Ra Ra Riot recently released a super smooth remix of their tune ‘Massachusetts’ crafted by Los Angeles’ Kisses. Slowed down and mellowed out, the duo’s reworking of the track comes just in time, bringing some of Southern California’s sunshine up to Massachusetts through May’s earliest rays. Mighty fine sunshine.

My favorite jams of the year (in no particular order)

Escucharemos’ Songs of 2010 mix

tracklist after the jump

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On Tuesday August 24th, six-piece orchestral indie rock outfit Ra Ra Riot will follow up their 2008 debut LP The Rhumb Line (2008) with The Orchard. Last month the band released the Boy EP as a precursor of what’s to come. And to show their appreciation for all the downloads and approbatory reviews, they are giving away a brilliant remix of the track ‘Boy,’ courtesy of the mix mestre himself, RAC’s Andre Anjos. The Portland-based remixer has a long list of stunningly exquisite renditions of mainly indie rock tunes, but his jazzy, funk-beat take on ‘Boy’ is sold gold. Andre starts off by building a subtle dreamscape out of Wes Miles’ melodic vocal on top of Alexandra Lawn’s and Rebecca Zeller’s supple strings. He then slices up the bass-drum, which is ever-present in the original, adding a catchy, foot-tapping beat that runs through most of the four minute remix. In short, like all of RAC’s work, this remix is a snazzy energetic, electronic-enhanced reworking which is probably better than the original. Check out the mp3 below.

Ra Ra Riot - Boy (RAC Mix)

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The sun is bearing down today, but I best get used to it. Here’s a set of ten tracks to get us through the sizzling heat. Alright, to set things in motion we’ve got one of my favorite covers— Glasgow’s Belle & Sebastian’s rendition of The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” is pure class. Darwin Deez follows up with some steezy beat-bopping words regarding his Deoxyribonucleic acid. Virginia’s own Barcelona hit up Daytrotter last August, it pretty damn good, as most things are that trickle out of Illinois studio. One of my favorite all around dudes has got to be Kings of Convenience’s and The Whitest Boy Alive’s Erlend Øye— some of his solo releases have really impressed me just in the way that they diverge from the music that he produces with his two bands (by the way his dance moves are stunning). RAC’s André Anjos introduced me to LA band White Arrows with his remix of “Coming or Going.” Here’s another track off their EP, which you can pick up on their bandcamp fo free. Electronic pop outfit Chairlift got on the track with Brooklyn’s Telepathe, the results are “So Fine.” Au Revoir Simone gets some french lovin’ from Paris’ The Teenagers. Luckily (or perhaps not unfortunately) the ‘creative’ threesome’s lyrical wonder is constrained to that of their female counterparts in their take on “Shadows.” LA-based Superhumaniods have their go on Blackbird Blackbird’s “Hawaii,” quite a fresh little rendition. Check out Blackbird Blackbird’s Summer Heart here. Fear not, Oakland indie rock band Rogue Wave is on the mix with “Fear Itself” off Permalight. Rounding out this week’s mix is Ra Ra Riot’s energetic “Too Dramatic” off their forthcoming release, The Orchard.

Belle & Sebastian - Here Comes The Sun (The Beatles Cover)

Darwin Deez - My DNA

Barcelona - It’s About Time

Erlend Øye - The Black Keys Work

White Arrows - Everything Scares Me

Telepathe - So Fine (Chairlift Remix)

Au Revoir Simone - Shadows (The Teenagers Remix)

Blackbird Blackbird - Hawaii (Superhumanoids Remix)

Rogue Wave - Fear Itself

Ra Ra Riot - Too Dramatic

Symphonic indie rock outfit Ra Ra Riot released their first full-length album, The Rhumb Line, in 2008 and after more than a year of recording and production they’re ready to release their sophomore album— The Orchard. The ten-track album, which was produced by the band from Syracuse alongside Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla, Andrew Maury from the Remix Artist Collective (RAC), and Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend, Discovery), is set to hit your nearest record shop on August 24.

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Ra Ra Riot - ‘Shadowcasting’ (from the forthcoming The Orchard)

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The Orchard, which was named for the small farm house where the band recorded much of the album, is available for pre-order through Barsuk, in six different formats (including magenta vinyl). Also, their song “Boy” is up for free on iTunes and their website — if you want to check it out. Ra Ra Riot are currently gallivanting around North America in an extensive tour which lasts through late November; the tour dates are on the band’s myspace. For me, The Orchard is much calmer, laid-back and generally easier to listen to than the band’s last release, although it lacks some of the attractive energy found on The Rhumb Line’s “St. Peter’s Day Festival” or “Too Too Too Fast.”

Check out the set list as well as the video of “Keep It Quiet” below.

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¿Que onda? After a week that flew by, at least for me, one filed with traveling, rolling hills, and heat, let’s hope that next week will be a bit cooler— perhaps even brisk. Alright, so here we are, let’s kick things off with two fresh tracks from Kentucky’s The Pass, of their album Colors and from Ra Ra Riot’s The Rhumb Line. Next a sweet Kings of Convenience mix by Norwegian house legend, the late Tore Andreas “Erot” Kroknes. Also, I came across a remix of Tunng’s Hustle, which we featured a few weeks back. There’s some more London flair to follow, we’ve got a great collaboration between Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine from the 2010 Brit Awards. Yet the British-ness of this mix isn’t quite over— the Manchester-Bangor connection awaits, Oasis and a personal favourite of mine, Two Door Cinema Club, mashes up wonderfully.

Swedish electronic maestro Pao Pao (aka Fredrick Carlsson) is making quite a name for himself, even outside of his homeland, with his creative and experimental flavor. Get your hands on Pao Pao’s Dörr EP, for zero cashmoney, here. We’ve featured Reykjavík’s four-piece electro-pop quartet FM Belfast before, but this time they’re back with their usual tight beats and catchy lyrics— “We are running down the street in our underwear.” Toro Y Moi gets his hands on Beach House’s Master Of None, and the results are brilliant, and more upbeat. Rounding out this humble mix is a new favorite of mine, Banana Phonetic. The band from Boston came out with their The Western End EP at the beginning of the year and you can pick that high quality .zip file up fo free at their website.

The Pass - Crosswalk Stereo

Tunng - Hustle (Cillo Remix)

You Got The Dirtee Love
FM Belfast - Underwear
Oasis + Two Door Cinema Club - Wonderwall You Know
Pao Pao - Liberia (feat. Prizes)

Erot vs Kings Of Convenience - Gold For The Price Of Silver
Toro Y Moi - Master Of None
Ra Ra Riot - Oh, La
Banana Phonetic - Synchronous Orbit Acheived