countdown

are you excited about the royal wedding? no? me neither.
two things i am excited about this week are: moving to finland (in 3 weeks!) and music that has had a good solid dip in 90's pop house.

might be why finnish duo shine 2009's have been having a good solid go around on my headphones recently.

showing up bearing a full tray of bombastic breakbeats, big pianos and slickly emotive swagger, shine 2009 do a great job of faithfully channeling the best parts of that 90's pop sound that has been popping up all over town.
'so free' is the single that i am sharing today and it features backing vocals from none other than paula abdul. cringing? i thought about doing that as well.
but trust me, they are used sparingly and incredibly tastefully on this track. in fact, this light, uplifting track comes pretty highly recommended from me. check it out:

Shine 2009 - So Free (Feat Paula Abdul)

shine 2009's debut album 'realism' is only a couply of days away from release. if you have been digging the 90's sound that azari & iii and the like have been carting around town for the past little while, then maybe you should check it out. official release date is the 3rd of may, but you can check it out now right here.

absolutely not to be confused with radio dept, canadian fellas art department have been making some big waves recently after dropping their debut album 'drawing board'.
i foolishly haven't heard all that much about them at all - despite them taking out first place in resident advisor's 2010 tracks of the year.
im still getting my head around the album, but i have to say that i'm really enjoying the dark wash that art department give to their brand of artfully crafted, minimal infused electronica.
'i c u' is one of the more easy gets on the album, and i think it adds a really nice expansive feel to the often creepy vibe that pervades many tracks on the album.

Art Department - I C U

pick up art department's 'drawing board' here.

and.. last but not least is this piece of memorabilia from hercules and love affair's self-titled album from '08. that album has certainly been getting a re-flogging in the past few days and i think that this track is definitely to blame. it's happy, funk riddled vibe really has a habit of worming its way under my skin quite regularly.
love the trumpets and the climax at 3:28. definite friday deckchair song.

Hercules & Love Affair - This Is My Love

have a good weekend?