JayeL Audio

Influence is largely the theme of the majority of mixtape number two for this week. Teen Daze kicks things off with an Earth, Wind & Fire sampling dance party. Speaking of influence, does the piano fueled opening of Miike Snow’s “Devil’s Work” remind anyone else of Van Halen’s “Right Now”? I swear I just flashbacked to middle school. Charming female songstresses Alex Winston and Oh Land cover The Black Keys and The National, respectively. Even Mayer Hawthorne and Electric Guest offer up soul and Motown related gems. Elsewhere, The National demo a new track that sounds, well, like The National. We welcome back The Shins, which sound like the old Shins, but aren’t really the old Shins. Lastly, I have to say, I’m really enjoying the blues rock inspired sound of Cold War Kids new demos. I’m certainly intrigued by the addition of a new lead guitarist in Modest Mouse’s Dann Gallucci.

JayeL Audio 1-27-12: DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Teen Gaze – Let’s Groove
2. Electric Guest – This Head I Hold
3. Johnny Headband – Over There
4. The Shins – Simple Song
5. The Concept – Gimme Twice
6. Gospel Music – Apartment
7. Midi Matilda – Day Dreams
8. Ed Vallance – Crystlalline
9. Mayer Hawthorne – Stick Around
10. The National – Rylan (Live on Q)
11. Miike Snow – Devil’s Work
12. Meg Myers – Adelaide
13. The Big Pink – Hit the Ground (Superman)
14. The Oh Hellos – Hello My Old Heart
15. Alex Winston – Everlasting Light (The Black Keys cover)
16. Dana Falconberry – Petoskey Stone
17. Cold War Kids – Minimum Day
18. Kishi Bashi – Bright Whites
19. Diagrams – Tall Buildings
20. Water Town Bucket Boys – Meet Me Where The Crow Don’t Fly
21. Boxer Rebellion – Losing You
22. Oh Land – Bloodbuzz Ohio (The National cover)
Thanks to CoS, All Things Go, Mixtape Maestro, PMA, Largehearted Boy and the interwebs.

“> photo via Burn Away
The post 2011 wrap-up/holiday catch up is always a tough one, but brings plentiful music from artists new and old. The return on Lettercamp is in full swing on electro pop anthem “Oh Well”, Florence and the Machine put together one of the best covers of 2011 (“Take Care”) and Tennis expands on their reverb pop sound with “Origins”. Electric Guest show off the reasons Danger Mouse is producing their debut, The Rubens continue their building buzz (“My Gun”) and Frankie Rose shines with retro pop. Lastly, who is excited for the long awaited comeback of Santigold?

JayeL Audio 1-23-12 – DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Florence + The Machine – Take Care (Drake cover)
2. Electric Guest – American Daydream
3. The Rubens – My Gun
4. Santigold – Big Mouth
5. fun. – One Foot
6. Outasight – Let’s Go
7. Nneka – My Home
8. Lettercamp – Oh Well
9. The Features – From Now On
10. Mausi – sol.
11. Dirty Ghosts – Shout It In
12. Fibes, Oh Fibes – Cerahtonia
13. Frankie Rose – Know Me
14. Crystal Fingers – Follow
15. School of Seven Bells – The Night
16. Tennis – Origins
17. Digital Leather – Young Doctors In Love
18. FAN-TAN – 1989
19. Tanlines – Brothers
20. Mayer Hawthorne – No Strings
21. Water Tower Bucket Boys – Walkin’ The Road
22. Young Heel – Love You Down (Ready For The World cover)

Oh and be ready for another mixtape this week. Props to CoS, All Things Go, PMA and Largehearted Boy

You know it must be 4th Quarter when all the big guns of hip-hop are offering up new material. Drake snapped up Ricky Ross over an eloquent Just Blaze production on “Lord Knows”. Ludacris and B.o.B. let loose a free mixtapes with Luda referencing my favorite movie of 1985, Back To The Future and Meek Mill set himself up for success with a DJ Khaled posse cut for “I’m A Boss”. Even newly reunited Mobb Deep (without the Curtis co-sign) talked fellow Queensbridge native Nas into a guest appearance on “Get It Forever”. The most talked about track from Young Jeezy’s Thug Motivation 103 doesn’t disappoint with features from Hova and the ever elusive Andre 3 Stacks.

