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Sounds of 2011

Chief — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:10:41 +0000

Sounds of 2011 features many of the top songs and artists we’ve written about this year. We can never fit in all the ones we would have liked to, but Crimson and I took on the daunting task of summarizing a year of exceptional music and discovery. Keep yapping at us on Facebook and Twitter if you like what you hear.

Alexander O’Neal Interview
Joe Goddard feat. Valentina – Gabriel
2562 – Winamp Melodrama
Zomby – Natalia’s Song
LOL Boys – Touch Them
Siriusmo – Lass Den Vogel Frei
Young Montana feat. Stainless Steel – Suchbeats
Bullion – Too Right
Letherette – In July Focus
Lone – Orange Tree
Nicolas Jaar – Almost Fell
Five Star Interview
Mount Kimbie – Carbonated
Oriol – Flux
Azealia Banks – 212
Change – You’re My Number One
Prince - Erotic City
Pebbles – Girlfriend
Letherette – Langsette
Ian Pooley – Bony Batucada
Jensen Sportag – Mapquest
Siriusmo – Cuba
ZZT – Lower State of Consciousness (Justice Remix)
Siriusmo – Synthie
Chromeo – Ah Oui Comme Ca
Instant Funk – Slap Slap Lickedy Lap
Carrie Lucas – Show Me Where You’re Coming From
Letherette – No Point
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Intro
Detroit Grand Pubahs – Sandwiches
Daft Punk – Technologic
Shalamar – Make That Move
Tepr – Too Too Too
Jamie XX – Far Nearer
Seams – Focus Energy
Gentle Giant – I Lost My Head

Kindness – “SEOD”

Chief — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:18:37 +0000

‘SEOD’ is a sweltering elastic funk ballad that will open Kindness‘ forthcoming debut LP. The song was co-produced by Cassius‘ Phillippe Zdar (who also produced Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix) at his Motorbass Studio in Paris, and will be released as 12″ white label in January that comes backed with an exclusive dub remix by Zdar himself. Crimson and I are convinced the drums in the beginning are sampled from Cherelle and Alexander O’Neal‘s Saturday Love (which Toro covered earlier this year), and the squelching saxophones near the end add a stature of aural dimension. Look out for the full LP to drop early next year.

Sounds of Summer II: Chief & Crimson

Chief — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:14:01 +0000

This has been a good year for Dipped in Dollars. From getting a mention in the Guardian, previewing Jai Paul‘s album in XL’s New York office, interviewing artists like Gilles Peterson, Jensen Sportag and Onra to premiering exclusive mixes by Solar Bears, Teams, and Streets Of Beige, our second year has been filled with lots of fun. Hopefully we’ve been able to influence a few record purchases as well. There already are some big things in store for our third year, and Crimson and I have also made mixes to thank you all for the good times.

Sounds of Summer 2 (Chief) by Dipped in Dollars

Kona Triangle – Mango Rubicon
Shabazz Palaces – Are You Can You Were You (Felt)
#Primitives – Junior
Machinedrum – Sacred Frequency
Letherette – Fyrth & Myre
Fatima feat. Floating Points – Mind
Jamie xx – Far Nearer
Four Tet – Ribbons
SBTRKT – Hold On
Long Arm – The Waterfall Inside Me
Shankles – 6, 10, Half The Other (S.maharba Remix)
Discodeine – Falkenberg

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Sounds of Summer 2 (Crimson) by Dipped in Dollars

Bibio – London Planes
Surface – Falling In Love
MGMT – Siberian Breaks (Breakbot Remix)
Flakes – Sugar Frosted Lover
High Fashion – Next To You
Electric Mind – Summing Up
Paul White – Let Your Imagination Go
Cecile & Venice – Rimmel
David Rubato – Circuit (Siriusmo Remix)
Fat Larry’s Band – Party After Midnight
Miami Horror – I Look To You
Letherette – No Point
Onra – Mechanical
Young Montana? – Sacre Cool
Andre Kostelanetz – Lure Of The Tropics (Side B)
Daedelus – Fin De Siecle

