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Aleksander Manfredi, aka Exile, is a producer out of LA who grew up listening to hip-hop and rap before deciding to create his own musical project with several friends. He then incorporated those influences, along with electronic beats, guest vocalist, and local rappers in Exile’s latest album entitled Radio. The new LP is really laid back, and contains a nice blend of funk, hip-hop, soul, and electronica. The best way I can describe their sound is Kruder & Dorfmeister meet The Pharcyde. Radio is a “must have”, and has 2009 starting out in the right direction for album releases. Today’s catch is “Stay Tuned (Stay Here)”, which can be heard in the clip below. Enjoy!

Stay Tuned (Stay Here)

War Child is an organization that helps to provide aid for the children of war-torn and poverty stricken countries. They also work closely with the music industry to help bring awareness through CD compilations, and their own download store. These artists include Oasis, Keane, The Prodigy, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Radiohead, Gorillaz, and today’s “catch of the day” artist, Hot Chip. On February 16 the latest charity album, entitled War Heroes, will be available for download. The new LP will be filled with tracks by Duffy, Lily Allen, and Beck (to name a few) doing cover songs from some of the most influential artists in the past 40 years. Hot Chip has decided to cover a classic song by Joy Division, who has had a big impact on their sound (that includes New Order as well). I saw them at Antone’s a couple of years ago, and they actually did a version of their own single “No Fit State” mashed up with New Order’s “Temptation” – it was very impressive. “Transmission” is the song from Joy Division that HC has chosen, and it is so fantastic that it would’ve (possibly) brought a smile to the late Ian Curtis. Enjoy!

Fever Ray is the new side project of Karin Deijer Andersson who happens to be 1/2 of the borther/sister duo, The Knife. If you are familiar with The Knife, then you know that they are an outstanding electronic Swedish band who make some of the most interesting (and weird) electronic music out right now. Fever Ray is pretty similar in sound; however, Andersson has taken their music to a more ambient and darker place. The entire self-titled cd is completely chill, but also has a pretty gloom vibe about it. The best comparison would be a Nine Inch Nails meets Bjork with a dash of Air. The album is fantastic, and I can see this band being one of those underground/cult phenomenons. Today’s catch is “Dry and Dusty”. Enjoy!

Thievery Corporation is by far one of the biggest bands on Chillville, and their latest album that was dropped this past summer, Radio Retaliation, was one of the biggest Chillville albums of 2008. Well, they went ahead and re-issued the summer release as a Deluxe Edition LP on iTunes. Radio Retaliation (Deluxe Edition) will not only include the original 15 tracks, but it will now contain 3 videos, 3 new remixes, and 1 new track which happens to be my catch of the day. I am not sure why “Philosopher’s Stone” was initially left off the album, but I am sure glad they put it out. It is a very strong track, and actually stands out among the others. That itself is pretty impresive especially when you are comparing it to the fantastic tracks on the original LP. Enjoy!

The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos is a new French documentary film that was created by Disney (Disneynature). The film documents the life cycle of flamingos and was filmed in Northern Tanzania. It has only been in limited released overseas, so I do not know a whole lot about it. However, my guess is that it’s similar to the 2005 hit, March of the Penguins. The nice thing about this film is the original score brought to you by The Cinematic Orchestra with help from The London Metropolitan Orchestra. Today’s catch is the beautiful track entitled “Crimson Skies”, which happens to be the only song that contains vocals. The entire cd is a collection of terrific orchestral arrangements that I can only imagine compliments the visual beauty of the film. Enjoy!

Alrighty…this is the last “Catch” of 2008, and I am happy to say that it is from one of our more popular bands on Chillville, Royksopp. The Norwegian electronic band is putting the final touches on their latest album, which should arrive early next year. They are always going to be remembered as the band that plays that song on the Geico caveman commercial, but what you may not know is that they have a ton of good tracks besides that one track. A good example is the latest single, “Happy Birthday”, which happens to be today’s “Catch”. Since it is Christmas, we at Chillville wanted to give you a gift and let you download this song for free right here (actually it’s from Royksopp on their official site). Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Hybrid has been heavily praised for their work on their own albums, along with their contributions on several movie scores. Mike Truman and Chris Healings make up the duo from Wales, and have often been compared to the likes of Underworld, The Crystal Method, Massive Attack, and Moby (pretty solid company to be compared to). Now what you may not know is their collaboration with notable film composer, Henry Gregson-Williams. Their resume includes such films as Man on Fire, Domino, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Hybrid’s film score sound really comes out on a lot of their electronic music, including today’s catch entitled “The Formula of Fear”. Charlotte James co-wrote the song, and also lent her vocal talents to the track. Now, the original mix of this song is really upbeat, so I had to go with the Armchair Mix, which is 7:36 of pure laidback entertainment. Enjoy!