Meet Me At The Fountain (Lollamix)

In a few weeks, the grounds of Chicago's Grant Park will be flooded with the hundreds of thousands of attendees of Lollapalooza. Nestled in between the waters of Lake Michigan and the Windy City streets, Lolla provides a unique chance to experience a major music festival within the confines of a major metro. Unlike fests such as Coachella or Bonnaroo, the music can't go all night and people don't camp nearby for the duration of the weekend. When each night ends, friends often rendezvous near Buckingham Fountain at the heart of the park before streaming back into the sleeping city.

In preparation for this event, I'm excited to present Meet Me At The Fountain, a continuous mix of some of the songs that will be blaring by the lake live during that weekend. With dozens of artists scheduled to play multiple stages, tough choices often have to be made and hidden gems can easily get skipped over. Hopefully, this mix will get you excited for the established favorites and pique your interest in some smaller acts.

This project was uncharted waters for PUYL, but constructing it was quite fulfilling. I enlisted the assistance of a producer friend, and with his ideas and skills, we put together a cohesive mix that we're proud to share with you. It was enormously fun to work on. Many thanks again to Jarofmy for the mixing and Drew for help with the artwork.

Enjoy!

Listen/Download:

https://soundcloud.com/pushupyalighter/meet-me-at-the-fountain

Alternate Download

Tracklist after the jump.

June Gems: PUYL June 2014

What June know about these June gems? We reached the halfway point of 2014 on a high note; there were a lot of great tracks this month. Music discovery can come from several different avenues, and no one source is any better than the others, so I like to stay attuned to a variety of outlets in order to always catch the freshest sounds. Here's a quick guide to a few invaluable resources.

Artists
Perhaps the simplest way to find new songs you like, is to follow artists you like. For the second month in a row, we splash into things with a remix from Wave Racer. I found that track because he posted it on his Twitter account. I knew I liked his other songs, so I checked it out and wasn't disappointed. Similarly, Kitty sent out an email containing her version of Chrome Sparks's "Marijuana" in anticipation of an upcoming tour. Phony Ppl, GEMS, and Jessie Ware all debuted new songs this month after some time away from the limelight, so it was good to catch them when they resurfaced. Social media and email are how artists reach their fans directly; it's just up to us to pay attention.

Other Artists
In the same vein, there is discovery value in following artists. Chances are, artists you like are currently listening to someone you might soon like. This month I learned about A.K. Paul (Jai Paul's brother) and Ryn Weaver via hype from other musicians. Cosigns are great, but more often, artists will push their collaborations. The brilliant producers, Dpat & Atu, did a track for a singer named NIRO. He's a virtual unknown, but with an endlessly chill beat and lyrics that would make The Weeknd blush, he's earned a hit. If an artist falls into your taste, they themselves probably have similar taste in music as you.

Remixes
Another way to hear what artists are listening to is through the songs they choose to remix. ZHU remixed LDR (and did it better than anyone else too). RAC premiered his remix of London Grammar. The Jane Doze tackled The Colourist. It's a two way street: fans of both the remixers and the remixees get a chance to discover new talents.

Labels
Labels exist solely to help promote their artists. When S-Type has a new release, it the job of his label, LuckyMe, to make sure that the masses know about it. Just as individual artists will probably be listening to someone else cool, labels try to gather like minded musicians. Explore their roster. LuckyMe also carries Baauer and Tim Vocals, who collaborated on a song this month. Baauer is internationally known for his memetastic hit, but largely takes a backseat to Tim and his vocals. Labels rely on their star power to propel the lesser known artists into the public eye. I encountered a couple of tracks from the label Secretly Canadian who I associate with balearic dream pop duo, JJ. The Woman's Hour remix is hip beyond belief, and Tomas Barford's "Lost" may be the best song I've heard all year.

Of course, you can always just follow your favorite blog and let them do all the legwork for you.

Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/pushupyalighter/sets/puyl-june-2014