ZUMA. - HASTE (FT. NSOLO)

Holy. Fucking. Shit. How have I not heard of Zuma. until just now?! Pardon my language, but I can count on one hand how many tracks I've heard this year where the production honestly blew me away. On that hand, you would find Opia, Whethan, AWAY, and now Zuma. (The 5th finger is a serious battle between a ton of other producers). 

On "Haste", the young San Diego-based producer crafts a sonic landscape akin to how Lang Lang tickles the ivories — in a way no one else knows how. The virtuosic sound design and audio engineering aptitude are reminiscent of artists such as Tennyson, Shlomo, and mura masa. The mood fluctuates from sensual to anxious to relaxing. Nsolo delivers a solid R&B vocal somewhat reminiscent of Miguel or The Weeknd, tying the track together nicely. But the production is what really steals the show on this one. If he keeps up the pace and delivers us more gems like this one, I wouldn't be shocked to see Zuma. on some major festival lineups next year.

NOMBE VS SONNY ALVEN - CALIFORNIA GIRLS

I've been following NoMBe for a while now, but only just met him in person a few weeks ago. He's a wise man. I can also say that anything he's a part of musically is always something special. He used to produce for other artists before deciding to focus on his own music, and I think we're all glad he did. When "California Girls" first came out last year it cemented his status as an artist to watch. The dark picture he paints of a Californian dream gone wrong certainly won me over. 

Now we've got a fresh rework from Sonny Alven. The 22-year-old Norwegian producer has upped the tempo a notch and added a dose of the upbeat, minimalistic, slightly tropical production we've come to expect from Sonny and his Scandinavian contemporaries like Kygo and Seeb. What I like about this rework is depending on your mood when listening, it can either be a happy or sad tune. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out everything else by NoMBe and Sonny Alven!

FOX STEVENSON - ROCKET

Fox Stevenson is known for bringing us awesome dubstep hits, and with his new single ‘Rocket’ he absolutely hits it out of the park! This new track features a distorted riff that’ll have you up on your feet before you’ve even realized. After the first drop it’s hard imagine where else he could go, but somehow the second drop is even more hardcore than the first! This banger is the kind of heavy dubstep that you just can’t stop listening to. If you don’t already go and follow Fox Stevenson on Soundcloud, cause he never fails to drop awesome tracks.

LEMAITRE - PLAYING TO LOSE FEAT. STANAJ

Lemaitre is just one of those artists...next level to the extreme! I haven't had the opportunity to see their awesome live set yet, but I've seen the videos and it's very much on my to do list (check out this video). Every single one of their releases is just absolutely mind blowing, check out the smash singles "Closer," their funky collab with our faves The Knocks in "We Got U," and the hard hitting "Stepping Stone," featuring another one of our loves Mark Johns. Musically complex, well produced, soulful, emotional, impactful...I could use soo many more descriptions, but I'll just let the music do the talking. "Playing To Lose" starts quick with Stanaj's superbly soulful vocals leading the way behind layers of luscious synths. The incredibly infectious chorus hits making me bob and weave around my desk right now. Stanaj's performance is absolutely impeccable, the falsetto's, solos and everything just hits with all sorts of feels. The track just continues to climb peak after peak, and by the end you're left absolutely breathless. Take a second and soak this one in my friends. You can purchase on iTunes here and stream on Spotify here. 

WANTIGGA - STONECOLD FT. SACHA VEE (PAT LOK REMIX)

Our homie Pat Lok never disappoints - he manages to deliver nothing but super sweet disco fabulous tracks all the time to brighten up our days! His latest remix of "Stonecold ft. Sacha Vee" by Wantigga is a smooth sounding deep disco pop house groove that has got us feeling some kind of way! However, what I am most excited about is that Pat Lok has been added to our Le Youth show next weekend in San Francisco! He'll be throwing hot tracks along with Ghosts Of Venice and Futurewife for a fun filled night of total bootay shakin' dance moves! Psyched! Limited advance tickets are still available - grab them ASAP!  

ELEPHANTE - PLANS (FEAT. BRANDYN BURNETTE) + I AM THE ELEPHANTE EP

Elephante is back with an incredible new single, and the hotly anticipated release of the 'I Am The Elephante' EP with an almost LP's worth of 9 amazing records. The emotional EP features a mix of chilled out electro pop, essences of tropical, smatterings of melodic trap, and future bass all tied together in a way that only the Phante can do it best. If you haven't heard them yet, check out the already hit singles "Closer (feat. Bishøp)" and the epic remix of MIIA's "Dynasty," along with some great other records like the one I'm about to touch on "Plans," "Catching On (feat. Nevve)," "Hold (feat. Jessica Jarrell)," and the banger "Goliath (feat. Jody Brock)."

Now onto "Plans" Brandyn Burnette kills it per usual with the emotionally charged lyricism and vocal performance. The record starts much in the same way as "Closer" with a solemn organ that immediately draws soulful church-like thoughts as tropical xylophone plucks spark the record up into a snappy chorus that prominently features a guitar riff as the main melody. The record plugs along at a chipper pace as we reach the bridge where we're brought into an emotionally charged halftime chorus leading us into the finale. This marks another milestone for Elephante and we're happy we've been along for the ride. We encourage you to support the artist and purchase the EP on digital retailers here, but because he's the classy maestro that he is, Elephante is also allowing us to download the whole EP for free here.  

[PREMIERE] SLUSHII - TO SAY GOODBYE

When Slushii's name first came across my desk as one of the "hot new up-and-coming artist who's gonna crush," my first reaction was to his name. I'm a huge fan of any kind of cold icy drinks, and I immediately wanted to run to the 7 Eleven for a Slurpee. It's hard to believe I am considered a tastemaker in the music industry because this is how I actually think!  I digress, that little tip about Slushii crushing was correct, because this past year we have seen him go from 0 to 100 in 2.5 seconds! Slushii may be a new name, but the man himself is not new to the game - having been making music for years under different monikers - this is the one that hit! Our next premiere "To Say Goodbye" is the latest original track from this suave EDM producer and it's 100% delicious! Filled with that bouncy jersey/trap style, this one hits every level of coolness with animated future beats and playful sweet-sounding vocals by Slushii himself! You can swoop this one via iTunes HERE!

K?D - BIRTH OF THE UNIVERSE

Just as I thought my Thursday couldn't get any more existential...here comes a new record from k?d! Swimming with expansive sound design, the beginning starts contemplative with juicy pads and a simple vocal cut up. The track slowly builds with patches of distortion floating in, bringing us into a bright hard hitting chorus full of crunchy distortion. K?d shows off his piano skillz in the ending with a beautifully complex piano outro that leaves us moody in such a good way. We've been awaiting a future collab with Rezz in the works. When we have the arrival of that you will be the first to know, until then enjoy this one. 

SCAVENGER HUNT - SWEET TALK

Scavenger Hunt has dialed up something super delicious for us in their lush new single "Sweet Talk." This LA four piece has flirted with BB a few times thanks to our boy Satin Jackets and his remix of "Kiss Me Clean," but this is the first time we've done a dedicated blog post, and about time! "Sweet Talk" is full of sumptuously melodic cascading arps, juicy 80's esque bass and of course capped off by Jill, the lead singer's, amazing pipes. This record is blissfully pop friendly, go ahead and indulge your sweet side and sink your teeth into this one.