Audio Absinthe

Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shins teamed up to create Broken Bells. Danger Mouse was a big fan of The Shins and the duo first met on the Dark Night of the Soul collaboration album.  Their self-titled debut will officially be made available in March of 2010 but the album has been leaked online and it’s very impressive to say the least.  The single and first track officially released is called “The High Road” which will also be the first track off the forthcoming album.  Right off the bat, you can tell you’re listening to quality, experimental indie-pop music.  Warm, electronic sounds are set to a melodic and beautiful layering of guitars and strings over 60’s pop style drums.  The songs have cool and smooth, steady builds that result in an album that leaves you feeling like you’re on a real musical journey.  Similar to the beginning of “The High Road,” the end of “Your Head Is On Fire” sounds like it could have been a Zero 7 track.  The end of “Sailing to Nowhere” sounds like a film score and made me wonder when Danger Mouse might start scoring movies since he’s clearly capable.  The album as a whole is truly artistic and a great piece of work.  Nearly every song is capable of being someone else’s favorite track.  Check out the songs below and the official website at BrokenBells.com.

Broken Bells – “The High Road” (removed by request)

Broken Bells (March 2010)

I know I’ve already posted a bunch of different covers, remixes, and mash ups but… doesn’t everybody love them?  I think when people hear a song they recognize combined with something they haven’t heard before- something new and unfamiliar- it makes the experience more memorable and sometimes even more enjoyable.   Here are some more covers, remixes, and mash ups for you to enjoy…

Remixes
Radiohead - Reckoner (James Merriweather Remix)
Franz Ferdinand -Ulysses (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix)
Jamiroquai - Canned Heat (Calvin Harris Remix)
Beck - Where It’s At (Lloyd Price Express Remix)
Marvin Gaye - Let’s Get It On (Beatnik and K-Salaam remix)
Zero 7 - Somersault (Dangermouse / MF Doom remix) Click here to play in Hype Machine 
 

Covers
Dan Black - Hypnotize (Notorious BIG)
Adele - Black & Gold (Sam Sparro)
Katy Perry - Black and Gold
Klaxons - No Diggity (Blackstreet /Dr. Dre)
Glasvegas - Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime (The Korgis) Click here to play in Hype Machine 

Mash Ups
Soulwax - No Diggity (Blackstreet / Grandmaster Flash / Latyrx)
The Arbiters - Sure Side of Fame (David Bowie / Lou Reed / Notorious BIG / Tupac)
Notorious BIG / Michael Jackson - Billy Jean  Click here to play in Hype Machine 

First song is from one of my favorite albums of 2008, The Alchemist Manifesto.  Adrian Quesada and Ocote Soul Sounds now have two amazing albums- the most recent and El Nino Y El Sol (2006).   “The Grand Elixir” is the first track off of The Alchemist Manifesto.

Second track is from another one of my favorite albums of 2008.  The song is “So He Won’t Break” from The Black Keys’ Attack and Release.  Dangermouse produced the album and definitely added something that worked very well with The Black Keys.  In one of the past SOW emails, I think I sent either “Psychotic Girl” or “Strange Times” which are both great songs off the album.  Check it out if you haven’t yet. 

Third song is the Quantic Soul Orchestra’s remix of Nas’ “Get Down”.  Not much too it, but that’s kind of what I like about it.  Quantic Soul Orchestra is something I don’t really ignore, especially when I see that they’ve remix a good track by Nas, but I haven’t heard them do anything that spectacular.  And this remix didn’t really wow me either, but with QSO is potential is definitely there.  If you haven’t heard of QSO you might still want to check them out, even if you don’t like this one…

Fourth song is “Soleil” by the duo Fortin-Léveillé. This song is very relaxing and I have included it on many a sleep mix…