Mixed Tape Music has moved to its new home base at mb! Magazine – come along with us! And while you are there make sure to sign up for the new newsletter to stay up-to-date on all things Mixed Tape!

This will be the last post from here – from now on you’ll find us at our new place to be. We’re celebrating this exciting occasion with our brand new Mixed Tape ‘Precious Selection’. We’ve made every possible effort to enthuse you with this especially eclectic selection of precious picks which cover a huge range of genres and nationalities, from nu soul to modern folk and Bahrain to Estonia.

In addition, the compilation comes with a magnificent cover design by Dutch illustrator Raymond Lemstra. Watch out for our accompanying feature for a more in-depth look at the artist’s life and work, which will be online from tomorrow.

Last but not least we would like to thank all featured musicians and our gifted cover artist for their terrific contributions!

We hope you enjoy their precious works and look forward to receiving your feedback!

To claim your free copies of the current and the upcoming compilation, you just have to click the download button of our Mixed Tape Music player top right at our new home.

Also, we still wonder what your favourite songs are. If you haven’t done it yet, please participate in our user poll and let us know your personal picks from the latest Mixed Tape ‘Silver Vibrations’ here.

To tease and please you for the forthcoming Mixed Tape ‘Precious Selection’ we leak the first song from the new compilation as a little preview. Listen to the ethereal, quietly beautiful sounds from the Lithuanian modern folk hero Markas Palubenka via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

Markas Palubenka – jazz by Markas Palubenka

Mr. Woodnote and his pal Lil Rhys are the most infamous buskers out of Bristol – known for getting down on the street all over Europe. While Mr. Woodnote is responsible for the whole instrumental part including bouncy beats, funky horns and fat basslines, which he creates live on the spot with the aid of a loop station, his saxophone and as a human beatboxer, Lil Rhys blesses the audience with his rhyming skills. After countless street sessions the dynamic duo took their career to the next level playing concerts all over the world and recording their album ‘Modus Operandi’ in 2011. Nowadays they often work in company with female MC and songstress Eva Lazarus (of Dub Mafia). Mr. Woodnote exclusively gave an insight into his mind …

Check out the live video below as an example of his work with the magic little device, before you dive into his thoughts. After the jump you’ll also find an amazing music video off his current album.

Why do you work with a loop pedal? What is so special about working with it?
It’s the best toy I have ever owned and it’s fun to work with it. As the best jam tool ever it enables all sorts of instrumentalists, drummers, singers etc. to become creative with it – people even use them in ways they weren’t originally designed for. For example a loop pedal lets me be the whole band and make all the decisions over all the parts on the fly.

Do you use loop pedals on stage only or as a production tool as well?
I use the loop stations for playing live in clubs, festivals and on the street. I rarely save the odd loop into the machine in order to use it as a draft/sketch for a studio tune.

Did you ever produce a track with your loop station only? What’s the process like?
The two albums I’ve done so far only include one track which was done ‘live’ with the loopstation, ‘Unsustainable Thinking’ from ‘Modus Operandi’. When I play live, it’s all live, no backing tracks or clicks or anything. All the sounds are made just by me, all the drums are beatbox sounds, the bass is my EWI (Electric Wind Instrument) or voice and I play all the horn parts on my saxophone. I never play a song the same way when we are doing live shows. Thus my work flow puts vocalists through hoops, but I’m lucky to work with Lil Rhys and Eva Lazarus who are proper jammers!

Which loop device / product do you use?
I use Boss fx pedals and an Boss RC-50 loop station. This year I’m doing a new double loop station show where I use an RC-50 and also the new RC-300 at the same time, it’s going to be next level!

You are part of the ConvoyUnLtd crew – what is it about?
Convoy is a bunch of musicians from around the world including Dub Fx, Flower Fairy, Lil Rhys, Snareophobe, Cade, Sirius, IllSkilz, Ben Dowden and others. We are independent but united friends, we make phat beats and tunes and collaborate amongst ourselves but also with anyone, anywhere …

What are your plans for 2012 music-wise?
2012 is shaping up to be massive. We’ll be doing shows in the UK, Jersey and France in March and we’ll play in the USA, India, Australia and some of our favorite festivals in Europe later this year. Other than shows I wanna keep jamming, recording, playing on the street when it’s warmer and having fun with my friends.

Thanks to Mr. Woodnote!

Find below the atmospheric video of ‘Diamonds In The Dirt’ from the ‘Modus Operandi’ LP.

