JayeL Audio

If this doesn’t make you ready for summertime, I don’t know what will. The Very Best aka the gents behind “Warm Heart of Africa”, “Rain Dance” and many other safari/beach party ready tracks are back. The title track from their soon to be released Super Mom mixtape is streaming and is quite quite good. Hopefully, 2011 will be the year of the xylophone.
The Very Best – Super Mom (stream via P4k)

Head to The Very Best’s website to register for a free download of the entire Super Mom mixtape. Better yet, register with your Mom’s e-mail and help her download it on Mammy’s Day. I’m sure your ma would love a lesson in downloading and African-pop on her special day.

7 mixtapes in 1 month? Looks like I’ve been much more productive than in March. Spring/early Summer brings about a plethora of new music and this season has been especially plentiful. With Explosions in the Sky, Fleet Foxes, Beastie Boys and An Horse readying new releases, its pretty easy to pluck mixtape ready tracks. Elsewhere, Freelance Whales continue their string of hits (5th mixtape appearance in a year), The Knocks churn out another solid remix with Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”, Long Walks On The Beach craft a hypnotic synth jam and Of Monsters Of Men could probably line up with Edward Sharpe’s “Home” on your next roadtrip playlist. My current favorite is Santigold’s “Go!” with its militant chorus, Spy Hunter-like beat and classic Santi yelps. Also, check for the introspective bars Jay-Z drops on the Sade remix.

JayeL Audio 4-25-11: DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Outasight – Figure 8
2. tUnE-yArDs – Bizness
3. Holy Ghost! – Wait & See
4. Santigold – Go! ft Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5. Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise
6. Of Monsters and Men – 1269 Little Talks
7. Mumford and Sons – Unfinished Business (White Lies Cover)
8. Explosions in the Sky – Trembling Hands
9. Martin Solveig & Dragonette – Hello
10. Freelance Whales – Girl U Want
11. Emmy the Great – Century of Sleep
12. Okkervil River – Wake and be Fine
13. Long Walks On The Beach – metaPhysical
14. Infantree – Work Horse
15. Wolf Gang – Back to Back
16. Noah and the Whale – Tonight’s the Kind of Night
17. An Horse – Trains and Tracks
18. Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks remix)
19. White Denim – Drug
20. Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean
21. Sade – The Moon and the Sky (remix) ft Jay-Z
22. Cults – You Know What I Mean
Bonus Tracks:
Title Tracks – All Tricks (free .mp3)

UPDATE: Stream the whole mixtape via MixCloud below

photo by John Bollinger

The Weeknd – House of Balloons
Rating: 7 out of 10 Tracy Morgans
The Weeknd aka Abel Tesfaye must have known I’ve been humming/belting old Aaliyah, Ginuwine and Jodeci jams reliving ’1990s-’2000s R&B moments lately. Turns out he does ’90s-’00s R&B better than most of the acts in that decade.

The production feels like Swing Mob-era Timbaland mixed with the xx balancing subtlety with darkness and seduction. “The Morning” has that stuttering synth/sound effect that Timbo perfected on tracks like “Pony” and “Are U That Somebody”. “Wicked Games” is the most notable cut from House of Balloons and for good reason. The minimalist background lets Tesfaye croon away on the catchiest hook of the mixtape and emphatically state “Just let me mother******* love you”. Simple, yet effective, eh?

While the production certainly has qualities that align with my heyday, The Weeknd’s lyrics get the point across without wasting time with PG-13 rated lyrics. Swears are fully intact on this one. The singing and lyrics aren’t anything you wouldn’t hear in a recent Trey Songz slow jam (mostly quick love, heartbreak, etc), but Tesfaye belts it like he truly means it. “A” for effort.

House of Balloons (free download here) is a solid introduction to The Weeknd and flashes potential for a new R&B. The kind of R&B I assume Drake was aiming for on Thank Me Later, but couldn’t achieve So Far Gone heights.
The Weeknd – Wicked Games
Latest tracks by The_Weeknd

This is what I’m talking about. I am pretty glad Thomas was watching Coco a few weeks ago. Infantree’s performance of “Work Horse” on Coco was highly recommended and I can see why.

Infantree has that harmonizing sound that I’ve been so enamored with lately (see Local Natives, Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes and US Royalty). However, Infantree‘s sound is a little more somber and diverse. “Work Horse” (purchase the single here) is my favorite track so far, but all of the songs on their soundcloud have potential:Latest tracks by infantree

Infantree Tour:
April 25 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
April 27 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
April 28 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
May 22 Long Beach, CA Fingerprints Records
May 28 Topanga Canyon, CA Topanga Days
June 9 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo

BTW, Thomas is killing everyone on my comment challenge. Someone should really at least make it a contest….

