Head In The Clouds: Vol 10

It’s been awhile since our last update (November, in fact). This has primarily been because I’ve been gallivanting around South America since January. To make up for lost time, April’s edition will be a whopping DOUBLE POST!

Some of these tracks may not have been released/uploaded over the last month, but we’ve not had the time to feature them yet. I hope you find something new.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/124708418″]

I’m going to start this post with something of an admission – I enjoy Beyonce’s music. It’s not cool and I probably shouldn’t be saying it on a blog such as this, but she’s been responsible for some of the biggest and catchiest hits of the last decade. Few were bigger than Crazy In Love. It was riotous, fun and damn right fresh when it was released over a decade ago.

Back in January, Iyes presented us with a whole new take on the smash hit, offering a much more intimate, minimalist and meditative approach. If anything, it’s probably a more appropriate approach to express the head over heels idea of being absolutely lost in love, rather than the raucous approach adopted in the original.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/142495062″]

Mountain Rise, the latest teaser to be released from his impending Good Times mixtape, is exceptionally produced. Trumpet, piano and jazz drums float in and out, laying a bed for Jeremiah Jae to weave his magic upon. It’s quite a meditative affair, tracing his journey from obscurity until now.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/140498640″]

If you haven’t figured out by now that we love Cloud Boat then, quite frankly, you’ve not been paying much attention. Carmine is the first single from their new album, to be released later this year. It’s a track tainted by ambient nostalgia, with the duo describing it as “a journey through the mind of a childhood companion.” Carmine’s the sound of something lost yet remembered. Conversely, it’s also the sound of a band who have found their feet and are now truly defining themselves.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/140351914″]

Plaid are back! It’s been three years since their last release, and over two decades since their formation in 1988. Hawkmoth, the first single from new album Reachy Prints, is both warm and playful. It’s quite a break from the majority of modern, introspective and claustrophobic electronic music.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/139446512″]

Two Inch Punch has already demonstrated his obvious talent when it comes to remixes, his remix of Sam Smith’s Nirvana was sensational. He’s done it again, melding Justin Timberlake’s pop sensibilities with a wandering bass line and the type of glockenspiel you’d typically associate with Christmas carols, long nights and mulled wine. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a soft spot for J.T.?

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/138869921″]

Judging by his music, Jacques Greene is something of a pedant. We mean that in the nicest possible way, his dedication, attention to detail and refusal to cut corners in his production ensures his place as one of the smoothest producers out there right now. No Excuse is the first single from his Phantom Vibrate EP, due out on April 28th. Three things strike you about the track, the lilting incantations, tub-thumping drums and an omnipresent bassline.

That’s your lot for today, check back soon for our second instalment in Volume 10.