http://www.scissorkick.com Organic, electronic and everything in between. http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/images/podcast144.jpg http://feeds.feedburner.com/scissorkickblog http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/09/hassle-hound/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hassle-hound Reports of summer’s death have been greatly exaggerated, as it’s still too hot to comfortably wear your favorite sweater, but these cool morning breezes cannot be ignored forever. As a goodbye kiss to August, we have a new album, Born In A Night, by the Scottish group Hassle Hound, who mix found sound, musical samples, [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/music/05%20Moon%20Phlox.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/08/beat-beep-butterbumps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beat-beep-butterbumps I was going to post a pretty far-ranging summer mix earlier this week, but something was missing. It was a little too wide open. Then I realized there’s a common theme in the new music that’s buzzing around in the airwaves this summer. Between Best Coast, Budos Band, the Books, Blundetto, and Big Boi, this [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/music/Bumpy%20Butter.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/08/pop-winds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pop-winds Pop Winds is a group with a distinct, unmistakable flavor. Not surprisingly, distinct unmistakable flavors have a tendency to appeal to a narrow range of people. Thankfully, this Montreal-based trio has done us all the favor of breaking from the norm—at least in this respect. Pop Winds has a sound that, however distinct, should be [...] http://scissorkick.com/blog/music/07%20-%20Drowning%20In%20The%20Dark.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/08/candy-claws/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=candy-claws I’ve always been attracted to soundscapes: worlds built out of voices, keyboards, and feedback that balance between detached and alien, as well as emotional and personal. Candy Claws, from Fort Collins, CO, delivers a distinctive brand of organic and atmospheric soundscapes. Warm Forest Floor is exemplary of their discography.  The songs have a dream like quality, [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Warm-Forest-Floor.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/08/hedzoleh-soundz/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hedzoleh-soundz This album was recorded in 1972, a year before the band, Hedzoleh Soundz, would rerecord several of the same songs for a classic Hugh Masekela album. Here are those songs, minus the trumpet and dub effects, but given a more primordial force by way of thick basslines, relentless percussion and heartfelt melodies. If the typical [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/04-Kaa-Ye-Oyai-Dont-be-in-a-hurry.m4a http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/08/the-macrotone/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-macrotone A few weeks ago I found myself in Davis Square—just outside Boston—where I was unexpectedly greeted by the accumulation of vendors of decidedly quirky sculptures and paintings, selling their wares to decidedly quirky people that can only be an art festival. Fortunately, at the same time my ears were greeted by the groovy rhythm section [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/02-Conversation-1.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/07/christopher-willits-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=christopher-willits-2 New offering from Ghostly recording artist Christopher Willits just found it’s way into my inbox. Perfect summertime electro-acoustic jams from the very talented experimental guitarist/producer/software developer/mippie (that’s musical hippie, meant as a good thing) who we’ve covered before here on SK. Densely layered and expectantly complex, “Sun Body” is perhaps one of Willit’s most accessible [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/music/Willets_sun_body.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/07/chants/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chants When you run a blog as long as I have, you end up stuck in database hell. Interns adding contact emails from the Hype Machine top 100 eventually land on scissorkick, and after nearly 10 years my inbox is cluttered by PR from labels and bands that have probably never downloaded or read about a [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/music/Chants_Day%20Glow.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/07/blog-for-scissorkick/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blog-for-scissorkick We’re looking for people with truly open minds here. If you’ve followed the blog you know the consistent thread hasn’t been genre — we hop around from beats to metal to indie to electronic without blinking — but more the tone of the posts. We focus on instrumental music (not exclusively) that often fits nicely [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/07/conspiracy-of-owls-puzzle-people/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=conspiracy-of-owls-puzzle-people When I think of the Detroit music scene, I think of a huge amount of musical diversity: the soulful sounds of Motown, Mick Collins’ gritty garage rock with The Gories and The Dirtbombs , the brash hip hop of MCs like Eminem and Guilty Simpson, and the analog synths of the early Detroit Techno scene. [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/01-Puzzle-People.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/07/american-men/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=american-men Jeff sent this EP over and said he was “90% sure” I’d be into it. Fuck, I must be hard to please or something because this is so squarely in my wheel house I can’t imagine why he thought 10% of me wouldn’t be feeling this. American Men are a group of Scotsmen doing instrumental, [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/music/Ccccool_World.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/07/scissormix-vol-4-sunset-summer-jams/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=scissormix-vol-4-sunset-summer-jams Another holiday weekend means another installment of the ScissorMix series. It’s been pretty crazy for me over the past month (hence the lack of posts) but I had to find the time to put together something for the 4th of July weekend. Because of the general business of the past month, I haven’t had a [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/music/ScissorMix-4.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/05/scissormix-vol-3-memo-day-mix/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=scissormix-vol-3-memo-day-mix It’s the first long weekend of the summer and that means it’s time to find a backyard with a grill, hang out with friends and listen to some tunes. So this mix is designed for those who enjoy lounging in the sun, cold beer in hand, while patiently waiting for the next round of meat [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/music/ScissorMix-3.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/05/scissorkast-8-split-personalities/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=scissorkast-8-split-personalities http://www.scissorkick.com/blog/music/scissorkast8.mp3 Scissorkast 8 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/04/mophono-natural-self-remix/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mophono-natural-self-remix For some reason,  rock has seemed to co-opt the term “indie” when it comes to music. Sure, Indie hip-hop had it’s day in the late 90′s but really, when you think indie, you almost exclusively think rock and roll and all of the trappings of the indie rock world. It’s unfortunate that the spotlight has [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/04/v-the-original-tv-miniseries-theme-bottin-cover/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=v-the-original-tv-miniseries-theme-bottin-cover http://www.scissorkick.com/music/v.mp3 V http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/04/javelin-no-mas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=javelin-no-mas Well, we’re just barely a week into April and the temperature has already cracked the 90 degree mark here in New York City. So, since we’re apparently skipping over those precious few Spring days and headed straight into the sticky, lethargy-inducing humidity of summer, I’ve decided to post something from an album that’s strong enough [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/05-Intervales-Theme.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/04/scissormix-vol-2-music-to-decorate-eggs-to/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=scissormix-vol-2-music-to-decorate-eggs-to Just in time for Easter weekend, I’ve resurrected the ScissorMix series. There’s lots of great new music on this one and many of the artists deserve their own posts (Bonobo, Tanlines, Mux Mool, Slugabed…just to name a few). But life/work continues to conspire against me being a competent blogger. So, for brevity’s sake, I’ve bundled [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/music/ScissorMix-2.mp3 http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/03/tunng/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tunng It’s been over 2 years since I posted something about Tunng, increasingly becoming one of my favorite bands on the planet. The combination of earnest, speculative front-porch folk and organic, digestible electronics has unfortunately led to the “folktronica” tag, but really, looking past labels what you get on their newest record (stateside on Thrill Jockey/ [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/2010/02/debruit-heart-beats-4-haiti/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=debruit-heart-beats-4-haiti The incredible, self-styled “synth magician” dEbruit has put out a digital EP to benefit the earthquake victims in Haiti.  Heart Beats 4 Haiti features all of the signature styles that you would expect from the innovative Frenchman: funked-out synth lines,  huge boom-bap beats and, due to the subject matter at hand, choice samples from Haitian [...] http://www.scissorkick.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/02-Battement.mp3