Premiere: Ben Talmi - Greatest Need

Whether you're stricken by his prolificness (check out Art Decade if you dig his solo stuff), his unpredictability(this EP is 3/4ths compositions for string quartet!) or simply just his sound, I think its safe to assume Ben Talmi really loves making music. Throwing in classical instrumentation, cuddly Indie Rock influence and enough stately, electric melodies to make a RATATAT fan salivate, Greatest Need is what Age of Adz would have sounded like if Sufjan wasn't in such a rough spot when he wrote it. If this track can't get you to smile, well I can't imagine what can.

Greatest Need - Ben Talmi

Greatest Need is the opening track on the "Constitution EP" slated for release on April 27th. Check out more of Ben's work on bandcamp.

Asura - Unreleasables

Ghibli mastermind Thomas Michael tipped me onto a musical peer of his today, and I've pretty much been foaming at the mouth ever sense. Sure, chopping up vaguely familiar diva wails is far from groundbreaking in 2011, but on "He Sees Through Her" Asura manages to mangle his vocal sources until they're pushed outside the realm of western music. Similarly, tracks like "This Chain" and "Kissing On a Rose" push the line between sonic revelations and straight up heart attacks with their hyperactivity. The album is rounded out by a few remixes of R&B/Rap classics that aren't entirely kosher by copyright standards, including the second remix* of Drake's Over I've heard in the past two days. I'm still not sure what Asura was thinking when he labeled these tracks unreleasable, but I'm certainly glad that he changed his mind.

*Bonus: Here's the first remix Drake's Over I've heard in the past two days:

Over (Drake Vs Starkey) - Midnighter Mashup