Early last month we decided to compile some of the more popular downloads from the Afternoon Jams segment here on Killahbeez and present that in the form of a mix, that first mix can be downloaded here. Well we had overwhelming response on that first joint that you know we had to come back and do it again. This is dedicated to all of you, the readers, who have supported the site by tweeting/re-tweeting our links, commenting on our articles and letting your friends know about our site. We do this for the love, cus as our team knows, it definitely ain’t for the money. Though if you do want to help support us, which we would more than appreciate, then we have stickers for sale that you can purchase here.

So without further ado, Killahbeez.com Presents Boner Jams Vol. 2.

Download: Killahbeez.com Boner Jams Vol. 2 | Click on link, it will re-direct you.

Tracklist

Baxter “Proof” Lifelike Remix
Ali Love “Diminshing Returns”
Beyonce “Broken-Hearted” Alan Braxe Dub
Two Door Cinema “I Can Talk” French Horn Rebellion Remix
The Sounds “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” Viking Remix
Chromeo “Night by Night” Skream Remix
Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll” Tommie Sunshine’s Brooklyn Fire Re-Touch
Miami Horror “Sometimes”
Pnau ft. Ladyhawke “Embrace” Tits & Clits Remix
Little Boots “Earthquake” Treasure Fingers Remix
Fever Ray “Seven” The Twelves Remix
The xx “Shelter” Them Jeans Drums Edit
Simple Minds “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” Pacific! Remix

Click on link to download.

Miami Horror “Sometimes”
Beyonce “Broken Hearted Girl” Alan Braxe Dub

So by now y’all know former Killahbeez writer AJK has been off doing his music thing. Last Summer he released his EP, which a large portion of it was inspired from his time in New York City. Then he dropped his Ladyhawke “Back of the Van” remix for folks. Now, he’s back with a full on mix for you all to bump for the summer and beyond. The mix contains some of the dopest jams right now as well as the new Boys Noize track “Jeffer” and the unreleased The Juan MacLean “One Day” Grandtheft remix. Perfect for a road trip, the gym, the drive in to work or whatever, 74 mins of straight goodness.

AJK “Day Off”

Download Here.

Tracklist

1. Knightlife – Crusader
2. Sneaky Sound System – When We Were Young (Breakbot Remix)
3. Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy (GRUM Remix)
4. Shazam – Pool Party 2009
5. Supermol – Light Years (Lifelike Remix)
6. Ben Mano – Jesus was a B-Boy (Moulinex Remix)
7. Sebastien Tellier – Kilometer (A-Trak Remix)
8. The Juan MacLean – One Day (Grandtheft Remix)
9. U-Tern – Pop Lock
10. Minitel Rose – Continue (Russ Chimes Remix)
11. The Golden Filter – Solid Gold
12. La Roux – In For The Kill (Lifelike Remix)
13. Alan Braxe & Kris Menace – Lumberjack
14. Pnau – Embrace
15. GRUM – Sound Reaction (The Phantom’s Revenge Remix)
16. Fake Blood – Mars
17. Alex Metric – Pins
18. Boys Noize – Jeffer
19. GRUM – Runaway (Calling in Sick Remix)
20. Xinobi – Day Off (Anoraak Remix)

Click link to download.

NightWaves Dreamwave Hour Two

1. NightWaves – August in G#
2. Fred Falke & Alan Braxe – Automatic
3. Cut Copy – Far Away (Bag Raiders Remix)
4. NightWaves – Invincible (Snow Picnic Remix)
5. The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
6. Fear Of Tigers – Layers
7. Mirrors – Look At Me
8. Daft Punk – Emotion (Binary’s Werewolf By Night Remix)
9. Shazam – Luckier
10. Phoenix – Lisztomania (Classixx Version)
11. NightWaves – She’s Electric (Vega Italo Dub)
12. Casio Social Club – Count Your Lucky Stars (Diogenes Club Remix)
13. Keenhouse – Civic Transit (Anoraak LAX Remix)
14. Van She – Changes (G.L.O.V.E.S Remix)
15. Debbie Deb – Lookout Weekend
16. Fabian – Heatwave
17. NightWaves – In August Revisited

For this week’s Mixtape Monday, I came across Dj Loveboat mix, ‘Cotonete’.  Not much is known about Dj Loveboat and it may safe to assume his alias has nothing to do with Aaron Spelling’s show.  I did, however, find out that this mixtape was originally dropped on March 23rd in support of Breaklda’s 4th year as a record label.   The playlist consists of bangers, electro pop hits along with a few reworks by Mr. Loveboat himself.  Have a listen and dl the mix here.  Truthfully, I was intrigued as to how Appaloosa’s single, ‘The Day We fell In Love‘  fits into the equation.

