Smoke Don't Smoke

Psychic Twin - Gonna Get Her Some of my favorite label buds...

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:49:35 -0700

Psychic Twin - Gonna Get Her

Some of my favorite label buds around, Lefse Records, just announced their inaugural 7” series. Starting in just a month, and spanning the course of several months, Lefse will release limited edition 7”s of some of their greatest and newest artists.

The first 7” to kick of the series is the gem above by Psychic Twin with b-side Deepest Part. Like some kind of mysterious dream from the 80’s, those vocals hypnotize, while that beat keeps your body moving. You can pre-order the single individually or go ahead and sign up to receive all six releases as they are made available.

Other releases include singles from Mister Lies, Field Mouse, Sun Glitters, Big Search, and Matthew Cooper of Eluvium.

PORTALS May mixtape is here. And look at that album art!!!...

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:30:00 -0700

PORTALS May mixtape is here. And look at that album art!!! Compliments of Laurent Hrybyk.

STREAM//DOWNLOAD

<a href=”http://portalsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/portals-mixtape-5” data-mce-href=”http://portalsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/portals-mixtape-5”>PORTALS Mixtape #5 by PORTALS</a>

Yung Life - Isn’t This Wow, I can’t believe how...

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:28:00 -0700

Yung Life - Isn’t This

Wow, I can’t believe how good this is. I just remembered it was over two years ago when I first listened to these guys. I highlighted the song below over at my buddies Dipped in Dollars:

Yung Life - I Am You

It’s amazing that, even back then, you can hear, buried deep under all that low fidelity sound, the solid, driving, epic sounds that have now emerged with their new track, Isn’t This.

Their new album drops June 21st, and I have a feeling it’s gonna be a doozy.

DOPEWAVE IS REAL // MIXTAPE

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:44:23 -0700

Flashlight Tag // Smoke Don’t Smoke // Head Underwater present…

DOPEWAVE IS REAL.

Some words from me:

Talking about music is a much different experience than listening to music. Genres at once confine, and define a musical endeavor. They can be offensive to some, and clarifying for others. Most recently genres grow like parasites, dividing into sub-genres, and even further into sub-sub-genres. Artists may always be disappointed with the genres they are inadvertently placed in by music writers, bloggers, and critics. But the fact that we have the luxury, not only of listening to more music than has ever been available, but to converse about it, is one I hope I never take for granted.

Genre creation will always be a fascinating process to watch. It happens everyday as the evolution of music outruns our ability to describe it.

Dopewave is an experiment in genre creation. Birthed out of a new group of young producers creating electronic sounds, that are simultaneously like nothing, and like everything you’ve ever heard. They reside primarily on SoundCloud, forcing us to become foragers among the clouds in constant search for that perfectly shaped sound. They are sounds that could attract several genres, from disco to trap, ambient to hip-hop, shoegaze to post-dub, and on and on. New sounds need new identifiers.

Flashlight Tag, Smoke Don’t Smoke, and Head Underwater have pooled their resources to gather a sample test for our great Dopewave experiment. We each foraged three producers of our choosing and asked for an exclusive track. Whether our findings were conclusive or not, may never be known in this world of constant evolution. Take a listen, and see for yourself if our hypothesis stands true ~ DOPEWAVE IS REAL.

Tracklist:

1. Windslo - “It’s Too Late”
2. Peh Per Ghost - “When It’s For You”
3. Taquwami - “Λlieɳs”
4. MedicineHat - “Garden Child”
5. warui kettei - “Eden”
6. Trap Arnold - “||KingCup||”
7. thirtycenturyman - “October”
8. The Beach Boys - “I Know There’s An Answer (BeachesBeaches Remix)”
9. StewRat - “Freeze”

You can stream/download DOPEWAVE IS REAL for free @ Bandcamp.

<3 <3 <3

Much love,

-Smoke Don’t Smoke

Headaches - Oh Honey Landon Speers is quite the catch. He is,...

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:18:00 -0700

Headaches - Oh Honey

Landon Speers is quite the catch. He is, at the vary least, a triple threat. And if his photography, music, and all around charm aren’t enough to win you over, he can also cook some pretty amazing dishes. Or so I hear.

