WARMER MIXTAPES #511 | by James Chapman [Maps]
1. Zodiac Free Arts Club | Ordre Du Temple Solaire
This track sounds like an extract from a lost movie soundtrack. It’s quite uplifting in a spooky kind of way. It's only 2 minutes long, but it manages to transport you into a different world completely. The whole album is great actually, but I love this little track especially. The perfect way to start my mix-tape!
2. Panda Bear | Tomboy
I love this whole album, I struggled over which track to pick. I just love what Panda Bear is doing. The closest thing to a long-lost Beach Boys song you’ll probably hear. He has a real fearlessness in his voice when he sings, but there is a real beauty about it too. I've had this album in my car for what seems like forever, and it still sounds fresh. So that has to be a good sign.
3. Lone | Ultramarine
This one has a really Old-Skool House feel. I loved Lone’s album Ecstasy & Friends, but this track is much more dancefloor friendly. I don’t think anyone else is making music like this at the moment. I remember when I first heard his stuff it just blew me away, and I loved the way he manipulated the sounds. The beats seem to stutter and start as if they're about to give way, but somehow hold together. Every one of his album's have been different, but each has created it's own unique world. Love it.
4. Shadow Dancer | Parallax
I found this track while surfing around late one night. The whole Murder Room EP is great, but this track really stood out for me. A proper stomping Electro bassline and awesome synth sounds. Quite euphoric in a dark sort of way. I love it when a track just seems to come out of nowhere and takes you by surprise. It has a really retro feel about it, almost in a creepy way. Definitely one to play late at night.
5. Bibio | Carosello Ellitico
A fantastic little tune, it always makes me smile when I play it. It just takes me into a Psychedelic Summer that I never had. That’s what I love about Music. It can take you to places that you’ve never been before, in your head I mean. If I can escape from my head for 5 minutes then I know the Music is good.
6. Phosphorescent | The Waves At Night
I don’t know too much about Phosphorescent, but this album, Pride, is probably one of my favourite records from the last few years. His voice is amazing. It reminds me of Low, but the whole feel of the record is so open, as if it was recorded in a forest somewhere at night. It sounds like a really cathartic record, if you know what I mean? This song just surges with emotion. The harmonies are beautiful. I love songs that have harmonies supporting the main vocal throughout. This song has a real choral quality to it, lot's of vocals working together. It's something I love in Music, and I try to do it in my own songs. There's something magical about getting a harmony to work with a melody line, and this song gives me shivers when I listen to it.
7. Isan | Cathart
I rediscovered this little tune again recently. Great analogue synth sounds. And a really warm-sounding track. Good to chill out to. It's quite an old song now, but still has the same effect on me as when I first discovered it. I've started to go back to some of the old CD's I bought when I first started making my own music, the one's that got me excited in the first place. It's amazing how quickly a track can transport you back to a place and time when you put it on again after a few years. This track has a real innocence about it which I still love.
8. Efdemin | America
This is quite an old track but I still listen to it frequently. It’s got a really hypnotic quality to it. Great to escape to. I love the Minimal pounding sub bass drum. The rest of the parts in the track subtly evolve around that. A proper little trip. The repetitive vocal sample really works because of the way he filters it throughout the whole song. It's one of those tracks that reveals more each time you listen to it. Great tune.
9. Death In Vegas | Your Loft My Acid (Fearless' Trans House Mix)
I really like this new album (Trans-Love Energies). I was listening to it all the other day on my headphones. Then this remix came on at the end of the album and I loved it. I was walking around London on a miserable rainy day, and this tune just made everything feel alright you know? That’s what Music’s all about. Her vocal is amazing, it really lifts the track to a whole new euphoric level. And I love the Old-Skool feel of the whole thing.
10. Low | Done
One of my favourite bands of all time. I remember the first time I saw them play live on the Secret Name tour, I was moved to tears (I know I probably shouldn't admit that). That was probably the moment that I decided I wanted to try and make a go of recording my own music. Because of that, Low will always have a special place in my heart. This is from their last album C’mon. A wonderful little song. They are the only band I know that can make me well up with tears just from the opening chord. This is music for the soul that connects right to the core. I could write an essay about how great Low are, but you’d probably get bored, so I’ll end it there. A great track to finish with though!
