Summer Sessions: Chill

Back before White Noise was a dedicated dance blog, most of the reviews focused on alternative releases, from indie to offbeat electronica. Although the site is now purely dance-centric, we haven't stopped listening to all those other tunes. For our fourth summer playlist, we present a strong selection of summer vibes that crosses modern funk and soul, indie, beats and more. It's all very chilled, and with a lot more vocals and videos than you're likely to find on the latest Hyperdub release. Enjoy!

Make sure to check out all of our summer playlist series, and to follow White Noise on Facebook and Twitter!

Summer Sessions:

Classic House

Funk and Soul

Hip Hop

Bass
House

Chill

Tracklist:

Fatima - Mind

Andrew Ashong - Flowers

Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill

Primal Scream - Loaded

Gorrillaz - On Melancholy Hill

The Flaming Lips - Fight Test

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Peaking Lights - All The Sun That Shines

Washed Out - Feel It All Around

Toro Y Moi - Divina

Shlohmo - Places

Quiet Village - Too High To Move

Emeralds - Now You See Me

Leon Vynehall - Picture Frame

Bonobo - We Could Forever

Jessie Ware - Sweet Talk

Mala - Alicia

Bibio - Lovers Carvings (Letherette Remix)

Airhead - Wait

Boards of Canada - Peacock Tail

Do Make Say Think - Soul and Onward

Pablo Nouvelle - Be True To Me

Romare - Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin')

Gayngs - The Gaudy Side of Town

Dean Blunt - Track 2 Feat Inga Copeland

Best Tracks of 2012: 75 – 51

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

Follow White Noise on Facebook and Twitter!

Here's 25 more of our favourite tracks of the year. Enjoy!

75 – Jack Sparrow – Good Old Days feat. Ruckspin

Deep Medi shows there’s still life in the old 140 horse yet, with this sultry jazz-inspired number from the Author duo.

74 – Marquis Hawkes – Sealion Woman

Tough, analogue workout accompanied by a showstopping US folk vocal-line. Something special.

73 – Bicep – Vision Of Love

Pitch-perfect piano House from the Northern Irish duo. Literally cannot be overplayed. EP Review.

72 – Jack Dixon – Find Shelter

Polished House number shows Dixon has a few real surprises up his sleeve. Detailed sounds and a strong groove make this one essential. EP Review.

71 – Helix – Honig

Proper Techno workout from one of the year’s most talented breakthroughs. Bright synth streaks and hammering beats sure to murder the dancefloor.

70 – Kuedo – Work, Live & Sleep In Collapsing Space

Destructive future-sounds from one of the scene’s most unique voices. Otherwordly sci-fi soundtracking.

69 – Disclosure – Tenderly

Infectiously bouncy Bass number courtesy of Disclosure, one of the year’s mainstream crossover successes. EP Review.

68 – Daphni – Yes I Know

Caribou’s Dan Snaith offers a soul-injected House workout under his Daphni moniker. Worth the price for the vocal sample alone. Album Review.

67 – Presk – Nobody Makes Me Do

Wonky stepper with a couple of earworm vocals and some seriously polished production skills. EP Review.

66 – u-202 – Straightjacket

Pure strangeness from the L.I.E.S. camp. Takes its time to build into a loping House roller. 

65 – Artifact – Deserted

4am stepper deal in drama with monstrous drops and moody synthwork. EP Review.

64 – Dark Sky – Shades

Epic night stomper from the Dark Sky trio. Powerful grooves and an unstoppable bass bounce. EP Review.

63 – Downliners Sekt – Trim / Tab (part one)

Beautiful dance deconstructions from a White Noise favourite. Vocals, piano chords and haunted beats are consigned to the fragmented clicks and all-consuming vinyl hiss. EP Review.

62 – XI – Squeeze

Tough percussive Garage from Toronto on Orca. Stop-start rhythms and a de-oxygenated vocal cry make this one something special. EP Review.

61 – Swindle – Mischief

140 Jazz madness from the Deep Medi camp. Totally unique, genre-defying stuff.

60 – Boddika – Acid Jackson

A red-hot slice of future Acid from the man who probably sleeps tucked up next to his 303.

59 – Airhead – Wait

A track that polarized opinions, here at White Noise we loved Airhead’s Karen O collage. Atmospheric and emotive. EP Review.

58 – Akkord – The Drums

The most atmospheric of the shadowy Manchester group’s releases so far. Fantastic vocals and rugged beat patterns. EP Review.

57 – Mosca – Eva Mendes

Unstoppable Jersey House track from one of the scene’s most dependable producers. Guaranteed to get any club moving.

56 – No Fixed Abode – Indian Street Slang

Leftfield electronic tune from our favourite of the LHF collective. Cross-cultural, cross-genre, totally brilliant. Album Review and EP Review.

55 – NY Stomp – The NY House Trak

Gerd, one of the House scene’s worst-kept secrets, put out one of the genre’s most irresistible, no-nonsense stompers this year under his NY Stomp alias. Perfectly judged vocal snips and a great synthline make this one a surefire weapon at any party.

54 – Bondax – Baby I Got That

Poppy Bass/ Disco hybrid from the impossibly young duo. If any song gave us summer in four short minutes, this was it.

