RCRD LBL: An Overview

With so many different music blogs and sites on the Internet these days, sometimes it’s hard to find good stuff without knowing what you’re looking for. However, one site that’s great for discovering new artists is RCRD LBL. The site was put together in 2007 by Downtown Music and Peter Rojas, who collaborated with independent labels to create a new kind of music website. It features over 10,000 free, legal music downloads from a wide range of new and established artists like Santigold, MSTRKRFT, and Florence & The Machine. New tracks are uploaded daily, so with every trip to the site you’re guaranteed to leave with something fresh. I discovered the site about a year and a half ago, and it’s still a frontrunner on my daily go-to list. Today, I’m going to show you some of the gold you can find on RCRD LBL, with little to no digging involved.

(Note: I was going to embed the RCRD LBL widgets directly into the post, but they won’t work with WordPress, so SoundCloud will have to do.)

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Marina & The Diamonds

I Am Not A Robot (Doorly Remix)

679/Atlantic

Marina & The Diamonds (stage name of Marina Diamandis) have quietly been making waves overseas for the past couple years, but have finally arrived on Yankee territory to show America what we’ve been missing.  The original “I Am Not A Robot” was released last summer as a taster from her album The Family Jewels, and instantly won her fans with its poignant “screw you, conformity” theme. Readying the track for a re-release, fellow Brit Doorly was brought in to man the knobs & switches for a bit of a rejig. But instead of overhauling the original with the typical synths-n-sirens, Doorly gingerly dissects it; taking the tender piano chords and coupling them with plunging bass drops to create a refreshingly different take on the track.

If you like this, check out the Boy 8-Bit remix of Florence & The Machine’s “Drumming Song”, also available on RCRD LBL.

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Ocelot

Beating Hearts (Blende Extended Mix)

Wall of Sound

Ocelot are more than just an amazing name. They have earned their reputation as premier remixers over the past couple of years, producing excellent remakes for Röyksopp and The Killers, among others. However, in 2010, the Leeds-via-Texas duo decided it was time to release some of their own material, and here we are delivered “Beating Hearts”. Londoner Blende is on the remix, dropping some unnecessary vocals and frenzy from the original in favor of a dirtily deep electro-funk riff, complete with choppy scratches and blippy synth work.

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Bloc Party

One More Chance (Alex Metric Remix)

Wichita Recordings

And now for a bit of a throwback: this remix surfaced last summer and it was so good that I had absolutely no desire to even hear the original, let alone listen to any other track ever again. Being a massive fan of both Bloc Party and Alex Metric, to me this remix is literally what dreams are made of. Revisiting it today, I realized it hasn’t aged at all; that pounding keyboard refrain is just as anthemic as it was a year ago. It’s an absolute classic, and is collectively one of both BP’s and Alex Metric’s finest moments to date.

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The selection and broad spectrum of music offered at RCRD LBL is rare to find completely wrapped in one website. It’s a great resource if you find yourself craving new music and want to find it quickly and easily. Hopefully the tracks I showcased for you here have garnered some interest within you for the site, and I hope you check it out to see everything else it has to offer.

Website: RCRD LBL