After an extremely long pause in our blog, we’re ready to bring you back some resources to enhance your musical experience, and this time we’re going to give you our new podcast named Crystal Jazz. This particular selection was carefully designed to expose those artists who, I think, are some of the most prolific and underrated geniuses of jazz music, we’ve researched heavily to made this selection unique, neat and pure.

I would like to give you a little brief on my music roots, when I was a child, I remember my grandfather playing the piano for many hours, despite the fact that he was a self-taught musician, he composed a bunch of very complex original pieces and also played classical tunes like a virtuoso, in fact the first track of this podcast is like a time travel to my own childhood, so intense that I feel like being back in that living room listening to the chords of his magnificent Petrof, and something curious, the authorship of the first track belongs to the legendary Charles Mingus (I Can’t Get Started) which is from a recording named Spontaneous Compositions and Improvisations.

However in those days I wasn’t aware of the music universe around me, until I found a cassette which out-stood from others for its incredible cover, when I listened carefully, it burst a music revolution in my head, that recording was The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out (from 1959), that was the key that opened a whole new universe for me, and also a key to understand and enjoy more deeply the music of my grandfather.

This podcast doesn’t reflect the music that my grandfather used to listen to at all, some tracks might be too freestylish and too percussive for him. I grew up surrounded by his music and over the time I developed my personal music taste, and I want to dedicate this podcast with affection and respect to my grandfather who was an outstanding musician and also an excellent human being that encouraged me to expand my musical horizons.

Your perfect smile and compositions will remain with us forever
Dr. Eduardo Peña-Alfaro Sáenz
(1917-2007)

Podcast Tracklist:
01 - Charles Mingus - I Can’t Get Started
02 - Melody Gardot - Love Me Like A River Does
03 - Elizabeth Meza - Moondance
04 - Oscar Peterson - Younger Than Springtime
05 - Dianne Reeves - Love For Sale
06 - Tommy Flanagan - Let’s
07 - Masao Nakajima - Moments Notice
08 - Idea 6 - The Tune Up (Quasimode Remix)
09 - Red Garland - Daahoud
10 - Helen Merrill - My Favorite Things

 

 Crystal Jazz: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On my own perspective, I think that contemporary classical music is really misunderstood, because most people think that even though its contemporaneousness it is somehow outdated or boring, the truth is that there’s a whole lot of musicians and artists contributing to reinvigorate classical music, in fact, most incidental movie soundtracks are composed of classical music because of its undeniable strenght to capture emotions, maybe it is too expensive to achieve a collaboration with some philharmonic ensemble and because of that there are less options.

But continuing with the taste of our podcasts, this time we have prepared a meticulous selection of tunes that in one way or another holds a substantial symphonic or orchestral essence but at the same time it preserves the innovation and grace of contemporary non-classical music, some good examples are: the impeccable collaboration of Phoneheads & The Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra or the impressive remix of an Oliver Nelson track made by Telefon Tel Aviv, as you know Charlie Wesley Cooper member of Telefon Tel Aviv died this past January 22nd and by means of this podcast we want to express our condolences and pay a little homage to this magnificent man, whose true love and fresh imagination for music never stopped.

Podcast Tracklist:
01 - The Cinematic Orchestra - Hyena
02 - Musetta - Some Thoughts Are Hard To Die
03 - The Heritage Orchestra - Tell Me Stories
04 - Emily Wells - Symphony 1 In the Barrel of a Gun
05 - Émilie Simon - Sweet Blossom
06 - Dosh - Um, Circles And Squares
07 - Xavier Bergman & Prague Symphonic Orchestra - Instinct In Paradise
08 - Phoneheads & The Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra - Syrinx
09 - Kattoo - Somber Happening
10 - Oliver Nelson - Stolen Moments (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)
11 - Ryuichi Sakamoto - Aoneko No Torso

 

 Symphonic Spark: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the time of the year when we present to you the La Suite 303’s Podcast about the best songs of the year, according to our personal taste and perception. Remeber that the tracks are listed alphabetically since we don’t believe in assigning numbers to them (Who’s to say which is the best overall track?). We have several choices this year but we sum it down to around 20, that’s always our criteria, we always say “20 tracks, more or less”, so some tracks didn’t make it to the list, but it is worth to mention that this one didn’t make it, because of an opinion clash between the editors, one of the reasons was “it’s not daring enough” and also it was not a new song but it was noticed (and charted in the USA, UK, New Zealand and Canada) until 2008, it is: Handlebars by Flobots (Denver, USA) and we were not the only ones disagreeing, as you can read here. Once again enjoy this issue! These songs, like last year’s, are really great!