Its not all about the big names though. New emcee (with an awful awful name) Buddy scores a slick debut on Neptunes’ produced “Awesome Awesome”, K-OS co-hort Saukrates lines up his most viable song to date in “Say I” and Shawn Christopher shows other indie blog combing rappers what to do with Cults’ hit “Go Outside”. Lastly, thanks to Hype Machine, my days of filling the Cudder void have been temporarily quelled after hearing new goodness from blog favorite Skizzy Mars (“Tara”, “Together”). Isn’t there someone in Cudi’s camp who can tell him to drop the guitar?

If all of that sounds up your alley, download Narkanomics below and leave a comment.

Narkanomics - DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. T.I. – Pyro
2. Ludacris – Can You Buy That
3. Meek Mill – I’m A Boss remix ft DJ Khaled, T.I., Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Birdman & Swizz Beatz
4. Young Jeezy – I Do ft Jay-Z & Andre 3000
5. Buddy – Awesome Awesome
6. Black Milk – Brain
7. Jay Electronica – Call Of Duty ft Mobb Deep
8. Skizzy Mars – Together
9. Cocaine 80s – Six ft Common & James Faulteroy
10. Drake – Lord Knows ft Rick Ross (produced by Just Blaze)
11. Asher Roth – Common Knowledge
12. Mobb Deep – Get It Forever ft Nas
13. The Roots – Kool On ft P.O.R.N & Truck North
14. Saukrates – Say I
15. B.o.B. – Perfect Symmetry ft 2 Chainz
16. Wale – Chain Music
17. Slim Thug – Creepin ft Bun B & Paul Wall
18. Torae – For The Record
19. Skizzy Mars – Tara
20. Shawn Christopher – Go Outside ft Cults
21. Childish Gambino – Twistclip Loop

Is it weird to anyone else that Mobb Deep shout “Throw ya diamonds in the sky” on “Call of Duty”? Seems like they must have forgot about this little beef….

Holy end of the year mixtape rush! Two emcees that had very good 2010/2011′s, Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B., recently dropped free collections for the masses.

Lupe utilizes a plethora of indie/electronic samples and some John Coltrane to drop knowledge in the same futuristic vein as recent album LASERS. Just when I was over Bassnectar’s remix of Ellie Goulding’s “Lights”, Lupe goes ahead and brings the bombastic track back to life.

Lupe Fiasco Friend of The People: I Fight Evil (.zip)
01. Introduction (Nero ’2808?)
02. Lupe Back (Nero ‘Doomsday’)
03. Friend of the People (feat. Dosage) (Sebastian ‘Jack Wire’)
04. Double Burger with Cheese (Justice ‘Ohio’)
05. Joaquin Phoenix (feat. Lil Ronnie)
06. WWJD He’d Prolly LOL Like WTF!!! (Justice ‘On’n’On’)
07. Lightwork (Ellie Goulding & Bassnectar ‘Lights’ remix)
08. Life, Death & Love From San Francisco (John Coltrane ‘Love Supreme’)
09. SLR
10. SNDCLsH In Vegas (Kaskade & Skrillex ‘Lick It’)
11. Super Cold (The Glitch Mob ‘Bad Wings’)
12. The End Of The World (M83 ‘Midnight City’)

