**EXCLUSIVE**
Happy New Year to all! And what a way to kick off 2010...because we've got a Beaston-exclusive, and boy oh boy, is it ever a most rad one!


One of our obsessions of (can we already say "last year") 2009, is the highly-recommended and "yep, you're all catching on" duo, My Gold Mask, out of Chicago. Gretta and Jack are two super-talented music ans, creating dynamic art-rock that we've been singing the praises of for many months. We even went so far as to bring them to NYC for our CMJ showcase in October!

Now, MGM are back and better than ever with a new EP. A Thousand Voices is 5 hits of power, fear, emotion and pure radness. You may recognize the lead track, Violet Eyes, as it spread through blogworld late last year (ugh, that still sounds too weird!).

I'm utterly beaming that these kids decided to let me debut one of the songs from the EP as a Sheena Beaston exclusive. Circle Mass is a furious frolic of everything we love most about My Gold Mask...intense rises and passionate vocalizings.

Circle Mass is yours for free below. It is included on their A Thousand Voices EP which will be available on January 9, 2010, but you can, and should, preorder it here now.

mp3: My Gold Mask - Circle Mass

What better way to jump into a fresh new year, than by recounting some of the best mixes, from one sole soul. Yep, Doctor Rosen Rosen is back with his compilation of his very own cream of the 2009 crop.


With a name so nice, you say it twice, Doctor Rosen Rosen has us smiling...all the way into the new year. You can grab his compilation here, for free. The offering includes two previously unreleased mixes from his extremely talented hands. It's safe to say...we're swooning.

Say thank you, kids!

Tracklist:
01 Drake - Forever (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
02 Weezer - I Want You To (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
03 Lily Allen - Never Gonna Happen (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
04 Phoenix - Lisztomania (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
05 Eminem - We Made You (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
06 Alaska In Winter - Berlin (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
07 Lily Allen - Fuck You (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
08 Mission District - Heartbreaker (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx) previously unreleased
09 Britney Spears - Womanizer (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
10 Sliimy - Womanizer (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx) previously unreleased

mp3: Lily Allen - Never Gonna Happen (Doctor Rosen Rosen Remix)

Leave it to Baron Von Luxxury to tie up all the raddest parts of 2009 and package them in a nearly 50 minute dreamy mix of monstrously mouth-watering munchies.


You know what dude, we're pretty excited for 2010, but yes, 2009 WAS an OK year

1. Geneva Jacuzzi - Debbie Get the Fuck Out of My House
2. Bogdan Irkuk a.k.a. Bulgari - Everything is Changing
3. Peter Sellers & Spike Milligan - She Loves You
4. Vitalic - Poison Lips
5. Royksopp - The Girl and the Robot
6. Datarock - The Pretender (Holy Ghost! remix)
7. Keenhouse - Ari-es
8. Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice
9. Don Johnson - Heartbeat
10. The Who - Baba o’ Reilly (SebastiAn Remix)
11. Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
12. Metric - Help I’m Alive (The Twelves Remix)
13. Burning Hotels - Stuck in the Middle (Baron von Luxxury Controls Everything Remix)
14. Vega - No Reasons
14. Chaz Jankel - Without You
15. Del Marquis - Runaround - (Baron von Luxxury Silver Lake of Disco Dreams Remix)
16. Neil Young - Sample and Hold
17. Venise - Playboy
18. Harold Faltermeyer - Leg Work
19. D/A/D - Miami Thunder
20. Washed out - Feel it All Around
21. Gary Low - I Want You
22. Pictureplane - Goth Star
23. ELO - Here is the News
24. Shakira - She Wolf (Calvin Harris Remix)
25. Fergie - Glamorous (Treasure Fingers Remix)
26. Sugar and Gold - Slice Me Nice
27. Falsetto - San Francisco Nights (Loose Shus Remix)
28. The Turtles - So Happy Together (Baron von Luxxury Loves You Remix)
29. Christov - HBO in Space

mp3: Baron Von Luxxury - 2009 Was An OK Year (Mix)

BONUS!

BvL came through with two major mixes this year. Both very different from one another, but both equally rad to the max. They're all yours below.

mp3: Del Marquis - Runaround (Baron Von Luxxury Silver Lake Of Disco Dreams Remix)
mp3: The Turtles - So Happy Together (Baron Von Luxxury Remix)

Qu'avez-vous dit? Yep, I might as well be speaking French with that post title. Well, here's the deal. Going back through my archives, I've realized there's a handful of artists/dj's/producers who I post tracks from, but never really talk about. Today, we're highlighting three of them.


