The Weeknd make it ok to like R'n'B!

Toronto group The Weeknd have generated a lot of hype with their free mixtape 'House of Balloons' which charts the tricky waters between Burial's nocturnal atmospheres and a sinister kind of R. Kelly sleaze but the results are compelling.

The inventive source material is what initially makes this album stand out from the crowd, as is the case with the Siouxsie and the Banshees-sampling title track below.

Download the album 'House of Balloons' here.

The Weeknd - House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls by snipelondon

The Weeknd - The Morning by The_Weeknd

Booker T Jones :: 'Representing Memphis'

60s soul veteran Booker T. Jones is enjoying something of a second career at the moment. His new album, 'The Road from Memphis' comes out next month and features guest appearances by with The Roots, Lou Reed, and most interestingly, a duet between soul singer Sharon Jones and Matt Berninger of The National. The two very different voices compliment each other in a surprisingly effortless way and Booker T's classic organ sound fills in the gaps nicely.

Booker T. Jones - Representing Memphis (feat. Matt Berninger and Sharon Jones) by antirecords

and Digitalism are back...

2011 is already shaping up to be a comeback year; alongside Lykke Li, Justice, and PB&J, Digitalism have also announced that their sophomore long player, I Love You Dude, will be out this June. Its clear that the microKorg is still very much in use down in their WWII bunker in Hamburg, though Jens seems to have worked on his English pronunciation. Stream and download below.


2 Hearts by digitalism_official

Digitalism SoundCloud, Twitter, MySpace, Official

Tune in next week for another 2011 comeback...

RAC vs PB&J

It's hard to believe its 5 years, 2 albums and 18 million views since Peter, Bjorn and John produced their mainstream masterpiece Young Folks, but the sixth installment from the Swedish trio builds on the wizardry of almost a decade's worth of work. RAC put their subtle stamp on Second Chance, the first release from Gimme Some, and boy does it deliver.

PB&J twitter, official, facebook, myspace

Download below:

and JUSTICE returns...

Next month sees the return of Justice, after a lengthy 4 year break since the release of their † album. The first preview, Civilisation, is the soundtrack to the new Adidas Is All In campaign, the video of which is the brainchild of French director Romain Gavras, who was also behind the visual piece for Justice's Stress. If this is anything to go by, it seems like the currently unnamed follow-up will be more of the same. Here here.

Justice facebook and myspace

Lykke Li Returns

Lykke's follow-up to 2008's lauded Youth Novels was released just a couple of weeks ago and looks likely to outdo her first effort. With Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn & John fame) and hit maker Rick Nowels on the production team, the overall result is a more radio friendly output but still retains Li's candid and gentle nature throughout. The rehash of second-single I Follow Rivers by low-profile remixer The Magician has been trending quite well of late and layers a 90's piano break over Li's catchy chorus. She returns to Ireland on Saturday 16th April to play Tripod, Dublin and will undoubtedly sell out so book your tickets early.

Offical site, myspace, twitter.

Download removed.

New Star Slinger video

Following up on Brian's last post, here is the new, suitably radiant video for Star Slinger's Mornin'.

Star Slinger

It's been a while since I've found it difficult to select an artists model track, but I can't seem to settle on an individual Star Slinger cut as all of his releases in his relatively short career are absolutely stunning. Starting out in just April 2010, Star Slinger's work was first pointed out to me by Jezza with his sterling rework of The Go Team's Apollo Throwdown, which opened up a small universe of twitching samples and hopping beats. As is á la mode with emerging acts, all his music is currently free to download, with the option to donate available on iTunes and on his own website. Collect them all - this guy is certainly one to watch for the future.

Download: Star Slinger - Volume 1 (album)

Download: Star Slinger - May I Walk With You

PS Star Slinger just announced on his Twitter that he will be playing Bernard Shaw, Dublin on April 29th.