LaSuite 303 - The Best Songs of the Year 2008:

All The Wrong Places (Sensibility) by Dead Pixels
(London, UK)

Día by Juana Molina
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Errata by Xploding Plastix
(Oslo, Norway)

From Stardust To Sentience by High Places
(New York, USA)

Gun by Emiliana Torrini
(Kópavogur, Iceland)

Lights Out by Santogold
(Philadelphia, USA)

Mansard Roof by Vampire Weekend
(New York, USA)

Music Takes Me Up by Mr. Scruff
(Manchester, UK)

Náttúra by Björk
(Reykjavík, Iceland)

Parachute by Shugo Tokumaru
(Tokyo, Japan)

Profanity Prayers by Beck
(Los Angeles, USA)

Rising Up by The Roots (featuring Wale & Chrisette Michele)
(Philadelphia, Washington DC & New York, USA)

Serenade by The Naked And Famous
(Auckland, New Zealand)

Shoulda Known by Atmosphere
(Minneapolis, USA)

Showtime by Quiero Club
(Monterrey, Mexico)

Snake Patrol by Hint (featuring Gavin Stenhouse)
(Leicester & London, UK)

Suspendida Del Cielo by Taera
(Madrid, Spain)

The Girl Ain’t Preggers by Grampall Jookabox
(Indianapolis, USA)

White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes
(Seattle, USA)

Won’t Say Anything by Hello Seahorse!
(Mexico City, Mexico)

Podcast Tracklist:
01 - Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
02 - Emiliana Torrini - Gun
03 - Beck - Profanity Prayers
04 - Hello Seahorse! - Won’t Say Anything
05 - Santogold - Lights Out
06 - Dead Pixels - All The Wrong Places (Sensibility)
07 - Atmosphere - Shoulda Known
08 - Grampall Jookabox - The Girl Ain’t Preggers
09 - Hint (featuring Gavin Stenhouse) - Snake Patrol
10 - Mr. Scruff - Music Takes Me Up
11 - The Roots (featuring Wale & Chrisette Michele) - Rising Up
12 - Taera - Suspendida Del Cielo
13 - Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof
14 - Shugo Tokumaru - Parachute
15 - Juana Molina - Día
16 - The Naked And Famous - Serenade
17 - Quiero Club - Showtime
18 - Björk - Náttúra
19 - Xploding Plastix - Errata
20 - High Places - From Stardust To Sentience

 

 The Best Songs of 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On August 2006 we decided to make a meticulous research about the contemporary Mexican music scene to select some of the most  interesting and remarkable tracks, the parameters were simple: at least one Mexican musician had to be directly involved in the project, at  least one studio track should be recorded (but an album would be better), and it had to be done in this decade.

More than 100 artists were picked, an MP3 compilation was made and it was distributed among close friends, the idea of a documentary film  was even discussed (but, unfortunately, we all have day-jobs and other things to do). Enclosed in that compilation were acts like Café Tacuba,  Julieta Venegas, Nortec and many others that are not included in our podcast tracklist, simply because on Suite 303 we always focus on the  not-so-obvious artists.

Needless to say that thanks to the Internet, the exposure to greater influences, DIY recording and other  contemporary issues, the quality of the new Mexican talent has recently improved and it is easier to get close to their music.

Please enjoy Mexhibit A, a contemporary Mexican  music podcast!

Tracklist

01 - Intro: Organillo
02 - Shy Genius - Mumerats
03 - People Project - Segundo Piso
04 - Muna Zul - Voto De Silencio
05 - Falcón - I Lobby
06 - Villa Jardín - Misiones
07 - MC Luka - Lupita’s Taco Shop
08 - Sonex (featuring Rubén Albarrán) - La Bamba
09 - Los Músicos De José - Nebulosa
10 - Maple - Pixel
11 - Faca - Nightshot
12 - Jorch Mono - Real e Imaginario
13 - Chikita Violenta - Turnaround
14 - Sub-Division - Blue Boy
15 - Maniquí Lazer - Mrs. Lazer
16 - Titán - Odisea 2001

 

 Mexhibit A: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The basic idea for this podcast came from a series of questions: how would it be if a band plays one genre and the next one plays this same genre combined with another and so on? would the change of rhythms be seamless and fluid? To answer those questions we’ve just put the concept into a playlist.

Spectrum is a podcast that goes from one genre to another without any abrupt jump in music styles, this was made possible by a variety of genre daring artists that are the key to open new musical frontiers. Fortunately the resulting playlist answered our questions: you can go from loud guitar sounds to smooth percussions, or through jazz, hip-hop or rock without any brusque rush as long as you put between those pieces the right ligature of genre-blended music. So we leave it to your appreciation and we hope you can enjoy this little spectrum of styles as much as we did, and maybe you can suggest your own musical spectrum or, why not? you can challenge us on how to go from one genre to another and try to make it smooth.

