If you’re running short of aces up your sleeve, well, this Bootleg Business Summer Special got you covered. No guest this time, just me and an extended selection of twenty of the best (unofficial) remixes and edits I had on heavy rotation over the past months. Expect some brand-new releases, some classics and some weird stuff by the likes of Baauer, Darby, Hans Gadler, ethanplus, paul mond, Farrah, Chopsoe, and many more. The playlist is split into two parts. The first is focused on bouncy, groovy genres while the second is heavier and more bass-focused.

Have fun!

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Looking for even more bootlegs? Be sure to check the first four volumes of Bootleg Business where, alongside Colin, camoufly, Ramon Pang and Nawtystep, we have already put together an archive of forty remixes for all tastes.

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Bringing organic soul and grooves to the scene, these compilations have pushed sonic boundaries while tendering to the broken and lost. Creating a space you’ll always feel welcome in. The calm and peaceful compositions within will only fill your aura with purpose and happiness. And what a stacked lineup they got this year! Heavy hitters such as laxcity, DECAP, oshi, capshun, Chromonicci, whereisalex, and more have all molded individual stories through sound. Showcasing their strongest techniques while honoring the label with pure style.

 “I curated this project to affirm the belonging of hip-hop & electronic music in a single space. Otherwise known as future beats, this project brings together soulful and jazzy boom bap production riddled with soulful rap vocals and electronic sound design. The subgenre was greatly inspired and developed by the likes of Flying Lotus, Mr. Carmack, and quite a few of the artists featured on this project including Oshi, Lophiile, DECAP, whereisalex, & ROMderful. It was no easy undertaking bringing together these staples of the producer world, but over the past year, I’ve been lucky enough to have everyone place their faith in me. After over two years since the last issue, Good Society Volume 3 is our version of the ultimate genre fluid hip-hop album.” – Josh Yamini

Good Society Vol. 3 is an absolute pleasure to experience from beginning to end. The twelve track journey is filled with ear candy and inspiring characteristics. From moments of absolute clarity, to unreal techniques from the artists themselves, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. The drums, melodies and overall arrangements shines on a whole new level. Making you feel completely relaxed and content with your mindset. From laxcity’s bubbly sound design and rhythms, to oshi’s elegant vocals complimenting his hard hitting production, these artists truly went all out and created life long art to last throughout the ages. Representing history as well as giving their audience a taste for what’s to come on the horizon. Bringing warm light among the darkness. So make sure to show your support by streaming Good Society Vol. 3 everywhere via Good Society!

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The remix album begins with a vocal-centric rendition from Torr, which is a stand-out compared to everyone else’s instrumental versions. The second remix comes from Bonsai Collective founder, capshun, that boasts his bouncy signature sound, supplemented by his oriental-inspired flare. Cumulus Frisbee‘s take honors Kilamanzego’s original nicely, but his laser beats make a mark that can’t be mistaken. We were also stoked to see RamonPang featured here. We’ve been keeping an eye on the California native’s recent releases, and his distinct IDM inscription creates a celestial, wispy vibe that’ll make you feel as light as air. Whereisalex takes the last slot, dropping his dreamy flip of the track, leading into Kilamanzego’s original mix to close out the project.

The Anxiety Remixes album has to be one of the most cohesive compilations of remixes I’ve ever heard. But each variation is still so special, and really allows you to hear each artists’ individual style. If anything, it’s ironic the track is called ‘Anxiety’ because listening to it puts our minds at ease.

Listen to Kilamanzego’s Anxiety Remixes album below and enjoy the ride.

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Back in December, Kilamanzego released the experimental track, ‘Anxiety.’ The original song starts off soothingly, but leads into a glitchy, wonky drop, perfectly summing up how anxiety can hit at any moment. Whereisalex gives his softer take, utilizing naturesque sounds to support the tune’s dreamy, celestial melodies.

We’ve been keeping a close record on everything both of these artists have been doing lately, and it’s clear they continue to innovate and push the envelope in dance music. Last month, we even dropped a guest mix and interview with Whereisalex. Maybe it’s time to spotlight the GOAT, Kilamanzego? Let us know what you think, but until then, make sure to listen to Whereisalex’s rendition of Kilamanzego’s ‘Anxiety’ below!

The post PREMIERE: Whereisalex Drops Dreamy Remix for Kilamanzego’s ‘Anxiety’ appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

You’ve been pumping out insanely high-quality beats over half a decade now with no signs of slowing down anytime soon! How did you first get into producing, and how do you feel your sound and style have evolved over the years?

