You might know Brenton Duvall for his mash-ups and remixes. If you know him for anything other than his mash-ups and remixes, you know more than I know about Brenton Duvall. I’m sure he has other talents – maybe he cooks. But I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never seen Brenton Duvall cook.
When you listen to a Brenton Duvall mash up, you can immediately tell the kid has an ear for music. His compositions have always been way beyond piling one song on top of another and matching the tempo, so it’s no surprise that he’s expanding into producing for other artists. The biggest problem with this expansion, for most producers, is finding the right people to work with. A lot of times up and coming producers are forced to settle, and no matter how good the production is, a shit rapper can bring any song down. Luckily for Brenton, Young Prince is not a shit rapper. He matches the energy on this Jackson Browne sampling joint nicely, and word on the net is these two will be working together more in the future. Looking forward to it. What do you think? Strange Times – Brenton Duvall

Ok! So from what I’m seeing, Fashawn has started up his own little weekly drop called Sunday School. This is to help build up anticipation for his upcoming project titled *Higher Learning 2* which will be released on Feb 15th. The first joint for this weekly series is a remix to Common & John Legend’s “Strange Fruit“. On the original song the spot for a 3rd verse was vacant so Fashawn simply added one to it.
Strange Fruit – Fashawn

I tried to do some research on Jai Paul, but I realized he’s somewhat of an enigma. He’s a 22 year old, of Indian descent, from London, and self-producing his XL album to be released in 2011. AsianDan said: “He is one part Prince, one part D’Angelo mixed with heavy doses of Diplo and Madlib.”
“BTSTU” is hazy and weighty and shows off unrestrained level of creativity and originality. The song has been out since mid-2010, but it’s my first taste of Jai Paul and I’m really excited to hear more from him in 2011. Very cool stuff, check it out below.
BTSTU – Jai Paul

Just over a month ago Confusion gave you guys a track from Adele called Rolling in the Deep. Extraordinary and soulful singing by Adele with a beat that makes you bounce your head. Adele can reach some amazing notes and, although she seems soft spoken when not on stage, she exudes the confidence of a diva when she sings. Luckily for us Jamie XX acquired the track and remixed it. He brought more bass and tweaked the voice at different parts of the track. I didn’t download the original but definitely will when it comes out on iTunes on Jan. 16. I really like what Jaimie XX did with this and look forward to more of his work.
Rolling In The Deep – Adele Jamie xx Remix

Lithium – Little Roy
So I’ve been meaning to post this since last year and it’s been sitting in my drafts. Well today is another day in 2012 where there’s no new good music in sight. So here’s a gun song from 2011 from Little Roy covering “Lithium”. I’ve got to admit it takes you by surprise, you have Kurt’s dark lyrics on one side and on the other you have this reggae/ska sound that uplifts the overall feeling of the track. It’s a fun mashup because Little Roy obvious style transcends time, the 70′s pioneer has re-done a whole album of Nirvana material.

I first heard Foster The People and fell in love with their baddass and catchy first single, Pumped Up Kicks. They’re continuing their streak with the newest release, Helena Beats. Word on the street is it’s off the Pumped Up Kicks EP, which doesn’t exist yet. Helena Beat is a synth based monster of an indie jam, these four dudes must be the most baller mofoz on the planet cause they’re songs are untouchably cool.
Helena Beat – Foster The People

James Blake is one of those artists on the tips of a lot of tongues. Regretfully, I’ve been slow on getting deep into his music and by the time I got hooked by the UK producer/singer’s minimalist style, I was already way behind. You guys are probably more familiar with his music than I am. Im playing catch up while I wait for his album to drop (on February 7th). Here is his video for “Limit To Your Love”.
Limit To Your Love – James Blake

Swedish songstress Lykke Li has released the second single from her sophomore album Wounded Rhymes. “I Follow Rivers” stays true to Lykke Li’s unique sound of lo-fi vocals and slow beats while still bringing something new to the table. Be sure to check out the remix by The Magician as well.
I Follow Rivers – Lykke Li
I Follow Rivers – The Magician Remix

Usually when you hear a new artist for the first time, you hear signs of potential. This gets the buzz going and eventually the sound becomes more polished and more people latch on to it. Then somewhere down the road you hear that first hit. Dean and Ravo didn’t waste time with that progression. These are the first songs I’ve heard from the duo and they’ve both got that ready-to-go, instant appeal factor. The people are going to like this.
The production is clean, the choruses are catchy, and the lighthearted nature (despite the straightforwardness of it all) makes it really easy to get into.
Walkin Around – Dean and Ravo
End of the Week – Dean and Ravo

Fez is an indie rock band from London who channel the excitable bursts of energy of Modest Mouse mixed with the UK charm of Los Campesinos. Throw in a little Strokes and Wolf Parade, and you get the idea. If Modest Mouse and Fez were to tour together I think I might buy those tickets before a Jay-Z & Kanye West concert. The whole EP (and by whole EP, I mean the 3 songs) is great and we can expect some more buzz around these guys in 2011, so check them out now and then say “Oh yeah, I’ve known about them for a while” later on.
Low Light – Fez