Mixtape Update

Chairlift- Show U Off

I've been looking for a song with a different flavour to put on the playlist. Something with a vastly different sound to the other stuff I've posted.

'Show U Off' has that flavour. It's a cool disco-ey tune in the same vein as Chic's work.

It's not got an old sound per say but it's got a sound that I'd associate with older music and it doesn't attempt to really combine modern sounds with that too much. It enjoys older influences and does a brilliant job. It does embrace newer sounds and trends in it's latter stages however.

Miguel- Simple Things

Yes! That's right, I'm featuring another Miguel song.

This one is coming from the same place that 'Coffee' did. It's a love song.

What I really think separates it from a lot of music I've heard is that the passion put behind repeated parts of the track increases as the song progresses. It's a great thing. It makes the song feel natural. It's as though he's trying to get through to a girl.

I'll be honest, there's not a lot lyrically. It's repetitive. With that said, it's also infectiously catchy and the the power of the song partly comes from the repetition.

The almost constant guitar section is a stroke of genius. It feels again, natural. It's not a synthetic sound. It's clean and pure. It's silky smooth. It's a unique thing for an R & B to feature so prominently. Miguel's music is definitely more than that though. He ventures to more experimental and alternative territories and its pays off massively.

Mumford and Sons- The Wolf

This shares similarities to 'First Light' by Racing Glaciers which is also on the mixtape. It has a very optimistic way about it.

It's a track that I desperately want to see live. The band in general I want to see live but this song I imagine would transform into so much more seeing them in person, I really hold this in high regard. It's one of my favourite Mumford and Sons tracks without doubt. It's got an electric feel (nice MGMT reference there) and not only because the band's newest sound is partly down to electric guitars but because it has an energy that I really enjoy.

Mumford and Sons are masters of soul. It's not a soul song, they're not a soul band but it is song with soul and they are a band who knows about what soul is.

The video reflects the tone of this song perfectly. It’s got a real festival/carnival feel to it. 

Go watch it, go listen to it, go love it.

Axwell^Ingrosso- Something New

I said that Salem Al Fakir would be back on this blog! This time he’s teamed up with Axwell^Ingrosso. Of course.

I’m a huge Salem fan (not the cat from Sabrina The Teenage Witch although yes, he’s brilliant too)

His vocal has undoubtedly improved of late and that killer voice paired with some synthtastic (it’s late) beats makes for some cool listening. It’s a real peppy one. You feel better after listening to this.

After a long day, when you’re burnt out, you can’t beat this. Just plug those headphones in, lay down, close your eyes and make this your last song before bed.

It’s like the perfect song to welcome this newish year in…“I see the dawn of a new beginning”…for anyone who had a terrible 2015, it’s a truly hopeful thing to treat your ears to.

I’ll leave you to get on with listening.

The Last Shadow Puppets- Bad Habits

I used to be a huge fan of skateboarding games. Like, I was mighty close to being addicted to the PS2 Tony Hawk's games. Especially 'American Wasteland'. This song by TLSP reminds me of that game. It's like a cross between two of my favourite songs of the games' soundtrack. 'Sonic Reducer' by Dead Boys and 'California Uber Alles' by Dead Kennedys. It's got it's own charm though. It goes off on it's own but it has flavours of other songs and styles of music making their way in. It's a big cooking pot full of tasty ingredients.

The mix of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane's (The Rascals) vocals sets this apart from anything else out there certainly at the moment. It seems effortless for them to do what they do together. It's a match made in heaven.

I like music that sounds like it's been cooked up in a garage with just a load of pals sitting round playing all sorts of instruments and messing around with ideas. That's what this feels like to me. It's a truly collaborative sounding track.

Everything about it has been crafted perfectly to make what I think is my current favourite new tune of 2016.

It's been a long while since these lads last joined forces but it's been worth the wait.

Miguel, Wale- Coffee

When I first head this song in May 2015,  I was hooked from the first listen. It never gets boring.

It's telling a modern Romeo and Juliet story in a way. That's weirdly what I think of when I listen to it. It's about two people who are meant to be together and there's nothing stopping them (unlike Romeo and Juliet), it's just a case of going through some stuff. That's the message I got anyway. I enjoy music that tells a story and not only a story but one that doesn't get boring.

There's even a reference to ladders in the song (“but the buy-in is your precious time and my temptation/never mind that I guess I'll climb the ladder later”) and in Shakespeare's play! (“He made this rope ladder to be a highway to my bed, but I am a virgin, and I will die a virgin and a widow. Let’s go, rope ladder”)...I'm beyond impressed I remembered that there was a ladder in Romeo and Juliet. Just saying.