If you haven't figured out who exactly I'm talking about, it's So Shifty, Gentlemen Thieves, and She Is Danger. Let's roll.

So Shifty come from Hamburg, Germany. They are unsigned and frankly (Frankfurt-ly? ha!), that's a shame. They produced one of my most favorite remixes of the year when they took Major Lazer's Keep It Goin' Louder and made it a tropically calypso ska ditty that simply made us swoon.

Grab 2 more remixes from the dudes and get to dancing!

mp3: The Very Best - Warm Heart Of Africa (So Shifty Remix)
mp3: R. Kelly and Keri Hilson - Number One (So Shifty Remix)


Up next is New York City's own, Gentlemen Thieves. Another of the Beaston fave mixes of 2009 came courtesy of these 3 kids. Their take on Kiss In Cities' UR My Girl is easy and smooth, with piano and hand claps to die for. Their fix of a Monsieur Adi track, as well as an original jawn, can be all yours, by clicking the below links.

mp3: Monsieur Adi - We Are The Romans (Gentlemen Thieves Remix)
mp3: Gentlemen Thieves - Contrapasso


Last up, is London's dynamic dame duo, She Is Danger. Maya Jane and Lena first made waves with their remix of Ellie Goulding's Under The Sheets, yet the pair aren't restricted to mixing. Their orignal tracks are solid slices of electronic dub. Get a mix and a cover now, then start to smile.

mp3: Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (She Is Danger Remix)
mp3: She Is Danger - Who's That Girl (Eurythmics Cover)

Holy dark and disco delight! Ever since (finally!) catching Jessica 6 live earlier this fall, when they opened for Amanda Blank and Peaches, I've been on a ravenous rampage to gooble up as much music as I can from the spookily-mesmerizing trio.


Upon first listen of Jessica 6's lead single, Fun Girl, first hit us back in mid-summer, we knew this troupe was one to keep on our beastly radar. With the release of the Fun Girl EP in September, they cemented my constant curiousity and intrigue surrounding them.

Yesterday, Jessica 6 debuted the video for the song, and it's just as sexy, sultry and swoon-worthy as the song itself. Give it a go now!

Catch your breath, then grab some freebies below!

Buy all the Jessica 6 Fun Girl remixes over at Beatport. Suggested listening: the Whatever, Whatever Remix. Amazing!

mp3: Jessica 6 - Fun Girl (Byzar Remix)
mp3: Jessica 6 - Fun Girl

Did you (east coasters) all survive the massive snowstorm this weekend? We had a blast tromping through the drifts but it's back to work. Someone else who is hard at the grind, is Australian pop gal, Sia. With a new album due out in 2010, new tunes and information keeps piling up...much like the snow...and we're loving it all!


A song that's been rocking our bodies for over a year is the Lauren Flax penned and produced, You've Changed. Featuring Sia on guest vocals, this house jam has easily been one of our most played additions. Seeing as how the songstress loved the song just as much, she reworked it for use on her upcoming album, We Are Born, due out in April of the fast-approaching year.

Now, there is a video to coincide with the Australian single. Let's watch!

Video games, school portraits and awkwardness ensue, and with each passing second, we fall a little more in love with the song and the artist. You can sing about changing, but Sia, please stay just as awesomely quirky as you always are!

mp3: Lauren Flax (featuring Sia) - You've Changed (Blogula Remix)

With each passing day, it seems like my admiration for Rihanna seems to extend a bit further. While many panned her latest album, Rated R, I've been reveling in it...rolling around in the dark and emotional tones...much like our dear Riri rolls around in the mud. Say what?


Earlier this afternoon, Rihanna debuted the video for her latest single, Hard. It's a street-stomping, "I'm'a cut you" kind of track that is nowhere near short of heavy hits and insinuating lyrics. With a brand spankin' new video to give your best salute to, Rihanna steps up her sexy and marches to the beat of her own drums.

Watch now!

I love it. Everything about it. If the military is anything like this, then I;m enlisting now.

More importantly, have you jumped on my Rihanna contest? You can see her live in NYC this Saturday, for FREE, courtesy of this beast, by entering here. We're so hard.

mp3: Rihanna - Russian Roulette (Max Methods Remix)

A hotly anticipated album due out the first quarter of 2010, is the 9th studio album from the big beat electronica duo, Groove Armada. Black Light will see a proper release on February 1, and include a handful of tracks that the boys have already dropped...for free.


