Tag Archives: Soulwax

[17 To End ’17] Ninja Ash’s Best of the Year

Posted by Ash El Gamal - December 31, 2017

Listen to the playlist on Spotify // Apple Music.

Nite Jewel‘s Real High, full of lush instrumentation and flawless percussion, is meant for late night listening–“Obsession” captivates with its sensual atmosphere.

Gabriel Garzón-Montano‘s unique take on soul made for one of the most captivating albums of the year. “Fruitflies” is an earworm of a track that tells a heartbreaking, deeply human story that needed to be heard in 2017.

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“Baybee” captures everything I love so much about Jay Som‘s 2017 debut Everybody Works–dreamy, expansive and larger-than-life.

Slowdive‘s first album back in over 2 decades is a transformative masterpiece and “Star Roving” exemplifies its beautiful vastness.

We might be a bit biased since we premiered his first track on TMN Radio earlier this year, but Still Woozy may be the artist I’m most excited for in 2017. “Cooks” displays just how much emotion and soul he pack into a quirky, playful tune. Continue reading →

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[15 To End 2015] Ninja Ash’s Best of the Year

Posted by Ash El Gamal - December 31, 2015

When you listen to music as much as I do, your song selections and life experiences become inseparable–each impacting the other in both conscious and subconscious ways. That relationship embodies the uniquely subjective nature of music. You can listen to a song ten times and think nothing of it but then hear it in the right context or headspace and everything just clicks. As such, any effort of making an objective “best of” list proves a fruitless task. So rather than attempt that Sisyphean task, my ’15 To End 2015′ captures the songs that meant the most to me this year: ones that soundtracked my best memories, comforted me at my lowest points or simply possessed endless replay value. Peep my favorites of 2015 below. Hopefully they’ll take on a life of their own in your music collection.

’Beach House – Space Song’

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A trip to psychedelic space land–just close your eyes and absorb.

’The Internet – Under Control’

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A fresh and endlessly relatable take on R&B from Syd & co.

’Thundercat – ‘Them Changes”

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Built on the same Isley Brothers drum sample as “Today Was a Good Day,” this funk-injected jam crescendos a year full of nostalgia for the era of Parliament, James Brown & Sly Stone.

’Main Attrakionz – Ain’t No Other Way’

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Feel good Bay Area hip-hop for and from the soul.

’Raury – Forbidden Knowledge (feat. Big K.R.I.T.)’

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An absolute lyrical gem from a young artist with wisdom well beyond his years.

’Kendrick Lamar – These Walls (feat. Thundercat, Bilal & Anna Wise)’

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My most played song from my favorite album of the year: ‘To Pimp A Butterfly.’

’Jamie xx – I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)(feat. Young Thug & Popcaan)’

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It’s hard to pick a favorite song from Jamie xx’s ‘In Colour’ but this summer anthem flipped pretentious listeners on their heads while showcasing the merits of melodic emcees.

’Shamir – In For The Kill’

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The danciest track from the year’s most pioneering pop vocalist.

’Mura Masa – Lovesick Fuck’

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In 2015 Mura Masa continued to prove his dominance in the realm of emotional future bass. This is easily my most played track of the year.

’Big Wild – Aftergold’

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‘Aftergold’ captures Big Wild’s genuinely organic approach to electronic music–one full of sonic plot twists and playful melodies.

’Lane 8 – Loving You ft. Lulu James’

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Lane 8’s compositions shaped my year and “Loving You,” the opener of his debut album, brings to mind feelings of excitement and new beginnings.

’Kenton Slash Demon – Harpe’

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The capacity for emotional power within an instrumental composition should never be underestimated–‘Harpe’ proves that.

’Tame Impala – Let It Happen (Soulwax Remix)’

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The magnificence of Tame Impala and the rare emergence of Soulwax combine for infinite grooves.

’Billy Kenny – I Eat Beats (Ardalan Remix)’

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This song is single-handedly responsible for piquing my interest in tech-house.

’Sonny Fodera & Gene Farris – We Work It’

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I listened to this every time I worked it in 2015.

[Electronic] Tame Impala – Let It Happen (Soulwax Remix)

Posted by Ash El Gamal - September 10, 2015

Tame Impala
Let It Happen (Soulwax Remix)

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Belgian electro-rockers Soulwax established themselves as legends in electronic music over ten years ago just as the genre hit its stride in the mainstream. As of late, though, there have been scarce sitings of the pioneers–the most recent appearance being their fantastic remix of Jungle‘s “Julia.” It comes as little surprise that Tame Impala‘s phenomenal latest album Currents catalyzed new material from the trio who released a rendition of the hit single “Let it Happen” a couple days ago.

Initially, Soulwax draw the listener in with an arpeggiated backdrop keeping Kevin Parker’s vocals in-tact before dropping in a groovy bass line with steady, tribal-leaning percussion to match. As the song hits the 4-minute mark, the song’s interlude and distinct guitar riff perfectly accompany the rhythmic backdrop which takes over the remainder while interweaving various elements of the original. Running over 9-minutes, it’s the type of track that requires patience that’s well worth it–continually growing in appeal with every listen. There seem to be some hints on their social media pages and hopefully the inspiration Soulwax has found in these recent tracks results in some new original music. In the meantime, let this one sink in.