Machinedrum has swallowed the early chunk of 2012, collaborating on new works with Azealia Banks and Om Unit, remixing Bonobo and Gang Colours, and releasing his own SXLND EP on LuckyMe earlier this month. I don’t know how he’s going to keep up at this pace all year, but hearing this Letherette remix of a tune he did with Theophilus London almost three years ago is telling me there still is much more in store. You can catch him on tour with Sepalcure/SBTRKT all spring.

I love getting PR emails about artists who have personally reached out months before, and Elephant & Castle has come back to us in a big way with a collaboration with tUnE-YarDs‘ Merril Garbus. “En Memoria” almost sounds like something Daedelus would have produced, with sweeping arrays of orchestrated samples that cyclically give way to Merrill’s gorgeous vocals. He’ll be releasing his second album on Plug Research this March, and they’ve promised a full length that will sound something like a sort of “impressionistic electronica”. You can also check out the track that got us into him as well as a mix he recently did for Mary Anne Hobbs below.

Here we are, the very last mix of the year. December has been a great month for tunes, we’ve blogged about tons of new releases, but we know it’s hard to keep track of everything, so here are our favorites from this past month in a neat little bundle. This month features tons of R&B vocals, spaced out instrumentals, and two rap interludes. Have a safe and happy new year, and enjoy the jams!

Tracklist:

AlunaGeorge – “We Are Chosen”
The Weeknd – “Montreal”
Azealia Banks & Lunice – “Runnin’”
Morris – “Rashida Jones”
Juj – “Floater”
Machinedrum – “Updowndownup” (Kristuit Salu remix)
Sinden feat Jesse Boykins III – “High Demand” (Brenmar remix)
Jonti – “Hornet’s Nest”
Stephen Farris – “Elevate”
Madi Diaz – “Trust Fall” (Down We Go remix by Jensen Sportag)
Throwing Snow – “Pyre”
Freddie Gibbs, Class Actress & Telli Gramz – “VCR” (Prod. by The Hood Internet)
Giraffage – “Moments”
Pressed And – Fire Shelf
Vortex Rikers – “Oceanic”

If you’re looking for more fresh jams, check out Dipped in November.

Senzu is an LA based collective who showcase forward thinking electronic producers through a free monthly mixtape. Their first two tapes were heavy on artists from the LA beat scene, but it now has expanded to include more producers from across the country and abroad. Senzu Volume III features top work from Juj, Knxwledge, Giraffage, and D33J, and I’m particularly fond of this new beat by Soosh. You can download the entire mixtape for free on their bandcamp.

Juj – Floater

Knxwledge – Pain

Soosh – Rainbow Hicups

Brainfeeder‘s newest boy has done so many remixes over the last few months (our count is now at six), and we were just sent his most recent rework for London’s AlunaGeorge. Lapalux swallows the duo in his hazy, beat driven palate and hits them with 8-bit loops and overloaded progressions. I am really going crazy over AG‘s original video for the single right now. You can catch them both live at The Nest in London on December 8 for their End Of Year Party that will also feature DJ sets by Riton, Canblaster, Sam Tiba, and Raffertie.

After last month’s 8tracks mix, I realized how easy it was to pull together some tracks and start making a monthly mix. We’ve blogged about tons of new releases, but we know it’s hard to keep track of everything, so here are our favorites from this past month in a neat little bundle. Not all of them are new, and not all of them have been written about here, but this should give you some insight into what we’ve been listening to lately. This month gets a little bit more low key with lots of jazz influences. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

14th – “Millionaire” (Remix)
Ghostpoet & The D.O.T. – “Trouble” (Damu remix)
Kuhn – “Quiet Nights”
Drake – “Headlines”
Damu – L.O.V.E.
Onra – “A New Dynasty”
Shigeto – “Bitter Sweet”
Dauwd – “Ikopol”
The Whendays – “Untru Love II”
Francois & The Atlas Mountains – “Piscine” (Jensen Sportag remix)
Sepalcure – “Carrot Man”
Patten – “Blush mosaic”
Teebs – “Cook, Clean, Pay The Rent” (New House Version)
Long Arm – “After 4AM”

The Friday before Halloween, I was lucky enough to get the chance to go out (in costume as Diana Ross) to see M83 and Active Child play the Black Cat. They’ve put out two of my favorite albums of the year, so the opportunity to see them on the same stage was not to be passed up.

I’d seen Active Child once before, on his smaller tour with Com Truise, but I’ll happily take any chance to hear him play live. I had You Are All I See on repeat for at least a month, almost haunted by his hypnotic falsetto. The record is so deeply emotional, and almost remorseful, that it can be hard to let go once it’s taken ahold. His live performance is true to his recordings, and only made me fall more in love with them. He threw in some classic jams like “When Your Love Is Safe” (ridiculously dope Classixx remix can be found below) and perfectly set the stage for the wonder that is M83.

It’s hard for me to think of M83‘s epic double album, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming merely as collection of songs. It is a fully immersive sonic experience, rife with nostalgic emotions. Luckily his live performance perfectly matched the glorious pop energy of the record. The stage was awash in lights and fog as he rattled off hits like “Midnight City” and “Kim & Jessie” before settling in to a calmer groove. It was beyond incredible to witness recordings I’ve treasured come to life, and if you get the chance, this is not a show to be missed. Check out the rest of his tour dates here, and for photos head on over to All Things Go.

Black Light Dinner Party is the band I want to hate but just can’t. The whole indie synth pop schtick is entirely played out, but somehow they find ways to make it work better than I could ever hope and I just can’t deny my love for these tracks anymore. The initial single “Older Together” hooked me earlier this year (that video!), and with “Gold Chain” they’ve got me again. Their release strategy doesn’t hurt either, with only three released tracks, all of them excellent, it’s easy to see how these guys could go far. I’m certainly looking forward to a full release of pop delights (some tasteful remixes would also be appreciated), but for now check out their latest track. Bonus: “Small Boxes” which I listened to on repeat months ago, but failed to post until now, so shameful.

Gold Chain by Black Light Dinner Party

Small Boxes by Black Light Dinner Party

8tracks informed us that they will soon be releasing their Android application, and asked us to make a mix in anticipation of that. This was actually my first time using 8tracks (it was ridiculously easy), and I pulled together some of the things I’ve been listening to lately. Some are new, some are old, but I think they all accurately reflect the past month as well as the impending doom that is winter. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it. Tracklist below.

Tracklist:

Made in Heights – “Holla Mears”
SBTRKT – “Sanctuary”
Joe Goddard – “Gabriel” feat. Valentina
Salva – “Obsession” feat. B. Bravo
EVM128 – “The Slow Jam”
Mount Kimbie – “Carbonated”
Two Inch Punch – “LuvLuv”
Little Dragon – “Feather”
DJ Shadow – “Sad and Lonely”
Friends – “I’m His Girl”

Gold Panda will be joining the ranks of Kode9 and Chromeo with the release of his very own DJ-Kicks compilation through Berlin’s !K7 Records this Halloween. We were sent the tracklist for the compilation, which features tracks from Matthewdavid, Bok Bok, and Zomby, in addition to a new original work that he’s kicking it off with. It’s crazy to think about how far he’s come since we first wrote about him two years ago, and you need to get yourself to his UK/US mini-tour next month if you’ll be in the area.

Gold Panda – Before We Talked

Gold Panda – Snow & Taxis (Throwing Snow Remix)