Sound Contours

Big '70s sounds for getting swept away — Whether by love or lust, joy or jealousy, or even just the sounds themselves. Tracklist: Supertramp - Lady, Wings - Arrow Through Me, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles, Lion - You've Got A Woman, Charles Stepney - Daddy's Diddies, Gal Costa - Relance, Dr. John - Same Old Same Old, Gilberto Gil - Umeboshi, Bill Withers - Use Me, Dorothy Ashby - Come Live With Me, Ned Doheny - Get It Up For Love, Bobby Charles - Small Town Talk, Bread - Guitar Man, Steely Dan - Your Gold Teeth II, Wings - Love Is Strange, Gilberto Gil - Babá Alapalá, Rachel Sweet - It's So Different Here, Tom Ze - Dói, Electric Light Orchestra - Showdown, Shuggie Otis - Strawberry Letter 23, Arthur Verocai - Ne boca do sol, The Free Design - Bubbles, Brian Protheroe - Enjoy It, Ivan Lins - Sai De Baixo, Jorge Ben Jor - Camisa 10 Da Gávea, Steely Dan - Only A Fool Would Say That, Gal Costa - Pontos De Luz, Gilberto Gil - Chiclete Com Banana, Bill Wyman - (Si, Si) Je Sui Un Rock Star, Cymande - Bra, Richard Swift - Lady Luck, Pastor T.L. Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir - Like A Ship, The Rolling Stones - I Just Want To See His Face, Jorge Ben Jor - Bom Dia, Boa Tarde, Boa Noite, Supertramp - Dreamer, Van Morrison - Gypsy Queen, Thin Lizzy - A Song For While I'm Away, Funkadelic - Biological Speculation

Soak in a smooth 21st century comfort blend aligning voices from indie, pop, R&B and electronica, all vibing on the Sade/Enya/Prefab Sprout/"fourth world" edges of the sonic multi-sided die. Tracklist: Body-San - Koko Chats Online, Nite Jewel - Real High, Toro Y Moi - No Show, Kendrick Lamar & Zacari - LOVE., Caroline Polachek - Door, Kelly Lee Owens - S.O, Sandro Perri - In Another Life - Edit, Blood Orange - Chamakay, Suzanne Kraft - Flatiron, John Carroll Kirby - P64 By My Side, Sam Wilkes & Jacob Mann - Siri, How Do I Know If I Have Commitment Issues?, Here We Go Magic - Over The Ocean, Rhye - Waste, Jorge Elbrecht & Ariel Pink - No Real Friend, Air - Universal Traveler, HAIM - You Never Know, Cornelius - In A Dream, HiM - Slow Slow Slow, Mount Kimbie & Micachu - Marilyn, Gossamer - Off World, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Watery Grave, Yaeji - What We Drew, Kettel - Mousefort, Gaussian Curve - The Distance, Lambchop - Old Masters, Sacred Tapestry - Do-Ri-Mi ~ Dreamy, James Blake - My Willing Heart, Chairlift - Crying In Public, Swim Mountain - Midnight In The Supermarket, Feater & Vilja Larjosto - Time Million, Robert Glasper - Song For Selim feat. KING, Air - Run, HAIM - Go Slow, Hot Chip - Made In The Dark

As advertised: A cosmic blend for the epic cool off so desperately needed between our ears, now and always. Sit within a vast interior and take in the rich atmosphere. Tracklist: Pan-American - The Cloud Room, Triosk & Jan Jelinek - Neckless, Isotope 217 - Le Jeteé, Bennie Maupin - Ensenada, Pharoah Sanders - Astral Traveling, Brokeback - Another Routine Day Breaks, Directions - Track 7, Fuubutsushi - Sugar Maple Turn, Douglas McCombs - Two To Coolness, Chicago Odense Ensemble - Pretty Nice, Euphone - Do You Up, Jeff Parker - The Relative, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land - Prints Tie, Tortoise - TNT, Talk Talk - New Grass, Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes - Desert Nights, Fly Pan Am - Univoque/equivoque, Bark Psychosis - The Loom, Papa M - Vivea, Pat Metheny - Midwestern Nights Dream, Squarepusher - Iambic 5 Poetry, Sam Prekop - A Cloud To The Back, Yo La Tengo - Night Falls On Hoboken, Miles Davis - Early Minor - New Mix, Mark Hollis - The Gift, Weather Report - Waterfall, Isotope 217 - Solaris, Sonny Sharrock - Who Does She Hope To Be?, John Abercrombie, Jan Hammer & Jack DeJohnette - Timeless, Tortoise - Cliff Dweller Society