The third official single from the "wait, it's not even out yet" release, will be Paper Romance, a raging romp with dramatic buildup verses opening into a chorus you'll soon have stuck in your head. The song features tones from the act's newest vocalist, SaintSavior, as well as Ben from Fenech Soler.

You can hear the original track here, which will be released on February 22, with remixes by Doorly, Zombie Disco Squad, Urchins and Softwar.

BONUS!

Fenech Soler have a new jam, Stop and Stare, that is currently rocking my beastly body. Listen now.

stream: Fenech Soler - Stop And Stare

This put a smile, a grin and a huge tooth flasher on my beastly little face this morning. In a Swedish songstress "meeting of the minds", El Perro Del Mar gets the remix treatment from her fellow countrywoman, Robyn.


EPDM has been garnering the utmost praise for her mini-album, Love Is Not Pop, including being nominated for three Swedish Grammis Awards in the following categories: Best Pop, Best Composer, & Best Producer (together w/ Rasmus Hägg, her co-producer).

Additionally, her gut-wrenching tune, Change Of Heart, has been remixed by Robyn, the latter's first official mix for another artist. It serves as her premiere Rakamonie remix.

Grab the track below the upcoming El Perro Del Mar tour dates.

Feb 14 - World Café – Philadelphia, PA
Feb 16 - Le Poisson Rouge – New York, NY
Feb 17 - Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
Feb 19 - Cambridge Family YMCA – Cambridge, MA
Feb 20 - Il Motore – Montreal, QB
Feb 21 - The Mod Club – Toronto, ON
Feb 22 - Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
Feb 23 - Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
Feb 26 - The Triple Door – Seattle, WA
Feb 27 - Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
Feb 28 - Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
Mar 02 - Café du Nord – San Francisco, CA
Mar 03 - Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

mp3: El Perro Del Mar - Change Of Heart (Robyn's Rakamonie Remix)

Oy, I struggled with how to phrase this Rihanna contest. So rather than try to explain, I'll simply ask you to jump below the image, some of my words, the video, and then get to entering. Sound good? Ok...go!


First and foremost, our beloved "Riri" debuted a 30 second sneak peek of her upcoming video for Hard, featuring Young Jeezy. The track is definitely an album highlight off her latest offering, Rated R.

Catch the preview below, then be on the lookout for the video's official debut tomorrow at 4pm EST on VH1.

Now on to the good stuff. Rihanna is performing in New York City this Saturday, December 19. I, along with a few great blogger buddies, will be in attendance. Seeing as how I've got an extra ticket, I figured, why not make a rad little boy or girl's holiday wishes come true and bring them along for the show! So that's the catch...you'll be hanging out with us, but I promise, we're super fun!

Here's how to enter. And no, its not through twitter this time...shocker!

Whoever leaves me the most hilarious comment on this post, incorporating ANY Rihanna song title, will win the ticket! Discretion is obviously up to this Beast...creativity and puns are always a plus. (Please include your email address, so I can easily contact the winner.)

Contest will be open until noon this Friday, December 18. New York City residents need only apply, although, if in the tri-state area and feel you have the means to travel, dive on in!

For questions regarding this contest, please send word here.

mp3: Rihanna - Umbrella (Vandalism Remix)

Last month, this beast went bananas for the sounds emitted by Coco Sumner, aka I Blame Coco. Mentioning that her song featuring the poploving darlin', Robyn, was in the midst of filming a video, only threw me into a deeper fit of wondering obsession...but today, we wonder no more.


With her husky vocals and "are you sure she's only 18" musical sensibility, Caesar proves Sumner's more than adequate chops and the ensuing song and video is just the beginning for what I promise will be a huge year in 2010 for the gal.

Watch the video for Caesar now.

Here's what Coco has to say about the video:

"Had my first radio play last night! On at 10 with Nick Grimshaw. I'm over the moon! (Cheers Grimmy!). Should be putting up the video of Caesar at some point directed by Hope + Audikana. I think its brilliant I hope you like it. Also Caesar remixes from Miike Snow and Diplo are going to be avalible too! Merry Christmas everyone."

Did you get that all down? The track will be officially released on January 25th via download and a limited edition 10" vinyl featuring an exclusive Miike Snow remix. A Diplo mix also in the works.

