tiananmen square dance //

It’s mix day, guys! This has been a very good month for us at Tiananmen Square Dance, so we’re very proud to bring this great collection of jams to the table. Featuring a special mixture of brand new singles that have been trending throughout the hipster blogosphere and old favorites that we’d like to revisit, Tsq Vol II-8 is sure to please those of you that are enthusiastically riding the new wave of electronic music. The playlist kicks off with a retro bang, courtesy of a little-known classic by Games, followed by a handful of brand new bangers, including a dream pop single from the upcoming Letting Up Despite Great Faults full-length. After a very chill entry by Underwater Seacreatures, the mixtape takes on a decidedly non-Western tone, featuring all new IDM and witch house tracks by Teengirl Fantasy, Slow Magic, and Fishing. After that movement, Vol II-8 delves into melodramatic territory, most notably breaking hearts with Teams’ vintage wall-of-sound approach in “Whxt Txrns U Xn?” and Krusht’s overly emotional single “Everything Is Beautiful”, which is cut from his upcoming album as well. The remainder of the mix is all midnight synthwave (Beaumont, Wayphaser), a standout selection from Collarbones’ recent release, and a frozen synthpop song by Future Unlimited to lead us out. Do tha right thing, and grab a free download of Tsq Vol II-8 via this Zippyshare link, or stream it via Bandcamp if you prefer not to clog up your hard drive with phresh new beatz. Either way, though, make note of the vibes you hear that you like and follow those artists. Check out their Bandcamp pages and Soundcloud pages, follow their Twitters, buy their albums and merch, and recommend their work to your friends. Of course, we’d be honored if you did the same with Tiananmen Square Dance, but let’s give credit where that credit is due, right? Enjoy Tsq Vol II-8, and message us if you’d like us to release a small collection of the jams that didn’t quite make it to the mix. All it takes is one request.

Tsq Vol II-8

1.   GAMES  no disguise

2.   REPTAR  houseboat babies (chrome sparks remix)

3.   THE KNOCKS  learn to fly (com truise remix)

4.   LETTING UP DESPITE GREAT FAULTS  bulletproof girl

5.   UNDERWATER SEACREATURES  blind sight

6.   TEENGIRL FANTASY  pyjama

7.   SLOW MAGIC  on yr side

8.   FISHING  choy lin

9.   BON ACCORD  eyes

10. RUDDYP & TAQUWAMI  hold

11. ICE CREAM SOCIAL  recurring

12. TEAMS  whxt txrns u xn?

13. KRUSHT  everything is beautiful

14. EVENINGS  babe

15. BEAUMONT  foreign intrigue

16. A GAP BETWEEN  tell me you feel something

17. WAYPHASER  solar thirst

18. MES ENFANTS  silent times

19. COLLARBONES  losing

20. FUTURE UNLIMITED  lightweight eyes

Download here.

(cover artwork and tracklisting artwork thanks to 80’s Touch)

This month’s special collection of favorite finds is now out for free download and stream. Some of the featured jams are recent releases (Summer of Haze, Puro Instinct, Lust), while others are just tunes we apparently missed and had to dredge up, only to be delighted by their quality (Gauntlet Hair, Echo Shade, Elite Gymnastics). We’ve been switching gears lately in our eternal search for legit chill tracks, so bear with us if you notice a distinct change in the tone of this month’s mix. While overall quite uniform in sound, the first several tracks go off with a bang, of course, headlined by Gauntlet Hair’s anthemic “Mop It Up”, Selva Oscura’s orgasmic “Canopy Wake”, and Puro Instinct’s Balearic “Dream Lover”. We’re still repping the classic chillwave vibes on the playlist, though, as evidenced by the abundance of lo-fi retro synth-wave that takes up the middle section (and the lion’s share) of Vol II-6 . Pay special attention to Stoner Showers’ vintage-tinged “Give Me a Chance”, Vektroid’s garbled, computer-esque “Tahiti TV”, and Dreams West’s ghettoblasted “Super Gran Turismo”. It gets a little dark towards the end, so we hope you’ll hang on for the home stretch, because there’s a mournful version of Elite Gymnastics’ “Here, in Heaven” and a rare early glimpse of the death-rattle of a title track from Holy Other’s upcoming LP that are both easily capstones of the mixtape. There’s fun to be had with the newest eighty-minute mix that we’ve managed to curate, so do tha right thing and grab your free copy of Tsq Vol 11-6  here, or stream it for free via our Bandcamp page. If you’re music hoarders like us, though, just download the damn thing. Also, as always, we urge you to donate your money to the artists represented above and below by buying their music or merch at live shows. Nothing good is free, so support independent electronic music directly, if you like what you hear. Au revoir!

