The first mix of the year is fairly representative of some stuff I’ve really been enjoying over January (and a bit of stuff from December which got left behind because of the end of year stuff, most notably the singles from Acid Washed and Pantha Du Prince. There’s also a taster from the upcoming Thisisnotanexit compilation album Manifesto #1, Pink Stallone’s “Vlad” as well as the superb Night Plane Remix of Thisisnotanexit’s Dark Esquire. His “Situation” single has just been released, and is a true alt-pop gem. I’ll have a write-up of the Manifesto #1 compilation up soon. There’s also the Matthew Dear remix of The xx which has been doing the rounds on the internet recently. It got to #1 on the Hype Machine’s most loved list, which I suppose in this internet-centric future decade makes it the number one song in the world.

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio - January ‘10 (55:19, 128kbps, 51mb)

1) Acid Washed - General Motors, Detroit, America // Record Makers
2) Pink Stallone - Vlad // Thisisnotanexit
3) Ray Mang - Look Into My Eyes // DFA
4) The Dark Esquire - Situation (Night Plane Remix) // Thisisnotanexit
5) The xx - VCR (Matthew Dear Remix) // Young Turks/The Vinyl Factory
6) Tensnake - Need Your Lovin’ (Original Version) // Permanent Vacation
7) Joakim - Spiders (Astronomer Remix) // Versatile
8) Pantha Du Prince - The Splendour // Rough Trade
9) Four Tet - Plastic People // Domino
10) Subway - DBO // Deadly People
11) Grasscut - Muppet (Nathan Fake Remix) // Ninja Tune

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio - Best of 2009 (80.1MB, 128kb, 01:27:07)

1) Spectral Empire - Black Shark // Thisisnotanexit
2) Hot Toddy - I Need Love // Eskimo Recordings
3) Praveen & Benoit - Death As A Man (Worst Friends Remix) // Worst Friends
4) DyE - Star Vac // Tigersushi
5) Four Tet - Love Cry // Domino
6) Capracara - King of the Witches // DFA Records
7) Neurotic Drum Band - Robotic Hypnotic Adventure // Wurst
8) Naum Gabo - Pictur (The Loving Hand Remix - Naum Gabo Edit 1) // Thisisnotanexit
9) Black Meteoric Star - Death Tunnel // DFA Records
10) Tensnake - In The End (I Want You To Cry)
11) Azari & III - Reckless (With Your Love) // Permanent Vacation
12) Shit Robot - Simple Things (Work It Out) // DFA Records
13) Bottin - No Static (Main Version) // Italians Do It Better
14) House of House - Rushing To Paradise (DJ Harvey’s Streets Mix) // House of House
15) House of House - Rushing To Paradise (Walkin’ These Streets) // Whatever We Want

So, hypnagogic pop, glo-fi, chillwave, or as Italians Do It Better boss Mike Simonetti posted on his Twitter page recently “hipster baleric cosmic lo fi dance music” - whatever you want to call it, or if you want to call it nothing at all, it’s been hard to avoid talk of artists such as Memory Tapes, Washed Out and Neon Indian this year. These are artists who are the poppier and more accessable tip of what is occasionally a very alienating iceberg (for an example of one of the more, shall we say “challenging” acts in this area, check out The Skaters), but there are many more experimental acts who could be seen as fitting under these banners in loose ways.

This month I promised two mixes in December - one usual mix and a year-end best-of, (the best-of is coming next week, along with my top singles of the year, promise) but the more I thought about that the more I thought things might be a bit samey if I did two very similar mixes, so for the December edition of the podcast I’ve enlisted a friend of mine who introduced me to the concept of “hypnagogic pop” to put together a guest mix in that vein. He goes by many names, but the name he wishes to be known by for the purposes of this mix is his real name, Ed Gillett, so I shall leave you with some words written by him to explain his track choices, and many thanks to him for making a mix which I am, quite frankly, in awe of:

This mix came out of a playlist I put together for some friends, aiming to give a vague overview of what has been loosely termed hypnagogic pop (also known as chillwave, glo-fi, or defined by any number of other slightly clumsy genre names).

