I usually leave the pop and R&B posts to bryanb, but I couldn’t control myself from stepping in and sharing what appears to be a new track from R. Kelly. Featuring Tyrese (remember him?), Pregnant needs no more description than the aforementioned title and this highly quotable snippet: Girl you make me wanna get you pregnant / Girl you make me wanna get you pregnant / Lay your body down and get you pregnant / Knock you up, pregnant, Knock you up.

Pregnant might just be Kells’ biggest WTF moment since Trapped In The Closet, and while the cut doesn’t seem to appear on the tracklisting for his upcoming December 1st release, Unititled, it sure as hell has me on the edge of my seat for things to come. I had the opportunity to see Kells live a couple years back and you can bet I’ll be in front row (for the second time) when his Escalade again rolls through town.

R. Kelly (ft. Tyrese) - Pregnant (238 kbps)

Fans of The Hood Internet can finally stop combing the duo’s site a track at a time because today marks the long-awaited arrival of Volume Four of their mixtape series. Over 30 of their signature mashups are jam-packed into a little over an hour and I’m happy to report it includes my recent favorite, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince vs Daft Punk - Summer Circuit.

I thought the guys were fucking with me last night on twitter when they replied that the mix would release at 6am this morning, but I get up early and sure enough it rolled into my inbox right around then, perfectly timed to feature as this week’s Monday Mornin’ Mixtape. On the off chance that you live under a rock and have never heard of The Hood Internet, this mix will serve as an excellent primer on one of Chicago’s favorite electronic acts.

Work to this, run to this, annoy the lady sitting next to you on the bus, but make sure you jack the volume and kick your week off on a high note.

The Hood Internet - The Mixtape Volume Four (continuous mix) (via rapidshare)

The Hood Internet - The Mixtape Volume Four (individual tracks) (via rapidshare)

The Hood Internet - Summer Circuit (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince vs. Daft Punk) (320 kbps)

We will most assuredly be singing the praises of Kurt Vile’s latest album Childish Prodigy come list-making time before year’s end, and his final performance of his tour this week at the Black Cat did nothing to dissuade such accolades. Shrouded in a curtain of hair, Kurt Vile’s sound and approach to songs could best be described to the unfamiliar as meandering and gauzy. His latest set comes across as old vintage demos of classic Americana and rockabilly, but upon further listening these seemingly careless tunes have traditional structures and memorable melodies. Backed by his supporting band, The Violators, (some of which are original members of his other band, The War on Drugs) Kurt conjured and sussed fully formed songs from a palette of guitar feedback, saxophone noodling and occasional percussion loops.

Rollicking songs such as Hunchback and Freak Train even drew comparisons to that other grungy Kurt, as Mr. Vile’s vocals strained and emoted over echoing and often intricate guitar work. Bookending his set with The Violators, Kurt stood solo and performed delicate acoustic numbers, including personal favorites like Heart Attack and Blackberry Song to a considerably appreciative crowd, bringing his tour to an artful and intimate close.

I strongly urge you to check out Kurt Vile’s discography, including his newest Childish Prodigy, out now on Matador Records.

Kurt Vile - Hunchback (261 kbps)

Kurt Vile - Heart Attack (305 kbps)

I realized I’ve been tossing the term Balearic around quite a bit lately without much preface. Balearic is a genre of electronic music that, as its name might suggest, originated in the Balearic island region, specifically, in the beach raves and nightclubs of Ibiza in the mid-90s. It’s also sometimes referred to as Baeleric beat and runs the range from deep house influenced, to my preference, italo disco influenced. Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling are largely credited as the godfathers of the sound, but in the past few years its seen a resurgence and re-imagination as sunny, disco-tinged melodies attributed most notably to Prins Thomas and Lindstrom. A trademark trancey, yet melodic vibe runs through Balearic music and I’m a particularly big fan of the work Sweden’s Studio has been contributing to the genre.

We gave you a hint of Studio a couple week’s back in our post on The Crêpes, an indie-pop outfit that features Dan Lissvik, one half of Studio. Partnered with Rasmus Hägg, the duo make some of my favorite standby electronic tunes. They dip their hands in a little bit of everything and have done remixes for Kylie Minogue and the Shout Out Louds and collaborated with another of my favorite musicians, Brennan Green, but it’s their original compositions that stand out above all else.