So for the first part of my life, I really only listened to gospel music, orchestral music and jazz (the latter two I listened to because I joined concert band in sixth grade). I made my very first beats in FL Studio 4 and Reason; I was just trying to recreate my favorite gospel songs. The first non-gospel song that I listened to was ‘Massage Situation’ by Flying Lotus, and that ended up being the song that catapulted me into electronic music production. The first music I ever released sounded like circa ‘08-10 L.A. beat scene music. The TNGHT EP and ‘Bang Vol. 1’ by Mr. Carmack were other bodies of work that motivated me to get deeper into producing.

Sonically, the ‘whereisalex’ project has been all over the place. It started out super atmospheric, morphed into slick future bass, and got really gospel-ly at some point. As time has progressed, I’ve tried to take parts of my musical upbringing and synthesize those parts into something that represents my musical perspective. I still have a lot of work to do in terms of making it something singular and unique.

Your latest release ‘Shine’ is a warm, energetic vibe that’s perfect for the current transition into springtime! Can you tell us what your intention behind it was, and how it came together?

It was not my intention to make something so cheery! I remember how dissonant the mood of ‘Shine’ was with my mood and the general sense of dread looming over the heads of everyone living in the States. I was probably just glad that I made it through 2020 and was feeling hopeful about 2021. I was considering not putting ‘Shine’ out because of how happy it sounded. I’m also not one for displays of naive optimism, and I was worried timing-wise that it would read that way. I’m glad it’s out though.

I wrote both halves on two separate days, one after the other. I had the idea for the song the night before, and then I just woke up and made it. I find those sessions to be the most satisfying, when the ideas are clear and the execution is effortless.

With so many artists making minuscule changes endlessly to tracks before considering it “perfect,” how do you personally determine when a track is fully finished?

There is no end to tweaking songs! Sometimes, back when SoundCloud was still a prominent platform, I would tweak tracks after they came out. So in some sense, it’s not over until you decide it’s over. But generally speaking, if the structure of the song is well put together, flows well, and is mixed competently, I’ll put it out. I’ve never made the most polished work, and I like the energy of songs that haven’t been obsessively labored over.

With the last 12 months being tumultuous for all involved, can you impart some knowledge or wisdom on us that you’ve gained in that time?

Self-care is important! Bureaucracy and capitalism are bedfellows! Small, local organization is important in order to create the kinds of changes that you would want to see! Relying on elected officials to accomplish meaningful change is kind of a crapshoot. Water is important! It’s okay to take breaks!

Recently on Twitter, you mentioned how difficult it is to be an independent artist. Can you clue us into some of the hardships you’ve had to go through in order to achieve the level of success you’ve had?

Lack of funding is definitely a huge part of it. In order to create songs that have a certain amount of polish it takes expertise, and for those who don’t have the expertise it takes money! Ad campaigns take money! Equipment takes money. Transportation takes money. Not having a source of funding has definitely made certain parts of my journey more arduous. On the plus side, I can make pretty good music with meager supplies, I understand how to make interesting and shareable content with next to no budget, and the amount of distance in miles that I can travel with $200 is astounding.

A lack of connections is also a huge barrier to cross. For a period of about two years, I had a booking agent. He was very well connected; my first tour, my first headline shows, and my biggest single to date were all the products of relationships he had. So without those kinds of connections, securing opportunities can be challenging but not impossible.

What up-and-coming artists are inspiring you as of late?

Kilamanzego! Camoufly! SOMETHING! episcool! Milye! Keeth.! Yojas! Tsu Nami! Moore Kismet! Clarity! Willy Crooks! Master Soul Boy! Aqualina!

With safe in-person shows by fall/winter looking more and more likely every day, where are some places you’d be itching to perform?

I am dubious about the States’ ability to open in a safe manner this year. However, in a scenario where that happens, I gotta get to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Denver, Brooklyn, DC, and Montreal are also faves of mine.

You recently had the opportunity to put together a set for Brownies & Lemonade for their Open Aux Showcase! Can you tell us how that came to be, and what the experience was like?

Brownies and Lemonade are the homies! They were my first show ever, and their support of me has been amazing ever since. Anytime I do a Brownies event, I feel like I’m in home court. It was very comfortable and I’m grateful that they put me in front of the audience that they’ve cultivated for years. Getting to do something audiovisual was also super rewarding!

With the rise of cryptocurrency-based NFT’s blowing up recently, what’s your take on that idea and market in general?

I don’t know enough about NFT’s so I’ll shut up! I’ve said things on Twitter that were misinformed, but in the process of having some mistaken notions dispelled, other equally baffling questions have risen up in their place. Overall it just seems like another avenue through which art can be created and sold. Of course, the idea of NFT’s having provenance is cool, and the fact that the artists get residuals off of sales is wonderful. But much like the traditional art market, there’s a lot of scheming, cash-grabbing, and pointless art that won’t mean much in the long run. Such is life.

