For the Record: Atlantic At Pacific.

Released last Monday on Alchemist Records, Atlantic At Pacific’s debut EP, Weddings, is some perfect listening for a sunny summer afternoon, if we ever have one again. It is no surprise to me that the group hail from Santa Cruz, a place I have never been but gather must be one sunny place to live. It is entirely instrumental, moving through more dance-y tracks in the vein of Pipedown-favourites Toro Y Moi and Washed Out to more ambient territory. The album’s 13 tracks takes just over half an hour to get through, and it is a relaxing, uplifting and intriguing experience. Buy it here.
We have two tracks off the album for you today. ‘Drifting’ is more beat-heavy, with a repetitive, near-droning melody, featuring some wordless singing towards the end. ‘Wedding’ throws some guitar into the mix, providing a neat backbone to the synth’s droning meanders. Download both below.

Atlantic At Pacific – Drifting

Atlantic At Pacific – Weddings

Atlantic At Pacific MySpace

Dark Side of the Moon: Pariah’s ‘Prism’.

Pipedown-favourite, Scotland-via-London producer Pariah is releasing his latest EP, Safehouses, on legendary label R&S on September 6th. The man has been kind enough to give away second track ‘Prism’. It finds him in fine form, the track being more in the mould of ‘Orpheus’ rather than the more sample-based ‘Detroit Falls’. Download ‘Prism’ and check out the Safehouses EP tracklisting below.

Pariah – Prism

01 The Slump
02 Prism
03 Railroad
04 Crossed Out
05 C-Beams
06 Safehouses

Pre-order Safehouses here
Pariah MySpace

Free Play: Games’ ‘Party Planet’.

The video for Games’ ‘Party Planet’ is a pretty-much perfect visual representation of their aesthetic – warped and mixed bits of popular culture from the late 80s/early 90s. Watch it above.

Original Games Pipedown Post

Pay Increase: Night Manager.

Night Manager are Ezana Edwards, Caitlin Seager, Tim Angiolillo and David Anthony Tassy, a Brooklyn-based group with members originally from Paris and San Francisco. They make fuzzed out guitar pop in the vein of artists like Best Coast and Surfer Blood but way, way less clean. They are, however, no less melodic, and they have sustained an extraordinarily high standard across the tracks they have released so far. ‘Wolf Pyramid’ is the stand-out, beginning with a minor freak-out before settling into a more chilled groove complete with ‘ooo’ choruses and a pretty slick breakdown.

Night Manager – Wolf Pyramid

‘Not Sure’ reminds me a lot of Tennis, their guitar and voice combinations being similar.

Night Manager – Not Sure

‘Blackout Sex’ is a dark track, as the title would suggest, the super-close sounding recording reminiscent of the all-enveloping quality of total darkness.

Night Manager – Blackout Sex

The guys do not have any releases in the pipeline as yet, but something is sure to come along soon. For more information and music check out their MySpace site, link below.

Night Manager MySpace

Kingsize: Dawn Golden & Rosy Cross.

Dawn Golden & Rosy Cross are one of those acts that regularly gets described as mysterious. Taking their name from a symbol and ritual of Freemasonry (one that famous occultist Aleister Crowley was interested in), their identity is secret, forcing people like me to concentrate solely on their music. So its a good thing that it is quite so good, cleverly combining various trends to create something new and exciting. Coming on like a more beat-heavy How To Dress Well, their debut EP, Blow, showcases a whole load of interesting approaches to songwriting. Parts of it remind me of Beach House, parts of Grizzly Bear and parts of Pantha Du Prince. It is something-for-everyone music.
We have one track from Blow for you today – ‘White Sun’. It has pounding beats, sweet piano, a sorta scary recorded ‘Yeah!’ that sounds like it comes from a children’s toy of some kind and distant-sounding vocals. Download below.

Dawn Golden & Rosy Cross – White Sun

Like what you hear? Buy the rest of the EP, available from their Bandcamp for the small cost of $6 (a.k.a £3.97 for us British-types) and get ‘White Sun’ companion-track, crazily called ‘Black Sun’, as a bonus. Happy listening!

Dawn Golden & Rosy Cross Bandcamp
Dawn Golden & Rosy Cross MySpace

Hometown Glory: Disclosure.

