Justin Faust - Holdin' On

Well, it's great to have a chance to post this track. Our good friend Justin Faust is currently rampaging up the blog charts with his great new tune - 'Holdin' On' - out now on Discotexas records. Have a listen to the title track below. The release also includes remixes by Moulinex and Nightriders, and if we were you, we would BUY IT!

For those of you not yet familiar with Mr. Faust, he is a Munich based producer with a decidedly French, filter-disco influenced sound. He has in the past turned out a couple of superb remixes for us, and you can check out his take on 'You Are Never Alone With Model 21' from our Dance Technology album below.

 

Justin Faust - Holdin' On  

Heads We Dance - You Are Never Alone With Model 21(Justin Faust Remix)

Kid Cudi feat Ratatat – ‘Alive’

Despite its ubiquity and chav-ringtone appeal, HWD loved the Crookers remix of Kid Cudi’s ‘Day ‘N’ Nite’; we even worked it into ‘My Heart Is Set On You’ during our live sets. None of this prepared us for Kid Cudi’s debut album Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, a sprawling and surprising concept record which recalls Marvin Gaye, Andre 3000’s The Love Below and the best of Kanye West. Amongst numerous highlights is ‘Alive’, one of two collaborations with HWD favourites Ratatat.

Kid Cudi – ‘Alive (nightmare)’

Synthesizer Club

This is basically how we learned how to make our records:



CAUTION: Unless you are synth geeks, you will probably not find this video very funny. I think it's hilarious, which probably doesn't reflect very well on me.

Ryan Nexus Top 5

Ryan Nexus has been making waves with his remixes in recent months, his mix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Heads Will Roll' making it to the Hype Machine #1 spot late last year. He's put together a brilliantly morbid Top 5 for us and provided us with an exclusive new track, 'Poppin Young Pussy', for your download pleasure - we love it's old-school mashup vibe! 

Ryan Nexus' Top 5 Songs To Play At My Funeral

1. "We'll Meet Again" - Johnny Cash version

2. "Waters of Nazareth" - Justice

3. "Fake Plastic Trees" - Radiohead

4. "Blaze of Glory" - Bon Jovi

5. "Teardrop" - Massive Attack

Encore bonus track- "Where is my Mind?" - Pixies

We're wondering what exactly he has planned for the 'encore'... We've very kindly taken the time to turn this Top 5 into a Spotify Playlist for you, so click the link and pretend you are at Ryan's funeral. Yeah, you feel a bit sad but isn't the music great?

Now get your download on:

Ryan Nexus - Poppin Young Pussy

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (Ryan Nexus Remix)

DeLooze - Big Love

It is our great pleasure to introduce you to our new label-mates DeLooze. They've given us their cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Big Love' for you to download. HWD are split into two camps over the issue of Fleetwood Mac; Becky and Pete think they're great, Yoni thinks they are a crime against humanity. We are all however, in agreement that this is a great cover - check it out for yourselves:

 

DeLooze - Big Love

Shook Top 5

Another top 5 for you from another fantastic up-and-coming producer. We've been enjoying Shook's stuff for a while now and thought it was time to spread the word... And the tunes. Without further ado...

TOP 5 video clips that got me all shook up

1. As a kid I always wanted to play jazz piano like Ahmad Jamal. But there is NO WAY of course. This video explains a lot. I listened to this piece over and over again just to hear the switches in the bass and the interaction between Gary Burton and Ahmad Jamal. There are just so many musical ideas going on in this piece, it's just a musical gold mine.




2. Bob James is a major inspiration for me. He composed such great music. The Taxi theme song 'Angela' is just brilliant. His melodies will tear right through you.

Watch Here

3. Who doesn't like Herbie? Who doesn't like Quincy? What if they are both in the studio making music? Well, the answer is: Magic.




4. Alright, now something totally different. As a kid I watched a lot of Disney. Yeah, Disney! The movie Fantasia struck me the most in terms of an audio visual experience. Looking back at it now, it opened a lot of doors in the sense of a perfect fusion between the two. Visuals were in perfect harmony with the music. It didn't distract from the music at all. The visuals made the music only stronger. See for yourself in this piece where they play Bach's Toccata in D-minor.



5. I like cats. And I like Hall & Oats. So here is Hall & Oats and my favorite youtube cat. This will make your day.

 

Download one of Shook's originals and his Jupiter remix below:

Jupiter - CHiP (Shook Remix)

Shook - #2

Yeasayer – ‘Love Me Girl’

HWD have become pretty disillusioned with indie bands over the last few years. More often than not the media hype and rough-around-the-edges production values have merely distracted attention from a serious lack of substance and quality ...or maybe we’re just getting old enough to see through the bullshit! Thankfully Yeasayer have done a great deal to restore our confidence. New album Odd Blood is an Eno-infused gem which sparkles with genuine vitality and imagination.

Yeasayer – ‘Love Me Girl’

Hot Chip - 'We Have Love'

HWD have never been huge fans of the geek-chic synth sound of Hot Chip. Despite a couple of strong singles they’ve always sounded a bit too twee and weedy – the bedroom recordings of the kids who get beaten up for their dinner money. New album One Life Stand hasn’t exactly dismissed this impression; the album track ‘Brothers’ includes the lyric ‘I can play X-Box with my brother/It’s not about who won or lost’. Thankfully though, Hot Chip have managed to tap into a darker and more engaging sound elsewhere, notably on the string-led ‘I Feel Better’ and the driving ‘We Have Love’.

Hot Chip – ‘We Have Love’