JayeL Audio

This concludes this year’s annual wrap-ups. Feel free to chime in on the comments. The top 40 tracks mixtape links are below the write-ups. Enjoy.
#40-#31
#30-#21
#20-#11

10. tUnE-yArDs – Bizness
By far the most experimental track on this list, “Bizness” shines as track that melds afro-pop, folk and funk all in one. Utilizing schizophrenic vocal loops and fluttering guitar, tUnE-yArDs yearns for a former lover to return while working through the pain.

9. The Black Keys – Little Black Submarines
Just when you thought The Black Keys had abandoned their bruising blues rock roots, “Little Black Submarines” details a lost connection (literally). The track teases with an acoustic opening before turning into a crushing garage sound masterpiece a la “I Got Mine”.

8. Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
We all know I’m a sucker for guy/girl call and response records (see Edward Sharpe, Positive K and Aaliyah/Timbaland). Icelandic outfit Of Monsters and Men put their own spin on the old adage and have an endearing quality that makes it near impossible to avoid a smile. “Little Talks” makes a dying romance sound like a gypsy themed party.

7. White Denim – Street Joy
“Street Joy” is a particularly refreshing slow jam with a classic rock feel. Lead singer James Petralli’s pained vocals paint a narrative of wanting someone back so much that he’s willing to “string myself up onto your front door”. Intense.

6. The Throne – Ni***s In Paris
Say what you will about the subject matter, you can’t ignore how infectious the production and hook are. Jay & Yeezy drop clever lines aplenty on this banger. Now does it make sense to close out an arena tour by performing this track 11 (!) times in a row? Thats debatable.

5. M83 – Midnight City
Just because the rest of the U.S. population is catching up to the glory that is “Midnight City” due to a bra ad, doesn’t mean the synth anthem should be discounted. M83 made a electro pop gem that shines with layered vocals, surprising sax and thumping drum that should be enjoyed by all.

4. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Is there a more jubilant opening than the piano keys of the title track from Fleet Foxes’ sophomore album (okay, maybe the aforementioned “Battery Kinzie”)? This track would be the first on my hiking playlist, if such a thing existed. The lyrics are somewhat ambiguous, but I take them as the narrator is out to set his own path, not one that has been determined for him.

3. Bon Iver – Holocene
While “Towers” was the track from Bon Iver I listened to most in 2011, “Holocene” was the masterpiece I couldn’t ignore. Justin Vernon’s majestic vocals mixed with subtle guitar strings echo a tale of being a small part of a historic, beautiful world. “I can see for miles, miles, miles….”

2. The Rapture – How Deep is Your Love
As soon as the forceful piano keys struck on “How Deep Is Your Love”, it was clear the return of The Rapture shouldn’t be taken lightly. They may only release a new album every 5 years, but the Rapture are masters of the disco/electronic market. “How Deep Is Your Love” combines cowbell, thumping bass, a surprise sax and Luke Jenner’s tender howl into a dancefloor anthem.

1. Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know ft Kimbra
From the hypnotic beat to the honest, easy to relate to theme, “Somebody That I Used To Know” was an instant hit in my eyes. Gotye’s passionate narrative combined with Kimbra cooing vocals made for a story everyone has been through, but never sounded so good.

JayeL Audio’s Top Tracks of 2011 – #1-#20 (.rar)
JayeL Audio’s Top Tracks of 2011 – #21-#40 (.rar)

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….

Anyone who was around Ann St during the summer of 2006 knows how enamored I was with The Rapture‘s last album Pieces Of The People We Love. Luckily, the 5 years Luke Jenner and co. made us wait for In The Grace Of Your Love was worth it.

Check out my review of The Rapture’s In The Grace Of Your Love over at Atlanta Music Guide.
Pick-up the album at Amazon and wherever fine music is sold.

Also, I’m not forgetting my duties over here. Look for a new mixtape before the end of the weekend.