Enjoy deep grooves and progressive rock riddims selected from '70s and '80s art rock artists across the UK, Japan, America, Brazil, and Italy. The smooth lilt, driving pulse and spacey production touches of dub reggae, the sublime syncopation of funk, the soft timbres of mallet instruments and synths -- All can be heard infecting these slick, undeniable jams by some of the brainiest innovators in rock. Won't you sign in, stranger? Tracklist: Robert Palmer - Clues, Haruomi Hosono - Shimendoka, Steely Dan - Sign In Stranger, Masayoshi Takanaka - Breezin', Ivan Lins - Desejo, Bill Nelson - Do You Dream In Color, Yukihiro Takahashi - Sunset, Japan, Steven Nye - All Tomorrow's Parties (12" Version), Yasuaki Shimizu - Kakashi, Dalis Car - Artemis, Talking Heads - Seen And Not Seen, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Junk Culture, Yellow Magic Orchestra - Seoul Music, Brian Eno - Over Fire Island, The Teardrop Explodes - Seven Views Of Jerusalem, Todd Rundgren - Pulse, Gentle Giant - Give It Back, Gilberto Gil - No norte da saudade, Franco Battiato - Stranizza D'Amuri - Demo Version, David Sylvian - Taking The Veil, The Blue Nile - Heatwave, Talk Talk - Happiness Is Easy, Robert Wyatt - Gharbzadegi, Yasuaki Shimizu - Crow, Lifetones - For A Reason, Mick Karn - When Love Walks In, Robert Palmer - Woke Up Laughing

Your curt shots / Sarcastic remarks come so often / They're never sincere / Darker amusement sets in / That's the problem / You're saying something and my eyes open wider / There’s someone identical / Far away from here / Our love settles down into soft sweet sounds / You're that one I lost and you found / I lost and you found / Enter and rejoice this pedestal where the rainbows hide your destiny / Mystery of all time / No time make or reason / You told me we could have this whole thing down / Mustn’t listen when you hit the ground / Mustn’t listen / I could be the sunlight in your eyes couldn't I? / Screaming at the winking shutter fly / Unsettled minds are often crowned / Morning has its way around the one / But everybody is scared with you / The fear is getting clear / A window now in every place a witness spoke / I wonder what I get paid / Watch him die / All that I said is you're a curable head case / The way you make do in such a hell of a bad way / When my soul starts growing / When my soul starts growing / I get so full and I wish it never never would never would stop growing / If you need me I can always be found / If you want me to stay I'll stay by your side / And I want you to find me so I'll stay by your side / I won't run far / I can always be found Tracklist: The Walkmen - Stop Talking, Long Fin Killie - Resin, Buffalo Daughter - S.O.I.D, Colder - Losing Myself, SUUNS - Sunspot, Red Axes - Piper Work, Solex - Not A Hoot!, Clinic - T.K., Blonde Redhead - Missile ++, Marnie Stern - The Things You Notice, Deerhoof - Our Angel's Ululu, Sonic Youth - Shadow Of A Doubt, Morgan Delt - The Lowest Of The Low, Mount Eerie - Lone Bell, Portishead - Pedestal, Jib Kidder - Wrinkle In Time, Co La - Suspicious (Sandman Fix), Stereolab - Les Yper-Yper Sound, Opossum - Fly, Bows - Uniroyal, Tune-Yards - Sunlight, Colder - Shiny Star, Here We Go Magic - Only Pieces, Mice Parade - Focus On The Roller Coaster, No Age - Eraser, Long Fin Killie - Homo Erectus, Makaya McCraven - The Drop, Beak> - Yatton, Broadcast - Tender Buttons, Woodsman - I Can't Move, Indian Rope - 13 Creams, Panda Bear - Ponytail, Dianogah - Indie Rock Spock Ears, Liars - The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack

