A few months ago we shared Flying Lotus’ Cosmogramma Fieldlines, a downloadable augmented reality application meant to enhance the experience of his latest album, Cosmogramma. Creatively, it marked a shift away from the traditional music video. A few weeks ago Broken Bells upped the ante with an online video whose trippy, 3D narrative broke the fourth wall and gave new meaning to the interactive experience between the viewer and the music. But it’s the Arcade Fire’s latest video for ‘We Used to Wait’ that takes the cake. It’s not so much a video as it is “an interactive film” in collaboration with director Chris Milk and Google. Titled ‘The Wilderness Downtown’, the film combines stunning imagery of the suburbs with actual footage of the viewer’s own childhood neighbourhood as generated by Google Street View. It’s dynamic, it’s interactive and it captures the nostalgia and melancholy of the song in the most unique and personal way possible. You can view it here; there’s also an interesting making-of piece here, via Chrome Experiments.

Director Chris Milk is no stranger to pushing the envelope. His videos are often emotionally charged and sometimes quite visceral, like Kayne West’s ‘Jesus Walks’ or the infamous Gnarls Barkley video for ‘Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?’, perhaps one of the most original music videos of the last decade. An equally accomplished photographer, Milk’s portfolio is both impressive and star-studded, having worked with everyone from Courtney Love to President Obama. While ‘The Wilderness Downtown’ will undoubtedly be his legacy, setting a benchmark in music-internet relations, we can expect Chris Milk to continue thinking outside the box, or in this case the browser window.

A few years ago, Stones Throw was known mostly for housing two of hip hop’s greatest producers, Madlib and the late J Dilla. Recently however, with the emergence of Motown revivalist Mayer Hawthorne, the California-based label is turning more heads. Soul music has been making a bit of a comeback, with the likes of Aloe Blacc (also on Stones Throw), Sharon Jones and Hawthorne getting serious mainstream spins. Outside of Blacc’s hugely successful ‘I Need a Dollar’ single, Hawthorne has been making the biggest splash; 2009′s A Strange Arrangement earned him accolades from fellow blue-eyed vocalist Justin Timberlake and, perhaps best of all, Ghostface Killah.

Hawthorne’s interpretation of vintage soul is both authentic and disarming; the production isn’t what one would expect from, say, a Timbaland or a Danger Mouse. This is roots music, and for the handful of music videos he’s put out director Henry DeMaio provides the perfect compliment. DeMaio appears to have locked himself in as Stone Throw’s in-house videographer, having worked with Aloe Blacc, Dam Funk, Strong Arm Steady and Madlib. Videos for Hawthorne, including ‘Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin” (above), capture the stripped-down spirit of his record. The shaky hand-held camera and absence of any major post-production combined with the poolside setting and cheeky choreography embody that fancy-free spirit of 60s soul. On the flip side, DeMaio’s video for Hawthorne’s bittersweet ‘I Wish it Would Rain’ is a slightly crisper production, albeit still stripped of all the bells and whistles that are commonplace today. The focus is on the music, as it should be.

