Until starting this blog a couple of weeks ago, I maintained a small mailing list performing one of the primary functions that my blog now does – allowing my increasingly far-flung friends and family to be the beneficiaries of the unhealthy amount of time I spend seeking out, reading about, and listening to new music by passing along the best of what I’ve heard lately.  I’d neglected that list  (and thereby some of my wonderful friends’ hunger for new tunes) for a few months before beginning to post here and need to get some of you caught up, so here, better late than never, are some of the best DJ mixes I’ve heard recently.

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This is incredible. Israeli artist Kutiman redefines YouTube as audio-visual sample source for his new album ThruYou.

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Atlanta’s The-Dream is nearly indisputably the hottest thing going in R&B right now.  As a songwriter, Terius Nash has been practically impossible to avoid – the only way you might have escaped “Umbrella” and “Single Ladies” would have been to take up residence under a large rock somewhere – but if you’ve somehow managed to make through the last 18 months without hearing any of he and producer Christopher “Tricky” Stewart’s outer space-via-Paisley Park R’n'B jams, then I suggest you change that by grabbing this mix by Four Color Zack immediately.

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More than probably any other label this decade, DFA Records has contributed immeasurably to my enjoyment of music.  The Rapture’s Echoes, the pre-LP LCD Soundystem singles, and the act of bringing Hot Chip to American audiences are achievements mind-blowing, ground-breaking, and ass-shaking enough to dwarf those of most other labels, but for James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy’s label that’s barely scratching the surface.

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Also new from DJ Benzi, The Jetsetters dropped late last week in association with Dope Couture.  Following what seems to have become the new template for a Benzi mix (see The New Deal), on offer here is a diverse sampling of up and coming hip-hop artists, including Columbus’ own Fly.Union, along with the now-obligatory Lil Wayne feature(s).

There’s a lot to like here, particularly contributions from Donnis, Drake, and Cleveland’s Chip the Ripper, but I can’t help wondering if and/or when Benzi will get back to that multi-genre remix style that served him so well up through last year’s Motivation.

Stream The Jetsetters here or download it free via sendspace.

The latest from DJ Benzi is this mixtape by Southfield, MI’s Mike Posner & the Brain Trust.  Hosted by Don Cannon, A Matter of Time introduces singer/songwriter/producer Posner’s rather catchy brand of hip-hop flavored pop in advance of his forthcoming LP The New Deal.

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After a questionable looking promo image circulated last fall I was skeptical, but it appears that this is actually happening – DOOM (no longer MF, still all caps when you spell the man name) is about to drop Born Like This next month on Lex Records.  After a 4 year absence from store shelves and some shady live performance fiascos this record is going to have to deliver if Mr. Dumile wants to maintain any of his fanbase.

5 track sampler here

01 Supervillain Intro
02 Gazillion Ear
03 Ballskin
04 Yessir [ft. Raekwon]
05 Absolutely
06 Rap Ambush
07 Lightworks
08 Batty-Boys
09 Angelz [ft. Tony Starks]
09 Cellz
10 Still Dope [ft. Empress Sharhh]
11 Microwave Mayo
12 More Rhymin’ [ft. Kurious]
13 That’s That
14 Suppervillainz
15 Bump’s Message
16 Thank Ya

More than any other album over the last few months, Mr. Hudson & The Library‘s A Tale of Two Cities has been in constant rotation around here.  Now almost two years old, the London/Birmingham quintet’s debut has yet to see release on this side of the Atlantic, and appears to have been criminally slept-on in the UK.  I stumbled across this record back in December thanks to this post over at the amazing Soul Sides and, after giving it a couple of weeks to grow on me, it’s been a near-daily listen this year.

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Animal Collective has never done much for me, but when Merriweather Post Pavilion leaked last Christmas and the indie-rock blogosphere collectively proclaimed it the best album of 2009 before the year had even started, I kinda felt obligated to give it a listen. I’m glad I did, otherwise I might not have heard “My Girls.” Upon repeated listens to the rest of the record I’ve begun to see the appeal, but “My Girls” had me from the start with it’s blissed-out synths and dreamy, Beach Boys-esque vocals. The video, by Jon Vermilyea and Chad von Nau, is appropriately wonderful and trippy.

I’m not entirely sure what took so long for this So Me directed video to see the light of day, as Kid Cudi‘s “Day ‘n’ Nite” was my jam at this time last year following it’s release on Nick Catchdubs’ Fools Gold label.  In the year since, Cudi, formerly of Cleveland, saw his stoner anthem take off in the UK on the strength of the clubbed-up Crookers remix, got himself signed to Kanye’s GOOD Music imprint, and is finishing up his debut LP for release this summer.  Last summer’s mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, can still be had for free here.

I’ve been kind of obsessed with Elly Jackson’s voice this week, though until I did some research to write this I thought she was La Roux.  As it turns out, London’s La Roux consists of Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid, and these two have thus far put out a couple of amazing 80′s throwback synthpop tracks – “Quicksand” and “In For The Kill.”  There’s more available at their Myspace, but these are definitely the highlights.

[Vimeo vimeo.com/3085158]

[Vimeo vimeo.com/2660868]