Let’s Get To It, Relax

Supermayer “The Art of Letting Go” – No, this is not John Mayer’s dance pop side project — you’re thinking of Benny Benassi, actually. (No kidding, it’s kind of a public secret.) Supermayer is Superpitcher and Michael Mayer, arguably the two biggest stars on the Kompakt roster forming like Voltron (or at least the Wonder Twins) for an entire album’s worth of…well, I don’t know what you should call this stuff, to be honest with you. It’s not really “minimal techno” since a majority of the tracks veer closer to pop songwriting and/or funk than what you might normally expect from a Kompakt release. “The Art of Letting Go” builds on a thick yet surprisingly light bass line with a repetitive deadpan vocal hook, distant bleating horns, and a recurring guitar sample that in context seems like the one nagging thought in the back of your head that keeps your mind from being clear and fully relaxed. (Click here to pre-order it from Soul Seduction.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from the Dirty Projectors, Yesterday’s New Quintet, and Karl Blau.

Also: My review of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is up on The Movie Binge. It’s a truly terrible film, but this is probably my favorite review I’ve done for that site this summer.