A huge part of my skepticism comes from my time as an artist practitioner. The trend of painting that is often dubbed as ‘zombie formalism’ balloons and then fizzles. Young upstarts like Julien Smith and Parker Ito went from being nobodies to huge artists to pariahs in a very short amount of time. Seeing that type of stuff has made me very skeptical of any art world developments that appear sudden and hype-inflated.

On the night that I’m writing this, I’m supposed to talk with Deffie about NFT’s. So maybe by the time this is out I’ll have a completely different perspective.

What’s next for you? Anything big in the works?

Just music! After a year of sparse releases, I just want to have a consistent year. If there are meant to be any bigger plays, they will reveal themselves.

You prepared a guest mix for us today! Can you walk us through your creative process when it comes to flow and overall vibe when it comes to putting together a mix, and what you wanted to showcase in this particular instance?

Both livestreams that I’ve done since lockdown have been very cinematic and moody. I like having a mix that has an emotional arc and feels like a fulfilling journey. However, my pre-covid sets were just banger sets, and there’s an appeal in that. Sometimes I worry about my moodier, more cinematic sets being too melodramatic and self-important. This particular mix is more immediate, more rapid-fire, and is just full of my favorite bops from the last year.

Many of the up-and-coming artists that I expressed my enthusiasm for are in this mix. Hopefully everyone who listens enjoys bopping along to it.

Tracklist:
whereisalex – lie4 (outro)
whereisalex – shine pt.2
whereisalex – honesty
whereisalex – ghosted
whereisalex – shine pt. 1
whereisalex – matrix
whereisalex – ID
kilamanzego – meditate
chromonicci – balance
olswel – wth
milye – surf
keeth – CHAMILLION w/ golden child
tsu nami – and i like
lyny – jump bros
missy elliot – get ur freak on (whereisalex remix)
something – shakemyass
jack u – beats knockin (camoufly remix)
late year – A – 1 $•¥
episcool – it’s a wrap

The post Guest Mix + Interview – whereisalex appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

‘shine’ will leave a permanent smile on your face. Embracing its joyous and emotional qualities through each and every note being played. Not to mention how impactful those drums are through it all. This whole journey is a huge blanket of prosperity and harmony. Comforting each and every listener. Letting them know brighter days will arrive. The high-pitched lead which carries the first half of the track gives you goosebumps. Playing in a synchronized pattern to really give the track flavor. While throwing in fun little fills to make it all pop. The second half will transport the listener into an area full of greenery and life. Enjoying and honoring the nature surrounding it. Observing and discovering new things. It’ll make you want to lay in a patch of flowers and stare at the bright blue sky. Enjoying the sounds of everything around you. Nothing but being in the moment. Ending you off with a satisfying feeling.

whereisalex is an artist like no other. His ability to translate true emotion into music is breathtaking and inspirational. This is by far one of his greatest tracks to date. So make sure to go support him by streaming ‘shine’ on SoundCloud.

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Whether it’s the album’s unattainable swing, soul stirring keys, harrowing orchestrations or demonstrative arrangements, The Oppression Olympics defies conventional methods of social activism. Best observed in tracks like ‘Required Chaos II’, ‘U BEN LIED 2 + Never Know (Feat. Varth)’ and ‘Y’all Need to Listen (QUIT YOUR JOB!)’, the project speaks to reality on multiple levels. It whispers the sentiments of racial division, solicits emotional awareness, and scores the intolerance of the modern political climate through mature cognizance. It also fucking slaps, and challenges you entertain new kinds of multi-dimensional thinking.

The project was released on Juneteenth, a celebration of the overdue emancipation of slaves, alongside the POWER BLACK compilation featuring the dexterity of acclaimed black beatmakers including DEFFIE, KAELIN ELLIS, whereisalex, Oshi, jammvis, eu-IV, Kilamanzego and TEK.LUN himself. These creators have dedicated all profits from the sales of both projects towards the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other organizations supporting the movement. The Oppression Olympics can only be understood through experience, so I’ll leave you with TEK.LUN’s own words about the album and some of my own encouragement: open your mind, your heart, your wallet, and explore ways to help guide the world into a better future for all.

The Oppression Olympics is an instrumental album centered around the divides within the Black community that keep the diaspora from unifying in its totality. Our Black voices are reaching parts of the globe they have never reached before and I could not think of a better time to share this than on Juneteenth, 2020.

I began working on this “idea” back in 2016, inspired by the Audre Lorde poem “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression.” I will again go broke donating a majority of the proceeds from this to various organizations geared toward mental health for black women + a few other foundations I’m currently verifying. Each song has a purpose and I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks for listening!

Love ya
– TEK.LUN

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