Although I spent the majority of my summer recording/djing around the foothills of Southwestern Vermont, Major Lazer‘s debut album kept me in a steamy Jamaican dancehall all summer. The brainchild of Diplo and Switch (who are best known for producing most of M.I.A.‘s impressive catalog), Guns Don’t Kill People……Lazers Do is an awe inspiring example of what two producers can do without having to answer to label execs. Every single song on this album is excellent. I’m hoping this will be a stepping stone in terms of producers releasing more mainstream albums. Grab the Mishka mixtape after you realize how often you’ve been putting it on repeat.

Major Lazer – Hold The Line Feat. Mr. Lex & Santigold

Major Lazer – Pon De Floor

Major Lazer – Keep It Goin’ Louder

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So I have been counting down the days until this moment, and it is finally here. Faux Pas (whose genius I am more and more convinced of with each day that passes) has released the first single from his forthcoming album. Are you excited kids? Well, you should be. “Silver Line” is a spacey dream-filled rollercoaster that will sweep you along and maybe even give you that funny feeling in your stomach. He’s giving the single away for free on his blog (320kbps, what a dreamboat) but you can also buy a delicious bundle of remixes for $5, whoa what a steal! I am very excited about what is yet to come, but this will certainly tide me over for now.

Faux Pas – Silver Line

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The boys from Vampire Weekend have released their first single of their second album, due out early next year. Personally, I think that “Horchata” was better (and free to boot!), and that this is a pretty underwhelming single for an album that is still months away. My favorite part is the Christmas-bell like interlude, but it’s definitely not enough to carry the whole song. Check out the video, redeemable moments include bursts of confetti (cause who doesn’t love that?) and the part where they wear each other’s faces on the backs of their heads (actually pretty neat). Don’t take my word for it, listen and watch for yourself.

Vampire Weekend – Cousins
(mp3 removed by request)

Bonus! Because I’m obsessed with Theophilus London, here is a much more solid track with “cousins” in the title.

Theophilus London – Crazy Cousins

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First fell in love with this fantastic medley on Pearl and the Beard‘s brunch series. The video has had a quality upgrade and some art direction, and is sweeter than ever. Hilarious, but also musically inspiring, I guarantee you will be watching this again and again, and then spamming your friends. They will thank you. Also their label‘s website’s background photo was taken by me </shameless plug>. (via Wesley Verhoeve)

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