B.o.B. may not be the lyricist Lupe is yet, but it certainly is refreshing to hear him shy away from the pop rap (for the most part…) that cluttered his major label debut. Much of EPIC has been floating around the internet over the past 12 months or so, but worthwhile as a collection. Guests are aplenty (T.I., Eminem, Meek Mill, Big KRIT, Mos Def and more) and should tide fans over until B.o.B.’s next effort. Be sure to check out track #5 where ATL rhymer 2Chainz continues his string of solid features and boosts the dubby guitar echo of “Perfect Symmetry” (samples Manchester Orchestra’s “Simple Math”).
B.o.B.  EPIC: Every Play Is Crucial (via datpiff)
1. Epic (feat. Playboy Tre Meek Mill) prod. Lil C
2. Wrong (feat. Spodee) prod. Ryan Tedder
3. Guest List (feat. Rosco Dash) prod. B.o.B & Kutta
4. What Are We Doing – prod. by B.o.B & Jim Jonsin
5. Perfect Symmetry (feat. 2 Chainz) prod. by 7 King
6. New York New York – prod. by Mike Caren
7. Boom Bap (feat. T.I. & Mos Def)
8. Welcome To The Jungle
9. 5 On The Kush (feat. Big Krit & Bun B)
10. How Bout Dat (feat. Future & Trae The Truth)
11. Things get worse (feat. Eminem)
12. Fucked Up (feat. Playboy Tre) prod. by Davaughn
13. Strange Clouds (feat. Lil Wayne) prod. by Dr. Luke
14. Friday Night Star – prod. by Jim Jonsin
15. High – prod. by The Aristrocrats

Speaking of mixtapes, check out SPIN’s extensive list of the top mixtapes of the year.

photo via Reckless Times
Turns out leaving for almost two weeks means a lot of new music to catch up on. Well worth the wait, of course. Hopefully, you’ve already had time to digest excellent new releases from Florence & the Machine, Childish Gambino and Mayer Hawthorne. If not, I’m betting you will soon. Elsewhere, Phantogram returned with addictive synth pop on “Don’t Move” and the District Attorneys released an EP of demos that really could be a full on southern rock album (see “California Fire”). Newcomers this round include The Rubens who shine with blues rock (“Lay It Down”), retro pop action via Starlight Girls (“The Hunch”) and The Preservation (“The First Story”). Last but not least, you can’t tell me Bastille doesn’t transport you right back to high school with their cover of City High’s “What Would You Do”.

JayeL Audio 11-23-11 – DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Blondfire – Where The Kids Are
2. Mayer Hawthorne – Hooked
3. Alex Clare – Damn Your Eyes (Etta James cover)
4. Phantogram – Don’t Move
5. Cee Lo Green – Anyway
6. Savoir Adore – Dreamers
7. The Preservation – First Story
8. White Denim – Hot Thought
9. Starlight Girls – The Hunch
10. The Rubens – Lay It Down
11. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
12. Said the Whale – Lines
13. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
14. Washed Out – Call It Off
15. Tennis – Tell Her No
16. The Records – Call Of The Ice
17. Childish Gambino – Sunrise
18. Rich Aucoin – It
19. Big Bad 40 – Electric Lady ft Cee Lo Green
20. Florence & the Machine – Only If For A Night
21. The District Attorneys – California Fire
22. Bastille – What Would You Do (City High cover)

Happy Thanksgiving and be sure to like JayeL Audio on Facebook!
P.S. – If you don’t have Winrar, get it here.

In case you weren’t at the actual event to see our nuptials, here is the wedding favor we gave out. Download it below. Artwork courtesy of Willa J. Tracosas. If you need WinRar, download it here.

LJ + JL – The Wedding Mixtape: DOWNLOAD (.rar)

Best.Wedding.Ever.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly….

2 months later and there is finally enough decent hip-hop for a mixtape. Lets be honest though, all you were listening to was Watch the Throne, right? Yeah, I know I heard “N***as in Paris” coming out your car stereo.

