The Weekly Shift

BELOVED SHIFTY NATION:

As the Summer begins to wind down and some of your favorite festivals have come and gone, it’s time to switch up the tempo heading into the Fall season, and we are doing just that in this week’s roundup. Without further ado, let’s see what we can expect from the rest of the warm season as we wrap up another exciting year in Music…

To kick things off this week, we have a track off of the new Sir Michael Rocks EP “Lap of Lux”, titled “NWO”. Rocks is one half of Chicago/Detroit based Hip-Hop duo The Cool Kids  and has recently been heavily collaborating with fellow Chicago natives Flosstradamus, having been the only MC given approval to spit over their highly acclaimed “Lana’s Theme“, an 808 heavy tune sampling Lana Del Rey’s Video Games. For “NWO”, Rocks was lucky enough to receive a previously unreleased instrumental from the Flosstradamus boys, and rightfully so. Employing methods of lyricism similar to his days in The Cool Kids with elevated levels of maturity and refinement, Rocks provides one of the stand out tracks on the EP. Check out the entire tape available for free download via DatPiff…

Switching gears out of the Hip-Hop realm, our next track is a breath of fresh air not only to The Weekly Shift, but to Electronic music in general. Justin Bleich aka Theme Night is a 22 year old aspiring DJ/Producer out of Portland that recently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a steady career in music, and rightfully so. Most of the Shifty crew had the opportunity to meet Justin this Summer and even catch him perform a few times, and it is safe to say this kid is going to make some serious noise in the City of Angeles. A result of the explosion of Electronic Music in today’s modern world, Bleich is clearly influenced by some of the top producers in the rave scene, however, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint whom he draws most heavily from, giving him a powerful and explosively unique sound fit for the masses. One of the tracks Theme Night sent us over was a preview of something he had been working on earlier this Summer titled “Breaker”, and although it seemed that many of us had given up or stopped listening to this style of music, there was something about this one that had many of us smiling with nostalgia. This track simply makes you want to close your eyes, throw your hands in the air and move your feet. Check it out below and be sure to keep an eye and an ear out for this budding producer…

There is just simply not enough that can be said about the recent “Changes” EP from Los Angeles/Montreal based duo LOL Boys. Having written about them and their newly founded imprint BODY HIGH (co-founded alongside Samo Sound Boy) in recent past, we have kept close watch on the duo and recently stumbled across the Star Slinger remix of the title track, “Changes”. Utilizing various rhythmic changes and tempos, the track is a beautifully reworked combination of hip-hop, footwork and elements of Star Slinger house characteristic of the Manchester producer’s work over the last few years. It feels only right to support something so real, and this EP really has become the sound of the Summer for lovers of all kinds of music. Check out Star Slinger’s take on “Changes” below, and remember, things won’t change until we do…

To finish things off, we bring it full circle and present you with a new track from Atlanta based DJ/Producer duo HEROES X VILLAINS (Daniel Disaster & Pete Heartless) titled “ORIGINAL CHOPPAZ”. Incorporating a catchy vocal sample and pairing it with upbeat drums and a wild carnival like synth line typical of many of their tracks, HEROES X VILLAINS proves that their sound is universal and has the ability to use all genres of Electronic music as a means of showcasing that sound to the world. Having dabbled in all types of bass music and other genres and worked with some of the biggest producers in the game, HxV are simply well rounded producers with a deeply rooted allegiance to the Southern Hip-Hop they grew up with in Atlanta. The track is being given away for free to celebrate the release of an upcoming EP in association with Hip-Hop mix tape kings the Trap-A-Holics, and you can stream it below or download your free copy HERE…

Stay Shifty

~Nold