From the sweat of my brow, I have worked to please the education gods, slaving over the finals exams that just about brought me to tears (I did okay). As the clock hit noon, and thousands headed home to a good old joint, the first people I thought of were my readers (lies). The duties I have taken to keep a consistent outflow of beautiful music, which brings the ears of many to tears, was a responsibility I was not about to turn away from. Many people have started their top of 2012 list; however, do not expect this from me until the very last day of the year, for there is a lot of great music to come within the following weeks! Under the influence of Mariah Carey's Christmas album, and from the comfort of my home, allow me to please you, musically, of course.

     Get your ears pumped for the JETS's FACT mix which was released a few weeks prior.  For the uninformed, JETS is a collaborative project between Travis Stewart, more properly referred to as Machinedrum, and Jimmy Edgar. Within their sound, one can distinguish the peculiarity of Travis's fondness over relatively spontaneous upbeat sounds, while Jimmy brings a relative balance to the overtone of it all, with the use of his paced synths, wondrous sampling as well as some crisp percussive sounds. Consequently, it is logical to assume that if you are a fan of either of these artists, you should take a listen to their self-entitled EP; and while it's loading, I was thoughtful enough to include what has been called "the mix of the year" by many right below. Also, the playlist to the mix below comprises songs that are mostly unreleased, giving this mix an extended shelf life. Expect to be hearing this for many months to come!



     Coming to you from Canada, the collective King's Deluxe is celebrating it's second anniversary in the business, and what better way to enjoy the start of a third year than to release a free album for all to listen to! Amongst the many names appearing on the track list of this rather varied work, I wish to bring your attention to a piece by Alphabets Heaven, remixed by Kwala Headshotboyz. Alphabets is an artist who seems to draw inspiration from his video-game saturated childhood, and this is reflected through his sound. Allow yourself to live vicariously through the life of Sonic, Link or Donkey Kong as the following song sets the tone for your upcoming adventure.



     While the video-game soundtrack is on lock, down in Los Angeles there are two twin brothers who have been wrecking havoc as of recently. Having worked on the production of Earl Sweatshirt's latest hit "Chum", Taiwo and Kehinde Hassan have brewed up a musical concoction under the alias of Christian Rich. Entitled XIX, and premiering on their upcoming album, this song is something between Jamaican dub, intricate glitch and trap hop. Basically, these guys took a bunch of pretty cool genres and stuck them all together to make a rather breezy sound. The vocal sample is ambient yet necessary, and one feels as though the homogeneous nature of it all is required to capture the entirety of your simultaneous day-dream.


   
     For the video of the week, I bring to you a tune from UK producer Max Cooper in collaboration with the Canadian BRAIDS. If I could sum this piece up, I would have to say it is rather progressive, but for all the right reasons. As the song intensifies, the many layers begin to cumulate and take effect. Additionally, the effect does not only comprise of ear-tearing; the video seems to grow with respect to the song. In it, well, um... I can't really describe what the fuck is going on, other than that it is quite awesome. If you enjoy existentialism with a grain of LSD, feel free to embark on this audiovisual experience.