01. Messinian – Magic
02. Soulwax – Another Excuse (DFA “Funkytown” Remix)
03. Sidechains – Can’t Love You Babe
04. Ladyhawke – Back of the Van (DJ Loveboat Remix)
05. Walter Jones – Deuteronomy Brown (L-F Edit)
06. Justin Timberlake – Love Stoned (Justice Remix)
07. Kris Menace and Alan Braxe – Lumberjack
08. Britney Spears – Radar (Hot Pink Delorean Remix)
09. Guns and Bombs – Riddle Of Steel (Classixx Version)
10. Messinian – Cant Hide Her
11. Jape – Floating (D.I.M. Remix)
12. Amanda Blank – Get It Now (DJ Loveboat Remix)
13. Drop The Lime – Hear Me (Buraka Som Sistema- DJLVBT Edit)
14. Electric Youth – Lying Still (DJLVBT Edit)
15. Kylie Minogue – Boombox (Revolte Remix)
16. AC Slater – Party Like Us
17. A-Trak – Say Whoa (Boys Noize Remix)
18. Streetlife DJs – We Love the Disco Sound (CutnRub Dub Mix)
19. N.A.S.A – Whatchadoin ft. MIA, Santogold & Spank Rock (Villains rmx)
20. Pase Rock – Get Money Kids (Malente Re-Dub II)
21. Feist – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)
22. Appaloosa – The Day We Fell In Love
23. Dj Loveboat – Outro

Source: voulesrandom via Breaklda

After a year’s hiatus, I decided to head back down to sunny South Beach for WMC 2009.  As the days close in, the folks that run the Winter Music Conference publishes a master list of events.  First thing I noticed at a local bodega was this year’s publication was a pamphlet in comparison to previous years Frank151 mini mag style guides.  Although, having a game plan is to your advantage, you can wing it and still have a fun time.   Just watch out for the tourist-ready alcoholic beverages averaging in at 16 dollars, half priced lunches and breakfast but with a caveat of ridiculously expensive coffee, oj and iced tea.  This is to be expected as a trade off for the hotel poolside cabanas, people watching seats on Ocean Drive and of course the clear blue water/white sand combo in Miami.

As far as music goes, this was my outlet for lots and lots of deep house, broken beat and of course electro pop.  My friends and I planned on hitting up several parties throughout the day until we couldn’t stand anymore.  One piece of advice, if your hotel is in SOBE, stay in SOBE.  The taxis have no issue taking you on the “tourist” route to cross the MacArthur Causeway.  Some parties were a bust aka Tuesday Night at Laundry Bar and Friday Night at White Room.  However, there were some events that stood out and made WMC 09 memorable.

One such event was the Sander Kleinenberg yacht party.  Thoughts of waiting in long lines at Epcot or Universal Studios came to mind and gave me a chuckle.  First, my friends and I walked from 9th and Collins to the Shelborne Resort to redeem our tickets.  One line at the hotel lobby takes you upstairs to the Wanttickets.com suite.  From there, another line gets in contact with a customer service rep.  Next step, much like a reality tv show challenge was to hail a $40 dollar cab ride to the docks before 3:30.  Arrival yielded two more lines to get onto the Biscayne Lady.  But the wait was worthwhile as the food appeased my palate.  The all you can drink bar also came in handy to enjoy progressive house by Sander.  My group and I were definitely loving every aspect of the yacht party.  The rest of Thursday night was a mix between a blur and being woken up to head down to Heathrow Lounge for an event called Sonic Boom.

Friday was a free for all.  I had no game plan other than to hit the Scion Party at the Gansevoort South Resort featuring Annie Mac, A-Trak, Dj Medhi, Riton, Toddla T and Rusko.  However, during the daytime, I did notice Sephora had a line ready for j-pop songstress, Utada Hikaru.  Thanks to Japanator, this info was confirmed.  Half of me wishes I camped out like the nerd I am.

