Sometimes you just have to believe the hype. It feels like it's been ages since a truly fresh perspective has come out of the underground hip-hop scene.

A.M. Architect is another project from Diego Chavez (Aether), together with Daniel Stanush, building on a foundation of guitar and keys over smartly produced beats.

Today's post "Variance" captures the mood perfectly but this is a record meant to be listened to from start to finish (oh, the horror!) with unexpectedly funky BPM changes ("It Was") and nods to Aether's many influences ("Makeshift Sanctuary" could be part II to Blockhead's "Sunday Seance.")

Today's post, "Something to Behold" is a perfect example of what these two do best. Enjoy. Highly recommended.

"How could I not know about this shit, when it's being done right here in my backyard?" My guess is that the secret bunker lab that these guys work their sonic experiments in is somehow off the grid.

Few, if any, current producer/musicians out there manage to be as dense and melodically satisfying as Max Tundra, unapologetically birthing electronic pop so saccharine that it reminds of you of your mom's favorite 90s tracks from Lisa Stansfield and Desiree.

... Other maverick online music models have resulted since (like NIN's free record), but few have the charm of the recent 4AD release from David Edwards, aka Minotaur Shock.

So imagine my surprise -- thinking Red Snapper had gone the way of so many bands before them -- when a brand new record shows up in my mailbox from Red Snapper. The original Red Snapper.

Few things are as exciting as a really top-notch, unsolicited, new-to-the-world remix. It wouldn't be sensible of me to reveal my sources, but scissorkick has recently come across a truly stellar remix of Roots Manuva's "Again and Again" by Arctic Monkeys' drummer Matt Helders.

Stone's Throw often relishes in mixing the new with the old but few of the venerable label's artists sum it up as well as Koushik, the eponymous moniker of Koushik Ghosh.

Look no further than today's post, a truly awesome cover of Bill Conti's classic "Going the Distance" from... well, after one listen, you should know. And if not, follow it up with James Brown's "Living in America."