Luke Million (Luke Godson) is 1/3 of The Swiss, as the keyboardist/producer. He has taken a solo journey to release an EP of his own due to be released 13th September on Future Classic.

We have definitely grown to love The Swiss‘ EP Bubble Bath, but Luke Million takes it one step further and pokes at all things kitsch, revisiting ideas and borrowing classic vocals, for an incredibly fresh sounding individual debut.

In this case, Arnie’s vocals are sampled for gym tonic in an attempt to keep listeners buff or ready for some heavy movements on the dancefloor. Head to his myspace account to listen to “Italo Journey” and “Octobussy” and pass your own personal judgement.

We know its just an EP, but what an EP to come out with, tantalising us with such retro futuristic elements.

We cannot wait to order this release on our own, so watch out for it!

Arnold by lukemillion

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But coming across Aguri’s work, I knew I was in for something good and she makes me want to go back just for Tokyo fashion week just so I can arrange for an appointment with her showroom.

She’s rather low profile as you see, I couldn’t even find a single store  that stocks her products. What I like about her aesthetic is that it’s very marketable globally. She somewhat has a cult status but produces clothing not exactly quite like her peers, and her eye for fabrication and concepts makes her shows a must see every season. I’ve just added just an image. I can’t exactly offer more insights, but always nice to discover a great designer.

LA’s Local Natives have been causing quite a stir with their ‘three part harmonies’ and ‘relentless energy’ and all the other myriad things that ‘real’ fans of ‘real’ music get excited about. But please don’t let that put you off, ‘cos these guys are genuinely special.

Debut album ‘Gorilla Manor’ (Out now on Frenchkiss Records) garnered rave reviews for it’s subtle yet gutsy songsmanship, and it’s well worth your attention on one of those folksy, sunny afternoons when nothing but chilled strumming will do.

However, let us draw your attention to a sweet little remix from a ‘mystery’ Canadian duo by the name of Teen Daze. We love the Binary-esque vibes and we’re pretty sure both acts will be making big moves over the coming months. Watch this space…

MP3 LOCAL NATIVES – WIDE EYES (TEEN DAZE REMIX)

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UK ‘post-dubstep’ (i.e. it doesn’t really sound like dubstep but we’d rather not call it IDM or unclassifiable electronica) duo Mount Kimbie drop their debut album ‘Crooks & Lovers‘ today on Scuba’s relentlessly awesome Hotflush Recordings today. We’re definitely excited.

To celebrate the release, grab a free download of album track ‘Field‘, which doesn’t sound entirely unlike THE Field, building as it does into a hypnotic tidal wave of percussive fuzz before settling down for a string-laden picnic with the nice man Four Tet. We’re keen to see how this fits with the rest of the album, certainly sounds promising for those who like their stuff a little more on the adventurous side.

MP3 MOUNT KIMBIE – FIELD

Here’s the full tracklist:

01. Tunnelvision
02. Would Know
03. Before I Move Off
04. Blind Night Errand
05. Adriatic
06. Carbonated
07. Ruby
08. Ode to Bear
09. Field
10. Mayor
11. Between Time

Plus, all you lucky North America souls can catch Dom and Kai as they embark on a short September tour. Details here:

23rd September- Victoria, BC – Rifflandia festival
24th September – Seattle – Decibel Festival
25th September – San Francisco – club TBC
26th September – L.A. – Downtown Independent Theatre
27th September – Colorado – Fox theatre
28th September – Boston – Wonder Bar
30th September – Toronto TBC
01st October – New York – The Bunker
02nd October – Montreal – Le Belmont Sur le Boulevard

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If the late, great Douglas Adams is to be believed, mice actually rule the world and are at this moment conducting fiendishly subtle experiments on the human race. Frankly, we’re cool with that – especially if top disco duo Mighty Mouse are doing the experimenting.

The guys have literally made our Wednesday by hitting us up with a brand new summer mix. Kicking off with mellow Tashed favourite ‘Space Patrol‘ by the one and only Ichisan, the mix takes in some breathtaking disco scenery including select cuts from the likes of Siriusmo, Ajello and A Mountain of One. A choice mix all in all, and one we’re not going to be getting tired of any time soon.

JULY 2010 MIXTAPE: A Summer In Space by MIGHTY MOUSE by Mighty Mouse

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This Is Head hail from Malmö, Sweden and many have clamoured to label them as the sound of Malmö almost immediately.  They easily assumed a natural place in the centre of all things great, with their sounds described as kraut disco meets smart indie rock with Bono-esque vocals.

Since then, they have evolved into something much greater; a confident machine that seems made for the times we live in. Yet they sound timeless. The growth seems to have been rapid, but it was all at their own pace, in their own time.

0001 is their debut album and it sounds as much like the wet streets around Möllevången square in Malmö as they do any spacious warehouse in Brooklyn or deserted parking garage in a remote part of Düsseldorf.

This Is Head’s curiosity has placed them anywhere and nowhere. They are as eager to consume new and old things as any blog, club or DJ out there.