After a long day of exploring, I was able to catch the last leg of the Scion party with A-Trak ending his set and Dj Medhi beginning his.  Had we read the flyer, we would’ve avoided the dude playing top 40’s “hip pop” on the rooftop pool.  Thankfully, the friendliest security at the elevator guided us to the beach club where the Scion party was held. Guestlist, bah who needs it. Friendly foreign girl wanting photo op with me? Why the fuck not, all in good fun. $20 dollars for two Amstel lights gave a slight hiccup to the fun.

The rest of the night involved trying to hail a cab back down to 9th and Collins from 23rd ended in failure.  We walked roughly 16 blocks down only to return back to the Lincoln Road for Sushi Samba.  One hour wait stated the hostess.  Final destination: Sushi Siam where our eyes were hungrier than our bellies.  Afterwards, we made it out to The Shore Club where we finally caught Rusko’s set.  A cab ride to the White Room lead to a mediocre night.  Despite wanting to see Alan Braxe, Roy Davis Jr., and the Juan Maclean, I was just not feeling the venue.

Saturday – When I am looking for you, I call your number, but I can’t get through…
Spent most of the day at a nearby friend’s pool at the Marriott on 2nd and Ocean.  Then made it out to Taverna Opa for excellent Greek dining and entertainment.  This is where our nerd juices were overflowing with joy.  We actually asked the cab to get us to Rokbar right when doors opened at 10.  Who does that?  A fan of MODULAR mothafuckin Records does, thats who.  Our zealousness yielded a mini camp out as doors opened at 11, not 10.  But the venue is beautiful, Knightlife, Kim’s and Dan’s set was amazing.  Nothing could’ve gone wrong with this evening.  Well except overdoing it with jager shots.

The trip concluded with a super early shuttle ride to the airport Sunday Morning.  Lethargic days and affordable eating, here I come.  See below for some highlight photos taken collectively by my friends and myself.  On a side note, Dan Whitford of Cut Copy was nice enough to take a photo with my friend, SK.

On Thursday night March 5, disco / electro / house heads in Vancouver were treated to the musical stylings of Alan Braxe. Braxe, one of the true originators of the French Touch  sound of disco-house, is probably best known for his early work with Thomas Bangalter (One half of Daft Punk) as Stardust and in particular the song that they released “Music Sounds Better With You”. But the man has always kept grindin’ and makin’ people shake their asses whether it be his own music, solo remixes or teaming up with Fred Falke and blowing peoples minds.

Anyways the DJ Set on Thursday night, needless to say, was effin’ amazing. He played joints across the board, freaking some newer shit like Treasure Fingers and then dropping Chaka Khan on heads then changing it up with his own remixes. There was no doubt that music heads in the house were enjoying every little bit of it. Oh and did I mention, the man is nice as hell and mad humble. That and he’s a friggin’ chain smoker, I think I saw him duck down below the decks smoking at least 1800 times within his set, okay more like 8 – 10 times, but daaaaamn son.

I actually had the opportunity to shoot some shots for Killahbeez, but without some help this opportunity wouldn’t have been possible. So we’d like to thank Matty Cee from Fastlife (www.myspace.com/thefastliferepublic) and Nate S. over at DHM (www.dhmbars.ca) for hooking us up with some love. Folks, make sure you check these sites out and keep it locked upcoming sets, cus they are bringing in quality DJs.

Check a few of the photos below and hit our Flickr page for the rest of them. For those of you wondering what I’m shooting with, I recently picked up a 10.5mm Nikon Fisheye lens, so that’s what you’re seeing shit through.

Killahbeez Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/killahbeez/

There’s something to be said about a musician who can almost effortlessly captivate you within just moments of their sounds gracing your ears. Whether you’re drawn in by the hypnotizing arpeggios, sweeping emotive strings or invigorating bass lines – the music of Laurent Heinrich aka Lifelike can simultaneously serve as the quintessential soundtrack to both a daydream and a night to remember.

