You'll find a cornucopia of tasty tunes to bounce off your eardrums. I update with new tunes, art and photography every week, depending on what I'm doing and listening to at the time, old and new. I'm based in London UK but I love to travel and discover new music along the way and share my musical journey on neoloop.
Please support the artists and buy their music. If you are or represent an artist being featured on here and want me to remove something, email me.
Happy listening!
Neo
Email: neo@neoloop.comStrolling around Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn NYC - I discovered this piece by Belgium street artist Roa. He has an amazing style, you can see many of his works around east London.
El Hijo de la Cumbia comes to England next month in support to the Gotan Project (at the Troxy). The amazing sound of traditional cumbia mixed with hip-hop and dancehall elements is incredible. El Hijo de la Cumbia is a producer from the Buenos Aires suburb of San Martín. The name El Hijo de la Cumbia translates to "The Son of Cumbia" and I can't get enough of it. Cumbia is a Latin American musical style that originated in Colombia's Caribbean region. It should appeal to the Gotan Projects sound of tango.
This track is taken from the album - Freestyle de Ritmos
Big big tune from Friendly Fires, collab with Azari & iii.
I love this shit! Last we heard from Friendly Fires was their cover of the Holy Ghost's Hold On. This one goes in a heavier house direction than the indie/dance crossovers we are use to. Still has the all the hallmarks of Friendly Fires - cow bells and Ed Macfarlane’s soaring harmonies with added contribution from Toronto based house heads Azari & III. Taken from their ‘Suck My Deck‘ compilation for Bugged Out - Out tomorrow! - Bloody excellent!
Looking forward to a new Friendly Fires album too, the bands website state… our album is continuing apace and sounding heavy. Salsoul Orchestra meets Tom Tom Club vibes m8.
Some mixed up styles from the excellent Ana Tijoux, hip-hop with latin and french flavours. Ana raps in both French and Spanish, this tune 1977 (the year of her birth) is a stunning piece of raw unconventional music. A superb example of how hip-hip reaches all corners of the globe.
Anamaría Tijoux was born in Lille, France in 1977, daughter to Chilean parents living in political exile during Pinochet's dictatorship. She became famous in Latin America as the female MC of hip-hop group Makiza during the late nineties. Her latest LP 1977 was recorded between May and September 2009, the new album was produced by Hordatoj, Foex y Tee, of the label Potoco Discos, together with Habitación Del Pánico.
It's really cool to hear an album that is fresh and new yet still embraces the sound of classic soul. Aloe Blacc has made a cracker of an album, oozes influences of Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Sly and the Family Stone and mixes it up with a nu-soul adroitness. Good Things, co-written by the versatile vocalist and songwriter in conjunction with the in-house production team at Truth & Soul Records, Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman.
I Need a Dollar — commissioned by HBO as the theme music for the series How to Make It in America — because ultimately, that is how to make it in America. Other standout tracks on the album include the cool reggae funk of Miss Fortune, the smooth laid-back groove of Femme Fatale and the Sly Stone sounding You Make Me Smile. RECOMMENDED. Aloe Blacc, new the new Marvin Gaye? Maybe or just perhaps Aloe Blacc new soul sensation!
On Stones throw, Aloe on iTunes, Official Site, His place in MySpace
A feelgood club hit for you here, this is is such a happy tune from Tensnake, the Hamburg disco-housers. The hypnotic beat pulls you into a vortex of hedonistic snappy synths, "Can I get? Can I get-get?" on a loop, it all sounds so fresh but with a definite foot in the 80's disco camp. An anthem is born, your be hearing more from this lot, guaranteed! [From Coma Cat EP; out now on Permanent Vacation]
New tune from Fujiya & Miyagi - from forthcoming album Ventriloquizzing due in January 2011. Sixteen Shades of Black & Blue. Sounds like they have been listening to some old Serge Gainsbourg soundtracks, it's a new sexy beat with words of violence, arresting listening! Formed in Brighton in 2000 Ventriloquizzing will be their fourth album, following the excellent Transparent Things (2006) and Lightbulbs (2008). I'll look forward to hearing the rest of the album soon.
A stand-out track from Kano's new LP Method To The Madness, this is one of two collaborations with Hot Chip. The east Londoner's laid-back lyrical delivery coupled with the Chips' electro beats is an interesting mix that breaks new ground for crossing genres. Kano has clearly absorbed the influence of his recent hook up with the Gorillaz, each track on his new LP features a different collaboration, including Chase and Status and Boys Noize. With Roots Manuva's latest LP with Wrong Tom - UK hip-hop is sounding good in 2010.
New EP my heart beats: remixes and versions is a collection of remixes from Natural Self's My Heart Beats Like A Drum LP. Prince Fatty, puts stand-out track Midnight Sun through his mixing deck, drafting in his crew of veteran players to turn out a brand new piece of music, keeping the sultry vocal talents of French singer Elodie Rama who co-wrote and sings on the original version. Also available in a full dub version which wicked too. Pure hot hip-swaying vibes for a sunny day, just add clear blue skies and a Rum and Coka!
As well as Natural Self, Elodie Rama has also made some great music with Hocus Pocus and Blue Apple Quartet. Prince Fatty does a great version of Snoop Dogs Gin and Juice listen on his MySpace here.
Chill out to some seriously good dub with the second album from Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno, the tropical dub-reggae side project that Quantic introduced with 2008's highly acclaimed Death Of The Revolution. With the Flowering Inferno, Will 'Quantic' Holland brings dub and reggae flavours to the Latin American and African sounds that he has been chasing round the globe since he first started collecting records.
