BRAND SPANKING NEW: THE XX (ONEMAN EDIT) FREE DOWNLOAD

The xx “Chained (Oneman 119 House Edit)”

Ok, ok, so it may not be “brand spanking” new, but the free download of it is pretty new. Last month, under the moniker Oneman, London DJ Steve Bishop crafted this catchy rework of The xx‘s “Chained” and it’s a bit of a blinder, making it top of our “most listened to” downloads of January.

Satisfying all expectations and more, in true Oneman form, Bishop throws an enticing 119 bpm house rhythm over The xx’s harrowing vocals, while a meticulous bassline subtly keeps the tune progressive. If you haven’t already done so, definitely cop this free download below.

And in other Oneman news, Bishop self-released his DJ mix, Solitaire Vol. 1, last Monday through his website which y’all can get on his official website here. “The tape was a gamble, really, mostly off-the-cuff mixes,” the artist said, adding that the mix signifies “a game of subsonic solitaire where risks sometimes pay off.”

And if that’s not enough Oneman news to update you, then beginning on February 25, he’ll hit the road on a 10-stop tour of the UK and Europe. You can check out the currently announced dates below:

15th Feb Rainbow Warehouse, Birmingham, UK
16th Feb The Croft, Bristol, UK
19th Feb Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK
20th Feb Depot, Leuven, Belgium
22nd Feb La Machine, Paris, France
23rd Feb dollop x Standard Place, London
26th Feb Tuesday Club, Sheffield, UK
28th Feb Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, UK
1st Mar St. Judes, Glasgow, UK
2nd Mar Canal Mills, Leeds, UK

image: www.wearehq.com

BRAND SPANKING NEW: THE STROKES FREE DOWNLOAD

Something stirred Twitter’ville on Friday evening. Within the space of a mere few seconds, streams of RTs and hashtags filled the air with some musical delight courtesy of The Strokes. It’s been almost two years since we heard any of their new material but the guys are finally back with a new track and they’re sharing it with us all. 

Available to download now as a freebie, The Strokes have taken a new, more electronic direction in the form of ‘One Way Trigger‘. What a lovely Monday treat indeed! A synth driven song, ‘One Way Trigger’ is obvious with its influences and also has a sneaky hint of A-ha in the verse, don’t you agree? Well, have a lil listen and decide…

These fine chaps join the likes of Destiny’s Child, Justin Timberlake and David Bowie who are all making comebacks this year. Hallelujah!

You can download it here now or via the official Strokes website.

ARTEECOLLAGE PODCAST 01: MICHAEL L PENMAN

We’ve been bursting to reveal this news all week and now it’s FINALLY Friday, we can happily divulge deets of a crispy new feature for the blog. Introducing to you the first episode of the Arteecollage Podcast. Each month pioneering musical geniuses will exclusively curate guest mixes brimming with sonic treasures – all for your listening leisure. Stepping up to the studio this month is a rather special guest to the Arteecollage team.

Music engineer, sound designer and notable producer for some of the finest purveyors of House and minimal techno, Michael L Penman is a musical force to be reckoned with. Over a short period the Scottish artisan began solidifying his skills through experimenting across a wide range of genres and platforms. This raw and rare ability then resulted in collaborations with prestigious artists such asPhotek, Gwen Stenfani, Switch and Asian Dub Foundation – to name but a few.

After working with such a high calibre of influential artists, Michael decided to turn his hand to producing. As a result he released a number of energetic tracks on Slovakian minimal label Leporelo. Whether it’s his funky minimal extracts, or the rolling late hour tech house, Michael embodies a sound that helps to intertwine with your body and mind, creating a pure listening experience. It wasn’t long before his distinctive, bouncy bass lines, slamming drums and glitched out percussion soon caught the attention of the Minus crew.

Now a fully-fledged producer at Minus 12, and with a repertoire of three album releases over just two years, including “Guide”, “Plastic/Greasy Love” and “Animals are Minimal”, Michael’s flair for music is undeniable.

And it wasn’t too long until Michael attracted other top DJ’s. The likes of Richie Hawtin and Dubfirestarted to play a selection of Michael’s tracks across 2011 and 2012. This lead onto Richie using Michael’s track “Wa” in his essential mix on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show. Indeed, there are plenty of exciting things to come from this chap. And, naturally, with this level of innovation, we simply had to get Michael to craft our first ever mix (he’s also a fan of our tees which definitely did NOT sway us whatsoever).

So, sit back, grab a beverage or five and lose yourself in this glorious mix by the man himself.

Michael’s also given us this freebie for y’all to download. Enjoy!

XLR8R: BEST DOWNLOADS OF 2012

As we enter the last few days of another year, the music gurus over at XLR8R are marking the occasion by  evaluating the barrage of brilliant – and the not so brilliant – downloads that have either dazzled or haunted us over 2012.

They’ve put their noggins together to check stats for the most popular downloads from their site over the past 12 months and the result is a list bursting with the most epic 100 beats, as selected from their Downloads section.

And, ever the loyal puryerors of free music, XLR8R are also offering a free download of every track featured on their list in one single ZIP file- score!

The first half of the list can be streamed and downloaded from the top link below, and the second half can be found in the Part Two link, along with access to download all 100 songs.

The collection is an assortment of music featuring many XLR8R regulars such as Shlohmo, Lapalux, FaltyDL, etc. But what’s more is that there’s also newbies aplenty that seemingly appear in its ranks.  G’warn and download ahoy – there’s plenty to explore and hours of great music that won’t cost you a penny.

Simple and free, this list will undeniably make for an ace playlist for those imminent Christmas/NYE house parties. Enjoy.

http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2012/12/xlr8rs-best-2012-top-downloads

http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2012/12/xlr8rs-best-2012-top-downloads-part-two