With a discography of sonically impeccable original works and remixes drenched in unforgettable melody, its no mystery Lifelike’s approach to music has produced one of the most acclaimed sounds in recent memory – definitive yet timeless.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview him and inquire about his musical beginnings, process of production, inspirations and what the future holds for the France based producer.

Killahbeez: Let’s start with your name; Lifelike. What’s the significance behind it and/or how did you come up with it?

Lifelike: I wanted to do a little remix for myself of a track from Depeche Mode “Master And Servant”. I had sampled a short part in a break of the song where Dave Gahan was singing “Like life” I chopped it and swapped the words round to make “lifelike”, and thought that would be a cool name for my music project.

KB: From doing a bit of research I discovered that you have some classical training in piano and also played bass in high school – how and when did your relationship with samplers, drum machines, sequencers and of course synthesizers begin?

Lifelike: Yes I learned piano for 3 years and had a short career as a bass player in a band at school. It’s when I was playing in that band that I bought an Amiga computer and a sampling cartridge called “perfect sound”. I used music tracker and started to do my own music. It was quite simple at that time with only four tracks and a limited memory. Once you had sampled something in that computer it was never sounding like the source because you had to economise the memory to be able to have enough room to make enough samples to use. But I have good memories of this time. From there I went quite normally to buy a synthesizer to connect to the computer, and that is how I started to compose little tracks a bit more seriously.

KB: How influential would you say your early musical experiences were before you started producing electronic music?

Lifelike: It had and still has a huge impact in my way of seeing music. I still think in terms of doing a pop synth track more than doing something like “techno” if I can still use that word today. But at that time I wanted to do like my idols, the same music, I was sampling Cabaret Voltaire or Simple Minds, or whatever sounded great to use those loops and sound in my little tracks at home.

KB: Being a producer who uses plenty of vintage analog synthesizers, where do you stand on the seemingly endless Analog vs Virtual/VST debate?

Lifelike: Well I use both of them. I bought an Apple Macintosh computer for audio and plugins to open my music to new sounds. And I was amazed to discover that in between all those new software and vst instruments, they both have respective sounds of their own. I was thinking a computer cannot have a special kind of sound, not like an analog synth has, but in fact it has a specific sound, depending on how you use it and how you’re recording your sound. Both analog and digital are great.

KB: The melodies in your music are very distinct – however, in addition to melody and sequencing it’s clear that you put plenty of thought into processing the dynamics of the overall sound of your music – how important would say that aspect of production is in achieving the trademark Lifelike sound?

Lifelike: That’s a great question because you’re hitting a point here that is really important to me. The sound is what makes your production different from another producer, and could give a real value to your work. I take care of my sound in a very strong way.

If I listen to today’s productions, for example, in the Beatport global charts, most of those productions are done on a simple computer, I hear it, the sound is big but… it has no character and is hasn’t been worked in an interesting way. The sound is big because of the computer headroom in terms of computing power.

I think those producers aren’t working that much on composing great songs (many of those tracks in Beatport sounds like horrible 90’s one key one finger triggered), and they aren’t working on getting a great sound with character. They mostly use drum samples that you can find on a sample CD. It’s just bullshit music to me.

I worked on analog recordings in the past, and I learned there how to maximize the sound in order to adapt it to an analog recording, so it’s a completely different approach to producing and doing music. I don’t rely on my computer to do the job like most of today’s producers seem to do. And dynamics isn’t only created by a simple magical compressor connected to your mixdesk; it’s more than this. It’s where the sources come from and how you treat them individually. All those things are making, I guess, my way of processing a mixdown, and I still mix on analog desks, that’s maybe my trademark, in terms of sound I mean.

KB: If you had to narrow it down, what would you say are the centerpieces or favorite pieces of gear in your studio ?

Lifelike: Well I still use an old Emulator IV sampler just because it gives an amazing sound to whatever you sample.

KB: With quite the run of notable remixes in your discography, how do you approach remixes and how does that process differ from producing your on original songs?

Lifelike: I try to give the band or the artist I’m remixing my kind of sound on some ways. They will end up with my influences. The thing I love to do is to play around with those influences. Like with the band Chromeo, I wanted to send them back to 85 by using the same kind of technique in the mix that they were using at that time, like those handclaps with reverb. The main voice even has a reverb on it etc… it’s a lot of fun to do!

