Mixed Tape - Vision Diamond

Say hello to ten polished pearls from the world of music. No diamond in the rough, but a veritable wonder and show-stopping showcar, the Viano VISION DIAMOND offers a cosmopolitan blend of lavish retreat, excellent performance and great multimedia options for perfect Mixed Tape listening pleasures. To mark the occasion, this edition’s cover art pays homage to the star on the move with a stunningly vivid and vibrant design by Berlin airbrush artist Christian Awe.

Download compilation

Featured Artists

forlove

First-rate dreamwave by San Francisco’s finest

forlove

Dreamy + dancey = first-rate dreamwave! San Francisco’s finest are on a quest: Exploring love and loss in all its endless permutations, forlove couch their bittersweet yearnings in eclectic loops smothered in love, distortion and escapist vocals. Think blissed out dreamscapes layered over repetitive samples … until the beat kicks in for a catchy detour to the dancefloor. Sparse and funky all the way, this “Escape” takes plenty of unexpected directions – and delivers equally unexpected delights.

Website

Tako Tomago

Rich and flowing mix of jazzy riffs, heavy beats and airy vocals

Tako Tomago

Master of musical collage, deconstruction and reassemblage, US producer Jonathan Van Gils aka Tako Tomago recorded his “Hydro” debut between the equally disjointed coordinates of Montreal, New York and Florida. According to electronicrumors.com, “once you dive beneath the surface, there are moments of musical and production genius.“ And with its rich and flowing mix of jazzy riffs, heavy beats and airy vocals, “Hydro” offers a promising hint of things to come: Inspired by a semester of film studies, the 20-year-old wunderkind’s follow-up will take the – perfectly edited – scenic route to electro pop perfection.

Soundcloud

Ian Late

Timeless sounds meet timely indie/folk from Berlin

Ian Late

Better late than never? Ian Late’s truly timeless sounds, melodies and lyrics offer a straightforward, honest and fragile peek into this gifted singer/songwriter’s mind. Stripped down to the core and quietly powerful, his personal and melancholic creations sneak past our defences and straight to the heart. Recorded at Berlin’s legendary Funkhaus – favoured by stars like A-ha, Sting or the Black Eyed Peas – Ian Late’s brand new debut 5-track EP perfectly captures the young singer’s knack for infectious indie/folk and hints at his enigmatic, yet magnetic stage presence.

Website

lo.Krain

From Russia with love: excellent experimental indie pop

lo.Krain

All the way from the chilly town of Novosibirsk with heart-warming rhythms and yearning vocals, lo.Krain package big emotions in experimental indie pop with a generous dash of electronic elements. Tight, upbeat and garnished with a few polyrhythmic post rock and Afro influences, the melodious foursome might be a relatively new addition to their local scene, but they have already recorded one great album, “Theo”. Right now, the excellent live band is working on new material and plans to take their sound even further. From Russia with love … and plenty of energy!

Website

Chloë Sunshine

Sun-soaked and surf-tinged Californian feel-good sound

Chloë Sunshine

Are you ready to fall in love? Then the sun-soaked and surf-tinged Californian feel-good vibes of Chloë Sunshine should do the trick! Infused with pastel-shaded sweetness, this lo-fi brainchild of singer/songwriter Kendall Chloë Eagan aches with the sound of young heartbreak. The band’s handclap-heavy debut “Indian Summer” is honey to our ears – and if the album’s surf beats, shimmering guitars and dreamy tape hiss don't take you straight to your favourite beach, Chloë Sunshine's vintage vocals, upbeat melodies and summer ballads certainly will.

Bandcamp

xxyyxx

Believe the hype: sharp lovestep from über-talented US teenager

xxyyxx

Relegated to the end of the alphabet but at the forefront of his craft, 16-year-old producer Marcel Everett has joined the list of America’s most promising talents. Inspired by How To Dress Well, Toro y Moi or Washed out, Everett’s sharp lovestep betrays the young Floridian’s masterful use of space and sound, garnering comparisons to other prodigies like James Blake or Star Slinger. According to earmilk.com, “this is one of those rare albums that I can already say with certainty will be a classic of the year.“ So, if you enjoyed xxyyxx’s “Echo Volture”, don’t miss out the teenager’s impressive back catalogue, including last year’s “Still Sound“ and the recent eponymous “xxyyxx”.

Facebook

Wermonster

Mythical beast serves up prime cuts of post-dubstep glitch

Wermonster

After a detour via rock bands and the Marseille hip hop scene, this French producer, musical monster and master of transformation now mixes break beats with sliced samples, acoustics, electronic melodies and cinematic atmospheres for a mystical post-dubstep sound enriched with plenty of glitches and wonky embellishments. In his endlessly inventive enthusiasm for chopped vocal samples and collaged beats, Wermonster reminds us – in the best possible way – of Mixed Tape fave and fellow Berliner Robot Koch; a sound and spirit captured in an impressive number of remixes and releases, including Wermonster’s recent “Ghosts Move Slowly” (Exotic Pylon Records).

Website

Buttering Trio

Sophisticated nu soul laced with progressive chords

Buttering Trio

"Putting the B in uttering," this particular Berlin/Tel Aviv connection crafts densely layered and sophisticated nu soul not a million miles away from Quadron, Georgia Anne Muldrow or Little Dragon. At the same time, these aural treats are not for the faint of heart: KerenDun, Rejoicer (a. o. producer of Bajka) and bassists GymBass / Beno Hendler love to lace their sound with sharp synth bass, progressive chords and off-kilter, yet never off-key, beats and vox for a challenging sonic journey inspired by the grandmaster of all things “out there,“ Frank Zappa. So, listen closely … or you might miss some of the tricky snippets thrown into the mix!

Website

Fiordmoss

Ethereal electro folk with buttery vocals by RBMA graduate

Fiordmoss

Fate played a hand or two in this pairing. When a fire destroyed her favourite guitar – and enthusiastic strumming her delicate digits – Czech singer Petra Hermanová paired up with DJ/producer Roman Přikryl and replacement guitarist Jan Boroš to launch Fiordmoss: a fertile proving ground for her buttery vocals and ethereal, yet evocative electro folk. And the gifted singer keeps going from strength to strength: While Fiordmoss received the “Best New Act” award at the Vinyla Award 2011, Petra also won a place at last year’s Red Bull Music Academy and garners favourable comparisons to Róisín Murphy. Intrigued? Then claim your personal sound Czech with Fiordmoss’ “Gliese” EP or this year’s mini album, “Ink Bitten”.

Website

Deeper Upper

Manchester-inspired indie with Baltic beats and a post punk edge

Deeper Upper

All the way from Lithuania, Deeper Upper add a splash of colour to our compilation with this truly infectious indie pop explosion inspired by Manchester’s 1980s post punk scene. The quartet’s formula is deceptively simple – plenty of passion infused with expansive sound, Baltic beats, true indie spirit and heart-string tugging vocal lines – yet a clear recipe for success. Popular music blog “It’s All Indie” complimented the band’s “great riffs and astonishing hooks,” while fans on the ground voted with their feet, keeping Deeper Upper’s latest single in the top 30 of Lithuania’s largest music site www.music.lt for weeks on end.

Website