Last night I was working late at Topspin and in the middle of a long period of silence (rare in our office) a groovy house track started playing on the sound system that I got completely lost in. I glanced at Peter Brambl, our creative director, and asked him who this was, assuming he had kicked on the tunes. He smiled and said, “the is me.” I was floored. Being in the music business I hear a ton of music from talented electronic musicians, but rarely do I hear songs with real depth, sophistication and potential staying power. “Regresando”, the lead single from the upcoming album “Born at Midnight” from The Silver Pesos (Peter’s band), is in my humble opinion one of these rare songs and I expect the album to be just as impressive when it’s released (coming soon!).

“Regresando” (featured several times by DJ Raul Campos on his KCRW show Nocturna) is a melodic, atmospheric, downtempo number with exceptional vocals from Chloe Conger. The song starts off simple with an infectious rhythm that keeps you engaged and eager to hear what’s next. The energy builds throughout the song and by the time it reaches the end it’s turned into a Diplo-style dancehall groove. The Regresando Remix (a cut that’s more in line with my electro/progressive house tastes) takes the song in a completely different direction while preserving the essence of what makes the original so special. This is the cut Peter played that stopped me in my tracks last night and I plan to work it into my next DJ mix (coming very soon I promise).

Have a listen to both versions below, and if you like what you hear you can download them both for free in exchange for an email address.

Some info about the band:

The Silver Pesos was formed in 2009 by producer/instrumentalist Peter Brambl, singer Chloe Conger, and guitarist Robert Weber. Their upcoming full-length release, ‘Born at Midnight’, was recorded in Santa Monica, CA and Ubud, Indonesia with a full band that features a Balinese rhythm section. Visit the band’s website at www.thesilverpesos.com.

I’ll write a post about the full album when it’s out and I might even get you an interview with Peter as a bonus.

Earlier today I was sitting in San Diego Airport waiting for my plane to Baltimore to depart and it dawned on me that I’m overdue for writing a post. I thought about something Obama-themed since I’m en route to the presidential inauguration in DC, but I already posted Z-trip’s Obama Mixes on my other blog so I’m fresh out of new Obama-themed music to yap about.

So how about something completely different? Ever heard of De-Phazz? Your answer is probably no unless you’re a downtempo jazz fan and buy a lot of imports. De-Phazz is a Germany-based downtempo jazz collective fronted by Pit Baumgartner, a producer who changes the entire band for each album barring a few long-time members. I first discovered De-Phazz on the old Napster (the good one) back in 2001, right after they released their third album, Death by Chocolate. Napster was how I discovered much of my current downtempo, acid jazz and trip-hop faves since it was so easy to explore. Back then you could only buy De-phazz records as imports and it wasn’t easy, but today it’s a breeze to find most of their music digitally.

Their most recent record, Days of Twang, was released in 2007 and it’s full of groovy, jazzy and trippy stuff just like the rest of their discography. Here are a few tracks from Days of Twang, and another album called Daily Lama, to pique your interest. If you like ‘em, pick ‘em up at Amazon.

Rock ‘n Roll Dude from Days of Twang – De-Phazz

105 FM Jam from Days of Twang – De-Phazz

Atomic Cocktail from Daily Lama – De-Phazz

Dummes Spiel from Daily Lama – De-Phazz