Sounds of Summer II: Danger

Danger — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:30:42 +0000

I’m not sure how it’s already been two years since we started the blog. What began as a casual idea is now a very real endeavor, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I’ve been exposed to such phenomenal explorations of electronic music, and met loads of great people along the way. I am truly grateful to anyone who has ever supported us in any way. Thank you. To celebrate, as we did last year, Chief, Crimson and I have all made anniversary mixes of our favorite sounds of summer. (Theirs will be dropping later today) Happy Birthday to us! Happy beats for you!
Sounds of Summer 2 (Danger) by Dipped in Dollars

Tracklist:
Southern Shores – Take Me Anywhere
Jamie XX – Far Nearer
Antwerp – Equinox
SBTRKT - Pharaohs feat. Roses Gabor
Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars
Florrie – I Took A Little Something
Gucci Mane – Haterade (Mista Men Remix)
Datahowler – Discovery in East Africa

Live: Twin Shadow @ The Triple Rock

Chief — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:41:14 +0000

This review was written by Beachey, who’s going to be covering a lot of the shows we go to in Minneapolis.

Twin Shadow played the sold-out Triple Rock on Monday night, handily upstaging their headlining tour-mates The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Mastermind George Lewis, Jr. and his backing band are performing like veterans, and they’ve hardly been playing together for a year.

Producer Chris Taylor worked wonders on Twin Shadow’s debut, Forget, dressing it in a translucent, 80’s sheen of shimmering chorus effects, punchy, canned drums and perfectly layered synths that swell like a symphony orchestra. You could almost miss Lewis’ snaking guitar lines and dark, poetic lyrics in that chrysanthemum of sound. Bands with lush, active production always face the challenge of reproducing their sound live, having two options: Either have loads of samples of the actual recordings ready to trigger from a midi-controller, or start from scratch and reinterpret the songs with only live instrumentation. Twin Shadow opted for the latter, putting new life into last year’s Forget by breaking songs down to their basic parts.

As my friend Crimson always says, live music is much more exciting when you can see explicitly how each sound you’re hearing is being made. This show epitomized that ideology. Gone was the epic scale of layers of synth and light, fluttering beats. In its place was tight, solid musicianship. Lewis let his guitar chops shine with longer, improvised solos, and the set had a decidedly funkier, less electronic feel. He and his touring band know when to restrain and when to let loose, and they brought down the house with crowd favorites like Shooting Holes and At My Heels, upping the tempo and energy of both.

The full range of Lewis’ voice really comes out live. On the chorus of When We’re Dancing, he scrapped the light, airy vocals of the studio version and belted the hell out of it instead. On Slow, he sang the first verse mostly unaccompanied, displaying his serious versatility as a musician. He charmed the audience with casual banter and seemed genuinely surprised that so many people had come out to see him.

Be sure to check out Twin Shadow if you are near any of these locations. Danger also took some gorgeous field recordings of his sets at SXSW that you should also check out.

Twin Shadow live snippet

Twin Shadow – Tyrant

Crimson vs. Teams vs. Star Slinger

Chief — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:01:00 +0000

Crimson and I were listening to Teams vs. Star Slinger‘s Punch Drunk Love and noticed it featured the same sample from a beat he’d made in September. Their debut release on Mexican Summer is still available for only $5.50.

Teams vs. Star Slinger – Punch Drunk Love

Crimson – Ready To Learn

ALBUM: Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine

Chief — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:32:47 +0000

I’m still a little fried from remixing Toro a few weeks ago, so I had Crimson write this one up.

