Peanut Butter Wolf: RIP 2016

On the first day of 2017, Peanut Butter Wolf (aka Chris Manak, the founder of Stones Throw Records) began releasing his RIP 2016 mixtape in parts. Just a few moments ago, Part 3 appeared on Soundcloud and—like the previous mixes—it commemorates well-known and obscure musicians that the world lost last year. The creative, tender mixtape is a genuine tribute to the likes of Phife Dawg; …

Dan Deacon: Opal Toad Segment

Off a forthcoming experimental music compilation, I Said No Doctors!, from NYC-based music label Dymaxion Groove, musician Dan Deacon’s “Opal Toad Segment” conveys a different sort of chaotic charm than we’ve come to expect from the mastermind. Here, a vibrant tinkling—of “MIDI-triggered pinpoint notes from an acoustic grand piano”—rises and falls with a binaural boldness. It’s quite beautiful and entirely out of the ordinary.

The Avalanches feat. Freddie Gibbs: Bad Day

Australian outfit The Avalanches released their second record in 2016, following a 16-year break, and evidently they have plenty more where that came from. Recently a rough version of the group’s track “Bad Day,” featuring Indiana-born rapper Freddie Gibbs, found its way online—and like much of what we’ve come to expect from The Avalanches, it blends several genres via guest spots and countless samples (including …