Stretch out and lose your sense of time with a mix blending beat-making and the avant-garde. The bounce dial turns until a near-dissolution of rhythm, before returning to earth with hot drumming and sublime ambience until the finish. Keep bouncing. Tracklist: Califone - Outro, Dabrye - How Many Times [With This], Lukid - Veto, Dilla - Dillatronic 01-02, Herbert - Back To The Start - Mr. Oizo 'Non Mix', Dimlite - Locked, Co La - Belgian Pillow, Andy Stott - Take, Ras G - Rendered......, Makaya McCraven & Ben Lamar Gay - King Drive 86' Cutlass No Plates, Euphone - Su 10 #1, Lukid - Laughin', DJ Shadow - Monosylabik Pts. 1 & 2, Four Tet - Reversing, Photay, Carlos Nino - E X I S T E N C E - Photay's Infinite Mix, Actress - Hubble, Madlib - Water or Bread (Raining), Sam Wilkes, Christian Euman, Greg - Pretty, Fennesz - Instrument 3, Andy Stott - Up The Box, Tortoise - Gigantes, Flying Lotus - All In, Teebs - Just The Yellow Bits, Co La - Turned Twice, Chancha Via Circuito - Baru, The Sea and Cake & Bundy K. Brown - The Cheech Wizard Meets Baby Ultraman In The Cool Blue Cave (Short Stories About Birds, Trees, And The Sports Life Wherever You Are)

Sounds of rebirth and renewal in a cool register, from artists and labels associated with Chicago, LA and far beyond, made during my first Spring in the windy city after moving from LA. A cumbia mix would have been equally appropriate to Pilsen, but in an ode to the sensations given by Chicago's seasonality, this offers a chill palette of jazz and rock sounds, and even features a handful Pilsen residents, both past and present. Tracklist: Chicago Odense Ensemble - Glide Path, Daniel Villareal - Cali Colors, Charles Stepney - Notes From Dad, Makaya McCraven - High Fives, Jeff Parker - Jrifted, Tindersticks - Opening, Sam Gendel - Shippō, Sam Wilkes, Jacob Mann - Next To, Anna Butterss - Doo Wop, Leland Whitty - Awake, Eiko Ishibashi - Ask me how I sleep at night, Maria Chiara Arguiro - Clouds, Tortoise - Ox Duke, John Carroll Kirby - Nucleo, Makaya McCraven - Young Genius, Chip Wickham - Astral Traveling, Jeff Parker - Cliche, Sam Wilkes - Alma, Sam Gendel - Two-Tone, Tom Skinner - Quiet As It's Kept, Charles Stepney - Denim Groove, Makaya McCraven - The Title, Mike Cooper - Kokoe Nalu, Bitchin Bajas - World B. Free, Sam Prekop - Every Night, John Wizards - Hogsback, Rudy De Anda - Los Canarios, Daniel Villareal - Panama '77, Sam Gendel & Sam Willkes - I Sing High, John Carroll Kirby - Weep, Tortoise - The Clearing Fills, David Dinnell & Douglas McCombs - Ley Lines, Makaya McCraven - In The Moment, Charles Stepney - Rubie & Charles, John Carroll Kirby - Pan's Dance, Steve Gunn, David More, Bing & Ruth - Painterly

And so we return and begin again. Tracklist: Kraftwerk - Endless Endless, The New Year - The End's Not Near, It's Here, Chicago Underground Quartet - Total Recovery, Thom Yorke - Atoms For Peace - Four Tet Remix, James Blake, Bon Iver - I Need A Forest Fire, A Grape Dope - Rats It's Up - Laetitia Sadier Remix, Björk - Virus, HAIM - Something to Tell You, Mouse on Mars - The End, Dabrye - Game Over, The Books - It Never Changes to Stop, Squarepusher - Iambic 9 Poetry, Blur - Ambulance, Solex - Solex in a Slipshod Style, Makaya McCraven - Standing on Shoulders

