Indie Music Speaker

Who: Discovery

What: Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s vocalist Wes Miles, who teamed up early in 2008 to form Discovery, have just dropped their new album, LP, early to help raise money for Oxfam America. The album itself is absolutely amazing, and a pretty nice discovery for the summer. Throughout the album Batmanglij throws down some delicious, faintly Vampire Weekend-esque keys, and Miles pushes it over the top with some killer vocals. I’d highly recommend picking up the whole album, but check out some tracks below and make up your own mind.

Song: Orange Shirt by Discovery (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Song: Osaka Loop Line by Discovery (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Song: Slang Tang by Discovery (Alt: Y.S.I.)

What: Click here to check out the first few images from Tim Burton’s new Alice In Wonderland. Needless to say, it looks like it’s going to be pretty damn amazing. Pogo, who mixed this track and video from nothing but the original 1951 Alice In Wonderland animation, has done so for like ten other videos. Without a doubt Scrumdiddlyumptious is the best, but head to his MySpace or YouTube channel to check them all out. Shit’ll blow your mind.

Song: Alice by Pogo (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Who: Housse De Racket

What: Man, these are the remixes that you’ve been waiting for all week. Housse De Racket threw down this track so hard, picked it up, and threw it down again – between their own remix and Van She’s take on it, “Synthétiseur” has been blasting off around here nonstop. With mixes from The Teenagers, Das Glow, Mix Hell, and Van She, the Synthétiseur EP drops digitally on July 6th in France early in July, and is sure to make its way over to the States sometime after that. Until then, check out an incredible video of the original version played live and get your synth on with these.

Song: Synthétiseur (Van She Remix) by Housse De Racket (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Song: Synthétiseur (Housse De Racket) by Housse De Racket (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Who: Burns

What: Am I dreaming? This steamy, brilliant-cut track with it’s dream-wave synth sweeps and that piercing guitar solos has had me all hazy for the past few days. It’s a bit choppy and fresh and when it starts firing on all cylinders, it makes me so nostalgic for those simpler days of pure house music. Anyways, Burns is bouncing around the UK this summer, so hit up his MySpace and get a taste from the upcoming Turbo EP.

Song: Heartbeats by Burns (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Who: Miike Snow

What: Today is a great day. Miike Snow just dropped their first (and self-titled) album, and we’re all gonna get  a little silly. The whole album is so remarkably well produced, you can’t help but smile and enjoy yourself listening to it. So get up, get into it, get involved. Get the grill burning. The beer chillin’. And the tunes bummmpin’. The guys are performing a few live shows around the United States this summer, but if you can’t catch a show, go pick up the whole album today (or snag it digitally on iTunes) and get loose.

Song: The Reeling (Miike Snow Remix) by Passion Pit (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Song: It Don’t Move Me (Miike Snow Remix) by Peter Bjorn & John (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Who: Hey Champ

What: After a long day, it’s nice to come home to some bouncing bass lines, litedisco-pop synths, and killer vocals with that get-loose-and-just-vibe sound that settles the afternoon, puts work far behind, and gets us ready for hot summer nights – and Hey Champ are the ones who are taking us there. These guys are setting the summer mood with this disco-pop remix they just finished for Brooklyn-based indie synth-pop group French Horn Rebellion. The track will officially drop in July on VCR records with remixes from the Twelves, NASA, Database, and Hey Champ. But those late night beach bonfires aren’t waiting for anybody, so grab the track and get me to my beaches.

Song: Beaches and Friends (Hey Champ Remix) by French Horn Rebellion vs. Database (Alt: Y.S.I.)

Who: 80kidz

What: This perfect blend of 80kidz and Hey Champ was made for the warm sunny summer vibe. 80kidz are tearing up Japan right now, and Hey Champ just released their Cold Dust Girl EP on iTunes. Meanwhile, this song is burning holes in my speakers from getting played so much, so pick it up.

Song: Getting You Off (feat. Hey Champ) by 80kidz (Alt: Y.S.I.)