In angling the track selection towards the Urlaubshits aesthetic, I’ve included precursors to the sorts of sounds employed by modern practitioners (Musci & Venosta, or Arthur Russell, who seems to be a common touchstone), and others who aren’t primarily identified as being part of the genre, but who share some stylistic tendencies (Four Tet, Jane and Line). I’ve also veered a bit more towards the “pop” end of the spectrum, eschewing noisier, starker, more rock-orientated options (Sun Araw, Ariel Pink or Pocahaunted, for example), and instead focused on artists channelling 80’s synth-pop (Washed Out or Memory Tapes), Kosmische synth journeys (Emeralds) or blissed-out drones (White Rainbow and High Wolf) into forms more or less reminiscent of house, techno or disco.

For those interested in a different take on similar themes, I’d also highly recommend Radio Olio’s Hypnagogo mix, which offers a broad introduction to some of the other disparate styles tied together under the hypnagogic banner. It can be found at http://radioolio.tumblr.com

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio - December ‘09 (01:03:33, 87.4mb)

1) Musci & Venosta - Volterra
2) Jane - Agg Report
3) White Rainbow - Tuesday Rollers & Strollers (edit)
4) Friend - Dreams (demo)
5) Arthur Russell - Arm Around You
6) Washed Out - You’ll See It
7) Ducktails - McGuire In The Ocean
8) Emeralds - The Overlook pt. 2
9) Memory Tapes - Easy Pert Mom
10) Joe Goddard - Apple Bobbing (Four Tet Remix)
11) Line - Love Is Strange
12) High Wolf - Astro Black Ghost, Speak To Me!

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio - November ‘09 (128kb, 59mb, 1:03:18)

1) LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Prince Language Remix) // DFA Records
I’m not going to bother doing any of that “Best of the Decade” nonsense, because for anyone other than Pitchfork to do it seems a bit stupid, and when Pitchfork do it, it ends up being crass, but if I did, then 45:33 would probably figure highly on that list. The opening number, here beautifully reworked by Prince Language, adds a rippling arpeggio and some synth pads that make the track sound even more like the breaking of dawn than the original.

2) Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (Maurice Fulton Remix) // Wichita Recordings
Simian Mobile Disco’s sophmore album didn’t even remotely live up to their debut, or even the blinding “Synthesise” from the beginning of the year. The big name vocalists were not enough to salvage what was a sloppy collection of half baked electro-pop, mixed with a few housier efforts, which, although sounding like their old material, simply rubbed up against the rest in a way which made them sound just as lazy. The one track that everyone seems to rave about though, is the obligatory disco-influenced “Cruel Intentions”, made remarkable only by the vocals of The Gossip’s Beth Ditto. For all the internet chatter of her diva vocals making this track into a classic, it never seemed to me to be anything more than merely serviceable. This Maurice Fulton remix however, is a totally different beast. He doesn’t do anything that drastic to it - the key melody is more or less the same, but the vocals in his version just fly, maxing them out to their fullest potential, achieved by just the slightest change in the chord progression. If you like this, then I’d urge you to track down his masterful remix of Hot Chip’s “Over & Over”; another remix which makes a classic song all his own.

3) Yacht - Psychic City (Classixx Remix) // DFA Records
Classixx sound like summer in a can. Along with Mighty Mouse they are the first wave of genuine contenders to Aeroplane’s balearic pop throne. Even better than their Phoenix remix from earlier in the year (which was the musical equivalent of golden syrup dripping off a spoon), with its low slung bassline, and tropical feel, this remix sounds like Tom Tom Club, which is no mean feat.