The lounge chair's in the right place. Most of the umbrella's still standing. It's everything else that's gone. Bid farewell to civilization with this dramatic mix of post-nuclear lounge tunes -- a fantasia of slunk grooves, dramatic orchestral arrangements and exotic percussion. Join me for our last few sips of wine cooler ever, at the last party anyone will attend, here on the last patios anywhere. Tracklist: Submerse - It's All Fun And Games Until Someone Loses, Les Baxter - Thinking Of You, Esquivel and His Orchestra - So Rare, Paul Tanner, Andre Montero and His Orchestra - Holiday On Saturn, Martin Denny - Hypnotique, The Surfmen - Aloe Oe, Armando Sciascia - Black Sand, Frank Hunter and His Orchestra - White Goddess, Ron Goodwin - The Moon, George Shearing - Lotus Land, Warren Baker and His Orchestra - Malayan Nightbird, Piero Piccioni - Eros In Hiro, Jerry Byrd - Bird Of Paradise, Frank Comstock and His Orchestra - Out Of Space, Henry Mancini - Lujon (Slow Hot Wind), Decibels A Go-Go - De 9 A 6, Andre Popp Presents Elsa Popping and Her Pixieland Band - La Java Du Diable, Russ Garcia and His Orchestra - Red Sands Of Mars, Stan Applebaum, His Orchestra and Chorus - Undiscovered Island, Tak Shindo - Tumbling Tumbleweeds, Johnny Spencer and The Kona Koasters - Monsoon, Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again (1939 Version)

The only way out is through. Wild Gems III will get you there. Tracklist: Roger Roger and Nino Nardini - Strange Motion (Nature Nocturne), Los Amaya - Bailen Mi Rumbita, Indian Rope - Purple Mania, Ike Mathews - African Feeling, Erkin Koray - Karli Daglar, Goat - Try My Robe, Wadih Essafi - Aandak Baharia Ya Rayess, The African Brothers International Band - Wompe Masem, Aby Ngana Diop - Sapaly, Roj - Bongo Workout, Aldo Tamborrelli - Indian Feeling, Hervé Roy and Pierre Bachelet - Pachydermes and Cie, Alessandro Alessandroni - Collata, Omar Khorshid - Rakset El Fadaa, Okay Temiz - Dokuz Sekiz, Un Dos Tres Y Fuera - San Juan, Tambor Y Fuera, Can - Smoke (E.F.S. No. 59), Mac Talla Nan Creag - Grugaigian Chant, Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects - Roof Fish Suck, The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band - Sao Sakit Mae, Beaver and Krause - People's Park, Flamingods - Gojira, Albert Marcoeur - Controle-Vitesse-Pusssance, Agitation Free - Ala Tul Canal Din, Georgia - (Open Voice)

Mind Train aka Wild Gems II picks up where the first Wild Gems left off, taking us further down the stoney path through a vibrant and concerted wilderness of psych, exotica and eclectic international rock records. Tracklist: Budapest Radio Orchestra - The Lights of Hong Kong, Yoko Ono - Mindtrain, Erkin Koray - Sir, Bharat Karki and Party - Calcutta Calcutta, Fred Weinberg - Aum Mau Mau, Dick Hyman - Topless Dancers of Corfu, Bo Dollis and The Wild Mangolias - Handa Wanda, Bernard Gérard - Crocodile Porte-Clé, Stereolab - Iron Man, Ersen - Gafil Gezme Saskin, Cem Karaca and Apaslar - Gilgamis, Pierre Henry - Jericho Jerk, John Hill - Io, Morgan Delt - Barbarian Kings, Selda - Yaylalar, Kalyanji-Anandji - Bansarai Babu Beats, The Piranha Sounds - La Turbie Pirhanienne, Raymond Guiot - Primitive Spirit, Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums, Zafer Dilek - Tokat Sarması, Los Diablos Rojos - El Guapo, Banda Eletrica - Soy Loco por ti America, Yma Sumac - Gallito Ciego (One-Eyed Rooster), Los Henry's - Cumbia del Amor, Abelardo Carbono - Guana Tangula

Enjoy a mix of vintage Luk Thang 45s, ripped from a stack of singles brought over from Thailand by our cousin and good friend Matthew Baker. Here's the best hour of material -- I try to provide an authentic rendering of each disc, while avoiding the harsher surface noise, clicks, and scratches from the vinyl. Information about some of these Luk Thang picks is available online, but many remain mysterious. My partially reconstructed tracklist has tunes by Sangsuree Rungroj, Sayan Sanya, Winai Bundarak, and Chaloemphon Hit Donchai, but we know up to ten other unknown artists are featured. Who, for instance, is behind the cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "J'taime Moi Non Plus?" Whatever the answer, dip into the retro vibe of Thai Town, the first of four new episodes to be released over upcoming weeks tracing the varying strains of sound among international musics. Tracklist: Sangsuree Rungroj - Mixed, Sayan Sanya - Unknown, Sayan Sanya - Some Old Love, Sayan Sanya - Do Not Fall For The Rumor, Sayan Sanya - Borderman, Unknown Artist - J'taime Moi Non Plus, Chaloemphon Hit Donchai - Past Love Buddhist Lent Day, or Past Love Rainy Season, Chaloemphon Hit Donchai - Won Mae Engagement Girl, Winai Bandurak - Mexican Sunflower, or Tree Marigold