It's an ultra chilled out mellow tune with a steady and slow head boppy beat. You should listen to this on a Sunday but it's a Tuesday so listen to it on Tuesdays too. Yeah, make it a Tuesday/Sunday tune. That's now a thing. 

Check out the spotify playlist with all these songs on and follow it! Jus’ click on the link below. Cheers!

From now on in, I will be posting songs on the Spotify playlist ahead of the blog. This means you can either choose to read what I post and then listen to each song each day or just make your way through the playlist ahead of when songs are posted on here! This is also to avoid days when I may be too busy to post and/or update the playlist. This kind of helps that sitatuation. 

Link to Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/1140024532/playlist/49QlURvDgtUzQotOu0litZ

Imagine Dragons- On Top Of The World

'On Top Of The World' is a car song. A waiting at the traffic lights in the cold song. It's got a nice steady pace which is perfect for driving along to. It's got a warmth to it and a spirit that lifts you in this bitter weather. You'll be drumming on the driving wheel.

I really regret not seeing Imagine Dragons at Leeds festival when I had the chance but at the same time, I went to see acts that were much more established at the time I went so snow (hey oh).

I am pretty set in wanting to see them at some point though and that's partly down to this song. It's a real anthem. A proper sing-song. The atmosphere at there gigs, I'd imagine is amazing. Just the atmosphere their music produces through my speakers as I write this is electric.

Elohim- Pigments

I have some easy breezy Sunday listening for you.

Anyone who is a fan of the incredible indie flick 'Garden State' directed by Zach Braff, I think you'll love this song. It's like the missing the song from that insane soundtrack. It's got a similar vibe to 'Let Go' by Frou Frou in particular which is featured.

I'd say listen to this song sat still somewhere and just look around. It's the kind of music that I'd personally like shooting a music video for so imagine you're the director of the video. Where would you set it? Wherever you'd set it, go to there and imagine and visualise what's going to happen. When you want to go for a walk, do this. Maybe even shoot some video and put it to the music if you want.

Just keep listening to this song in different places and situations. It's a song that deserves a place, time or situation but that I feel can't be pinpointed to one. One of the marks of a truly good song.

I've listened to it a bunch of times and I feel like it's about a load of different things. It's called pigments and that makes me think of colour straight away. There's a line in the song “I can change your pigments”. For me, it's generally about how everything and everyone changes colour. The world, the people in it. All. Going deeper it's like it's about someone wanting to make someone better. Make them the person they should be. A better person.

Tenacious D- Tribute (Live)

I was absent yesterday. Was a packed day.

I am back today however and it is not with the greatest song in the world, it's just a tribute (get it? Yeah?)

I actually was looking at the new releases for this week and found that Tenacious D had released a live album this year sometime. A LIVE ALBUM. I heard someone singing this on karaoke the night before last night too. It's destiny. Like the pick? The pick of...destiny. Yeah.

This song for me takes me way way back. All the way back to 2006 so 9-10 years. I remember it because when I was 12 or whatever, I found it absolutely hilarious. I didn't appreciate the actual instrumental chops of Jack and Kyle then, or even what some of the lyrics meant. I loved the spirit, the pace and the fact they tell funny stories.

The story element of Tribute is what really appeals to me. It's a different approach to the blog because in the past I've gone for songs that are more about real emotions. This is just a story. It's the kind of song I imagine a lute player in the medieval times would play. It's similar to medieval music in a weird way because from what I know, songs were stories put to music back then.

This is not going to be the only song from these lads. They've got some absolute crackers including what I think is an excellent transition track (not technically a song per say)

KOLAJ- The Touch

This song is from a very much up and coming band from the US of A.

I've mentioned this type of music before, I'll mention it again now and I will no doubt mention it again in the future. The none-vocal parts of the song are as relevant to me as the vocal-full parts (very technical and official terms). What I mean by relevant is that the confused sounding guitar bits that enter the song when there's breaks in the vocal enhance what is being sang. The music is speaking to me.

This song reminds me of 'Can't Feel My Face' by The Weeknd. They both personify drugs and refer to them as love interests. Someone actually told me that 'Can't Feel My Face' was about drugs and I had no idea. I thought it was a love song about a person. Since then I've started to listen to songs to really decipher what they mean and I have a suspicion that 'The Touch' may be about the same thing. These songs can operate as love songs just as well as they can for the singer's own personal reasons. Like any art, it's subjective and that's one of the best things about art.

