Hi everybody and welcome back to the Shuffle Button. This week we’ll be bringing our usual complement of classic tunes (in both original and bootleg form) along with some newer heaters that will perk up your ears.

Emanuel Satie feat. Billy Cobham – Don’t Forget to Go Home

When you’re walking or driving late at night or early in the morning there’s a certain feeling in the air. The feeling that where you are was created with you in mind and it belongs to you only. It’s something you can only really experience when there’s only a few people about and it gets lost once everyone else starts their day. But that feeling is captured perfectly by Emanual Satie in “Don’t Forget to Go Home”.

This song is the perfect traveling music. The Billy Cobham provided sample has an ethereal quality that feels like it’s carrying you on a cloud. When the bongos come in, they provide that extra nudge to get you moving wherever you’re trying to go.

Eric Prydz – Pjanoo

It’s unlikely that anyone that likes electronic music enough to read RaverRafting has never heard this song before. Eric Prydz’s music has come in many forms throughout the years, but few songs have garnered the praise and popularity that “Pjanoo” has attained.

So many fans have memories tied to this song. As the iconic piano keys start playing, your mind immediately takes you back to all that great times that have been soundtracked by this ubiquitous song.

Prydz is known for his progressive style and “Pjanoo” is a fantastic case study of his compositional tendencies. The main rhythm of the song stays constant throughout, but its modulation takes a simple riff and makes it captivating.

Pendulum – Watercolour

It’s hard to beat the sound of real snare and bass drums played at speed. Pendulum is far from the only group to record drum and bass songs with a live drummer, but they are one of the most widely known. Furthermore, “Watercolour” is one of their most popular songs. It was the lead single off one of, if not their most popular albums, Immersion.

There’s a reason it reached the heights that it did (number 4 on the UK charts). The song is a great example about how combining live instrumentation with electronic production can enhance both sounds. The contrast between the two styles sharpens the differences and leads to a richer listening experience.

Social Misfits – Velvet Rooms

The new project from Blame and DJ Concrete has been snapping necks with the release of its first EP, Change The Game. Social Misfits employ a jazzy and upbeat attitude that sounds so smooth and can be used in both harder and softer songs.

“Velvet Rooms” was produced with liquid in mind and incorporates distinctive samples to created a unique sound. Featuring violins, a short but soulful vocal, and an energetic bass-line, the track gives off an upscale vibe to match the lush fabric named in the title.

Dusky – Ingrid Is A Hybrid (Metrik Bootleg)

Putting well known emotional songs over a fast paced bass-line is not a new approach. It’s common for producers to create bootlegs of popular songs to create a connection with the crowd during their deejay sets. Many times that’s where they stay, as bootlegs don’t have the polish to be a full release. However, sometimes one is so good that it’s immediately ripped out of the set and posted online to stand alone. Metrik managed to create one of those tracks in his “Ingrid Is A Hybrid” bootleg.

The original “Ingrid Is A Hybrid” has a transcendent melody that sounds dreamy. It’s a song that lifts you up and puts you in a state of introspection. Metrik takes the original vibe and pulls it back down to Earth by speeding up the beats per minute. It sounds simple, but it’s so well executed because it manages to keep the essence of the original while being different enough to stand on its own. Many times full remixes can’t do both successfully, the fact that it wasn’t given the full release treatment adds to the impressiveness of Metrik’s feat.

CHOOOOON of the Week

The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist

In 2009 Pitchfork put together a list of the top albums of the decade. Unsurprisingly, artists like Radiohead, Jay-Z, and Daft Punk topped that list. However, sitting at number ten was an Australian group that are much less well known. Even more surprisingly, this was The Avalanches first studio album. Since I Left You impressed listeners by being perfectly off-beat. It had elements of hip-hop and dance music but the soul underpinning all of the songs was strongly experimental.

Nowhere is this more apparent then in “Frontier Psychiatrist”. The beat is pure hip-hop, the music itself is electronic, and it’s composed almost entirely of samples from movies, TV shows, and radio shows. Combining gunshots, violins, crazed doctors, worried parents, teachers, and students, it shouldn’t work. Yet it goes together so well. The imagination and production skills required to pull off a song like this are insane. It also strings together a narrative that is far more comprehensive and complete than most songs.

Since I Left You is a masterpiece of an album that is impressive in its artistry, production skillset, and range. If you have some time, have a listen. It’s catchy and wonderfully weird. Enjoy.

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