House music for the nest: These selections of micro, minimal, lo-fi, glitch, ambient and deep house hang together like insulating drapes -- subtle head music heaving and pulsing in the stillness of a calm room, with steady, four-on-the-floor background beats and tightly knit bass lines that like to lead the groove. Synth pads and vocal samples line the space like wallpaper. Zone out and enjoy. Tracklist: Afterhours - Defragment #2, Body-San - One Million Brazillion Dollars, Stimming - No. 17, Ishmael - No Chaser, Letherette - Without You, Farben and James Din A4 - Please Excuse My Face, Jan Jelinek - They, Them, Jetone - Octan, Rod Modell - Syria, Martin Schulte - City Night, Thomas Fehlmann - Atlas 2, Elka - BBX1999, You're Me - Oot Re Mi, Perfume Advert - Auspice, Anders Ilar - Gramineous Glow, Martin Buttrich - Stop Motion, Ricardo Villalobos - Hireklon, Farben - Silikon, Nosaj Thing - NR2, Moodymann - Why Do U Feel, Gold Panda - Mediaevil, Francesco Tristano - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

Euphoric vibes, sculpted tones and melodic (at times challenging) beats converge for a brisk tour through the industrial cyberpark of tomorrow. The hoverboard has its soundtrack. Tracklist: Yasuaki Shimizu - Tachikawa, Radiohead - I Am Citizen Insane, Rival Consoles - Morning Vox, Ada - You and Me, Rabit - Glass Harp Interlude, Aphex Twin - Milk Man, Iller - Bending Oddity, Kwes. - Hives, Arca - Dignity, Kahn, Commodo and Gantz - Kibosh, Knxwledge - Dntleave, Bullion - Don't Talk (Close Your Eyes), Gold Panda - Autumn Falls, Gobby - Hyuna, Bjork - Innocence (Alva Noto Unitxt Remodel), Jlin - Nandi, Kutmah - Darkening Of The Light, Henry Wu - Expensive Ghetto (Feat. Mo Kolors), Cakedog - 24 HRS, Moiré - Gel, Beat Spacek - Alone In Da Sun, Dabrye - In Water, James Place - High Rise (Rainier), Bibio - Saint Christopher, Baths - Seaside Town

The second of two mixes compiling excellent 2016 instrumental music, fashioned for wet weather and a cool state of mind. This one's got (somewhat) more of a rock bent. Enjoy. Tracklist: So Percussion - Drumkit Quartet No. 51 (Chicago Realization), Thor Harris - 12 Ate, Anna Meredith - Blackfriars, Christopher Tignor - The Will And The Waiting, F.S. Blumm and Nils Frahm - Day One Three, Suzanne Kraft - Bank, Raime - Dialling In, Falling Out, Szun Waves - Orb Light, nonkeen - Glow, Daedelus - Hold Sway, BADBADNOTGOOD - Here and Now, Kikagaku Moyo - Melted Crystal, The Eye of Time - I could sleep for thousand years, Billington-Tramposh - Live January 13 2016, Mica Levi and Oliver Coates - Xhill Stepping, Mark Pritchard - Cycles Of 9, Plaid - Wen, Guy Blakeslee - Maja (Queen of The Storm) Movement 3, Oren Ambarchi - Hubris Part 1, Odd Nosdam - Endless 432 (Feat. Teebs)

