Archive for the ‘memory tapes’ tag

Fool’s Gold – Nadine (Memory Tapes Version)

Remember up and coming LA band Fool’s Gold that I first picked up on way back in August of last year when I first heard their song “Surprise Hotel”? Well, since I happen to have a propensity towards hearing about songs and remixes months after the fact, I figured I’d share a pretty fantastic remix of their track “Nadine” by none other than our boy Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes. I think this first hit the interwebs last summer, probably right around that August time frame I mentioned earlier. But I’m just hearing it for the first time so it’s new to me. My favorite part about this remix is that there seem to be 2 or 3 distinct sections throughout, all ending with the in your face synthetic horn section taking us home.

Fool’s Gold will be on tour this summer, so check out their tour dates below to see if they are coming to a theater near you. And then listen to the jam.

Sunday, June 20 – Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Bowl w/ Baaba Maal, Yeasayer, & Tinariwen
Tuesday, July 13 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Showcase Lounge
Wednesday, July 14 – Quebec City, QC @ Quebec City International – DNA
Friday, July 16 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Jazz Festival
Sunday, July 18 – Camden, NJ @ XPoNential Music Festival
Monday, July 19 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
Tuesday, July 20 – Montreal, QC @ The Belmont
Wednesday, July 21 – Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo
Friday, July 23 – Columbus, OH @ The Summit
Saturday, July 24 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Sunday, July 25 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage
Friday, August 6 – Dranouter, Belgium @ Dranouter Festival
Saturday, August 7 – Crozon, France @ Festival du Bout du Monde
Sunday, August 8 – Hertfordshire, UK @ Standon Calling Festival
Thursday, August 12 – Oslo, Norway @ Oya Festival
Saturday, August 14 – Leicester, UK @ Leicester Summer Sundae Festival

Fool’s Gold – Nadine (Memory Tapes Version)

And as a fortunate coincidence since I already had this post queued up at the time of Mr. Hawk’s most recent release, a remix of Crystal Castles’ “Suffocation”, I figured it was entirely appropriate to include here. I still don’t know if I’ve found a Memory Tapes remix that I do not enjoy. I like to try not to post too much of the same artists on the site, but sometimes I have no choice. I especially like the extended outro.

Crystal Castles – Suffocation (Memory Tapes Remix)

Memory Tapes – Bicycle (Little Loud Remix)

“Bicycle” was undoubtedly one of my favorite songs of 2010. Maybe it was because I didn’t really hear it much until the latter part of the year so it was still fresh in my head, but whatever the reason, I totally dig/dug it. I liked the way it started out sort of minor sounding and then erupted into this big beautiful burst of Memory Tapes goodness. So I was pretty glad to hear this recent remix by Little Loud which sort of takes that to a whole new level. The UK producer slowed the song down quite a bit and almost removed the beat all together in the beginning of the song and took out the minor intro and replaced it with undeniably happy tones that are just really, really nice to listen to. Ending sentences with prepositions is where its at. <-- See what I did there? And then, when the beat does come back in, it's pretty much one of the happier things I've heard in recent memory. A really nice rework of one of my favorites.

Acephale Records just completed a second pressing of the Memory Tapes Seek Magic LP, and you can pick it up here if you’re interested.

Memory Tapes – Bicycle (Little Loud remix)

tanlines – real life (memory tapes remix)

heres a track that i just discovered courtesy of a tweet from mr. memory tapes himself (well, to be more exact, it was actually a retweet of a tweet from tanlines). if it seems like ive been posting lots of remixes lately, its because i am, and its because there have just been so many great ones as of late. id heard of tanlines but never heard any of their works, but i think i shall be examining more of their stuff cuz im kinda liking what im hearing.

“real life” is the title track of an ep by tanlines that was released just yesterday. if youd like to listen to the original before going further, it can be found streaming here courtesy of the ever awesome fader magazine. as usual with me, what i like so much about this remix is that it maintains most of the integrity of the original song. you might think that all the beats have been added in for the remix, but no, those were there to begin with. and even most of the music was there too. but in the memory tapes remix, the music becomes more subdued and flowing, which is a very nice contrast to the staccato of the percussion. there are also some nice synth harmonies added to the choruses and and theres an overall sense of dreamy reverb added to the song as well (why is it that the only word i can use to describe memory tapes is “dreamy”?), but when you start with a pretty cool song, sometimes the remix doesnt have to start from scratch.

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dailybeatz top 20 albums of 2009

the time has come. i know the anticipation has been unbearable, and i apologize for that. i was originally going to post this on monday but i was so excited i just couldnt wait. my basic criteria for my top albums are based on how much i listened to that album on repeat after i heard it for the first time. because isnt that really the best sign of how much you like an album? i was going to do a best songs of 2009 list too, but i post my favorite songs every day. i felt guilty narrowing down to 10 (and frankly couldnt pick) so ive bumped it up to the top 20, along with a track from each album (which may or may not have been posted here before).

