest in peace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/arts/music/rudy-van-gelder-audio-engineer-who-helped-define-sound-of-jazz-on-record-dies-at-91.html?_r=0
Furry Phreaks - Gonna Find a Way
Lovely Herbert remix of Charles Webster. As much as I admire his ideas and concepts I really love his old bangers. Can’t mess with early Herbert
https://www.discogs.com/Furry-Phreaks-Presence-Remixes/release/119692
Prince - Heroes
IN my incredibly sporadic posting on this blog this past year, I’ve neglected to mention the passing of David Bowie and Prince Rogers Nelson. What is there to say? As a huge fan of both at various times in my life, I was deeply fortunate to have seen them both live. Incredible performers, writers, artists. True legends both. Here is a heartbreaking Prince cover of Heroes recorded a few weeks before his untimely death. Rest in Peace.
Bobby Hutcherson - Slow Change
The late great Bobby Hutcherson passed away this week. I don’t know much about Bobby’s life. This is the only record of his I own, and its fantastic. Bobby sure could play those vibes! Rest in Peace Bobby.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/17/bobby-hutcherson-obituary
Tarheel Slim + Little Ann - Forever I’ll be Yours
I’ve just discovered Tarheel Slim.. so so good. A huge thanks to @samanthawhates for the intro to Little Ann. Beautiful beautiful stuff.