The first of two mixes compiling excellent 2016 instrumental music, fashioned for wet weather and a cool state of mind. Tracklist: Mica Levi and Oliver Coates - Mob of Waters, Olof Melander - Travelers, Body-San - Voices 1, Foodman - Waterfall, Barnaby Carter - Cold Weather Warm Soul, You're Me - Applet W, Don't DJ - The Grey Shrine, Autechre - spTh, Banabila and Machinefabriek - Strokjes, Suzanne Kraft - Scripted Space, Kane Ikin - Echoic, Jilk - Baby Hannah, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Stratus, Masayoshi Fujita and Jan Jelinek - Helio, Andrew Pekler - Theme From Tristes Tropiques/Avian Modulations/Life In The Canopy, Seiho - The Dish, Ian William Craig - Lost On Time, Part 1, Nicolas Jaar - Leaves, Ash Koosha - Ooh Uhh, Burial - Young Death, Pendant - Des Vieux Temples, weeVanStood - black.exe

My mood at the end of an era. This Best Of 2016 mix offers neither the very best songs nor representation for the very best albums of 2016. Instead it condenses some of the year's very best tracks from some of the year's best albums into a cloud of sentiment--a Top 40 mix defined by its vintage, covering the songwriters and producers I like most (plus a few one-offs). Enjoy. Tracklist: Laura Mvula - Bread, Chairlift - Crying in Public, Jenny Hval - Period Piece, Cross Record - Steady Waves, Radiohead - The Numbers, Bon Iver - 22 (OVER S∞∞n), Mitski - Your Best American Girl, Suuns - UN-NO, Tobacco - Human Om, Gobby - Mysterioso, Alex Smoke - Dire Need, Nicolas Jaar - Three Sides of Nazareth, David Bowie - Lazarus, Flamingods - Anya, Cloudland Canyon - An Arabesque, Morgan Delt - Don’t Wanna See What’s Happening Outside, Animal Collective - Golden Gal, Danny Brown - Lost, Mark Pritchard - Beautiful People (Feat. Thom Yorke), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Rare Things Grow, James Blake - Choose Me, Bibio - With The Thought of Us, Santigold - Banshee, Nite Jewel - Kiss the Screen, Blood Orange - Better Than Me, Jessy Lanza - It Means I Love You, Olga Bell - ATA, El Guincho - Cómix (Feat. Mala Rodriguez), Kaytranada - GLOWED UP (Feat. Anderson .Paak), A Tribe Called Quest - Whateva Will Be (Feat. Consequence), KOOL AD - UP DOWN FREESTYLE (Prod. DJ MUSTARD), KA - That Cold and Lonely, Clipping - Air ‘em Out, Gaika - VSOP, Foodman - Mid Summer Night (Feat. Diskomargaux), MJ Guider - Lit Negative, Nite-Funk - Let Me Be Me, Anna Meredith - Something Helpful, Julianna Barwick - Beached, Babyfather - Militant

It's 35 swag beats from 34 of my favorite producers this year. All 2016 everything. Shitty year; awesome sounds. Reap the harvest. Tracklist: Parks Burton - dlab1, Four Tet - Evening Side (Oneohtrix Point Never edit), Nicola Cruz - Invocacion, GOALS - Sugar Crush, Brother Mynor - david duchovny hides in the broom closet, Ccolo - Exoticaspeakerjam, GUNDAM - Bikini Beach, Al Dobson Jr. - White Rum, mieksneak. - Mililiters, Kaytranada - DESPITE THE WEATHER, FaltyDL - Bridge Spot, Gold Panda - Pink and Green, Daedelus - Special Re: Quest, Commodo - Solid Gold Telephone, Dakim - may hope (beatitude 4), Saafron - Host Body, Olof Melander - Slow, Abu Ama - Efendi Remix, Bwana - Failed Escape (Where You Belong), Seiho - Peach and Pomegranate, Andy Stott - New Romantic, Submerse - Sidequests, Mark Pritchard - Under the Sun, Oval - re, Nosaj Thing - N R 3, Jilk - Be Heart, Weval - You###re Mine, Etch - Technicolor Daydream, Moiré - Brixton, Hiele - Verwelkoming, LinG - Canthem, T_A_M - Myelin Sheath, Don’t DJ - Fall (4 Interesting Music), Swarvy - RC, DJ Earl - Lotta A$$