20. the handsome furs – face control

i dont reckon this album made many year end lists, but the completely raw sound (both musically and vocally)just stuck with me and kept bringing me back for more.  and after seeing this two piece live this summer, i know that i want to listen to their music and to party with them. just a fun album.

handsome furs – all we want baby is everything

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19. jack penate – everything is new

to be perfectly honest, this album really didnt do much for me at first. then i was lucky enough to catch mr. penate live on a whim while i was in chicago earlier this year and i got to witness how fun and exciting his music can be first hand. then i found out my friend amber waited on him earlier that day, and i realized it was meant to be and the album went into heavy rotation shortly after.

jack penate – tonights today

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18. bat for lashes – two suns

the ever lovely natasha khans second album has really shown her moving forward since the release of the great “fur and gold” a few years back. this time, the songs are bigger and harder hitting. and its no surprise since she spent a bit of time in new york with dailybeatz favorite yeasayer working on beats. and for the second time, she even nabbed a mercury prize nod. we hope to see lots more of her in the future.

bat for lashes – daniel

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17. here we go magic – here we go magic

here we go magic is actually the third musical outing by luke temple, who previously released music under his actual name. i feel as though this album is best listened to on a lazy hazy summer afternoon. the intentional low production quality (allegedly recorded on a 4 track) actually adds to the album in this case. its almost as if we are listening in on some sort of practice session. a practice session which can get pretty ambient at times but more often than not is pretty neat.

here we go magic – ahab

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16. dirty projectors – bitte orca

its almost become uncool or cliche to like this album after how much buzz it got when its released, but since i am uncool, i am not afraid to add it to my top 1720(this originally somehow ended up as the top 17 list, but the OCD in me was uncomfortable with that number so i bumped it up to 20) of 2009 list. theres just something about the way that voices are used as instruments here that i love. and great voices they are.

dirty projectors – useful chamber

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15. faunts – feel.love.thinking.of.

special thanks to mr peabs for informing me of this one month ago. i think the best way to describe this album is to steal from amazon reviewer mark roberts who says, “like m83s ‘saturdays=youth’, its a gorgeous and non-ironic homage to 80s music, without seeming any way dated.” i couldnt have said it better myself mark. hopefully this albums release date early in the year wont have thrown it off the radar of too many year end lists.

faunts – it hurts me all the time

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14. the xx – xx

ah yes, everyones favorite early twenties london minimalist rock band, the xx. i was really late in listening to this album (as i am with most everything) but from even the first track i knew i was going to like this one. its amazing how much emotion can be put forth with such little sound at all. and the voices of oliver sim and romy madley croft just work perfectly together.  not to mention the fact that they put out one of the biggest remixes of the year.

the xx – islands

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13. dark was the night

yeah, thats right, a compilation has made its way into my best albums of the year list. why? mostly because it was basically a whos who of the indie world at that point in the year and there were tons of great tracks that came from that album. and its for a good cause taboot! and is there even any doubt as to which track youre going to hear from it?

yeasayer – tightrope

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12. yeah yeah yeahs – its blitz

karen o and crew did it again, this time the tunes were bigger, brighter, and just made you want to dance. the album came out just as the warm weather was starting to take shape, and it became an essential summer album. with a big festival repertoire this year, including an impressive last minute lollapalooza headlining gig, the band solidified their place among todays great rock acts.

yeah yeah yeahs – zero

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11. royksopp – junior

after just one listen to this album i knew it was right up my alley, especially since my tastes have turned so much to anything that can be danced too. even the title of the opening track, “happy up here”, was a great indication of what youd be getting from this one, fun energy. a great pump-you-up record with one of my top 5 songs of the year.

royksopp – the girl and the robot

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10. memory tapes – seek magic

this was one of the latest additions to my music collection, and i reckon that if i had a little more time to spend with it, it may have inched up even higher. the dreamy sounds laid over a nice beat just take you to another place. i think this is one of those albums where the album art perfectly fits the music. cant wait to see what weird and or memory tapes and or cassette bring us next.

memory tapes – stop talking

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9. animal collective – merriweather post pavilion

yeah, you knew it was coming eventually. my love affair began when i finally got a studio version of “my girls”, the track i fell in love with when i heard it live almost a year earlier. and the rest of the album kept me coming back for more. im really not going to repeat everything anyones said about this album because we would be here all day, but this is a must have for any music fan. bonus points for most psychedelic album art. just find a large version of the album cover and get back to me.