The recipe is certainly there for this to be my favorite Nark in the past for year. Posse cuts are plentiful with collaborative cuts led by Fabolous, Cory Mo, Big K.R.I.T. Two of my favorite emcees Childish Gambino (“Bonfire”) and Common (“Blue Sky”) return with strong efforts from their next respective releases. Clifford wastes no time after his release from a halfway house on his street single w/Big K.R.I.T. (“I’m Flexin’) and a 2Chainz remix that gets constant play in the A. Notice a trend? Lots of Big K.R.I.T. tracks on this edition (and a bonus cut). From remixes to production, K.R.I.T. is one of the great hopes in hip-hop. Remember when I mentioned how K.R.I.T. would sound at home in 1994? Well, “Money On The Floor” shows how smooth he sounds next to legends 8Ball & MJG. Lastly, STS offers up one of the most sly premises of the year in “Cliche”. Hit rewind a couple times to make sure you get it all.

Nark and Day: DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Fabolous – Sicker Than Your Average ft Red Cafe & Trey Songz
2. Cory Mo – Ain’t Nobody Trippin’ remix ft Bun B, Pimp C & David Banner
3. J. Cole – Can’t Get Enough ft Trey Songz
4. T.I. – I’m Flexin’ ft Big K.R.I.T.
5. Childish Gambino – Bonfire
6. Drake – Club Paradise
7. Big K.R.I.T. – Money On The Floor ft 2 Chainz and 8Ball & MJG
8. DTMD – 95 Live ft Quartermaine
9. Common – Blue Sky
10. The Cool Kids – Summer Jam ft Maxine Ashley
11. B.o.B. – Strange Clouds ft Lil’ Wayne
12. Lloyd Banks – Shock the World
13. STS – Cliche ft The Knux
14. Diggy Simmons – Just Begun
15. Chip Tha Ripper – The Truth
16. Big K.R.I.T. – Yoko remix ft Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa and Berner
17. Ski Beatz – Illegal ft Freddie Gibbs
18. Game – Good Girls Go Bad ft Drake
19. 2 Chainz – Spend It remix ft T.I.
20. J. Cole – Who Dat
21. Jon Connor – F.L.I. 69
22. Lil’ Wayne – Blunt Blowin
Bonus Track:
Gilbere Forte – Black & Soul ft Big K.R.I.T. (.mp3)

Similar to last month, the ladies of indie music continue to have blogs, ipods and Spotify on lockdown. Florence and the Machine continue their streak of anthems (“Shake It Out”), Feist eerily charms (“Graveyard”) and St. Vincent gets poetic about society (“Cruel”). Bubbling acts like Alabama Shakes, Lydia Loveless and Meiko also carry the lady torch further with throwback sounds and enchanting vocals. My favorite newcomer though is Class Actress who offers up two solid new wave inspired tracks in “Keep You” and “The Weekend”.

Aside from the strength of the females, this mixtape certainly feels like a Fall mixtape in that the slower guitar-driven tracks out weigh the dance cuts. Justice pick up where they left off on dance anthem “Helix”, while Blitzen Trapper continue their alt country twang on “Love The Way You Walk Away” and Umphrey’s McGee bring their multi-instrument approach to “Miami Virtue”. Lastly, I’m not sure anyone else could cover Frank Ocean’s “Swim Good” the way Ed Sheeran did. Check it.

JayeL Audio – 10-04-11: DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Class Actress – Keep You
2. RAC – 1979 ft Liz Anjos (Smashing Pumpkins cover)
3. Florence and the Machine – Shake It Out
4. St. Vincent – Cruel
5. Blitzen Trapper – Love The Way You Walk Away
6. Karallreven – As Young As Yesterday
7. Meiko – Between the Sheets
8. Ed Sheeran – Swim Good (Frank Ocean Cover)
9. Apes In the Orange Grove – So Many Windows
10. Justice – Helix
11. Grouplove – Don’t Say Oh Well
12. Walk the Moon – Lisa Baby
13. Feist – Graveyard
14. The Head and the Heart – Cats and Dogs
15. Typhoon – The Honest Truth
16. Penguin Prison – Don’t Fuck With My Money
17. Umphrey’s McGee – Miami Virtue
18. Alabama Shakes – Hold On
19. Class Actress – Weekend
20. Lydia Loveless – Jesus Was a Wino
21. Pickwick – Hacienda Motel

Oh and I’ll be married in 4 days. How about that?!?! Comment aplenty below.