It’s no secret that Nike has taken full advantage the marketing opportunities at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and with the success of campaigns such as Write the Future and Joga Bonito, we can generally look forward to whatever they deliver. Enter Umbabarauma. The Brazil-based project is a slight departure from what we’ve come to expect from their soccer campaigns, this time shifting the spotlight to another of Brazil’s most important cultural exports: music. Nike Sportswear Brazil approached Tropicalia legend Jorge Ben Jor, whose song ‘Umbabarauma’ from the 1976 album Africa Brazil helped cement his place as one of the country’s most celebrated international recording artists. The term ‘umbabarauma’ has both Portuguese and indigenous roots; it can be quite offensive in some contexts, but its ties to soccer relate to the flashy style of play born out of the Brazilian favelas. The song tells the story of a street soccer player whose flair and determination make him a legend in the slums. With the World Cup in mind, NSWB sponsored a 2010 redux of ‘Umbabarauma’, teaming Ben Jor up with some of Brazil’s brightest musical talents, including hip hop artist Mano Brown, to rerecord and remaster the song for a documentary-style music video. So far this video is just a teaser of things to come for the project, so stay tuned on NWSB’s YouTube page.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of electronic musical instruments knows the name Roger Linn.  He created the LM-1, Linndrum, and Linn 9000 drum machines, which became synonymous with 80′s pop music from the likes of Prince, Madonna, and Michael Jackson.  However, that’s not even his most famous creation.   His most marked design would be the MPC, an instrument that molded and forever changed hip-hop production to the point where it is hard to imagine what it would be like without Linn’s creation.  In recent years, with the design of open-source instruments like the Monome or the Jazzmutant Lemur, there has begun to be a greater interest in moving away from the traditional keyboard as a pitch-generating solution for creating music.  Now, Linn is throwing his hat into the ring with this prototype for a multitouch, tone-generation pad that has some unique abilities when it comes to expressiveness (a point which is generally lacking in other multitouch solutions like the iPad and Lemur).  Production heads everywhere will be keeping a close eye on this one as it develops.

Often referred to as one of the greatest rock records ever made, Exile on Main St. is a staple in any music lover’s collection. The stories & myths behind the creation of this album in the dungeon of a basement at Villa Nellcôte in the south of France are part of Rock N’ Roll folklore, and are captured beautifully in Dominique Tarlé’s black & white pictures included in the recently released 64-page booklet that comes with the limited run, 2-CD  deluxe edition Re-Issue. Dark & murky, the photographs enhance the already electrifying experience of listening to history in the making, and you don’t even need to be a rock fan to appreciate the ride. Available here.

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Flying Lotus released his new album Cosmogramma this week, and, much like 2008′s Los Angeles, it’s astounding. The west coast beatsmith builds ornate dreamscapes inspired by free flowing jazz, crunchy synths and bowel-obstructing bass lines. You might say he sounds like the love child of J Dilla, John Carpenter and Mario Bros.; pundits even had Flying Lotus penned as the second coming of the late Dilla Dog (fittingly, his debut album 1983 dropped in 2006, the same year JD passed on). But Cosmogramma deserves more than just comparison – this is distinctly and exclusively Flying Lotus’ sound. He still takes cues from the aforementioned, but his interpretation of these influences stands out like no other.

Also standing out is his website, a great example of how artists can benefit from an online presence by being both unique and engaging. This includes nostalgic video games (scored by Flying Lotus of course) and live radio shows, but perhaps the most interesting addition to the site is a free, downloadable Augmented Reality Application called Cosmogramma Fieldlines. The program is very simple: the screen looks exactly like Cosmogramma‘s album cover (pictured above), only it works with your webcam and mouse to become something like an interactive interstellar string quartet controlled by the cosmos. The feature is a great example of an online experience that truly enhances Flying Lotus’ music offering; something tells me this is a sign of things to come. Click here to download.

Romain Gavras has the potential to be one the best and most controversial music video directors of our time. The French filmmaker received a lot of flak for his portrayal of street violence in the video for Justice’s Stress. His latest work, this time for the just released Born Free by M.I.A,  is even more shocking, coming with an iron-clad guarantee it will never get airtime on any music television channel. Yet this 9min-long film represents the new music video for our generation; the controversy that fuels word-of-mouth and online conversation. Already in just a few days since its release Gavras’ work has been viewed by millions, regardless of the fact it has been banned from YouTube.  We’ve seen this strategy before, and we will surely see it again -but the brilliance of Romain Gavras is that there is a powerful message behind the sensational violence, a message which is not lost in Born Free.

M.I.A’s new record will be released on June 28.