They never thought of a song with the idea of sounding like Yeasayer joining up with the drummer from Neu! in an effort to play unreleased songs by U2 just so they could be mixed by Dan Lissvik from Studio and then be released by Touch & Go. That just happened.

The label has hit us up with one of their tracks “0007″ off their debut release and you have to watch the video above to get a feel of the band as well!

MP3 THIS IS HEAD – 0007

MP3 THIS IS HEAD – 0007 (POCKETKNIFE REMIX)

MP3 THIS IS HEAD – 0011 (KASPER BJORKE REMIX) ♥♥♥♥♥

The video above is by another Swede from the same label, Adrian Recordings. Familjen was all over the place some year ago with his unexpected hit “Det snurrar i min skalle” and a remix for Fever Ray, but he’s back with more this time. The first single from the upcoming album – “Mänskligheten” (Humanity) – is called ”När planeterna stannat” (When the Planets Have Stopped).

The music will drag you out on the dancefloor, with grandiose sounds from far out places and the beauty in the single tune from a vintage synth. You might actually get something from just the music if you don’t get the Swedish!

MP3 FAMILJEN – NäR PLANETERNA STANNAT

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A real blog post for the greater good this one… tackling both our lethargic post output and the under-representation of Poland (great beer, great people) on the blog music scene. Introducing Kamp! – purveyors of slick synth pop goodness.

As you can tell from the above picture, Kamp! are a gadabout three-piece with a penchant for boilersuits (well one of them does anyway). What you can’t tell from the picture is that they’re really rather good, combining summery disco shuffle with tinkling keys and some genuinely top-notch vocals.

The track is out now on the band’s own Brennnessel recordings, with an album due in the autumn. Looking forward to that. Here’s some linkage – you do the clicking!

MP3 KAMP! – HEATS

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After a long hard day spent with nose pressed firmly and continually against the grindstone, what you need (apart from a beer) is a double-serving 0f powerful pop replete with larger-than-life choruses to sooth the beast within. And let’s face it, no-one does it like VISITOR.

We’re incredibly pleased to have Kyle and Lucas onboard for Tashcast number four, and they’ve done us proud with a hand-picked selection of contemporary eletcro-pop that could melt the iciest of hearts. And what’s more, they’ve found time to answer a few questions about their future plans (album included).

You can scroll down for a full interview with the guys, but first up here’s what they have to say about the Tashcast:

“The mix we have done for Tashed is a collection of music which more or less outlines our current inspirations, and we often refer to songs in here when trying to decide on sounds we use in our own music. Given that before we made this tape, we used to listen to all of these songs in isolation, it is good hearing them in the same mix and they seem to work really well together, even if there are some tempo changes that are quite large. We had fun doing this. Enjoy!” L+K

TASHCAST #004 – VISITOR by tashed

MP3 TASHCAST #004 – VISITOR

—– VISITOR INTERVIEW —–

TASHED: So Visitor… start by introducing yourselves

VISITOR: Luc and I (Kyle) went to school together in Melbourne. We bought a MPC2000XL, Juno 106 and a V-Guitar when we were about 16, and have been making music ever since. We moved to Venice a few years ago for 6 months and then came to London. Which is where we’re currently based.

TASHED: We hear you guys are working in separate London home studios, pinging tracks back and forth a la ‘The Postal Service’. How did this unconventional production arrangement come about, and what are the advantages/drawbacks?

VISITOR: We live on opposite sides of London, which is how it came about. And obviously with Diamond Cut as well, it’s just become a fundamental part of the way we work. On the whole, it works quite well because we kind of try and take a song somewhere exciting before showing it to one another.

TASHED: Presumably you guys do link up for the odd pint here and there? Are you playing live or do you have any plans to do so?

VISITOR: We do! Although, we don’t tend to go out at the moment. All work and no play until this album is finished! We’ve taken a short break from playing live, but do play the odd show to try out new material and work out the show itself, which we want to make amazing.

TASHED: We would struggle to think of anyone better suited to to the Visitor sound than Diamond Cut. How did you hook you hook up with him and do you plan to maintain the relationhip for future releases?

VISITOR: He was an equal part in creating the Visitor sound. I don’t think we could find anyone that understands what we’re doing, or understands how to push what we’re doing forward as well as he does. We had him do a remix for a Cobra Dukes song. The remix ended up being a lot more exciting than the song itself, and Luc and I really wanted to do something with just the two of us, so we approached him with the idea of Visitor. The rest, as they say, is history…

TASHED: Working with Alan Braxe is a another coup for you guys. Has he offered you any hints and tips or are you very much ploughing your own furrow?

VISITOR: We’re huge fans of his, and of course when we had the opportunity to talk shop with him, we were (probably) annoying him with questions about synthesisers and software that he uses. Generally though, we know what we’re doing and are just getting on with it.

TASHED: Are your thoughts turning to a full album? What’s the battle plan?

VISITOR: Our thoughts are very much on our album at the moment. We’re also doing a few remixes which we’re really excited about. We’re really happy with the progress we’re making with the album, but the attitude is just to keep going on it as hard as we can right up until it has to be mixed. We’re talking to Diamond Cut about getting together for mixing etc. at the moment.

