A.A.V.V. "CANDIES FROM A STRANGER VOL. 3"

Welcome back to the "Candies From a Stranger" series! Compared to the previous installments, this third issue is more firmly rooted in the 90s; it mostly features artists that have been prime-movers in the Trip Hop / Downtempo scene and explores different aspects of Modern Jazz, keeping a groovy and relaxed mood althought sometimes smoky and gloomy, with just a few exceptions.

As usual all tracks are mixed together to create an uninterrupted flow, here's the complete tracklist of "Candies From a Stranger Vol. 3":

01. A SMALL, GOOD THING - Cooling System (6:15)
02. RECOIL - Allelujah (5:23)
03. HOWIE B - How To Suckie (4:07)
04. BARRY ADAMSON - Busted (Michelangelo Version) (5:23)
05. SPACER - It's a Nano World (5:26)
06. SLICK RICK - All Alone (No One To Be With) (3:50)
07. DEADLY AVENGER - The Bayou (4:28)
08. BETH ORTON - Stars All Seem To Weep (4:35)
09. DJ SHADOW - The Number Song (4:30)
10. JOSEPH ARTHUR - Eyes On My Back (3:54)
11. MILES DAVIS - Mystery (3:51)
12. KID LOCO - Relaxin' With Cherry (5:40)
13. PORTISHEAD - Roads (5:03)
14. DJ KRUSH - 3rd Eye (3:17)
15. TRANQUILITY BASS - They Came In Peace (7:52)
16. GLOBAL GOON - Twiggy (5:02)

All selections were compiled and mixed in April 2013, tracks 06-08 are taken from Volume 6 in the excellent "Back To Mine" series and were mixed by Ben Watt of Everything But The Girl.

This compilation is available as a single FLAC lossless format file or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 file. Both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files.

Before you burn the compilation on CD-R using the provided CUE file you will need to convert the original files to WAV format using an appropriate software. Here's an option for FLAC to WAV conversion and one for MP3 to WAV conversion.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download links.

01. A SMALL, GOOD THING - Cooling System
original CD issue: Block, Leaf (1997)
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Borrowing their name from a story by Raymond Carver, A Small, Good Thing were a U.K.-based project by Andrew Hulme, Mark Sedgewick and Tom Fazzini. "Cooling System", which was also released as a promotional 12" single, is the opening track on their third full-lenght CD release entitled "Block". Compared to their previous calm Ambient output released on Soleilmoon in the U.S., "Block" is notable for its approach to Dub and Hip-Hop from a distinctly Avant-garde / Experimental perspective.

02. RECOIL - Allelujah
original CD issue: subHuman, Mute Records (2007)
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Recoil is the solo project of ex-Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder. During the years Recoil's music has incorporated every imaginable musical genre from Trip Hop to Gospel, and gathered on albums of complex sonic imagery and expansive dynamic range. Taken from "subHuman", the latest Recoil studio album at the time of writing, and also released as part of the "Prey / Allelujah" CD-single, the dreamy "Allelujah" was co-written by English singer-songwriter Carla Trevaskis, who also performed vocals on the song speaking in ethereal tongues.

03. HOWIE B - How To Suckie
original CD issue: Music For Babies, Polydor (1996)
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London-based, Glasgow-born, disc jockey and producer, Howie Bernstein pioneered the fusion of Dub, Jazz, Ambient and Hip-Hop. His own early productions gained him credentials to work with giants such as U2, Sinead O'Connor, Everything But The Girl, Soul II Soul, Sly and Robbie, Tricky and Björk. The Jazz Fusion "How To Suckie" is taken from his debut album "Music For Babies", a collection of eight instrumental numbers that bestow a spiritual flavor onto the Trip Hop movement.

04. BARRY ADAMSON - Busted (Michelangelo Version)
original CD issue:  The Negro Inside Me, Mute Records (1993)
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Before embarking on a solo career, Barry Adamson has been a founding member of the seminal Post-Punk band Magazine in the late '70s and has served as bassist in the first consistent line-up of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in the first half of the '80s. With his cinematic debut album entitled "Moss Side Story", Adamson has created one of the earliest soundtrack to a non-existent movie. Subsequently he has produced several albums of the highest value, which incorporated Jazz, Electronica, Soul, Funk and Dub styles.

05. SPACER - It's a Nano World
original CD issue: Atlas Earth, Pussifoot Records (1996)
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Spacer is an electronic music project by renowned engineer/producer Luke Gordon. Following the usual compilations appearances, 1996 saw the release of Spacer's debut album "Atlas Earth" for Howie B.'s Pussyfoot Records. During the years Gordon had the chance to work with, or remix, the likes of Goldfrapp, The Cure, Red Snapper, Coldcut, Roots Manuva, Juryman and Unkle. He has also composed music for numerous BBC television series and documentaries, including Natural World.

06. SLICK RICK - All Alone (No One To Be With)
original CD issue: Behind Bars, Def Jam Recordings (1994)
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Richard Walters a.k.a. Slick Rick began his career in Hip Hop in 1983; he is best known for the use of narrative in his raps and has been called Hip Hop's greatest storyteller. His music has been frequently sampled and interpolated by other artists such as TLC, Black Star, The Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Doggy Dogg, with many of these songs later becoming hit singles. Among his best known songs we remember "La Di Da Di", "Mona Lisa" and "Children's Story", with the latter being coverered or referenced by a plethora of colleagues.

