Mix: Pleisure

A Pleisure Suit. Yeah, I'm gonna pronounce it that way for a couple days. Rolls off the tongue.

Evening, all. I’ve got a new mix, brought to you by a deep, deep desire to relax and enjoy a weekend. Of course, I’ve probably got an hour or two of work I have to shoehorn in between now and then. Luckily this mix works for that, too.

Pretty much a solid downtempo mix, not too many surprises. I’ve got the new Gorillaz in there, and only one cover. Beyond that, you’re listening to what’s been keeping my focus company. And for album art, semi-formal attire. A leisurely suit, if you would.

Download: Pleisure (portmanteau’d by mahmoud)

(mp3, VBR ~193kbps, 90MB, 1:05:18 running time, avg. 93 bpm)

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Tracklisting:

1. Del Close & John Brent – (sample)
   
2. Velours Perfect - Indian Cowboys
3. Animals on Wheels – Loath
4. Little Dragon – A New
5. Maserati – Cities (Assembly Mix)
   
6. Saru - Subterra
7. Felix Laband - Step Two
8. Calm – Light Years
9. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
   Total coincidence: Last mix had a Gorillaz track at #9, as well.
10. Ticon - On the Rocks
11. Caribou - Pelican Narrows
12. Kruder & Dorfmeister - High Noon
    I can’t help but feel that no downtempo mix is complete without some K&D.
    
13. Cut Chemist - The Garden
14. The Lushlife Project – Soul Reservation
15. DJ Krush (feat. Toshinori Kondo) – Mu-Chu
16. Alpha - My Things
17. Minimatic - Take On Me (feat. Juliette P.)
    Pretty cute way to outtro, I felt.

Mix: Loose Leaf (long cut)

I will steep you and drink you.

I got up extra early (think: 4am), drank a pot of tea (think: kettle of earl gray), and managed to stay up this morning (I’ve been up for 11.5 hours and it’s 2:30) to finally deliver on my promises of mixes. Without further ado:

Download: Loose Leaf (long cut by mahmoud)

(mp3, VBR ~220kbps, 128MB, 1:24:31 running time)

For this mix I basically grabbed a handful of music with which I’d been meaning to mix and threw it on my decks. It starts out with some downtempo, but quickly gets into some funky and house-y stuff, even mixing in some indy with one of my faves, Pipas. Pipas, quick note, since you’ll probably read this blog post (nope): your songs are all great, but they don’t have enough repetition and as a result are short and hard to mix.

It wasn’t all haphazard, though. A while ago I read about harmonic mixing, using the key of the song to make a smoother transition without using special effects or techniques. If you listen to the mix, you’ll actually hear that I didn’t a significant amount of filter or fx, letting the music speak for itself. Also, I’ve been playing with making the big tempo changes during the transitions instead of on beats during the track. This shows in a couple cases, but it doesn’t sound out of place.

Also, I was distressed that I used 2 Towa Tei songs, neither of which was the one that I had intended to use. You guys will just have to wait for that track. What do you guys think about me using the same artist multiple times in a single mix? It’s tough to listen to whole albums and then only be able to use one song, not just from the album, but from the whole discography. Oh the challenges of being a DJ. I actually had an idea of taking really good albums then rearranging and mixing the songs the way I’d like to hear them. Hit me with some feedback on that, too (in addition to the question about using the artist multiple times). Oh, and I recorded using an optical cable followed by normalization, so let me know if you notice any improvement there.

Well, this was fun. I hope to do it again real soon. Image credit linked. (I’ll get my photos up soon.)

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Tracklisting:

1. Tosca – Suzuki
2. The Blackbyrds – Future Children, Future Hopes
   (I should have trimmed the brassish stuff at the start, I mainly included this for its awesome old school synth/keyboarding goodness)
3. Kid Loco – Relaxin’ With Cherry
4. Sounds From the Ground – Marshemello
5. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
6. Goldfrapp – Koko
7. Kings of Convenience – Little Kids (Ladytron mix)
8. Towa Tei – Obrigado
9. Stretch – Why Did You Do It?
10. The Bird and the Bee – What’s in the Middle?
11. Pipas – Barbapapa
12. New  Young Pony Club – Ice Cream
13. Gui Boratto – No Turning Back
14. DHS – House of God 2000 (DHS remix)
    (Being DJ buds, Matt and I will occasionally “steal” from one another)
15. Mateo & Matos – Journey Beyond
16. Carl Craig – Frustration
17. Juno Reactor – Nitrogen (Part 1)
18. Grace Jones – Williams’ Blood (Aeroplane Remix)
19. Towa Tei – Congratulations!

Mikusu Fikusu

From Nippon, the first in my hopefully recurring series, Mix Fix:

Download: MIX005 (Mix no.5)

(mp3, 64MB, 1:06:08 running length)

Downtempo with an eclectic mix of lounge, indie, electronica, and hip-hop. One of my first recorded mixes, all the way back from March, and still one of my favorites, I think this mix’s variety, along with the thought and heart I put into it are what keep it continually appearing on my playlists. I hope you and you properly enjoy this mix.

Pictured left is Yokohama, Japan, Oosanbashi (Yokohama International Terminal), during Tanabata matsuri.

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Tracklisting:

1. Kings of Convenience – I’d Rather Dance With You
2. Santogold – Lights Out
3. Desmond and the Tutus – Kiss You On The Cheek (King Of Town Remix)
4. Mo ‘Horizons – Dance Naked Under Palmtrees
5. Daft Punk – Digital Love (Boris Dlugosh Remix)
6. Chromeo – Fancy Footwork
7. Santogold, Casablancas, N.E.R.D. – My Drive Thru
8. Chromeo – Bonafied Lovin’ (Tough Guys)
9. Santogold – Your Voice
10. Mos Def – Umi Says
11. Kanye West – Love Lockdown (B.Cause Disco Edit)
12. CCS – Lets Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (Spank Rock Remix)
13. LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
14. Al-Pha-X – An Indian Summer
15. N.E.R.D. – Tape You
16. Daft Punk – Something About Us (Love Theme From Interstella 5555)
17. Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon (The Anthem)
18. Kid Loco – She’s My Lover
19. Kid Cudi – Pillow Talk
20. Hacienda – Late Lounge Lover
21. Lupe Fiasco – Paris, Tokyo
22. Kanye West – Good Night (Bonus Track)
23. Kid Cudi – The Prayer