Tsq Vol II-6

1.   GAUNTLET HAIR  mop it up

2.   SUMMER OF HAZE  pussy juice

3.   THROWING SNOW  le cœur

4.   SELVA OSCURA  canopy wake

5.   GIRAFFAGE  visible

6.   PURO INSTINCT  dream lover

7.   SHISA  sweet sptmbr

8.   WASHED OUT  good luck

9.   ECHO SHADE  trust

10. STONER SHOWERS  give me a chance

11. LUST  mémoire (dreams west remix)

12. ONTHE88  light through water

13. VEKTROID  tahiti TV

14. DREAMS WEST  super gran turismo

15. BEAR IN HEAVEN  kiss me crazy (bnjmn remix)

16. COM TRUISE  closed

17. SYNKRO  open arms

18. BEAUMONT  midnight

19. TEEN DAZE  hold (the pillars of creation remix)

20. ELITE GYMNASTICS  here, in heaven 2

21. HOLY OTHER  held

Download here.

(cover artwork and tracklisting artwork by David Copithorne)

This past month has been one of the greatest times I have had in a while, with regards to the music hunt. Not only have I had the pleasure of acquiring some really splendid full-lengths and EP’s, but I came across a multitude of great artists that I had never before heard, along with wonderful new work by artists with which I am already familiar. It seems that the Summer season really is the hot spot for chillwave and glo-fi-esque music. “Tsq Vol II-3”, the third installment of the second volume of Tiananmen Square Dance’s monthly mix series, is home to a handful of heart-stoppers and tear-jerkers, but for the most part is populated by quiet, chill mood music. It is probably one of the most uniform in sound of all of the playlists that have been released by us, comprised entirely of chillwave, glo-fi, downtempo, experimental pop, underground hip-hop, and ambient music. I am very happy with the solidarity in sound and tone prevalent in this month’s mixtape, but there are definitely some serious cornerstone jams that are not to be missed on “Tsq Vol II-3”. Exeter’s edit of The-Dream’s “Fast Car” starts the mix out with a light and sassy R&B vibe that reeks of tape hiss. Halfway through, the heavily processed emotion of Elite Gymnastics’ new single “Life/Trap” tears it all up A-side style, paving the way for the breakdown in the second half of the mix. Our smooth outro, courtesy of Supreme Cuts, wraps up the mix in a tearfully passionate out-of-body experience that is strongly reminiscent of a cross between Craxxxsoft’s cover of “Can’t Be Friends” and a Holy Other experiment. Paring my monthly store of good finds down to an easily digestible size this month was exceedingly difficult, so please let me know if you would like me to post a ZIP file’s worth of outtakes. Do tha right thing, and get the playlist here today. It’s free, it’s all perfectly tagged, it only takes a little while to download, and it’s full of only the best of the best music I’ve heard lately. If you like it, share the love, and re-post it on your favorite social network or music thread. Be sure to explore the work by the artists featured, and purchase their albums and merch, so that we can all continue to enjoy these phresh beats.

Tsq Vol II-3

1.   THE-DREAM  fast car (exeter delorean edit)

2.   TOURS  enthusiast

3.   GIRAFFAGE & XXYYXX  even though (teen daze remix)

4.   THE ICE CHOIR  teletrips

5.   NO WAVE  lucid

6.   JOY ORBISON  ladywell

7.   18 CARAT AFFAIR  jewelry on the floor

8.   NEO-SAFARI  while dreaming

9.   RA CAILUM  you won’t

10. ELITE GYMNASTICS  life/trap

11. MUX MOOL  ruin everything

12. CUR$ES  hemisphere

13. SAD SOUL CIRCUS & M83  24 hours

14. SUNDAY MORNING  underwater (okinawa lifestyle mixed)

15. MAXY BILLS  seeding suns

16. BONDAX  all inside

17. HOLY OTHER  we over

18. DIVE  phonecall / breach

19. ASVHI  l8ly (メモリの家)

20. SUPREME CUTS  jacy

Download here.