tiananmen square dance //



Man, I hope you guys all checked out Sunrise Blend 2, because daaaaamn. One of the featured synthwave artists, aside from Sivey, that really stood out to us was Spinoff. Self-proclaimed beatmaker and purveyor of biological funk, his talent doesn’t stop with the one track of his that was featured on our current favorite mix of all time. “It’s Simple”, arguably the meat of Spinoff’s three-track electronic release, Sooner or Later, breathes fresh life-giving breath into what can often be a genre that relies far too heavily on just ultra-processed samples. The italo-disco energy present in the jam, reminiscent of something you’d expect to hear in a Lay Bac or a Star Slinger tune, keeps the pace quite nicely. Soaring guitar loops abound, punctuated by dirty retro beats, which peak in power towards the middle of the track. No vocals grace this very short burst of juicy VHS-wave vigor, winding down just as abruptly as it sprang into life. Do tha right thing, and grab a free download of “It’s Simple”, by Pisa, Italy’s Spinoff, today. Afterwards, check out the remainder of his repertoire. If the rest of his work features the same level of stamina that the featured song does, you’d better believe we will soon collectively be all over that shit.






SELVA OSCURA - “CANOPY WAKE”



My best nigga showed me this Selva Oscura jam yesterday, claiming that it was a crucial part of his warm-up workout routine. At first, I wasn’t too crazy about it, but it grew on me. Austin, TexasRay Levinson-Fort (Selva Oscura) is a solo audio production student that takes his name from an enigmatic Italian phrase that roughly translates out to mean “dark forest”. “Canopy Wake”, his standout tune so far, warms up slowly with a warm piano solo, gradually piping in a second set of keys, some percussion to move things along, light vocal samples, and then a break down with some chill synth leads a little later on. Halfway through, though, when the track kicks back in, shit starts going down! All of the aforementioned instrumentation assembles, playing at its musical apex while a sexy as fuck vocal sample takes center stage, weaving its way over the notes in grand Star Slinger style. One more break down, and then the siren returns to paradise for another sassy climax afterwards. Never before has such a simple indietronic song stolen our hearts (or dicks, for that matter) with such ease. Do tha right thing, and get your free MP3 download of Selva Oscura’s “Canopy Wake” below. If you like what you hear, the album from whence the song hails is called Refractides, and it’s available at your own choice of price via his personal Bandcamp right here. Pitch in and help a struggling student that obviously knows full well how to make some serious balls-to-the-wall art.





MP3 Download of “Canopy Wake”, by Selva Oscura (from Refractides)




TOP 25 SONGS OF THE PAST YEAR: 25 - 21



In the chillwave universe, the years begin with summer and ends with summer. As a nod to last year’s summertime tabulations, we’re gonna bring back the top twenty-five reverse countdown of the best tracks we’ve heard over the past year. Many of these jams are featured on the standout albums that we just delineated to you over the past week or so. The remainder are one-offs, outtakes, B-sides, remixes, and simply stellar tunes that stood out on the rare album seriously devoid of quality. Almost all of these tunes have been featured on TSQ mixes at one time or another, and we hold each and every one of the upcoming twenty-five songs very close to our collective heart. We hope you enjoy the upcoming entries, and we urge you to download the tracks featured and purchase the corresponding releases, if you like what you hear. Here’s numbers 25 through 21!



TOP 25 SONGS OF THE PAST YEAR



25. “Moet & Reese” - Star Slinger

“The track is a breezy soul-sampling lope, and it sounds pretty great alongside the constantly-on-repeat…Drake album.” - Stereogum

Download | Buy



24. “Iron Deer Dream (Keep Shelly in Athens remix)” - Fixers

“KSiA emphasize the synthesizers even more while solely focusing on the chorus’ vocals, which become the driving part of the track.” - Prefix

Download | Buy



23. “EEPROM” - 1990

“The synths are pretty heavenly and smooth on this, but the rhythms drop hard to counter, and that’s the beauty. - Portals

Download | Buy



22. “Desire” - 18 Carat Affair

“More of those hazy, tape recorded, sample based, slow beat vibes that you have to admit even though you hear the same things over and over in slight variations…it still sounds pretty damn nice.” - Waves at Night

Download | Buy



21. “As Young as Yesterday” - Korallreven

“With this track we wanted to catch the uncatchable feeling you get when you’re so high and loved-up that time and place cease to exist.” - vocalist Marcus Joons

Download | Buy




04.   RIMAR’S HIGHER GROUND



Beginning with the opening strains of this refreshing record, it’s clear that Rimar (or RIM4R, as I guess he prefers to be called) knows how to jam. Higher Ground is modern-day funk at its apex, dripping with romance and shining with inner light. Standout opener and title track “Higher Ground” was all abuzz among the hipster blogosphere a couple of months ago when the 12” was released, and it kicked so much cracker ass that I’m a little ashamed that it took me this long to hop on the hip bandwagon. Rimar is an electronic jack of all trades, it seems. He uses all of the tools of the trade to effect a super-slick, energizing product. Several of the first few songs on the 12” showcase much loved lo-fi editing techniques (à la 18 Carat Affair, Teams) along with the twangy Balearic guitar that you might recognize from bass-heavy artists like Toro y Moi and Star Slinger. The artist then rounds out the picture with the conservative application of samples of chill androgynous vocals (think Southern Shores with Chad Bundick as the vocalist). Rimar is synth-funk with some serious tropicalia influences, and Higher Ground is seriously not to be missed.