I don’t do many album reviews anymore, so you know this is good….
Big K.R.I.T. – Returnof4Eva
Rating: 8 out of 10 Tracy Morgans
Big K.R.I.T. aka Justin Scott was recently named as part of XXL’s annual “Freshmen” list, but he certainly sounds like a wise old head emcee on his free “mixtape” Return of 4Eva. I use the term “mixtape” loosely though, because Return of 4Eva feels so cohesive and so potent it should really be an album. Quite possibly one of the most potent of the year. K.R.I.T.’s Southern drawl, polished lyricism and laid back production are wise beyond his years.

The Mississippi-based rapper would sound right at home in 1994 with the likes of OutKast, 8Ball & MJG, Scarface and the rest of the South’s great rhymers. He even pays respect to his elders with features and samples. On “R4 Theme Song” I can almost picture a Yo! MTV Raps video the woodgrain cadillac’s with candy paint and old school Daytons. “Highs and Lows” is a Dungeon Family/”Shaft”-themed hybrid that plays on the age old mack tip. K.R.I.T. even manages to get quality verses from Chamillionaire on slow burner “Time Machine” and Mississippi brethren David Banner on the bombastic “Sookie Now.”

While much of K.R.I.T.’s work feels like an homage, he is definitely an artist whose work stands on his own. “The Vent” is about as honest and heartfelt as hip-hop comes with a sparse synth backing that lets K.R.I.T.’s words breathe. “Another Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Encouraging Racism” is a poignant social commentary you just don’t hear often in today’s hip-hop with horns to match.

The fact that Return of 4Eva was given to fans by Big K.R.I.T. for free, is probably the bargain of the year. Its also likely to be on many lists as one of the best releases of the year. The K.R.I.T. stands for “King Remembered In Time”, we’ll have to see about that later, but this release certainly should be.
Download Big K.R.I.T. – Returnof4Eva here for FREE
Big K.R.I.T. – The Vent (free .mp3)

FYI – I didn’t really have any ideas for a rating system, until I watched this clip last night. Until someone comes up with a better idea, the Tracy Morgan rating system has been instituted. The TM scale goes from “Cop Out” Tracy Morgan, which constitutes as a zero, to ESPN NFL commercial Tracy Morgan, a definite 10. An “8″ is “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah”, no doubt.

New FREE EP from Curren$y & Alchemist? Don’t mind if I do.
Get it from bandcamp below.

She's baaaaaaaaack

According to Emmy’s site, “the album started out as a purely third person project, but took on a personal tinge when Emma got caught up in her fiance’s sudden religious conversion and the break-up of their relationship. The album was recorded very quickly after the summer of her cancelled wedding, with chief bridesmaid Euan, and legendary producer Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Grizzly Bear, These New Puritans).” Tragic, but if thats not good material for a charming, sarcastic songwriter, I don’t know what is.

“A Woman A Woman, Century of Sleep” has everything you remember from Emmy with honest yet mocking lyrics amid a seemingly harmless backing. The choir is a particularly charming jab at her former mate’s new path.

Pre-order Emmy the Great Virtue now.

Here it is. 3 playlists featuring bands from all three days of the upcoming festival in Gulf Shores, AL. This obvsiously isn’t all the music you’ll hear, but hopefully it will be a lot of it. I could have made a disc of just Black Keys and Cee-Lo tracks, but tried to go for a few that I haven’t listened to in a minute. Days 2 and 3 seem particularly impressive, but I have to say I’m pretty excited for My Morning Jacket on Friday. Consider MMJ, JJ Grey & Mofro and Big Gigantic the new acts I’m looking forward to most. Of course, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Foo Fighters and Cee Lo are my most anticipated overall. I’m not sure I can wait an entire month, but I guess I will have to.

Hangout Music Fest 2K11 Mixtape
Day 1 (.rar)
-featuring Widespread Panic, My Morning Jacket, Sts9, Bassnectar, Grace Potter, Umphreys, Soja, Railroad Earth and Beats Antique
Day 2 (.rar)
-featuring Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Avett Brothers, Cee Lo, Pretty Lights, Slightly Stoopid, Medeski Martin & Wood, Big Gigantic, Xavier Wood, Minus the Bear, Dead Confederate and Mariachi El Bronx
Day 3 (.rar)
-featuring Paul Simon, The Black Keys, Michael Franti, Girl Talk, Ween, Matisyahu, Drive By Truckers, Old Crow Medicine Show, JJ Grey & Mofro, Galactic and Portugal. The Man

Thanks to Jenny, Josh, Tom, Sara, Phil and newcomer Danny G for providing all the sounds I didn’t know already.

Gotta love Foster the People. Gotta love The Knocks‘ remixes.
Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Remix) by The Knocks
UPDATE: Soundcloud wasn’t working so below is a direct mp3 link.
Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Speeding Bullet Remix)

Liverpool native Delta Maid offers us a charming take on one of my favorite Strokes’ songs of this spring. Her enchanting voice and the track’s slowed tempo gives you a chance to actually think about what Mr. Casablancas and company are actually singing about. Delta Maid – Under Cover of Darkness – Strokes Cover by Delta Maid
Also check out the tap-worthy original, “On My Own” below: Delta Maid – Of My Own (Single Edit) by Delta Maid
Hear more Delta Maid here.