Dj Day is a dj/producer out of Palm Springs California who began djing back in the late 80′s before officially making it his profession in 1995. His most acclaimed album, The Day Before, was released in 2007 and worked as a compilation LP of beats, singles, and remixes from the artist that were before only released exclusively to dj’s on wax. For me, this album is timeless. Being introduced to it at the tender age of 17, it played a major role in not only helping me appreciate lyric-less/production-oriented music, but also in crafting my musical taste as a whole. After listening to The Day Before (and Entroducing by Dj Shadow…I found the two around the same time), I was turned on to other sample-based producers such as RJD2, Unkle, and Cut Chemist…who have made some of my favorite music to this day. Offered below are a few of my fav’s from The Day Before, including the track “Four Hills,” which was nominated “Track of the Year” by BBC Radio 1 back in ’07. Enjoy the songs, but if you really want to understand the magnitude of this album, you need to listen to the whole thing…so please, PLEASE go purchase it for $10 over at iTunes.

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Dj Day- Four Hills

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Dj Day- Close Your Eyes

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Dj Day- Gone Bad

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Dj Day- First Step (Not off The Day Before, but still amazing)

From Omega One‘s critically acclaimed 2005 album The Lo-Fi Chronicles.

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Omega One- Memento

Fall has officially arrived, and that means three things for us over at LFTF: shorter days, cooler nights, and awesome lo-fi/synthpop music! I don’t know what it is about the autumn season, but every year we see a strong surge in dreamy, lo-fi music once summer comes to an end. I looove it. Below I’ve gathered some of my favorite fuzzy tracks for you to help keep warm on those brisk October mornings…courtesy of Teen Daze, Sleep Over and GhostWaves. Enjoy!

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Teen Daze- Spin Around, Go Ahead

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Jordan Klassen- Ask Me Not, Astronaut (Teen Daze Remix)

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Teen Daze- Shine On, You Crazy White Cap

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Sleep Over- La-Rose

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GhostWaves- Something I Can Reach

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Sacred Animals- Wired, Islands (GhostWaves Remix)

Quick overview of the Diggin’ in the Crates section: As much as we love doing it, constantly searching for and writing about the latest in music can get old and frankly, redundant. So we created this section as an outlet to place stuff in that we love, that isn’t necessarily ”new.” Cool? Cool.

The Rainydayz Remixes has to be one of the greatest remix mixtapes that never gained the recognition it deserved. Back in 2008, Bay Area producer & half of Zion I AmpLive scrapped together a very unique project, dubbed Rainydayz Remixes, where he chopped and remixed eight cuts from Radiohead‘s monstrous album In Rainbows. All with the intention of giving the songs a hip-hop feel while staying true to their original arc, the producer recruited rappers Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday, and Del The Funky Homosapien to match and collab with Thom Yorke’s vocals for the tape, making it an extremely sought after project during its time. But when Radiohead representatives contacted Amp asking him to cease and desist its release because he hadn’t cleared the concept with the band, the Rainydayz Remixes came to an abrupt halt. Thankfully, an agreement was finally reached, and the Oakland producer was allowed to release the tape for free through his website. But because of this little stint that stumbled its proper release, the mixtape gained little attention and was written off by many Radiohead enthusiasts.

Simply put, you need this in your collection. It’s a timeless piece, and shows how one artists’ creations can be re-scripted and re-invisioned by another. Below you will find the tracklist for the mixtape, as well as a download link to get the entire thing. I also singled out my favorite track from it, “Video Tapez” feat. Del the Funky Homosapien…so. damn. good. Enjoy!

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AmpLive- Video Tapez (ft. Del the Funky Homosapien)

Tracklist:
01) Rainydayz
02) Video Tapez (ft. Del The Funky Homosapien)
03) Nudez (ft. Too $hort & MC Zumbi of Zion I)
04) Weird Fishez
05) All I Need
06) 15 Stepz (ft. Codany Holiday)
07) Reckonerz (ft. Chali2na)
08) Faustz

DOWNLOAD: AmpLive- Rainydayz Remixes (Mixtape)

Whether you’re on a road trip and don’t feel like scrambling with your ipod after every 4 minutes, or you’re going skiing and want something continuous to listen to that will keep you going…Having a good mix on hand is essential. Here are 4 mixes that you NEED to have in your collection:

Daft Punk- Live at Coachella 2006

In 2006 at The Coachella Music & Arts Festival, Daft Punk made their first U.S. appearance since 1997. The show was epic to say the least, and for weeks after had music websites everywhere raving about how unbelievable an experience it was. Pitchfork said: “It was a mind blowing experience. Not to get hyperbolic, but people were crying at two French robots. A seemingly impossible upward trajectory for a solid hour. Heart-attack shit.” This set is one of the best, if not the best set I have ever heard. Their style is impeccable and prowess is in a category of its own. And the best part is they just have fun with it– Try and listen for E-40‘s “Ghost Ride The Whip” beat in their somewhere…SO fucking cool.

Dj Shadow- Free Form- All Vinyl Set 2009

“I’m not immune to playing a hit or two; sometimes it’s necessary to show the audience that I’m not conducting an educational seminar. But here we are in the Serato age, with access to millions of songs and DJ’s are still playing the same fifty over and over again… FROM THEIR LAPTOPS. There’s something wrong with that. That’s why to the extent that I am able, I insist on playing vinyl. After all, some songs went out of print for a reason!” – Quote from the legendary Dj Shadow before he played the set above this past year on Halloween. This is an incredible mix by Shadow, and is even more impressive knowing it was made using only 3 turntables and a crate full of wax. If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is.

Joe Beats- The Day Boom Bap Died

Joe Beats, one of my all time favorite sample based producers, put together this awesome mix here of Hip-Hop songs from the late 80′s early 90′s and dubbed it “The Day Boom Bap Died”. What’s really dope about it though is that it showcases some of the more unknown and less popular songs out of that era. Stuff from people like Yaggfu Front and Crooklyn Dodgers. To me, the late 80′s early 90′s was by far Hip-Hop’s best era- and I would recommend this mix to anyone who wants to hear the type of Hip-Hop that is referred to as “REAL HIP-HOP“.

Dj AM- Mystery Mix 1

AWWW YEAHH! Got this mix from the R.I.P. DJ AM: A Collection Of Mixes series when AM passed away, and I felt like this particular one showed his true talent as a Dj the most. If you didn’t get to see him live before his death, you missed out on seeing one of the best performers behind the decks EVER. If the role of a Dj is to still simply entertain the audience, then AM was a master at his craft. When he played a gig, he never had a prepared list of tracks that he was going to play. AM would throw something on, feel out the crowd and their reactions, and take it from there. “A true Dj’s Dj“, he would spin anything and everything in his sets—that trait is displayed profoundly in this mix here.

ALSO be sure to check out the “New Mixes” section on the right under the Shout Box for more great mixes!