Radness.

mp3: I Blame Coco - Bohemian Love

Ok, this might just go down as the raddest most excellent contest I've ever hosted. Partially because of the product name, but ALSO because of what exactly this killer piece of technology does. Boys and girls, I present, the Rad Blaster...along with the chance to win one of three [3] that I'm giving away!


Here's the deal. Rad Blasters are the first ever boombox/mp3 player/recorder & flash drive/thumb drive. It allows you to rock out in headphones, bump beats through built-in speakers, spit rhymes into its recorder or safely store files all while it hangs from your neck by a blingin’ chain. YES, not only does it do rad techy stuff, but you can rock it 'round your neck.

The Rad Blaster also includes a 1.1 inch true color LED screen, supports MP3/WMA/WAV audio formats and has 2GB of built-in memory. Count me in!

So here's where we get all sorts of radly charitable. I've got 3 Rad Blasters at my disposal, and to top it off, I'm going to load it up with a TON of exclusively killer tunes, as selected by yours truly. So how do you win?

Let's tweet! Start by following me on twitter, if you're not already. Then simply copy, paste, and hit send so I can see the below message, and you're entered. Easy peasy!

hey @sheenabeaston, you're pretty rad, but i'd be so much more kickass than you if you hooked me up with a rad blaster from @superradtoys

Contest will be open until 5pm on Monday, December 21, so you've got a week to get rad and get entered! And hey, even if you don't win, you can buy a Rad Blaster here...it's a pretty great deal.

mp3: The Aquabats - Super Rad

Only cause I can and I feel like it, I'm piecing together this post...somewhat out of the blue. Chelley's Took The Night has been on fairly nonstop here in Beastonia, since hearing it at the Papermag Awards a few days ago. So we share and we shall.


Sure, you can say this has no relevance to anything new going on, but I really just feel like stuffing your stockings and helping you light the first candle of the mmenorah (or the room) ablaze with 3 very different takes on the track.

One is simply rad. One you can easily cuddle to. And one of them, you will most definitely have a heart attack to.

I'll leave it up to you beasts to figure out which is which. Now let's get this weekend started, and be sure to take the night!

mp3: Chelley - Took The Night (Grum Remix)
mp3: Chelley - Took The Night (Nitra M Remix)
mp3: Chelley - Took The Night (The Only Remix Edit)

If you're a lover of System of a Down, much like me, then you no doubt are in a constant state of anticipation at any mentions of new material, one-off performances or side projects in affiliation with any of the band members. Today, we have such news!


Frontman, Serj Tankian, has been hard at work with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra in New Zealand to produce and perform his Elect The Dead Symphony. And now, the inaugural performance has been packaged and prepped for release in 2010.

Watch the trailer now, then jump below for pre-order info.

The first 1500 people to pre-order will get a very special limited edition lithograph that is hand numbered and signed by Tankian. You can choose between CD/DVD, 2LP's or a special edition viyl. Follow this link to pre-order.

And is it just me, or does anyone else have a raging crush on Serj? I think he's majorly attractive...yep.

mp3: System Of A Down - Chop Suey (Remakerz Remix)

Yesterday, rad man RCHRD OH?! over at bigstereo simply made my heart skip a few beats when he writ about a cinematically emotional song and video mix of a classic club bumper. I don't want to snake on his steez, so he gets all the cred, but I totally feel like more people need to be exposed to this, so away we go.


Aussie Oli Chang first fell into our beastly laps last year when his former duo, Theatre Of Disco, threw together a killer mix with a Jay-Z sample.

Today, however, we're throwing Hova's wifey on you...in a new light. Chang takes the dance floor destroyer, Naughty Girl, and transforms it into a total Kleenex clutcher. He's revamped the video as well too, for added dramatics. Watch it now...and let the tears flow!

Seriously, I wept a bit during my first listen.

Oli also did a similar rework for Empire Of The Sun's Walking on a Dream. View it here.

mp3: Beyonce - Naughty Girl (Oli Chang Cinematic Remix)
mp3: Theatre Of Disco - KWIK Allstars

It's no secret that around the land of Beastonia, we swoon for all things associated with Annie Mac, her mixes, her radio show and her influence on today's top artists. We've featured many of the 5 minute mini mixes that are put together for her BBC Radio1 show by some of today's noted notables.