4) Au Revoir Simone (Neon Indian Remix) // Moshi Moshi Records
It remains to be seen whether “hypnagogic pop” as it has been described by The Wire, will turn out to be the most significant genre classification since dubstep, or if it will be consumed into the greater whole like nu-balearic, but there is no doubt in my mind that this burgeoning movement has created some of the most exciting and melancholic music that I have heard in the last year. For those who don’t know, hypnagogic pop is lo-fi in its production values, supposedly occupying a dreamspace somewhere between the stations on the AM radio dial. Songs borrow the synthetic elements of 80s pop, but, perhaps as a reaction against the current wave of hyper-produced neon alt-pop and electro, they add woozy, fuzzed out layers of shoegaze sound, creating an effect that is akin to hearing songs as half remembered from childhood. What this remix by Neon Indian demonstrates, is that placed between two more “conservative” remixes, there is actually very little in terms of instrumentation to differentiate them - the tropical feel of the Classixx remix blends quite nicely with the fluorescent quality of the wobbly melody of Neon Indian’s remix, and the driving arpeggio is very much in the vein of a lot of current Italo style remixes, (and indeed leads quite nicely into the Rex the Dog remix of Fever Ray) but the flange adds a weird layer of something just out of reach.

5) Fever Ray - Triangle Walks (Rex the Dog Remix) // Rabid Records
Several years ago (2004 to be precise), Rex the Dog released a track called “Prototype” on Kompakt, which was perhaps as far removed from that label’s minimal style as you could imagine. It prefigured most of the maximal dance music trends which followed it, and did them better (and with it’s thick arpeggiated bassline, probably the current Italo revival as well), but perhaps because it took so long to follow it up in any reasonable way, Rex the Dog never quite reached the same heights as Boys Noize, Justice et al. But one thing he did do, was a great remix of The Knife’s “Heartbeats”. This remix of Fever Ray’s “Triangle Walks” is much in the same vein. In fact, it surpasses it - a major feat considering “Heartbeats” pop prowess; in this remix Rex the Dog manages to completely transform Triangle Walks from a downbeat calypso ballad into a blistering electro-house banger, by simply speeding the track up a bit. In the hands of his immediate peers, the same technique would have probably yielded an absolute trainwreck, but five years on, Rex still has that touch of emotional intelligence which made “Prototype” so brilliant.

6) Metronomy - Do The Right Thing (Wild Geese Remix) // Because Music
There’s nothing particulalrly subtle about this remix of Metronomy by Wild Geese, but it just pushes all the right buttons: the right mix of italo and big-room house, thumping bassline, a proper “hands in the air” moment, complete with organ, and a build-up which will surely get even the most sluggish of dancefloors moving. A further sign that “house” is surely the direction things are heading.

7) Lindstrom and Christabelle - Baby Can’t Stop (Aeroplane Remix) // Feedelity Recordings
This is the first single from the forthcoming Lindstrom and Christabelle (formerly Solale) album which is coming out early next year. I’ve been a little disappointed by Aeroplane’s remixes of late - their Robbie Williams remix felt very much by the numbers, and their remix of Au Revoir Simone was nowhere near as good as the Neon Indian remix. But this is one of their best, featuring an awesome arpeggio build-up and wonky organ solo. Let’s hope that their slight quality control issue is down to the amount of time they’re putting into their debut album.

8) Detachments - Circles (Beg To Differ Dub) // Thisisnotanexit
One of several remixes from Detachments’ new single “Circles” (produced by Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford no less), Beg To Differ are a new production duo consisting of Nick Chacona and Roy Dank (a.k.a. Wurst’s My Cousin Roy). The remix has a really dark and sinister edge to it, along with a bassline which nicely mirrors the “Going round in circles” lyric by looping and building in intensity. All the other remixes across the two discs are of a similarly excellent quality, especially the disco-pop rework by Mighty Mouse.

9) Boris - Buzz In (Optimo Remix) // Scion Audio Visual
A few years ago Optimo released the excellent Walkabout mix, a meeting of industrial rhythms and organic textures. It featured “My Machine” by Japanese drone metal band Boris, which actually offered one of the more sedate moments of the mix, giving the listener a moment of respite from an onslaught of techno, and acts as a palate cleanser for the second half of the mix. Now Optimo have been given the chance to remix Boris, but unlike the use of their material in their Walkabout mix, there’s nothing reserved about it; the result is a joyous mixture of clashing guitars and multicoloured melodic noise, resembling the same kind of apocalyptic dawn chorus sound as Fuck Buttons’ recent album Tarot Sport, and ending in a beautiful shoegaze fuzz.