Everyone who has written about Disclosure so far can’t help but mention their age. The duo, two brothers, are 15 and 18 years old, respectively, but this fact has no real bearing on their music. To put it simply, they make UK Funky music, but its not really that simple. Throwing in elements of jazz and other bass music, they definitely seem to be aiming higher than simple homage to other artists.
We have three tracks for you today. First up is the jazzy ‘London Town’, an evocative love letter to the capital. They also throw in some squelchy bass and ‘Sunshine!’ chants for good measure. It put a smile on my face, and it will probably put one on yours. Download below.

Disclosure – London Town

‘Offline Dexterity’ is actually the duo’s debut release, out on September 6th on Moshi Moshi. It features a bass line that constantly threatens to run away with itself and some Joy Orbison-style synth wash builds.

Disclosure – Offline Dexterity

The third track we have for you today, ‘Linstigator’, is the most straightforward. Like UK Funky? You will probably like this.

Disclosure – Linstigator

Pre-order ‘Offline Dexterity’ / ‘Street Light Chronicle’ 7″ here
Disclosure MySpace

Let It Snow: Akhluts.

Akluts are a brand new project, the bringing together of Brighton’s DJ Murlo and one member of the sadly-defunct Teen Skeikhs. Their debut track, ‘Wintermount’, was first highlighted by Brighton’s premier music blog, XXJFG – its a regular Brighton love-fest! Joking aside, ‘Wintermount’ is a fantastic track, rightly described as epic, with accomplished uses of light and dark sounds to create something that subtly fills your consciousness as you listen. I can’t wait to hear more, I think these guys could be big. Download and listen below.

Akhluts – Wintermount

Wintermount by Akhluts

Akhluts Soundcloud

Busy Boy: Star Slinger’s ‘May I Walk With You?’.

Star Slinger is one prolific guy. Since I last wrote about him, he has kept up a constant stream of new material. ‘May I Walk With You?’ is the high point, taking a sample from ‘The Leanover’ by Life Without Buildings and chopping it into a soul-filled, hip-hop infused piece of magic. It cheers you up. Download below.

Star Slinger – May I Walk With You?

Original Pipedown Star Slinger Post
Star Slinger Official Site

PipedownMix10 / Teams.

Teams comes correct with issue 10 in our mix series. Taking some of the freshest cuts from LA Priest, Sebastien Tellier, The Samps and Jai Paul, as well as tracks from Pipedown-favourites Lone and Bullion, it gives a great look into Teams musical mind. We are particularly lucky to have had Teams do this for us – today sees the release of his debut, We Have a Room With Everything, and the undoubted increase in popularity that will result. Download, tracklist and Mixcloud link below.

Teams – PipedownMix10
(direct link, right-click, save-as)

TRACKLIST
*LA Priest – Swing Youth
*Police Academy 6 – Apollo
*Bullion – Time For Us All To Love
*Coyote Clean Up – Downhill Exxxpress
*Sebastian Tellier – Look
*Coolrunnings – I Can Be Dreamy (Sapient Blaine Remix)
*The Samps – Peppergood
*Cubic Zirconia – Fuck Work (Les Sins remix)
*Hard Mix – Memories
*Jai Paul – BTSTU
*Lone – Karen Loves Kate
*Com Truise – BASF Ace

Big Boy: Balam Acab.

Tri-Angle Record’s very own Balam Acab brought out his and his label’s debut EP a couple of days ago. He has let loose second track ‘Regret Making Mistakes’ for free download, mixing choral vocals and heavy bass in a way similar to, yet more chilled out than, SALEM’s ‘King Night’. It is pretty damn good. Download below.

Balam Acab – Regret Making Mistakes

Balam Acab’s EP, See Birds, is available for download now from all the usual suspects (iTunes, Boomkat etc.). The 12″ can be pre-ordered here. Tracklisting below.

1. See Birds (Moon)
2. Regret Making Mistakes
3. Big Boy
4. Dream Out
5. See Birds (Sun)

Original Pipedown Balam Acab Post (including free download of ‘See Birds (Moon)’)
Balam Acab MySpace

• @SteakhouseBeats ha most definitely # 2010/09/02
• Ok we're about to completely redesign and rework the site (again). Any burning desires for things to change / add / lose? # 2010/09/02
• New// For the Record: Atlantic At Pacific. http://bit.ly/9q74F7 # 2010/08/30
• New// Dark Side of the Moon: Pariah’s ‘Prism’. http://bit.ly/98cMMR # 2010/08/26
• New// Free Play: Games’ ‘Party Planet’. http://bit.ly/aPlFoy # 2010/08/23