I NEED SUGAR

The first decade of the new millennium was a great decade for music, as noted in this article on my personal blog which was inspired by Street Boner's 90s lament." So, what better way to celebrate this much improved decade than by counting down I Need Sugar's best.

Starting with number 50 and working our way up. Here we go!

50. Underworld - Trim "Sugar. Sugar. Clear your mind. Leave it all behind." Nice vocal synth pop off Underworld's underrated 2002 release.

49. Ada - Maps (Michael Mayer & Tobias Thomas Mix) Before my '06/07 infatuation with Yeah Yeah Yeahs there was Michael Myer's remix of Ada's Maps cover. Glorious DJ track from 2005.

48. Cut Copy - Future Marks the early 2000's punchy crossover tracks and a sign of things to come from Australia. Sounds even better sped up. From 2004.

47. The Organ - I Am Not Surprised The Organ's stoic live shows came to an end following their Drake underground European sendoff. They'll be missed.

The challenge: Go to iTunes DJ, delete all the songs, change the source to your entire music library, turn off the setting "Play higher rated music more often", hit Refresh. Grab about an hour worth of music, in sequence, and mix the tracks. You can change the order, but you have to use all the songs.

The fun: up until just a few hours ago I hadn't heard 13 of these tracks. Some of them are great. And then there's the podcast about God.

Here's the full track list:
01 Tom Waits - Medley: Jack & Neal - California, Here I Come 1977
02 Stereo MC's - Gringo (Ragged & Ruthless) 2008
03 Edan - Rapperfection 2002
04 Massive Attack - Teardrop featuring Elizabeth Fraser 1998
05 Sonic Youth - Crème Brûlée 1992
06 Bruno Pronsato/Anonymous - The Make Up The Break Up Part 1 2009 / God The Sequel Podcast
07 The Legendary Pink Dots - Small Anthem 1997
08 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Tangerine 1965
09 Mali Music - Le Relax 2002
10 Cesaria Evora - Paraiso Di Atlantico 1999
11 Badmarsh & Shri - Get up 2001
12 Client - In It For The Money (Radio Session) 2006
13 The Spinto Band - Needlepoint 2008
14 The Spongetones - She Goes Out With Everybody 1994
15 Big Sugar - AAA Aardvark Hotel 1993
16 Funk La Planet All-Stars - Summertime (DJ Fudge Dub) 2007
17 Simulator - Progression 2002

And here's the download link. Enjoy!

I've been working so much until this weekend I hadn't touched the mixer since PIBday. A sad state of affairs indeed. Back at it now, I'm going to see if I can kick out a variety of jams before the new year.

I've also compiled my best of 2009 tracks which are being shared daily at blip.fm. But now it's time for a mix. 

When I played the Indian Electronica festival in the summer it was a more uptempo evening with, for my set, a focus on minimal vibes. At the time, however, I started gathering some more downtempo Indian vibes. So, without further ado, here's the Indian Electronica Chill Mix. Enjoy!

Tracklist:
01 Nassim Maalouf - Tarab (Rast) 1998
02 Özgür Sakar aka Misda Oz vs Mercan Dede - Ab-? Beka 2007
03 Don Cherry & Latif Khan - Air Mail 1982
04 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Mustt Mustt (Remixed By Massive Attack With Jonny Dollar And Booga Bear) 1990
05 Thievery Corporation - Shiva (Govinda Remix) 2006
06 Dead Can Dance - The Snake And The Moon 1996
07 Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Dil Da Rob Muka Ja Mahi 2008
08 Mulatu Astatke / The Heliocentrics - Masengo 2009
09 Leeroy Kesiah - Bounce Floor 2006
10 Thievery Corporation - The Supreme Illusion ? Gunjan 2005
11 The Beatles - Within You, Without You [2009 Mono Mix] 1967
12 Peace Orchestra - Marakesh 1999
13 Tabla Beat Science - Devotional 2000
14 St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A Mix Of Two Halves) 1990
15 Natacha Atlas - Yalla Chant (Transglobal Underground Remix) 2000
16 Sheharzad - Yalla Yalla (Henrik Schwarz Remix) 2009
17 Banco de Gaia - Mafich Arabi 1995
18 Adham Shaikh - Ohm (Transfix Mix) 2006
19 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Piya Re Piya Re (Remix) 1999
20 The Flashbulb - Delhi Ill 2003

Download the mix here.

A set I was playing with in the summer. Looking for a nice relaxing vibe. Love the Efdemin/Pantha mashup at the beginning. Should have kept on going, but I slowly beat the set to death with the last three tracks.

Tracklist:
01 Pantha du Prince - Saturn Strobe
02 Efdemin - Bergwein
03 Sian - Apple Tree
04 Lukas Greenberg - Fahrenheit ? Idiophonic
06 Justin Martin - Nightowl (Manoo & François A Remix)
07 Evan Marc - Ekoshok
07 Roberto Bardini - Stay Quiet
08 The Timewriter - Night Train
09 MySpaceRocket - Amok
10 Lopazz - Wasted Days

Download here.

On Sep 30, Second Cups across Ontario participated in Pay It Backwards Day (PIBday) in support of the Hospital for Sick Children. By buying a coffee for the person behind you, $5.00 would be donated to SickKids Foundation. With more than 150 participating locations, upwards of $10,000 was raised. I had the pleasure of supporting the event with a morning and evening outdoor set at Queen and John's Second Cup. It was cold but worth it! Here's the morning set tracklist and download.

01 Róisín Murphy - Overpowered
02 Mekon - Please Stay featuring Marc Almond (Röyksopp Remix)
03 Hercules and Lover Affair - Blind featuring Antony (Frankie Knuckles Remix)
04 Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Bob Sinclair Remix)
05 Star You Star Me - Antidis
06 Underworld - Cups
07 Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (Kris Menace Remix)
08 The Little Ones - Lovers Who Uncover (Crystal Castles vs The Little Ones Remix)
09 Tiga - Beep Beep Beep (Extended Mix)
10 LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (Tiga's Out Of The Trance Closet Mix)
11 Sam Sparro - BLACK AND GOLD (Al Usher Remix)
12 Zoot Woman - We Won't Break (Phonique Remix)
13 Nina Simone - Here Comes The Sun (Francois K Remix)

Unfortunately, I was running on 2 hours of sleep, forgot my USB cable and my coffee friendly downtempo playlist at home. Pulled this one out me arse from 11:00a to 12:00p and then forgot to record the 6:00p to 7:30p evening set. Fun!

Download here.

Fever Ray will be here Oct 2 at the Kool Haus. This is an all ages event for $34. Tickets available from Rotate This and other fine outlets that are not Ticketmaster.

I'm not entirely sure what to expect. I've seen some videos of The Knife playing live which show a rather lavish production, and would expect somewhat they same, though Fever Ray are clearly more downtempo than The Knife.

If you haven't heard what is thus far the best album of 2009, here's the video for the opening track:

Here's the Facebook event page, if you swing that way. And last.fm's event page.