07. DEADLY AVENGER - The Bayou
original 12" issue: Milo's Theme, D.C. Recordings (1995)
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British producer and DJ Damon Baxter is best known for his atmospheric and cinematic work as Deadly Avenger, with whom he has released several 12" EPs and two full-lenght albums. His production skills have led him to remix bands such as Travis, Manic Street Preachers, Elbow, and The Charlatans, which were all seduced by the overly emotional strings, blended with dirty beats and enigmatic arrangements. His music has also been used in many high-profile commercials and in the C.S.I. series.

08. BETH ORTON - Stars All Seem To Weep
original CD issue: Central Reservation, Heavenly (1999)
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Beth Orton is an English singer-songwriter, known for her Folktronica sound, which mixes elements of Folk and Electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-'90s. "Stars All Seem To Weep" was produced by Ben Watt of Everything But The Girl: «...working off the original guitar-demo, I laid the basic beat and synth chords down one morning before Beth came to the studio. She just got up and sang it straightaway in one take».

09. DJ SHADOW - The Number Song
original CD issue: Endtroducing....., Mo Wax (1996)
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Born Joshua Davis, DJ Shadow is an American music producer and DJ. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental Hip Hop. Shadow's first full-length work, "Endtroducing.....", was released in late 1996 to critical acclaim. The album would go on to make the Guinness World Records book for "First Completely Sampled Album" in 2001. In November 2006 Time magazine named it one of its "All-Time" 100 best albums. "The Number Song" is characterized by its usage of various breakbeats and vocal samples of count-offs.

10. JOSEPH ARTHUR - Eyes On My Back
original CD issue: Come To Where I'm From, Real World Records / Virgin (2000)
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Joseph Arthur is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. Combining poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette, Arthur has built his reputation over the years through critically acclaimed releases and constant touring. Arthur was discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-'90s, and signed to Gabriel's Real World label as the first North American artist on the label's roster. Arthur is also an acclaimed painter and designer; his artwork has graced the sleeves of his entire discography.

11. MILES DAVIS - Mystery
original CD issue: Doo-Bop, Warner Bros. Records (1992)
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"Doo-Bop" was Miles Davis' final studio album; the project stemmed from Davis sitting in his New York apartment in the summer with the windows open, listening to the sound of the streets. He wanted to record an album of music that captured those sounds. However, when Davis died on September 28, 1991, only six pieces for the album had been completed; to finish it off, producer Easy Mo Bee was asked to take some of the unreleased trumpet performances and build tracks that Miles «would have loved» around the recordings. "Mystery" is one of the tracks completed when Davis was still alive.

12. KID LOCO - Relaxin' With Cherry
original CD issue: A Grand Love Story, Yellow Productions / EastWest (1997)
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An easy-listening trip-hopster similar in style and intent to his countrymen Air and Dimitri from Paris, Kid Loco has an even stronger kinship with the long tradition of French Pop characterized by Serge Gainsbourg. Born as Jean-Yves Prieur, he played in several Punk groups during the early '80s and moved on to Reggae and Hip Hop by the end of the decade. By 1996, he released the "Blues Project" EP for Yellow Productions. The full-length debut entitled "A Grand Love Story" appeared the next year, earning praise from the Indie-Rock and Electronica communities.

13. PORTISHEAD - Roads
original CD issue: Dummy, Go!Beat (1994)
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Portishead are an English band formed in 1991 in Bristol, they consist of Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley. Taking their cue from the slow, elastic beats that dominated Massive Attack's "Blue Lines" and adding elements of Cool Jazz and soundtrack music, Portishead created an atmospheric, alluringly dark sound. In 1994 their debut album "Dummy" became an unexpected success in Britain, topping most year-end critics polls and spawning legions of imitators.

14. DJ KRUSH - 3rd Eye
original CD issue: Meiso, Sony Music (1995)
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Hideaki Ishii (石井 英明), better known as DJ Krush, is an alternative Hip Hop producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of Jazz and Soul samples. Aside from being considered one of the pioneers of Japanese Hip Hop, Ishii has established himself as one of the most respected artists and producers in the Hip Hop industry, both in Japan and abroad.

15. TRANQUILITY BASS - They Came In Peace
original 12" issue: They Came In Peace, Exist Dance (1991)
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One of the original innovators in the Ambient movement of the early '90s, Tranquility Bass' Mike Kandel submerged for most of the decade before finally issuing his debut album "Let the Freak Flag Fly" in 1997. Kandel grew up in Chicago but moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s; inspired by his hometown's Acid-House ideals, he formed the Exist Dance label in 1991 and produced classic tracks like "They Came In Peace" and "Mya Yadana", which were included on many compilations.

16. GLOBAL GOON - Twiggy
original CD issue: Goon, Rephlex (1996)
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Jonathan Hawk a.k.a. Global Goon released his first album "Goon" on Richard D. James' label Rephlex. Rumours that Global Goon actually was an alias for Aphex Twin persisted even after the release of his second album "Cradle of History" two years later... «I used to call my music, 'health music': I use special software architecture I developed which channels frequency and pitch information through various software filters. The bag behind this is to produce restful soundscapes which don't overtax the brain or the heart...».

All your inputs are more than welcome, if you want to get in touch please write to stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!