The Operatives are a collective of multi-talented musicians and curators responsible for presenting tours of ground-breaking international talent and a platform for emerging artists to be heard. They recently celebrated their 10th birthday in June this year and since then have brought talents DJ Spooky, Sweater Beats and Nosaj Thing (among others) to our shores.

Next on the roster is acclaimed L.A producer Teebs, who this year released his second studio record E S T A R A earlier this year. Whether it’s by the skateboard deck, paintbrush or on Roland SP 404 pads, this Californian producer captures blossoming, positive energy. To celebrate Teebs’ arrival in Australia, and his new album The Operatives crew have put together a playlist of their favourite tracks from 2014 so far. Enjoy!

Remi prod Sensible J Smith & Dutch – ‘F.O.H’

“I love seeing how far these boys have come. This track is a good straight party hip-hop tune. The drums by J. Smith are solid. Remi’s raps have a great flow and I love supporting local music!” – Nam

Temu – ‘Boogaloo Blues’

“Instant classic from start to finish from USA producer who has been producing for many years but is a recent discovery to me but he has easily made my top producer of 2014 also. Quality and creativity at its finest.” – Amin Payne

Inkswel – ‘No More Suckas (Feat Dave Aju)’

“Another banger from Australia’s nicest drum machine warrior. Influenced by the boogie classics of yesteryear but with a fresh perspective to get the kids moving. A catchy hook seals the deal for this standout title track.” – COSMO

Mr Carmack – ‘Don’t Push Me Cuz I’m Close to the Edge’

“Mr. Carmack consistently pushes the edge of what is musically possible. This flip of “The Message” is just ridiculous. And his remix of Aaliyah’s “Rock The Boat” is sublime.” – DJ Kuya

Throwing Snow feat. Adda Kaleh – ‘The Tempest’

“Ross Tones has really stepped up his game to ‘next level’ status with the release of his debut EP under his alias Throwing Snow. He carves a beautiful cavern of instrumental for the vocals to echo through, perfect company for a late night walk home. The music video by Rick Robin is equally impressive.” – Brendan Harwood

Deft- ‘Emeralds’

“Deft is putting out consistently good tracks and this is a great EP. The title track Emeralds encapsulates his sound very well.” – Able8

Azizi Gibson (Prod. Kamandi) – ‘Crown Violet’

“Paired with that pitched vocal work from Kamandi, this track has so much character and emotion for me – fuck I dunno maybe it’s just the shit I been going through haha” – Fugitive

Alix Perez & Stray – ‘Slugde’

“I thought Stray had set a super high benchmark for himself with his Matchsticks EP at then end of 2013 and I was eagerly anticipating his next releases. Then he dropped this, along with collabs with the likes of Rashad, keeping to his multi-genre style. I feel like this guy can’t go wrong at the the moment, a statement I’d previously reserved for Mark Pritchard and Om Unit.” – Float

Fatima – ‘Biggest Joke of All’

“Fatima pretty much sums up for me what is excellence in vocal ability and modern soul music, she never fails to evoke emotion and the production by Floating Points is of course second to none in this style of music. Simply amazing.” – JPS

Mark Pritchard – ‘Wake Up’

“This tune from Mark hits all the right notes for me – Footwork all the way.” – A13

Sid Pattini feat. Meg Mac- ‘Go Back Home’

“Seriously underrated producer and track in general. This one is co-produced by M-Phazes I believe, and it’s an absolute masterpiece. The drums are my favourite part – also Meg’s vocals are super cool in every aspect.” – Akouo

Teebs Australian Tour

Friday August 1st – Melbourne – Howler
Saturday August 2nd – Brisbane – Coniston Lane
Sunday August 3rd – Canberra – La De Da
Thursday August 7th – Sydney – Oxford Arts Factory
Saturday August 9th – Auckland – Neck of The Woods
Tickets and info: www.theoperatives.com.au

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