10) They Came From The Stars, I Saw Them - Rabbit Seal Monkey (King of Town Extra 1/4 Remix) // Thisisnotanexit
I really can’t praise King of Town highly enough. He has a gift at creating brilliant atmospherics which completely change the mood of the songs he remixes. It seems that he hasn’t been called on to remix anywhere near as many tracks as he should have been, and I feel this is something that needs to be rectified, because as this remix (and the one he did last year of TCFTSIST’s “Moon Song”) shows, he is something quite special indeed. This remix has an organic, almost folky quality to it; it is a marriage of delicate melody and searing analog synths which reframe TCFTSIST’s innocent tone as something altogether more brooding.

11) Florence + The Machine - You Got The Love (The xx Remix)
Remixing a cover of an absolute stone-cold classic is the kind of thing that could have a tendency to blow up right in your face, especially when there are so many people waiting for you to fail due to being massively over-hyped. Personally, I think the hype surrounding The xx is justified; they’ve created a beautiful album with a unique sound, taking elements of dubstep and working them into a pop form that is accessible and cerebral. As for Florence + The Machine, I’m slightly less sure the hype is justified, but she can sing. The original version of this track is the kind of thing you’d expect to see on the telly being used to add “emotion” to an episode of Hollyoaks or something similarly melodramatic, but this remix is a work of genius, using cut up vocals of Florence while The xx do the bulk of the singing. The sparse instrumentation, consisting only of bass, drum machine and a harp sample ensure that the sublime vocals are the centre of attention.

And remember, you can subscribe to the monthly podcast by clicking on the link on the right hand side. Makes things a lot easier than downloading it manually every month.

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio - August ‘09 (1:03:07, 58MB)

1) Al Usher - Lullaby For Robert (Bogdan Irkük Remix) // Internasjonal
Internasjonal have just re-released Al Usher’s classic “Lullaby For Robert” from 2003, on a 12″ with the original and this Bogdan Irkük remix. Usher and Irkük compliment each other perfectly, and this remix more than rises to the challenge of remixing such an original track.

2) Kaoru Inoue - Esc // Endless Flight
Recently featured on Mule’s recent Definitive Japanese Scene compilation. “Esc” is a hazy, melody driven track which launches into the stratosphere, and one of several reasons I’ve been making a concerted effort recently to check out more Japanese electronic producers.

3) Club Silencio - Objectif Venus (Fratelli Edit) // Thisisnotanexit
This is from Club Silencio’s forthcoming EP on Thisisnotanexit (continuing an absolutely stellar run of releases for the label). Most of the EP is uptempo disco, but this is the exception, and probably my favourite track. The hanging guitar chords in conjunction with the freaky acid bassline make what I would guess to be a fairly accurate representation of what an Angelo Badalamenti disco track would sound like.

4) Spectral Empire - Innerfearance (Chateau Flight Remix) // Thisisnotanexit
One of my favourite tracks of the year thus far. I’ve already talked about it here, so check it out.

5) Still Going - Untitled Love // DFA Records
It was always going to be difficult for Still Going to follow up their massive “Still Going Theme”, so wisely, they’ve done something completely different. Obviously inspired by Liv Spencer’s recent work on House of House, “Untitled Love” features a slow burning vocal and laid back groove that is a million miles away from “Theme” but no less sublime.

6) Naum Gabo - Torus // Endless Flight
Endless Flight continue their mission to bring the most interesting cosmic sounds to disc with this new Naum Gabo track. Something to tide you over until the long awaited Pictur is released.

7) Night Plane - Chinese Shadows // Thisisnotanexit
Another one I’ve already talked about, awesome track, no more needs to be said. Buy it.

8) LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) // DFA Records
After years in limbo, the long awaited remix album of LCD Soundsystem’s 45:33 is gearing up for release. Featuring remixes from the likes of Padded Cell, Pilooski, Theo Parrish and other heavy hitters, it’s possibly one of the best remix albums I’ve ever heard. This Prins Thomas remix is probably the one remix which doesn’t tinker with the music too heavily, leaving the awesome space part of the album intact in all its vocal finery.

