Downtempo Done Right: Chris Coco Releases “Feel Free Live Good” and Serves Up The Sounds of the Summer
Download: Chris Coco Sinning in LA Mix
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When it comes to exceptional selectors in sound, we’ve recently featured some of the finest in BT, Z-Trip and John Digweed. Though when it comes to the delivering Downtempo music, I turn to the choices of UK producer and DJ, Chris Coco. He has long been one of my musical heroes and his compilations, mixes and radio shows have turned me on to some of the most beloved artists in my collection.
“I think the secret is not to think about it too much,” Coco told me. “If you start trying to predict what people will like or be excessively clever or too strategic I find that the whole thing stops working. It’s all about that flow that people talk about, taking yourself somewhere special and going with your instincts and, I suppose, being really selfish and picking tunes that you really like yourself.”
He’s delivered some of the finest chill-out compilations over the last two decades, but it’s his own original productions that have really captivated audiences’ ears. Coco is always dabbling in different projects and now is set to release his latest solo album, Feel Free Live Good, for Big Chill Recordings. The album is perhaps his most accomplished solo project yet and each track finds an array of different musical styles and emotions.
It’s about doing what feels right, which in my case is quite a range of music. I had just spent a year on my band project, City Reverb, so I wanted to do something where I didn’t have to compromise and have a debate about every move, a project where I could just get on with it.
“Then it was trying to create this casually creative atmosphere where people could come ‘round and add their piece to a track and feel like they could really express themselves, like when Nick Cornu came ‘round with his guitar to play on a proto-house tune I had made, we decided to do something beach-y.”
The track in discussion is the standout first single, “My Beach House,” which features a groovy mid-tempo house beat over some gorgeous guitar stylings from Mr. Cornu. It’s a track that will certainly find plenty of favor in the chill-out scene and is a highlight on an album filled with many.
“When Nick came, all I had was a rough track and a title,” Coco recalled about the collaboration. “We talked about beaches and the feeling of walking in the sand on a hot day. He revealed that he hadn’t been to a beach for five years. Anyhow, when he started to play I think all those good feelings came back to him and it all poured into the music. I think that’s why the tune feels so good and so evocative, because of his performance.”
Another recent collaboration has him teaming up with a fellow Downtempo legend, Steve “Afterlife” Miller, and the two have channeled their personas as The Normalites. Their latest single, “The Sun Is Rising,” is a pulsating slice of summertime soul, where Coco’s unique vocals again shine through.
"The Normalites is a funny project,” Coco said. “Steve got an artist mate of his to draw cartoon characters to represent the two of us and what we do is write songs as these characters rather than ourselves. So these guys in the drawings and in our heads, hang around on surf beaches in their camper van, in some state of constant summer and have adventures and write songs. They probably divide their time between California and Cornwall actually.”
“Anyway, it means that we can escape from the restrictions of being Coco and Afterlife and get a bit crazy with the songs, so we have one called “Campervan” which is, hopefully, the ultimate slacker anthem, and another called “Street Corner Classics,” which is about rocking up somewhere and starting an impromptu party. It’s all good fantasy fun.”
As I write this I’ve been listening to the exclusive mix he compiled for us and it features his deep and delicious Dubstep version of “The Sun is Rising,” which further shows that when it comes to Chris Coco, you just can’t keep him constrained to one particular style of music.
I’m a tastemaker, a curator, I listen to music all the time, filter out the rubbish and present you with the best bits, that’s kind of my job. The music I make reflects my eclectic taste, though it tends to be mellow and emotional, just like me.
Whether it’s creative collaborations like The Normalites, his latest compelling compilation Lazy Summer, or new album Feel Free Live Good, Chris Coco continues to carry on as one of the finest purveyors in sound around. He’s mixed up some special selections from his back catalog that is sure to keep your iPod happy by the pool this summer, so be sure to download and enjoy!
Chris Coco’s Sinning In LA Mix Tracklist
1 Chris Coco - Feel Free Live Good
Excerpt of the title track from the new album coming in August on Big Chill Recordings.
2 Chris Coco - My Beach House (Hold On) (High Tech Soul Remix)
My take on Balearic dubstep.
3 The Normalites - The Sun Rising (Chris Coco Dub Mix)
The Normalites is me and Steve from Afterlife. This is my mix of our cover of the Beloved’s classic.
4 Mavis - Dreamer’s Interlude feat Chris Coco
Ashley Beedle’s Mavis project gets poetic!
5 Chris Coco - Falling
Classic from the Next Wave LP featured in Nip/Tuck.
6 City Reverb - Pinsharp (Alucidnation Remix)
A remix of one of my band projects darker moments. Exclusive to this mix.
7 Chris Coco & Sacha Puttnam feat Cathy Batistessa - Starlight
One of our finest moments I think.
8 Coco, Steel & Lovebomb - Harlem
Way back in time, early 90s, soundtrack style.
9 Doves - New York (Chris Coco Remix)
Coco remix of a beautiful song.
10 The Normalites - Street Corner Classics
New Normalites with a New York influence, or is it London?
11 Chris Coco - Jet Stream Sky City
Exclusive tune for your pleasure made in a dream in the sky some time ago.
12 A Man Called Adam Vs Coco, Steel & Lovebomb - Yachts
Sex and the City, Spanish cava ads, and countless TV programmes, this tune has been around.
13 City Reverb - Seventy Three (Senor Cornu Remix)
Great and crazy kitsch Latin remix of the Reverb.
14 Chris Coco - Summertime (Negghead Remix)
Negghead, a DJ from Ibiza, does his thing with new Coco product. Tune of the summer.
Surf: www.chriscoco.com
Follow: twitter.com/djchriscoco
Feel Free Live Good is out on August 10, 2010
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