And the livin’s easy

ORIENT EXPRESS Pooling styles from across the globe Mungolian Jetset is the perfect summer listen.

Our long-awaited 80-degree days likely have got you gearing up for a few breezy, cocktail-fueled weekends. To help you set the mood, we’ve highlighted some of this summer’s top releases. So whether you’re getting done up for a night out, planning a tiki torch–lit backyard dance party or bringing people back to the crib for a nightcap, your iTunes will be stocked with properly fresh sounds.

Warm-up
For after-work mojitos on the back porch, Latin, Brazilian and island rhythms fit the bill perfectly. D.C. label Eighteenth Street Lounge, best known for its star act, Thievery Corporation, has this vibe on lock. With Sun People (digital available now, physical available August 18), from Brooklyn-based DJ-producer Nickodemus, ESL’s got all that South of the Border spice—and a few Middle Eastern and Gypsy sounds—in one neat package. A dedicated globe-trotter, Nickodemus delivers the percussion-heavy sounds of Rio, San Juan, Mexico City, Istanbul and his native NYC.

Sticking more strictly to the sounds of Brazil, Grammy- and Latin Grammy–nominated songstress Céu releases her sophomore album, Vagarosa, for Six Degrees this week. Flirting with samba, bossa nova and downtempo electronics, Céu remains a laid-back, sexy listen. Those of you jonesing for more Bebel Gilberto have found your answer.

Peak time
With the pre-party drinks behind you, kick the night into high gear—but don’t ditch those tropical vibes altogether. Bringing a hardcore future twist to Kingston, M.I.A. producers Diplo and Switch have joined forces as Major Lazer. The full-length, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, is out now on Diplo’s Mad Decent label, and its cross-pollination of B-more, dancehall, baile funk and roots reggae is a potent weapon on the more forward-thinking dance floors.

Moving on from the tropical motif, Jamie Jones’s “Summertime” is one of the biggest anthems to emerge from this year’s Winter Music Conference. Drilling out of the speakers with its deep bass thump and epic string melody, it elicits wall-to-wall hands in the air. Jones’s forthcoming album, Don’t You Remember the Future, isn’t out until August, but “Summertime” is available now on 12" and MP3.

In its original form, “Yes Ma’am (All Nite Long),” from Danish producer Peter Visti, has been floating around for more than three years, but it’s never seen a proper release—until now. Sampling some obscure, rhythm & blues hoedown, this monster of a track, out on Belgian cosmic-disco label Eskimo, gets a new lease on life with a remix from fellow Scandinavian Trentemøller. Leaving out the MC-style vocals, Trentemøller refashions “Yes Ma’am” into a colossal club tune with a chugging house rhythm, jazzed-up double bass and his signature deep and techy synth work.

Cooldown
Channeling the up-all-night Balearic vibes of Ibiza beach parties, we’ve got a couple of tunes for those summer nights (or early mornings) when you’re not yet ready to say good night. On the ten-minute excursion “Clairevoyage,” Nordic fantasists Mungolian Jetset strike a perfect balance between left-field, chill-out ambience and midtempo discoid grooves. In August, the duo will release a collection of remixes and collaborations called We Gave It All Away… Now We Are Taking It Back for Smalltown Supersound.

Heading back west to the dance-music capital of London, production wizard Four Tet teams with dubstep luminary Burial for a limited release on Four Tet’s Text label. The resulting genius is “Moth,” a slow burner whose hypnotic groove, twinkling melody and lilting house backbeat ooze together in such euphoric fashion that it’s a shoo-in as one of the year’s top tracks.

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