Monday 20 July 2009

I Can't Imagine Anything Better


Mash ups are a bit of a strange bag – sometimes it’s almost magical how seamlessly two songs combine to form a whole, but a bad mash up can ruin them forever. The Hood Internet is fast blowing up all over hypem for his creative, if unashamedly populist (in an indie kind of way) mash ups.

One of my favourite of his has to be the Dirty Projectors vs Major Lazer, Hold the Stillness mash up. This track seamlessly integrates two major tracks of the past couple of months to create a catchy, perfectly natural sounding tune.

The Dirty Projectors have been catching a lot of press recently, with their new album, Bitte Orca, receiving rave reviews. So far the only track I’ve heard off it is Stillness is your Move, but if that’s anything to go by, the rest of the album should be amazing. Stillness is your Move combines a hip hop sensibility with indie girl vocals to produce something that’s eerie, soulful yet also quite moving.

Here's the video for Stillness is your Move, featuring Siberian huskies and a rare llama (obviously).


Major Lazer have also been blog stars of late, being the collaboration project between Diplo (the man behind M.I.A., Santogold, and other greatness) and producer Switch. Hold the Line, their first single off the album features Santogold’s vocals on top of dancehalls beats and jittery electronic sounds.

Download Hold the Line here (right hand side of the page)

Out of the two, the Dirty Projectors are probably more my cup of tea than Major Lazer, but both tracks are excellent, and, surprisingly enough, the mash up matches the quality of its parts.

The Two Weeks of Hip-Hop mash up is also well worth your time, combining the new Grizzly Bear single Two Weeks with an old Dead Prez song.

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