Wiley @ Fabric last night wasn't much of a show so much as it was random parts of new material + half of "Wearing My Rolex" ... To be fair it's probably hard to be motivated when your audience is a bunch a privileged white kids from the London suburbs. Sway released the video for their single Mercedes Benz a couple days ago. While the video is boring (boring enough to justify minimizing the window and play dolphin olympics while you listen), the song (or maybe just the 45 king sample) is pretty fun for the first two minutes.
Ah, Ke$ha. I told y'all a couple of months ago just how crucial her "Tik Tok" may or may not be for certain DJs. Unsurprisingly, the cut's tiptoed onto the Billboard Hot 100. And what do you do with mainstream hits? Make a long overdue video, of course. Now y'all can see just how much she looks like T. Swift in addition to sounding like my girl Uffie.
In other news, the October Grindin chart is up for your viewing pleasure. And though I forgot to vote this month (soil), this is one of my favorite Grindin charts to date. Both the "Heads Will Roll" remix and "King of Africa" are top tracks for me in darn near every situation. So versatile.
1. Florence + the Machine - "You Got the Love (The XX Remix)" 2. Gucci Vump - "Sha Shtil (L-Vis 1990 V.I.P. Remix)" 3. Joy Orbison - "J. Doe" 4. Drop the Lime - "Set me Free (Lil Silva Remix)" 5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)" 6. Darkstar - "Aidy's Girl Is a Computer (Kyle Hall Oats B So Good Mix)" 7. Douster - "King Of Africa" 8. DJ Mujava - "Please Mugwanti" 9. L-Vis 1990 - "Compass (Christian Martin Remix)" 10. Edu K - "Avec Le Bon Bons (Worthy Remix)" 11. Moderat "Seamonkey (Untold Remix)" 12. Cold Pumas - "Jela" 13. Oni Ayhun - "OAROO3 B" 14. Slagsmalsklubben - "Brutal Weapons" 15. Mosca - "Square One"
I spent a couple hours over at the Soul and Dance Exchange this past weekend and came up with this Ghostface single. I think the Yuksek remix was also on a Scion Sampler somewhere awhile back, either way hearing it again was good. Skip the utilitarian intro and start from the monster drop at 1:25.
About five days ago the official video for "Dirtee Cash" showed up on Vimeo ... and while it's pretty good, I think Dizzee's live performance on the BBC1 Live Lounge Tour overshadows the studio version of this single. I'm not sure if this track will follow in the string of number one songs Dizzee has dropped this year, but both versions are worth a listen. Compare and contrast.
Tired of listening to Warp? Me neither. But in the interest in keeping up with the work of one of the best bands out right now here's recent track which features a collaboration with the very French Zingone and the very Norwegian Nina Martine. The Bloody Beetroots have kept quiet on plans for an album (if they have any) in the meantime their remixes are popping up on video game soundtracks everywhere.
ALSO: Im in London for next nine weeks. Please contact me (pandatoes@gmail.com) soon if you are interested in booking me for a club/party.
A-Trak has been killing it on the decks for ages, but only (relatively) recently did the masses start hyping his productions. "aNYway" has been the talk of the town of late, but there's a new track in the game that's prepped to blow minds: dude's remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll." The suspenseful moments are wildly energizing and the instrumental moments are epic in a remarkably Top 40-friendly way. This is perfect for darn near any club. Huge.
EDIT: This is available to download pretty much everywhere on the internet. See: our friends at Discobelle, Disco Dust, etc.
While Greg's spent the last week toiling over mid-terms, I had a leisurely long weekend hiking through the bright foliage of New Hampshire and celebrating the massacre of millions of Native Americans. Actually, scratch that last part, we just went hiking.
While on this little adventure, my friend took it upon himself to fill my iTunes library up with Afro-Beat and old jazz singles. Among these was a new collaborative effort called The Very Best that blew my mind. The project joins Radioclit with Malawian drummer Esau Mwamwaya and fuses elements of traditional African music, indie, disco, and hip-hop. This track features Ezra Koenig (of Vampire Weekend) on vocals. He's singing in the Malawian national language, Chichewa, in case you were wondering.
They have an album dropping soon, but for now you can download a mixtape they did (with a helluvalotuv collaborators) off Fairtilizer for free.
In case you missed the latest installment of the djkicks mixtape series (which features Chromeo), here's a quick summary: old 80s dubs/vocals + that corny but sometimes endearing synthsound. If you like Chromeo or the early 80s give it a listen, otherwise they don't do much in the way of reaching beyond their crate of obscure eighties dubs. Among the millions of "Night by Night" remixes now in circulation, Skream's remix stands out. While I'm not a fan of Chromeo's love affair with the death-rattle of the disco era, this darker dubstep remix is more than decent (plus it's free).
