We're scouring the web 24/7 to find that free shit that is somehow not illegal. This includes record label and artist-uploaded tracks, podcasts, mix sets and all of the rest.
Will it be a regular feature? Depends on if the rest of the House Music industry catches up the folks below and figures out that a fan base is more than just an ATM machine providing cash-on-demand.
Mike Monday - "What Canto Is It?" [om records] - A free 320 kps track from OM Records' recording artist Mike Monday taking 3rd Face's 2002 track "Canto Della Liberta" and Monday's "What Day is It?". Honestly this makes my skull throb like a jackhammer's doing disco on my temples but maybe there's enough of a hipster in you that you'll find this enjoyable.
Strictly Rhythm Podcast [strictly rhythm] - Strictly makes great music and their back catalog is without peer. A controversy erupted a year ago when a PR flak working for the company accosted a DJ with a blogspot site that was using a Strictly Rhythm song in his mix (for clarity, let me repeat: using a Strictly track in his mix. Not offering it up for download by itself, but incorporated in a low 160 bitrate mix.) The fall-out from that incident is here. Suffice to say, Strictly's argument was that promo is alright as long as they're the one's controlling it, which is entirely understandable from the creator and/or owner of music but highly unrealistic in this day and age. Perhaps they're thawing a bit - I mean, subscribe to the Strictly Rhythm podcast here and you're getting every single mix of new Strictly tunes downloaded directly onto your computer. Perhaps it was just one of those situations in which a label guy hunts down dozens of Rapidshare links all day and just blows his top. But they still release good music and their podcast is well worth your time.
The Saturday Afternoon Jam Session [seed recordings] - Seed is on the cutting edge of Deep House and keeps getting better. This is a rebroadcast of their April 18 show with DJ Bradford James.
Deep House Cat Show [ssradiouk.com] - DJ PhilE is a supporter of 5 Magazine and also happens to do a great show on UK-based SSRadio. His sets vary in sound and are well worth checking out. This show goes live just a few minutes from now; you can get to the archives here.
Bunchlox Radio [chicagohousefm.com] - Karl Almaria hosts the Bunchlox Radio Show every Tuesday from 8pm to 9pm central. Don't let the low-tech website fool you - ChicagoHouseFM is coming up with some terrific shows and really filling a gap in solid internet radio programming on a local level.
