Archive for the ‘foals’ tag

Summer Drive Mixtape!

As you hopefully recall, last month, we put together our first ever mixtape entitled A Blogwave Summer which was curated by 20 of our favorite music blogs, each contributing a track of their own and mixed together by none other than myself. Well, I had so much fun putting that together that I decided to do it again with a bunch of tracks of my choosing. There wasn’t really a theme at the onset, it was just a lot of mostly high energy (and, for the most part, extremely bright) tracks that I love, most of which I hadn’t heard until I started this site last May. When I gave it a listen this past weekend on a 4-hour solo drive up to Traverse City, I decided it made pretty great driving music, especially on a sunny day, and thus, Summer Drive was born.

I could have also very well called this mix dailybeatz 101, because for someone who doesn’t visit the site regularly, it’s a fantastic representation of exactly the type of music that we love here. In fact, most of these songs have been posted on this site at one point or another, so you may have heard many of them here already, but I must say there’s something to be said for the way that juxtaposition can really change the feel of a song.

Special thanks to CrystalSister whose picture I used for the mixtape artwork.

Just like last time, you can right click/save as the zip file below which includes the mix split into individual tracks as well as front and back covers. Or, you can download the full mix from the soundcloud player below (this is what I recommend as you are sure not to encounter any split second gaps between tracks which really hurt the flow) and you can save the front and back artwork from this post. Either way, I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and please please PLEASE let me know what you think. I apologize for naming every mixtape “summer” something, but it’s what I love, and what the music sounds like for me. Check out the track list below.

Summer Drive mixtape (individual files)

Or listen and download one continuous file from the Soundcloud player below (what I recommend) by clicking on the down arrow on the right side of the player.

dailybeatz.com presents: Summer Drive by dailybeatz

Here’s a sample track from the mix that’s become one of my favorites the last few days. It’s the beautiful, flowing “We Ah Wi” by Javelin, which sounds like a breezy summer afternoon.

Javelin – We Ah Wi

buy it on or amazon

…read more and hear the song…

Foals – This Orient (Silver Columns Remix)

Surely you all remember from my review of the new Foals album Total Life Forever that one of my favorite tracks was “This Orient”. But holy cow, this totally beautiful remix by Silver Columns takes one of the most upbeat songs on the album and makes it at least a million times more upbeat. I think listening to this remix might be the equivalent of drinking a 5-hour energy (if that’s what you’re into), or at least 2 or 3 of those hours of energy. Or maybe you’re more of a 6-hour power kind of person. Or maybe you think they are all gross and don’t make me feel more awake but just prevent me from falling asleep when I finally want to (or maybe that’s just me). Either way, it is tough to deny the joy that can be found in this remix. Pure joy.

Silver Columns will be releasing their album Yes and Dance on May 31. Can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store on that bad boy.

Also, this one is a bit of a builder, so do not listen to the first 10 seconds and judge the bigness/joyousness of it all. Because it will get way bigger and way more joyous. Just wait for it. If you aren’t feeling the joy, throw on a pair of headphones and try again. I think the result may be different.

Foals – This Orient (Silver Columns Remix)

[first listen] Foals – Total Life Forever

As I’ve mentioned in the past, my first real exposure to Oxford, England band Foals was at Lollapalooza 2008 by accident when I just happened to be chilling by the stage on which they were performing while waiting for some friends, and I’m glad that happened. I really like their high energy and their beaming electric guitar riffs that suck you in so easily. Here are my first listen thoughts on their new album Total Life Forever, which has been officially released today in the UK.

1. Blue Blood: A really subtle start to the album with just some guitar and vocals. And then it hits. About 1:30 in, it really sounds like Foals for the first time. Even though it’s a bit more laid back approach from them, I really like it. Got that characteristic dueling guitar riffs going on. A nice start.

2. Miami: Starts out harder than the last track and again with a much more laid back beat than I’m used to from Foals. I’ve always loved how Foals layers on the pieces and this is no exception. “Would you be there be there be there for me?” I always pay attention to the 2nd track more than the 1st in albums, and this one makes me want to keep listening.