Now these are the types of mixtapes I can have a little more fun with. Its not all necessarily brand new music, but hopefully plenty of music to keep you parting into the night. There are new tracks from the likes of Martin Solveig, Asher Roth and Beyonce, but also remixes of favorites like Beastie Boys, Alex Winston, The Police and Daft Punk. Oh, and I still can’t get the new Rapture song out of my idea. Let me know when you do. See you at the campfire, next to the dancefloor…

JayeL Audio – 4th of July 2011 Mixtape – NITE: DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Wiz Khalifa – Fly Solo
2. Asher Roth – Last Man Standing ft Akon
3. Beastie Boys – Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win ft Santigold (Major Lazer Remix)
4. Martin Solveig – The Night Out
5. LehtMoJoe – Machu Picchu Goes On (The Strokes vs. Lupe Fiasco)
6. Alex Winston – Sister Wife (Star Slinger Remix)
7. Foster The People – Houdini (RAC Mix)
8. TV on the Radio – Will Do (XXXChange Dancehall Mix)
9. The Police – Roxanne (DiscoTech Remix)
10. Avicii – ID (Levels) (Original Mix)
11. Outasight – Figure 8 (Gigamesh of DiscoTech remix)
12. Adele – Rolling In The Deep ft Childish Gambino (Jamie xx Remix)
13. Swedish House Mafia – Save the World ft John Martin
14. Kelly Rowland – Lay It On Me ft Big Sean
15. Pitbull – Give Me Everything (Tonight) ft Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
16. Martin Solveig – Ready 2 Go ft Kele of Bloc Party
17. The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love
18. Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix)
19. Beyonce – Party ft Andre 3000
20. Daft Punk – Derezzed (Avicii Remix)
21. The Hood Internet – All Of The Lights (Ellie Goulding x Portland Cello Project x Kanye West)

Oh The Rapture, its been too long my friends. Ask anybody from the Ann St. days, I played the hell out of almost all the dance-flavored tracks on Pieces of the People We Love. Especially “Don Gon Do It” and “Whoo! Alright, Yeah… Uh Huh”.

Taking a cue from Beastie Boys’ recent album preview at MSG, DFA Records offers up “How Deep Is Your Love” in a small room with a record player and a disco ball. “How Deep Is Your Love” is in the same vein as the last album with more cowbell, thumping bass and dance-floor fun. The pulsing piano is like finding $20 in an old winter jacket too.
via P4k
Welcome back The Rapture. In Grace of Your Love drops on September 6th.

I was surveying old posts last week and realized I have been writing on this blog/site for 4 years. Kinda crazy. 4 years is like 8 in blog years. My first post was even douchey enough to refer to it as a “space”, but at least the music was good (Maximo Park and the Fratelli’s). When I started this site, I had no idea anyone would look at it besides me. With friends moving across the country, it seemed easier than mailing burned cd’s every few weeks so thats as far as I thought about it.

So Thank You to…
Laura - for being patient with all the hours I put into this after work and on the weekends.
The Readers - When I started the blog (originally Bout That) 4 people read it and the numbers continue to grow. Everyone has done a great job of passing the site on to others and I hope you’ll continue. Last year saw the highest number of comments in my short history. This really supposed to be a collaborative project, so keep the suggestions and comments coming.
Donations - Everyone who donated, I hope you are getting your money’s worth. Any amount you have given over the years has been amazing.
Hype Machine - duh.
All the blogs for supplying the music I pass on - PMA, Mixtape Maestro, All Things Go, P4K, Consequence of Sound, Largehearted Boy, 2dopeboyz, Nahright
Artists who have sent over music and spread the word to their fans - Kyle Lucas/Vonnegutt, yOya, TGCHU, Lettercamp, mochibeats

Mixtapes are the typically the most popular posts, but I didn’t start publishing those until October 5th, 2008. To commemorate 4 years, I put together two mixtapes of the best of the early years before I sent you all .rar files. You can definitely hear the heavy influence of the days when I listened to BBC Radio 1. Enjoy.

JayeL Audio – The Early Years
Disc One – DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Arctic Monkeys – Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
2. The Black Keys – Just Got To Be
3. Mates of State – Punchlines
4. Bon Iver – Skinny Love
5. Tilly & the Wall – Bad Education
6. Arcade Fire – Keep The Car Running
7. The Bees – Who Cares What The Question Is?
8. The Kooks – Eddie’s Gun
9. The Mystery Jets – Diamonds In The Dark
10. The Knife – Heartbeats
11. The Rapture – Don Gon Do It
12. Kings of Convenience – I’d Rather Dance With You
13. Rogue Wave – Lake Michigan
14. Editors – Lights
15. Just Jack – Starz In Their Eyes
16. The Fratellis – Creeping Up The Backstairs
17. Peter Bjorn John – Young Folks
18. Bloc Party – Banquet
19. Spoon – You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps

Disc Two – DOWNLOAD (.rar)
1. Grand National – Talk Amongst Yourselves
2. Tokyo Police Club – Nature of the Experiment
3. Iron and Wine – Boy With A Coin
4. Maximo Park – Apply Some Pressure
5. The Walkmen – Louisiana
6. Yeasayer – Sunrise
7. Bloc Party – This Modern Love
8. Cut Copy – Feel The Love
9. Sam Sparro – Black & Gold
10. Rilo Kiley – Close Call
11. The National – Apartment Story
12. LCD Soundsystem – Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
13. Scott Matthews – Elusive
14. Razorlight – Los Angeles Waltz
15. Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
16. The Sadies – Never Again
17. Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver
18. K-OS – Born To Run
19. The Decemberists – The Engine Driver
20. Neko Case – That Teenage Feeling

“Who? Mano.”  You might not remember, but I told you before….Million $ Mano is damn good.  Here he remixes The Rapture‘s “Don Gon Do It” and its grand.  Its been on his myspace for quite a while, but I just now found the mp3.  Thanks to Radio Free Chicago.

The Rapture – Don Gon Do It (Million $ Mano remix)

The Rapture – Don Gon Do It (album version)

Million $ Mano – Lady (remix)

Pick up The Rapture – Pieces of the People We Love here.  Trust me, its great.

I got a request for a new running/work out mix.  What better place to post it than here?  For whatever reason, mash-ups and electronic music seems to make me sprint a little faster than some of the other music I listen to.  It probably has to do with BPM or something, but let’s not get technical.  Hopefully it works for you also.

Runtastic – http://www.sendspace.com/file/icc4qy

-He Say She Say – Crash Dummie
-Cut Copy – Hearts on Fire
-Midnight Juggernauts – 45 and Rising (Cut Copy remix)
-Timbaland – Throw It On Me (Bloody Beetroots remix)
-Daft Punk – One More Time (Million $ Mano remix)
-Hot Chip – Shake A Fist
-LCD Soundsystem – Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
-The Rapture – Whoo! Alright-Yeah…Uh Huh
-Cut Copy – Lights and Music
-Kanye West – Flashing Lights (Diplo remix)
-Matt & Kim – Its A Fact ft Hollywood Holt (Million $ Mano remix)
-Mylo – Drop the Pressure
-Jay-Z – Jockin’ Jay-Z (Travis Barker remix)
-Young Love – Discotech
-Cut Copy – Far Away
-Bell Biv Devoe – Poison (Million $ Mano remix)
-Justice – Phantom pt II
-Bloc Party – Banquet
-Daft Punk – Human After All
-Timbaland – Miscommunication (Bloody Beetroots remix)
-Mylo – Ottos Journey
-The Rapture – Get Myself Into It
-Just Jack – Starz In Their Eyes
-Hot Chip – Over and Over
-Digitalism – Pogo
-Pleasure – Uptown
-Armand Van Helden – I Want Your Soul
-Matt & Kim – Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus remix)

Let Me Know What You Think.

Timbaland has certainly been one of the most in-demand producers for any genre over the past two years. He collaborated with many artists that I never imagined (Madonna, Duran Duran) and some that I wished he didn’t (Danity Kane, M.Pokora). Either way, I am usually satisfied.

So imagine my surprise when I found that Timbo collaborated with The Rapture for the Grand Theft Auto 4 Soundtrack. I admittedly beat The Rapture’s Pieces of the People We Love album to death, with infectious tracks like “Get Myself Into It” and “Whoo! Alright. Yeah..Uh-Huh” last summer. Timbaland’s innovative, beat box-filled, dance ready production is a perfect match for The Rapture’s catchy, dance-punk tunes. Justin Timberlake even gushed that he wanted Future Sex/Love Sound to feel like the band’s hit, “House of Jealous Lovers”.

Timbo’s beat-boxing (“1-2-3/Here we GO”) gets things rolling and is quickly joined by an assortment of sounds. Everything from Timbaland’s trusty synthesizer to traditional guitar and drums to an assortment of cow bells (clearly The Rapture’s favorite backup instrument). I can’t say the song makes much sense, with Luke Jenner apparently moaning about some bloke’s new abstinence for “trashing people”. It doesn’t matter much when you are hypnotically listening to the infectious track on loop.

The Rapture – No Sex For Ben ft Timbaland

Also featured in Timbland’s Verizon V-Cast Commercial.