Most recently, Ms. Mac enlisted three of the hottest cats on the scene to pump out their blend of new, old and original tunes in their own unique 5 minute segments.

First up is Riton, who can apparently not make anything less than a super amazing mix these days, with a raving run through some of the best dance music you need in one package. Up next, Kid Sister takes us through some of her own tunes, a Green Velvet favorite and some deep Chicago house. Finally, Dizzee Rascal jumps on board with Semtex for a grimily grand mix.

mp3: Riton - Annie Mac Mini Mix
mp3: Kid Sister - Annie Mac Mini Mix
mp3: Dizzee Rascal - Annie Mac Mini Mix

BONUS!

Kid Sister included Sonique's It Feels So Good in her mix, which basically brings us to the scene of this beast, playing the track, on repeat. And now you can too.

mp3: Sonique - It Feels So Good

Are we seriously listening to new Portishead right now? Oh man, we are! The Mercury Award winning trio have joined forces with Amnesty International to release their brand new track, Chase The Tear, on the eve of International Human Rights Day.


Back in September, band member Geoff Barrow announced that there would be discussions for a new project with a new angle, hinting that an album could arrive as soon as late 2010. This brief bit of news made many a lover of the English band salivate at the mere thought of new material.

While Chase The Tear appears to simply be a one-off track, produced in support of IHRD, I'll still allow it! With a driving bass line and sparse drumbeats, Beth's vocals cut like a knife through the eastern-world extravagance that is expressed in the song's repetitive nature.

Watch the video here.

Chase The Tear is available exclusively through 7digital, with proceeds benefiting the organization. For more information on Amnesty International, go here.

Buy: Portishead - Chase The Tear

Thanks to Consequence of Sound for the tip!

The Oh No and Selda Bagcan sampling track, Supermagic, from Mos Def's latest album, The Ecstatic, finally has some shake worthy visuals to accompany the punchpacker of a power jam.


Backed by a heavy dose of some noteworthy guitar dissonance, Mos raps in his signaturely significant vocal flow. Acting as the first track of this, his 4th solo studio album, Supermagic is all of two-and-a-half minutes long, but dude gets his point across empahtically and in timely fashion.

Watch the shapeshiftingly killer video now.

Mos Def's The Ecstatic is available worldwide here. The album has been making a number of major media outlet's "best of the year" lists. Is it on yours?

mp3: Mos Def - Supermagic

In case you've been a hermit in hiding over the past few months (nee, nearly a year if you're a nerd like us), then you're unaware that eveything is coming up Delphic. Being that the Manchester dudes are producing some of the most expertly crafted etherealectro, major institutions are beiginning to take note of what many a blogger has been heralding as the best new music.


That said, Delphic isn't leaving the bros of the blogworld behind. The debut single off their upcoming album, Acolyte, is the wondrously soaring and instantly repeatable, Doubt. The stems for the song are being offered up for free for anyone who wants to throw their hat into the remix ring.

Here's the catch. You'll have to do a bit of bloghopping to get all the stems. Parts are available at the following: Neon Gold, Big Stereo, Electrorash, Fucking Dance, Hot Biscuits, The Mix Tape, Too Many Sebastians, and Trash Menagerie.

Or you can just stay put...and gobble up the below tracks. Options are rad!

Delphic's Acolyte is out January 11 via Polydor.

mp3: Delphic - Doubt
mp3: Delphic - Alterstate
mp3: Everything Everything - My Keys, Your Boyfriend (Delphic Remix)

Ellie Goulding, the 22-year old singer/songwriter, who has been quick to steal the hearts of boys and girls blogwide, was named as the Brit 2010 Critics' Choice Award Winner last night. The prize goes to the act most likely to break through in the coming year.


Previous winners of the award include Adele and Florence + The Machine, and while Goulding has yet to crack a top 40 hit, her first single, Under The Sheets, has quickly become a mainstay and favorite across indepndent and worldwide media sources. We've touted her as "the one to watch in 2010", and the award is further confirmation that we're in for a massive takeover by the winsome gal.

Runners-up shortlisted for this year's award were Delphic and Marina and The Diamonds.

The Critics' Choice award for emerging acts is announced two months before the main Brit Award nominations are revealed on January 18. Goulding will perform at the event and pick up her award at the main ceremony, honoring all winners, on February 16.

mp3: Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (Kids At The Bar Remix)
mp3: Ellie Goulding - The End