There could not have been a more apt ID3 than that of Freelance Hellraiser’s “Stroke Of Genius,” the MP3 that launched this decade’s most fitting musical legacy. Parts of two or three or thirty tracks mixed into one supersong? What better than mashups to soundtrack a generation of smartphone-wielding Adderall chompers coming of age in a world where all music is free. In the years since Freelance Hellraiser (and 2 Many DJs, Go Home Productions, DJ Earworm, Party Ben, et al) raised the bar for bastard pop, we’ve seen bootlegging go mainstream in the hands of Girl Talk and Danger Mouse, not to mention 2004’s chart-topping Collision Course and the dozen questionable Jigga x [rock band] torrents in its wake. This year, bands like Passion Pit and Phoenix distributed stems of their hits as blogbaiting publicity stunts. (It worked!) Still, when it comes to remixes, few are more thrilling than hearing the vocals of one song over the instrumental of another and have it absolutely work. Which is why we’ve again collaborated with our favorite mashup artist, Australian producer Neil Mason aka team9, to mix our favorite tracks of 2009 with familiar oldies, creating something more than the sum of their parts. The process — Stereogum acquiring exclusive audio and making playlists, Neil working his ACID Pro magic (i.e., the hard part) — started months ago, with an eye on this holiday deadline. It’s our fourth annual Christmas present to you, and we think it’s the best MySplice yet. Enjoy…
COVER
(by Camille Heron; click for larger version)
LISTEN / DOWNLOAD
01 stererogum & team9 – “Pina Horchata”
02 stererogum & team9 – “Twilight In The Afterlife”
03 stererogum & team9 – “Riders Sleep Alone”
04 stererogum & team9 – “Cross Eyed People”
05 stererogum & team9 – “Phoenix Get Cured”
06 stererogum & team9 – “Crystalised In The Sky”
07 stererogum & team9 – “Missy’s Girls”
08 stererogum & team9 – “Without A Love Story”
09 stererogum & team9 – “Chilled Monkey”
10 stererogum & team9 – “Grizzly Feeling”
11 stererogum & team9 – “Girls Of Convenience”
12 stererogum & team9 – “22 Nights With Lily”
13 stererogum & team9 – “Surprise Gift”
Or: ZIP FILE.
STEREOGUM & TEAM9: A LOVE STORY
Australian-based producer Neil Mason has been releasing music under the team9 name for over a decade. His outstanding mashups first came on our radar in 2004. In 2005, he teamed with Party Ben on the infamous American Edit. Since then Stereogum & team9 have collaborated remotely as often as possible. MySplice was launched in December ’06. In 2007, using new alias Found Sound Orchestra, Neil was commissioned by Stereogum to create background music to David Cross’s “Fitter Happier” cover on OKX: A Tribute To OK Computer. MySplice Vols 2 and 3 followed. Meanwhile Neil’s remained as busy as ever down in Oz, most notably releasing Found Sound Orchestra’s sampledelic debut album Memorabilica. It’s available for free download at team9.net and is heavily influenced by The Avalanches, Quiet Village, Air France, etc. You can also download Stereogum & team9’s vintage MySplices by clicking on the album covers below.
Happy Holidays! See you next week.
