Also worth mentioning is the label that Bibio and his friends started called "Artist Valley Records" . What I have heard on the myspace sounds very promising. Everything is very soulful and has this certain peaceful nature to it. And of course the lofi feel gives it a warmth not found in digital music.
All right, indulge me for a second. If I had to take a shot in the dark on what the next 2 years for the Passion Boys look like, I'd say..... they get inked to Modular. Modular locks down a "Passion Boys Profile Feature" on the myspace front page. They release a 4 track EP with remixes by Van She and Cut Copy. Their new, vertically integrated manager puts together a small US tour sponsored by Fader/Turntablelab. "Pop Rock" gets licenced for a 20 second nissan commercial, running prime time, being marketed to the 30-20 year old demo. Passion Boys blow like Mickey Av. Blogs like Discobelle and StereoGum start featuring their tracks regularly. Diplo does a Passion Boys / Baltimore / Baile Funk / Chicken Noodle Soup / Mash Up. Kids like us live to tell the story. (classic case of "it's funny cause it's true") 
Seriously, it does. I wasn't too happy about Mr. Murphy striking a deal with one of the world's largest companies, but hey, it happens. And when it happens, it can sometimes be a terrible idea, but luckily for DFA Records it wasn't. James Murphy, as everyone knows, fronts his super disco dance group LCD Soundsystem. They put together roughly 45 minutes of music to warm you up and cool you down while you exercise. The track itself is a seamless mix of some pretty unique stuff. Having already gotten my greasy hands on the LCD album (out Feb 2007), I quickly recognized the instrumental to one of the tracks off the album. Besides that, I'd say it's definitely a good listen, be it driving around, cleaning your house, or an alternate method to your workout...
Grammy nominations were announced... Timbaland snubbed again from the Producer of the year category. Below are the nominations for that category. (click on the picture for all the nominations.)
Jimmy D is a legend. He has been producing, engineering and Mixing down Albums since the Funk era. He has worked with everyone from Aretha Franklin, to Hall & Oates, to Timbaland, to the Rapture. Posted is an exclusive Lecture / Interview Jimmy conducted at The Red Bull Music Academy. I am sure all of our musically inclined patrons will find his commentary thoroughly interesting as this interview serves to further perpetuate the the notion that digital recording is in fact, sonically less appealing then analog (even though Jimmy no longer bounces to tape and refers to himself as "HI-FI"). 
Save for that wack british rapper, Vice has excellent taste. Their latest signing fits snuggly into a Post Electro Space Punk classifcation. (god loves to label) 120 Days is the first Norwegian band ever to be signed directly to a US label. And when potential remix bands came up for the lead single... enter the LD collective. In the remix, Lansing-Dreiden restructure the movement of the track into a more captivating and dynamic ride (where as the original is much more of an epic shoegazer affair). MP3s are posted and click on the pic for a vid of 120 Days performing 'come out' live.
