Here come the judge


Pressure drop – Sounds of time (1997)

“Pressure Drop was born in 1990 in London, formed by The Blood Brothers, a DJ duo. In ’97, during the trip hop apogee, They released a superb under-rated record: Elusive (even if it was released under Leftfield’s label, Hard Hands). It contains some great introspective shy-string dub downtempo songs. Sounds Of Time has a wonderful melancholic soul spoken vocal. Elusive doesn’t sound old fashion compared to many of this time chart hiters (the boring Portishead & Morcheeba), this probably one of the only band which can be compared to Massive Attack without sounding weak!” >>>more here.

Don’t Wake Me Up


Dream Koala – Ocean (2013)

“Yndi Ferreira, the nineteen-year-old electronic artist behind Dream Koala, sings in a delicate falsetto that slowly builds in urgency as he adds layers of electronic samples to more traditional instrumental elements—the effect is akin to having strange words whispered into your ear as you experience an epic 3-D soundscape. Born to Brazilian parents and raised in Paris, Ferrerira is in the U.S. for the first time this week playing shows for CMJ. Here, we debut the video for his new single “Odyssey” and ask him a few questions about the song and his burgeoning career.” >>>more here.

Song of the week: I hate I walked away


Syl Johnson – I Hate I Walked Away

There’s so much great new music to listen to and even more exceptional are all the recorded song of the 20th century that have been overlooked and forgotten. I’m often astounded by the popularity of classic rock. The same 30 or so songs played over and over again for the past 40 years. Don’t folks crave something different? How can the music move you when you’ve heard it endless times, year after year after year, all day and everywhere? I don’t understand.

This is one of those songs that should be popular. I only just heard it tonight but it’s been around longer than I’ve been alive.

Zapateado Sonorense


Asi Se Baila Zapateado en Hermosillo, Sonora

A charming video documenting a localized style of zapateado dancing from Hermosillo, Sonora in Northern Mexico. The homeland of my maternal ancestors. Interstingly, I dance a lot like this and I had no idea that I probably learned this style from my family.

Also from Sonora, a mesmerizing video showing the skill required to make perfectly round and paper-thin flour tortillas. Crossing my fingers traditions like these continue in our bulldozer of cultures world.