KB: On the topic of remixing, how important would you say your remix work has been in the almost exponential rise in your international profile over the last while? What are a few of the favorite ones you’ve produced?

Lifelike: Really important, as it’s the Needy Girl remix I did for Chromeo that really sent me all those new remix proposals right after it was played daytime on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. I think the ones I did for The Presets (This Boy’s In love), Does It Offend You, Yeah! (Epic Last Song) and Chromeo are my favorites.

KB: You’ve often cited much of the Manchester underground scene and many iconic Post Punk / New wave artists such as Cabaret Voltaire and New Order as major inspirations – however, you also mention 80’s Michael J. Fox and James Spader films as sources of inspiration and even released material under the alias Ferris Bueller – how do these particular sources of inspiration translate into your production?

Lifelike: Manchester or Sheffield’s 70’s/80s musical scene are really vital to me. For me it all came out of there, in terms of pop synth music as well as techno music in the late 80/early 90’s. Factory records, Mute and ZTT were THE labels of the 80’s and, they had so many hits in the charts. The best is that it was really good music, no commercial bullshit like today, real artists working hard for their music.

I love New Order. It’s amazing when you think that in ‘83 they were topping the charts with Blue Monday, a track totally produced with sampling and drum machines that sounds still amazing today; it’s a masterpiece. How many electronic records can you still play 25 years after in clubs?

KB: With regards to more contemporary sources of inspiration – who are some artists that you feel are making great music these days?

Lifelike: I’m thinking about that Australian label, Modular. They have that rock’n roll music approach, and damn they are filling the rooms when their bands are playing, and its nothing like PC computer music for geeks. Again we’re talking about real musicians with huge talents. Like Van She, The Presets, Metronomy on Virgin Rec, or MGMT (those are great too) or closer to me, Alan Braxe.

KB: You toured throughout 2008 with some dates in North America and seem to have some pretty busy months ahead with dates in Australia and throughout Europe. Initially coming from a producer background, how does it feel to play your own music during a DJ set and hear the crowd cheer in response?

Lifelike: In America the crowd is really amazing, I don’t wanna hurt any national sensibilities, but they were reacting like hell to our music, I was touring with Alan Braxe last summer for 5 dates and we were really amazed by the fact that they knew all our tracks by heart! They even sung on stuff like “so much love to give”. Next revolution of electronic music will be in the USA soon. You can feel that people have a real interested approach to our music, especially what they call French Touch. And it hasn’t to do with that kind of fashionista or hype, no they really came for having fun, not for showing themselves.

KB: Your upcoming release “Sunset” and “Sequencer” are being released on Alan Braxe’s Vulture Records sometime in February 2009, what can you tell us about these two songs beforehand?

Lifelike: I guess it’s quite a different EP from what you heard before from me, like Discopolis. “Sunset” wasn’t supposed to be on the A-side of the record but Alan loved the track so much that I decided to switch and put “Sequencer” on the B-side. “Sunset” was first an instrumental, and I was thinking why not put some vocals on it, so we contacted Yota. She already had a strong background and experience in our kind of music, and most important of all, a great voice that would suit the project. And it ended up being a vocal track, but still not like a full pop song, I think it’s still a not commercial track. “Sequencer” is more of a classic kind of Lifelike track in terms of style. I don’t have any clue on how people will react to this release. Only the future will tell.

KB: What else does this year hold for Lifelike? What about the future in general? What are some goals you aim to conquer as a producer as your career progresses?

Lifelike: I don’t see things at all in term of goals and a career plan you know… but this year I will have to tour a bit more just because we have quite a lot of requests for that and because it’s the way things seems to go on now for me. I’ll do less remixes because you can never do them all from one year to another. I had my time with that last year, so this year I will concentrate more on my music. I have a project with the band Chromeo as well, a co-production on one track and a maybe quite soon a new EP.

KB: Thanks for the interview and all the best in 2009 & beyond – the success is well deserved.

Lifelike: Thank you

Lifelike website: www.lifelike-music.com
Lifelike MySpace: www.myspace.com/lifelikevulture

Lifelike has also decided to exclusively share his new track “Sunset” featuring Yota with all our Killahbeez readers. Make sure to support Lifelike and buy Sunset / Sequencer coming out on Monday February 9th.