Melo-X - Yoncé-X (Beyoncé remix EP)

Stumbled over this this a few days ago. Now concept remix projects sometimes are more a curse than a blessing ever since the remix frenzy of Mr Carter's "The Black Album" but this is an exception. Sean Rhoden (a.k.a. Melo-X) is a diverse producer based in East Flatbush in Brooklyn. We earlier featured his work for/with Jesse Boykins III and a few years ago his rework of Maxwell's BlackSummersNight made some noise.

Sean on his rework of tracks from the new Beyoncé album:

"I've been doing remix albums for a while now. This Beyonce album was just so revolutionary and had so many layers and stories I kept hearing bits and pieces I could elaborate on. The remix album can also be looked at as a instrumental album because I'm sampling her music the way a producer would sample a old 1970's record. It's really a big art and passion project for me. I met Beyonce at a New Years eve party at Solange's house 2 years ago and gained even more respect and admiration for her."

"I bought the album the day it came out and vibed with it until Christmas day. On that night I made the whole Remix EP and spent the next week creating the video pieces and just refining the mixes. I decided to release the project [today] because it is Blue Ivy's birthday.  It's like the stars aligned all crazy and I couldn't pass this chance up"

Dark, experimental and beautiful. Get it while you still can!


Download: Melo-X - Yoncé-X

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Sage The Gemini - Gas Pedal (MSSL CMMND remix)

One of our top selections of 2013, MMSL CMMND, starts the year in style with this surprising remix of Sage the Gemini's "Gas pedal". Changing the pace and adding that child's play piano in the vein of Nas "Yes, I can" is just brilliant.


Download: Sage the Gemini - Gas Pedal (MSSL CMMND remix)

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Beathearts top selections 2013: Best releases

First of all, maybe we need to define what we mean by a "release". Or do we? Factmag recently described it brilliantly:

"Album lists aren’t just best-to-worst rundowns – they’re ways of demarcating what an “album” is (or isn’t) in the first place. 

Is a mini-album a full-length or an extended single? Should a clutch of Soundcloud demos be judged alongside a 3xLP pack? Are leaks off-limits – and, if so, why? In a year full of marketing campaign razzmatazz and big bruisers dropping surprise albums, it’s telling – and heartening – that much of the best music arrived through rogue channels. To quarantine mixtape releases, say, away from our albums list might have made sense a few years ago; now, it seems blockheaded and perverse. Mindful of not being Cnuts, we’ve no intention of holding back the tide.

Faced with navigating this increasingly complicated landscape, plenty of blogs have gone down the Grammys route of hyper-specification – Best Hip-Hop Albums That Aren’t Mixtapes;  Best Albums Under 15 Minutes That Aren’t Singles; Best Albums With A 16×16 Floor Tom; Best Albums That Didn’t Feature Nile Rodgers. We’ve elected to take the other road, allowing different formats to sit happily alongside one other. It doesn’t matter if it’s lengthy or snappy, physical or invisible – if it’s a great record, it’s in it." (FACT Magazine).

Amen to that! It's what we've been trying to say since day one, we enjoy good music no matter what the format, label or chanel. A rookie Soundcloud demo or a major label release. So well, here it is. Our top releases of 2013. Lessgo!

Best releases of 2013: 10th  9th  8th  7th  6th  5th  4th  3rd  2nd 1st 

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Beathearts top selections 2013: #1 JoDef - Steps

1. JoDef - Steps (Soulection)

If you haven't heard the tracks already "Swim" is a filtered broken tune with a housy feel chopping up classic Sade vocals. "TookItThurr" is a rework of Slum Village/Dilla's classic "2U4U". I'm struggling to find words to describe the style but I just love the blend of influences and genres. Amazing!

"Steps' is a timely release that comes during an experimental and fluid epoch in electronic music which proves to be a soulful, west-coast inspired footwork masterpiece. With varying influences from Jukesquad to TekLife – the original Chicago footwork crews, Jo Def carefully combines west coast leaning, bass-heavy vibes with traditional syncopated footwork sounds to produce a cohesive listen all the way through." (Soulection.com)

The album is a collection of reinterpreted tracks from a wide range of influences. From the two above mentioned to R.Kelly's "It seems like you're ready" and Louie Vega & Kenny Dope's deep house classic "Deep inside".

And as if that wasn't enough his label Soulection (label, radioshow and music collective) has decided to put out the album for free for a limited period. Absolutely essential. Get it now!


Takeaway track: "Ready"
Download: JoDef - Steps

Best releases of 2013: 10th  9th  8th  7th  6th  5th  4th  3rd  2nd 1st 

So what's next?
That's it! There were of course plenty more good releases but these ten stand out for me and are all good representatives of the music we love here at Beathearts.

Was 2013 as surprising for you as it was for us? Do you agree with our selections or think we're out of our minds? Hit us up right here, via Twitter or beatheartsblog@gmail.com. Coming up is our predictions of what we'll think will blow up in 2014.

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Beathearts top selections 2013: #2. Tall Black Guy - 8 miles to Moenart

2. Tall Black Guy - 8 miles to Moenart

One of our artist of the year 2012, Terrel Wallace a.k.a. Tall Black Guy sure seemed committed to stay on top of that list. His album dropped in May and we've had it spinning in our headphones ever since. It really had no weak tracks but was quality straight through as an album which is quite rare these days.

All in all, in a fast-paced-what's-next-kind-of-world, "8 miles to Moenart" is a keeper. It's that hidden green back yard garden you sometimes stumble upon walking through a metropolitan area. Sit down, take a breather, take a sip of your favorite beverage and kick back with Tall Black Guy. Read more? Check our track-by-track review.


Take-away track: "Funeral biz"
Buy via First World Records
Listen on Spotify: Tall Black Guy - 8 miles to Moenart  

Best releases of 2013: 10th  9th  8th  7th  6th  5th  4th  3rd  2nd 1st 

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