This Guardian UK article says it quite well, I think:



“On Higher Ground Rimar has created a monument to ancient R&B (though not quite as ancient as the 60s variety), the slick, smooth, sumptuous electro-funk that preceded New Jack Swing. He takes the beats and the basslines from original, long-forgotten hits from that era, then coats them in memory goo. You’ve perhaps read about chillrave (and we believe we used the term first here); this is chillfunk.



The above embedded video for the eponymous opener features our leading man in his adventures in Hipsterlandia, breathing out the sultriest of styles, among with liberal swathes of soft focus and tilt-shift techniques. Fantastically edited and bursting with color and style, the official video for “Higher Ground” couldn’t better communicate the degree of heart and soul that this young new artist pours into his retro reinterpretations. Do tha right thing, kids, and get your copy of the full-length for only $5 via Rimar’s Bandcamp. You get a free digital download, so you can jam it at stressful intersections, and a vinyl copy, so you can make love to ya bitch wit style!





MP3 Download of “Higher Ground”, by Rimar



MP3 Download of “We Play Games”, by Rimar




TEAMS - “LOVE DISTANCE”




I feel like I had seen this particular jam advertised before, and I was right. It came out on April 28th via White Iris Records, so I guess it was just released to a delayed response. As a big fan of Teams’ earlier work, along with his collaborations with Star Slinger, the prospect of a new EP or full-length piques my interest, especially when the “single” on the new 7” is as silky smoove as “Love Distance”. Synth atmospherics fill in the odd conversational lull while twangy, tinny guitar and retro drum machine tracks move it along. The centerpiece of this short, but really swingin’ tune by veteran chillwaver Teams, though, is the soulful vocalization. Looped into oblivion and paired with record click, the vintage vocal track takes center stage, breathing confidence and sensuality in a way that only someone with Jheri curls and a sweet ‘stache can. Fans of the throwback sounds of Anoraak, Com Truise, and Onra will eat this track up, so do tha right thing and snatch it today at RCRD LBL. If you dig it as much as I do, you have the option to purchase it via iTunes. I won’t push you either way, but here is your opportunity to fund one of the most colorful independent chillwavers I have had the distinct pleasure of hearing.





MP3 Download of “Love Distance”, by Teams (from the Love Distance / Glow Fam 12”)



MP3 Download of “Anml Life”, by Teams (from the Catch Pool EP)




SUPREME CUTS - “JACY”




Any artist found on a list of acts that are similar in sound to experimental pop pioneer Holy Other is a name worth remembering. I have been spamming that artist lately, and I received my just reward yesterday in the form of this gritty track by Chicago’s Supreme Cuts. “Jacy”, a veritable Frankenstein’s monster in pop music, is staggeringly and sickeningly sentimental, and somehow it’s only a B-side! The jam has a double dose of all of the necessary ingredients needed to craft that anthem for our dystopian future’s urban youth. Stumbling, then rising early on with a lurching underground hip-hop beat, this legit dirge plods along amidst passionately spliced R&B vocals and synthetic aura with dogged determination. Its sound is akin to what one of Holy Other’s more optimistic fever dreams might sound like if it were given the full Star Slinger makeover. Do tha right thing, and snatch a free MP3 of Supreme Cuts’ beautifully dark and troubling “Jacyhere today; and while you’re still lucid, visit their Bandcamp for more goodies at low, low prices (so that I can live vicariously through you). In addition, check below the bump for a little known but just as smoove Holy Other B-side as well. Enjoy.





MP3 Download of “Jacy”, by Supreme Cuts (from B-Sides and Remixes)



MP3 Download of “We Over”, by Holy Other (from the We Over / Yr Love 7”)


Star Slinger Remixes  →





Earlier this summer, I spent a lot of time and money over at Star Slinger’s Bandcamp, where I discovered his Volume 1 and a host of fantastic remixes. Well, the old bean, it seems, is constantly churning out new reworkings and re-imaginings of great new music, so if you’re willing to throw around a little fliff, I highly recommend checking his Soundcloud for new remixes that suit your taste. On at least the first couple pages, there are some good, some bad, and some kick ass chillwave/glo-fi music there available for low, low prices, and some are even free. Do tha right thing and head that way now, and don’t be cheap, son!





