All it Takes is Just a ...

1760449707-1
... tweet. I don't know about you, but I'm surrounded by good music each and every day, because I dedicated my life to listen to music, write about music, and even produce music. But when you've buried your head long enough into your own magic sonic sand, you sometimes run the risk of losing out on the really exciting stuff out there, because you're too busy with articles, releases and your drooling digital audio workstation.

Thus I was pretty happy that my friend Eric 'HipGnosis' Young shot a link to a smooth mixture of bouncing Hip-Hop beats and groaning Electronica synth sounds under the name of 'The Wires EP' by an Oregon based guy who calls himself 'The Great Mundane'. And you know just how shallow-brained I am sometimes - I fell in love with the cover artwork and thus gave it a try and was ... a-m-a-z-e-d! And I was even more happy to find out that The Great Mundane trooped his creative super powers once again this very October to release another complete EP called 'This is So You'.

But let's hear what the artist writes about himself, because who could say it any better? "Video game deprived and pop culturally challenged, The Great Mundane grew up in a southeastern Michigan home where TV was made of cardboard boxes, the tree in the backyard was his best friend, and the words “I am bored” were household blasphemy. Aside from occasional piano lessons, he passed time deep in his own imagination and on spontaneous road trips, a.k.a his mother’s famous mystery van rides, that seem to have provoked his current state of restlessness. Itching to hit the road, The Great Mundane left his Hip-hop roots in Michigan to delve into Chicago’s House/Techno scene before arriving in the Pacific Northwest. Now based in Portland, Oregon he takes listeners on a journey exploring the complexities and intricacies of his minimalist and innovative approach to beatmaking. He invents fractured, heady instrumentals laced with lush synthesizer work that navigate the terrain of forward thinking Hip-hop and Electro/House, all while exhibiting genuine emotion and talented production skills. Each arrangement is collaged with friends, found sounds, synthesizers, and samples meticulously programmed to convey what it might feel like to fall in love with a tree, travel through a wormhole, or to never be bored again."

'This is So You' is another mighty proof of The Great Mundane's ever growing creativity. If you're searching for some sluggish yet extremely funky grooves and the fattest synth bass sounds you can think of in a Hip-hop-esque environment with some naughty 8-bit-playfulness and Electronica-style naughtiness, then this is definitely your release. I just love the surprises it contains each and every minute, so you'll never know what's around the next beat's corner. Therefore be prepared to see those six tracks falling apart every now and then, shimmering like a sweet box of jewels, stuttering like your sick Toyota, stopping altogether, only to be gathered again to a frolic bouncing ball of musically weird fun.

And while you're there (downloading your lossless FLAC or ALAC versions of this fine collection of extravaganza), don't forget to explore The Great Mundane's other releases on his Bandcamp page. That's what I'll do right now, and I hope you'll follow me into the direction of more good music.

The Great Mundane - This is So You | The Great Mundane's Website | The Great Mundane on MySpace | The Great Mundane on Facebook

(download)

Flattr this

Hungarian Remix Workmanship

2130557968-1
Suhov is a producer and dj who lives in Hungary, so it's no surprise he already released a really fine EP on the country's number one netlabel Budabeats. If you like his style, you should explore his MySpace site, as you'll find some more music of him for direct download.

Now Suhov is back to prove his skills as a remixer, and he put together a grooving 6-tracker of wobbling Electronica, Hip hop inspired grooves and raps, lush Downtempo beats and even hypnotic ethnic melodies. I admire the fact he has chosen some pretty cool, while mostly unknown tracks as the foundation of his remix works, including Norway's Indie Pop duo Sanagi, Hungary's Folk-Rock collective Sheket and Detroit based Rap heavyweight Guilty Simpson. So you don't get just one musical style with this EP, but it's nonetheless an astonishingly coherent work.

Needless to say that as Suhov's Remix EP is hosted on Bandcamp, you are having the choice between compressed file formats such as MP3 for your portable devices as well as lossless data such as FLAC and ALAC for your full listening pleasure. Choose what suits best for you, but don't miss this fine release.

Suhov - Remix EP | Suhov on MySpace | Suhov on Soundcloud | Suhov's Blog (Hungarian)

(download)