Consciously, I don't know if I know any other Euphorock bands so KOLAJ may very well be my first. The definition of Euphoria is “characterized by or feeling intense excitement and happiness”. I feel that radiating off these guys (they're a duo). They're doing that really popular thing of talking about perhaps dark subjects but bringing light to them.

Kankouran- Rivers

I first heard this when it featured on an episode of the TV show 'Skins' sixth series (I was an extra in series 7 episode 2, like, I was right in shot behind Hannah Murray. Not to brag)

It's an amazingly fitting song for a TV show which focuses heavily on friendships. It's that song you could share with a close friend or a loved one.

The idea of it is no matter how tough times get, you've got someone somewhere who'll help you through it. You've got someone who'll listen.

I'm really a fan of uplifting songs that have a message like the one this song has. It can help through a tough day or it could even just be an upbeat head bopping sing-along song.

It's for me, timeless. It does remind me of the times I had at university and all the different things that happened during that time in a way but it also applies to everyday life and for me, that is where this song truly shines.

Sadly, Kankouran only released two songs and called it a day. It's a real shame because they have such a unique sound and the two songs they released are so insanely good, it's almost criminal they stopped.

They didn't manage to get official music videos made for either of their songs so I will leave you with this fan made video compiled of clips from the various series of 'Skins' (damn I wanna watch Skins throughout for the 100th time now)

Salem Al Fakir- It's Only You Part II

Before we go any further, this song isn't on Spotify. It's pretty surprising if you know just how successful this guy is. (he's performed a cover of Coldplay's 'Fix You' at a Swedish royal wedding and is a frequent collaborator of a certain few big DJs) What this means is that it won't be on the Mixtape Update Spotify playlist! (blasphemy I know) I'm working on a solution to songs that aren't on Spotify so don't you worry those cotton socks. Something's coming.

I first heard this song about 7 years ago. A very short snippet of it was used in an advert for the Volvo XC60 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShbPIiUkszc). Yes. I heard it in a car commercial. They’re perhaps surprisingly a great source for music. I feel like it was in an episode of the TV show 'Heroes' too but I can't find any proof online so maybe I just thought it'd fit in a weird way.

I love this song because it's just so cheery. It is the kind of song I could fall asleep to. Not because it's boring but because it's worth ending your day listening to. 

It's a hidden gem of music with an underwhelming view count on Youtube of less than 170,000 over 7 years. I'll say it again, he's worked with a certain few big DJs. He's a massive deal.

You may be wondering why I've not mentioned the names of the DJs I've referred to a couple of times! Well, it's because I'll soon be sharing a couple of those songs with you.

Oh, by the way, this is only the first song post of the day. Today is a DOUBLE WHAMMY. Two tunes. Two posts. It's exciting. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

First Light- Racing Glaciers

For those of you who haven't heard of Racing Glaciers, their sound certainly on this song is like a collision of Mumford and Sons' new 'Wilder Mind' sound and The Killers' classic sort of 'Sam's Town' and 'Hot Fuss' kinda sound. That's an epic epic combination. The lead vocalist has a hint of Brandon Flowers about him too.

I have been really trying to think about what song to post. I've not had a “EUREKA!” moment or a fluid moment like I have been having up to today.

I wanted something with a pace to it. Something that is hopeful. I wanted something that was inspirational and uplifting. The music you want to hear after receiving bad news.

'First Light' sprang into my ears this morning as I ploughed through my coveted 'Starred' playlist on Spotify. Even just the name, 'First Light' works in relation to the last song I posted. (Remember I'm trying to progress from one song to the next as seamlessly as I can)

It's one of those songs I don't actively listen to but I'm comforted knowing it's there.

You'll get what I mean (I hope)

Coldplay- Life In Technicolor

This has no vocal whatsoever. “WHAT?!?!” you may be saying. Yeah, it has no vocal. Chris Martin does not sing on this track. I can confirm.

Life In Technicolor is a two part song. Part one is a vocal-less part. This part.

It's a perfect song for magnifying your good mood. It's nice easy listening on a day like today as I look out the window and see that the sky is blue and the sun is out meaning the evenings are gradually getting brighter earlier.

The previous song I posted (Alessia Cara- I'm Yours) informed my decision to post ‘Life in Technicolor’ today. It's my response to it. It's how I'm feeling. It's a natural progression (one of my favourite intelligent sounding phrases, like ever ever ever...) It's a transition song.

When the Mixtape Update playlist is bulking up, you'll appreciate the transition songs like this. They're like intermissions (things they put in films in the good ol' days to stop people getting bored. Gives them a break etc.)