Artist info:
http://www.mrwoodnotelilrhys.bandcamp.com

From then on our free download compilations will be launched exclusively at mb! Magazine, starting with our forthcoming Mixed Tape ‘Precious Selection’. In the face of this special event we promise that we’ll enthuse you with this especially eclectic selection of precious picks from around the world.

But there’s more to it than that. You’ll also find three terrific articles by the Mixed Tape editorial team including an exclusive video feature starring the musical prankster and Mixed Tape regular, Mocky. We met the entertaining singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer (Feist, Gonzales, Jamie Lidell, Nikka Costa etc.) in his new home base Los Angeles where he took us beyond the obvious Hollywood clichés – and behind the scenes of modern music production.

Everything’s bigger, better and brighter – so come along!

The two songs off the single more or less represent these poles: The title track represents the indie/electronica side. It begins rather quiet, builds slowly and successively establishes an energetic stream that pushes towards a climax, that will carry you away. For the b-side ‘Runner (Reprise)’ the duo strip off their electronic garment and offer calmly intimate nordic folk pop reductionism at its best. Charlotte’s voice forms a tender, immediate alliance with the sparse instrumental backing. You can almost sense that this is not just a band, but a loving couple circling around each other in the boxing ring of their music.

Have a look at the ‘Runner (Reprise)’ video below and grab your free download of ‘Down My Couch’ here.

We’ve noticed Charlotte singing that ‘there is a transformation going on’ … which reminds us of the transformations that are going on at our editorial team as we are about to incorporate Mixed Tape into the mb! Magazine within the next days. So watch this place and check our Facebook page regularly in order to stay tuned.

Artist info:
www.meandmydrummer.com

The 23-year old soul man has been a staple in his city’s fertile underground music scene for almost a decade now. At the tender age of 13 he formed the Kold Hearted Krew with a few friends including now successful dubstep/r&b producer Joker. This was the time when garage was morphing into grime, thus McCarthy found his skills as ‘two-faced’ party hosting MC with the ability to spit verses and boost the party as well as flexing his vocal muscle harmonically.

All in all Javeon has been collaborating with many kindred spirits who would turn out to be genre-defining artists of the next generation of electronic music. Among others his vocals blessed productions of Nightslugs impresario L-Vis 1990 (‘Forever You’), lauded dubstep producer Guido and the highly acclaimed bass-not-bass/house-not-house sensation Julio Bashmore (‘Father Father’). Obviously the two have enjoyed working with each other, because Javeon’s banging debut single ‘Love Without A Heart’ features Bashmore’s fingerprint too – a futuristic house gem fusing a bumping 808 electro bass riddim, driving hi hats, hypnotive synth stabs and Javeon’s sensitive vocals. This is 21st century r&b!

Listen to the boomin’ super soul of Javeon McCarthy via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

Javeon McCarthy – Love Without A Heart by JaveonMcCarthy

Artist info:
http://www.javeonmccarthy.com

It was released ten days ago via the Los Angeles-based Innovative Leisure label, which has established a good reputation with valuable releases across-the-board. The label as well as the artist’s website don’t offer too much information about Rhye, thus journalists and bloggers have already started to mystify this promising act, conjecturing about the number of members, their supposed European background and the assumption that they live in LA.

We have a different approach: as disciples of Danish super producer Robin Hannibal, we presume to presume that he’s responsible for the production as it’s comparable to his brilliant output with Quadron, Boom Cap Bachelors or even Owusu & Hannibal. Rhye’s tune ‘Open’ quintessentially bears his sonic signature between an almost asepetic sound engineering and highly reserved synth pop aesthetics on the one hand, and a penchant for heartbreaking melodies, warm synths and likewise strings on the other. The song sounds like a close relative of Robin’s beautiful Boom Clap Bachelors production ‘Løb Stop Stå’, albeit songstress Coco Malaika has been replaced by an equally heart-warming, mysterious voice. Is it his girlfriend or even Robin himself? Listen to the song via the www.soundcloud.com player below to judge for yourself:

Rhye- Open by Rhyemusic

Artist info:
http://rhyemusic.tumblr.com/

Backed by this label, the duo seems to proceed rapidly. After two inofficial releases in three years Sonnymoon will release their highly anticipated self-titled debut album in May 2012. But there’s more to it than that: singer Anna Wise and producer Dane Orr really take the gloves off in this year and start it almost hyperactively with two relases as appetizers for the main course, the LP. The first is the ‘2012 – EP’, which builds on the formula of their previous releases ‘Golden Age’ and ‘Blast Off’, offering moody bass-heavy downtempo electronica with a psychedelic dub edge and Anna’s aethereal voice swaning through these spheres.