For those that have all but played out the Dilla and Pun mixtape and are still looking to pay their own homage to Dilla, the legendary Roots crew have dropped our favorite tribute album yet. Lead by Questlove, The Roots have brought their live instrumental sounds in an homage to James Dewitt Yancey’s beats. There are no lyrics on the Dilla Joints album, just some familiar beats over some wonderful instrumentals. While staying on the topic of Stones Throw, turntabilist J Rocc, who has previously dropped some of our favorite mixtapes and collabs with Madlib and Dilla, is out with an exclusive mixtape for Supreme L.A. aptly named J.Rocc for Supreme. The lyrical stylings of Mighty Mos have been reincarnated thanks to Mad Tannone (who you may remember from the Radiohead x Jay-Z mash-up Jadiohead) in Mos Dub who has laid them out over classic dub and reggae. Finally, another man known for mash-ups, Brian Burton, otherwise known as Danger Mouse has teamed together with The Shin’s James Mercer to form Broken Bells and recently dropped their indie rock self-titled debut album. Enjoy.

We mentioned ‘Stylo’, the new Gorillaz track featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack, in our recent Monthly Music Roundup. Yesterday saw the release of the accompanying music video, an entertaining semi-animation starring the usual suspects (although no Russel?) alongside Bruce Willis at his ever-squinting best. It’s a beautifully shot piece that centers on a classic high speed car chase. In addition to the obvious “you can’t run from John McLean” moral of the story, there’s an amusing although twisted little PSA promoting healthy eating habits. The open ending suggests that we can expect more from this ambiguous storyline, and so long as Pete Candeland is still at the helm that’s not at all a bad thing. The director/animator, in collaboration with Passion Pictures cohort Jamie Hewlett, is responsible for much of the Gorillaz’ fantastic videography – an impressive feat considering how integral the group’s animated persona has become to their success over the years. In addition to music videos Candeland’s impressive portfolio includes work with the BBC, Coke and KIA, but perhaps best of all is his work for Harmonix, for whom he did the stunning cinematic opening for Beatles Rock Band. Expect a lot more from this visual mastermind.

One of the craziest music video/experiments we’ve ever seen has got to be Chris Cairns’ Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc, featuring the Scratch Perverts. Cairns has just upped the bar, and not by a little, putting together an insane Live performance featuring holographic drumkit (Will Clark) and turntables (JFB). Like the original video, there’s not much more to say other than watch and be amazed.

KanyeWest.com was launched and marks a distinctive new aesthetic in design for the Yeezy brand. Long gone are the Japanese-inspired illustrations, the new look is clean and simple. While typically this is a recommended approach, the site is marred with usability issues. For one, the splash page is completely and utterly useless. Its only function is to generate a click, and frustration from the user. Secondly, invisible menus? Come on, that’s just completely pointless and juvenile. Admittedly, it’s a designer’s wet dream to get rid of everything on the site, but there is a reason no one really does it – because it makes enjoying the site and its content impossible! And really now, the sounds of an airplane? I’m at a loss for words. Your thoughts?

Spinner scooped us on the brand new Vampire Weekend video for ‘Giving up the Gun’ last week. To say that it’s truly bizarre and silly spectacle is an understatement, but the video is beautifully shot, and with such a star-studded cast that includes the RZA, Lil’ Jon, Jake Gyllenhaal and, yes, Joe Jonas, the director(s) deserved some attention. Enter Emmett and Brendan Malloy, aka The Malloys. Working out of HSI Productions, the mega multimedia studio that houses the likes of David LaChapelle and Hype Williams, the brothers have been doing their thing for the better part of a decade now and boast an impressive portfolio of music videos for a veritable who’s who in the music biz. Noteworthy videos include N*E*R*D’s ‘Sooner or Later’ and Blink 182′s ‘First Date’ and both The White Stripes‘ ‘My Doorbell’ and ‘Icky Thump’. If heavy, brooding music videos aren’t your cup of tea, then The Malloys are your breath of fresh air; you can expect a good story, a few laughs, and maybe even a little language lesson from Lil’ Jon.