The Sound Bar is my opportunity to share some of my favourite and relevant musical findings each week (every Tunesday) on The Rooster. Thus far it's been anything but consistent. If you look back, you'll find that I never actually did a "Sound Bar #002," meaning that the "Sound Bar #005" you're reading right now is actually the fourth installment. I'll have to put together some kind of special edition #002 down the line to fill that void.

With all that being said however, I'd like to state right now, in writing, that you will find this feature here every Tunesday from here on out. I'm sure of this because I have decided that I need it too; a musical mission.

Noosa - Walk On By (Sound Remedy Remix)

First tune this week is "Walk on By" by Noosa (The sound Remedy Remix), and it feels good.

I had heard of Ariel Pink mentioned so many times before checking him out. Finally with the release of his latest album, I started some digging. The one that ended up capturing me was this great cover of "Baby" by Donnie and Joe Emerson by Ariel Pink and Dam-Funk. The Shoo-bop Shoo-bops are always a deal sealer for me...

Destiny's Child - Say My Name (Cyril Hahn Remix)

The above track was nestled right in the middle of a brilliant mix by Hatchmatik (Slowcast Vol.011). You'll recognize the vocal sample of course as Destiny's Child, although it's considerably slower. I think this version of "Say My Name" by Cyril Hahn is one of the most brilliant re-imaginings of a tired pop song I've heard to date.

While I'm talking mixtapes, I have to send you to Matthew Africa's phenomenal mixtape: Mathhew Africa Plays 7".  This one and the Skratch Bastid x The Gaff collab from earlier this year have nearly rendered my existing music library useless.* Head to Matthew Africa's blog to stream or download the mix.

*(For those who love funk music. aka everyone)

Dwele "What You Gotta Do" feat. Raheem Devaughn (from Greater Than One)

I'm a sucker for the sound a Rhodes piano makes, Voodoo is my favourite all-time album, and my girlfriend is an RnB singer. It's safe to say that I have a very soft spot for RnB and Neo-Soul at this point.  

A friend of mine introduced me to Dwele years ago, amidst much praise for him, and touted him as the hardest working man in RnB. This is in part because he is not only the singer, he is the songwriter and producer of most of his own music. The dude plays piano, bass, guitar, and trumpet, and he initially started with the Dilla produced rap group "Slum Village." Dwele has been picking up a lot of steam lately, including a few collaborations with Kanye West, among numerous other hip-hop recordings. 

Since I was first introduced to Dwele's music, I've always respected him but never absolutely loved his tunes. With his latest album, "Greater Than One," he's got it. I love the tunes.

The Notorious B.I.G. - Machine Gun Funk (Woody Remix)

I'll step into the hip-hop realm here for the next few, starting with this bangin' remix of Machine Gun Funk by the Notorious B.I.G. - SO GOOD! The remix is done by Woody, who kills it on this update. Favourite part? The Wild Cherry sample before dropping out to just acapaella at the start of the third verse.

Angel Haze - "New York" (Official Music Video)

"New York." I'm attracted to the all-out, unabashed badass-ness of this song and video. Angel Haze* is young and confident. The girl was born in 1991, and although young, she has something I really love to see in rising musicians: drive. “It’s all a matter of how you approach things”, she says, “stay humble, stay fierce and stay true to who you are.”

*I also love the contradiction in the name. It suits the artist.

Tame Impala - Elephant

Well, that Angel Haze song is going to be as good a segué as any to get into some rock and roll. I have to include the latest single from Tame Impala, "Elephant", because it's awesome. I love what this band is doing! It's real, creative, free, psychedelic rock and roll, and I was worried it was going to get lost in the indie jungle. Apparently music speaks for itself though and these boys out of Perth, Australia are on the verge of blowing up. "Elephant" is the single from their forth-coming and presumeably unreal album, Lonerism.

Pond - Betty Davis (Will Come Down fr

"Betty Davis Will come Down From The Heavens To Save Us." I love this song because it reminds me of the magical creative process that can only happen when a bunch of young guys get into a garage with instruments. Who thinks of that hook? And it's catchy as hell. Everything about this band, Pond, seems to get me stoked and almost laughing, right down the album title, Frond.

Alright OK -- The Sheepdogs [HD]

Two locals to end it off. The Sheepdogs, so hot right now, The Sheepdogs... New album dropped today and here's my favourite, "Alright OK." To me, that's September music through and through.

Here is a brand new track from local artist and friend John Antoniuk in Saskatoon, from his album, "Always With You."  Anyone in the local music scene respects John, and it's simply because of his love for the local music scene. He is an advocate for the stripped down, one-man-and-a-guitar writing process and it shows in this latest project.

Before (finally) signing off, I'd like to share with you all this amazing new music app that a coworker showed me last week. I used it all weekend and was very impressed. It's called Songza and it's a music playlist streaming app, yes another, but it has a standout feature I really enjoyed.

The feature is the concierge, a welcome screen that knows what time of day it is and what day of the week. I like to pretend it actually is the weird looking little monster in their logo. The concierge offers you songs that it deems will sound best for that given time. For example, late on Saturday night it offered me playlists for getting lucky, drinking, or coming down. On Sunday morning I was able to find a great playlist of tracks from the London Swing era for making breakfast. Now, here on Tuesday afternoon I'm given a work playlist with no lyrics so I can focus.

Songza is available in two formats, as an app from the App Store or online via your browser at songza.com.

Happy Tunesday, friends! Enjoy your week.

- CPR