9) Bottin - Endless Mother // Bear Funk
The closing track from Bottin’s recent (and incredibly good) album Horror Disco, it has a rumbling bassline which is reminiscent of Vitalic’s “Poney Part 1″. Totally evil, and more than lives up to the name of the album it comes from.

10) Johan Agebjörn - Ambient Computer Dance // Lotuspike
This track comes from last year’s album Mossebo; I can’t believe I missed it when it came out a year ago. If you only know Johan Agebjörn from his work as Sally Shapiro’s producer, this album will come as a total shock, featuring eleven tracks of ambient music that has more in common with dubstep than disco.

Anyway, as it’s halfway through the year I thought I’d use that as an excuse to do a mix that’s a bit longer than usual, and that is as full of unashamedly “big” tracks as I could manage.

Download:> Urlaubshits Radio - July ‘09 (76.8mb, 01:23:37)

1) Maelstrom - Enter The Cosmos (Sankt Goran and Erik Sidung Mix) // Solardisco
This remix is about as unashamedly “big” as any to begin with. It came out last year as one of the first releases on Maelstrom’s Solardisco label, who have just released an Altair Nouveau 12″ with remixes of “Space Fortress” from John Daly and Sneak Thief (which don’t come on the DFA version in case you were wondering which to buy) and have got a 12″ coming soon from Ichisan, one of my favourite producers featured on last year’s Cosmic Balearic Beats compilation from Eskimo.

2) Hannulelauri - Glittering Night // Flexx
For me Hannelelauri’s material is the very definition of cosmic. I just love their use of textures in this track which are almost 8-bit to create the sound of falling stars. The rest of the EP which it comes from is equally good.

3) Codebreaker - Follow Me (Bottin Remix) // Disco Demolition
This Bottin remix has everything that made his “No Static” single great; squelchy bass, smooth synths, dubby vocals wrapped up in a package that takes the best elements of deep house and balearic disco, with vocoders that add just a touch of Italo.

4) Downtown Party Network - Heart Break Dancing // Eskimo Recordings
If there’s such a thing as a “Balearic banger”, then Downtown Party Network are the kings of that particular subgenre. To be honest this track it sometimes verges on a trance level of cheesiness, but I find it hard not to enjoy it, especially when it’s as full of epic synths and melodrama as it is.

5) Tensnake - In The End (I Want You To Cry) // Running Back
Probably the biggest track of the year for me along with the new Shit Robot single. It’s a lot more straight up than previous Tensnake productions, but no less interesting. The way the vocal samples jump out is jarring, but I also kinda like the way they shock you out of the main tune.

6) TBD - I Don’t Know // TBD Sounds
The B-side to their recent 12″ (and I think my favourite of the two). I’ve already talked about it here, so there’s not much more to say except that it mixes really well into the next track.

7) Shit Robot - Simple Things (Work It Out) (Todd Terje Version) // DFA Records
What is there to say about this one? The only complaint I can make about this remix is that it is in danger of completely overshadowing the original, which is really unfortunate, because it’s a masterpiece that deserves to sit along with “Happy House”, “Still Going Theme” and “Losing My Edge” in the pantheon of DFA all time greats. However, Todd Terje has done the impossible and topped the original for all out euphoria. An absoulutely essential purchase.

8) Canyons - Blue Snakes // I’m A Cliche
I don’t want to say disco is dead, but the recent trend that has seen disco and synth pop revived and pillaged by bands and producers across the world is starting to get a little tired. Thank the lord for Canyons, who are a band making dance music which completely bucks this trend, and instead looks towards old school house and psych to create some of the most exciting music you’ll hear this year. They hail from Australia and have an album coming out on Modular in 2010, but they sound about as far removed from the neon sounds of labelmates Cut Copy and Van She as you could possibly imagine. Canyons are a dark, organic beast, with sounds seemingly inspired by the outback of their homeland, creating soundscapes that exist somewhere between nature and nightmare. Look for their next 12″ on DFA in August.