He recorded the album in his Sonido Del Valle studio in Cali, Colombia. An album inspired by soundsystem culture but widened out far beyond just reggae and dancehall styles 'Dog With A Rope' is a Tropical soundclash - encompassing a heavy bass and reggae aesthetic alongside the Tropical dance-orientated music from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Colombia.
Like this? Try: Buena Vista Social Club, Ernest Ranglin, Ticklah
The vocal is barely decipherable, but it has all the deep leftfield dreamy-pop, fuzzed out summery vibe of the chillwave scene. Everything Is Working was originally released as a limited edition (500 copies) 7" Single heavy wax vinyl. Now on wider release via Hippos in Tanks. Games are one half Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) and the other Joel Ford of Tiger City - now living in Brooklyn. The b-side is pretty good too, called Heartlands - more blessed out soul samples on a bed of simmering synths, superb.
Like this? Try: Boards Of Canada
I took this picture in downtown NYC, another great mural by Shepard Fairey, it's on Wooster Street south of Grand Street in Soho. The piece is on obaygiant website as Defiant Youth a Martha Cooper Collaboration. Check out more of Fairey's work here… obeygiant.com
Spooky rumblings and weird atmospherics mixed with sunny shards of light, whispering voices and fairground organs. Candy Claws music is quite a unique listen, it's all happy music but there are dark influences at work underling the wonky organs.
Candy Claws come from Fort Collins, Colorado, there must be something strange in the water up there?! There new LP is billed as a musical companion to Richard M. Ketchum's book, The Secret Life of the Forest.
Buy it on iTunes, Bands place in MySpace
Like this? Try: Emeralds, Fuck Buttons, Holy Fuck
Straight from the underground music scene of the sprawling metropolis that is Mexico City, Mexican Institute of Sound is the one-man band of Dj and producer Camilo Lara. His music goes from the Cumbia, Dub, Cha-Cha-Cha, Electronica, to traditional Mexican flavours. This little tune has a really infectious groove with kinda slow rap. Not sure what he's singing about here, something about Karate perhaps?! Available on the LP Soy Sauce.
Like this? Try: Up, Bustle & Out, Bostich + Fussible,
A beautiful sound builds on a simple marimba beat and looping handclaps, cascades of synths and soaring strings burst into life on this short but epic little track. Glasser, a one-woman orchestra aka Cameron Mesirow releases her debut LP on 28th September.
If this track is anything to go by it should be good, recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm she worked closely with producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Foreign Born, We Are Scientists) and Fever Ray’s Van Rivers and Subliminal Kid.
I've enjoyed everything I've heard so far from Tanlines, the duo of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm - their remix of Memory Tapes' Bicycle is wonderful (Memory Tapes return the favour by remixing Real Life). Out now is their new LP called Settings - The percussion is brought to the foreground on most of their tunes and this fires them up for pure feel-good vibes that are irresistible foot tappers. Add to this the melodic synth's and your in dreamland.
Like This? Try: Foals, Friendly Fires, Holy Ghost
Bands place in MySpace, But it on iTunes
Here's another track from Maximum Balloon's forthcoming LP, If you Return features the wonderful vocal's of Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon. There's a heavy Depeche Mode influence on this one. Maximum Balloon, the new solo project by TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek is due out later this month. Nagano has sung with Sweden's electronica-jazz outfit Koop, and she and Erik Bodin play live with José González. Nagano is also featured on the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach on the songs Empire Ants and To Binge, both of which she co-wrote.
Like this? Try: Little Dragon, Depeche Mode
Maximum Balloon, the new solo project by TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek - album due at the end of September. Groove Me features the eccentric talents of Brooklyn’s finest Theophilus London, surely only a matter of time before Theo goes big-time! This track has been reworked for the single by DOOM collaborator and Philly producer Jnerio Jarel (also available on the forthcoming iTunes deluxe version)
Sitting along side Theophilus London, the debut LP will also feature contributions from Karen O, David Byrne, Aku Orraca-Tetteh, and Little Dragon.
Like this: Try: Theophilus London
Nanna Øland Fabricius is the daughter of a mother opera singer and a father theatre organist, born in Denmark now mixing it with the Brooklyn music scene. Recording under the moniker Oh Land, this track is taken from her forthcoming EP on Epic Records in the US. French producer Yuksek transforms the europop original into a much heavier dance-floor stomper, keeping Nanna's delightful vocals and mashing-up the 80's synths.
Like this? Try: Fever Ray, Vanessa Paradis, Emiliana Torrini, Olivia Ruiz
The funkiest album ever recorded by Lyn Collins – one of the few soul divas working with James Brown who got a chance to cut a full LP, Think About It. All produced to funky perfection by James Brown, with backing by the JBs! Think, a funky sample cut that never gets old, still remembered for the "Woo! Yeah!" and "It takes two to make a think go right" loops in Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's It Takes Two which is composed almost completely from samples of Think including a few lines of Collins' vocals.
Summers almost gone, so to start off September here's a nice slab of summer shimmering funk from Sly and the Family Stone, classic. Hot Fun in the Summertime is a 1969 hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase.
It reached #2 on the U.S. pop chart. Thematically, the track was intended to be included on the in-progress album with Everybody Is a Star but the LP was never completed, and three tracks including this were instead included on the band's 1970 Greatest Hits LP, released between Stand! and There's a Riot Going On.
The track was covered by The Beach Boys on their commercially and critically disastrous 1992 album Summer in Paradise. And it was also covered in 1995 by The Manhattan Transfer featuring vocals by Chaka Khan.