• Friday Mixtape: Owen Strathern (Oh Volcano)

    August 1, 2014 - By 

    In the first of a new weekly “thing” here at the Thin Air (sometimes “thing” sums it up perfectly, you know?), Oh Volcano’s Owen Strathern delivers the inaugural Friday Mixtape, featuring some of his all-time favourite tracks – everyone from Talking Heads to The Magnetic Fields. Stream the playlist and read Owen’s thoughts on each track below. Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting On You): “I saw this track on Letterman and pre-ordered their album right away. The guy is mesmerising and this song is incredible.” Caged Animals – Teflon Heart: “I heard this track a few years ago and just heard an instrumental of…

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of… June

    July 1, 2014 - By 

    June saw the release of a plethora of hard hitting hip-hop and rainy day jazz music, and perhaps more suitably, a wealth of breezy summer jams to dig your teeth into. Below are ten of the month’s best (sifted from a great many more,) culminating in the top three. J Mascis – Every Morning (Sub Pop) No one can deny the impact J Mascis had on rock and punk music in the 80s and 90s, and its nice to see the Dinosaur Jr veteran continuing to release great music. His new track ‘Every Morning’ is a fairly stripped down acoustic…

  • Stream: Grimes – Go

    June 27, 2014 - By 

    The otherworldly summer sounds of Claire Boucher’s 2012 breakthrough Visions under her moniker GRIMES have largely been eschewed on this new single, unveiled in the UK by Zane Lowe of BBC Radio 1. Entitled ‘Go’, the track was originally penned by Boucher for Rihanna, who then turned it away. The song features a much punchier beat and a more dubstep inspired sound than anything the musician has touched before, opening with chilling harpsichord and Boucher’s luscious vocals, before twisting into a darker and heavier territory. The track also features Blood Diamonds, who has collaborated with the Montreal songstress in the past.…

  • Way Out West Festival

    July 30, 2013 - By 

    Head in the heart of Gothenburg, Sweden, Way Out West Festival is easily the best go-to festival in the country for music-loving, culturally orientated young minds. From a more general perspective, though, it boasts one of the most downright incredible line-ups in a summer festival anywhere in the world this year. Set to take place from 8-10 August, the festival – now in its seventh years – will be headlined by Neil Young and Crazy Horse and will feature a whole host of some of the best artists out there, everyone from Grimes, Kendrick Lamar and Azealia Banks to Godspeed You!…

  • Download: Ryan Hemsworth ‘Still Awake’ EP

    May 24, 2013 - By 

    Canadian DJ Ryan Hemsworth seems to have been all over the blogosphere recently, with a string of high-profile remixes for the likes of Frank Ocean, Grimes and Lana Del Rey painting a picture of a producer who focuses on ethereal, starry-eyed electronica. Whilst only a handful of original tracks have been made available to date, Hemsworth took the rather left-field step yesterday of making his new EP free to download on his website. No viral campaigns or mysterious download codes here – just a rather lovely EP from a gifted young producer. Download Still Awake over on Hemsworth’s site. [soundcloud…