That’s really all besides the point, however. Today on NeuroPlastic Records, the new Headache single dropped. Oh Honey is a new direction in context to some of Landon’s previous ambient, pure-as-the-driven-space, sounds that precede it. Lively samples, and a more direct beat connect you instantly, and you’ll have a hard time letting go. Which is why we’re so fortunate there is a b-side to this single. Flip it over to hear Genie.

You can grab the whole package here. And don’t forget to check out the accompanying photo series here; one of which makes the fitting album art above.

Unknown - #004 Hot off the morning presses. Shrouded in mystery....

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:29:42 -0700

Unknown - #004

Hot off the morning presses. Shrouded in mystery. Who is Unknown?

Tours - Grand Lux I listened to this yesterday as I made my...

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:53:00 -0700

Tours - Grand Lux

I listened to this yesterday as I made my first summer beach trip. Walking along the sand, as the waves periodically crashed up over my feet, and then back down. Grand Lux is a perfect soundtrack to that scene. Kids wading a few feet out into the ocean, some jumping the waves. Exploring the vastness of the ocean with the absolutely unvast resources you possess as a child. Parents watching, and remembering what it was like when they were a kid exploring the ocean for the first time.

The sounds Philadelphia producer Dylan Sieh creates here, are somehow soulful. Marked with brightness, and adventure. You can download the two-sided single for free from label/collective Young Latitudes - with b-side Drift About. While you’re at it, feel free to explore Tours’s soundcloud.

Another week gone by, and strangely enough, good music did not stop being made. While maybe at...

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:19:07 -0700

Another week gone by, and strangely enough, good music did not stop being made. While maybe at times I’m too busy to sit down and post, I still get a chance to have these sounds in my ears at most moments in a day. I’m really thankful for that. Too many people are making really good music to not have a life that lets you listen to it.

So here I am, copping out once again, and posting up a big collection of some of my favorites from this week. From tasty electronic gems, to sweetly twisted R&B bangers, to those projects shrouded in mystery ~ I AM UNKNOWN

Let these be your companion this weekend. A lot more after the jump. I love you.

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Future Dollars - Yul Brynner as Ramses

Florish Fill - Swimmer

Mean Lady - Pony Ony O

Giraffage & XXYYXX - Even Though

Seiho - ask

Monster Rally & RUMTUM - Music & History Mixtape Vol. 1

Ginuwine - In Those Jeans (RWRT BTLG)

Usher - Climax (Booty Hunt remix)

Unknown - #001 (via Stadiums & Shrines)

Mister Lies & Different Sleep - Safety Net (feat. Jessica...

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:37:00 -0700

Mister Lies & Different Sleep - Safety Net (feat. Jessica Blanchet)

Well, it’s been a couple days now. This collaborative EP between burgeoning Chicagoan producers Mister Lies and Different Sleep, is streaming, alongside some helpful insights on it’s inception, on PORTALS. And just yesterday, this official video for the track Safety Net just debuted on Stadiums & Shrines. Oh and I should offhandedly mention the Rising feature for Mister Lies.

All this to say, hopefully you’ve had some time for this EP to settle within you. For is subtle soul to trickle into your deepest corners of your self. These images compiled and arranged by Left Arm Single will certainly help the process. Here are some of his words on the video:

“I am fascinated by how two sequences of images put together can dance, bring together and pull apart your thoughts, kneading. The rhythms in the song impress in me a feeling of being somehow submerged, in a muffled, elusive world. There is no sense of direction and all you can do is roll with it.

Rolling down a hill, dirt in your mouth and hair and grass stains on your clothes. You come to as you look up at the sky. It is only afterwards that you discover the joy of remembering. Safety Net tells me a story of turning inwards, of falling off a cliff only to find oneself weightless.”

The Mass EP is now out on Absent Fever, who apparently can do no wrong.

Out of Japan, comes this submersive wave of soothing rhythmic...

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:50:00 -0700

Out of Japan, comes this submersive wave of soothing rhythmic bliss. Taquwami is a producer from Tokyo who should definitely be on your radar. His tracks are full and heavy, expansive electronic soundscapes somewhere on the border of post-dub, glo-fi, hip-hop, dreamwave, dub, and chillwave. Being on the border of those genres, and not being those genres, is what sets him apart. Below are his most recent three tracks he released together for something called Golden Week Chillbeatz. Download links are in the description here.