Tracklist

01 - Ryo Fukui Trio - Early Summer
02 - Digable Planets - Dog It
03 - Akitaka Tohyama & Kenji Ninuma - The Moon And The Prince
04 - Torpedo Boyz - Chickee Pow!
05 - Pop Levi - Sugar Assault Me Now
06 - Álbum - Es Fácil
07 - Cyndi Seui - Micro Bitz Touch Of Lipz
08 - Aïwa - Yiyi
09 - Amadou & Mariam (featuring Manu Chao) - Coulibaly
10 - Antibalas - Indictment
11 - Vern Blair Debate - Ooh Ah Ee
12 - Elizabeth Shepherd - Reversed (Nostalgia 77 Remix)

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The story behind this podcast began last year, when I was planning a flight to the city of Guadalajara, Mexico to witness one of the most important music events of my lifetime: Björk’s only performance in Mexico, the verminous organizers named that festival Sonofilia in which also played Ratatat, MSTRKRFT, Jay Jay Johanson and Claude Von Stroke.

The odyssey to share with Björk, just a couple of hours was really an ordeal, at the end, through the poor organization and the fact that the “venue” was located on middle of nowhere, the episode culminated as one the most exciting and enjoyable experiences that I have ever had, Björk definitely enlightened the audience… but how is this event related with this podcast?, well, is difficult for me to confess that I’m a little nervous when I’m on a plane, so before I started my trip, I decided to make my flying experience truly comfortable by making a playlist for me in such a way that I would focus my attention entirely on the music instead than on the physics involved in the flight process.

The musical spectrum that I’ve selected here is relaxing but I think at the same time it’s bright and ethereal and, in some tracks, cacophony and abstraction prevails, in fact, I tried to design a concept through which the whole tracklist would reach, in some way, a complete journey of frequencies in order to let the listener enjoy those magnificent landscapes that the windows of an airplane may offer.

If you are going to fly somewhere this podcast could be your perfect companion on your flight, if you are scared to fly …and also if you’re not.

01 - Boards of Canada - Over The Horizon Radar
02 - Sidsel & Bugge - Out Here. In There
03 - Plaid - Ralome
04 - Yanokami - Owari No Kisetsu
05 - Rei Harakami - Come Here Go There
06 - Trentemøler - Snowflake
07 - Nils Petter Molvær - The Beginning (From The Film Edy)
08 - Hiroshi Watanabe - Sui-Sei
09 - Cornelius - Sleep Warm
10 - EKP - Leaving You Wondering

 

 Music for 30,000 feet: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rock is the term used to describe an extra wide category of music that has always been defined by energetic moods and appealing hooks. The genre is old enough to name one of its numerous divisions as Classic Rock, this subgroup may be one of the most eroded kind of music in recent history. A quite large but very limited playlist of songs ranging from the 60’s through the early 80’s can be heard over and over, leaving in obscurity some excellent cuts that sometimes are better than the A-list works by the same bands. Outside the Box tries to bring you some of these less known and underexposed gems inside these classic Rock’n'rollers catalogue.
Enjoy this issue!

Tracklist:

01 - The Mamas And The Papas - Once Was A Time I Thought
02 - Dire Straits - Water Of Love
03 - Blondie - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game
04 - The Doors - Unhappy Girl
05 - Paul McCartney - Write Away
06 - The Rolling Stones - Heaven
07 - U2 - Sixty Seconds In Kingdom Come
08 - Van Halen - Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)
09 - Pink Floyd - San Tropez
10 - Elvis Presley - Fever
11 - Fleetwood Mac - Not That Funny
12 - Peter Gabriel - Intruder
13 - The Police - Contact
14 - Iron Butterfly - So-Lo
15 - The Kinks - I Gotta Move

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last march we had an incredible amount of traffic in our site, in fact our servers were in the verge of bursting, Caffeine exceeded our expectations becoming the most downloaded podcast so far, we used our imagination to keep the files up. For this reason we had no time to create the April issue, but thanks for your support, we will not let you down and we will continue with our unstoppable research for outstanding music, to make this possible we will try to add some strength to our servers to endure the permanence of the files and to improve the download speed.

This unexpected success would never mean that we will get stucked in one musical genre and every podcasts will be in that same tone. And a proof of that is that are going to make a drastic change, we’ll jump from the stimulant effect that caused our energetic drink with Caffeine to the next issue that is closer to a relaxing tea. We named our new podcast Avant Bossa, maybe because it is a mix of languages that means the same thing: a new music trend.

