Full-length "Dixie Crystals" out worldwide Sept 2nd 2014 Leaving Records / Stones Throw

Trance Farmers – Dixie Crystals

Inga Copeland – Because I’m Worth It

Gobby – Beats by Gobby

Star Slinger – IV

Mr. Twin Sister – Self-Titled

Dixie Crystals entered my realm of listening at a time when a lot of music was sounding stale. I rarely find myself in that place, but DC hit me like a blast of light. Trance Farmer’s music finds the middle ground between early-Dirty Beaches and White Fence creations, and those two are about as good as it gets. If you’re familiar with the two aforementioned artists then you can imagine the intriguing blend of psychedelic/experimental jams that await you on Dixie Crystals.

Because I’m Worth It is a striking mash of machine noise and human emotion. It’s one of those albums that instantly feels important, as if it contains a secret. If you search the album diligently you can hear Copeland referencing Snoop Dogg and the Wu-Tang Clan in a single breath.

Gobby’s album of beats sounds something like Yeezus instrumentals meets DJ Shadow. It contains extremely jarring, and meditative, sounds simultaneously due to a unique blend of industrial bass and looped samples of odd percussion. It’s so fresh that I played the album beginning to end the first time I heard it.

Star Slinger’s four track EP features his hypnotic, dance take on classic cuts from four divas: Anita Baker, Erykah Badu, Sade and Ella Fitzgerald. It’s just a cool idea, despite the reality that it sounds so good.

Mr. Twin Sister has always been an esoteric blend of lounge and funk. For those interested, that’s a heavy combination of vibes and music. Their crystalline sounding, self-titled album is dedicated to the seduction and dreaminess of nighttime. It received positive feedback from critics, but still feels underrated for just how good it is.

Mixed and produced by Jonathan Low and Mr Twin Sister Mastered by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering String arrangements by Carlos Hernandez Strings and additional vocals recorded by Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez at Gravesend Recordings Features Fred Chu (cello), Felicia Douglass (additional vocals), Becca Kauffman (additional vocals), Adam Markiewicz (violin), Emmett Moeller (viola), and Renata Zeiguer (violin)

Mr. Twin Sister, and most of the artists on this list, call to mind these introductory words from a Boogie Cartel dance mix, “Well, it can be called cult music because the people who have been exposed to it…it’s like, it’s something special to them because they can feel it and it’s like, ‘Well, hey I can feel it. I’m hip to it. So and so’s not.’ So it’s a cult thing. It’s a special thing to those who can feel it."