The Zen of Lim

heady beats about event calendar

[limzen]

a healthy dose of HNNY

Stockholm-based producer Johan Cederberg, aka HNNY (pronounced "honey") has been making quiet waves ever since he hit the scene with his first release on Studio Barnhus with Kornel Kovacs in 2011.  The soft-spoken Swedish producer with an odd affinity for Winnie the Pooh quickly became one of my favorite new artists the moment I first heard his unique, bass-laden edit of Steve Reich's "Nagoya Marimba." HNNY masterfully blends deep house and disco basslines with a wide variety of sounds from around the world. He has a wide range, giving classic soul tracks the sunny disco treatment (see: "Always"), to adding some dark and heavy bass that makes a song with marimbas appropriate for a heady late night crowd ("Nagoya Marimba" edit). HNNY also has a skill for breathing new life into older pop tracks such as "No Scrubs" ("No") and "The Boy Is Mine" ("Boy") to create entirely different atmospheres than the originals.

HNNY’s "Surf Dude" is perfect example of how he can take a tiny four bar sample, and with enough dusty filtering and bass variations, create a jam that is perfect for driving the PCH in a 15-min looped daze.

Finally, “Solsidan” is one of my favorite jams of the moment. This dreamy track conjures up the feeling of a Scandinavian summer and makes me yearn for that endless sunlight. Could another producer blend an Icelandic pop song with an Elton John drumbeat any sweeter than HNNY?

Steve Reich - Nagoya Marimba (HNNY edit)  https://soundcloud.com/hnny/steve-reich-nagoya-marimba

HNNY - Always 

https://soundcloud.com/nile-express/hnny-always-12

HNNY - Boy

https://soundcloud.com/nile-express/hnny-boy

HNNY - No https://soundcloud.com/hnny/no HNNY - Surf Dude https://soundcloud.com/hnny/surf-dude HNNY - 9.15 https://soundcloud.com/hnny/915a Bonus: (a touch deeper...) HNNY - Solsidan (Avalon Emerson Remix) https://soundcloud.com/lphnyc/hnny-solsidan-avalon

[limzen]

Vintage Culture, Earstrip & Torha, Ellie Ka - Voices

I've literally been waiting the entire summer for this song to be released after hearing it on Vintage Culture's amazing  "House Waves" set. This song is too good O_O 

[limzen]

MCDE (Motor City Drum Ensemble) - Send A Prayer Pt.2

That warm, deep house sound that keeps you going around 3:30am.I love the samples in the background with the simplicity of this beat.

[limzen]

Jamiroquai - Too Young To Die (Felkon Remix)

I absolutely love this deep and moody remix of Jamiroquai's "Too Young To Die" by Felkon. I first heard this song on Moon Boot's stellar "Music To Stargaze To" mix (see what I did there?), and have been all about this track ever since. 

[limzen]

Midland - Before We Leave

Midland's string laden, blissed-out summer jam is one of my favorite tracks of the year. This beautiful track evokes a warm memory of the sun dipping below the horizon at Cafe Del Mar and the people cheering and clinking glasses in anticipation of the night to come. Just ordered the 12" from Red Eye Records in the UK, I can't wait to give it a spin!

[limzen]

Gold Panda - If U Knew (Reprise Long Live Take)

I had a moment of bliss during this song at Gold Panda's set at Outside Lands on Sunday. I was at the Panhandle stage almost unable to hear a single note until I maneuvered my way through the crowd, at which time he subtly transitioned to this light, soulful gem. This extended version of "Reprise" fit the mood perfectly as the sun went down and the fog rolled in, providing a cool cocoon for Gold Panda's heady sounds. 

[limzen]

Martin Waslewski & Ole Biege - Odsbodkins (Hanne & Lore Remix)

This track was released in June and I've been hearing it all over the place in sets I've attended and in various mixes over the past two months. The mysteriously masked Claptone dropped this one early in his set last night, and needless to say the crowd went nuts. Enjoy this delightfully funky track from the German Monaberry label.