I tried to figure out which tracks could represent a new wave, but, I found out that a new trend nowadays doesn’t necessarily mean electronic synthetizers or psychedelic remixes, the true enchantment of bossa nova is the sweet voice and the simple sound that the strings of an acoustic guitar make when they’re been plucked, in fact this genre is considered as a refined version of samba, de-emphasizing the percussive aspect of its rhythm and enriching the melodic and harmonic content, so any variation of the basic structure will loose the true essence of bossa nova and the intention of João Gilberto when he developed this particular style that grew and spread in such way that it created a new genre.

Our selection doesn’t include those popular compositions like the Girl from Ipanema or Desafinado, this selection is, as our repeated goal, a worldwide gamma of artists from Japan, France and obviously Brazil. I have selected these original tunes for the emotive and melancholic sensations that they cause on me, in particular Aeromoça, that song, even though it’s a happy tune, somehow mysteriously drives me to tears, I hope that you share the passion for this music that is on a constant fight to stay alive on an audience that apparently values more the power of volume than the tenderness and sophistication of bossa nova, maybe in a world oriented to the consumption we are loosing our ability to simply listen carefully.

01 - Intro
02 - Pecombo - Respire
03 - Akiko - Chega de Saudade
04 - Tom & Joyce - Un Regard, Un Sourire
05 - Katia B - One More Shot
06 - Les Nubians - Que Le Mot Soit Perle
07 - The Dining Rooms (featuring Rosalia De Souza) - Mais
08 - Nu Braz - Aeromoça
09 - Sabrina Malheiros - Terra De Ninguém (Nicola Conte Rework)
10 - Anvil FX - Sambinha Do Piscapunga
11 - Mosquitos - Boombox
12 - Democustico - Pira

 

 Avant Bossa: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our monthly podcast saga continues, our issue for March is Caffeine and it could be quite different from our previous podcasts, but I think that it’s intersting to find out great artists and offer you a huge range of genres, so this one is focused on dancefloors, is kind of our way of compiling tracks that you would listen on a crowded nightclub, in addition the tunes are mixed as a DJ set, so it is a great way to unceasingly wake you up or just make you dance furiously to get rid of your drowsiness.

I would specially like to thank Electro Premium Choice, which is a great French blog without whom I wouldn’t have been able to create this fantastic mix. Enjoy!!

Tracklist:

01 - DSL - Invaders (Djedjotronic Remix)
02 - Alex Gopher - Aurora (Riot In Belgium & Knightlife Remix)
03 - Etienne De Crécy - Punk
04 - AutoKratz - 1000 Things
05 - Yelle - A Cause Des Garçons (Tepr Remix)
06 - Digitalism - Jupiter Room
07 - MSTRKRFT - Street Justice
08 - Hostage - Gluttony (The Bloody Beetroots Remix)
09 - The Presets - My People
10 - Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights (The Phone Lovers Remix)
11 - Justice - Waters Of Nazareth
12 - Goose - Bring It On

You can suscribe to our podcasts by copying this url
feed://lasuite303.com/pruebas/xml1.xml

 

 Caffeine: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From a long time now I had this persistent idea of making a Tropical Music podcast, so I started creating a selection of tunes of Salsa, Merengue and all kinds of Latin rhytms and after listening to them like a thousand times, and obviosuly after an extensive research, I discover that the majority of my set consisted of artists from outside Latinamerica, therefore I decided to take advantage of this situation and name it Odisea Mundial Tropical which in English means Tropical World Odyssey, Enjoy.

P.S. As a Latinamerican it’s truly a shame that I can’t dance to these rythms, but maybe you can, do it please.

Tracklist:
01 - Esquivel - Esquivel Intro
(Mexico City, Mexico)
02 - S Tone Inc. - Con Mi Sombra
(Milan, Italy)
03 - George Shearing - Caravan
(London, UK)
04 - Orquesta De La Luz - Mambo De La Luz
(Tokyo, Japan)
05 - Quantic Soul Orchestra (featuring J-Live) - She Said What?
(Bogota, Colombia/Worcestershire, UK/New York, USA)
06 - Alex Wilson - Oh Kuri
(London, UK)
07 - EKP - El Salvador
(Stockholm, Sweden)
08 - Mo’ Horizons - Ai Mi Morena (Chocolate Restyle)
(Hannover, Germany)
09 - Ursula 1000 - Got Cha
(New York, USA)
10 - Beatfanatic - Cookin’ (Version)
(Stockholm, Sweden)
11 - Sidestepper - Hoy Tenemos (Boys From Brazil Remix)
(Barranquilla, El Choco, Cali & Medellin, Colombia/London, UK)
12 - Professor Angel Dust - Latino A Go Go
(Barcelona, Spain)
13 - Fania All Stars - Closing Theme
(New York, USA)

 

 Odisea Mundial Tropical: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download