9) Naum Gabo - Pictur (The Loving Hand Remix) // Thisisnotanexit
This release has been in limbo for a while; you may have heard bits of it on Beats In Space, but after over a year it still hasn’t seen a release. For anyone who is a fan of The Loving Hand, this will be an essential purchase. What is included here only represents nine minutes of its full 23 minute running time. Naum Gabo (a.k.a. Optimo’s Jonnie Wilkes) is currently editing it into two DJ friendly edits, which will be included on the final release, along with the original, and Joakim remix, and will hopefully be released sometime in the autumn, complete with screen printed sleeve with artwork by Wilkes himself. The full original of this remix however will only be available to buy as a download, but it’s so good you’ll have to do that as well. It’s somewhere between Lindstrom’s “Where You Go I Go Too” from the album of the same name and LCD Soundsystem’s 45:33, a multi-part space disco epic with cosmic interludes. Many thanks to Thisisnotanexit’s Simon A. Carr for letting me use it!

10) Azari & III - Hungry (For The Power) // I’m A Cliche
I hate to come up with slightly lazy comparisons, but these guys are probably to Chicago House what Hercules & Love Affair are to disco. They just sound so vintage, you almost can’t believe this record isn’t some lost classic. Astonishingly good. Along with Canyons and the unreleased Runaway track, this is probably one of the choice cuts on the recent I’m A Cliche sampler Moments Of A Crisis.

11) Osborne - Wait A Minute (Arto Mwambe Remix) // Spectral Sound
The original version has a real funk vibe going on, what with it’s smooth licks and melody heavy rhodes piano. It’s good, but it just lacked a little something for my tastes. This remix from Frankfurt’s Arto Mwambe gives it exactly what it needs; he doesn’t tinker with too much, just adds a satisyingly deep bassline to give it a touch more Detroit.

12) Plastique De Reve - Lost In The City (40 Thieves Edit) // Supersoul Recordings
Supersoul Recordings have been on a roll ever since their inception three years ago, but the recent Plastique De Reve EP is one of their best releases. This 40 Thieves edit is quite similar to the original, but I prefer it - it just feels that bit more nuanced. The slight production that has been done makes it feel more atmospheric, which is perfect if you felt the original was a tad too maximal for your tastes.

13) Bodycode - Immune // Spectral Sound
“Immune” is the closing track on Bodycode’s recent album of the same name. It’s a fantastic album, filled with organic instrumentation alongside deeper house structures. I especially love the way the staccato vocal tics and glitchy melody both play off against the sorrowful piano and sung lament in this track. It’s the kind of thing to listen to through headphones and get lost in for hours, frankly.

Download:> Urlaubshits - June ‘09 (53.5 MB, 58:13)

1) Joakim - Watermelon Bubblicious // Versatile
2) Codebreaker - Follow Me (The Juan Maclean Remix) // Disco Demolition
3) The Emperor Machine - Hairy Knuckle // DC Recordings
4) Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear (Strangelets Remix) // Supersoul Recordings
5) TBD - What Is This? // TBD
6) Black Devil Disco Club - Is Sorrow (Brain Machine’s Lucifer Rising Dub // Lo Recordings
7) The Faint - Battlehymn For Children (Tensnake Remix) // Boys Noize
8) The Beat Broker - My Way Or The Highway // Flexx
9) Sally Shapiro - Miracle (Bogdan Irkük Remix) // Permanent Vacation

Download:> Urlaubshits - May ‘09 (58.4MB, 1:03:32)

1) Walter Jones - Living Without Your Love // DFA
2) Tensnake - Holding Back (My Love) // Running Back
3) Lexx - Axis Shift // Permanent Vacation
4) Babytalk - Chance (Babytalk Remix) // Stickydisc Recordings
5) Chaz Jankel - Call Me (Toby Tobias Remix) // Tirk
6) Georges Vert - Freak D’Espace (Juan’s Golden Extension) // Lo Recordings
7) DJ Kaos - Love The NIght Away (Tiedye Mix) // Rong/DFA
8) Son Of Sound - Life Under Bridges // Tirk
9) Expanding Head Band - The Sound Of Breaking Glass // Lo Recordings
10) Black Devil Disco Club - Free For The Girls (Richard Sen’s Sumerian Fix) // Lo Recordings