TASHED: The obligatory influences question… It’s very difficult to make ‘big’ electronic pop that doesn’t fall into ‘cheese’ territory. What’s your secret, and who do you think are the grandmasters of this kind of sound?

VISITOR: I think we’re just making music that we like. We’re not going for a particular sound or anything like that. We like a lot of big pop music and a lot of electronic music, and have found a way to mix it all together that seems to work. As for people we look up to: Lifelike, Stuart Price, Alan Braxe, U2, Coldplay, The Killers, Roxy Music, Royksopp, Daft Punk, Zoot Woman all for one reason or another.

TASHED: How are you looking to switch things up for any new material? Are there particular sounds and styles you want to experiment with?

VISITOR: We kind of go through phases of writing more low key stuff, more guitar based stuff, then phases of bigger choruses and more electronic things. At the moment we’re looking to write another big one.

TASHED: What’s revving your engine at the moment music-wise?

VISITOR: That Royksopp Electric Counterpoint thing at the end of our mix tape for you is pretty exciting to us… What else? A lot of the production on the new Scissor Sisters album. Pretty interested to see how The Brandon Flowers solo thing goes.

TASHED: And finally (since it’s festival season), who would you most like to share a headline slot with on the Glastonbury main stage?

VISITOR: Daft Punk? Roxy Music? Either would be basically amazing. We’d definitely be bringing Diamond Cut with us!

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Welcome to the Tashed Tape Report – so named because we’re so authentic and hooked on the idealisation of our reimagined childhoods that we only ever listen to music on chewed-up old audio tapes from 1993 or earlier.

We’ll be using this new weekly spot to give you easy, click-of-a-button access to a selection of the tunes that are really doing it for us at the moment. Most are new, others are old, while some are from that netherworld otherwise known as ’several months ago’.

Both Johnny and myself have compiled our top fives for the week, all of which you can stream below. Oh, and you can always check out our last.fm page to make sure we’re not serial liars who spend all our time listening to a choice selection of Barry Manilow, Michael Buble and Chris de Burgh.

JOHNNY’S TOP FIVE

Partial Arts – Trauermusik [Kompakt]

“On Ewan Pearson’s soundcloud, but the track was released under his Partial Arts alisas: techno at its best”

Trauermusik by Ewan Pearson

Tosca – Worksong [Future Classic]

“With tosca, hip hop is never dead, but is it even the hip-hop elements in their music that makes them stand out?”

Tosca – Worksong by future classic

Morcheeba – Even Though (Mustang Remix) [PIAS]

“Mustang always delivers, staple track in the making”

Morcheeba: Even Though (Mustang Remix) by Mustang Mixtapes & Tracks

Space – Deliverance (The Heels Of Love Remix) [Nang]

“Space, Heels of Love? Nothing else to say”

Space – Deliverance [The Heels Of Love Remix] by The Heels Of Love

Louis La Roche – Michael & Me [Unreleased]

“One year anniversary for untimely death of the king of pop, and finally a worthy tribute”

<No direct play for this one – sorry! Please click here>

JON’S TOP FIVE

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Round and Round [4AD]

“Old tape hiss and incredible melodies make this a winner. His songs go so many places…”

Ariel Pink Round and Round by INDIELANDMAG

Tensnake – Coma Cat [Permanent Vacation]

“One of Tensnake’s poppier numbers. Awesome sumer track.”

Tensnake – Coma Cat by TribeCalledJon

Ichisan – Space Patrol [Solardisco]

“Slow, deep and groovy – I think this is one of Ichisan’s very best”

Ichisan – Space Patrol by Solardisco

Floating Points – Peoples Potential [Eglo]

“Starts out a bit messy but soon coalesces into a nutty piano-house workout – top stuff”

Peoples Potential by floatingpoints

Health – Die Slow (Pink Stallone Remix) [Lovepump United]

“Health have bee remixed by everyone under the sun, but this is a standout effort from Pink Stallone. Low-key and dreamy”

HEALTH Die Slow (Pink Stallone Remix) by supabz

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We simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring you a free track from techno grandmaster Vince Watson. Not only is he one of the most consistent producers out there, but after years of churning out one intelligent tech symphony after another, it’s high time he got the recognition he so richly deserves.

Humour us for a second, it’s time to gush. We first clocked Watson’s skills with the frankly unbelievable ‘Renaissance’ which made for a fitting closer to Radio Slave’s exemplary Misch Masch mix. A bit of digging revealed a back catalogue as rich and fulfiling as anything out there: ‘Moments In Time’ and ‘Sublimina’ are wonderfully well thought-out full lengths, subtle and undulating with an relentless percussive drive, while EPs like ‘Ethereal’ and most recently ‘Love In F Minor’ serve as jumping of points for exploration of deeper, jazzier territories.

Vince’s new website is a real treasure trove – chock full of full of live mixes, streams and plenty more. We were lucky enough to catch one of his live shows (on New Year’s no less) and can confirm his sound translates perfectly to a club environment, so do catch him if you can.

Click the link above to grab the free live edit. Your email address is the least he deserves!

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