I was first introduced to the magic that is Tim Sweeney a few years back at a party hosted by the HAHA Industries crew right here in Sydney. He was headlining a bill chocked up with some local movers and shakers of the time. I’d been to a few of the HAHA curated warehouse events so was keen to check out what kind of vibe they’d bring to the Civic Hotel, a venue that was becoming renowned as THE place to be to discover intelligent and forward thinking electronic music. Sure there wasn’t the DIY/BYO vibe of the warehouses but none the less the party was out of this world and Tim’s set was immense. He played a bunch of shit I’d never have thought I’d get down to, but I got down like I’d never gotten down before.
Heading home I decided to use the powers of the Google to find out a bit more about this master of the dance floor. Beats In Space is a weekly radio show Tim produces, coming straight out of New York with various fresh sets and guests. Since 1999 he’s never missed a beat, presenting weekly no matter what part of the world he may be in. It’s one eclectic show with a focus on beats, some mellow, some deep, some banging, but all selected with utter intelligence. B.I.S had introduced me to some mighty fine tunage, producers and labels I would never have ordinarily listened to, it’s my first stop for an injection of new aural delights. As well as the obscure and relatively unknown Tim also hosts a variety of heavy weight guests such as Headman, Ewan Pearson, Superpitcher, Kid Koala, Kosheen and even indie-crossover heroes Hot Chip. All the sets and shows are archived way back to ’99 so there’s plenty for you to discover, download and stream. The site is really comprehensive, easy to navigate, and is a one stop shop for hours, days, weeks of fresh beats. If you’re on NYC time you can stream the show live every Tuesday night their time or get a weekly hit in the form of a two and a half hour podcast. In my opinion his ability as a selektah is second to none, subscribe to expand your mind, you won’t be disappointed.
FUN FACT: A few years back Tim was supervising soundtracks for video games such as GTA. Cha-ching.
Okay I’ll be honest. I have no idea who Freestyle Records are or what a Universal Funk is. I’m not going to try and pretend I know everything about electronic-esque music because I just don’t. For the most part I’m a noob, but I know what I like. Whether I discover it myself or it’s fed through by friends and foe, I just want to share with you what I’m digging on. I love the fact that journeys such as these send me down a never ending rabbit hole of eclectic musical possibilities. These posts might not be about the latest, fresh and the best, they’re about discovery.
The Black Lillies were once known as Universal Funk. Cue rabbit hole. The Denmark duo lead by Tonny Svensson and Jens Minke really know how to capture the sound of summer. Considering their average summertime temperature is around 20 degrees with an average of 8 hours of daylight, they sure do a bang up job. It’s ever so pleasant on the ears, how can a melodic mash of electronic, soul, house, jazz with a hint of worldly beats not be? It’s only been in recent years I’ve discovered the power of jazz and its fusion with modern day electronics, and for me there’s no turning back.
A personal highlight is the track Between The Lines. The keyboard lines of guests Hannah Vasanth and the vocals of Jo Harrop take me to such a happy place. For the trainspotters amongst you, Hannah tinkles the ebony/ivory for the likes of Rihanna/Bugz In The Attic/Gnarls Barkley.I’m keen to check out their project Stereofixx, apparently it’s rather enchanting and saucy. Whoops, down the warren again. Cannonball also gets the thumbs up from me, actually the whole album is stellar. Have a listen, you might like it, you might not, but fuck it I sure as hell do.
Who would’ve thought that slowing down one of John William’s most classic pieces of work could be so moving, hypnotic and emotive?
What kind of strange individual kicks back and thinks “What would it sound like if I slowed down the Jurassic Park theme by 1000% ?” Let me introduce to you the machine known as BIRDFEEDER. I was skyped this link by one of my work colleagues earlier today. He always sends me the goods so I had no hesitation in clicking, however as I began my journey down this epic k-hole I knew he’d well and truly surpassed all previous recommendations.
Sit back, whack on your cans and enjoy the am-bi-ence. A massive thanks goes out to BIRDFEEDER for getting me through hours of morning spreadsheets. It’s bound to get some high rotation when I’m needing to bliss the fuck out and escape the macros of the nine to five.
BIRD also had some great original output which can be found here