He is certainly making waves, and you can expect to see some special things coming in the near future here at SDS ;) His side project Occult You is equally as good, experimenting, at times, with more direct samples. In fact, this moniker was recently featured on an amazing Japanese compilation Ç86, compiled by möscow çlub.

Keep track of Taquwami and his music at any of these various locations:

blog/soundcloud/facebook/bandcamp

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Taquwami - ßlυe ;;

Taquwami - м(ο_ο)ηligh†

Taquwami - Sɦell∞

You might have seen the first remix for Steffaloo’s...

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:58:07 -0700

You might have seen the first remix for Steffaloo’s single On Fire hit the airwaves earlier this week on the FADER. Well it was the first of a whole ‘remix EP’ that was just released minutes ago.

I’m glad to bring to you a cut from our favorite funkadelic space boy Persona La Ave. He completely warps the original, and creates a sonic journey worthy of Lewis and Clark on acid. Listen and download remix EP here, and if you haven’t already, there are still a few vinyls left on JAXART. [photo]

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Steffaloo - On Fire (Persona La Ave remix)

Uncle Skeleton - Sophisticuffs I came across this delightful...

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:35:00 -0700

Uncle Skeleton - Sophisticuffs

I came across this delightful release earlier this week on Yewknee, whose experimental imprint, YK Records, happens to be putting out this little beaut. And when I say beaut, I mean it. It’s magically packaged as a double LP, providing the perfect listening experience for the “four movements” of the record; and that masterful artwork by Michael Eades (the Yewknee man himself)!

All Too Human is Uncle Skeleton’s third release, and is really quite a listening experience. Moving through four movements, the 26 track, 68 minute album is rife with nostalgia, most certainly pulling from elements of our past, and subtlety weaving in elements from our present and future. It’s simultaneously like nothing you’ve ever heard, and like everything you’ve ever heard. Here’s how the Uncle breaks down each side:

“Each side of the double record is inspired by a different avenue of musical interest. Side A covers danceable electronic tracks, Side B is inspired by pop and bossa nova, Side C by lo-fi experimentation and Side D brings forth the ambient sounds.”

This is a huge release, and one that deserves your ears. Definitely on task to be one of my favorite releases of the year.

Listen and buy here

TOTAL BUMMER 3D If this poster is totally indecipherable to...

Wed, 02 May 2012 09:45:42 -0700

TOTAL BUMMER 3D

If this poster is totally indecipherable to you, it’s because there are over 90 band names on it! Click through to see, in detail, all the madness going on in Orlando in mere days! In fact, today is the last day you can buy tickets at the reduced rate, so get on that! Buy tickets HERE!

»RSVP HERE«

»DON’T MISS THE PORTALS AT TOTAL BUMMER 3D«

Kuhrye-oo - Give In (For The Fame) It was over a year ago when...

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:49:00 -0700

Kuhrye-oo - Give In (For The Fame)

It was over a year ago when I heard my first Kuhrye-oo track. It’s something special when parts of a whole become wholes themselves. Today Calvin releases his debut EP on UNO. Give In (For the Fame) is the self-proclaimed auditory “climax” of the EP, and after listening to it all morning, I can see why. That sample is almost beckoning, making it a perfect fit for the title Give In.

I’ve been really excited for people to hear Calvin’s music, and I couldn’t be happier that it’s getting out there. Go pick up the EP, with four originals and two top-notch remixes, from UNO or on iTunes.

Ghibli - Little Clique Rare Pleasures is the most recent...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:54:00 -0700

Ghibli - Little Clique

Rare Pleasures is the most recent musical outpouring of Edmonton producer Tomas Michael. It is his unique interpretation of what he thinks a genre of music ought to be. That’s a bold notion to represent in an album. You are introduced to a genre, it becomes something you “love”, but as time passes that genre is re-invented and re-branded over and over, until it can become something you “hate”. In that respect, what Ghibli does with Rare Pleasures is impressive. And I promise, if you let it, it’ll make ya body move.

Here’s what Tom Mike had to say about it:

“It’s entirely sampled from youtube, varies in fidelity on almost every track, and the whole thing is just under 30 minutes long. I’m trying to bring back the excitement and freshness of what house was originally, instead of rehashing the same tired approaches that so many are using. Thank you…”

GET IT

XXYYXX - About You I’ve introduced you to XXYYXX before,...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:22:36 -0700

XXYYXX - About You

I’ve introduced you to XXYYXX before, probably one my favorite 16 year old producers right now. Well the lead track off his debut s/t album just got the slow-mo-hot-girl-smoking-blunts treatment. And I gotta say, it’s really working for me.