Released in 2007, West Coast is an album every one of you should have a listen to. The compositions are long (the longest clocks in at over 16 minutes), but never feel tiring. The tropical, beachy vibe is heavily heralded in this release, alongside hints of dub, afrobeat, krautrock and postpunk, but what makes it, and much of the work of Studio unique, is the addition of some very Robert Smith-esque vocals. Balearic music is largely instrumental, so Studio’s vocal additions really do feel like something special and sets their tunes apart.

Below you’ll find two tracks from Studio’s immaculate album, West Coast.

Studio - Self Service (241 kbps)

Studio - Life’s A Beach (255 kbps)

We blogged about Washed Out quite awhile ago and you really can’t visit any music site lately without hearing the work of Georgia’s Ernest Greene touted as some of the best and most original music of the year. While we are not in any way about to claim blatant thievery, we did recently come across an undeniable parallel between Washed Out’s Get Up and a track titled, quite similarly, Got To Get Up from soul funk outfit Change, off their 1983 album This Is Your Time. Let’s be honest here, it’s the exact same instrumental line and similarly to how a DJ might work, Washed Out warped and filtered Change’s original composition and overlaid a new vocal melody. It’s hard to define the ethical bounds of sampling, and we’re still big fans of Washed Out’s interpretation, but we’re nodding our heads in the general direction of credit where credit is due.

Below you can compare Changes’ Got To Get Up with Washed Out’s Get Up. And, as an added bonus, let’s also examine Gary Low’s 1983 track I Want You and Washed Out’s Feel It All Around side by side.

Change - Got To Get Up (128 kbps)

Washed Out - Get Up (320 kbps)

Gary Low - I Want You (128 kbps)

Washed Out - Feel It All Around (320 kbps)

Not even a full week after the last giant bash at Congress Theatre with Chromeo, the venue hosts yet another massive night of electronic music revelry Friday night as Basement Jaxx stops through for a DJ set as part of their Scars tour along with MSTRKRFT and Modeselektor co-headlining. Local acts the Wonderful World Of Bald E, Moneypenny, Jordan Z, Chris Widman + Brian Keigher, DJ Demchuk, Leo 123 and Funk Shui all lend support for the evening.

Tickets are $26.50 general admission or $50.00 VIP via Clubtix.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER, ALAN!

I’d like to introduce you to PONYREX. PONYREX are Al, Dan and Eric, three guys from Guadalajara, Mexico with a penchant for synths and vocal hooks. They’ve built up a fair amount of clout at home, complete with an upcoming show alongside Buraka Som Sistema, but are largely unknown to us living stateside. These guys are really, really damn good, so hopefully name recognition will come with the upcoming release of their debut studio album, ZETA. There’s a definite dreamwave vibe going on throughout their tunes and remixes, but I like how they push the boundaries, adding rock, retro synthpop and electro elements. PONYREX would be a great live pairing alongside VEGA and I’m equally digging their sound and anticipating ZETA’s release.

I rarely assign this many tracks to a post, but the two original tracks below, both off the upcoming ZETA, and the two accompanying remixes are all equally good, so it would be a crime not to share them all.

PONYREX - Freq (320 kbps)

PONYREX - Hollogram (320 kbps)

Hello Seahorse - Bestia (PONYREX Remix) (256 kbps)

Technicolor Fabrics - Render (PONYREX Remix) (256 kbps)

I’ve always really disliked Gravy Train. I eventually gave up even trying to listen to their music, it’s just not for me. Consequently, it’s quite ironic that one of my favorite releases of the year comes from Seff of Gravy Train’s side project, Hunx and His Punx.

Hunx and His Punx is Seff’s solo garage pop endeavor in which he records super short and painfully infectious, bratty-voiced homosexual sing-alongs in a style reminiscent of 1950s/1960s girl groups like The Ronettes. The first time I came across Hunx I left his MySpace page open the entire day, looping the tracks for hours on end. I finally got ahold of Hunx’s compilation of singles, appropriately titled Gay Singles, and have been screaming along to it since last week. There is no other release this year that comes anywhere near the unbridled fun of Gay Singles. Hunx’s favorite hobby seems to be turning straight boys and assisted by the campy visual landscapes of director Justin Kelly, the music of Hunx and His Punx is juvenile, energetic, charming and sure to make an appearance on my upcoming year-end lists.

Check out more videos from Hunx and His Punx on director Justin Kelly’s site and a couple of Hunx’s Gay Singles below. Also, his Twitter feed is hilarious. #followtuesday

Hunx and His Punx - You Don’t Like Rock N Roll (192 kbps)

Hunx and His Punx - Hey Rocky (192 kbps)