The New Music

Who: Javelin

Sounds like: If Girl Talk did a complete 180 and left the Top 40, ’90s alt-rock and history of rap alone and dove knee deep into dusty crates of the most obscure, forgotten, feel-good sounds you’ve never heard.

RIYL: Girl Talk, J Dilla, The Very Best, Future Islands, Tom Tom Club, Think About Life’s Family, The Go! Team, Universal Studios Florida, Coldcut

Need to know: Tom van Buskirk and George Langford are cousins originally from Providence, Rhode Island and now inhabiting NYC. Their live set-up includes “boombaatas,” brightly coloured boombox totems and broadcasting live via FM transmitters. Their music is based on samples that are “re-contextualized” into, as the label calls it, a “mixtape fantasy.” Best of all, their EP comes in a custom, hand-painted sleeve from a recycled dollar bin treasure. They’re actually signed to both Thrill Jockey and Luaka Bop; the former will release their 12-inches, while the latter will release their full-length album. You can grab some of their podcast/mixes here and their Jamz n Jemz mixtape here. They turned The Very Best’s “Julia” into a road-trippin’ rock anthem that sounds both inappropriate and marvellous. Mos Def and Damon Dash joined them on stage the other night when they played with Sleigh Bells.

Track: “Vibrationz” is a fundamental party jam. Where Girl Talk crams his “songs” with so many bits and bobs, Javelin are far less obvious with their cutting and pasting, seamlessly fusing the samples together with little evidence that it isn’t an original.

Buy: You can pick up their self-titled 12-inch here.