Your Feelings Made Manifest / Vol 08 / 122011

Mr. Joosse commented at the last volume how interesting it was that the last track usually differs so much from the first in each volume. And I now find it equally interesting at how generally consistent this one was throughout. Perhaps he and I were just perfectly happy to lounge in this lush synth pop territory for a while and use up all the tracks, i’ve been obsessing over for years now.  Heck, I didn’t get to use nearly half the tracks I had set aside along the way. I can only hope we keep on the path and create a sister volume with number 9. However I am sure we will take a left turn here pretty soon, and ending up digging up equally fertile ground elsewhere. We always do.

I hope you dear reader, fully understand how absolutely GOLD this volume is. The hits just keep coming for fifteen tracks straight. Nary a hint of mediocrity any where in its vicinity. I know we say this every time, but this volume just might be my favorite one yet.

r. smigielski

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The tracklist is as follows:

01. Nightcall by Kavinsky
02. Never Known Love by Thieves Like Us
03. Night Drive by Chromatics
04. Claudia Lewis by M83
05. Dream Cars by Neon Neon
06. Bring Us Closer Together by Hooray for Earth
07. Feel the Love by Cut Copy
08. Matter of Time by The Chain Gang of 1974
09. Still Sound by Toro Y Moi
10. Bad Street by Twin Sister
11. VCR by The XX
12. Leak at the Disco by Baxter Drury
13. California by EMA
14. Barnacle by Lovers
15. Sinking Feeling by Mixel Pixel

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 08

Vol 08 / Trk 15 / Sinking Feeling

So many things all coming together with this last track in a most satisfying mix thread. The male female vocals ala The XX. The narrative of Mr Baxter. The mix of organic and electronic instrumentation from Cut Copy. The quirk of Bad Street. The love-lorn longing of M83 and the Chromatics. And the sweet hummability from the stand out Barnacle. All wrapped in the bow of warm optimism that Mr. Joosse longed for.

r. smigielski

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 08, Mixel Pixel

Vol 08 / Trk 14 / Barnacle / Lovers

Silly me. I chased my own tail for three days looking for the right song to follow EMA, going through piles of CDs to find a suitable complement. But the first time I played “California,” there was a voice deep in the back of my head going, She sounds like Lovers. Go get Lovers. I didn’t listen to it until I sat frustrated with all of my other options. Not surprisingly, it worked the best.

So here’s Lovers and, Carolyn Berk’s voice aside, it doesn’t have much to too much to do with EMA. My favorite mixes are the ones which echo what came before instead of be strictly linear, so I didn’t want to pass up the chance to help Mr. Smigielski close this particular loop or offer some warm voices and renewed optimism. And speaking of optimism, I wanted to note that this is my 50^th posting to the NEIMT. Here’s to the next 50.

m. joosse

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 08, Lovers

Vol 08 / Trk 13 / California

A narrative vocal style. Heavy atmospherics. Minimalist, analog-at-heart instrumentation. EMA straddles an interesting line between naked raw emotions and cooler than hip detachment – all swimming beneath a sea of fuzzy, white-out static. EMA has made a sound out of making the absolute most out of almost nothing. Lone piano notes pierce and drone their way through 4 minutes of rambling beauty about displacement, alienation, and frustration. This is one of the few artists to emerge on my radar in 2012 and actually leave a lasting impression.

r. smigielski

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 08, EMA