One. Last. Contest. (Unless you publicity cats hook me up with some more goodies, in which case I'll gladly continue my selfless giving.) This time around we'll be offering y'all the opportunity to win a copy of David Guetta's new release One Love; we've got the album on both a C.D. and a U.S.B. card. If you're keen to snag either of the above prizes, email me (PandaToes@gmail.com) a link to your favorite D.J. mix of 2009 (only legal downloads, please - I'm not trying to steal mixes that were recorded for a proper release). This will in theory help me get through studying for midterms; a selfish selection process to counter my selfless giving.
Here's where I'd love to post up the "Sexy Chick" video, but it's not quite ready yet. Instead, feast your eyes on the latest output from perhaps my first crush in the blog game: Uffie. "Pop the Glock" may or may not have been one of my favorite songs three years ago, so I was unimaginably excited to see that an official video was finally dropping. Some of the graphics seem a wee bit overboard to me, but overall it's a heaps enjoyable three and a half minutes. I'd like to believe this means Uffie's first full-length will see the light of day soon, but I won't get my hopes up. (I remember getting a MySpace message from her many moons ago telling me that the L.P. would be out around Christmas '07 or '08 - I can't remember which - so I'm gonna play it safe and avoid another heartbreaking holiday season.) Still, fingers crossed.
Like the previous three contests, this one ends in one week.
Not yet tired of giveaways? Yea, neither are we. Which is why we here at Panda Toes are offering up a Calvin Harris vinyl to one lucky reader that does the following:
1. Make fly eye glasses. 2. Put them on your face. 3. Take a picture. 4. Send said picture to PandaToes@gmail.com
Needless to say, the most entertaining picture will be crowned winner, his or her crown being a beautiful new C.H. vinyl to either a) wear on his or her pretty little head like a traditional crown or b) spin on a record player. Whatever floats his or her boat.
And on an entirely unrelated note, be sure to check out the new video for Duck Sauce's "aNYway." In case you've been living under a rock for the past few months (which is probably true for any of y'all that haven't yet seen this here video), D.S. is Armand van Helden and A-Trak. The single drops on October 24th - be sure to pick it up.
A million "Pon de Floor" remixes later, Major Lazer releases the video for the second single off of Guns Don't kill People ... Lazers Do. As expected, the video features the illustrations of Ferry Gouw, who has done all the animation for the Major Lazer project so far. Skerrit Bwoy (the ladder-diving dagger star from the "Pon de Floor" video) also makes a cameo. Typical.
A couple years ago I tried to buy a copy of A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders and wound up with Consequence's lookalike mixtape "A Tribe Called Quence" (which was not so great). But Cons TV (coming later this month) might well serve as Consequence's break into mainstream music. The first single "Whatever U Want" features some other good music talent and a well-placed Jackson 5 sample. I'm not sure where Hype Williams was going with the pony tail swinging concept which is all over this video but regardless it's a good song.
After hearing Kartel's single "Romping Shop" every 30 minutes on Hot97 for the past month (albeit half of the lyrics are censored), I can say I never got sick of it. "Yuh Love" appeared over on Mad Decent a couple weeks back. The video (which resembles a low-budget endorsement for iMovie) isn't much, but the song is on another level. Although listening to Kartel sing about monogamy presents some contradictions ... the video supplement offers further questions such as: how is a picture of a Ferrari F50 (first seen in minute 1:13) relevant to this song?
Not into hats? Fear not, for the contesting continues. This time we're offering up a Deadmau5 C.D. (For Lack of a Better Name, which dropped on September 22nd and can be streamed in full at the dude's MySpace page) and poster. If you're keen to get your paws on the new album, hit me up at PandaToes@gmail.com with your favorite picture of the Deadmau5 mask and include a caption. Simple enough, yea? I'll use my flawless judgment to pick the most clever submission.
And in case you've been living under a rock for the past few years (or just don't really get down to electro house on the regular), be sure to check out the somewhat new video for "Ghosts N Stuff." In the words of one Deadmau5 publicist, "It features, uh, ghosts, and stuff. Cool!" Seems relevant. Peep:
Be sure to stop by his site to see when dude's hitting a town near you. EDIT: Contest ends in one week.
Some time ago we gave away a Panda Bear fitted. Now we're back with another lid from a group artist-gone-solo: YACHT (granted YACHT is no longer a solo gig, but you get the point). And like last time, it's a New Era fitted courtesy of our friends at Fader. If you're keen to parade around town in a fresh, free cap, send me an email (at PandaToes@gmail.com) with three or four sentences explaining why Jona Bechtolt (see: YACHT) is cooler than you. Then I'll decide who is the most worthy of such an accessory.
As far as videos go, be sure to peep the latest from one of my favorite rappers in the game: Gucci Mane. Dude finally did up a video for his hit "Wasted" (with Plies), and it's much like what you'd expect. Lots of drinking (often out of red Solo cups), plenty of rocking out (sometimes with guitars), and no shortage of pool party splashing. Love. This. Song.
Get excited - we've got three or so more contests lined up this week. EDIT: For U.S. residents only. Sorry, guys. EDIT 2: Contest ends in one week.