Directed by Jeff Vash. Download XXYYXX here from Relief in Abstract. And I suggest you stay hip to his soundcloud as he drops rare gems on there from time to time.

Sam of Ricky Eat Acid, and his dear friend (“wife”)...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:46:34 -0700

Sam of Ricky Eat Acid, and his dear friend (“wife”) Jasmine started a one of the cutest, most without guile labels earlier this month. They are called Unlimited Free Milkshakes, and their first release, cute boy kissing booth set the standard for the kind of heartfelt lo-fi gems they mean to release. And now with the turning of time, and Sam turning the big 2-1, Unlimited Free Milkshakes released a free compilation of music from friends, label affiliates, past lovers, present lovers, and sexy all-stars of all shapes and sizes. The tape ranges from “weirdo drone/ambient/experimental…to totally upbeat electronic stuff, downbeat stuff too (like blithe field’s appearance), dream pop (red alder), bummed out tape pop (just TRY and guess who wrassle mania is - that voice)”.

And with all it’s wild and beautiful branches, Art Week 2012 is rooted in friendship, and in the support of friends music. And when I really start to think about it, that’s a huge part of why I do what I do here at Smoke Don’t Smoke. If not for the friendships that form here through these pages, and through those sounds, I’m not sure it would be sustainable.

So get with the program and download [or click the image] the friendliest compilation this or that side of the Mississippi. And check out the lead track from Wrassle Mania (10 hugs if you can guess who it is).

Wrassle Mania - Hate Fuckers

Have you ever heard something, and thought to...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:44:00 -0700

Have you ever heard something, and thought to yourself, ”Damn son, where’d ya find this?“

Well, if you haven’t, scroll down a bit and click play, and I think it may just become your mantra. M|O|D crew is at it again with their second installation of TRAP nasty beats, dirty enough to soil even the cleanest of ears. As if their first tape wasn’t enough.

The M|O|D crew is comprised of LiL TExAS aka Tiny Lone★, Trap Arnold aka Little Orphan Arnie, Yung Satan aka Grand Daddy Christ, REWROTE aka Murder She Rewrote, and C.Z. aka TRAP GAME _________.

None of those nicknames are true, but if you’re not up on the M|O|D crew, here’s your chance. They’re making music in the future, for the future. Click the image to download M|O|D II.

It’s no surprise. Another banger from recent 4AD...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:24:28 -0700

It’s no surprise. Another banger from recent 4AD artists Purity Ring. Needed to blog this to continue my efforts to support friends music I love. And this, I love.

Album, Shrines, out 7/24/2012. Check out the album art. And tracklisting and tour dates.

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Purity Ring - Obedear

PORTALS is coming to Los Angeles! I’m so excited to help...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:37:00 -0700

PORTALS is coming to Los Angeles! I’m so excited to help announce PORTALS first ever, West Coast show. Featuring 10 of our most beloved artists, the party is going down in Hollywood on June 2nd! All the details are below - you don’t want to miss this one!

With a debut live set from Mister Lies, a TV Girl performance just after the release of their full-length record, Slow Magic’s first ever LA gig, and performances by 7 others who have made So Cal music noteworthy, the day in California sun isn’t to be missed. In true LA fashion, there will be a taco cookout, liquid comfort, and a showering of PORTALS merch and giveaways. We’ve shown you why we love Denver, Austin, and Orlando, but now it’s time we show you why we love LA. And to share with you the artists of the festivities, our June monthly mixture will feature fresh sounds from a number of the artists performing.

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Come make PORTALS LA your own.

PORTALS LA :: June 2nd 2012 :: 2-10 PM :: Space 15 Twenty, 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028

⇒ RSVP HERE ⇐

⇒ Purchase Tickets by clicking the showcase images on the side-bar &/or footer of this PORTALS announcement⇐

In The Sun: TV Girl, Dreams, Mister Lies, Slow Magic, Honeydrip, StaG, Caves & Eliot, Mirror Lady, Different Sleep, and Tuesday Glass.

Have a question about the show? Email us at tickets@portalsmusic.com