Pardon Me, Equinox. Solstice Has Arrived.

Pardon Me, Equinox.  Solstice Has Arrived.  Track Listing:

    1.    (0:00:38) Amadou & Mariam SABALI - From their latest outing, Welcome To Mali.  This track is the opening blast! to this solid LP.  Damon Albarn from Blur/Gorillaz/The Good, The Bad & The Queen/etc. produces this single, and the quality is absolutely superb, and perhaps one of his all-time better moments in music.  
    2.    (0:03:43) Janelle Monae VIOLET STARS HAPPY HUNTING!!! - Bad Boy has finally signed an artist that will revolutionize R&B/hip hop.  You first heard this wonderful voice on Outkast's track, Lettin Go, from Got Purp? compliation, and later on, In Your Dreams and Call The Law, from Idlewild soundtrack.  This Atlanta rising star has solidified the next generation in the dirty south's dynasty.  On Metropolis: The Chase Suite, her debut EP, she introduces Cindy Mayweather, an earth-woman from the future as she uses her perspective to narrate what the future holds for humans and androids - reminds me of movie Blade Runner.  The music and her vocals are wicked tight, and her backbeat, provided by gospel star drummer, Young Pete, is catchy, clean, and snug in that thick pocket!  You'll be dancing to this track and the following track without even listening to it, because that beat is so phat!!!
    3.    (0:06:50) Janelle Monae MANY MOONS - Couldn't resist putting the succeeding track from her EP into the mix, because it's just a continuation in theme and music from Violet Stars...The haunting listing at the coda to the track is a representation of our society's own demise based on the vices we've created.  You should check her out on YouTube, or her photos, because she's hot little number, but her desired dress attire is rather a-sexual.  Quite a departure from most hip hop divas.  
    4.    (0:12:12) Yeah Yeah Yeahs DRAGON QUEEN - Wicked track and new style from Brooklyn trio from their It's Blitz! LP.  I was fortunate enough to see them backstage at the Virgin V-Fest a couple years back, and I have to say, that Karen O is something special.  Wow!  Smokin'!  The three, musically, are absolutely talented, and compliment each other well.
    5.    (0:15:55) TV On The Radio DLZ - I might as well have every track from Dear Science included somewhere in my mixes, because each song is so absolutely perfect for all 'faces' of the sub-genre they've perfected.  
    6.    (0:19:30) Bat For Lashes SLEEP ALONE - Indie-rocker-hippie-gypsy-chick, Natasha Khan, has found her niche in dark 'n beautiful sounds and catchy synths in her newest LP, Two Suns.  Daughter of Pakistani father and English mother, born in Brighton, England.  When you have Thom Yorke complimenting your work and having you open up for Radiohead, then you know you're well-respected musically.
    7.    (0:23:07) Zoe Keating TETRISHEAD - Oh wow!  This is from a live performance off NPR's Radiolab.  This super-talented rockin' chellist produces her songs entirely off building riffs, bass-lines, backbeats, you-name-it, on top of each other looping them while she superimposes succeeding parts.  She has been featured on indie-rocker Amanda Palmer's newest LP and she also tours with her as part of her band.  This brilliant track is off her One Cello x 16: Natoma LP.
    8.    (0:29:02) Plaid feat. Bjork LILITH - Another nice track from Warp Records band.  This track is off their Not For Threes LP.  Plaid's keen sense in dissonant sounds balances Bjork's vocal preferences perfectly, and she feels right at home here.  
    9.    (0:33:26) The Grouch & Eligh EVERAFTER - Two members of Living Legends from California's underground.  They actually live up to their name in the underground, and have accomplished most of what has been possible in the underground scene and more.  This track is off their No More Greener Grasses LP.  The Living Legends crew is up there with the Project Blowed and Hieroglyphics as trendsetters in underground hip hop in the world.  All three crews often appear on one-another's music, showing ultimate respect for each crew's talent and legendary status.  
    10.    (0:37:45) CeU CONCRETE JUNGLE - Brazilian singer-songwriter producing and English-based track off her self-titled LP.  She studied music theory and played the nylon-stringed guitar, the violao.
    11.    (0:40:55) Heernt MAKE ME DANCE, MAKE ME DANCE - Another wicked bumpin' track from these twenty year-olds sidesteppin' the legends of jazz and making room for their own shoe prints.  Mark Guiliana is on my list of top upcoming drummers, and will certainly be a monster to keep your sights on in the future.  Check out these clips off YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu3zCfvVCdM
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA10WTZLnaQ
    12.    (0:45:07) Triosk meets Jan Jelinek NECKLESS - Another standout track from the 1+3+1 LP.  Triosk is one of my newer found interests from Australia, especially in composer/pianist, Adrian Klumpes, and innovative drummer, Laurence Pike, of Warp Records band, Pivot.  
    13.    (0:49:30) Whitest Boy Alive 1517 - Simple rock from Berlin, Germany quartet.  This single is off their forthcoming LP, Rules.  According to Wikipedia, they started as an electronic dance music project, and later developed into a rock band without any programmed elements.  This track is super funky, and reminds me of the early 70s.  The lead singer's voice is perfect for this band, as it holds up the lack of sophistication in the musicianship...but their music works in its simplicity. 
    14.    (0:52:46) Alesha Dixon CHASING GHOSTS - British pop singer, originally a part of girl band Mis-Teeq.  This is off her newest LP, The Alesha Dixon Show.  Brit-pop to the 'T.'  
    15.    (0:56:20) Zion I feat. K. Flay COASTIN' - I couldn't think of a better way to introduce you to the solstice, whichever hemisphere you may reside on.  If you're in the northern, then welcome the summer, and if you're in the southern, then kick in to the winter.  Amp Live, the producer and DJ to Zion I, is one of the more creative thinkers in the underground hip hop world, and here he shows his diversity in the styles that are popular today in the music world.  K. Flay lives in San Francisco and is planning on her introduction to the musical world shortly.  I have a feeling she will be able to morph and transcend genres.  Hopefully her own music can push boundaries and find its way on a future FSB mix!