Toro Y Moi’s Underneath The Pine has brought fan anticipation to a hefty swell—and rightfully so. Chaz Bundick’s earliest tracks hit the scene like a tsunami almost two years ago, and his debut album, Causers Of This, both expanded and encapsulated his unique sound. By incorporating a wide range of sonic textures and influences in his earlier works, he effectively and consistently prevented his sound from falling prey to the undertow of reductive categorization and hyper-labeling that so many other chillwave acts have experienced. This is why I have deep respect for Toro’s work, and it’s what kept earlier songs like Talamak and Blessa firmly situated in my monthly playlists and mixes.

When an artist experiences significant success after dropping material on an audience eager for innovative and intelligent music, what do they do next? Ultimately, what follows an initial victory can make or break the legacy of a person’s work. It is a tricky balance. Progression is imperative, as is continually incorporating your sonic roots as you move forward. In this pursuit of development Underneath The Pine aims high, and in some ways Chaz hits the mark. I was initially quite impressed by his level of success in transitioning from sequencing to live audio recording, which gives his vision for songwriting a different energy and facilitates live performance of the tracks. The live recording also allows for a cleaner presentation of polyrhythm, interesting chord progressions, clever phrasing and melodic enterprise (Go With You, Divina and Good Hold come to mind). The dryer, sparser percussive elements give these songs more room to breathe than if they were produced through the Causers Of This mold, and in this way, Chaz tests the old idiom about necessity and invention. These songs demonstrate the effectiveness of this new approach.

Yet the tracks hit me as exceptions to the general vibe of the album. As much as I respect Chaz’s desire to evolve in the direction that Underneath The Pine represents, I still couldn’t help but yearn for the deep synths, heavy beats, and immersive glow that typified Causers Of This. It was a fresh, clever, and honest sound that the album seemed to distance itself with each listen. In attempting to represent of a multitude of musical styles, Chaz’s latest work spreads itself too thin. It is a tray of many different hors d’œuvres—some tasty, some less tasty—that after munching still leaves me craving a main course. The cohesiveness that landed Causers Of This on firm footing is less present; many of the tracks towards the middle and end of the album unfortunately fall flat and dilute the listening experience. The catchy, upbeat singles New Beat and Still Sound do hold their own as Chaz ventures into a different take on lo-fi funk-pop, but they did more to remind me of my preference for other artists that have already taken this sound to the nth degree.

However well Chaz progresses through portions of Underneath The Pine, a majority of the album fails to tap into the foundations of what made his earlier works so memorable. Maybe this is the catch to using more live instrumentation in this album; maybe it is merely the way my ears are wired. I still must applaud him for taking a courageous step in a new direction. His creative process will undoubtedly benefit from stretching his musical muscles, and I hope his next venture will be a more comprehensive inclusion of his sonic roots.

You can stream the album here before it’s out on February 22nd.

Toro Y Moi “New Beat”

Toro Y Moi – “Still Sound”

Toro Y Moi – “Still Sound” (Comanche Remix)

Chief — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:02:40 +0000

Crimson and I noticed the stems for Toro Y Moi‘s Still Sound were up on Carpark Records‘ soundcloud, and we decided to give it a go. You should like us on Facebook if you’re really into it.

Toro Y Moi – Still Sound (Comanche Remix)

Gonjasufi – “Candylane” (Bibio Remix)

Chief — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 06:07:25 +0000

Bibio‘s Mind Bokeh album sampler has completely consumed me. I have been in search of anything that can pass the time before its March 29th release, and fortunately Crimson showed me his remix of Gonjasufi‘s Candylane. Bibio‘s works display a true understanding of form and structure, with an effortless ability to change genres in the middle of a track. The Caliph’s Tea Party is filled with reworks by some of the most forward thinking artists out there right now, so check it out.

Gonjasufi – Candylane (Bibio Remix)

Comanche – “Alexandria” Remixed

Chief — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:01:57 +0000

Crimson and I have been remixed by Granneh, Martonomous, and Will Stratton. Stay tuned for the second half of Indian Summer.

Comanche – Alexandria (Grannehs Hypertango Remix)

Comanche – Alexandria (Will Stratton Remix)