Alone with Help
I hope you've missed me kiddies, because I've missed you - been out sick, sick as a dog, for a few days, and I'm feeling a little better today, though hardly what I'd call well. Despite this, or maybe because of this, I wanted to get this post up. This song by John Tejada is really just about perfect in the micro-house with vocals category, and it makes me feel good.
I always used to think of L.A.-based Tejada as a super-cheesy trancey techno guy, but I was wrong. Tejada has also produced Drum 'n Bass music, straight-up house, and techno. My own perception of him changed when I heard his remix of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" - he slows down the pace of that breakbeat song to a shuffling house beat with the most gigantic bassline you've ever heard, and creates something new and magical.
Anyway, this song comes from his latest full-length, Logic Memory Center, out now on the great Plug Research label. The whole album is an experiment in micro-house and techno structures, with a handful of great vocal-tracks and another handful without, all of which is really good. The vocals on this one are by Carl Finlow, a triple-threat who has also written and produced some seriously great songs in his own right, in particular, under his Random Factor alias.
The album has garnered loads of critical acclaim - even Vice gave it a good review! Not bad for a producer's tenth album, right? You can buy the album from the label here or from insound.
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Bonus: Double Post!
Sometimes there's nothing like a beautiful, heartbreaking song to help you feel better. This comes courtesey of Berlin-based singer-songwriter, Maximilian Hecker, off of his new full-length album, Lady Sleep. Hecker has a real talent for creating crushingly tender songs, with delicate melodies, and arrangements that are spare and lush at the same time.
He produces something really striking here, so I'd suggest that you give it a listen with headphones on. If you like this song, you'll like the rest of the album, which you can buy from his label, Kitty-Yo, here.