A few months back, a track bearing the name “No Good” and a familiar synthed-up R&B reverb sound set the blogosphere aflame with the plausibility of a new James Blake alias/side project. These rumors have been extinguished with the public debut of Ifan Dafydd, the young Welshman behind February(ish)’s “No Good.” Dafydd now brings us “To Me,” laying down all the decadent layers of an expertly-crafted tiramisu, so flawless that I’m not confident we should be so hasty to file his identity case as closed. Did you notice, for instance, that Ifan Dafydd is an anagram for…um…Add Daffy In? OK, fine, maybe he is just a crazy-talented newcomer; to quote Elizabeth Bishop: “in a state of controlled panic, a student of Blake.” Keeping my eye on this one.

STREAM: Ifan Dafydd – “To Me”

With his newest track “Curbside”, from his next EP Love What Happened Here (due out next month), authentic-dubstep wunderkind James Blake strays from the mellow, piano-driven ballads of his October EP Enough Thunder for a foray into the more experimental. Gone is the soft crooning and rippling basslines of his previous releases, replaced by an almost industrial drumbeat and a looped horn sample from early 2000’s producer Quasimoto. Fans of Blake’s earlier work will either be pleased to see him branching out, or will be left scratching their heads in disbelief.

STREAM: James Blake – “Curbside”

NPR: Jonsi releases some new songs as part of the soundtrack for Cameron Crowe’s latest film, We Bought A Zoo.

Pitchfork: Catch footage from Sonic Youth’s perhaps final show in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

SXSW: The Austin, TX music festival announces the second round of artists playing in 2012.

NME: The Libertines’ Pete Doherty is convinced that his flat is being haunted by Amy Winehouse’s spirit. Yipes, g-g-g-g-ghosts!

Rolling Stone: Adele is “on the mend” after throat surgery.

Hipster Runoff: Jeopardy contestants unable to identify Foster the People as a clue. Is mainstream America too alt?

Village Voice: We all love to hate Nickelback.

MP3: Mr. Little Jeans – “The Suburbs (Cry Wolf Remix)“

Frank Ocean is so smooth he once successfully sold me a beach house in Idaho. His Lincoln Town Car is full of broken hearts (read: dead bodies) and I would still accept a ride from him. He can’t play guitar like Van Halen, nor does he have any secret chords like Saint David, but I am still obsessed with every song in my iTunes with his name on it. So when you combine that kind of suavity with London-based dubstep producer SBTRKT’s ambient synths and semi broken beat drums, you pretty much have a recipe for the sexiest song…ever. The day after Ocean’s first London gig, SBTRKT released this epic reedit of Ocean’s “Thinking About You,” and the product is every bit as good as the pitch. The original track is still clearly intact beneath SBTRKT’s subtly interspersed post-dub beat, leaving us with a fantastic, seamless reinterpretation that you’d be crazy not to play during your next makeout sesh.

STREAM: Frank Ocean – “Thinking About You (SBTRKT Remix)”

‘Tis the season for mixtapes and since it’s been a while since we’ve done one (ed. note: got one baking in the oven as we speak), here’s one from Plant Music artist and Chicago native Willy Joy. It features everything from house to dubstep to techno to moombahton, which was born and raised right here in Washington, DC.  Tittsworth and Alvin Risk’s ‘Pendejas’ make an appearance on the mix, serving as the cherry on top of a delicious Chocolate City sundae.

Check the tracklist after the jump, and be sure to catch Willy Joy when he comes to U St. Music Hall with Designer Drugs on October 6th.

DOWNLOAD: Willy Joy – The Fall Mix 2011

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Since Tittsworth and Alvin Risk‘s Two Strokes Raw EP dropped, DC dance floors have been 100% fueled by “Pendejas” — an utterly massive Moombahton tune from the heavy-hitting producers. The official video captures the duo action, as well as the original Moombahton party, Tropixx, at the Velvet Lounge where Mr. Nada started it all. Grab the EP on iTunes or Beatport.

MP3: Tittsworth & Alvin Risk – “Pendejas”

There you are, Steve Borth! Now based in Copenhagen, Borth was once the saxophonist for Rx Bandits and afterwards released some great, soulful reggae-pop as Satori. His latest project, CHLLNGR, finds him crafting music of a much different nature. “Ask For” is a hard one to peg; the track clearly has an ambient, experimental vibe to it but also grounds itself with a driving hip-hop beat, all the while dipping its toes into the shallow, minimalist end of dubstep. It’s pretty interesting stuff, and despite it being a bit out there I found myself hooked. Take a listen for yourself, and make sure to check out the equally mesmerizing video above. Haven is out now on Green Owl.

STREAM: CHLLNGR – “Ask For”

I am officially in love with Oh Land (a.k.a. Nanna Øland a.k.a. coolest name ever). Not only is she gorgeous, but she crafts masterpieces like “Son of a Gun.” This face-melting dubstep remix of said jam, courtesy of Jacob Plant, would not have been possible without the fantastic original. Essentially, in short, summing up: Oh Land = awesome.

STREAM: Oh Land – “Son of a Gun (Jacob Plant Remix)”