[limzen]

De Hofnar - Zonnestraal (MÖWE Remix)

The Viennese duo MÖWE take this groovy piano and sax-laden track "Zonnestraal" and hit it with some fresh vocals and deep basslines. The original by De Hofnar seriously has the catchiest saxophone riffs I have heard since Mark Knight's "The Man With The Red Face." I can't get enough of this track, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

[limzen]

Mirror People - Kaleidoscope (Psychemagik Sunset Remix)

This remix is delightfully psychedelic. Psychemagik takes the funky, nu-disco original (link) and gives it a little dose of something that fractalizes and reshapes its vision. 

Throw on some kaleidoscopic lenses  and enjoy the journey from the discothèque to the desert.

[limzen]

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Psychemagik Crystal Vision Remix)

Been catching some amazing summer vibes off this brilliant Psychemagik remix. I can clearly imagine driving down the PCH, windows down blasting this tune under some warm SoCal sun right about now... Also worth checking out -- the Psychemagik Wilderness Mix below which has this jam as the closing track. 

[phantogram]

Black Out Days + Future Islands

[limzen]

Oliver $ - Saturday, July 19 @ Monarch

So the Berlin house aficionado from Play It Down is going to be in SF on Saturday night, and I'm trying to motivate myself to get after it by posting two of my favorite summer-ready Oliver $ jams. To go or not to go? Edit: This show is $Free.99 if you download the YPlan app and enter the code: FIRSTCITY00 ($30 cred) and you could also try mine MLIM4 ($10 credit). Hooray for free shows!

Oliver $ and Jimi Jules - Pushing On

Dansson & Marlon Hoffstadt - Shake That (Oliver $ Remix) i'm on my way to the liquor store...

[limzen]

I'm eagerly awaiting this "Piano Weapon" by Shadow Child and Doorly (August '14 release date)...can't wait to hear this one nice and loud on some top notch club speakers, or in high-quality with earbuds. This track will clearly be lighting up the dancefloors of Ibiza this summer.

[limzen]

Temples - Move With The Season (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation)

It's been a while since I've posted any new music, but I was inspired to write today after listening to a bunch of new songs that felt too good not to share. My writing is definitely rusty, so apologies in advanced if my musical descriptions don't make sense to you.

This first song is a warm, spaced-out remix of Temples' psychedelic "Move With The Season" by Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve. 

Under his moniker Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, Erol Alkan creates a lush and dreamy atmosphere from the original by bringing the vocals to the foreground, and adding harps and strings which harmonize perfectly with the bass guitar. This "re-animation" is dramatic and filled with magic, and as Alkan strips down the noise, draws out the breaks and reintroduces the original elements piece by piece, it is hard not to be caught up in his wizardry.

Sounds like: Tame Impala

[limzen]

Henry Krinkle - Stay (Justin Martin Remix) you should stay right now Justin Martin's remix of "Stay" is one of those songs that immediately captured my full attention upon first hearing it. I had heard this entrancing remix at various J. Martin shows over the past few months, but I wasn't able to find a copy of it anywhere until yesterday. Needless to say, I could barely contain my excitement when I saw that this massive tune was finally released. 

The last time I saw Justin Martin at 1015 Folsom, he teased out the crowd with his deeper and darker take on the progressive original track. The drifting and echoing vocals, along with the signature Dirtybird bassline on this remix are simply mesmerizing. Close your eyes and get lost in the moment.

[limzen]

Deep City Groove - Police Brutality (Dale Howard's Brutal Mix)

This last track for the day is simply massive. Dale Howard brings his usual hard hitting, in-your-face bass on this remix. I heard this song at a recent all-night Full Moon party on the beach, and you can imagine what kind of energy a track like this brings to a crowd at 3:30am.

Sounds like: Amine Edge and Dance

More Dale Howard here.

[limzen]

Tasting With Our Eyes: Why Bright Blue Chicken Looks So Strange

Green Eggs and Ham, anyone?

"Visual cues kind of have precedence and can set up expectations about what it is we think we're going to taste and what the flavor will be," he says. "And those expectations tend to be a very powerful determinant of what we actually experience."