3. Total Life Forever: Another slower tune (well, compared to what I like from them). Good melodies, didn’t really grab me in though.

4. Black Gold: Ohh, this one didn’t really have me until the totally fluid sounding chorus. “The future is not what it used to be.” Ain’t that the truth? Again when the chorus came in, there was a fantastic contrast between the staccato of the verses and the liquidity of the chorus. This is one of three songs on the album that clock in at over 6 minutes, which sometimes bothers me/loses my attention, but in the case of this song it does not.

5. Spanish Sahara: You may remember me talking about this one here when it first hit the web. Starts out insanely slow/quiet. I remember being extremely surprised by this because I’d always associated Foals with nothing but energy. But it is oh so worth it for the buildup that ensues. I like that they are stepping out of their comfort zone a bit more with this album. Just loving this song more and more all the time.

6. This Orient: Really cool/unexpected start! Definitely the happiest/most upbeat track so far. “It’s your heart that gives me this western feeling.” I’m not sure what that means but I think I like it. That song almost reminded me a little bit of Shout Out Louds. That was rather enjoyable.

7. Fugue: Not much to report here. 49 seconds of piano and speaker fuzz and weird effects. But I guess it was a cool 49 seconds.

8. After Glow: Simple but excellent opening riff with the guitar jumping back and forth between left and right speakers. I was hoping this would be more high energy when it started, and it definitely just got there. This might sound like the Foals I know more than any other track thus far in the second half of this song (not to say that I don’t like the sound they’re rockin in the other songs).

9. Alabaster: Really slow and reverb-y beginning. Even though the song is really slow, there are so many different things going on and working in harmony that it carries you through without getting bored. There’s a lot to pay attention to in all of these songs which keeps it fresh.

10. 2 Trees: Holy canoli, this song sounds super fresh. A slow jam for sure (at least right now), but double time drums carry it and sound great against the guitar and vocal reverb. This song is a great summary of where Foals has progressed to, and I approve.

11. What Remains: Another more major sounding start (as opposed to the minor sound of many of the other songs). The music seems to be more secondary to the vocals and percussion, sort of swirling around in the background for a good amount of time. Like so many others, this one started out small and gradually built into something much bigger. I do feel like it ends a bit suddenly though (not Sopranos finale suddenly though).

After first hearing “Spanish Sahara” a few months back, I was expecting something a bit different out of Foals, and as you can see above, that is definitely what they give us. But, I really think this works for them. I love the in your face riffs and really up-tempo songs on their past albums, though I can’t argue that their use of layering so many sounds, each coming in one at a time, to create buildups in almost every song is entertaining. But if you’re looking for those huge guitar riffs and songs that make you want to jump around, you may have to look elsewhere. Total Life Forever really shows how this group is maturing musically and I can’t wait to learn these tracks inside and out.

Foals – 2 Trees

foals – spanish sahara

Despite hearing some songs by UK band Foals here and there, I never really paid much attention to them. But then I happened to catch them at Lollapalooza 2008 during one of those “I’m not really a fan of any of these bands, so I’ll just pick one” time slots in the early afternoon all by my lonesome. And it was only then that I realized that I enjoyed their unique sound, as they’re one of those groups where you pretty much can always pick out a Foals song when you hear one. That is, of course, until I heard this song.

“Spanish Sahara” is the first single off their upcoming album “Total Life Forever”, released on May 10. In stark contrast to their last album which was very in your face in a good way with its heavy beat and loud staccato guitars, this track starts out silently and is all about the buildup. And even then it doesn’t get to the levels that I have come to expect from them. I’m very interested to see how this translates into the rest of the album but I’m definitely looking forward to it. The song is beautiful, and the video is also beautiful/eerie. It reminds me of a combination of “Man vs. Wild” and the Sigur Ros documentary “Heima”. You can also get a free remix of this song on their website in exchange for your email address.

Foals – Spanish Sahara

And as a special bonus, below is a great subtle Foals remix of one of the first tracks we ever posted here — “The More that I Do” by The Field. See the original post here

The Field – The More that I Do (Foals Remix)

buy the original track or amazon