Lose yourself in an atmosphere of allied electronic artistry, from collaborators in turn-of-the-millennium Japan. Cocoon ("Maju" in Japanese) features work by artists who played in Audio Sports, Maju, Neina, Hosomi, Kangaroo Paw and Synapse -- with particular focus on musicians Aki Onda and Sakana Hosomi. Their overlap outlines a scene that paralleled Nobukazu Takemura and the Childisc label, and resulted in some of the most innovative, glitchy ambient and post-rock music of the time. Listen up, and let the sonic boundaries break down. Tracklist: Audio Sports - So, That Was the Beginning, Maju - Eyelids Not Yet Open, Kangaroo Paw - Phlizz, Audio Sports - Banana (Joy Mix), Aki Onda - Cattleya, Hosomi + Ryo Miyashita - nog, Neina - Quit Elegance, Maju - Within Time, Without Words, Kangaroo Paw - Cat’s Cradle, Audio Sports - Never Personal, Tujiko Noriko - Tablet for Memory, Aki Onda - Fish Don’t Know it’s Raining, Hosomi - sp, Maju - Yawning in an Afternoon’s Monotony, Synapse - Soap Bubble, Maju - Once Again, I Revert to That Perspective, Neina - Symmetry, Aki Onda - Chrysanthemum, Kangaroo Paw - Osusowake, Audio Sports - I Met You On the Street, Maju - Dust it Off and Make Sure Which Way is Up, Aki Onda - It’s Gone, Hosomi - bl-ib, Maju - Chabashira, Audio Sports - Return to 1 More, Aki Onda - Orange, Neina - iris-in, Maju - Facing Backwards, Aki Onda - Mellow, Maju - Meguro, Aki Onda - Eclipse, Aki Onda - I Tell a Story of Bodies That Change, Sakana Hosomi + Chihei Hatakeyama - Collapsing Huge Glaciers and the Sun

Keigo Oyamada’s vibrant Trattoria Records, a Polystar-owned imprint that lasted from 1991 to 2002, stood out among the core labels of Tokyo’s Shibuya-kei scene. It also provided a home to Oyamada’s brilliant Cornelius project, in which counterpoint, syncopation and sampling invaded — nay, parasitized — the sunny alt-rock sound of the ‘90s. If Cornelius could encapsulate Shibuya-kei’s eclectic, hyper-pastiche type of retro-chic and its flair for experimentalism on a single record, Trattoria reflected a broader vision where sounds like baroque pop, noise rock, psych, shoe-gaze, trip-hop, lounge and J-pop soccer anthems would all live on one roster. This mix pairs Cornelius tracks with Oyamada's production work, while setting aside Trattoria’s Western artists -- and its more overt J-pop, alt-rock and avant-garde sounds -- in favor of the label’s most inclusively adventurous (adventurously inclusive?) Japanese material (save for two terrific covers of Western songs), showing off what Shibuya-kei was truly capable of. Tracklist: Cornelius - 1969, Cornelius - The Micro Disneycal World Tour, Dots + Borders - 7 Juillet, Salon Music - Golden Brown, Cornelius - Smoke, Indian Rope - Lovely Dada, Flipper’s Guitar - Southbound Excursion, Yasuharu Konishi - Opening Theme, Takako Minekawa - Plash, Cornelius - Star Fruits Surf Rider, Hideki Kaji - Kanojyo Ga Yoko Wo Muku Riyuu, Citrus - Your Building, Kahimi Karie - Son of a Gun, Cornelius - New Music Machine, Venus Peter - Walk Out, OOIOO - Be Sure to Loop, Salon Music - Wanna Be Tied, Takako Minekawa - Lullaby of Gray, Yoshie - Espacio Verde, Cornelius - Point of View Point, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her - Sister Sister, Indian Rope - Go West, Citrus - Everysong Landed Near by His Fire Place, Cornelius - How Do You Feel, Kahimi Karie - Le Roi Soleil, Hideki Kaji - Ivy Ivory Ivy, Hiromix - Yume Wo Yoku Miru Hito No Hanashi, Luminous Orange - Ken-Ban, Cornelius - 69/96 Girl Meets Cassette, OOIOO - Asozan, Salon Music - Sleepers, Buffalo Daughter - Great Five Lakes (Cornelius Remix), Yoshie - 7 Colobe 8 Oqui, SKYEYE - 7EYE7, Rovo - KNM!, Cornelius - Fly, Indian Rope - Purple Mania, OOIOO - Mountain Book, Citrus - Big Day Coming from Northwest, Cornelius - Thank You for The Music