Dipped in Dollars has been a daily undertaking of mine for the better part of three years, and I’ve decided to reflect upon this labor of love with a short form collection of all time favorites. Counter to our name, there has been no dollar earned from any of our work on this website, and I hope we’ve been able to turn you on to something new.

Angela Bofill – Can’t Slow Down
Jorge Ben Jor – Palomaris
Daedelus – Astroboy
Flying Lotus – Comet Course
Los Zafiros – Bossa Cubana
J Dilla – Workinonit
Top That
52nd Street – I’m Available
Quiet Village – Utopia
Lone – Spirals (feat. Anneka)
The Avalanches – Little Journey
Bibio – All The Flowers
S. Maharba – M L M H

It’s a little crazy to think about where Teams and Star Slinger have gone since their collaborative release on Mexican Summer last year – one is now a central figure in the Seapunk movement and the other will be supporting A$AP Rocky on his forthcoming European tour – and this unofficial video for “The Yes Strut” is throwing me back to that bygone era.

Nyteowl have improved upon their effervescence with Baby Girl, sporting crisper drum production and tighter vocal melodies that swelter under their syncopated synthwork. It will be the last single before their full length comes out at the end of the summer, and Jeremiah had Dutch producer GORiLLAintheMiX flex some boogie in his reinterpretation of the work. They’re also going to celebrate this release with a show at Cause on June 22 that you’ve got to be at.

“Montaña de Tormenta” is one of the wilder tracks from San Gabriel‘s phenomenal debut on Time No Place, juxtaposing cumbia basslines with rude-boy samples and a high pitched vocal squeal that rises above its tropical melancholia. Volfe is out digitally right now, and you should also pick up the vinyl when it’s out on June 26.

Memory is one hell of an album, and the Monkeytown crew will be throwing Lazer Sword across North America for the next two weeks. The label had me preview a live snippet from their recent swing through Europe, and this isn’t something you’re going to want to miss.

May 25 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
May 26 – New York, NY @ 285 Kent
May 27 – San Francisco @ Public Works
May 31 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake
June 1 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
June 2 – Arcata, CA @ Jambolaya
June 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Entry
June 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos
June 8 – Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theatre
June 9 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ghost

Cosmic Sound is Stephen Farris, and VHS Vision was a side project he made during a brief hiatus in the middle of 2010. You can hear how it influenced the far-reaching sounds we heard on Cosmic Sound II, and West Virginain label Crash Symbols is re-releasing it on one hundred limited edition cassettes so you can experience how it was meant to be heard. Get yours here.

Yesterday I was listening to the newest Noir Recommends and his 120 min set opened with “Tough Love (Aril Brikha remix)” by Sailor and I. Immediately I was enthralled with the track. The vocals resonate with a sweet sorrow, and both the Aril Brikha remix and the original track are excellent. The duo hails from Sweden and are set to release their EP in the upcoming months. I’m looking forward to see what else this duo has in store.

Clu dropped off the video for “Evening Ever”, which tracks the duo from the Irish countryside to a hot and heavy gig in Dublin. Be sure to check them out at the Life Festival in Belvedere on the 25th.

Rising London label XVI Records has contributed to the latest edition of our Substitute Teachers series, and I asked Josh Byrne – the label’s head – a few questions after listening to their mix.

The impetus behind XVI is to find and release material by some of the UK’s most forward-thinking artists. What forward-thinking artists have influenced you all in the first place?

We love so many different types of music that it’s hard to pin down, but everything from bands like Joy Division and At The Drive In straight through to acts like Floating Points, Arthur Russell, Company Flow, and Theo Parrish (to name a few) influence the sound of the label in a big way. Ultimately we just wanted to work with a group of artists who are carving out a new sound as opposed to paying too much attention to what’s “on trend”.

Is the aim to stay digital? Or do you see yourselves pressing vinyl anytime soon?

We are actually currently finalizing our first vinyl release, we’re all so excited to see our logo on a record! Should be out in the next month or so…

Is there a club night or radio show where we can hear artists on XVI?

We’ve had a lot of great support from a lot of really excellent radio shows, people like Mary Anne Hobbs, Jon Oliver from East Village Radio, Earnest Endeavours, Chrome Kids and Simon Harrison from Basic Soul have had helped us push the sound to a wider audience on their shows. I run a night called Lion Roar in my hometown, Chester where a lot of the artists play. It acts as a great platform for the artists to get their music out there and test out new sounds. The night has been running for 3 years now and we’ve got a really close nit following who never fail to come down and support everything XVI Records represents. We are also planning a few parties around the country.

What releases do you have planned for the rest of the year?

We’ve got some really exciting music lined up for the rest of this year, we’ve got releases from Mau’lin, Jabru, Real, Bambooman, Decyfer and Henry Wu in the pipeline alongside a couple of new additions…

What’s in this mix?

This mix is a sneak peak of whats going on at XVI Records, it’s all previously unheard material that is forthcoming on the label and mixed by Real. It is further showcasing the sound of the label via innovative, down tempo sounds, mixed with more dance floor friendly beats.

Do any of your artists have shows coming up?

We’ve got a label showcase at Imperial College‘s student union and Metric on June 16, where you can hear the sounds of Sun Glitters, Henry Wu and Evermean (check the official event out here). A couple of our artists will be appearing at Mifest, Dimensions and a couple of other festivals over the summer…

Henry Wu – Oxtail Soup (XVI)
Deminai – Lola (Demo)
Mukes – Pilot (XVI)
Real – Sunrise (XVI)
Mukes – Take Off (XVI)
Mau’lin – Because (XVI)
Jabru & MTD – Homeflame (XVI)
Decyfer – Mariana Trench Dub (XVI)
Bambooman – Moters (XVI)

Youtube has become a haven for Letherette beats that will probably never see the light of day, and this unofficial video for “Maybe” by Synesthesiæ Films (who are also responsible for Solar Bears‘ “Forest of Fountains”) uses footage from Japansese cult classic Cruel Story of Youth to take it somewhere else. You should revisit their most recent mix for Ninja Tune if you’d like to hear what they’ve been up.