animal collective – bluish

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8. fever ray – fever ray

the first time i listened to this album it was early on a sunday morning driving through the (at the time) desolate streets of detroit. this scenario was so fitting with the album that karin dreijer andersson eventually turned it (well, something like it) into a music video. my surroundings during my first listen really shaped my vision of this album in an extremely positive way. however intrigued i was by andersson before this project, i am now intrigued tenfold by her mysterious persona.

fever ray – when i grow up

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7. girls – album

this album definitely snuck up on me, with its loud guitars and catchy melodies. i think what i like most about it is that the whole album just sounds so much like california. not any specific destination or aspect of california, just california as a whole. perhaps because of christopher owens’ gritty and playful vocals, the album just feels real and genuine. its also one of those albums where my favorite song changes weekly. right now, its “morning light”.

girls – morning light

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6. phoenix – wolfgang amadeus phoenix

so much to say about this latest offering from phoenix. i still remember my first time hearing “1901″ and how i knew instantly it would become a go-to song when i needed some energy, and then i realized that a lot of the album was the same way. and a seven and a half minute track that was almost all instrumental? sign me up. and just recently i was able to witness first hand that their live performances contain all of the energy of the album (and then some).

phoenix – love like a sunset

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5. grizzly bear – veckatimest

i still have no idea what “veckatimest” is supposed to mean, but i do know that it lived up and surpassed any hype and expectation. a solid offering from the very first notes of “southern point” to the wistful ending of “foreground” and jam packed with classics in between. this is one of those albums that just about any music fan young or old will probably enjoy.

grizzly bear – while you wait for the others

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4. st vincent – actor

for annie clarks sophomore album, she broke every musical rule. whatever role you thought an instrument would play, it played the opposite on this one (listen to the flute throughout this song below, for example). and i think thats whats so special about this album. it doesnt really sound like anything youve ever heard before, and its almost uncomfortable to listen to at first, but once you get a grasp on whats going on, you can really apprecaite how one of a kind it is.

st vincent – save me from what i want

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3. edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros – up from below

ok, so i dont know if this album was technically released this year, or why it seems to have multiple names, but it definitely found its biggest audience this year either way. the album cover describes the album perfectly. old fashioned and awesome. this folky number (allegedly all recorded live on a 24 track machine) is perfect for that friend who just cant get in to any of your music because it was made on a computer and therefore unpure. full of beautiful melodies with stripped down production, its the simplicity of this album that draws you in, and its the catchy songs that will keep you singing. it conjures visions of flower children holding hands singing songs, in a totally non-dirty hippie way.

edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros – come in please

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2. the antlers – hospice

one of the most emotional albums, musically and lyrically, in recent memory. the tale of troubled lovers dealing with a terminal illness is told in great detail on this album, complete with the good times, the bad times and everything in between. but much of the time (save for maybe “kettering”), the music doesnt want to make you cry, in fact, it does quite the opposite. in “bear”, for example, the music is like that of a childrens lullaby but builds into something much bigger. and if you think that their live show would be boring and quiet, you would be in for a shock when they nearly blow the speakers out.

the antlers – bear

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1. miike snow – miike snow

if you read this blog with any regularity, then you probably already knew this was the number one album. miike snow was really my overall musical act of the year, with the great album, two great live performances that i witnessed, and two of the ILLEST remixes of the year. in my opinion, this is the perfect album for people who hear the word “electronic” and run away screaming, because its totally electronic in a completely digestible way. the album starts out with the total pop hit “animal”, then “burial” gives our first tastes of computers, but its subtle and welcome. by “silvia”, youve moved on from dipping a toe in the water to pretty much end up waste deep in electronic goodness, and by then, the water feels fine so youre ready to dive in head first. luckily there are tracks later like “plastic jungle” and “in search of main” to whet your appetite. and the album pales in comparison to their live performances, with their 5-10 minute dj improvs following nearly every song.

miike snow – silvia

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memory tapes – bicycle

like many others, i was enamored and confused by the sounds coming out earlier this summer with similar but different names. what was this weird tapes, memory cassette and memory tapes and what did it all mean? turns out it was all the work of dayve hawk, who finally released an actual album at the end of the summer, and we are all better for having heard it. the centerpiece for me is almost certainly the second track of the album, the icantputmyfingeronitbutiknowitssweet “bicycle”. it starts out dark but dancey with occasional bright pauses in the action. but the last of these pauses is followed by choirful bliss with a lovely guitar solo that turns this track thats somewhat unsuspecting at first into one of my favorites of the year. i also recommend the rest of the album, as well as most of the weird tapes and memory tapes/cassette stuff. give it a listen, wont you?

memory tapes – bicycle

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