In the immortal words of the American philosopher Don Henley, "I feel it in the air, the summer's out of reach."
So true Don, so true.
The end of August means the end of summer, a return to school and jobs and responsibilities that somehow feel evaporated by the heat. But don't despair friends. While the sun-burned days of August will shortly be darkening into fall, we decided to celebrate the month that was by gathering the staff together for one last look at the August releases we personally each connected with.
That means a new documentary from a legendary hip-hop group, an experimental film that brought dreams to reality, mind-bending animation from a group of self-proclaimed creative weirdos, a sonic time machine back to (the good part of) the '80s and one producer's mission to breath life into the often uninspired world of club music.
Turns out Don Henley was wrong after all. You can look back. You can always look back.
Nathan: De La Soul "We Are Still Here (Now)"
The story of how De La essentially invented a new way of recording hip-hop albums that’s visionary and amazing and multiple other adjectives that do not properly do their efforts justice. If you’re not rooting for De La you don’t have a functioning soul.
Missy: "collective:unconscious"
Five Filmmakers + Five Dreams = One Dreamy Film You Won’t Forget. Stream the feature for free, then unlock the “Nyquil Version” to watch while you sleep.
Straith: Super Deluxe: Animation vol. 1
A wormhole of accidental sagacity, shout out to the ghost of Frida Kahlo and the savages that eat in the bathroom (you know who you are).
Chris: Paul Lock “VCR Heroes (EP)”
I can’t seem to escape 80’s synths - from my all-night binge on Stranger Things to internet black-holes of Simpsonwave videos - they are everywhere. Fortunately, Paul's take on the 80's synth felt like a nice addition to my collection.
Austin: ANGELZ “Enfant Terrible”
ANGELZ manner of uniting 90’s hip hop sample vibes and house beats breathes some new soul into club music that I find to be far too uninspired at times. Grab the producer’s three-track EP Enfant Terrible and unlock hi-res version of the EP with an additional single.