53 – Last Magpie – (Who Knows) Where The Love Goes

Chilled House number that we couldn’t stop playing over the last few months. Addictive vocal, lush chords, punchy beats and a deep ambient hiss kept this one on repeat long after the summer had gone.

52 – Boddika & Joy Orbison – Swims

Ubiquitous acid number from two of the scene’s biggest stars. Superb vocal and the best cowbell solo you’ve ever heard. EP Review. (Dun Dun was a close second).

51 – Dean Blunt – track 2 feat inga copeland

The Hype Williams duo stepped out from the cloud of weed smoke for this nakedly beautiful warped-Pop track. A simple piano loop and a dusty drum machine was all that was needed to create a career highlight.

August Roundup

Although we’ve barely been treated to a summer here in England, we’ve still had a giant’s share of dance music this month. Here White Noise collects some of its favourites from the last month, give or take.

Tracklist:

Fantastic Mr Fox – Power

Citizen – Room Service

Bwana – Baby Let Me Finish

Moodymann – Why Do U Feel

Storm Queen – Let’s Make Mistakes

Dusky – Stick By This (GoldFFinch Remix)

Mala – Calle F

Blawan – Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage
Visionist - Come In

A1 Bassline – Slur

Austin Cesear – Peralta Palace

Four Tet – Lion

Bobby Champs – Drag Queen

Airhead – Pyramid Lake

Holy Other – Held

Jessie Ware – Sweet Talk

White Noise will be taking a week of downtime as I'm jetting off to Dimensions festival in Croatia. Maybe I'll see some of you there. Enjoy!

March Roundup

It’s been 2012’s biggest month yet, so here’s a selection of March’s finest tunes for anyone who missed a few or needs a catch-up.

We kick off on the brighter end of Dance tracks, with some warm House and Bass courtesy of Krystal Klear, Lorca and DJ Q, as well as Aaron “Fit” Siegel’s stunning House epic Tonite. Next up Pearson Sound delivers a predictably brilliant new single and we move to darker Bass tracks from the likes of Duct and Trikk. Things get a bit frantic with Machinedrum and Om Unit’s Dream Continuum collaboration, fusing Jungle with Footwork, and Boddika keeps up the pace with his thrilling Acid Jackson. Akkord and 2562 offer a couple of deep, dark percussive workouts before Romare and Midland slow the pace with some fresh and intriguing tunes from the brilliant EPs both released last month. The final few tracks are less dance-orientated, with some excellent vocal workouts from Bondax and Doc Daneeka, all topped off by Anenon’s achingly beautiful Acquiescence.

Tracklist:

Krystal Klear – From The Start

Omar S Presents Aaron “Fit” Siegel feat. L’Renee – Tonite (Detroit Mix)

DJ Q – Brandy & Coke

Lorca – Can’t See Higher

October – String Theory

Pearson Sound – Untitled

Duct – Love Crazy

Trikk – Jointly

Dream Continuum – Giv A Lil Luv

Boddika – Acid Jackson

Akkord – The Drum

2562 – Jerash Hekwerken

Romare – Down The Line (It Takes A Number)

Midland – Tape Burn

Burial & Four Tet – Nova

Bondax – All Inside

Airhead – Wait

Doc Daneeka & Abigail Wyles – Tobyjug

Anenon - Acquiescence

Airhead – Wait / South Congress

Label: R&S

Robert McAndrews, aka Airhead, hasn’t been around for too long, with a notable compilation release on last year’s IOTDXI and a few remixes, but with Wait / South Congress, his debut release on R&S, he’s sure to make a splash. Here he continues to hone his sound; coupling textured beats with warm analogue field and record sampling, and has succeeded in creating a dazzling and utterly unique set of songs that I’d highly recommend.

Wait

Any expectations based on R&S’ previous output should be shrugged off before listening, because these tracks owe just as much to the Californian Beats scene and even Post Rock as they do to UK dance music. If this doesn’t discourage you, then the tracks are more than worth a listen, with A-side Wait ranking easily amongst the best tunes released so far this year. The track announces itself uneasily with confused samples clouding the soundfield, almost as if the vocal and percussive samples used later in the track are warming up for the big show. The core of the track is an assimilation of Karen O samples from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s tunes, notably the famous Maps, and they are applied here with care and skill. A loping beat pattern is built out of drums that sound like pistons, letting out a warm hiss every so often. As the tune continues the listener is treated to some beautiful and intimate guitar strumming, climaxing in a transcendent melody that will sweep all but the most hardened away in its wake. It’s hard to describe just what makes this track so special; whether it’s the careful and detailed collage of samples, their spare implementation into an almost pop-like structure, or the gentle build to a satisfying crescendo, but there’s something emotive and warm about the tune, more than justifying its difference from R&S’ average releases.

South Congress

B-side South Congress uses similar tactics to a slightly colder effect without a vocal line, but remains an impressive piece, albeit slightly less substantial as a song. Again rich acoustic samples are manipulated to eke the most from their organic textures, so the muffled kicks and melancholy melody are more evocative than you might expect. Add to this a keen knack for ambient details and perfectly treated percussion and you’ve got a strong track, driven to a very Post Rock climax with roaring guitars that feels grand but worthwhile, never quite stepping into over-the-top territory. Both tracks here are intriguing and unique, the A-side proving one to particularly cherish,  and if you’re looking for something a little different and a great deal softer than your average Electronic fare, you can’t go wrong here.

8/10