Essential tracks of 2012 so far

Posted by Althustler on March 10th, 2012 • No comments
sound • Tags: afro house, dancehall, house, soca, top 10, uk garage

We haven’t been posting new stuff in the blog for months. This one is just a quick catch-up post to name some new tunes that have been rocking my world this year so far.

DJ JESUS – YES COME ON

DJ Q – BRANDY & COKE

MOWGLI & AMBER JOLENE – BACK IN THE DAY

ROYAL-T – COOL DOWN

WILEY – HOVER BOARD

KABELO & PROFESSOR – AMAPANTSULA AJABULILE

POPCAAN – PARTY SHOT

MACHEL MONTANO – VIBES CYAH DONE

DJEFF AFROZILA & GARI SINEDIMA – PILUKA

ELTONNICK & NAAKMUSIQ – NDIYINDODA

Yes, sure, some of these tracks have been around for a longer time already but got most attention this year (music videos, official releases, etc.).

Love My London Remixes

Posted by Althustler on December 25th, 2011 • No comments
sound • Tags: house, london, neo soul

Soneni & The Soul are giving us a Christmas gift in the form of a free EP, Love My London. It comes with new remixes from Carnao Beats, Smoove Kriminal and KG. Go get ‘em now!

Althustler – End of the year mix

Posted by Althustler on December 22nd, 2011 • No comments
sound • Tags: afro house, house, mixtape, soulful house

end of the year mix by Althustler

Here’s a mix I did at home in Helsinki, it’s a selection of some house tracks I’ve enjoyed listening to this year. 2011 was the year I got deeper into house music, thanks to UK FUNKY, the gateway drug. I’m still loving soca, funk carioca, grime and lots of other stuff, but this mix is all about soulful, afro, vocal house. Looking forward to play more stuff like this in 2012!

The mix includes stuff from:

Black Motion, Sara Tavares, Djeff, Filipe Narciso, The MuthaFunkaz, Karizma, Jose Carretas, Mi Casa, Imaani, The Layabouts, DJ Mbuso, Champion, Ruby Lee Ryder, DJ Trizzy, Lisa Show, Miguel Migs, Dennis Ferrer, Black Coffee, Euphonik, Shota, Leroy Styles, DJ Gregory, Rebecca Knight, Roska

Photo: elbeewa

Weekly top 10 (October 26)

Posted by Althustler on October 26th, 2011 • No comments
sound • Tags: grime, house, top 10, uk funky

Tunes of the week!

Champion – Rainforest (forthcoming)
Champion – Selecta (forthcoming)
Champion – War Dance (forthcoming)
Carl Cox – Nexus (Foamo Remix) (forthcoming)
Black Ice feat. Nade – Around You (forthcoming)
Lioness feat. Ghetts – Set the girl
Shystie feat. Ghetts & Nolay – Takeover
Altered Natives – Can’t Trust Myself To Trust You
Vybz Kartel – Half on a baby (Dubbel Dutch remix)
Trim – Moments in Trim (Chrissy Murderbot Bootleg) (FREE DL)

Finland update

Posted by Althustler on May 11th, 2011 • No comments
sound • Tags: baltik bass, disco, finland, helsinki, house, rap

Lately there have been several interesting new releases by Finnish producers. Here’s a few that have caught my attention.

Boom Shakalaka – Baltik Bass vol. 1 EP (Free download here!)

Boom Shakalaka dudes have been pushing the sounds of Global Bass and World Music 2.0 here in Helsinki with their club nights, radio shows and their remixes. Now they have come up with a new thing they call “Baltik Bass”: new electronic music based on folk music from our own region, the Baltic sea. On this EP the folk music element is represented by samples from Markku Lepistö’s music.

“When working with these remixes, we didnʼt want to restrict our style according to the borders of some nation-state, instead we want to point to the similarities in the musical folklore from a larger region. We refer to the sea for its historic importance as a logistic centre and as a symbol of openness and multiculturalism”, declares DJ Emil.

Interestingly, around the same time also a Helsinki-based group called Liljan Loisto has started making reggae versions of old songs from Karelia and using inspiration from gypsy music also. Maybe the way these projects relate to “our roots” is something we need these days, against any notion of pure, homogenous and unchanging national identity… especially now with all the xenophobes coming out of their closets after they got some of their MP candidates elected.

Femme En Fourrure – Bronco EP

“Taking influences from the minimalism of Detroit techno and the dancefloor grooves of early house music and disco, Femme En Fourrure make music that is explicitly uncompromising.”

Femme En Fourrure have been around for some years already but only now they really caught my attention. Maybe it’s because they post some cool stuff on the Top Billin blog, maybe because they have strange music videos, or maybe because their new ep includes remixes from Nguzunguzu and Teeth. The music video is about a typical Friday night in our exotic Finland in winter time. Check out the Bronco EP here.

Bright Shades – Sightseeing EP

If you’re looking for some disco vibe for the summer, check out Bright Shades. Their debut EP just came out on Top Billin records. They just played last Saturday at YK along with Tensnake.

SMC LÄHIÖROTAT – Yks risti kaks from PABLO FILMS on Vimeo.

Finally, a music video that might be the most exotic of the bunch: rap music in Finnish. It starts with Eräkoira in his lab doing some clandestine chemistry and rapping with no flow at all. Then ice fishing in Merihaka and what not. Lots of winter time landscapes from our beautiful city. These guys really have the best music videos. SMC Hoodrats have their debut album coming up this summer.

There’s much more new music from Finland of course. And I’ve already posted about my favorite release which is “Shawty” by Teeth, now available on vinyl, on 502 Recordings.

Mastiksoul ft. Nicol Ananaz – Mboia

Posted by Althustler on December 17th, 2010 • No comments
sound • Tags: angola, house

I like my house hot like this. It’s a Portuguese-Angolan production by Mastiksoul with Nicol Ananaz on vocals. Mastiksoul has been making house music for a long time already and if you’ve heard Buraka Som Sistema mixtapes, you’ve probably heard his stuff on them. This tune came out some time this year, I encountered it only now. The rhythm is just unstoppable…