Only 1 day until Music Midtown! The most beautiful thing about this festival is that fact is that there isn’t a single tough decision since all bands play at separate times. The toughest choice of the day will be if I need to leave Young the Giant early to get a good spot for the Black Keys. Festival organizers are expecting 60,000 in Piedmont Park and the weather is looking like a gorgeous 81 degrees. Mix in an early rooftop party and I’d say a perfect weekend is on tap.

Walk the Moon is taking Mona’s place so I revised the mixtape. Download and comment below. I for one and most looking forward to the Keys (obviously), Band of Skulls, The Joy Formidable and the Postelles. What about you?

JayeL Audio Presents…MUSIC MIDTOWN 2K11 – DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
2. Coldplay – Lost!
3. Coldplay – God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (live)
4. Coldplay – Strawberry Swing
5. Coldplay – Violet Hill
6. The Black Keys – Chop and Change
7. The Black Keys – I Got Mine
8. The Black Keys – Strange Desire
9. The Black Keys – She’s Long Gone
10. Cage the Elephant – Shake Me Down
11. Cage the Elephant – Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked
12. Cage the Elephant – Around My Head
13. The Joy Formidable – Whirring
14. The Joy Formidable – Austere
15. The Joy Formidable – A Heavy Abacus
16. Young the Giant – St. Walker
17. Young the Giant – My Body
18. Band of Skulls – I Know What I Am
19. Band of Skulls – Friends
20. Band of Skulls – Light of the Morning
21. Manchester Orchestra – April Fool
22. Manchester Orchestra – Pensacola
23. The Constellations – Felicia
24. The Constellations – We’re Here To Save The Day
25. Walk the Moon – Anna Sun
26. Walk the Moon – Lisa Baby
27. The Postelles – White Night
28. The Postelles – 123 Stop

The ladies were out in full force during August. Powerhouses like Florence & The Machine, Feist and Marina & the Diamonds all offered up new music. Even if Marina sounds more like Gaga right now than Marina, I’ll still support it. Elsewhere, new albums from The Rapture (“Never Die Again”), The Features (“Another One”) and CSS (“Red Alert”) showed the releases were worth the wait. Newcomers TV Girl, Kimbra (last heard on Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know“) and Starsmith all show promise, but Oregon Bike Trails win for best new band name. Last, but not least, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis churned out a hit in “Can’t Hold Us” that I’ll most likely be addicted to for the foreseeable future.

JayeL Audio 9-9-11 – DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. TV Girl – Benny and the Jetts
2. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us ft Ray Dalton
3. Mayer Hawthorne – The Walk
4. Florence + the Machine – What The Water Gave Me
5. James Vincent McMorrow – This Old Dark Machine
6. Starsmith – Lesson One
7. Holy Ghost! – Some Children ft Michael McDonald
8. The Features – Another One
9. Gotye – Easy Way Out
10. Typhoon – Summer Home
11. Caveman – Thankful
12. Release the Sunbird – Its All Around You
13. CSS – Red Alert ft Ratatat
14. Marina & The Diamonds – Radioactive
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr – We Almost Lost Detroit
16. Mountain Man – Animal Tracks
17. Givers – Words
18. Feist – How Come You Never Go There
19. Theophilus London – Love Is Real ft Holly Miranda
20. Toro Y Moi – All Alone
21. The Rapture – Never Die Again
22. Oregon Bike Trails – Cayucas
23. Kimbra – Good Intent

Comment aplenty below….