MP3 Download of “Swimmhaus Johannesburg (Star Slinger remix)”, by Fixers



MP3 Download of “If I Had a Boat (Star Slinger’s R ‘n’ B Thug mix)”, by James Vincent McMorrow


03. STAR SLINGER'S "VOLUME 1" →



Prior to having the hipster scene ruined for him at a Fleet Foxes show and subsequently reverting into another classic rock phase, my brother plied me—nay, barraged me—with Star Slinger songs. This fellow loved Star Slinger’s music, and he wasn’t afraid to show it, and for that I am thankful. A month or two ago, after hearing yet another good’n by the UK producer, I frantically searched for Star Slinger’s Bandcamp and then immediately downloaded the first album I saw: the appropriately titled “Volume 1”, featuring a song I was familiar with: the also appropriately-titled “Copulate” (link NSFW). For only $5 (though, there is of course the option to give more), Star Slinger’s surprisingly hi-fi debut mixtape was mine!

Immediately cuing it up and turning it up to 11, I was blown away by how funky fresh it sounded, the multitude of different tones whirling around throughout the short duration of each track, the variety of sounds featured throughout the mini-album, and how soulful and emotional the whole outing was. Integrating lo-fi samples, like Pogo, and sassy classic jams, like Teengirl Fantasy, Star Slinger then slings these two components through a carefully crafted recipe comprised of well placed Gold Panda-esque dancefloor beats and vocal cut montages straight out of a Lusine album. Exotic, saucy, energetic, and boasting a prolific library of work, I can tell you for a fact that I inevitably ended up collecting the entirety of Star Slinger’s fun and interesting discography, no matter the cost. Do tha right thing and do the same over at his Bandcamp, for a more than reasonable price, considering the quality of da tunez!





MP3 Download of “Bumpkin”, by Star Slinger



MP3 Download of “Extra Time”, by Star Slinger


After being heckled long enough by my girlfriend to stop listening to Star Slinger day and night, I decided it was time to continue exploring the vast universe of retro-esque electronic music. Recalling the recently posted exclusive Teeel remix of Com Truise’s “IWYWAW”, along with other particularly hip and pleasant Teeel tunes I had experienced before (mostly via iso50), it was a fact that I had to see what more material the Moodgadget artist offered. Upon visiting his very user-friendly site, I was greeted with the alluring album artwork of most recent outing “Amulet”, which I had previously seen described on iso50.

As soon as I noticed that “Triangle Waves”, a song previously featured on “TSQ VOL ONE” was the opening track, I instantly began searching for a hard copy. Alas, Teeel’s “Amulet” is available primarily as a download via Amazon or iTunes, but I took it like a man. Boy, am I glad I did, because I will always lovingly remember this short, but very hi-fi and emotional synthpop mini-album. Taking the dark, hard-driving feel (feeel?) of Telefon Tel Aviv’s best work and melding that with the vintage savoir faire of Com Truise’s melodies, Teeel’s “Amulet” pleases both hipsters and electronic music aficionados alike with its ability to take a song to the brink and back with less than six tracks in three minutes flat. Do tha right thing and pay for a copy here or download this mix or that mix, both of which feature this brilliant musician prominently.





MP3 Download of “Sweet Camaro”, by Teeel



MP3 Download of “Galilean Moons”, by Teeel


A handful of days ago, I took it upon myself to respond to the overwhelming quality I have always noticed in Star Slinger songs that I’d happen by. I bought and reviewed his debut album “Volume 1”, slathering the short mixtape with glory and praise. Since then, I have been on a mad quest to locate and possess each and every creation that Star Slinger has spewed forth during his short career in the hipster showcase, no matter how insignificant. My embarrassing admission is that I have obviously not been the first Star Slinger superfan, and as a result, .RARs have not proven difficult to find. I tossed some G’s his way for the original material, but for the most part I nabbed most of his remixes and collaborations for free. I know! Unforgivable, right?

Anyways, you’re sick of Star Slinger already, but for shits and giggles, I feel compelled to post the five best remixes and reworks I have stumbled across, and boi, are they some good’ns! At least download an MP3 of the “How to Dress Well Refix”: excellent song! Afterwards, do tha right thing and go get the mini-album “Rogue Cho Pa” at his Bandcamp for the low, low price of only $5. More than worth it.





MP3 Download of “I Am You (Star Slinger remix)”, by Coolrunnings



MP3 Download of “Beeswax (Star Slinger remix)”, by Nazcarnation



MP3 Download of “Photojournalist (Star Slinger remix)”, by Small Black



MP3 Download of “Ready for the World (Star Slinger refix)”, by How to Dress Well



MP3 Download of “Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins Rework)”, by Star Slinger