The other release is the ‘Just Before Dawn’ single, a minimalistic dark blue ballad with an interesting synth-foundation. While the original is already stunning, we fell for the alternate take by LA-based composer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, who’s best known for his Flying Lotus collaboration and J-Dilla tribute ‘Suite For Ma Dukes’ in a contemporary chamber music style. This breathtaking version delivers exactly the sweet strings and the exquisite arrangement you’d expect from him – full of quiet moments, beauty and soft ambient sounds. Listen to these prolific sounds via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

02 Just Before Dawn (Alt. Take feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson) by Plug Research

Also we’d like to add this remix of the ‘2012 – EP’ track ‘Magicians’ as a goodie. Listen to the tune which sounds like a twisted ‘Girl From Ipanema’ hip hop rework and grab your free download via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

Magicians (MndsgnSalmonFromIpanemaMX) by Plug Research

Artist info:
http://www.facebook.com/Sonnymoonmusic

They met in the Netherlands in 2006, when their mutual friend Naba Napalm asked both to join his musical project. At that time Osaka-native Kazu, an indefatigable globetrotter and producer, was making a living as DJ and producer in Paris, while Haarlem-based Maikal had just left the influential Dutch hip hop formation ‘Postmen’ which he joined under his former pseudonyms ‘Rollarocka/Shyrock’. Thus, they were both open for new projects when they met for the first time. Following the session, Kazu made Maikal listen to his sun-drenched bossa nova-inspired beats and Maikal got excited.

Soon after they started making music, sitting on a ‘Yellow Couch’ with nothing more than Kazu’s laptop and Maikal’s microphone it clicked immediately: Kazu ‘fell in love with Maikal’s voice and flow’ and Maikal got hooked on Kazu’s beats. Since they both lived in different parts of the world one would think the easiest way to collaborate was a ‘cybercollabo’ through the internet; however they never felt tempted by this modern but impersonal way of working. Thus Kazu would always visit Maikal when he was travelling and they ‘locked-in the studio for a whole week or month to sit down on said couch and make music’ – hence their name ‘Couch Brothers’.

Our favourite track of the Couch Brothers is ‘All U Need’, a buoyant and joyful, vibrating, bossa-tinged hip hop beast that will set tongues wagging among real hip hop lovers. You simply have to love the way Kazu flips the piano sample and beats with his Akai MPC 3000, Maikal rides the rhythm with his flow – and the soulful hookline is the icing on the cake. According to Maikal X, the tune’s ‘about people always looking past what they got. People always want more because of ego and greed when it’s all right in front of them.’ Kazu on the other hand says that he was ‘heavily influenced by jazz and Brazilian music’ when he produced that beat, ‘especially samba rock’.

We’ve had enough of words! You should now listen to this utterly uplifting, essentially beautiful hip hop jam in the vein of the Dilla-produced golden age classic ‘Runnin’ by The Pharcyde. Listen to the dopeness galore via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

All u Need by CouchBrothers

The Couch Brothers finished their album recently and plan to release it independantly in 2012. Nevertheless they’re open for offers from labels.

Artist info:
http://www.couchbrothers.com

A word and a blow: Spherical locked themselves in for 14 days at Peermusic Studio in Hamburg and recorded live with an ensemble of up to 16 musicians including a string quartet and a brass section. In the end, twelve songs were selected for the LP ‘Diggin’ Deeper’. Twelve songs that transport the band’s penchant for jazz, neo soul and film music as well as their ability to convert these influences into deeply relaxing wide screen pop.

‘My Way’ is the opener and one of the highlights of the long-player: blessed with cinematic strings, a catchy chorus sung by Mexican vocalist Claudia Valtierra, and a jazzy nonchalance it has the power to carry you away. Just the perfect music for soundtracks and lounge compilations, sounding easy without sounding meaningless. If you’re into Micatone, Brand New Heavies, Zero 7 or The Cinematic Orchestra, these sounds should please your ears as well. Enjoy our pick via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

My way by spherical

‘Diggin’ Deeper’ incl. ‘My Way’ will be released in April via Wavemusic.

Artist info:
http://spherical.de